Carthage Elementary School District 317

CPS Families- Reminder: Perfect Pastries Fundraiser Pickup is tomorrow after school from 3:00-6:00 pm in the CPS gym! Please use the back entrance to come pick up your items. Thank you!

🌈🎉 Join Us for Family Night! 🎉🌈

Carthage PreK–8 families, we invite you to join us for a fun-filled evening at our 5K Color Run/Walk!

📅 April 15
⏰ 5:00–7:00 PM
📍 Carthage Primary School

👟 Walk or run at your own pace
🌮 Enjoy delicious food trucks in the circle drive
🎨 Get colorful along the route
💙 Spend time with our amazing school community

Parking will be available in the large Illini West High School east parking lot.

We are also looking for volunteers to help make this event a success! If you’re interested, please reach out to Mrs. Toubekis at mtoubekis@cesd317.org
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We encourage all families to join us for a great night together!

The Tracy Family Foundation is excited to collaborate with Chaddock to bring a Screen Sanity Parent Night Event back to West Central Illinois! Screen Sanity is a nationally recognized organization that helps families create healthy technology habits and guide children safely through the digital world. Their research-based training gives parents practical tools for setting screen boundaries, introducing smartphones and social media wisely, and having meaningful conversations with their kids about technology.

This FREE event, which dinner included, is open to anyone involved in raising children—parents, caregivers, educators, and more. The content is designed specifically for adults and will offer practical language and strategies you can use immediately with children.

Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2026 | Time: 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Location: The Dr. Debbie Reed Center for Excellence | 205 South 24th Street, Quincy, IL 62301

Registration Link: https://grow.withlome.com/a/84166657-033d-41a0-bc2b-a2b9b132fdd3

Attention parents of incoming Kindergarten students for the 2026–2027 school year!

Kindergarten Round-Up is coming up soon! This is your chance to pick up important enrollment information and get your child on our roster for the fall.

📅 Friday, April 17
📍 Carthage Primary School
⏰ Stop by anytime during the school day

We are excited to welcome our future Blueboys and Bluegirls!

📸 Carthage Primary School – Spring Picture Day Reminder! 📸

Just a reminder that Spring Picture Day for Carthage Primary School is Tuesday, March 31!

Order forms were sent home, but families can also conveniently order online using the link below:
👉 https://inter-state.com/FlyerEntry?code=0408WS&mrkt=26sper7&utm_campaign=31987507-2026%20Spring%20Parent%20Email%20Reminders&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9h9nOr4mA_BpFpYMUFwe-jEGt8x_Eb4wciuk-N45RD40s40NK8WjQ2eJXKYkJ8SVgY_x4z8b6jD8uWsv5qbpw_FVQdJg&_hsmi=396687303&utm_content=396687303&utm_source=hs_automation

Please note:

This is for Carthage Primary School students only
Photos will be taken using a green screen background

We look forward to seeing all of our students’ bright smiles on picture day! 😊

All CMS students will be taking the IAR assessments at school this week with their first hour teacher. Students will review procedures on Monday and begin testing on Tuesday. They will need headphones and a pencil for some sections of the assessments.
Please encourage your student to try their best, get plenty of sleep, and eat breakfast. I also recommend having some tissue in their pocket.
Snacks will be provided by the PTO during the scheduled break between tests.
After testing, students will follow a schedule to eat lunch and meet with each of their teachers for a variety of activities. At the end of each testing day, 5 lucky students will win prizes ranging from chips, bottle of soda, or $50! On Friday, the winners of the PTO "Students Rule the School" raffle will be announced.
Thank you for your support of our students and staff while we administer this assessment used in part for our school report card and future curriculum planning and professional development.

Winter and Spring Activities pictures will be taken for the yearbook at school tomorrow.
Sports/Activities Included:
5/6th boys basketball
7/8th boys basketball
5/6th girls volleyball
7/8th girls volleyball
Dance Team
Track and Field Team
Scholastic Bowl Team
Science Olympiad Team

If your athlete has returned their uniform, we will have them available to wear. Please have the appropriate accessories, undergarments, and shoes to complete the uniform.

If your student's team has a team shirt to wear instead of a uniform, please be prepared. Questions should be directed to the coach or sponsor.

Tonight's game will be on Hudl and not on our YouTube channel. Click the following link to access: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/il/liberty/organization/132676/liberty-high-school/watch?b=QnJvYWRjYXN0Mzg0MzI1Mg%3D%3D&shared=true Go Bluegirls!

🌊🐠 Welcome to IAR Testing… Under the Sea! 🐚🐙 Our CPS 3rd & 4th grade staff had a fin-tastic time welcoming students to their first day of IAR testing! 💙 Can you tell our theme this year is Under the Sea? 🌊✨ From ocean décor to smiling faces, we’re ready to make testing days feel fun, calm, and encouraging for our students! We reminded our students today: “TAKE A DEEP BREATH, GO WITH THE FLOW, JUST DO YOUR BEST AND SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW!” 💫 💡 Family Tips for Testing Success: ✔️ Get a good night’s sleep ✔️ Eat a healthy breakfast ✔️ Arrive to school on time ✔️ Encourage a positive mindset ✔️ Remind your child that effort matters most! We are so proud of our students and all the hard work they’ve put in this year. Let’s cheer them on as they show what they know! 🐬📚💙 #CPSPride #UnderTheSea #IARTesting #JustDoYourBest

Friendly reminder: Due to recent snow days, Perfect Pastries order forms and payment are now due back to school on the next day we are in session.

Hello CESD Families, Due to inclement weather, there will be no school tomorrow, March 17, 2026. While much of the snow has melted, it has refrozen and created icy, unsafe conditions on many backroads. As of now, all after-school activities and practices are still scheduled as planned. We will continue to monitor conditions and provide updates if anything changes. Thank you, and please stay safe.

The sectional game has been rescheduled to Wednesday at 5:00pm at Liberty. Come cheer for the Bluegirls at Liberty's gym on Wednesday!

Due to safety concerns of traveling to Liberty for the 8th grade Sectional Volleyball game tonight, it has been postponed until tomorrow at 6:00pm. The bus will leave CMS tomorrow at 4:30p.m. Stay warm and be safe!

🎉 CMS Students Rule the School! 🎉 The CMS PTO is giving students a chance to take over the school for a day! See attached flyer for more details. Buy raffle tickets for a chance to become Principal, Teacher, or Staff Member for the Day on April 1st. 🎟 Ticket Prices • $2 – 1 ticket • $10 – 6 tickets • $20 – 13 tickets Students can choose who they want to take over for the day: 👩‍🏫 Mrs. Bockenfeld 👨‍🏫 Mr. Klein 👨‍🏫 Mr. Kody Horn / Mrs. Kim Barr If your ticket is drawn, you’ll enjoy: ✨ Excused from class for the day 🥤 Morning drink of your choice 📜 Create one agreed upon rule for the day with the principal 🍕 Sponsored lunch of your choice with a friend 🎉 And more surprises! 💙 Help CMS PTO reach their $1,000 goal and support the school dance and an end of the year fun day! 🎟 Tickets are on sale now through March 27 in the CMS office! Interested in helping even more? You can sponsor a class for $25 so every student in that class gets a chance to win! Let’s make this a fun event for our CMS students! 💙🖤

Hello CESD Families, Due to the incoming inclement weather, school will be canceled on Monday, March 16, 2026. At this time, after-school activities and practices are still scheduled as planned. If anything changes, we will communicate updates as soon as possible. Thank you and stay safe.

CPS Families: This is the last weekend for our PTO Perfect Pastries Fundraiser! Let’s finish strong!!! Please return all packets and money on Monday to school! Thank you so much!

Dear CESD Families,

Today is the last day to complete the Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey, and we truly need your help. Currently, only 15% of our parents have responded, and we must reach at least 20% participation for our results to count.

Please take just a few minutes today to complete the survey. Your voice and opinion truly matter, and the feedback you provide helps us better understand how we can continue improving our schools for our students and families.

You can complete the survey here:
http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and support our school community.

This is to inform CESD #317 families that today, Friday, March 13, 2026, there will be an early dismissal for Kindergarten through 8th grade due to school improvement. Dismissal times: Shuttle Bus 12:20, Primary 12:30, Middle School 12:35. Preschool classes are cancelled. Have a wonderful weekend!

As we planned for a pep assembly on a half day, several plans were discussed. 5th and 6th graders will eat at 11:03-11:30am. 7th and 8th graders will eat at 11:35-12:10pm. At 12:10pm, all students will move to the gym for a pep rally for the 7th grade volleyball team headed to State. Go Bluegirls!