Teya Cotter - Principal
tcotter@rockfordschools.org
Address: 4894 Sturgis St., Rockford, MI 49341
Website: www.rockfordschools.org
Phone: (616) 863-6344
Fax: (616) 863-6357
Important Dates
- February 13 Valentines Parties
- February 14 No School - Mid-Winter Break
- February 17 No School Mid-Winter Break
- February 21 Popcorn Day
- February 24 Fund$ for Friend$ - The Score
- February 25 Conferences
- February 25 Book Fair Family Night
- February 27 Conferences
Early Release Days
- February 26
- March 12
- March 26
- April 23
- May 7
Students will eat lunch at school and dismissal will be at 1:30 pm on those days. Please plan ahead for transportation changes.
announcements
Cannonsburg Family Teacher Conferences
SIGN-UP FOR THE YOUR CHILD'S CONFERENCE
February 25 & 27
Dear Cannonsburg Families,
We are looking forward to conferences on February 25th and 27th. We will be hosting in-person conferences for both days this spring from 4:30-7:30pm. Please reach out directly to your child's teacher(s) if you need to set up a virtual meeting/phone call. On Wednesday, February 25th, we will be hosting our Scholastic Book Fair from 3:30-7:30pm for families to stop in and do some shopping after school hours.
To schedule a conference with your child's teacher, please view the link below:
After filling out your information, you will be able to choose your child's teacher and a time that works for you. You can go through this for each of your children. Due to time allowance, only one conference per family/student is offered.
An email confirmation with your conference time and date will be sent to you. You can also scan this QR code below and the follow it's instructions:
We look forward to meeting with you to celebrate the growth your child has made this year and share other opportunities for continued growth.
Sincerely,
Teya Cotter, Principal & Cannonsburg Staff
Newsletter Dates
All future newsletters will be featured on the new Rockford website. There will be a new biweekly schedule for elementary schools. All newsletters will be posted by 4pm on the following days:
February 7, February 21, March 7, March 21, April 2 - optional, April 18, May 2, May 16, May 30.
A link will be sent out through Family Access to help families navigate the new schedule.
Super U! Challenge Assembly
Students will learn they have the power to:
- choose their own words and actions
- give respect to get respect
- show kindness
- build trust between friends, classmates, teachers & family
- break down trust
- joke around and stop immediately if asked to stop
- tell others how they feel
Kids have rights
Dear Parents and Guardians,
The Children’s Advocacy Center of Kent County offers the body safety program, Kids Have Rights®, to students in kindergarten through 4th grade throughout Kent County. The Kids Have Rights® curriculum incorporates information on:
- The body safety “rights” all kids have.
- Identification of Safe Adults in a child’s life they can go to if they need help.
- Recognition of touches and situations that may be/are unsafe.
- Reporting unsafe/potentially unsafe touches and situations to a Safe Adult.
The Kids Have Rights® classroom lessons are led by staff of the Children’s Advocacy Center. These lessons provide engaging, child-centered, and age-appropriate body safety knowledge for children.
- Kindergarten and 1st-grade students participate in a 30-minute program that combines movement with learning. They identify safe adults in their lives and start to differentiate touches that are “Safe” from touches that are “Not Safe”.
- 2nd graders watch a 3-minute video about the body safety rights kids have and complete a take-home activity identifying their “network” of safe adults. Students gain a deeper understanding of the three different kinds of touch, as well as the importance of seeking help from a Safe Adult as needed.
- 3rd grade lesson begins with a review of the Body Safety Rights video, and identification of those making up their Safe Adult Network. Students watch a two short vignettes, providing a model of how to have these important conversations w/ Safe Adults re: feelings and unsure/unsafe touches. KHR Educators facilitate important discussion with the students, highlighting key concepts and skills in the stories they viewed.
- 4th grade students expand their knowledge on the “rights” all kids have by watching a 3-minute video on their “Rights and Responsibilities”. Students begin to explore the responsibility they have in helping ensure that they act in ways that are respectful of the rights of others. Students review Safe Adults, different types of touch, and begin applying their learning and practicing their skills using role playing and navigating hypothetical situations. Students watch a 5-minute video followed by a discussion highlighting the key concepts observed in the story viewed.
On the day of your child’s classroom lesson, a Kids Have Rights® brochure for parents and caregivers will come home with information on body safety education and prevention. In the weeks following the initial lesson, your child will bring home three activity pages completed in class to help reinforce learning and encourage conversation around this topic. Please review these with your child, read the information on the back, and complete the parent/child activity.
Lastly, we thank you in advance for taking time to complete our parent/caregiver evaluation that will be sent home following the completion of the body safety unit. We value and appreciate your partnership and feedback!
If you would like your child excluded from the program please contact your child’s school.
If you have any questions, please contact your child’s school, or visit our website for more information:
Spelling Bee Winners
Congratulations to Linneah Mitra for 1st Place and Emilia Osburn for 2nd Place!
full steam ahead
STEAM News for February:
We are full STEAM ahead in 2025! Students have continued their learning of robotics and coding. DK-2 students have been using the Sphero Indi Robots to code with colors. 3-5 students began block coding using the Sphero Bolt.
We began our journey into kinesthetic LEGO builds with our BricQ and LEGO STEAM Park kits. Students will have second building opportunity in the near future as well.
Students will have another opportunity to practice their Engineering Design Skills with our next round of Makerspace. Each grade level will be presented with a build challenge that will extend their recent learning in their CKLA curriculum. Please consider sending in a few donations to replenish our Makerspace carts throughout the week.
SAP
Access support today!
Say “I have a SAP with Rockford Public Schools” when you call 800.442.0809 and press “1.” Every RPS family member in your household is eligible. The Rockford Education Foundation (REF) has proudly partnered with Rockford Public Schools to provide expert counseling, therapy, and resources through Pine Rest’s School Assistance Program (SAP).
GRASP
GRASP is a correspondence program for students in Kindergarten through 8th grades which helps students maintain reading and math skills while they are on summer break. The fees for the summer of 2025 are $26 for one subject or $48 for both subjects for each student. You can enroll your student for the book version (grades K-8) or the optional online version (grades 4-8) by completing the registration and payment online.
cold and flu season guide
As many of you are already aware, there has been an increase of illness in our community. To help prevent the spread of illness, including influenza, we would like to partner with you. Please remind your children to wash their hands frequently and cover their mouths when coughing. The question frequently comes up of when to keep a child home from school. Listed below are guidelines for the Rockford Public Schools.
A child should stay home from school and their physician should be consulted if he/she has any of the following symptoms:
- A temperature of 100.4 or greater
- Green or yellow discharge from nose or eyes
- Vomiting or diarrhea
- Cough or sore throat lasting longer than two days
- Rashes or eruptions
- Breathing difficulties
- Any other medical concern
Students should remain at home until symptom or fever free for 24 hours without the use of medication. If student has been seen by a physician, and they have been deemed not contagious, a physician’s note must be provided to the school indicating such in order for the student to return to class. As always, the best way to reduce your and your students’ risk of infection is to practice good hand-hygiene.
save the date for the taste!
The Rockford Education Foundation is hosting their annual spring gala – The Taste. This event highlights the great work that the Rockford Education Foundation does as a partner with our district. If you can participate in this event on March 6, we would encourage you to make your plans now. Information can be found on the Rockford Education Foundation website: Home : Rockford Education Foundation
Cannonsburg Elementary PTC Updates
PTC Meeting 2/11/25
The PTC would like to offer a Virtual Option for the Meeting tonight. In the past there has been trouble with connectivity issues at the school. Please keep that in mind when trying to connect at home. If we are unable to connect, the minutes will be available later this week so everyone can be kept up to date!
During the meeting, please hold all questions until the end. We will try to save time to answer all questions, if we run out of time you can post your questions in the chat function, and we will provide answers in minutes.
Volunteering
For those interested in VOLUNTEERING at Cannonsburg Elementary School, remember to fill out the volunteer contact form and background check. This must be completed every year. Thank you for your support!
Meeting Dates for 2024-25 School Year
Join us during our quarterly meetings to stay up to date on events!
Art Room: 7pm - 8pm
- February 11, 2025
- April 15, 2025
Meet the Team!
- President: Liz Wardell
- Vice President: Audrey Sarantos
- Treasurer: Nicole Oeltjen
- Secretary: Wendy Hahn
- Trustee: Kara Leaver
We are here for you!
PTCBurg@gmail.com
ENROLLMENT OPENS 2/13/2025
Enrollment for the 2025/2026 school year opens February 13th. Children who turn five years old on or before December 1, 2025 are eligible to enroll for the 2025/2026 school year.
reminders
Office Reminders
Student Absences
Absences MUST be called into the office 616.863.6344 or emailed to the front office - sweisman@rockfordschools.org
Please leave a message on our general voicemail box if you are calling after hours. Whether you are reporting an absence on our voicemail or speaking with Shelley or Nicole we need to know the following things:
- Student's name
- Reason for Absence - if it is an illness we need to know the symptoms of the illness - vomiting, coughing, fever, cold, diarrhea, lice - whatever the reason may be
Pick-Up Reminders
- Please put orange signs in the passenger dashboard
- Kindergarten parents park & line-up on the sidewalk near parking lot. Older siblings will walk down and cross with the Kindergarten students
- Call the office by 2:30 or email Nicole at ncurtis@rockfordschools.org if you have changes in the your after school arrangements
Label Everything
The fall weather will be approaching soon and students will be dressing in layers, which means our lost and found will be growing. To avoid your students clothing from going into the lost and found PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING!!! Label all hoodies, coats, water bottles, lunch boxes, etc. You can label the items with initials, just last name, full name, etc. Labeling items will ensure they will back it back home!
Health Room Information
Call the office for all illness related absences. Your students needs to be Fever Free (without medication) and stomach Illness (vomit) Free 24 hours before returning to school.
If your student is in need of medication during the school day, please refer to the attached link below. Nursing services has all the required documentation. A physician signature and parent signature are required for all distributed medications.
Medications Taken at School
All medication, including over the counter medication, must have a signed doctor's note in the office before office staff can give medication to your child.
If your child:
- Has an EpiPen we need a FARE - Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan filled out by the doctor.
- Has asthma we need an Asthma Action plan filled out by the doctor.
- Has seizures we need a seizure care plan filled out by the doctor.
Food service
Lunch IS FREE this year. Although lunches are free for the 24-25 school year, many services to students and funding, in general, derive from Free and Reduced Lunch applications. Please click on "Apply for Benefits" and complete it by the end of September.
If your child brings a cold lunch and would like to purchase milk only will cost $.55.
Lunch information can be found by clicking HERE. Our Food Service page has the Menu for the month, how to add money to your student's lunch account, and the application for Free and Reduced lunch.
Daily Student Schedule
The Power of US
