Important Dates 

November 2 -  One Enchanted Evening, CET Gym, 6-8 pm

November 2-8 - PTA Scholastic Book Fair, CET Gym

November 6 - CET Parent/Teacher Day Conferences,  no school for students

November 15 - CET Parent/Teacher Evening Conferences, 5:00 PM

November 22 - Turkey Trot, 9:30 am, Spencer Field

November 22-23 - Thanksgiving Recess, school closed

November 27 - CET School Picture Retakes

November 30 - 2nd Grade Concert, Parent Performance, 8:45 am

December 14 - CET Winter Concert, Parent Performance, 8:45 am

December 24-January 1 - Holiday Recess,  school closed

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CET Newsletter November 2, 2018

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

Message from the Principal, Mrs. Kelly Maloney

Dear CET Families,

Happy November! It is hard to believe that we are already into the third month of the school year! The weather was perfect for our Halloween parade! So many creative costumes! One of my favorites was The Old Woman Who Lived in A Shoe! That was Mrs. Sherry, of course, who works in our Welcome Center. She has so many children she doesn’t know what to do!  Halloween related activities have been prevalent these past two weeks. We’ve been singing songs, reading stories, and solving math problems. Kindergarten students sorted Halloween related words based on the number of syllables; second graders weighed pumpkins and estimated the number of seeds before counting them! Fourth grade students read about giant pumpkins-how they are grown and what people do with them. Did you know that some people have made boats out of giant pumpkins and raced them?  The gym was turned into a graveyard where students had to navigate around tombstones on scooters; students also had the chance to climb a spiderweb! In art class, fourth grade students are working on a collaborative drawing project, Exquisite Corpse! Ask your child what Halloween related activities they enjoyed.

Congratulations to our physical education teacher, Mr. Duchin and his wife, who had their first child this week. Mr. Duchin will be out for a few days caring for his wife and baby.

The Scholastic Book Fair is underway! Students and teachers had the chance today to preview books and create wishlists.  Please be sure to stop by the Book Fair which will be open during Parent-Teacher conferences. Thank you to the Book Fair coordinators and all of the parent volunteers. It takes a village!

Speaking of village, thank you also to our firefighters and police officers who recently visited CET to talk to students about fire safety and Halloween safety.  Students are currently reviewing bus safety.

Today we welcomed educators from neighboring districts who were here to learn about Drumming for Fitness.  Ms. Peters and Ms. Leslie shared how they incorporate this program into their music and physical education classes. This was a great opportunity to highlight one of the many wonderful things we do at CET!  

Hope to see you around the halls next week during Parent-Teacher conferences!

Best,

Kelly

News from the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kerri Bianchi 

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others and is a character trait we work very hard to develop in all of our young CET students.  This morning we had our second REACH assembly of the 2018-2019 school year.  The entire school gathered together to reflect on ways we have shown respect for ourselves, each other and our school over the last 5 weeks and then began to focus on our new character trait, Empathy.  We were able to provide the students with examples of how we are practicing empathy already at CET.  We highlighted our pajama drive, and our candy and coin drive for the Veterans.  We also talked about the upcoming holiday food drive that will run from now until November 15 ^th .  The food drive is a perfect opportunity for our students can think about how others are feeling and takes steps to empathize and make a difference.  Over the next 5 weeks Mrs. Woolley will be focusing her Social Emotional Learning lessons on demonstrating and developing empathy.  Students have been challenged to be caught “showing empathy” and will be recognized for demonstrating this trait.  We encourage parents to have conversations with their children about empathy and point out examples in their everyday life.

News from Robin Woolley, School Counselor  

Think ~ Create ~ Reflect ~ Respect 

for Parents

Our district has adopted the philosophy of “Think. Create. Reflect. Respect. Challenging all students to be critical and creative thinkers.”  If this is our expectation for our children, we need to not only teach them these skills, but to model them, as well.  Our children learn A LOT by watching what we do.  Here are some tips that might help your child to learn critical and creative thinking skills through your examples:  

Think - In a world that has become extremely reactionary and fast-paced, take a moment to stop and think before reacting.   

• Think about each decision you make and how it will impact yourself and those around you.
• Give yourself 24 hours before you send that frantic email, angry text, or post something out of anger or frustration that you might regret.  
• Ask more questions to try to find out the “whole story” before jumping to conclusions that may be false.   

Sometimes our emotions overwhelm us and our first reaction may not be the best one.  Take a moment to pause and think before acting.  

Create - quality time in your schedule to spend with your kids and to practice self-care.   

• Yes, we are all busy - that’s not an excuse!    
• No, driving your child to/from activities and sitting on the sidelines or watching dance class and gymnastics doesn’t count.  Neither does watching TV. 
• Make an “appointment” with yourself and with your children ~ then make sure to keep it.
• Have regular meals together - this has been proven to decrease substance abuse and increase a child’s self-esteem.
• Put the phone/devices down and really interact with your kids - dinner, board games, reading together, a walk outside, build something, play imaginative games, be creative! 

Take the time to create opportunities to really be present and interact with your children in positive ways before it’s too late - time flies by and before you know it they will be grown up. 

Reflect - on your own behavior often.  Model this for your children. 

• If you talk about other people negatively, you may teach your child that it’s OK to gossip and be critical of others.  
• If you don’t follow rules and expectations or if you don’t set clear expectations and limits for your child, you may be teaching your child to think that rules don’t apply to them, which can ultimately cause confusion, anxiety, and consequences when they come to school or other places where rules do apply.  
• Mrs. Flynn shared with me something that she does with her daughter to reflect about their day.  It’s called “High, Low, Hero”
• Ask yourself and your child the following questions:
• “What was the highlight of my day?” (focuses on positive thinking)
• “What was the low point and how did I get through it?” (reinforces coping skills)
• “Who was someone that was a hero to me today?” (Choose someone who helped you or was nice to you) 

Respect - be respectful in all your interactions with your children, their friends, their teachers, and other adults. 

• Show respect for yourself - make sure you get plenty of rest, eat healthy, exercise and find time to relax.
• Be mindful of your substance use - alcohol, prescription medications or otherwise.  
• Be kind to others and respect their differences, whatever they may be.
• Respect your surroundings - recycle, put trash in trash cans, don’t throw things like gum or cigarette butts out your car window, be kind to animals.  
• Expect your children to be respectful of you and others.
• If you need help, ask for it - taking care of your own mental health is modeling respect for yourself and can be imperative to your child’s healthy development. 

If we are all modeling these positive behaviors for our children, they will follow us and learn from our example.  

News from Christine Martins, School Nurse

Flu Season is Here!

It’s that time of year again…  And no, I’m not talking about the Fall season, or the approaching holiday season.  I’m talking flu season!  According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the flu is a “contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza viruses”.  Flu season can last from early Fall to late Spring.  The flu can be a mild case, or a severe one.  Typical flu symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, fatigue, body aches.  (Please keep in mind that some people who get sick with the flu do not get fevers!)  Per the CDC, the flu virus is “spread mainly by tiny droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk.  These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby.  Less often, a person might also get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes.”  Check out this fact sheet:  https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/influenza/fact_sheet.htm

Please keep your child home if he or she is showing signs of the flu or any illness.  This is with everybody’s best interests in mind.  If your child is sick or unwell, they won’t be able to focus in class and will most probably have a miserable day…  You will also be exposing everybody in the school to whatever your child is sick with.  Classmates, teachers, staff as well as their own family members at home.

The best way to protect yourself and your family from the flu is by prevention; namely, vaccination.  It is ALWAYS beneficial to get the flu shot, regardless of how effective it is for the current flu season!  ANY amount of protection is better than ZERO protection!  Getting the flu shot will help lessen your chances of getting sick with the flu and it might also lessen the severity and duration of the illness if you were to get sick.  Remember, flu season can last until May!  Speak to your doctor if you or a family member has not received the flu shot yet this season.  On a side note- it does take a couple of weeks after receiving the flu shot for flu antibodies to develop in the body; in other words, for the flu shot to become “effective”.  Get the flu shot sooner rather than later!

Another way of preventing you or your family from getting the flu is by preventing the spread of germs.  The CDC has posted this article on practicing “good health habits” to help prevent illness: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits/index.htm  These six health habits are simple and easy to follow.  They include: avoiding close contact with sick people, staying home when sick to help prevent spreading the illness, covering mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing and throwing used tissues in the trash, washing hands often…

Here in the nurse’s office, we also do our part to help prevent the spread of germs.  In between each student, we wash our hands with either soap and water or Purell.  Our desks, counters, cots, light switches, thermometers, stethescopes… are cleaned with germicidal wipes.  I also review proper handwashing techniques with students when they come in to the office and have them wash their hands.

Check out these kid-friendly articles with your children:

https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/flu-shot.html?ref=search

https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/flu-spread.html?WT.ac=k-ra

Happy November and stay healthy!

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News from Patricia Lynch, Math Teacher

C.E.T. Loves Math!

With the leaves changing color along with the change in the weather, it is a perfect time to work these seasonal changes into a family math discussion!  

Frost on the windows and grass indicates temperatures falling to around 32 degrees or below.  The colder the weather, the harder it is to scrape those windows!  When you check the weather and decide how to dress for the day, ask your child to estimate how close the temperature is to 32 degrees.  Once you check the forecast, compute how close the temperature is to 32 degrees.  Counting up, counting back, jumping to a ‘friendly 10’, or using an algorithm are great strategies to try.   

Did you know that the reported temperature is called “surface temperature”?  Hourly weather observations and climate reports are measured at a height of between 1.25 and 2 meters (4.1 and 6.6 ft.) above the ground. Measure this distance and discuss the difference between the words height and width.  Converting meters to centimeters and feet to inches is another way to extend this activity.  Using the change in temperature and frost on the car, rooftops, and grass are great ways to keep the family math discussions going!    

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REMINDER AND UPDATE

Just a reminder that CET is participating in the annual Scholastic Reading Club Great Bedtime Story Pajama Drive benefitting Pajama Program, a nonprofit organization that provides new pajamas and books to children in need----especially those living in group homes, shelters, foster care, and orphanages.

Our students want to be a part of this drive so that they can help make a better bedtime for these children. Together we can help the Great Bedtime Story Pajama Drive reach even more kids with pj's and books.

OUR CET PAJAMA DRIVE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 8th!

The class who brings in the most pajamas will win an extra recess period. If 300+ pajamas are collected, the entire school will get to wear their pajamas, including Ms. Maloney and Ms. Bianchi. 

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Attention CET Parents

If you have any extra building sets like K'nex, please consider donating to the CET Art Program! Students use these building sets to challenge themselves by creating inventions and architectural marvels collaboratively or independently. You may donate at any time of the school year (Spring cleaning!). You may drop it off at the Art room door or at the Welcome Center. Many thanks for your generosity!!! 

Creative Celebration Project for

Thanksgiving Day

To celebrate Thanksgiving Day, Terrence P. Murphy (Senator of the 40th District) and the New York Senate is sponsoring a "Creative Celebration" for children K-6. The theme of our Thanksgiving Day Celebration is "What are you thankful for?" Students are encouraged to not only be creative in their project but also to convey being thankful for the people in their lives and their communities.  

Participating students will submit electronically, preferably in jpeg or pdf format via www.murphy.nysenate.gov, an original poem, one-page essay, or artwork expressing what they are thankful for in the past year. All submissions will be published online, and students will receive a certificate acknowledging their participation from their Senator. Deadline for student submissions is November 19, 2018.  

CHANGES IN YOUR CHILD'S DISMISSAL

When emailing your child's teacher regarding a change to your child's dismissal, please include the Welcome Center, Laura Sherry at laura.sherry@chufsd.org.

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Updating You and Your Child’s Information in the K12 Alerts System 

To be sure we have the most up-to-date information for you and your child, you may access K12 Alerts by either logging on to the CET Homepage where you will find “Parent Portal/K12Alerts” or by accessing the Croton-Harmon School District’s Homepage and clicking on “Parent and Resident Portal/K12Alerts”. 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.