3455 Coal Mountain Drive Cumming, GA 30028

Phone: 770-887-7705 Fax: 770-781-2286

Coal Mountain Elementary

Mining For Coal . . . . . . . .

Discovering Diamonds

Dear Parents,

Welcome back from what we hope was an enjoyable and restful Thanksgiving break. It’s been a

fun week listening to all of the children’s stories of their week off and Thanksgiving dinner! It will

be a busy and exciting time over the next four weeks as we prepare for our Christmas holiday

break. Some important upcoming dates and events include:

Festival of Lights at North Side Forsyth Hospital – Saturday, December 1st

(Our Chorus will be singing at 4:40 pm)

PTO Evening at the North Pole/Chorus Presentation

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

4:00-6:00

PTO Meeting at 6:00 pm in Cafeteria

A Wizard of Oz Christmas

December 18, 2012, NFHS Auditorium at 6:30 pm

I would like to say a special thank you to Bottoms Christmas Tree Farm, Robin Mitchell and

Kelley Story for heading up our “Trees for Troops” fundraiser. With their help, our students

raised enough money to send 15 Christmas trees to our troops. We also want to say thank you to

all of our students and families for the large amount of canned goods that have been donated for

those in need.

Thank you Tammy Pillittere and committee for all the gorgeous Christmas decorations throughout

the school.

You have heard much about the new national standards (CCGPS) which we are rolling out this

school year. As we review our Graduate Learner Profile, we are reminded that the instructional

program we provide students is but one piece of the puzzle. We must also provide students with

love and caring, social skills, structure, self confidence, as well as the tools to provide them with

skills that will make them successful in life.

As part of our effort to develop the “whole” child, we will be doing training with staff members on

Love and Logic classrooms. Our counselor, Jan Davis will also be offering Love and Logic parent

classes in the Spring. Please keep an eye out for dates and times that will be listed in our

newsletter in February 2013. I have included a link to the Love and Logic web site for those of you

who wish to look it over.

http://www.loveandlogic.com/what-is-for-parents.html

Thank you for your continued help and support at CMES!

Sincerely,

Debbie and Kim

Empowering

Young Minds

for a Bright

Future

Important Dates:

PTO Evening at the

North Pole December 4

Chick-fil-A Biscuits

Thursday, December 6

Winter Break December 21-

January 4

Debbie Smith, Principal Jan Munroe, Assistant Principal

January 21, 2010

Debbie Smith, Principal Kim Fox, Assistant Principal

November 30, 2012

Your child may participate in the Read To Succeed

Program in order to receive a free Six Flags

ticket.

Please take a look at the parent letter link for information on the program. Please use the

reading log to keep record of your child’s reading. Turn reading log in to your teacher by Friday, Feb.

22, 2013 to receive a free Six Flags ticket.

Read to Succeed Reading Log (English)

Read to Succeed Reading Log (Spanish)

Parent Letter (English)

Parent Letter (Spanish)

2013 Regional Tech Fair

Registration for the 2013 Regional Technology Fair, hosted by Forsyth County Schools, is now open. This year the

fair will be held at Whitlow Elementary School on January 26, 2013. The fair is open to all students in grades 3 –

12 who reside in Forsyth County. Categories include Robotics, Digital Video Editing, Multimedia Applications,

Programming, Graphic Design, Case Modification, and many more. Registration for all students must be

completed online through the Technology Fair website and closes on January 11th. The $10 fee is not due upon

registration but must be submitted and postmarked by January 18th. For more information and to register,

please visit the Technology Fair website at http://techfair.forsyth.k12.ga.us

Recreation League Night at North

Forsyth High School Raider Arena is

Friday Dec. 14th. Admission is free for

players who wear their Rec League

jersey. Come and cheer on the Varsity

Girls at 6pm and the Varsity Boys at

7:30pm as they take on Alpharetta High

School. There will also be shooting

contests and giveaways.

BYOT Buying Guide

When choosing devices for BYOT, there are a few factors to consider beyond choosing a device for home use. The

majority of devices will work well at home and school, but some devices perform certain tasks better.

Tablets

There are several great tablets to choose from, and websites such as www.cnet.com post regular reviews that

compare tablets. The majority of tablets fall into the range of 7”-10” screens, but there are considerations other

than size.

It’s important to ask yourself how you intend to use the tablet. Features such as browsing the Internet, email,

watching movies, listening to music, and playing games are common on all mainstream tablets.

Apple: Apple sells the iPad which runs the Apple iOS operating system. There are multiple generations and

models to choose from with varying storage capacity (16GB, 32GB, etc). The full size iPads have a 9.7” screen and

the iPad Mini has a 7.9” screen.

iPads are high quality tablets that work well for productivity and for entertainment, but they are more expensive

than some other high quality tablets, especially in the 7” category. All current models of iPads have front and rear

cameras, so they can be used for video conferencing, taking pictures, and scanning QR codes.

iPod Touch: The iPod touch functions very much like a small tablet. It can also be thought of as an iPhone

without the ability to make phone calls, with the exception of VoIP apps such as Skype. When purchasing an iPod

touch for BYOT, remember that older models (3rd Gen and earlier) do not have cameras.

Google/Android: Several manufactures make tablets with the Google Android operating system (Samsung, Asus,

Motorola, Amazon, etc). There are many more choices with Android, but your best bet is to stay with a prominent

manufacturer and to purchase a modern tablet. Google doesn’t charge manufactures for the Android OS, so there

are budget tablets available that don’t have access to the official Google Play store. Mainstream tablets also

receive updates that the less expensive models may not.

There are currently a few popular 7” Android tablets, including the Nexus 7, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, the Kindle

Fire HD, and the Nook HD. These smaller tablets are less expensive and offer portability.

Nexus tablets (7” and 10”) are Google devices, meaning the offer a pure Android experience. The advantage of

these tablets is they are very high quality and they receive updates as soon as Google releases them. The Nexus

tablets only have a front facing camera, which works well for video conferencing. If a student wants to scan a QR

code or take a picture/video, they can only use the camera on the front of the device.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 is available as a 7.0” and a 10.1” tablet. The 7.0 model is the same size as the Nexus 7

and Kindle Fire HD 7”, but it offers both front and rear cameras. Like the iPad, the rear camera can be useful in

BYOT activities such as scanning QR codes and taking pictures and videos.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble: The Kindle Fire and Nook tablets use the Android operating system with an Amazon

or Barnes & Noble custom user interface. These are media consumption devices that are designed to offer

content from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, though they do have access to the majority of popular Android Apps.

The experience is different from tablets such as the Nexus and Galaxy Tab, but it has more to do with the

appearance and use of the device when not in an application. Like the Nexus tablets, the Fire HD only has a front

facing camera

and the Nook HD does not have a camera. Also realize there are differences between the original Kindle Fire and the

Fire HD, with the lack of a camera on the original Fire being one.

Microsoft: Microsoft has recently launched new tablets along with the release of the Windows 8 operating system.

Tablets such as the Microsoft Surface RT are designed to compete with the iPad and high end Android tablets.

Although these tablets are newcomers to the market, they are certainly worth researching while comparing

products.

Phones

Similar comparisons can be made between phones as were made with tablets. One difference is the price factor.

Phone carriers subsidize the cost of smartphones when purchased with a contract. This places the cost of most high

end Android and Windows phones in line with the iPhone. Older model phones can be purchased for less or come

free with a contract, but understand that they will reach obsolescence earlier. For example, the iPhone 4 is free with

a contract from certain wireless phone providers. It runs the latest version of iOS, but certain features aren’t

available on the older model. At the same time, older phones often make great BYOT devices. One consideration is

for parents to keep their current phones when upgrading and give them to family members as BYOT devices. They

can be used as wifi only devices without a phone number/SIM associated with the device.

Purchasing a used phone is also an option for a BYOT device. Websites such as http://swappa.com/ sell used Android

and iOS devices, including tablets. Many of these devices have front and rear cameras as well as a microphone and

speaker which make them very useful BYOT devices. These phones can be purchased and used as wifi only devices,

or they can be added to a wireless phone plan.

Notebooks and Netbooks

Notebooks/laptops and netbooks are still popular devices, though the tablet market has affected their popularity.

Laptops are great productivity devices since they support the full version of software applications that are also used

on desktop computers. The downside is they aren’t as portable as tablets. Netbooks are smaller versions of

notebooks/laptops and they are normally much less expensive. They are also more portable, but they generally lack

the processing power of full size laptops which are better for gaming and video editing.

Summary

Before making a decision on a device, consider using online resources to make comparisons. Visiting an electronics

store and using the devices in person is also a great way to evaluate which would work best for you.

Links

CNET Tablet Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/

CNET Phone Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/

CNET Laptop Reviews http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/

Apple Store http://store.apple.com/us

Google Play Store https://play.google.com/store/devices?feature=corpus_selector

Provided by: Tim Keyser, Instructional Technology Specialist at North Forsyth High School

Coal Mountain Elementary is helping the YMCA with Angel Tree gifts this year. We are hoping to sponsor 109

children!

If you are interested in helping a child, please contact Jan Davis at 770-887-7705 ext. 730234 or

jfdavis@forsyth.k12.ga.us .

Career Center-Donations Needed!!

Our Common Core Standards have a large career component for grades 1-5. In preparation for this, I would

like to set up career centers in my classroom. A career development center is a place where children go to

explore, grow and master their academic, social and career skills. The career center will be based on Holland’s

(1997) RIASEC model. Careers fall into Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional

categories. I would like to set up the following centers to support the above mentioned categories:

Restaurant, Art Studio, Medical Center (for people and animals), Construction, TV Studio, Hair Salon, Puppetry

Arts, Bank, Nature Center, and Childcare.

Donations of the following items would be greatly appreciated!

Cardboard blocks, wood blocks, tool aprons, goggles, hard hats, paint brushes, tools (plastic or wooden),

doctor kit, collars, leashes, pet brushes, ace bandages, stethoscope, vet/dr. smocks, clipboards, hole punches,

tape, dolls of multiple ethnicities, real baby bottles, bibs, pacifiers, preemie diapers, receiving blankets, baby

socks, baby stroller, plastic food, dishes, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, aprons, chef hats, plastic mixing

bowls, suit jackets, ties, play money, calculators, accounting books, check book registers, microphone, large

map, cash register, easel, mannequin heads. Anything else that might support the above mentioned centers.

Thank you for thinking of me as you clean out in preparation for holiday gifts, or when you need more room

after gifts have been received!

Jan Davis, Counselor

Councelor’s Corner

CMES Green Team

The Coal Mountain Green Team Garden recently enjoyed working with 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders planting seeds, watching carrots, radishes, turnips, collards, kale, romaine and swiss chard growing and harvesting in the garden. We’ve had labs about composting and soil and enjoyed green smoothies before Thanksgiving break. We had so many wonderful veggies in our garden we asked the custodians and cafeteria staff to please help themselves for their Thanksgiving meals.

Miner Clubs at Coal Mountain Elementary School: Winter 2013

All Miner Clubs will meet from 2:40-4:00 p.m. for six weeks. Please fill out the attached registration form and send

payment in to your child’s teacher. Checks should be made payable to Coal Mountain Elementary and include your

child’s name and the name of the club in the memo section. We are excited there are 15 clubs to choose from (please

see the front and back of this paper). Your child can choose more than one club. Please fill out a separate registration

form for each club and each individual child (if more than one child in family is participating). Parents, if your child is

participating in Extended Day, be sure not to sign up for a club on that day

MONDAY CLUBS: will meet 1/14, 1/28, 2/4, 2/11, 2/25, 3/4

Creative Club: Craft Club! Do you like to make things? Do you like to do projects? We’ll have a lot of fun making Winter crafts and decorations. Our

theme is SNOW! Snow globes, snow paint, edible snow men- Lots of fun!!

Taught by Ms. Davis Grades 3-5 (Min. 15/Max 20) Cost: $40 + $10 Supply Fee

Cupcake Wars: Put on your baking/decorating amourO and get ready for battle. In this club you will learn some basics of cupcake decorating and

display. Taste testing will be a component of this battle along with creative decorating. The final camp session will end in a "showdown" between the two cupcake design teams. Are you ready for the challenge? If so, cupcake wars are for you.

Taught by: Mrs. Schwaemmle and Mrs. Lowe Grades K-5 (Max. 25) Cost:$40 + $10 Supply Fee

Drama Club: Drama club will be a time to sharpen up your acting skills. We will be doing Reader’s Theaters as well as short plays. We will work on

voice projections, fluency, and positions during presentations. It will also be a time for fun and creativity!

Taught by: Ms. Helvey Grades 1-5 (Min. 20/Max. 25) Cost: $40

Drum Club: The DRUM club will teach character traits such as fairness, responsibility, respect and self-control through drumming. We will use the

Drumming up Character lesson plans and include a variety of drums and barred instruments. The club will be fun and LOUD Taught by: Mrs. Turbeville Grades K-5 (Min. 20 students/Max. 25) Cost: $40

Gator Skin Games: The Gator Club gets its name from the specially designed Gator Skin brand balls that we use so often in PE class. Students will

participate in a wide variety of challenging skills that will leave them breathing hard and sweating!!!! Students will be able to play at their chosen level of intensity in a safe and fun environment. They will play games like Downer Ball, Spider Ball, Rainstorm, Star Wars, Sonic Boom, Bat Ball, Castle Ball, Prison Ball, Outland, The Great

Escape and others.

Taught by: Mrs. Carver Grades:2-3 (Min. 20/Max. 30) Cost: $40

TUESDAY CLUBS: 1/15, 1/22, 1/29, 2/5, 2/12, 2/19

Cards and Cotton: We will creatively embellish handmade cards using stamping techniques, graphics, cutouts

to make unique cards. Cotton materials will be used to make many hip, and stylish "must haves" including "hobo" bags and bracelets.

Taught by: Mrs. McGilray, Mrs. Leisa Smith, Mrs. Lowe Grades 2-5 (Min. 20/Max. 25) Cost: $40 + $10 Supply Fee

Cheer Club: Come learn some new and exciting Miner cheers in the Miner Cheer Club. Bring on your school spirit,

loud voices, and get ready to have some fun as we learn coordination and cheers.

Taught by: Mrs. McCollum Grades 3-5 (Min. 15/Max. 25) Cost: $40 + $10 supply

Chess Club: Chess is exciting and educational. It is a fun lifetime activity for everyone. We will teach beginners as

well as challenge the experienced players. Join us on Tuesdays.

Taught by: Dr. Ogden Grades 2-5 (Max. 25) Cost: $40

TUESDAY CLUBS: 1/15, 1/22, 1/29, 2/5, 2/12, 2/19 (Cont’d)

Clay Club: Kids will explore their creativity while learning the craft of ceramics. They will experiment with a variety

of building techniques while thinking about structure, shapes and forms. All ceramic pieces will be glazed and fired for each child to take home. Two sessions of the same class will be offered to accommodate all schedules. Choose your day!

Taught by: Mrs. Sullivan Grades 2-5 (Max. 25) Cost:$40 + $10 Supply fee

Cooking Club: Come discover the chef inside you! Join me for fun in the kitchen while we whip up

fantastic goodies!

Taught by: Mrs. Schwaemmle Grades K-5 (Max. 25) Cost: $40 + $10 Supply Fee

THURSDAY CLUBS: 1/17. 1/24, 1/31, 2/7, 2/14, 2/21

Career Centers: Come have fun and practice social skills as we explore different career centers in a play

environment.

Taught by: Ms. Davis Grades K-2 (Max. 25) Cost: $40

Creative Club: Join us in the k-2 craft club, we will focus on creativity and fun as we design and create a variety of

projects. If you are creative and enjoy putting exciting projects together all while making friends this is the club for you.

Taught by Mrs. Hannah Grades K-2 (Max 25) Cost: $40 + $10 Supply fee

Clay Club: Kids will explore their creativity while learning the craft of ceramics. They will experiment with a variety

of building techniques while thinking about structure, shapes and forms. All ceramic pieces will be glazed and fired for each child to take home. Two sessions of the same class will be offered to accommodate all schedules. Choose your day!

Taught by: Mrs. Sullivan Grades 2-5 (Max. 25) Cost:$40 + $10 Supply fee

Travel Club: Students will take a virtual trip to six countries experiencing food, art music language etc.

Taught by: Mrs. Miller Grades: K-5 Cost: $40+ $10 supply fee

Gator Skin Games: The Gator Club gets its name from the specially designed Gator Skin brand balls that we use

so often in PE class. Students will participate in a wide variety of challenging skills that will leave them breathing hard and sweating!!!! Students will be able to play at their chosen level of intensity in a safe and fun environment. They will play games like Downer Ball, Spider Ball, Rainstorm, Star Wars, Sonic Boom, Bat Ball, Castle Ball, Prison Ball, Outland, The Great Escape and others.

Taught by: Mrs. Carver Grades: 4-5 (Min.20/Max. 30) Cost: $40

Science Club: Come join the fun with science! Build a bridge, make a trebuchet, cook up some slime, and design a

marble track.

Taught by: Mrs. Webb Grades 2-5 (Min. 15students/Max. 20) Cost: $40 + $10 Supply Fee

Registration for this session ends on December 14th. Classes will begin the week of January 14th.

Please note: Class size is limited. Students will be enrolled on a first come first serve basis.

Make checks payable to Coal Mountain Elementary – phone number is required on all checks.

In the memo line of the check – be sure to include your child’s name and the name of the club.

A separate check for each club is required.

Checks & registration forms may be turned in to the homeroom teacher.

No registration forms will be accepted after December 14th.

Registration forms without the required fee will be returned.

For additional information contact Miner Club Director Jan Davis at jfdavis@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Registration forms will be sent home or access a form from CMES website.

Thank you for helping make our first Chick-fil-A biscuit

fundraiser a HUGE success!!! For your convenience and

enjoyment we will sell them again (we are ordering more this

time) Thursday, December 6. Biscuits are $3.00 each/cash only

while supplies last.

Girls on the Run registration for our Spring Season will begin on December 1,

2012 @ 9:00am.

Girls on the Run is first come, first serve and our groups are limited to 15 girls. Registration is through our

website. Click here for a direct link to our website!

A few things you should know for the spring season:

We will begin the week of February 4th and end April 19th. Girls on the Run rotates through curriculums. Our learning goals are still the same but the lessons take

a different approach each season. This Spring Season we will join the Boulder Dash 5k as our end of the season 5k. As always, the

GOTR participants are automatically entered into the 5k. Girls receive: 22 - 75 minute lessons, program t shirt and water bottle, entry fees into the Boulder Dash

5k run, 5k finishers t shirt, 5k finishers medal and goody bag! Girls on the Run is open to girls in grades 3-5

Lions, Tin Soldiers and Snowmen…Oh my!

Enjoy a night among the stars as Coal Mountain proudly

presents The Wizard of Oz Christmas. The Cast warmly

invites you to attend their performance on Tuesday,

December 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the North Forsyth High

School Performing Arts Center. Guaranteed to put you

in the Christmas Spirit.

Coal Mountain Elementary

Birthday / Special Occasion Book Club

We will be changing our birthday / special occasion book club at Coal Mountain. This is a great way to help out our school library and at the same time honor the birthday /

special occasion of your child. At the beginning of your child’s birthday / special

occasion month, your child will be able to choose a book from a special new book collection.

The book will receive a unique inscription inside with your child’s name and birth date. Your

child will be the very first to check it out from the library. In addition, a picture will be taken of

your child with their book and hung on the Birthday/Special Occasion Book Club display in the

lunchroom. (We will honor June and July birthdays / special occasions in May, and next years

August birthdays / special occasions in September.)

Please complete the form and return it with $17.00.

(Checks made out to Coal Mountain Elementary and please include your phone number on the check)

All Birthday / Special Occasion Book Club Donations are due by the end of the month before your child’s

birthday / special occasion.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please return to Coal Mountain Elementary Media Center

Child’s Name as you wish it to be inscribed (please print):

Child’s Birthday/ Special Occasion:

____________________________________________________

Teacher’s Name / Grade: _______________________________

Click on the website for more information:

http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/Page/4294

Coal Mountain Elementary appreciates our business partners!

If you would like to be a Business Partner, please contact dsmith@forsyth.k12.ga.us