WELCOME TO COPPEROPOLIS ELEMENTARY, THE HOME OF THE COUGARS!

Copperopolis Elementary School

217 School Street

Copperopolis, CA 92228

(209) 782–3500 ext.301

August 1, 2023

Greetings Copperopolis School Family,

Welcome Back to a brand-new school year at Copperopolis Elementary School! Summer has been filled with rest, excitement, travel, and fun; however, it is time to begin preparations for students to fill our classrooms once again.

Our staff has been developing a fascinating new year of learning for all returning and new students beginning on Wednesday, August 16th for all students grades TK through 6th for the 2023-2024 school year. I look forward to meeting our new TK and Kindergarten students as they begin their fantastic learning journey as Copper Cougars. All class lists will be posted on Friday, August 11th at 3:00 p.m. outside the front office. Our TK through 3rd grade preview day will be on August 15th at 2:00 p.m. for any families that would like to meet their teachers ahead of time to alleviate nerves and accustom your child to the campus.

Our bell schedule for TK through 3rd grades is 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Our intermediate grades 4th through 6th will follow the bell schedule of 8:00 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. The 2023-2024 school year will continue with every Friday Early Release Days for all grades TK through 6th grades. A bell schedule has been attached to this letter.

We have a few exciting changes on our campus this year. Jillian Bruton and Cailey Gomez will be our TK/Kindergarten team. Trisha Crawford and Olivia Birdwell will be the first-grade job share team with Lorie McAdams joining their team in the second 1st grade classroom. Jessica Handgis will be teaching a straight 2nd grade. Joanie Fairman will be teaching a straight 3rd grade, while Paige Herring is joining our staff as a full-time teacher in our 3rd/4th grade combination classroom. Kate Callier will continue in our straight 4th grade with Shannon Gosney teaching the straight 5th grade, and Kurt Schneider will be in our straight 6th grade classroom. Tamsen Lenior joins us in the Title 1 position with years of both literacy and classroom experience. Mishal-Ann Conly will continue as our Learning Skills Teacher. Corrina Lindblom, our School Psychologist will be joining us 4 days a week. Linda Springer will be on campus two days a week as our school counselor. I cannot stress enough what a collectively talented and supportive staff the Copper Community has at their disposal.

For both returning and new students, our Copperopolis PTC is a cooperatively terrific, generous, and collaborative group of parents and staff that provide a variety of fun-filled activities, assemblies, field trips, spirit wear, fundraisers, and so much more. If you would like more information, please email the PTC at copperopolisptc@gmail.com.

Our office staff is undergoing some changes. We wish both Jen Ashworth and Michele Speyer all the best as they begin their journey at the Mark Twain site. As soon as our front office staff is established, we will introduce them to our community.

Like last year, I will continue to offer an open-door policy. If you see me on the campus before or after school, or need to reach out via email or a phone call please don’t hesitate to do so. Quality communication is a continued value of mine. If you have parent concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your School Site Council parent representatives; Derik Harris, Shanna DePonte, and Michelle Sayer. Together, we will create community transparency, with a joyful, safe, and quality learning environment.

Sincerely,

Sara Tutthill

Copperopolis Elementary Principal

stutthill@mtwain.k12.ca.us