Important Dates

October 16 - YMCA programs begin.

October 18 - Principal's Coffee, Projects Room, 9:30 am.

October 31 - CET Halloween Parade, Spencer Field, 1:00 pm.

November 6 - Parent/Teacher Evening Conferences, 5:00 pm.

November 7 - Parent/Teacher Day Conferences

November 17 - 2nd Grade Concert, Parent Performance, 8:45 am.

November 28 - CET Picture Re-Takes.

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CET Newsletter October 13, 2017

https://www.chufsd.org/Domain/10 

Message from the Principal, Mrs. Kelly Maloney

Dear CET Families,

We are very excited to begin rolling out some new movement based furniture and tools that were recently purchased through a CHEF grant!  Desks were purchased that allow students to stand, kneel and spin, cycle, and stride! After piloting a variety of  kinesthetic seating  options, we have purchased ergo seats, ball chairs, stools, wobble chairs, and scoop rockers. CHHS students from the RISE program have been helping assemble all of our new equipment. The goal of this equipment is increase student attentiveness and focus through a steady range of motion which increases blood circulation and brain activity.  Research suggests that kinesthetic learning boosts brainpower as well as  productivity, attention, and memory. We are very appreciative that CHEF approved our Flexible Classroom Seating grant in the amount of $21,435. Thank you to occupational therapist, Eileen Stark and special education teacher, Kelly Banas for doing the research and applying for this grant.

As I had mentioned at Back to School Night, Mrs. Lafuente will be co-teaching cursive writing with the third grade teachers this year.  Cursive writing lessons have already begun; students will receive a 20-25  minute lesson  once every two weeks.

Mrs. McManus has begun coding with second grade classes this week. Their first lesson involved identifying the steps in getting a mouse to the cheese (paper and pencil activity). For example, move 1 space to the right and 3 spaces up. The terms algorithm and program were introduced during this lesson.  Like the 3rd grade, 2nd grade classes will receive coding instruction once every two weeks for 20-25 minutes.

If you didn’t know, Mrs. McManus puts out a “Maker Challenge” every two months. This month’s “Maker Challenge” is to create a fidget!  Students who participate in the challenge will have their designs on display in the library for all to see. These challenges are optional.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter at #CETelementary. I try to tweet weekly!  This week I tweeted some of the fidget designs and the presentation on the Run Against Hunger.  

It is hard to believe that Parent-Teacher conferences are only three weeks away! Please be sure to sign up for a conference using the link on our CET webpage (chufsd.org).  If you have more than one child at CET, I suggest that you do not book back to back conferences as you need to give yourself time to get from one wing to the other, and sometimes conferences run a little longer than planned.

Remember this Sunday is the Run Against Hunger and the Croton Fire Fair!  

Enjoy the weekend!

Warmly,

Kelly

News from the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kerri Bianchi

October Activities

CET has a very busy month ahead!  First of all, you have seen your children come home with their paper “sneakers” please encourage your child to color their sneaker and bring it back to Ms. Leslie with their $1.00 donation to the Harry Chapin Run Against Hunger.  The actual run will take place on Sunday, October 15th with the Fun Run beginning at 11:00am near Veterans Corners.   The coordinators of the run will provide a pizza party to the class that has the greatest participation in the Fun Run.  The students have been practicing for the run during their PE classes.  The run provides families with a great opportunity to get out and participate in a fun activity for a great cause.

On Wednesday all CET students attended an assembly on fire safety and fire prevention.  Members of the Croton Fire Department shared information about fire safety and stressed the importance of having two possible evacuation routes in the event of a fire.  Students had the opportunity to see one of the firefighters in full gear as well as see and hear their oxygen tank.  The assembly concluded with the students going outside to see and ask questions about the Engine Truck.  All of the tools and equipment on the truck were on display for the students to see.  There will be plenty more to see and do at the Fire Fair on Sunday, October 15 ^th from 1-5 at the Harmon Fire House

Wednesday, October 21 ^st will be our annual district wide Unity Day.  Students will participate in a number of activities to promote unity and friendship here at CET.  We encourage all students to wear orange to show their unity and support for bully prevention.

Finally, on Friday, October 27 ^th our students will learn about Halloween Safety with a visit from the Croton Police Department.  Our Halloween Parade will take place on Tuesday, October 31 ^st at 1:00 pm at Spencer Field.  We hope to see you there!

Message from Lauren Fitzgerald, School Psychologist 

Having difficult conversations with your children is never easy and sometimes there really is no “right” way to talk about certain topics. However, with the increasing amount of natural disasters and violence occurring in our country and around the world today, it is necessary to become more confident approaching these types of conversations with one another and more importantly, with your children. For most difficult conversations, general guidelines include reiterating the fact that your child is safe and trying as best as you can to keep a predicable schedule for your family. This helps to alleviate any anxiety your child may be feeling about his/her everyday life. Another general guideline includes being honest with your children in an age-appropriate manner. You want to speak openly about topics, but also cautious when covering details that are anxiety provoking based on your child’s age. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has provided some guidelines for speaking to children about violence and natural disasters. Attached are two articles that I have found helpful and I hope you will too. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me for any further support.

Please See:

https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/school-safety-and-crisis/natural-disaster

https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/school-safety-and-crisis/talking-to-children-about-violence-tips-for-parents-and-teachers

CET PTA

We are very excited to announce our first Principal's Coffee. It will take place next week ( October 18th) at  9:30 - 11:30 in the Projects Room. Mrs. Maloney will be discussing the School Day Structure in detail and will record the presentation for those who cannot attend.

Please find at least a couple of hours in your schedule this year to lend a hand. Upcoming opportunities include the Scholastic Book Fair ( Nov. 2-9), Winter Craft Night ( Dec. 8), and ongoing lunch service. Sign up here:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4baaab2da6f49-wild

https://sites.google.com/a/chufsd.org/cet-pta/CET-PTA-Homepage/CET-Lunch-Program

We are looking to put together a Winter Craft Night planning team. Please contact us if you are interested to help out or if you have any fun craft ideas. 

Send in your box tops now! Put them in a baggie and send them to school with your child. There are many Box Tops still out there with a  November 1st expiration. Send them in now so we can make sure they get counted! Thanks for supporting our school!

CET PTA Cares is dedicated to raising funds through donations, which are used to help families in our CET Community that may need financial assistance. Our primary focus is supplying lunches 5 days a week to these children, but we also try to help financially with school trips, books and/or other necessary school items. In Croton, we have been seeing the need for student assistance growing, but thanks to the generosity of the CET community we have raised enough money to provide lunch to these children for the first semester.  One such donation was from the Surs who held a yard sale of pre-loved toys this summer and donated half of the profits to CET PTA Cares.  Getting rid of toys and simultaneously giving to a great cause--win/win!! CET PTA Cares only employs the efforts of parent volunteers and school staff where needed, which ensures that all donations go directly to students.  If you would like to donate to the PTA Cares fund please send in checks (in school folders) made out to CET PTA with  PTA Cares in the notes line .  Thanks so much for your support of this very local program!

Share your thoughts or ask questions at any time by emailing cetpta@gmail.com or attending a PTA meeting (next scheduled for  Nov 8th at 9:30. Visit www.cetpta.com for information about all things PTA. Follow CET PTA Community on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter @CET_PTA.

  CET PRINCIPAL'S COFFEE

What does your student do all day at CET?

Principal Kelly Maloney will share her approach to a school day that balances academics, play, exercise, nutrition, enrichment, and more.

Please join us for our firts PTA Principal's Coffee on Wednesday, Oct. 18th at 9:30 am in the Projects Room at CET. We hope to see you there!

Save the dates for upcoming Principal's Coffees! All times are at 9:30 am.
December 12th, January 12th, February 13th, April 18th, and June 1st.

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"LETTER"/CALENDAR DAY

Finding it difficult to remember what letter day it is at school? There's an app for that! Croton-Harmon UFSD has a free app that you can download to your tablet or phone. Once you have downloaded the app, go to the calendar. Then click the icon on the top right corner and choose Carrie E. Tompkins as your school calendar. Once this is set, you can click on any day of the month and it will tell you if it is an A, B, C, D or E day!

DISMISSAL NOTES/AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Just a soft reminder to submit a dismissal note if your child is attending an after school program. Please include the student's full name and teacher. "A Note to School" pads are available at the Welcome Center, compliments of the CET PTA.