Important Dates

September 24 - PTA Annual Fall Festival, CET's Upper Field, 12-4 PM.

September 24 -  "Best of the 2016 NY International Children's Film Festival" -  "Squidtopia" will be shown @12 PM at the Jacob Burns Film Center.

September 26  - PTA Lunch Service begins.

October 1 - Croton Free Library, Jerry Pinkney, local author, will read his new book.

October 3-4 - School Closed.

October 7 - CET Picture Day   

October 7 - Emergency Management Plan Drill, 15 Minute Early Dismissal

October 10 - Columbus Day - School Closed. 

October 12  -  School Closed.

October 16 - Run Against Hunger.

October 24 - YMCA programs begin.

October 31 - Halloween Parade (more to come).

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CET Newsletter September 23, 2016

http://www.chufsd.org/schools/carrie_e_tompkins_es

Message from the Principal, Mrs. Kelly Maloney

Dear CET Families,

Happy Fall! 

I hope that you and your child(ren) are off to a good school year! We have completed our fourth week (16 days!) of school and everyone seems to have settled in nicely.  As you may have noticed at Back to School Night, a lot of time is spent during these first few weeks on “Getting to Know You” activities and goal setting (personal and academic).  Students have been sharing what makes them special, their strengths, and the areas that they would like to improve. In addition, fourth grade students brainstormed reasons why “Life is Good”, the staff theme for this year. Impressively many of them said “Life is Good because I have a house, food, and a family that loves me.”    I don’t recall reading any that addressed material possessions.  

Teachers have begun to administer the Next Step Guided Reading Assessment. This assessment includes a word knowledge inventory, comprehension passages, and a reading assessment conference to identify each student’s strengths and weaknesses in the areas of decoding, self-monitoring, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This information is used to identify student’s independent and instructional reading levels in order to plan and provide appropriate instruction. We have also begun to administer the STAR Reading (grades 2-4), Early Literacy (K-1), and STAR Math (grades 2-4).  These are computer-adaptive timed tests that all students will take in the Fall, Winter, and Spring.  The data from these assessments along with the 2016 Grade 3 New York State ELA and Mathematics assessments assist us in identifying students who are in need of intervention, and to track progress. Our AIS (Academic Intervention Support) teachers have begun their services. At this time we are providing AIS Math and AIS Reading to students in grades 1-4 .  If your child has been identified for AIS services, you will receive a letter indicating that and who their service provider will be.  We do have a few children that received AIS last year that will be discontinued from the program as a result of their assessment scores. Once again, a letter will be sent home if your child will be discontinued. After the reading assessment and STAR assessments have been administered, our Data Team will identify any other students who may be in need of academic support. For our kindergarten students, we will be providing some sensory and fine motor skill support to those students identified. With the guidance of our occupational therapist, Eileen Stark, our music teacher (Ms. Peters) and our art teacher (Mrs. Lafuente) will be working with these students. Once again, a letter will be sent home if your child has been recommended for these services. If you have any questions regarding AIS, please contact your child’s teacher, AIS provider, or me.

I hope to see you at the PTA Fall Festival tomorrow!

Warmly,

Kelly

News from the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kerri Bianchi

The 2016-2017 school year is off to a great start!  The students and teachers are getting to know each other and the students are beginning to feel comfortable with their new classmates.  This is the time of year when we like to review and reinforce the expectations for a successful school year.  We have visited all lunch periods and talked to the students about how REACH (Respect, Effort, Acceptance, Cooperation and Honesty) look like in various school settings.  We reinforced that respecting others is always expected even if we are not close friends.  We ask that you reinforce these expectations at home.   We also ask that you remind your children that inappropriate language and physical contact are never acceptable at CET.  If you have not done so already, please review the orange Tiger Cub contract with you child and sign and return it to their teacher.  As always we appreciate your support at home and look forward to a fantastic year!  

Message from Lauren Fitzgerald, School Psychologist 

The Power of Routines

Setting a routine for your child helps them feel a sense of security and predictability. Many of the inquiries I receive about children feeling anxiety are due, in part, to the fact that these children do not often have a set schedule and are feeling uneasy because of it. Of course, bombarding your child with a strict schedule can also be confining and it’s good to be unpredictable from time to time. Spontaneity may be more appropriate on the weekends and/or when your family may have some more down time. Below are some of the benefits you and your family will experience with a predictable weekly schedule:

1. Routines help to eliminate power struggles- if your child knows what to expect in the day then he/she is less likely to give you a hard time when there is a transition
2. Routines create a sense of hopefulness in your child- your child is able to look forward to the day’s activities when he/she knows what is planned
3. Routines also foster a sense of independence within children- if your child knows what is on his/her schedule she/he is more likely to feel confident and ready when starting a new activity

Creating a schedule for your family at the start of the school year is a sure way to begin a peaceful new year!

For other tips on Back to School Transitions- please refer to the following article: http://www.nasponline.org/publications/periodicals/communique/issues/volume-36-issue-8/back-to-school-transitions-tips-for-parents

Message from Kaylynn Hayes, Nurse

When to Keep your Child Home from School…. 

It often can be a difficult decision to make, whether to keep your child home from school.  School attendance is important and for some parents staying home with their sick child means missing work.  But when a child is truly sick and possibly contagious, they need to stay home with an adult in order to get well and prevent spreading illness to others.   

The following information may help you decide when it is necessary to keep your child home. * But it is not to take the place of consulting a medical provider. Always contact your child’s healthcare provider when you are unsure of whether to keep your child home from school.       

News from Suzanne Leslie and John Duchin, PE Teachers

The school year is off to a great start in the gymnasium! We are so excited to start learning more about your child as the school year progresses. So far in Physical Education class we have finished a cooperative games unit and a soccer/dribbling/kicking unit. In the upcoming weeks ahead, please have your child be prepared to go outside with the proper clothing attire in regards to the weather. We are hoping to get your child outside to enjoy the nice facilities that CET offers. Please also continue to remind your child of the days they have Physical Education class so that they can come prepared with their sneakers and be ready to participate.

Also, please remember to have your child bring back their “Run Against Hunger” sneaker and one dollar for our CET sneaker wall. If your child needs another flyer, please have them ask their Physical Education teacher. Lastly, remember to mark on your calendar the Harry Chapin Run, which will be on Sunday, October 16 ^th this year!

Looking forward to a positive and fun-filled school year!

    CET PTA  

We hope to see you there!