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The Friday Five
February 21, 2025
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Happy Friday, Cabarrus County Schools families!
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We hope you've had a great National FFA Week, and we truly appreciate your patience and understanding through this week's weather related events. Welcome to this week's edition of The Friday Five -- five reminders on Friday afternoon to get your next week started. |
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#1 How inclement weather decisions are made
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Cabarrus County Schools follows a detailed process to determine whether to cancel or delay school due to inclement weather. Our top priority is the safety of our students and staff. Here are the key steps we take:
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Monitoring Weather Conditions – School officials are in contact with and track forecasts from the National Weather Service and other reliable sources to assess potential impacts and the timing of those events as they relate to our daily school schedule. Although our students' school day doesn't begin until 7:15 A.M. when high school students begin class, our bus drivers and many other operations staff across the district begin their school day typically at 5 A.M.
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Assessing Road Conditions – Transportation and district staff drive key routes across the county, especially in areas prone to ice or flooding, to evaluate road safety. Typically, these assessments are done in the early A.M. hours prior to our first school transportation vehicles hitting the road at 5:15 A.M.
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Consulting Emergency Officials – The district works with local emergency management, law enforcement, and state agencies for additional insights on road and weather conditions.
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Evaluating School Campuses – Early in the A.M., facilities and maintenance staff check school facilities, including parking lots, sidewalks, and entryways, to ensure they are safe for students and staff.
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Making the Decision – District leaders from various departments including transportation, operations, safety, finance, facilities, communications, and administrative services meet with the Superintendent to share and review all gathered information and make a final decision, typically by early morning (5 A.M.) or the night before if possible.
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Communicating with Families – Once the Superintendent has made a decision, the district announces closures or delays through automated ParentSquare texts, calls, and emails, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, NextDoor, local news stations, and the district website.
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#2 PowerSchool data breach update
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We want to keep you informed about a reminder from PowerSchool regarding the recent nationwide data breach affecting student and staff information. Families and staff have until May 30 to enroll in complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services.
PowerSchool is partnering with Experian to provide these services to all current and former students and educators whose data was accessed, regardless of whether their Social Security Number was involved.
For details on how to activate the Experian identity protection service, visit PowerSchool’s website. We will continue to share any updates from PowerSchool and the North Carolina Department of Instruction as they become available. For further information, you may also visit www.cabarrus.k12.nc.us/powerschooldata
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1.SPRING BREAK: Spring Break is quickly approaching. All Cabarrus County Schools will be closed to students the week of March 10-14. In addition, Friday, March 7th is an early dismissal day for all traditional calendar schools. Early Colleges will be closed to students on Friday, March 7th for a staff development day.
2.SENIOR SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: The Jonathan Foundation is 100% volunteer, 501(c)(3) service organization dedicated to give hope to children in need. We offer financial support to various children's charities, local non-profits, and college scholarships to Cabarrus County High School students. The primary goal of the The Jonathan Foundation is to give hope to children in need. Since 2011, The Jonathan Foundation has gifted over $110,000 in scholarships, community grants, and outreach. They have also invested over $102,000 to ensure the Foundation's future growth and outreach The 2025 scholarship application can be accessed here: https://jonathanthackerorg.weebly.com/scholarships.html
3.FINANCIAL AID WORKSHOPS: Please be aware of several upcoming financial aid webinars hosted by the College Foundation of North Carolina. Registration links are below and information can also be found on the flyers attached to this post. Financial Aid Awareness Month Webinar Series registration link: https://www.cfnc.org/events
- Monday, Feb. 24, 6−7 p.m. Evaluating Financial Aid Offer Letters
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#4 All-County middle school band clinic is Saturday, 2/22
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The annual CCS All-County Middle School Band Clinic is tomorrow at 2 P.M. at Winkler Middle School. The event is open to the public, and there is no entry fee.
Mr. Brent Davis from Mendenhall Middle School (Greensboro, NC) is conducting the concert band and Mrs. Carrie Lineberger from Belmont Middle School is conducting the symphonic band.
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#5 Important Upcoming Dates
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February 2025
- Thu 2/27 • 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm • Budget Committee Meeting
March 2025
- Mon 3/03, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm • Board of Education Work/Business Meeting
- Thu 3/6 • End of Quarter - Early Colleges
- Fri 3/7 • Early Dismissal ALL
- Fri 3/7 • Planning/Staff Development - Early Colleges ONLY
- Fri 3/7 • End of Quarter - Traditional Calendar Schools
- Mon 3/10 - Fri 3/14 • Spring Break
- Thu 3/27 • 3rd Quarter Report Cards
- Thu 3/27 • 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm • Budget Committee Meeting
- Fri 3/28 • Early Dismissal for CMS, ROSA, RRES, WES, WMIES
- Mon 3/31, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm • Board of Education Budget Work Session
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Wolf Meadow Elem collecting unopened boxes of cereal
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The newly-created P2 Student Leadership Club (4th and 5th graders) at Wolf Meadow is currently collecting unopened boxes of cereal to distribute to local collection sites, primarily “1 Can”. Their goal is 1,000 boxes collected by February 26th. For more information, contact WMES teacher Mrs. Burd at kimberly.burd@cabarrus.k12.nc.us |
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Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library present "Frankenstein Slept Here" on Sat, 2/22
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The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library will present Frankenstein Slept Here on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7:00 P.M. at the Mt. Pleasant High School auditorium. The show features several current and former CCS employees and a school resource officer. Tickets are $10 and include a dessert buffet. |
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Old Courthouse Theatre BOGO for students and staff
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Concord's Old Courthouse Theatre will present The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, (Abridged)(Revised) from Feb 13-23. Please see the attached graphic for information on buy one, get one tickets for staff and students for the Friday performances. For more information, please visit www.octconcord.com. |
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14th Annual Ellis Jewelers Future Designer Contest
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The 14th Annual Ellis Jewelers Future Designer Contest starts NOW!
Cabarrus County Schools’ students in grades 3-12 are invited to submit an original design to be crafted into a piece of jewelry. All designs must be submitted, in person or by mail to Ellis Jewelers no later than Friday, March 21st, 2025 by 5:30 pm EST. Good luck!
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Truth Over Trend video contest
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Attention high school students:
Want a chance to win great prizes? Participate in our SUBSTANCE USE
EDUCATION & PREVENTION video campaign! See below for rules:
CONTEST STARTS: FEBRUARY 3RD
SUBMISSIONS DUE: FEBRUARY 28TH
1. Video must be at least one minute long and no longer than two minutes.
2. Must include multiple facts regarding illegal substances, such as statistics, risks, etc.
3. Wrap up the video with why you choose not to use & how not using benefits you.
4. Video must be family friendly.
5. Contest is only open to high school students.
6 .Videos can be created by an individual or a group.
There will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners for this contest!
Send videos and any questions to Selena Sifontes at
selena.sifontes@cabarrus.k12.nc.us
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Kindergarten Enrollment is open
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🌟 Calling All Future Kindergarteners! 🌟
Cabarrus County Schools is excited to welcome the Class of 2038! 🎉 Kindergarten enrollment for the 2025-26 school year opens February 1, 2025.
Please share this information with your rising Kindergarten family and friends. We can't wait to meet our newest students! 💙🍎
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We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Engage CCS, our inaugural digital quarterly! Inside Volume 1, Issue 1, you'll find inspiring stories of kindness, leadership, and community impact from across Cabarrus County Schools.
We hope you enjoy reading about the amazing people and stories that make CCS a special place to learn and grow! 💙 #EngageCCS
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VEX Robotics Volunteers Needed
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Cabarrus County VEX will host 15 VEX tournaments in North Carolina over the next several months, including 4 state championships. These tournaments, which account for 83% of all robotics events in the state, will bring teams from across North Carolina to compete in Cabarrus County.
While coaches and event partners recruit volunteers, CCS VEX is seeking additional support from the CCS community. If you'd like to help by volunteering or sponsoring our program, please click the buttons below to see event details and available volunteer positions. We welcome volunteers of all experience levels and ages!
In 2021, Cabarrus County Schools had 73 VEX teams. Today, we have 161 teams, making up 53% of all public and private school teams in North Carolina. Our goal is to continue to grow our program in CCS, but we need your help! For more information on VEX Robotics in CCS or to ask questions pertaining to VEX in CCS, please email ccsvex@cabarrus.k12.nc.us.
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We’re excited to reconnect with you! As a valued member of our school community, we want to ensure you stay engaged with Cabarrus County Schools. To help us strengthen our connection, we kindly ask you to take a few moments to share your contact information by completing the short survey available by clicking the button below. Your participation will help us celebrate your achievements, share important updates, and create meaningful engagement opportunities for our alumni network. Thank you for being an integral part of our CCS legacy! |
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