wednesday packet, january 14, 2015
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Table of Contents Page
Jacque’s Note 2 Community News 3-10 MS News 11 HS News 12
Senior News 13-15
January 14, 2015
Wednesday Packet
Important Dates/Information HOMECOMING Thursday-Saturday, January 15-17 See Homecoming Flyer for Schedule of Events. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. HOLIDAY Monday, January 19 No School TCS Offices Closed SENIOR NIGHT Friday, January 23rd 6:00pm During that evening’s basketball games. TEACHER WORK DAY AND PRESIDENTS’ DAY HOLIDAY-No School Friday, February 13 and Monday, February 16 TCS Offices Closed Monday PARENT SOCIAL Thursday, February 19 6-7:30pm At the Betts home in the Cumming Area PAC MEETING Thursday, February 26 8:00am
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Homecoming is this week!! This is an especially exciting time of year as our community rallies to celebrate our school, its spirit, and the victories our students experience once they realize how awesome they are! The term Homecoming connotes a celebration of the alumni returning to the school they love. We certainly look forward to seeing the young adults who arrive throughout the day, with families and friends, as they check out the changes at TCS and show off their accomplishments. We also see this as a time for our current students and families to look ahead to see what is possible. Over the years this event has moved from a modest game and balloon decor occurring for a brief afternoon to a three day gala celebrating our Middle School rising stars on Thursday, a separate alumni reception on Friday and a full day of Saturday games, serious and silly! Our opponents are worthy champions, as well, so the basketball game between the schools can be heart stopping! Then the alumni/staff game steals our hearts with the friendly competition that pits former students vs staff in a raucous demonstration of affection and respect! Come join the fun!! Friday evening we will host a reception for alumni staff and students over the thirty years. Saturday includes a tailgating event in addition to the games and alumni fun! As you peruse this week’s Wednesday Packet, take note of the page for our Seniors with confirmed post- secondary options. This is a process that distinguishes TCS from other schools in a very significant way. While other schools focus on graduation, our staff sees that event as a gateway to the Next Step. Every grade level has a portion of their curriculum that focuses on preparing for life after graduation. We start with helping our teens identify their strengths and areas of talent. Then we help each student link those qualities to potential job options. While researching those areas, we also explore what educational and training requirements would be necessary. We include these discussions in the annual IEP, as well as in specific classroom activities. Parents are included in the process so that we are certain that it is one that everyone supports and the applications are efficiently and accurately prepared. By the time our students are Juniors, they are well on their way to selecting the best post-secondary option for them and preparing the necessary transcript and other documents that will ease the transition to the next step. Our counselors and teachers pride themselves on offering any assistance they can along the way to guide each student to the best outcome after graduation. Then, we watch our graduates flourish! They return to us as engineers, medical professionals, teachers, inventors, artists, hospitality professionals, small business owners, and more. They include us in their promotions, weddings, new babies, return to school and other life events. They continue to fill our hearts with affection and pride! Did I already say we have the Best Job EVER???
See you at HOMECOMING 2015
January 14, 2015
Jacque’s Note
Amazon Smile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable
organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. Go to
www.smile.amazon.com and designate The Cottage School as your
charity of choice.
Does your family buy Ziploc bags, Kleenex or General Mills products? These are just a few of the brands that are part of the BoxTops program. This is easy, just cut out the BoxTops logo and send in to school with your child.
Switch and become a Georgia Natural Gas customer and help your school earn
money! Georgia Natural Gas will donate $5 every month to your school just for
paying your natural gas bill. If you are not already signed up, please visit
www.onlygng.com/TRUEBLUECHOICE for program details.
Kroger offers support of TCS through their Community Rewards program. You can participate by going to Kroger.com, registering your card and then choosing TCS (school #36692) under ‘Community Rewards’. Every time you use your Kroger number for gas or groceries, TCS gets credit.
If you don’t already have one, get your Publix key-chain sized card in the Central Administration Office. Pick up enough to give to friends and family! Each time you shop, present your card at the checkout counter and Publix will donate a percentage of your purchase to TCS.
Target enables customers to specify TCS as the recipient of a percentage of sales charged to their Target credit card. If you don’t currently have one, inquire the next time you shop at Target. It is simple and easy to sign-up for.
Advancement Angle
News you can use to help raise money for The Cottage School
Happy New Year! Get that first resolution out of the way and give
to the Key Annual Fund!
Donate today: http://www.cottageschool.org/donate-now/
PAC PICKS THIS WEEK
Volunteer Opportunity - Staff Meeting Snacks
In keeping with The Cottage School PAC tradition,
the PAC is soliciting parent volunteers to provide
snacks for the Weekly Staff Meetings (Middle School
and High School) and Monthly Joint Staff
meetings. TCS staff greatly appreciates this level of
care given them by the parents. Please help us keep
this longstanding tradition going.
Snacks can be delivered in morning or afternoon carpool. Snacks can be store bought or
homemade. At the monthly staff meeting (Joint Staff Meeting with HS & MS staff), several
families provide a light lunch for the staff including a birthday cake for the monthly birthday
celebration.
If you are interested in providing snacks for The Cottage School staff please contact Diana
Langhorne (High School) at [email protected] or Alisha Robertson (Middle
School) at [email protected].
Save the Date Thursday February 19 at 6pm
We hope you will join staff and fellow parents for the first Parent Social of 2015. We
will be gathering at the home of Jeff and Denise Betts, 3935 Carissa Trace in
Cumming. We invite everyone to join us, whether you live or work in the area, this is
a great way to meet other parents. We hope you can join us. Please RSVP to
Stephanie Johnson at [email protected].
Connecting Students, Families, & Alumni
HOMECOMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
THURSDAY, PEP RALLY 1:30PM, MIDDLE SCHOOL GAME 4:00PM,
JV BASKETBALL GAME 5:00PM, VARSITY BOYS 6:30PM
FRIDAY, ALUMNI RECEPTION 6:30PM
SATURDAY, PREGAME TAILGATE, 1:00PM (FOOD AND FUN FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY)
JV GAME 2:00PM, VARSITY GIRLS 3:00PM, VARSITY BOYS 4:30PM,
HALL OF FAME CEREMONY (IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING VARSITY GAME)
ALUMNI/FACULTY GAME 6:00PM
THE COTTAGE SCHOOL
HOMECOMING 2015
January 15-17, 2015
Synchronize your watches…..
is going
Saturday, March 14th 2015/1985
6:30p.m. - 11:00p.m.
Cougar Center
Purchase your tickets soon!
Special pricing for our current parents,
alumni and alumni parents.
Whoa, this is heavy!!
Music Class and Music Therapy at The Cottage School!
Register by Friday, January 16, 2015
The George Center for Music Therapy is proud to partner with The Cottage School to offer music class
and music therapy services to students starting in February! Both group music class and individual music
therapy services will be available to The Cottage School students. All services are provided by the talented
team of licensed and board-certified music therapists from The George Center for Music Therapy. Music
therapy addresses important clinical goals such as:
Expressive/receptive language skills
Academic skills
Fine and gross motor skills, as well as motor coordination
Social skills
For questions/registration, contact [email protected].
Group Music Therapy Information
What: Weekly music group focusing on building
social skills
Where: The Cottage School
When: Fridays, 3:15 PM-4:15 PM
Cost: $15 per class/minimum of eight students
Payable for February/March and April/May
Individual Music Therapy Information
What: Individualized, goal-directed, one-to-one
music therapy
Where: The Cottage School
When: Contact [email protected]
Cost: $75/hour, $45/30 minutes
Snow/Ice/School Closing Online Learning Policy
Last year’s snow--and the disruptions that came with it--caused us to look at how we handle teaching and learning outside the classroom’s four walls. We expect that we will experience an occasional snow/ice day off of school, but in light of last year’s extended weather related absences, we decided to have a contingency plan in place. In the event we close campus due to a multiple day weather event, our teachers will post assignments on their ClassWeb pages to keep our students engaged and learning. The workplace, now, allows telecommute options, and being productive while working from home is an important part of the skills of a contemporary worker. Keep in mind: assignments from days when campus is closed are not “extra” work--it’s required work as in the classroom, just like any other assignment. The questions below explain what your teenager can expect on these days.
Where will I find my assignment? Log in to ClassWeb (https://25250netclass.blackbaudondemand.com). Go to the Assignments section of each ClassWeb page. Students can use the assignment calendar to see all assignments for the day, or “My Classes” to see each class’s individual assignment one at a time.
How will I know which assignment to do? We will uniformly post Online Learning work in the “Assignments” section of each course. The first line of the assignment’s description will be “Online Learning” to quickly and uniformly show these assignments. Even if your teacher has no work to be done online, s/he will still post a notice in Assignments saying that there is no work.
When will the assignment be posted by? We will post assignments by 10:00 AM of the day campus is closed. If you don’t see it by then, please email your teacher.
When will the assignment be due? You will need to submit work by 8:00 AM the next day--even if school is cancelled the next day. The assignment’s description will state how to submit the work, whether by email or ClassWeb’s dropbox feature.
What if I don’t understand the the assignment? Do what you always do: contact the teacher to clarify. If your teacher isn’t available, use the directory or social media to contact another student.
What if I don’t have power? This policy assumes that you have power. If campus closes unexpectedly, we’re more confident that you’ll have power than we are that you’ll have all your textbooks. If you don’t have power, the Snow Day work will be recontracted, at the teacher’s discretion, just like any other assignment. The important thing is that you stay warm and dry.
**Often, we are aware that inclement weather is pending. In these circumstances, we will remind students prior to their departure from campus to bring home materials they may need to complete classwork. Homeroom teachers will clarify if you have any questions or concerns regarding the Online Learning expectations.
Winter Weather and School Closures
The arrival of the new year often brings with it cold wintry weather to Georgia.
With the storms we experienced in 2014, TCS is ready to address school closures
and updates as efficiently as possible.
We are pleased that so many people have signed up for the REMIND.com alert
systems. If you haven’t done this yet, please take time and do it today. It is a
simple process that will allow us to contact you immediately with school updates
and alerts. To sign up, send a text to 81010 with the message @tcsst.
If there are weather concerns that might cause delays or closures, the first alert you will
receive will come via the REMIND.com system. In addition, you will find school closure or
delays on our website, social media and local television stations and websites (WSB TV,
CBS 46, 11Alive and Fox Atlanta).
Please keep in mind that because a good number of our students live outside of Fulton County, the
weather in your area could be different than what we are basing our decision upon. If there is any
concern about travel due to road or weather conditions in your area, please
make the safe choice for your family. Should your county be closed and
Fulton County is operational, your absence will be considered excused.
REMIND.com
MS January Activities
DATE Activity TCS$ Things to bring
Thursday
1/15
Homecoming Pep Rally
Whole school pep rally will be held
in the Cougar Center during
electives.
Friday
1/16
On Campus
Club Intro
Homeroom Activity
$210.80
Friday
1/16
Academics
Academics $223.20 Academic Materials
*Remember to bring an
independent reading book if you
complete your work early.
Monday
1/19
No School in observance
of MLK Holiday
Friday
1/23
Off Campus
DeKalb Farmers Market
$161.82
All students going off campus must
bring a sack lunch unless pre-ordered
through lunch program. Students are
allowed to bring money to purchase
items.
Friday
1/23
On Campus
Valentine’s Day
Activities
$158.10
Friday
1/23
Academics
Academics
$167.40
Academic Materials
*Remember to bring an
independent reading book if you
complete your work early.
Friday
1/30
On Campus
Clubs
$210.80
*Club Materials
Friday
1/30
Academics
Academics $223.20 Academic Materials
*Remember to bring an
independent reading book if you
complete your work early.
HS Activities for January
DATE TIME Activity TCS$ Things to bring/U.S. $
Friday
1/16
Academics
8:15
10:00
12:00
12:45
2:40
Levels
Academics
Lunch
Academics
Homeroom
$454.07
Academic material to complete work and
spare reading
materials, if you will be in academics
all day!
Off-
Campus
10:00-
2:00
Fernbank
Museum: Imax
Theater
$439.43
*Bring bag lunch or money for food
On-
Campus
10:00
12:00
12:45
2:40
Monopoly / Board Games
Lunch
Indoor Soccer
Homeroom
$424.78
Saturday
1/17
Homecoming!
2:00 JV Game v. North Atlanta Flight
3:00 Varsity Ladies v. North Atlanta Flight
4:30 Varsity Boys v. North Atlanta Flight
6:00 Alumni - Staff
Friday
1/23
1:15 –
2:40 Clubs Bring needed materials or clothing for
Club activities
Friday
1/31
Academics
8:15
10:00
12:00
12:45
2:40
Levels
Academics
Lunch
Academics
Homeroom
$403.62
Academic material to complete work and
spare reading
materials, if you will be in academics
all day!
Off-
Campus
10:00-
2:00
High Museum of
Art
$390.60
*Bring bag lunch or money for food
On-
Campus
10:00
12:00
12:45
2:40
Bridge Building
Lunch
Are You Smarter than a
TCS Teacher?
Homeroom
$377.58
Everyone is a star and deserves a chance to shine.
Shine bright on Senior Night!
Friday, January 23, at 6:00 P.M.
Join us as we celebrate our seniors!
(Dinner reception immediately following senior walk)
Please RSVP to Jennifer by Friday, January 16. ([email protected]; 770-356-4098) Student Name: Will Attend Number For Dinner Will Not Attend Please indicate the name(s) of the person(s) who will be escorting
your senior at the senior walk:
Congratulations to the Class of 2015
on their acceptances and scholarship awards to the following
post-secondary programs!
Courtney Connell: Kennesaw State University, The University of Alabama, Columbus State University,
University of North Georgia & Georgia Southern University.
Zak Kitzler: Hood College- $60,000 Scholarship, Young Harris University- $52,000 scholarship & Eckerd
College- $68,000 Scholarship
Alex Lee: Southern Polytechnic State University, Reinhardt University & Wingate University- $64,000
presidential scholarship
Noel Mace: KSU Academy for Inclusive Learning
Ethan Menaker: Elon University, George Mason University- $32,000 Scholarship, High Point University-
$40,000 Scholarship
KJ Powell: Piedmont College- $36,000 Piedmont Pride Scholarship & $2,800 Georgia Tuition Grant
Kyle Simon: KSU Academy for Inclusive Learning
Noah Storm: Green Mountain College & Colorado Mountain College
Joseph Thompson: Capstone Program
Will Hall: University of West Georgia, University of Mississippi- $6,000 scholarship, Louisiana State
University, Georgia Southern University, University of Alabama, Valdosta State University & Auburn
University
CLASS OF 2015
Attention Seniors!
Make sure you are thinking about your senior quote for your place
in the yearbook! When you come up with a yearbook quote, please
make sure you include who said it and give the quote to
Jennifer or Ali ASAP.
QUOTES DUE:
January 28th, 2015!!!