27488 Pichon Road

Lacombe, LA

985-882-7541

Fax-985-882-

Smoke Signals Quarter 2~17/18

Chahta-Ima Elementary

Important Dates January

1/3-School Resumes

1/5-MLK Contest Entries Due

1/9-Report Cards Go Home

1/12-First Grade Field Trip to Play

1/15-MLK Day-No School

1/26-Fish Fest

Looking to February… 2/1-Interim Reports Go Home

2/2-Black History Performance

1:30-2:30 in the Gym

2/6-Parent Family Event for First Grade

2/9-Safe Harbor District Fund Raiser,

Donate $1 and Wear Jeans

2/9-Mardi Gras Parade 1:30-2:30

2/12-2/16-Mardi Gras Holiday

2/23-Fish Fest

Looking to March… 3/8-End of Third Nine Weeks

3/9-No School for Students/Staff

Professional Day

3/13-Math and Literacy Family Learning

Night, 6-8 PM

Principal’s Message Dear CIE Family, We hope that our families had a safe, fun-filled, and relaxing Thanksgiving Holiday. We have so many things to be thankful for at CIE. First of all, we are thankful for our children and the families of our children. The students of CIE make us proud and grateful to be a part of their lives each and every day! Their smiles, accomplishments, and personalities warm our hearts. So, all of us at CIE thank you for instilling us with the greatest gift of all – your children! The first quarter was very eventful. It was filled with learning, field trips, Parent Family Events (PFE), Veteran’s Day, holiday concerts, and so much more. When we return from the holiday, your child’s first semester report card will be sent home. Please review this carefully with your child and commend him/her for his/her efforts. The third nine weeks will begin as well, so please continue to be involved in your child’s education, as it is so important. The second semester will be equally as eventful. There are many ways to keep abreast of all of the upcoming events. First of all, a Partnership Calendar is sent home each month. This calendar outlines all of the events happening at CIE for the month. Additionally, teachers send home weekly newsletters that inform you of weekly classroom events. Both the classroom newsletters and Partnership Calendars can also be found on the CIE’s website. One of the big events coming up is the Black History Performance on February 2nd. The students do an incredible job spotlighting black history through song, movement, and a variety of performances. Also, the First Grade Parent Family Event is on February 6th. We hope to see many of you join us and visit the classroom during the school day. Finally, on March 13th, we will be hosting our Title I Math and Literacy Family Learning Night from 6:00-8:00 PM. This is an evening filled with engaging learning events for the entire family. A delicious dinner will also be provided at Café Chahta. Additionally, there will be some wonderful guests on board that will also join us for the evening. So, mark your calendars and plan on bringing the entire family to CIE for this great evening. Again, thank you for your support, dedication, and most of all – your children! We wish you a happy New Year and a wonderful second semester at CIE. Sincerely, Gary Marlbrough

CIE PTA 2017-2018 President – Katrina Stigler

Co-President - Sherry Marrero

Smoke Signals Page 2

Mr. Marlbrough, Principal of the Year

Every morning when children step off

of the bus or make their way down the hall

from carline, they see Mr. Marlbrough. And

although they all know him as the principal,

they also know him as the one who is always

there for them. They may come to him for a

fist bump, a hug, or just his contagious warm

smile, and they know, whatever they come to

him for, he’s there for them. If you talk to

Mr. Marlbrough, he will tell you that starting

the day by getting to see and greet all of the

students of CIE is by far one of his favorite

things to do.

It’s very important for a principal to

lead by example, and that is exactly what Mr.

Marlbrough does. He is always kind,

respectful, dedicated, and compassionate,

leading everyone to follow his lead. For this

reason, among many others, Mr. Marlbrough is

St. Tammany’s Principal of the Year,

Elementary Division. This is the second time

Mr. Marlbrough has been honored with this

distinction. It’s obvious that he is very

deserving of this achievement, and we could

not be any prouder of him!

On October 13th, the Principals of the

Year were celebrated at the School Board

Meeting. There were many of CIE’s family

members present, showing their tremendous

support for Mr. Marlbrough. Superintendent

Trey Folse said, “We are proud to have these

deserving teachers and school leaders

represent our School System and community.

They are dedicated educators who go above

and beyond to make a difference in their

schools and to help their students to be

successful.”

Mr. Marlbrough, Principal of the Year,

Principal of CIE, always warms our hearts with

the positive differences he makes. His heart

is as big as the differences he makes.

Mr. Marlbrough is pictured here with

the other Principals of the Year, Mr.

Morris, principal of BLMS, and Mr.

Monson, principal of Lakeshore High

School. Also pictured to the left of Mrs. Giewat is Chahta-Ima’s Teacher of the Year! Great teachers also do whatever it takes to make a

difference in their students’ lives, and Mrs. Giewat, CIE’s

Teacher of the Year, does just this - positively impacting her

students’ lives all of the time. She is a Pre-K teacher, who

places high expectations on her children, giving them the

tools and motivation needed to meet, or even surpass these

expectations. She is caring and passionate and does

whatever it takes to make sure the needs of her students are

being met. Mrs. Giewat is also team player, and is here for

her CIE family. We are so proud of Mrs. Giewat!

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Title I Parent Family Events What better way to answer the

question, “How was your day at school?” then

to actually find out first hand. Pre-K,

kindergarten, and second grade have already

had families visit their classrooms during the

school day at Title I Parent Family Events

(PFE). Families engaged in academics with the

students and found out exactly what a day at

school is like.

Students were so excited to have their

families participate in the classroom and join

in on the learning. There were math scoots

and interactive learning stations, in which

everyone was actively involved. Also, in joining

children at school and participating in

learning, the same learning can be extended

at home. Families always leave Parent Family

Events (PFE) with helpful handouts that allow

for learning involvement at home.

After visiting the classroom, many of

the family members visit Chahta Café for a

delicious lunch. So, after attending a PFE,

families know the answer to that question,

which is… “School was great!”

Science and “Teacher for the Day”

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Welcome, New CIE TEAM Members!

Shannon Marange

First And

Second Grade Co-Teacher

Elisee Roberts School Secretary

Te`Quina Jones School Counselor

Anthony Barbin

Assistant Head Custodian

We are so elated to have a full-time counselor at our school, and we’re even more elated to have Ms. Jones join our family. She is already making a tremendous impact on our children at CIE, and the staff is equally as excited to welcome her to the TEAM! Ms. Jones is a proud graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University with a B.A. in Psychology and a M.Ed. in Counseling. She is also a Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Board Certified

Mrs. Marange joined us last year, taking Ms. Wahlen’ class while she was with her new baby. We are so happy that Mrs. Marange is with us again, co-teaching first and second grades. This is her 6th year of teaching, and she has a true passion for teaching children and loves watching them grow each year. She was born and raised in Mandeville. Mrs. Marange attended schools in St. Tammany Parish and graduated from Mandeville High School. Later, she graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. What a great TEAM player and what a great addition to our family!

Elisee Roberts may be new to the position of CIE’s secretary, but she is not new to our school. First of all, Ms. Roberts was a student at CIE. She also worked as a Para last year and has been with 21st Century for several years, and its secretary for five years. She’s a natural when it comes to being our secretary because well, let’s just say, it runs in the family! She is Lucinda’s daughter, and we are ecstatic to have her follow in her footsteps. If you ever want a workout, just watch Elisee and Joan in action in the office! Talk about multi-tasking,,, It’s fairly common to see Elisee answering the phones, applying ice to a “boo boo” while providing comfort, and making and sorting copies for the entire school, and yes, all occurring simultaneously! We are so happy to have her on our TEAM!

Mr. Anthony is our newest team member, and is the assistant custodian. We are so excited to have him join our CIE family. Mr. Anthony has great work ethic, which also matches his great attitude. He thoroughly enjoys keeping our grounds impeccable, so you may see him riding on the lawn mower or geared up with a weed eater or yard blower. Mr. Anthony is very warm and caring. In fact, he just became a brand new dad to a baby boy and is certainly exemplifying just how tremendously caring he is, along with being proud, of course! We would like to give Mr. Anthony a warm welcome to our CIE TEAM and family, just as he is welcoming his new bundle of joy to

Smoke Signals Page 5

PTA Safety Drawing Contest Our PTA promoted students to

participate in the Safety Drawing Program. The

students designed a poster that centered on the

theme, “Remain Safe with Animals”. Mrs. Estepp,

our incredible art teacher helped the students

design their creations. The number of

participants who had signed permission slips to

enter the contest was abundant, so the

competition was great.

After careful judging, the winners were

selected. There were students selected from

kindergarten-third grade. The winning students

were so excited to receive a certificate, along

with a gift certificate, but they were most

excited to receive the recognition.

We are very proud of our artistic

students. We also appreciate our PTA as well as

Mrs. Estepp for giving our students this

opportunity to show off their talents!

Pictured in the front row, left to right is Peyton, Beau, Ajani, Khloe, Mason, Marissa, Brookelynn, and Liam. Pictured in the back row, left to right is Kenleigh, Raymond, Isaiah, Caleigh, Tristen, Zejia, Stacy, and Elizabeth.

Saluting Veterans on Veteran’s Day On November 10th, the students of CIE honored our Veterans through an engaging performance. Both Mrs. Hotard and Mrs. James worked with the students to orchestrate the performance, which included songs, movement, and a play. The students proudly showed their patriotism. They understand how important our Veterans are and what freedoms we have because of them. Mrs. Hotard, our wonderful music teacher, is CIE’s Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher. She is so deserving of this honor, as she instills the importance of patriotism in the students each and every day. Patriotic songs are always a part of music classes at CIE. Additionally, students were given the opportunity to participate in the VFW Americanism contest. Many of the students designed American Flags and patriotic artwork for the contest. Members from the VFW were proud to honor the winners of the contest. They were awarded with a beautifully framed certificate and also a gift card. The celebrated students were so grateful to be honored in this way. We are so proud of our Veterans, our students, and the members of the VFW. We salute our Veterans of the great USA!

Smoke Signals Page 6

Morning Meeting at CIE Each Friday morning students anxiously

meet in the gym for Morning Meeting! They are

anticipating celebrations of good behavior,

birthdays, academic successes, outstanding

character, and guest appearances. Although,

sometimes students can’t always anticipate

what happens and are completely surprised by

what takes place at Morning Meeting. Imagine

how surprised the third grade students were

when each student was given a brand new

dictionary from the Bayou Lacombe Republican

Women. They were so grateful!

Community and family members are

always welcome to Morning Meeting. In fact,

some community members are “regulars”,

visiting every Morning Meeting. Mr. Motion and

Dr. Joe from the Rotary Club are always

present, awarding third grade students with t-

shirts or patches to acknowledge their reading

successes. Each week J & S Chevron donates

ICEEs to a lucky student from each grade level

and even a teacher to award great behavior.

Other community members such as Miss

Rhonda, Lacombe’s librarian have joined us for

Morning Meeting. She may be sporting a Cat in

the Hat suit while she reads a book to the

entire audience with great animation – of

course!

Exceptional character and behavior are

always celebrated during Morning Meetings.

Each month a specific character award is given

to one student in each class by Ms. Jones, our

school counselor. This month’s character award

is “Kindness”. Students receiving this award

are wonderfully, kind students, who are always

sharing their kindness with others. Also, “Be

There Bucks” awarded for good behavior are

drawn and rewarded with trips to the treasure

box.

Morning Meeting is magnificent!!

These students won the November

Character Award for being

Responsible. Just look at these

Smoke Signals Page 7

Celebrating CIE!

Smoke Signals Page 8

Anything and Everything You Need to Know about CIE…is Just a Click Away!

Have you had a chance to visit Chahta-Ima Elementary’s school website recently? The

website is located at chahta-imaelementary.stpsb.org, and it is a must stop location for

anyone who wants to be in the know!

Do you know what our school motto is? Check out our homepage! On this page you can

find Chahta-Ima Elementary’s school motto - “Chahta-Ima Elementary, where we “Challenge,

Inspire, and Educate” every day. There’s a wealth of information on CIE’s website such as

upcoming events, a link to the Partnership calendar, information about our Title 1 Programs,

and of course, classroom information.

Chahta-Ima is a Title I school, and because of this, our school receives additional

funds from the government. Due to Title I, our school is afforded many effective academic

programs, additional staffing, new technologies, and so many other benefits. There is a

Title I section on our homepage where valuable information can be accessed about our

Title I programs/school. In fact, there’s even a feedback link in this section, where you can

post comments/concerns relating to our Title I programs and the School Improvement Plan.

You are our partners in education, and your input is very valuable.

Additionally, across the top of the home page there are a variety of links that will

take you to exciting and pertinent information that every parent needs to know! When you

click on the “Faculty and Staff” link, you will be taken to the most popular link on the

webpage. Each teacher has a webpage with valuable informative classroom/school

information.

And there’s more! You can find links with information about the cafeteria menus and

prices as well. If you’d like to join someone for breakfast or lunch in Chahta Café but don’t

know what’s on the menu, it’s just a click away.

Our website is full of useful information and captures special moments throughout

the year. Be sure to add it to your “favorites” and check it often; it’s available 24/7!

2017-2018 School Improvement Plan, SIP The 2017/2018 School Improvement Plan, SIP is final. Many stakeholders helped us

to develop this plan. The School Improvement Plan guides us, ensuring optimal success.

Everyone plays an integral role in implementing/adjusting the SIP in order to achieve

that which is outlined in the SIP. The full SIP can be viewed on the school’s website.

Additionally, an overview of the SIP is on the next page.

Smoke Signals Page 9

One Dream, One TEAM!

2017-18 School Improvement Plan, SIP Overview CIE’s 17-18 School Improvement Plan is developed from the

17-18 School’s Data Analysis. CIE family members are always included in the

creation/revision/application of the SIP.

Please review this overview of the SIP, and give us your feedback.

Your input is always welcome and valued. Send any feedback to

kimberly.pechon@stpsb.org putting SIP in the subject line. Thank you!

Our Strengths ~CIE has a School Performance Score (SPS) 83.8, which is a B.

~The ELA score went from 73 to 96.7, increasing by 23.8 points.

~The math score increased to 87.3%.

~Positive Behavior Support continues to improve our school climate.

~Community/Parent Support always contributes to CIE’s strengths. Parent Family Events (PFE)

continue to be well attended.

~Professional Development contributes to CIE’s strengths.

Our Goals ~Kindergarten-Third Grade students will increase reading achievement by increasing the

percentage of students AT or Above Benchmark on DIBELS Next by 15% from Fall 2017 to

Spring 2018.

~From Spring 2017 to Spring 2018 students in third grade will increase the percentage of

students achieving Mastery or Above by 10% in the Major Content Subclaim in Math on LEAP

2025.

~From Spring 2017 to Spring 2018 the students in the subgroup, Students with Disabilities for

the Whole School will increase their Assessment Index score by at least 15 points on LEAP

2025.

Goals achieved through

Family Involvement-

-School/Family Communication

-Meet and Greet

-Open School

-PTA and Title/PTA Meetings

-Parent Conferences/Meetings

-Positive Behavior Support

-Community Sponsors

-Parent Family Events (Bring a

Team Player to Lunch, Grade

Level PFE’s, Math and Literacy

Family …)

-Volunteering Opportunities

-

Goals achieved through

Professional Development-

-Bi-Monthly Professional

Learning Community Meetings

facilitated by

Title I Instructional

Coach/STPPS Professional

Development

-BURST Training/Guidance by

Title I Reading

Interventionist

-Classroom Instruction based

on Guaranteed Curriculum and

Data Analysis/Student Needs

Goals achieved through

Title I Programs/Funding-

-BURST Reading Program

-EAGLE and Fast Forward

-Instructional Coach,

Reading Interventionist

Certificated/Non-

Certificated Instructional

Aides

-Technology

-Instructional Supplies

-Professional Development

for Staff

-PFE/PFE Library

PTA Corporate Sponsors Smoke Signals Page 10

Janie Brown’s

PO Box 1967

Lacombe, LA 70445

985-882-7201

Best Decision Auto Body

27050 Hwy 190

Lacombe, LA 70445

985-882-9693

Dawn’s Bayou Cafe

61700 Hwy 434

Lacombe, LA 70445

985-218-9450

J&S Bayou Gas & Go

28445 Hwy 190

Lacombe, LA 70445

985-882-3385

Bayou Adventure

27725 Main St

Lacombe, LA 70445

985-882-9208

Guidry Physical Therapy

61700 Hwy 434 Unit D

Lacombe, LA 70445

985-882-8427

J&S Chevron

28010 Hwy 190

Lacombe, LA 70445

985-882-2230

Bayou Lacombe Pharmacy

27431 Hwy 190

Lacombe, LA 70445

985-882-2828

Sal AndJudy’s Restaurant

27491 Hwy 190

Lacombe, LA 70445

985-882-9443

Lana B’s Sweet Treats

Lacombe, LA 70445

985-951-0404

Making a Difference in our St. Tammany Parish Community

Our community partners are continually making a difference for all of CIE family members. Whether they are donating school supplies, tutoring services, contest awards, dictionaries, t-shirts, PBIS items field trips, snacks and food, or just much needed TLC, CIE can always depend on its community partners. So thank you to our extended family members for always being there for our CIE Family.

Bayou Lacombe Republican Women and

The Rotary Club Community Partners making a difference with our third grade

students!

Second Grade Teachers sport their black and gold attire, contributing to the Black and Gold Day District Fund Raiser. Students and staff members are making a difference by contributing to these fund raisers.