December 2021 – January 2022

What’s Inside?

A Note from Mr. Ruiz
Message from PTA President
DRAGON DASH WRAP UP🎉
PTA Volunteer Signup
PTA Memberships
PTA Sponsorship

If you would like to help with teacher lunches, snack cart, etc. but do not have time to shop or bring items to the school this is a GREAT way to contribute. Thank you for donating to the many events the PTA has throughout the year for the teachers, staff and students!
Click the button above to donate or it can be found at the top of the PTA webpage. https://mycespta.org/

Calling all CES Alumni ~~~ Dragon Dozen Scholarship

The Dragon Dozen Scholarship is awarded annually to two Collierville High School seniors by the Collierville
Elementary School PTA. This year, the CES PTA will be offering two $1,000 scholarships. Scholarships will be paid directly to the University to which the applicant will be attending.

Applicants must fulfill the following requirements to be considered for the Dragon Dozen Scholarship:
» Be a Dragon for their entire educational career K–12 (CES, CMS/WCMS, CHS and CVA).
» Provide three letters of recommendation: two recommendations from teachers and one from another source (volunteer work, coach, church, etc.).
» Write a 300 word essay on “What it means to be a Dragon.”
» Turn in application by Sunday, March 6, 2022.
» Scholarships will be notified and awarded at the General Membership meeting on April 14, 2022 at 6:30pm

For additional information or a scholarship packet please see the guidance counselors at CHS or email president@mycespta.org.

Important Dates

Dec 16	Class Holiday Parties
Dec 17	1/2 Day of School
Jan 4	Students Return to School
Jan 11	Spelling Bee
Jan 17	MLK Day- NO SCHOOL
Feb 19	CES Teacher Breakfast
Feb 21	President’s Day -NO SCHOOL
Feb 24	Parent Conferences 4:15-7:15

Mar 4	Dragon’s Love to Read Day
Mar 7-11	Teacher Appreciation Week
Mar 14-18	Spring Break – NO SCHOOL
Mar 24-25	Donuts with Dragons

📨 A Note from Mr. Ruiz

Dear Little Dragon Family,

It’s hard to believe that we are wrapping up our first semester of this school year! In the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, I could not let the opportunity pass me by to express my gratitude for the incredible community that makes up CES. I am so thankful for our students who are the reason we come to work every day, for the teachers who go above and beyond to make learning fun and engaging for our students, and for our families who support the work we do in so many ways. CES truly is a special place.

We’ve had a wonderful quarter 2 here at CES! It started with Red Ribbon Week and our annual Dragon Dash. Students and staff had a blast dressing up for our theme days during Red Ribbon Week. There were lots of crazy socks, wacky outfits, and even a few Cats in Hats! Dragon Dash was a HUGE success! The rain could not keep the fun and excitement away, and we were so happy to be able to have our parents join us this year! We smashed our goal of $30,000 – raising over $40,000! Yes, that means I will become a human sundae before the end of this quarter!

In November, we celebrated Veterans Day by welcoming local veterans, including some of our parents, to come speak to our 4^th and 5^th graders about what it means to them to serve our country. It was an honor to host them, and we are so grateful for their service! Once again, our Little Dragons stepped up and showed their generosity during our Food Drive. As a school, we were able to donate 2600 lbs of food to the Collierville Food Bank! What an awesome way for our students to give back! We also announced that CES has been awarded the Apple Distinguished School designation for another 3 years! We are so proud of the daily work our teachers do to use technology as a resource for creating opportunities for our students to experience. It is a huge honor and not one that many schools are able to attain.

Most recently, we were able to host the return of our Open House and Book Fair. It was awesome to see so many of our families in the building! Our students were so excited to share the incredible things they have been learning about and the work they have been creating. When we return from Thanksgiving break, we will wind down quarter 2 with a lot more learning and holiday festivities. We can’t wait for another great semester. CES is the best!

Happy Holidays Little Dragon families!

All the best,

Michael Ruiz

✉️ Message from PTA President

Hello Little Dragon Parents & Students,

As we round out the first semester, I am so proud of our school. Our teachers and staff continue to impress me with how flexible they can be every single day. They continue to love our kids well while teaching them in the oddest of times. Things are on the way to becoming more and more “normal,” and I hope we never forget how our teachers persevered for our kids during this time. I continue to pray for our families that have been deeply affected by Covid 19, and I hope our community can continue to be a support system for them.

We held our annual Dragon Dash fundraiser in October. We exceeded our budget goal by $10,000!!! We were so grateful to welcome parents back on campus for this fun event. Andrea McGhee, our Fundraising Events Chairperson, did an incredible job planning a fun day for our Little Dragons. Katie Cockrell, our Fundraising Sponsorship Chairperson, secured incredible donations from local businesses. Please take a close look at our list of sponsors. Visit their businesses and thank them for supporting our school. All the money we raised stays at CES to be used for PTA sponsored events and for items needed in the school.

We are moving forward with our schedule in hopes that all the scheduled events will take place. We have Fair in the Lair planned for April 16. This event is a carnival type family day that is always a lot of fun. We will have another Donuts with Dragons day, Memphis in May day, and Teacher Appreciation Week. Please follow our facebook page to stay up to date on any information you may need.

I would love to encourage everyone to continue offering grace when there is confusion, a helping hand when there is a need, and a kind word any chance you can. We will continue to be in this together, so here’s to 2022!

I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.

Love in Maroon and White,

Amanda Cantrell
president@mycespta.org

What’s Been Happening?

PTA Members at Dragon Dash PTA Members at a Family Literacy Event

Food Drive
THANK YOU for your generosity! We were able to donate an estimated 2600 lbs of food to the food bank!

📜 Mission, Vision, & Beliefs

Mission

Collierville Elementary School equips Little Dragons with the skills necessary to be successful in learning, leadership, and life.

Vision

Collierville Elementary School will inspire every Little Dragon to be thriving and confident students who become lifelong learners and contributing citizens in their community.

Beliefs

Collierville Elementary School understands the importance of the development of the whole child.
Educators reflect upon teaching practices for the purpose of professional growth and the continued enhancement of quality instruction as well as engage in on-going professional development and work collaboratively to share the knowledge we acquire.
All relationships matter and are essential to learning.
Every learner is different. As educators we meet each child where they are and allow them to be active participants in their learning.
Each of us must do our part to create a safe, respectful and positive environment that encourages learning and risk-taking.
A commitment to student success is a shared responsibility among students, parents, educators, staff, and the community.
Every child deserves to have someone that loves them.
When you set high expectations, all will rise to the challenge by working hard, taking risks, and persevering.

🎯 PTA Objectives

1. To promote the welfare of children and youth in the home, school, community, and place of worship.
2. To raise the standard of home life.
3. To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth.
4. To bring into closer relation the home and school, that parents and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and youth.
5. To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for all children and youth the highest advantages in physical, mental, social and spiritual education.

Giving Back Through Kroger 🛒

Follow these simple steps to register your Kroger Plus Card to give back to CES PTA.

1. Go to Kroger.com
2. Create an account or Sign-in.
3. Register your Kroger Plus Card with your account.
4. Click on “My account.”
5. Under “Account Settings” select “Community rewards.”
6. Under “Find your organization” search for Collierville Elementary 1 PTA.

After that you are ready! Now when you swipe your card you are automatically giving back to Collierville Elementary School.

**Mr. Ruiz will be participating in the human ice cream sundae event soon!**

Dragon Dash Wrap Up

We would like to thank everyone for their participation in this year’s Dragon Dash. Without the support of our students, parents, teachers and faculty we would not be able to do all the wonderful things that we do for the school and the faculty. This year we raised over $40,000. Congratulations Little
Dragons!

PTA Board 2021-2022

If you have any questions about any aspect of PTA we are all are just a click away via our CES PTA emails.

President	Amanda Cantrell	president@mycespta.org
Past President		pastpresident@mycespta.org
Vice President	Laura Wiseman	vicepresident@mycespta.org
Secretary	Jami Dickens	secretary@mycespta.org
Treasurer	Milly Mount	treasurer@mycespta.org
Parliamentarian	Autumn Freidel	parliamentarian@mycespta.org
Communications	Lindsey Guill	communications@mycespta.org
Community Affairs/Events	Megan Toms	communityaffairs@mycespta.org
Cultural Arts	Cristina Smith	culturalarts@mycespta.org
Dragon Wear	Sarah Hight	dragonwear@mycespta.org
Family Events	Kimberly Allen	familyevents@mycespta.org
Fundraising Events	Andrea McGhee	fundraisingevents@mycespta.org
Fundraising Sponsor	Katie Cockrell	fundraisingsponsor@mycespta.org
Health & Safety	Jaime Halupnik	healthandsafety@mycespta.org
Historian	Candice Busby	historian@mycespta.org
Hospitality	Ashley Wagner	hospitality@mycespta.org
Legislative	Melissa Brown	legislative@mycespta.org
Membership	Beth Prieur	membership@mycespta.org
Parent Involvement	Whitney Thrower	parentinvolvement@mycespta.org
Special Events	Amber Bach	specialevents@mycespta.org
Volunteer Coordinator	Lindsey Tilson	volunteercoordinator@mycespta.org
Member at Large	Brooke McDuffy	N/A
Member at Large	Isabelle Giraldo	N/A
Member at Large	Rachel Davis	N/A
Member at Large	Anne Calderwood	N/A

✏️ Box Tops for Education

Participating in the Collierville Elementary Box Tops program is one of the easiest ways to support CES. All money earned from the Box Tops program goes directly to the school. Small amounts can really add up!

No more clipping! No more sending Box Tops to school. All you need is your phone. Download the new Box Tops app, shop as you normally would, then simply scan your store receipts to find participating products. The app will automatically credit our school’s Box Tops earnings online.

We are so excited to be back with our Little Dragons! We may be in need of volunteers this school year pending school safety measures and health precautions. Should the opportunity arise, please consider sharing some time with us.

If you or someone you know would like to help out, please click the button below to fill out the online form.

Thanks so much!

Click here to Volunteer! 🙋‍♀️

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 CES PTA Membership Form

We need your help. A strong PTA represents involved parents and families who care about their school and their community. Join the PTA today. The cost is $7.00 per membership.

Our goal is 100% membership in PTA, including parents, teachers and any adult who wants CES to be a strong, positive educational experience. The PTA provides many resources that enhance the quality of our students’ education.

You can support CES by buying one or more PTA memberships for each child you have enrolled at CES.

Click the button below to join the PTA today!

Click here to Join! 📈

⭐️ CES PTA Sponsorship Form ⭐️

The Collierville Elementary School PTA works to assist our school in providing our children with quality educational opportunities. For this to be accomplished, the financial assistance of community members is essential to reach our goals. In order to achieve our fundraising goal, we need your help. Contributions from the Collierville business community have been a tremendous value to CES. We kindly ask for your assistance this year to help us meet the educational needs of our children. Any amount you are able to donate is very much appreciated. Help our school! Help your business!

There are four levels of sponsorship available. Click below for more information about how to support CES with your sponsorship today!

Click here to be a sponsor! ⭐️