Date: Wednesday – August 14, 2013

Important Messages from The Cottage School are attached. Please sign this form indicating their receipt and return to the school

with your student tomorrow. Thank You!!

Parent Signature________________________________________

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August 14, 2013

Wednesday Packet

Important Dates/Information

PAC Parent and Family Social – Thursday, August 15th – 5:30-7:00 PM in The Cougar Center RSVP to Sandy at sandym@cottageschool.org or 678-250-5102

Assistive Technology Training – Tuesday, August 20th – 5:30-6:30 PM in the Media Center Summer Reading Logs Due – Thursday, August 22nd

Celebrity Scooper Night at Bruster’s – Thursday, August 29th – 5:30-7:30 PM Labor Day Holiday – Monday, September 2nd

Academic Open House – Monday, September 9th – 6:00-7:25 PM – Details in Future Packets Fall Sports Picture Day – Monday, September 16th

TCS Night at CiCi’s Pizza – Wednesday, September 18th – Save the Date Teacher Work Day – Friday, September 20th – No School Underclassmen Picture Day – Monday, September 30th

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Happy New Year!! A New School Year, at least! I cannot find the words to describe how excited we all are about the 2013-2014 school year and all it promises to deliver! Our full staff is an exciting blend of veterans and rookies…bringing wisdom and fresh energy into the mix. The pre-planning days have been filled with new ideas, partnerships, goal setting and enthusiasm! We are more than ready!! There have been some changes in the administrative staff, so please check your Policy and Procedure Manual to see the staff listings. We want to efficiently direct your questions and suggestions so we address them in a timely manner. We will be making a few high school room changes when we have the new addition complete, hopefully in October. This is definitely a year of expansion…for our staff, facilities and students! Every student has plans to expand their horizons and we plan to see that they do! As we begin this year we will be informing you of calendar events, new projects, ways you can help the school grow, opportunities for our students and successes along the way. We hope to see you at the social tomorrow night and on many occasions throughout the year. Your PAC team has planned a year of informative and fun activities that will inform and engage without stretching your calendar too much. We serve families from over 10 counties so we are aware that running back and forth from school is not an option for many of our parents. We will let you know ahead of time so you can make the necessary plans for you to participate in our community. This is not just an opportunity for your teen but for you and your family, as well.

The beginning of a new year is always stressful. Every player in this process has anxieties about the quality of the experience, the expectations set and the value of the outcomes. Whether it is a returning student or a rookie, nerves are on edge for the first few weeks as the students, staff and parents find their place in the new year. You can help your teen’s experience be smooth and positive by following a few suggestions. First, communicate with your homeroom teacher often, especially in the beginning. Those conversations will enable you to give the staff the information they need to interact authentically with your teen and create a communication pathway that will allow you to trust that the school is doing its job. Second, listen to your child’s stories without giving in to the temptation to play “twenty questions” or to react to their perceptions of problems or injustices. Some teens do not communicate easily and the pressure to provide details of their day creates another layer of angst. In addition, students who have been in an environment of intimidation and distrust may take time to let that filter be replaced with one of respect and trust. They may misconstrue situations for the first few weeks out of habit….let the homeroom teacher or principal know immediately what is being perceived and we can determine if, in fact, we need to intervene or we need to work with the student on looking for more positive outcomes. Third, be sure you tackle the bad habits of summer (late night bedtimes, late morning wake up, poor morning meal, frantic morning routine) and promote the calm and healthy start of the day that promotes success. Our experience is that these young folks do not function well when they are tired and hungry. In order to make the most of each day they must be ready to perform in every class. Fourth, make contact with your peers….in the carpool line, at school events, so you feel like you belong, as well. It is not helpful to complain to each other about something you have not brought to the school’s attention, but having a relaxed conversation about how your child is doing this year and sharing information about upcoming school events can be a real blessing. We are glad you are part of our team!!

SEE YOU AT THE PAC SOCIAL

August 14, 2013

Jacque’s Note

Please strive to call the

appropriate number according to

the school you are trying to reach.

To reach the Middle School

please call:

770-640-8037

To reach the High School

please call:

770-641-8688

The TCS Advancement Angle

News you can use to help raise money for The Cottage School

Be a winner for The Cottage

School-Participate in Georgia

Goal!

Georgia Goal is an opportunity for individual

and corporate state tax payers to designate

some of their tax liability to eligible Georgia

schools, to use towards scholarship needs.

Last year, $58 million dollars was earmarked

and claimed by April. Reserve your space

now for your 2014 tax credit-as funds are

expected to run out by mid-March! Click

here for more information!

Mark Your Calendars!

August 29th @ 5:30pm

Celebrity Scooper Night at Bruster’s Roswell!

Get the scoop from your favorite TCS teacher

and a percentage of the proceeds goes back

to the school!

Partners in Education

The following businesses offer easy ways

for you to raise money for the school while

you go about your day!

Use your Publix Partner card every time you

shop at Publix. If you don’t have one, stop by the

office!

Target Redcard members can

select The Cottage School as

your school of choice and

receive 1% back on purchases!

Do your shopping through our

Dollars for Schools Program link found here!

Georgia Natural Gas

customers can partici-

pate in True Blue

Schools where GNS

will donate $5 every

month to your school

just for paying your

natural gas bill.

Collect and drop off!

For more information about the programs

above or ways you can help raise money for

The Cottage School, please contact the

Advancement Office.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY TRAINING SESSION

When: Tuesday, August 20 @ 5:30 PM-6:30 PM

Where: Media Center

What: Assistive Technology Training Session

Note: This training will present the same information as previous

trainings

Who: Middle School and High School parents and students who use or

want to use assistive software, either at home or on campus. This

information will be the same as the previous trainings held last year,

so sign up only if:

A) you’ve not attended a training yet and want to learn, or

B) you want or need a refresher.

Why: As part of the TCS community, you have access to powerful software

tools that will take what’s on the computer screen and read it out

loud. You can also use programs that will let you type answers to

worksheets.

However, we all get frustrated with new programs when we don’t

know what the buttons do. So, come to the training, learn what the

buttons do, and use the programs to improve your understanding of

textbooks, handouts, and webpages, and to make filling in the blanks

on worksheets easier.

How do I RSVP?

E-mail Nathan Edwards:

nathane@cottageschool.org

The Cottage School

This year’s TCS Summer Reading Program was all about CHOICE!

ALL READING LOGS ARE DUE BY THURSDAY, AUGUST 22ND.

RETURN THEM TO YOUR LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER.

If you still need to log your reading time, please use one of the links below: http://www.k12reader.com/reading-logs/RL-RdgTime-Plain.pdf http://www.rsu23.org/RSU_23_School_Department/lms_titleone/LMS_Title_One/Reading_Logs_files/akorn_reading_log.pdf

AND FROM THE COTTAGE SCHOOL For each minute you read, you will receive a TCS point. Earn points to spend at

the Summer Reading Store, opening in August. To receive an EXTRA 50 POINTS per book, complete the Response to Literature that follows.

RESPONSE TO LITERATURE Select one question from each level and respond on a separate piece of paper.

Check your grammar and spelling.

Student NAME______________________________________________________________

BOOK TITLE________________________________________________________________

AUTHOR___________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ LEVEL 1 Basic Stated Information

The narrator is…

The setting is…

The protagonist is… _____________________________________________________________________________ LEVEL 2 Key Details

The event that gets the story moving is…

The event that complicates the story is…

An important thing to remember about the protagonist (hero) is… _____________________________________________________________________________ LEVEL 3 Stated Relationships

One event that reminds the character of another is…

The relationship between _____ and _____ is …

The character claims that _____ happened because of _____. _____________________________________________________________________________ LEVEL 4 Simple Implied Relationships

When the character says _________, it suggests…

When the character does ________, it suggests…

This detail (name this “detail”) is a symbol of ________ because… _____________________________________________________________________________ LEVEL 5 Complex Implied Relationships

The changes (in character, setting, or situation) since the beginning of the story have been caused by…

The character has changed from __________ to ___________.

The 2 characters (name them) are similar/different throughout the story because… _____________________________________________________________________________ LEVEL 6 Author’s Generalizations

The problem in the world that the author is focusing on is… The author suggests that when people _________, then the result is…

How to Download Premier Tools at Home!

Good for Windows AND Mountain Lion!

Go to this website: http://www.premierathome.com/

Username: cottagesch

Password: access

Click “Start Downloading”

From there,

just follow the instructions on the installation wizard.

Click “Literacy Productivity Pack”

Click OK

Click Run

MS August Activities

DATE TIME Activity RAIN-

OUT

TCS$ Things to bring

Friday

8/16

8:15

10:00

12:00

12:45

2:40

Levels

HR Activity

Lunch-HOT DOGS

Team Building

Homeroom

Academics

$156.40

$165.60

We will be providing Hot Dogs

for all students. Please send a

lunch if your child does not eat

hot dogs or has food allergies.

Friday

8/23

8:15

10:00

12:00

12:45

2:40

Levels

Club Introduction

Lunch

Complete HR Activity

Homeroom

Academics

$156.40

$165.60

Friday

Off Campus

8/30

8:15

10:00

12:00

12:45

2:40

Levels

Atlanta Zoo

Lunch

Atlanta Zoo

Homeroom

$160.08

All students going off campus

must bring a sack lunch unless

pre-ordered through the lunch

program. There will not be

microwaves.

Friday

On Campus

8/30

8:15

10:00

12:00

12:45

2:40

Levels

Kickball Tournament

Lunch

Kickball Tournament

Homeroom

$156.40

Academics

8/30

8:15

10:00

12:00

12:45

2:40

Levels

Academics

Lunch

Academics

Homeroom

$165.60 Academic Materials

*Remember to bring an

independent reading book if

you complete your work early

HS August Activities

DATE TIME Activity RAIN-OUT TCS$ Things to bring/U.S. $

Friday

8/16

Clubs Club Materials!

Friday

8/23

Academics

8:15

10:00

12:00

12:45

2:40

Levels

Academics

Lunch

Academics

Homeroom

$336.89

Academic material to

complete work and

spare reading

materials, if you will be

in academics

all day!

Off-

Campus

10:00-

2:00

Golf at

Steel Canyon

Golf Club

$326.03 Appropriate Shorts to

change into, water

bottle, and money for

lunch

On-

Campus

10:00

12:00

12:45

2:40

Board Games

Lunch

Games2U

Homeroom

$315.16

Friday

8/30

Clubs Club Materials!

ATTENTION: Sophomores & Juniors… (and interested Freshmen)

Sign up to take the PSAT

Please note that the deadline to apply for accommodations for

the PSAT is August 25th (College Board must receive the

paperwork by August 28th) unless you already have approved

accommodations through The College Board.

**Please send a check for $24 made out to The Cottage School

by October 11, 2013 to reserve your spot!

When: PSAT on Sat. October 19, 2013, 8:00-10:30 a.m. at TCS

Taking the PSAT is important because it not only prepares you

for the SAT, but if you are graduating in 2015 it also qualifies

you to be entered into The National Merit Scholarship Program.

You could be chosen to receive a scholarship for college based

on your scores!

Please RSVP for this test at

678-250-5113 or KristenB@cottageschool.org

ATTENTION: Juniors and Seniors!! Sign up to take the

ACT FALL DATES AND DEADLINES

TCS Deadline ACT Test Window

August 21 September 21 – October 13

September 25 October 26 – November 17

**TCS Deadline must be met if applying for accommodations

to receive extended time and testing over multiple days.

** The ACT is a college entrance achievement test accepted by

all 4-year colleges.

**All Juniors are strongly encouraged to take the ACT so that

there is adequate time to improve scores

For more information, questions or concerns, please contact Kristen Bell, Academic Counselor, at KristenB@cottageschool.org or

678-250-5113