August – September 2021
Grandparents Day
Students with the last name beginning with A-L
➡︎Thursday September 9 ~ 7:45am
In the CES Cafeteria
Students with the last name beginning with M-Z
➡︎Friday September 10 ~ 7:45am
In the CES Cafeteria
RSVP information coming soon
Important Dates
| Aug 9 | 1st Day for Students |
| Aug 10-12 | Kindergarten Screening |
| Aug 12 | Virtual Back to School Night (1st – 5th grade) |
| Aug 16-19 | Kindergarten Staggered Week |
| Aug 23 | First Day for Kindergarten |
| Aug 23 | Virtual Back to School Night for Kindergarten |
| Sept 6 | Labor Day – NO SCHOOL |
| Sept 9-10 | Grandparents Day |
| Sept 17 | D.E.A.R Day |
| Sept 23 | Parent Conferences |
| Sept 27 | Professional Development Day – NO SCHOOL |
| Sept 30 | CES PTA General Membership Meeting |
| Oct 4-8 | Parent Pal Appreciation Week |
| Oct 6 | Walk to School Day |
| Oct 8 | Dragon Dash Pep Rally |
| Oct 11-15 | Fall Break- NO SCHOOL |
📨 A Note from Mr. Ruiz
Dear Little Dragon Families,
I want to extend a BIG welcome to all of our new and returning families! It is a great honor to be serving as your new principal, and I look forward to working alongside each of you in helping our students thrive here at Collierville Elementary School. It was so wonderful meeting many of you during our Meet the Teacher and Principal day. I am glad our Little Dragons and their families were able to meet their teachers in person this year. We can’t wait to meet all of our students as they come back to school on August 9th!
There are a lot of exciting things in store for this new school year including the opening of our brand-new gym later in the year! We could not be more excited for our students to have access to this new state-of-the-art facility. Construction is underway and the excitement builds as we see progress being made. We are grateful for the many people who made this new gym a reality! We are also excited to open back up our playgrounds for our students to enjoy during recess. One of my favorite past times is playing kickball with my 5th graders at recess time. I hope to get out there and play again with all our Little Dragons!
At CES we know that “Every Dragon Has a Story”. We have students who come from a variety of different cultures and backgrounds. We know that all of our students have so many different talents and gifts; we also recognize that many have faced hardships and challenges. No matter where our students have been, we want all of our students to feel at home at CES. Every Little Dragon has a story that is special and unique, and we celebrate each one of them.
It’s time to open up the doors to the 2021-2022 school year! Welcome back Little Dragons! Let’s have a great year!
Your Principal,
J. Michael Ruiz
✉️ Message from PTA President
Hello Little Dragon Parents & Students –
Welcome back, Little Dragon Families! As you can see from this Dragon Flyer edition, we are again choosing to “go green” by utilizing emails as our way of distributing our newsletter. You can also stay up to date by following the CES PTA facebook page and by downloading the ParentSquare app.
The two big PTA dates for next school year are Dragon Dash on October 29, 2021 and Fair in the Lair on April 23, 2022. These are our two fundraisers for the year, and they fund our budget as well as teacher impact grants. We will also have an opening of the new gym, Donuts with Dragons, and a few other fun things throughout the year.
Dragon Dash….dust off your tennis shoes parents, we invite you to join the Little Dragons as they run 4 laps around the track for our fall fundraiser on October 29th. This fundraiser funds our budget and provides wish list items – – what’s that, you are wondering? Our budget allows the PTA to have events for the students such as Grandparent’s Day, Donuts with Dragons, Memphis in May day, Walk and Bike to school day and many other fun and educational events. Wishlist items are items requested by the school and our principal. A few examples of things we have been able to provide in the past are collaborative learning tables for every classroom, Promethean Boards for most classrooms, restocked grade level recess supplies, and educational learning seminars and conferences for our teachers and staff.
Now that August is here it’s time to renew your PTA memberships. Our goal each year is to have 100% memberships – that means a membership for each student, staff, and faculty member at CES. If you have more than one student at CES please consider purchasing enough memberships to represent each student. Anyone can be a PTA member; parents, students, grandparents, aunts/uncles, and even neighbors. Your membership ensures you will stay connected to the PTA throughout the school year, but I promise we will not hound you for money or volunteering time. The membership roster is how we build our email data base each year. Beth Prieur is our membership chair; drop her an email if you have any questions: membership@mycespta.org.
Speaking of volunteering, we have multiple areas at CES that rely on our loyal and loving volunteers. We need volunteers in the health room, cafeteria, copy room, and library. If you have a few extra hours here or there, please contact Lindsay Tilson at volunteercoordinator@mycespta.org.
2021-22 is going to be a great year for our Little Dragons. Please know I have a great board of volunteers that help make each PTA event a success. They are the behind the scenes brains, creativity, and muscle that pull off an amazing school year for our kids and teachers. If you have any questions about any aspect of PTA we are all just a click away via our CES PTA emails (see the list of officers later in this edition for specific email). Don’t hesitate to drop us an email with a question or concern.
Maroon and White,
Amanda Cantrell
president@mycespta.org
📜 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.
💰 Impact Grants
In 2011, the CES-PTA began the IMPACT Grant Program. IMPACT Grants are awarded to CES faculty every year to provide additional support to CES students. Each year the CES-PTA hosts the annual Fair in the Lair/Book-fair along with all Dragonwear sales to provide funding for the IMPACT program.
Great news! We will be awarding IMPACT Grants to CES faculty totaling $19,425.00. 🎉 These grants will have a profound impact on your students. Thank you for supporting these events and this important initiative at CES.
CES faculty can pick up a reimbursement sheet in the lounge and turn them in to the Treasurer’s PTA box. Please reach out to Milly Mount for more details or any questions. Treasurer@mycespta.org.
Milly Mount
CES-PTA Treasurer 2021-22
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.
👩🏫 Welcome New Little Dragon Faculty and Staff 👨🏫
- Michael Ruiz, Principal
- Luanda Harrold, 3rd Grade
- Sarah Faught, Interim-4th Grade
- Lori Jernigan, 5th Grade
- Hunter Steele, Interim-5th Grade
- Bethany Holland, Counselor
- Staci Jones, ESL
- Tiffany Wuzzardo, Gifted
- Bronwen Kirk, Library
- Lisa Plunkett, Intervention
Transportation Information
Students are allowed on campus beginning at 8:40 a.m. All external doors are locked promptly at 9:00 a.m. After 8:59 a.m. you cannot drop your child off on campus – you must escort your child to the office for check-in. Dismissal will begin promptly at 4:00 p.m. each day. The Little Dragon family wants our students to dismiss as safely as possible. It is going to take some time for our students to get used to dismissing from school while social distancing. As a result, we will need as many staff as possible in the building supporting students as they learn our new procedures. Once our students understand the procedures for a safe dismissal, we will begin to look at how we can modify the way parents pick up their children in order to make dismissal more efficient. We anticipate if changes will be made, they will occur after Labor Day.
Car Riders
Car riders enter and exit in the rear parking lot. Returning families, please continue to use your car rider numbers from last year. New families will were assigned car rider numbers on Orientation Day. The car rider line begins on White Road, turns onto Carruthers, and then turns left on Burrows (see map). You will enter the parking lot from there. There is NO LEFT TURN from White Road or Burrows to Burrows during car rider line. Parents, please DO NOT turn left into the line in the mornings or afternoons. Please proceed down White Road and, if necessary, down Hermitage Trail until you reach the end of the line. Interrupting the line will cause a slow down in the process. PTA volunteers will be out to help direct traffic. During drop-off and pick-up please postpone any phone calls while waiting in the car line. During pick-up we are required to place your child in the back seat. Important change in procedures; CES faculty will signal when it is clear for a child to exit/enter their car. The child will open and close their own car door.
Bus Riders
Bus riders enter an exit at the North side of the building (K-1 Hall).
Walkers / Bike Riders
Walkers/bike riders enter and exit at the end of the building closest to their home, North (K-1 Hall) or South (2-3 Hall). No students should be walking in front of the building on Peterson Lake Road.
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.
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!
