Important Dates

November 4 - PTA Book Fair Event. Reni McManus, librarian, will read to the students @ 7pm.

November 4-10 - PTA Book Fair. 

November 8 - Parent/Teacher Conference Day.  No School for Students. 

November 11 - Veteran's Day.  School Closed. 

November 18  - 2nd Grade Concert Parent Performance, 8:45 am.

November 22 - Picture Retake Day.

November 23 - Half Day Of School - Dismissal at 11:45 am.

November 24 & 25  - Thanksgiving Recess.  School Closed.

November 29  - Parent/Teacher Evening Conferences, 5:00-8:00 pm.

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CET Newsletter November 4, 2016

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

Message from the Principal, Mrs. Kelly Maloney

Dear CET Families,

We were fortunate to have such nice weather for our Halloween parade on Monday.  Thank you to all of you who came to watch the parade, and for following the procedures we had put in place. We appreciate your cooperation, and as a result we had an uneventful parade!  Thank you to Ms. Zantay and the high school band for providing us with Halloween music. 

We had a nice turnout at our first PTA Principal’s Coffee last week. Thank you to Mrs. McManus, Mrs. Lafuente, and Mrs. Vlad for presenting the ways in which we are incorporating engineering and design practices into library, art, and science. As part of their library instruction, Mrs. McManus has introduced all students to coding using Ozobots, a small mini robot. Students learned to program the Ozobot to follow a path that they designed.  More coding opportunities will take place over the course of the year.  Students are also encouraged to participate in Maker Challenges posed by Mrs. McManus.  This month’s Maker’s Challenge is to create a toy.  Please visit the library website http://librarycet.weebly.com/ to learn more about coding and Maker Challenges.   Mrs. Lafuente is also creating ways to incorporate engineering practices into the art room. With funding from the PTA, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) related building and craft sets have been purchased. Students have the opportunity to use these materials on their Free Choice days.  The Science 21 program that we use to teach science is currently renovating curriculum to follow the progression of the NYS Science Learning Standards. The redesigned science curriculum includes integration of engineering practices into classroom instruction. The curriculum renovation started with kindergarten this year, and Mrs. Vlad was excited to present the new unit on Weather and Climate. As part of this study, kindergarten students designed “sunbrellas” to prevent an ice cube from melting.  Their next unit of study is Forces and Interactions: Pushes and Pulls, a unit that can easily tie in engineering and design practices. We anticipate rolling out new first grade science curriculum next year. 

It is hard to believe that we are almost a quarter of the way through the school year. Hopefully you have signed up for your Parent-Teacher conference.  Parent-Teacher conferences are an opportunity for you to talk about your child’s academic progress, as well as their work habits and social development.  Our special area teachers and support staff are also available to meet with you. At times they will initiate a conference, however you too could also request to meet with them if you have a concern.    

The PTA Book Fair will be open all next week. Please stop by to check out the booty of books for sale!

Enjoy this unseasonably warm weather.

Best,

Kelly

News from the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kerri Bianchi  

As a follow up to today’s lockdown drill I wanted to take this opportunity to share the other safety drills and protocols that we have in place at CET to ensure the safety of the students and staff.  Throughout the district we are trained in responding to 6 basic safety protocols referred to as The Simple Six.  I would like to outline each of those protocols by giving examples of when they may be put into place and what the procedure is.  A Lockout is used when there is a non-imminent threat or hazard outside the building.  We would resume normal activity within the building however there would not be outdoor recess or outdoor Physical Education classes.  As usual, there would be a single point of entry into the building.  In the event of a fire, we would evacuate the building to a designated evacuation area outside the building.  A Lockdown is initiated when there is an imminent threat.  Students move to a safe zone location within their classroom and remain there until they are released by police or school personnel.  Shelter in Place is put into effect if there is a weather related threat, gas leak or medical emergency in the building.  In this case, students and staff return to their classrooms, remain quiet and await further instructions.  The main purpose of this protocol is to keep students secure and hallways clear.  An Evacuation may also be related to a weather threat, gas leak or loss of heat.  Students and staff exit the building to a predetermined area and await further directions.  The final protocol in our Simple Six is a Staff All Call.  This is initiated when additional staff is needed to manage an incident or communicate information to other faculty and staff.  All available staff would report to a designated area to receive specific instructions pertaining to the incident.  Following these basic safety protocols help ensure the safety and security of everyone at CET.  If you have any questions regarding safety procedures and protocols, please feel free to contact us.

Message from Vilma Torres-Pagan, School Counselor  

Empathy. According to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, empathy is defined as “the feeling that you understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions: the ability to share someone else’s feelings”. As parents, we are our children’s first and foremost role models. Teaching them to empathize is best accomplished by showing them how to do it. The following are five tips when responding to a hurting child:
1. “Take your child’s perspective.” Try to see the world through their eyes. Their problems may seem trivial to you but are as high as Mt. Everest to them.
2. “Refrain from judgment.” We may feel upset with our children. Our first instinct may be to chastise them for the wrong they committed. The best thing to do is to help them focus on how they feel and save the reprimand for a later time.
3. “Communicate your understanding of your child’s feelings.” You can do so with words (such as “I understand”) or with your own body language. A smile, a nod, kindness in your eyes will all communicate that you understand how they feel.
4. “Stop before you say BUT”. Instead of bringing up the “but you should have done this instead”, focus on how they feel. For instance, in lieu of saying “Yes you were embarrassed BUT you shouldn’t have hit your friend”, say “Yes, you were embarrassed” and leave it at that.
5. “Instead, try AND”. After you have helped your child process their feelings, after the tears have stopped, after a period of active empathic listening, move on. “Yes you hit your friend AND your friend was hurt”. Your child will be able to move on to problem-solving (“what-to-do-now”) only after they process their feelings through validation and understanding.
(Adapted from https://parentingfromscratch.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/five-expressions-of-empathy/)

CET PTA

Come out and support the Bookaneer Book Fair! 
Everyone's favorite book fair will be arriving at CET beginning Friday November 4th and finishing Thursday November 10th.  Don’t miss out! Come and see all the wonderful books our Bookaneers have sailed up the Hudson for us!  There will be many new additions as well as popular favorites.
Visit with the Pirates of the Hudson Friday in the CET gym from 7-8:30. Shop Saturday from 9-1, Monday from 8-5, Tuesday from 8-4:30, Wednesday from 8-6:30 and Thursday from 8-5.  The Book Fair raises money for enrichment and provides books for our classrooms, library, and specials classes.

LOST & FOUND

Please check the "Lost and Found" for your child's belongings. They miss you and their home. We will be donating items at the end of the month if they are not claimed.

Thank you for your support!

SPECIAL AREAS NEWSLETTER

Please check out the Special Areas newsletter on our CET homepage. The newsletter provides an overview of the skills being taught in art, library, music, and physical education.