Carthage Elementary School District 317

This is Dustin Day, the superintendent of Carthage Elementary School District. This call is to remind families that on Friday, March 14, 2025, there will be an early dismissal for Kindergarten through 8th grade. There will be no school for PreK. Dismissal times are as follows. Shuttle Bus at CPS will pick up in the East Parking lot at 12:20. Everyone else at the Primary School will dismiss at 12:30. Middle School will dismiss at 12:35. Thank you and have a great weekend.

Attention winter and spring athletes: Wednesday, March 12th is team picture day for Boys Basketball, Volleyball, Scholastic Bowl, and Track & Field. If you have turned in your uniform, we have it for you to wear. If you have a uniform at home; bring it to school tomorrow to wear in your team picture. Thank you.

CPS Families: Please join us in celebrating Read Across America on Monday, March 3. Your child is invited to wear pajamas to school!

Dear Carthage Primary School Families, Exciting news! We are partnering with Books Are Fun and their Book Blast program to help build our students’ home libraries. For over 30 years, Books Are Fun has been a trusted partner in promoting literacy. Today, our students learned about the Book Blast Program and the importance of having their own books at home. Tonight, we are asking you to take 7 minutes to support our Student Home Library initiative. Click Here: https://app.booksarefun.com/CarthagePS62321 Here are the steps: Click the link above. Register your student(s). Send invitations to at least 10 friends or family members to support our students (Don’t worry, all the information you provide is secure and never shared with anyone). Need help registering? Watch this short step by step video: https://www.bb.booksarefun.com/how-to-complete Why I love this program: It’s guaranteed to put new, age-appropriate books into the hands of every student! 100% of all contributions go toward new books and classroom supplies. The book list is fantastic! It’s attached, check it out. It will take you less than 10 minutes and there is NO financial requirement from you. More books in your homes equals more pages being read! That’s the goal. We’re hoping for 100% participation. Want to see Book Blast in action? Watch this news clip from Fulton Elementary: Fulton Elementary News Clip Thank you for helping our students have more books.

This is a reminder that the 2025 Illinois Supplemental Parent Survey opened on Feb. 18, 2025, and will close on March 28, 2025. Please complete the survey by then: [http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/](http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/). For questions call 1-866-440-1874. Thanks!

This is a reminder to complete the 2025 Illinois Supplemental Parent Survey before it closes on March 28, 2025. Please take the survey here: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/. For questions, call 1-866-440-1874. Thank you for your participation!

Attention, adventurers! Our Book Blast event starts next week where we will set off in search of treasure to build our students' home libraries. Follow the steps on the Treasure Map coming home next week to embark on a jungle quest to earn exciting prizes and books. 🗺️🌟 @go.booksarefun #bookblastadventures

Due to the inclement weather, there will be no school Tuesday, February 18, 2025..

Our Carthage ESD 317 app keeps getting better and better! Parents/guardians who have already created a Rooms account can now access new app features like chat and class streams via web and in the app. Download for Android https://aptg.co/9n6pP1 Download for iPhone https://aptg.co/Lyl07J

Reminder for 5th-8th graders regarding the Fan bus; students must bring $10 game admission fee to the office to sign up for a ride to Macon by noon tomorrow (2/13/25). Bus leaves CMS at 2:30p.m. Returns about 10:15. More info. on the app after your student is registered. We need 35 - 45 students to run the fan bus.

Fan bus for 5 -8 grade students to cheer on the Blueboys during their game this Thursday. Students must bring the $10 admission fee to the office to sign up for a ride to Macon. We will not stop, but there are concessions available. Bus leaves CMS at 2:30 & is anticipated to return to CMS approximately 10:15pm.

There will be no school on Wednesday, February 12. There will be early dismissals on Thursday, February 13, and Friday, February 14. AM and PM Preschool is canceled on the 13th and 14th. Dismissal times for early dismissals are as follows: Primary Shuttle Bus 12:20, Primary School 12:30, and Middle School 12:35.

Say “hello” to two-way messaging and classroom announcements in the Carthage ESD 317 app! With the addition of Rooms, our district app gets better. Parents/guardians check your email with instructions to sign up and access new features. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SlslIAgqfV5EX04iSzNbt58VOXLKF5d7/view?usp=sharing

Say “hello” to two-way messaging in the Carthage ESD 317 app! The same district app now offers class streams, class announcements, and parent-teacher chat. Look for your invitation to begin using this feature in our app after Feb 7. Download for Android https://aptg.co/9n6pP1 Download for iPhone https://aptg.co/Lyl07J

School is canceled today, February 6, 2025, due to inclement weather. Stay safe and warm! There will be school on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, as an emergency make-up day. Activities for tonight are still on.

This is to inform families that today, February 5, 2025, there will be an early dismissal for Kindergarten through 8th grade due to expected inclement weather. Afternoon PreK is canceled. Dismissal times: AM PreK 10:45, Shuttle Bus 12:20, Primary 12:30, Middle School 12:35. All extracurriculars are canceled. Stay safe!

The boiler is fixed at CMS and school will resume the regular in-person schedule tomorrow, Monday, 1/27/25.

Carthage Middle School will have an e-learning day on Friday, 1/24/25, due to no heat and maintenance on the boiler. Pre-K through 4th grade will have a regular day with regular bus routes attending CPS in person. 5th-8th graders will learn from home by logging into Google Classroom by 8:00 am.

CPS will run their regular schedule on 1/24/25. CMS paras report to the primary school to assist. Custodial staff report to your regular schedule. CMS teachers may work in any of the 3 district buildings. Donuts and coffee will be provided at the district office. All call will go out to families in the morning.

The 7/8 boys b-ball game has been moved from Carthage Middle School to Illini West tonight due to heating/boiler issues and maintenance. Please do not arrive at IW before 5:30pm due to other scheduled events. The game starts at 6:00 pm. The bake sale and 50/50 will go on as planned at IW in the cafeteria. Thank you.