Good Afternoon Carpenter Families,
Team Carpenter is fully immersed in the beginning of the year plans and activities! Our teachers are structuring their classrooms so that all students know and feel that they belong at Carpenter! Below are a few updates that we wanted to share;
Picture Day
Picture Day is scheduled for this Thursday, July 20th, for Tracks 1 & 2 and Tuesday, August 22nd for Tracks 3 & 4. There will be Lifetouch forms sent home to order these optional school pictures. Students will need to prepay for these pictures. Many thanks to our PTA volunteers for their organization and assistance on these Picture Days. We truly could not do it without them.
PTA’s Kindergarten Breakfast
The PTA will host a Kindergarten breakfast for parents on Tracks 1-3, on Monday, July 24th, at 9:15 am. Come to meet other parents and hear about ways to get involved at your child’s school. Track 4's Kindergarten Parent Breakfast is scheduled for Monday, August 14th, at 9:15 am. Read more here.
BOG
Our third graders are required to take a Beginning of Grade reading test. Tracks 1-3 will be taking the test on Friday, July 21st. Third graders, in Track 4, will be taking the test on Thursday, August 10th. The purpose of this test is to provide baseline data, for instruction, as to the reading level of our third graders. In NC, there is a Read to Achieve Law, that states that students cannot advance to fourth grade until they are proficient in reading.
Track 4's Meet the Teacher Event
Join us on Friday, July 28th, from 2:30 pm to 3:00 pm for a drop in Meet the Teacher event for Track 4. It's a great way for your child to see where his or her class is located, bring in school supplies, and meet their teacher for the 2023-2024 school year. Teachers will email parents on July 28th to let you know which class your child is assigned to this year.
PTA Spirit Night
Join us for ice cream, fun, and fellowship on Monday, August 21st for the PTA's Spirit Night at Dairy Queen. A portion of the proceeds of your purchases will be donated to our PTA. Read more here.
PTA Membership
Alone we can do so little but together we can do so much! Please join our Parent Teacher Association. So many programs and grants are provided to our children because of your contributions to our PTA.
Student Information Cards
Ensure that you fill out and return your child’s student information card to your child’s teacher. The forms are a light peach color and are on a half sheet of paper. These student locator cards are kept in the front office to quickly reach parents when students become sick or injured at school.
Talking Points
If you haven’t already received an invitation to join Talking Points, your child’s teacher should send one shortly. This multilingual communication Application allows parents and teachers to text messages back and forth in chosen languages. This Application pulls parent contact information from Powerschool. You can download the Application or read more about it here.
Transportation
The more consistent your child’s transportation is in the afternoons, the better it will be for your child. Please communicate any changes in your child’s transportation directly to your child’s teacher. We must follow your written plan with transportation and not your child’s spoken word.
Carpool
In the afternoons, display your carpool number in your windshield even after we record it. It helps our staff to see the carpool numbers up until your child loads into your vehicle. If your child is delayed coming out of school, it saves us time to recall the number when it is already displayed.
Checking Students Out Early
If your child has an unavoidable appointment during the school day, be sure to check him/her out of the office by 3:15 pm so that it does not interfere with our carpool traffic. Students must be picked up through carpool if they are not checked out prior to 3:15 pm in the office.
Heat
During the summer months, the temperature can get extremely hot. We recognize that our students need daily time to run around and play outside. However, on days with extreme heat of over 94 degrees, our students do not play outside between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. We adjust our recess times, as a precautionary measure, to reduce the likelihood of heat exhaustion. Please send your child to school daily with a water bottle full of water.
News
We want to extend a massive thank you to Amy Munn, our past PTA President, and her son, Charlie Munn, for helping with the news coverage on the first day of school. In case you missed the news, here are clips of our Carpenter coverage:
Marathon Teaching Institute
We wanted to give a huge shout out to North Carolina Central University for helping us welcome back our students for the first week of school. We had 11 male students from NC Central here for 3 full days. The college students helped during arrival, read to our students, observed our teachers, led physical fitness activities, interacted with our students at lunch, and assisted our students with afternoon dismissal. All of this was done under the supervision of our staff. We are so grateful and proud of our strong partnership with this university. You can learn more about NC Central's Marathon Teaching Institute here.
New Visitor Check-In System
WCPSS has installed our new Visitor Management System that will be used district-wide. The new system verifies all school visitors and checks the Sex Offender Registry for potential matches. To sign in, you will be asked to provide identifying information including your name, date of birth, and have a picture taken. For a faster check-in process, please have your driver's license or state-approved ID ready. If you have your cell phone, the system will also text you to make checking out much easier.
WCPSS Student/Parent Handbook
The school system's Student/Parent Handbook is being sent home with every student. This guide helps students and families understand the rules and expectations for behavioral in school, on the way to and from school, and during school sponsored activities. Tear off the last page, sign, and return it to your child's teacher.
Application for Free/Reduced Price School Meals
Full price breakfast costs $1.50 and lunch costs $3.25 this year. Families must submit a meal benefits application online at MySchoolApps.com if they need (and qualify for) free or reduced meals. Come to the office if you need a paper copy. The first 30 days of school, the 2022-2023 benefits status continues.
School Menus
The district will no longer post monthly menus on the website. There is a Mealviewer with is an interactive website that allows:
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View up to 5 weeks of menus in PDF and print if needed
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Set up multiple profiles at the schools of your choice
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See any menu changes posted by the manager at each site
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Select menu items based on allergens
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View nutrients and carbohydrate count for each menu item
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Print menus with carb counts per item and items with allergens designated
Farewell to Mrs. Tucker
On August 1st, we say farewell to Mrs. Diann Tucker. She has been a remarkable teacher leader over the years. Mrs. Tucker has given her all to Carpenter Elementary serving as our 3rd grade teacher, 3rd grade Professional Learning Community Chair, Assistant Principal Intern, Literacy Coach and Instructional Facilitator. She has been promoted and will become the new Assistant Principal at Apex Friendship Elementary. Take the time to thank her for her years of service and wish her well - drtucker@wcpss.net.
Green Hope High School's Football Game
On Friday, August 25th, Green Hope High Falcons will be playing Athens Drive Jaguars in football at 7:00 pm at GHHS. All students that wear Carpenter spiritwear will get in the game free with a paid adult. Consider going and showing your school spirit.
Have a good rest of the week,
Dr. Fay Jones
