Alicia Gillen, board secretary, has 3 children - Shayla Dixon 22, Nicole Gillen 13, Julia Gillen 12. She also has a dog named Maggie who is 15. In her spare time, she enjoys antiquing, traveling and cooking.
The SHMS Avid teacher and students visited Cato..encouraging them to always do their BEST!!
Congratulations to these students who met the Marshmallow Winter Reading Challenge!!! We had over 75 students turn in their forms!!!
Shelby Thoma and his wife, Leigh, have been married 25 years and 4 children: Simone-24, Nathan-23, Amelia- 20, and Novi-3. His favorite hobby is running and he also enjoys spending time with his youth group.
Brian Maune and his wife, Jennifer, have been married nearly 14 years. They have 5 kids and another due in May! Brian's hobbies include family travel and outdoors activities like hunting, fishing and camping.
If you would like to send your child to PCSSD, registration is now open for the 2020-2021 school year! All the registration info can be found online at http://ow.ly/430u50xUd8h or by visiting your school's registrar's office.
Due to a power outage in the area, Sylvan Hills NORTH campus and Cato Elementary will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. today. Buses riders will depart at 11:30 and car riders can be picked up at this time. This will be an AMI day.
Tina Renee Ward has two daughters, Ti'Naya and Daraleisha, and two grandkids, Kobe and August. Her hobbies include singing, dancing, road trips and bargain shopping!
Attendance is so IMPORTANT!!!
We need your help in encouraging your students to work on Lexia and Dreambox at home. Please read note sent home with your child concerning this today!
Flu season is far from over. Don't forget to wash your hands regularly, keep your lunchbox and backpack clean and maintain overall healthy habits. Let's stay healthy and ready to learn this semester!
Dr. Linda Remele has been married to her husband, Steve, for 22 years She has one son, Jonathan, and a stepson, Brent, as well as 2 grandchildren and 4 rescue cats. Dr. Remele loves to volunteer and travel outside the U.S. She also loves to read, particularly travel novels.
School choice is officially open for PCSSD. Applications will be accepted at Central Office (925 E. Dixon Road), Monday - Friday between 8:30 am - 4:00pm. Stop by to fill out your application before spots fill up!
Just a reminder, there is no school tomorrow (Monday, January 6)! We're closed for professional development. See you on Tuesday!
We are wishing all of our PCSSD family and staff a wonderful winter break! Teachers will return Jan. 6 for Professional Development. Students return to school Jan. 7.
Congratulations to these 4 students with perfect attendance. Their names were drawn for a cash prize, provided by a private donor.
Thanks to someone who was impressed with our letter grade with 80% free and reduced. They donated a classroom of books to Cato! Their excited little faces were priceless!
Words cannot express our gratitude to those who made donations to clear lunch debt at some of our schools. So far, we've received more than $10,000 in donations for schools across PCSSD.
Thank you Sylvan Hills Middle School Band for bringing Holiday Cheer to Cato Elementary
Hope you are creating some awesome ornaments for our storybook trees! I was unable to purchase the ornaments this year because of budget cuts, but I have some left over from last year, if you need one I will give them out on a first come first serve basis. Just send a note to school.
UALR is hosting a Community Night of Coding Monday (Dec. 9) from 5-8pm in the EIT building. There will be workshops and demos, Hour of Code activities for all ages, computer science hands-on demos and more! Register here: http://ow.ly/jkGC50xtGPE
Decorate an ornament to be one of your favorite book characters...Notices went home yesterday concerning this. Hope we will have some great participation!!! Ornaments are due on December 17th.
Cato Elementary PTA Santa Shop
Date: December 10th-13th: During School Hours
Make plans to attend the PTA Meeting (Chili Cook-Off) on December 12th @ 5:45pm and visit the Santa Shop after the meeting.
The Sylvan Hills High School Concert Choir is performing with the Little Rock Wind Symphony Dec. 5 at UA-Pulaski Tech CHARTS Theater at 7:30 p.m. The choir will perform with the symphony on a medley of Christmas tunes from Broadway and perform a pop a capella arrangement of “Do You Hear What I Hear” by Michelle Wier. Get your tickets at: http://charts.uaptc.edu/events #pcssdproud #equityandexcellence
In Art class, Grades 1-5 participated in the Paper Chain Challenge. This is a collaborative project that has the students being Engineers by using Math and Art skills.
Pulaski County Special School District wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!
REMINDER: Schools are closed this week for Fall Break! Enjoy the week off. District office will be closed Thursday and Friday. See you all back in the classroom next week!
Several PCSSD teacher librarians attended the American Association of School Librarians Conference in Louisville, KY. They learned how to create diverse collections, build collaborative partnerships and develop innovative teaching practices.
2nd and 3rd grade are practicing their music and reading knowledge this week by enjoying Thanksgiving rhythm centers and Songtales.
This is American Education Week and the National Education Association today promotes parental involvement, including reading to children, checking homework, asking about their school day and developing a relationship with teachers. #pcssdproud #equityandexcellence #AEW2019
REMINDER: schools will be closed next week (Nov. 25 - Nov. 29) for Fall Break. Central office will be only be closed Thursday (Nov. 28) and Friday (Nov. 29).
This is American Education Week and today we kick off the week to honor our education community members who are each critical in building great public schools in Pulaski County! #pcssdproud #equityandexcellence #AEW2019
November is Child Safety and Protection Month. The National Safety Council and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration encourage teen drivers to put down their cell phones, slow down and wear a seatbelt.
Don't Forget the Scholastic Book Fair is open, 7:30am -3:30PM, until Thursday, November 21st! Thank you to all who have purchased!
A great BIG THANK YOU to "Dad's Who Give A Hoot" for hanging our PBIS signs..
In Music at Cato, 2nd grade students have been learning about sound and creating their own songs using different sound sources.
Thank you, veterans, for your service.
Students at Cato did an awesome job at creating their Drug Free posters...pictured here are a few of the winners!
More Winners of the "Drug Free Posters"
Today is National Book Lovers Day! Check out the Sylvan Hills feeder Teacher Librarians' favorite books. #pcssdproud #equityandexcellence
PCSSD schools held grand re-openings on Tuesday to change the name of our school Media Centers to Library Learning Centers. Check out all the cool pictures of the new looks: http://ow.ly/jMbY50x3awq
Rebranding of the Library Learning Center..the winner of the $25.00 gift certificate was Mrs. Sanabria(5th grade teacher)
November is Child Safety and Protection Month. Did you know more than 200,000 playground-related injuries happen each year in the US? Keep a close eye on children to ensure they are using equipment properly and it is age appropriate.
REMINDER: Schools are closed Wednesday - Friday for teacher and leadership professional development. See you Monday, Nov. 4!
PreK Teachers from across the district went to the Arkansas Early Childhood Association Conference last week. The learning never ends!
Don't forget that students get a little fall break NEXT week. Schools are closed Wednesday (Oct. 30) - Friday (Nov. 1) for districtwide professional development. You can find all district events on the website: https://www.pcssd.org/o/pcssd/events
Don't forget Fall Festival is 5:30-8:00pm..We are beginning earlier because of the performances of 1st and 3rd grades.
We have a hero at CATO ELEMENTARY! 5th grade teacher, Wendy Sanabria, performed the heimlich on a student who was choking on a piece of granola during breakfast last week. We are so thankful that she took action and the student is safe!
Red Ribbon Week Celebrations:
Monday: “We are the Future: Let’s Make it Drug Free”-
Wear college tshirt, military ambition or profession
Tuesday: “I’m a Jean-ius”-
Wear blue jeans, red shirt, and crazy socks
Wednesday: “Hunter for Friends Who Don’t Do Drugs”-
Wear Camouflage
Thursday: “Be on a Drug Free Team”-
Wear favorite team jersey or t-shirt
Friday: “Together We Turn the World Pink” Breast Cancer Awareness-
Wear PINK shirts
This week is National School Bus Safety Week. The school bus ride is an extension of the school day and PCSSD schools is committed to providing a safe transportation experience for all students across the district.
**ATTENTION** Phones are down at several PCSSD schools and admin offices. Our IT department is working with Windstream to resolve the issue. You track the outage here: https://downdetector.com/status/windstream/map/
Every PCSSD staff member is encouraged to wear red on Tuesday, October 15 in honor of World Dyslexia Day.
Kindergarten students at Cato are learning how to notate rhythm and beats using popsicle sticks.
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. The National Bullying Prevention Center provides a "Kids Against Bullying" pledge encouraging kids to speak up against bullying, support those being bullied & to be a friend when they see bullying. http://ow.ly/snaM50wEVmm
Cato counselor, Tammy Helmick, received a $1,480.00 grant for Red Ribbon Week from the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office. Cato Elementary was 1 of 4 schools in Pulaski County to receive the grant.
5th Grade Rhythm Centers. Preparation for playing recorder. Centers are Rhythm Jenga, Busted, Rhythm Spoons, and Pizza Rhythm Decode
The calendar can now be found in EVENTS. Important district-wide dates will be posted on the PCSSD website. School-specific dates will be posted on their respective school websites. You can view the "At-A-Glance" calendar here: https://5il.co/amrb
Second Grade Music Classes create and write their own rhythm
We’re thrilled to announce Pulaski County Special School District‘s new app! It’s everything PCSSD, in your pocket. Download the app on Android: http://bit.ly/2IcfiP3 or iPhone: https://apple.co/30qo7uT.
We celebrate Fri-Yay every 2 weeks for the kids with enough DoJo points. Will YOU have enough to celebrate this week?
The Health Room is in need of small size girls panties and boys briefs. Please try to donate if possible. Thanks in advance!
Don't forget! The Cato Elementary Fundraiser begins this week! Check out the great deals and let's raise some money for our school!
Cato Character Kids for the Week of September 16th
Cato Elementary wants to extend a great BIG thank you to Red River Dodge for donating $575.00, so the school could purchase AVID shirts for our 4th and 5th grader students.
I hope your day is going well!
I hope all is having a great morning!