Important Dates

March 15 - PTA General Membership Meeting, 9:30 am, Projects Room

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

March 16 - Family Fun Night, Multi-purpose Room, 6:30-8:00 pm

March 27-30 - Spring Recess, School closed

April 11-13 -  NYS ELA Tests, Grades 3 & 4

April 19 - 1st Grade Concert Parent Performance, 8:45 am

April 20 - CET Parent/Teacher Conferences, early dismissal, 10:45 am

April 26 - CET Parent/Teacher Conferences, early dismissal, 10:45 am & evening, 5:00-8:00 pm

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CET Newsletter March 9, 2018

https://www.chufsd.org/Domain/10 

Message from the Principal, Mrs. Kelly Maloney

Dear CET Families,

“In like a lion, out like a lamb.”  Well, the first part of that proverb has certainly been true!   Let’s see if it holds true at the end of this month! I hope that by this time you all have your power restored.  

In response to the tragic event that took place in Parkland, Florida, I want to remind you of the safety and security procedures we have in place at CET. All of our exterior doors are locked and there is only one point of entry for visitors; visitors must  enter through the Welcome Center. All faculty and staff members wear ID badges that provide them with access to the building during their work hours. During the arrival process, there are two points of entry for students-both are manned by staff members. After 8:15 am, all students must enter through the Welcome Center.  All classroom doors are kept in the locked position, and are ready to be closed and secured in a moment’s notice. This year, we added a buzzer at the back doors near the multipurpose room. This buzzer notifies the Childrenspace staff that there is someone who is here for pickup as their program extends past the school day.

Both Mrs. Bianchi and I carry walkie-talkies that allow us to communicate with all of the members of our administrative team, custodial team, the director of transportation, and the Croton Police Department.

As you know we do practice lockdown drills ; other districts may call this an “active shooter” drill. We are mandated to have four lockdown drills a year.  We have had three so far.

Members of the Croton Police Department are present for all of our drills. We have blue pull stations throughout the building that when pulled will activate a lockdown.  Additionally, we have panic buttons in the office and Welcome Center, and security cameras monitoring activity outside the school.

Since the tragedy in Parkland, the Croton Police Department has been more visible around the school campus.

It is important for you to know that we must address and investigate any and all threats that pertain to guns, violence, and death. Please be sure that your child understands that they cannot say things like “I’m going to kill you” or “my daddy has a gun”. They cannot pretend to shoot someone. Comments and gestures such as these will have serious repercussions.

Each building in the district has a School Emergency Response Team (SERT) that meets throughout the year with Altaris, a security consulting firm, that provides guidance and resources on managing safety and security, and emergency preparedness. During these meetings, we review our safety procedures, practice “table top” drills, and discuss any concerns.

If you have any questions or thoughts related to the security of our building, please reach out to me.

Best,

Kelly

News from the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kerri Bianchi

  CET students were very busy during the month of February! Our Kindergarten and 1st grade students enjoyed a visit from our local dentist, Dr. Merrie.  Dr. Merrie talked to the students about the importance of healthy habits and demonstrated the proper way for children to take care of their teeth. It was a great way to highlight Dental Health Month.  Students in grades K-2 participated in a “Bash the Trash” music assembly. “Bash the Trash” put on an amazing concert for the students using all reused and repurposed materials. The performance was followed up with classroom workshops for our 1st and 2nd graders where the students created their own instruments using “trash”. During music classes the students were able to perform using their unique instruments.  We have some very talented and creative students! The 3rd grade classes went on their Bald Eagle watch trip and I am told that there were some amazing sightings! With so much going on at CET we hope that you take the time to talk to your children about the unique and special opportunities they had before the Nor’easters hit!

Message from Robin Woolley, School Counselor

Teaching Children about Personal Safety

 As our children grow up, it is important that we have “difficult” conversations with them about things that might be hard FOR US to talk about.  It is easy to talk to them about fire safety because a fire is something that is obviously dangerous and we have a simple strategy to give to them: Call 911 and get away from the fire.  It is much harder to talk about something that is less obvious – we don’t want to mention that there may be scary things in this world like strangers and “bad people” who might hurt them.  After all, we don’t want to scare them.  However, when we have age-appropriate conversations with them about what to do if something dangerous or bad happens, we are actually giving them tools to keep them safer.  

Using a strategy such as “No, Go, Tell” is something that our students have learned through Bullying Prevention and can be used for personal safety as well.  Making sure children are not forced to hug or kiss relatives/friends at get-togethers or parties is another strategy that helps children learn they are in control of who touches them.  Always let children know that you will believe them if they come to you with an uncomfortable feeling or tell you that someone touched them in an inappropriate way.  

Below are some books that can help you start these conversations with your child(ren) about stranger safety, personal boundaries/consent and sexual abuse prevention (safe/unsafe/uncomfortable touches).  

Never Talk to Strangers by Irma Joyce

The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers by Stan and Jan Berenstain

A Little Book About Safety by Samantha Kurtzman-Counter and Abbie Schiller

My Body’s Mine by Kayla J. W. Marnach

I said No! by Zack and Kimberly King

Your Body Belongs to You by Cornelia Spelman

No Means No! by Jayneen Sanders

My Body! What I Say Goes! By Jayneen Sanders

  Croton-Harmon Education Foundation

Spring Forward with CHEF

Join the Croton Harmon Education Foundation (CHEF) for a fresh new fundraiser hosted  on  Saturday, April 7th.  The event will be held in Peekskill’s Dramatic Hall, a historic and truly unique space, and will feature farm-to-table cuisine, live music, a DJ, and more. Thanks to district partnership, CHEF is offering free transportation from district residences to the event -- via school bus!  All funds raised will help support innovation in our schools!  
 
For more information on how CHEF has supported CET and to purchase tickets, please visit:
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CET PTA

CET PTA is MARCHing forward with plenty to bring the school community together as we transition from Winter to Spring!
 
For starters, who couldn't use some fun and games? Nothing better than old fashioned BINGO! Join us on  Friday, March 16 from 6:30 to 8:00 and keep your fingers crossed that you hear Mrs. Maloney call out just the right combination of letters and numbers. No need to feed the family before heading over - we'll be selling pizza and water, and SEPTA will be running a bake sale. 
 
We know the school, the district administrators and the Board of Ed continue to address many topics of interest to our members. We're here to help you stay plugged in to what is happening, and communicate concerns and questions on your behalf.  Reach out any time with questions, concerns, topics of interest and we'll get it teed up for one of our meetings or other appropriate forum.
 
Speaking of meetings, the next PTA General Meeting will be on  Thursday, March 15 at 9:30 am. 
 
All are welcome to come share their ideas, find out how to get more involved in the school, or just listen in on the latest happenings.
 
We're always reachable at CETPTA@gmail.com and you can find out what the PTA is up to on our Facebook page (CET PTA Community) or our website cetpta.com

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JUMP ROPE FOR HEART FUNDRAISER

Our  Jump Rope for Heart Fundraiser  is wrapping up! You are doing such an incredible job helping the American Heart Association save lives! Thank you for doing your part to make a difference, because every dollar counts. There is  still time  to spread the word and  raise money . Visit  heart.org/jump  to join our school team online. We are currently at 2,600. Please consider helping us reach and BEAT our goal from last year of $8,800. THANK YOU!

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Library Expedition Tour

Calling all book lovers - last chance to reserve a spot!   A few spaces still remain.  If your child digs books, whether reading or writing them, we encourage you to take advantage of the Library Expedition Tour.  The free, after-school PARP, parent-friendly reading event takes place March 13 (3 rd -4 th  grade) and March 15 (K-2) in the CET Library.  To register, send your child’s full name and grade/teacher via email to libraryexpedition@gmail.com.  A takeaway book for all participants.

Claire Hilbert H 914 862 2291 M 347 512 7510

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

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UPDATING YOU AND YOUR CHILD'S INFORMATION IN THE K-12 SYSTEM


Change your phone number recently? Have a new emergency contact?

To be sure we have the most up-to-date information for you and your child, you may access K-12 Alerts by either logging on to the CET Homepage where you will find "Parent Portal/K-12 Alerts" or by accessing the Croton-Harmon School District's Homepage and clicking on "Parent and Resident Portal/K-12 Alerts". Once you log in to the K-12 Alert System, you will be able to make any necessary changes to your or your child's information.

If you have any questions, please contact Denise Cuomo, 914-271-4793, ext. 4200.

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 



K12 Alerts
Patented (U.S. Patent No. 8,180,274)
K12 Alerts

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