Important Dates

February 5 - YMCA After School Programs begins

February 9 - PARP Reading Cafe

February 10 - Hudson River Eaglefest, Croton Point Park, 9 am - 4 pm

February 12-15 - Kindergarten Registration Week, please call to make an appointment

February 19-23 - Winter Recess,  School closed

March 2 - PTA Family Fun Night, 6-8 pm

March 16 - Kindergarten Concert Parent Performance, 8:45 am

March 26-30 - Spring Recess, School closed

*****

CET Newsletter February 2, 2018

https://www.chufsd.org/Domain/10 

Message from the Principal, Mrs. Kelly Maloney

Dear CET Families,

Happy Groundhog’s Day! It is hard to believe that February is already here and we are halfway through the school year!  

Our fourth grade participated in Colonial Fair Day here at CET. Dressed in colonial garb, students enjoyed a variety of colonial activities and games. Thanks to the generosity of parents and local businesses, students had a wonderful luncheon with authentic colonial foods such as johnny cakes, corn pudding, scalloped potatoes, and snickerdoodles.  Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who came dressed in their colonial garb to serve lunch! I tweeted some pictures!

As you know, report cards were made available to you in the eSchool Parent Portal.  If you had any questions regarding your child’s report card you should contact your child’s teacher.  The eSchool Parent Portal also contains the results of your child’s STAR assessments. The STAR assessments are administered three times a year (Fall, Winter, Spring).  (Some children might take it more frequently for progress monitoring purposes). It is a computer- adaptive test that adjusts to each child’s response. Students in Kindergarten take the STAR Early Literacy while students in 1st grade take the Early Literacy, Reading, and Math, and students in 2nd-4th grade take the STAR Reading and Math assessments. Why do 1st graders take three assessments? The STAR Early Literacy is only measuring reading readiness skills, and once students reach the “probable reader” stage, they can take the STAR Reading test.   As I write this letter, the January scores have not been uploaded to the portal due to a technical glitch. I will send out a K12 as soon as they are available.

The data from the STAR assessments assist us in a variety of ways including identifying students who are in need of intervention, to track progress, and to identify the core skills that the student likely already knows as well as suggestions for skills that could be worked on next.  Using the STAR data along with classroom assessments such as the Next Step Reading Assessment that identifies a student’s independent reading level and math module assessments, we identify students who would benefit from AIS reading, AIS math, Enrichment reading, and Enrichment math. Students who receive AIS services are those who are struggling with reading and/or math skills/concepts and are below their grade level benchmarks. Students who are recommended for Enrichment reading and/or math are at least two reading levels above grade level benchmarks and perform in the 95+ percentile rank on the STAR assessment.  We are in the process of reviewing the data and making changes to AIS and Enrichment groups. Letters will be sent home if your child is being recommended or discontinued.  Our goal for the Enrichment support is to offer it to as many students who meet the criteria. This will mean that students will most likely NOT receive Enrichment support for the entire school year.  If your child qualifies for both Enrichment reading and math, most likely they will receive both but not at the same time of the year.

Next weekend is the Eaglefest at Croton Point Park. I hope that you consider attending. All of our third grade classes are scheduled to go to the Croton train station to eagle watch in the upcoming weeks. Community member and former CET parent, Charlie Roberto, volunteers his time to share his passion (and extremely large telescope!) with our third graders!

Enjoy the weekend!

Best,

Kelly

News from the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kerri Bianchi

Have you moved within the district?  Have you gotten a new phone number? 

If you have any changes to your address, phone number or emergency contacts please make the appropriate changes in your K12 account.  Any changes made to your K12 account will automatically initiate the changes in eSchool Data.  Just sending a note with a change to a teacher, nurse or secretary does not ensure that the changes will be made in both communication systems.   Keeping your emergency information current and up to date allows us to ensure that we can reach you if necessary as well as assuring that you receive all communications from the school.  If you have difficulty, logging into your K12 account please contact Denise Cuomo at 914-271-4793, ext. 4200.  Thank you in advance for your help in keeping our systems up to date and our communications possible.

Message from Robin Woolley, School Counselor

Unplug your kids, Unplug yourself!

I met my hero at parent/teacher conferences in November.  She doesn’t allow electronics during the week, and only for a couple of hours on the weekends.  This includes TV, Xbox, iPad/iPod, etc..  She works a full day, but has made it a priority to “be present in the moment” with her kids when she gets home.  It’s not easy, but she leads by example by putting her phone down, too.  

It’s something I’m trying to do more of.  And it really works.  I’ve not only noticed a huge difference in my kids when we limit electronics and spend more time interacting in a positive way with each other, but I also find that I’m a happier person because I’ve put my phone down, too.  

I recently read an article about how increased hours online correlate with teen depression and suicidal thoughts.  Why mention that to elementary parents? Habits taught now will impact your children in the future.  We are raising our children in a digital world that we don’t necessarily understand and that can be scary, but we need to remember that we are still the ones who set the limits and it’s up to us to give our children the best foundation for them to build on.  Start setting limits when kids are young, and you’ll have a much easier time when they get older.  

Here are a few tips to try:

1. No electronics at the table - breakfast, lunch or dinner - for anyone!  This includes if you go out to a restaurant for dinner.  Share things about your day; talk and listen to each other.  Social skills are taught by being social and interacting with others.
2. Have a family game night once or twice a week - this helps children learn how to win and lose gracefully.
3. Go for walks or spend time outside.
4. No “screens” an hour before bed.  Use the time to read with your children or have them read to you.
5. No devices in bedrooms.  You’ll sleep better and so will they.
6. Have a “device basket” where all phones, tablets, etc. are put when not in use.  Have a sign out sheet next to it to help track how much time is being used by everyone.
7. Lead by example. It truly is liberating to turn off your phone and “unplug” yourself, if only for a few hours.

You will most likely get some resistance at first if you haven’t set many limits in the past.  Don’t despair - stay strong and be consistent!  If you have any other ideas that you use, please share them with me.  I’m always looking for new ways to help kids be the best they can be!  

CET PTA

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Students who reside in Croton and will be 5 years old before December 1, 2018 are eligible to attend kindergarten, If you are in need of a kindergarten registration packet and/or an appointment, please contact:

Gail Anzovino, Secretary to the Principal

914-271-5184 ext.3212

*************************************************************************

YMCA AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS

If your child will be attending an afterschool program, please send in a note indicating a change in dismissal and on what day(s) of the week. You must include your child's full name and teacher.

*************************************************************************

HOW TO ACCESS REPORT CARD & STAR ASSESSMENTS

• Go to the CET homepage
• On the lower right hand click ESD Student/Parent Portal
• The left side of the screen should say Parent Portal click "LOGIN Screen"
• Login using your username and password
• At the top of the next screen, you should see your child's name. Click on the blue ID number next to their name
• This is your child's profile page. The tabs at the top will help you navigate to the Standards-Based Report Card and Assessments

Children's Dental Health Month - February 2018

The 9th District Dental Association is conducting a poster contest for "Children's Dental Health Month 2018". The Contest is open to all students K-12 and entries are to be received on or before Friday, March 9th.  To submit your entry and/or have any questions regarding rules, awards, etc., please write to:

Ninth District Dental Association

364 Elwood Avenue

Hawthrone, NY 10532

*************************************************************************

2018 Experience Science, Technology & Innovation Annual Fair

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Croton Harmon High School

5:30 - 7:30 pm

All K-12 students are eligible to participate in many different ways. You can create a project or just come to the fair and share your curiosity with friends and family. Students can sign up by using our simple student sign up form at https://sites.google.com/chufsd.org/experiencescience/home