February – March 2022

What’s Inside?

A Note from Mr. Ruiz
Message from PTA President
Fair in the Lair
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

Feb 21	President’s Day -NO SCHOOL
Feb 24	Parent Conferences 4:15-7:15
Mar 4	Community Reader Day
Mar 7-11	Teacher Appreciation Week
Mar 14-18	Spring Break- NO SCHOOL
Mar 24-25	Donuts with Dragons
Apr 1	Professional Development Day- NO SCHOOL

Apr 13	Spring Clean Up Day
Apr 15	Good Friday- NO SCHOOL
Apr 21	General Membership Meeting @ 6:30pm in the CES GYM
Apr 23	FAIR IN THE LAIR

📨 A Note from Mr. Ruiz

Dear Little Dragon Families,

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season with their loved ones. Thank you to all our families for making our first semester so fantastic. We are grateful for the Little Dragon community and know that you all are a big part of why CES is such a great place to be! We are looking forward to all the amazing things scheduled for semester 2 including the opening of our brand-new gym in April!

We are kicking off February with Black History Month. Our students will be studying some of the prominent African Americans who helped shape our country. Our LAMPS classes will also be getting involved. In Library, we will have African American speakers come and talk about their careers. K-2 will also do an author study. In music, students will learn African American songs. Students will be studying African American artists in art class and learn about athletes in PE. In STEM, students will be learning about African American engineers and inventors. We are excited for our students to learn about the many African Americans who have contributed to our country.

We are also placing an emphasis on kindness in February by kicking off Kindness Month. We believe that it is important for our students to not only be strong academically but also be upstanding citizens. Our students will have a daily quote to help them focus on kindness. They will also be given daily challenges where they can demonstrate kindness to others. Students caught being kind will also earn kindness tickets that will be entered into a drawing for fun prizes. We hope the activities this month encourage our students to always remember to be kind.

Here are some upcoming important dates:

February 24^th – Parent/Teacher conferences (4:15 – 7:15)

March 3^rd – Our 5^th graders visit CMS and WCMS (9:00 – 11:00)

March 4^th – Community Reader Day

March 7-11 – CASE Spring Benchmark

March 24 – 25 – Donuts with Dragons

We are looking forward to a great 2^nd semester! Please reach out if I can ever be of assistance to you.

All the best,

Michael Ruiz

✉️ Message from PTA President

Hello Little Dragon Family and students –

February is a month usually dedicated to LOVE!

Stop and think about why you LOVE that your child is a Little Dragon.

I love the dedicated teachers & staff that go above and beyond for our children in the classroom on a daily basis;
I love the technology that we have at our fingertips to help the Little Dragons learn daily;
I love our building. I love the amazing murals painted on the walls by our talented art teachers, the history that is in the walls, and the new gym that will be completed VERY soon;
The PTA – for the hardworking board members who organize generous donations from families and community members and are able to provide opportunities to the Little Dragons such as Community Reader day, Memphis in May day, Teacher Treat Carts, Reflections contest, Citizenship essay competition, Teacher meals during Teacher Appreciation Week and conference night, and class t-shirts for all of our students).

I challenge you to think of why you LOVE that your child is a Little Dragon. The next time someone asks what school your child attends, follow up with one of your reasons why.

Ask your Little Dragon why they LOVE being a Little Dragon. You never know what they may say…maybe it’s pizza day, maybe it’s recess on the soccer field, maybe it’s Mr. Finley’s unicorn hat.

We are looking forward to a fun second semester! Fair in the Lair will be held April 23. Be on the lookout for more information coming home soon! As always, we send information through our facebook page and Parent Square.

Maroon and White,

Amanda Cantrell
president@mycespta.org

Fair In The Lair

Save the Date: April 23, 2022 10:00am-2:00pm

Please consider donating items for the silent auction!

Have a nomination for the PTA for 2022-2023?

Click the link below to print a nomination form.
https://mycesptaorg.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/copy-of-execcommnominform.pdf

📜 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.

🐝 Spelling Bee Representatives 🐝

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.

Click here to Volunteer! 🙋‍♀️

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!

Donuts with Dragons

Students with the last name beginning with A-L
➡︎Thursday March 24 ~ 7:45am
At the CES football fields

Students with the last name beginning with M-Z
➡︎Friday March 25 ~ 7:45am
At the CES football fields

Every Little Dragon is welcome to bring ONE special adult to Donuts with Dragons

RSVP information coming soon

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 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! ⭐️