
October – November 2022



National Walk to School Day

Cultural Arts: Reflections Contest

Does your child enjoy art, music, and dance or have an interest in writing, producing films, and taking photos? Then join us and have fun unleashing your inner artist with PTA Reflections! This year’s theme, “Show Your Voice!”, calls for your own unique interpretation through the arts. You can email the PTA Cultural Arts Chair (Cristina Ayala Smith) at culturalarts@mycespta.org to get the submission guidelines and an entry form. For inspiration, visit the Reflections virtual art gallery and learn more about prizes and scholarships at PTA.org/Reflections/Awards.
📨 A Note from Mr. Ruiz
Dear Little Dragon Families,
It’s hard to believe we are wrapping up our first quarter of the school year. We kicked off the 2022-2023 school year with a bang by unveiling our new CES House System! Our goal with the House System is to make every student feel like they are a part of a family here at CES. We have also been teaching our students Dragon Scales in our Friday House Meetings. We want our students to not only receive an exceptional education, but we also want to prepare them for the future by helping them be good citizens. We want our students to be kind, empathetic, generous, and to put others before themselves. We want to develop the kind of manners and soft skills that will help them in relationships and future opportunities. We believe in forging dragons that will serve as future leaders.
The first quarter saw the return of many in-person events from our curriculum nights to our PTA membership meetings. Our 5th graders recently gave an incredible performance that highlighted each individual House. We loved having our grandparents join us for Grandparent’s Day. We also have such a wonderful turnout for our family events, and we feel so blessed to have such a supportive community that is truly invested in our students and their success.
Our teachers are doing incredible things in the classroom to make learning fun and engaging for our students! From classroom transformations and expert hours, our teachers are the best of the best! We are who we are because of the people who have dedicated their time, energy, and love into making this school an amazing place to learn for our students.
We are looking forward to an incredible quarter two with Dragon Dash, Donuts with Dragons, and many other events on the horizon. Thank you for your continuous support of our Little Dragons and for the part you play in making CES the best!
Go Dragons!
-J. Michael Ruiz
House Helper Week: October 3-7

📜 Mission, Vision, & Beliefs
Mission
- At Collierville Elementary School we surround our Little Dragons with love, hold them to high expectations, and engage them in rigorous instruction.
Vision
- At Collierville Elementary School we will forge Little Dragons who demonstrate strong character, a love for learning, and serve as future leaders.
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.
Red Ribbon Week: October 24-28
More info coming soon!
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.

Dragon Dash
October 28, 2022
🐉 Parents are welcome to come!
🐉 More information will come home in your students Wednesday folder.
PTA Board 2022-2023
If you have any questions about any aspect of PTA, we are all are just a click away via our CES PTA emails.
President | Laura Wiseman | president@mycespta.org |
Past President | Milly Mount | pastpresident@mycespta.org |
Vice President | Amanda Cantrell | vicepresident@mycespta.org |
Secretary | Lindsey Guill | secretary@mycespta.org |
Treasurer | Heather Summers | treasurer@mycespta.org |
Parliamentarian | Lindsay Tilson | parliamentarian@mycespta.org |
Communications | Alyssa Martin | communications@mycespta.org |
Community Affairs/Events | Andrea McGhee | communityaffairs@mycespta.org |
Cultural Arts | Cristina Ayala Smith | culturalarts@mycespta.org |
Dragon Wear | Brittany Streger | dragonwear@mycespta.org |
Family Events | Autumn Friedel | familyevents@mycespta.org |
Fundraising Events | Jamie Halupnik/ Michelle Lamansky | fundraisingevents@mycespta.org |
Fundraising Sponsor | Katie Cockrell | fundraisingsponsor@mycespta.org |
Health & Safety | Sarah Hight | healthandsafety@mycespta.org |
Historian | Emily Pinner | historian@mycespta.org |
Hospitality | Jala Walker | hospitality@mycespta.org |
Legislative | Gina Johnson | legislative@mycespta.org |
Membership | Milly Mount | membership@mycespta.org |
Parent Involvement | Lydia Farmer | parentinvolvement@mycespta.org |
Special Events | Amber Bach | specialevents@mycespta.org |
Volunteer Coordinator | Tenoria West | volunteercoordinator@mycespta.org |
Member at Large | Whitney Thrower | N/A |
Member at Large | Ashley Wagner | N/A |
Member at Large | Beth Prieur | N/A |
Member at Large | 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.
CES-PTA Volunteer Opportunity

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!
👨👩👧👧 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!
⭐️ 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!
A DRAGON sized THANK YOU to our Sponsors!
Platinum
- 901 Floors
- Republic Roofing and Restoration
- Maureen Fraser with John Green & Co Realtors
- American Veterans Restoration
- M&M Roofing, LLC
Gold
- Patriot Mortgage
- STIX
- Ginny Mount School of Dance
- Collierville First Baptist Church
- Your Window Guy
- Collierville Vision Center
- Joyce McKenzie with Crye-Leike Realtors
- Campbell Clinic
- Choate’s HVAC & Plumbing
- Bricks & Minifigs
Silver
- Firehouse Subs
Bronze
- Saddle Creek Orthodontics
- Brad & Keri Blair
- Urgent Care for Children