Important Dates 

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

November 22-23 - Thanksgiving Recess, school closed

November 27 - CET School Picture Retakes

November 29 - Parent/Teacher Evening Conferences rescheduled, 5-8 pm

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 19, 2018

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

Message from the Principal, Mrs. Kelly Maloney

Dear CET Families,

Now that we’ve had our first snow day, I want to review some important information related to delayed openings, early closings, and school closings. I know you probably would have appreciated this information last week!   When we have a delayed opening, we jump right into our daily schedule. So if we have a two-hour delay, students should arrive at school at 10:00 am and our day would begin with morning announcements at 10:15 am followed by whatever we would normally do at 10:15 am.  This means that anything that was scheduled to happen the first two hours of the day will not take place. On delayed openings, the before school music programs (strings, band, chorus) and math programs are canceled.   Additionally, on early dismissal days, all after-school programs are canceled with the exception of Childrenspace. We do not have lunch on early dismissal days.   When we have a snow day the following school day will be the letter day it should have been.  For example, we had a snow day on Friday which was supposed to be a “C” day. Since we had no school, today (Monday) is a “C” day. Our school calendar which is posted on our CET webpage contains the letter days and is updated when we have an unplanned school cancellation. For those of you who send your child(ren) to Childrenspace for before and/or afterschool care, you should reach out to them to find out their inclement weather policies as their hours of operation may be adjusted due to the weather.  

Congratulations to our school nurse, Mrs. Martins, who just had a baby. We anticipate Mrs. Martins to return later in the school year but until then we have a certified nurse, Mariles Domingo, in our Health Office. If necessary, you can email Ms. Domingo at Mariles.Domingo@chufsd.org .  

Our second-grade students were excited to attend the performance of James and the Giant Peach at the Yorktown Stage today.  All second graders read this well-known Roald Dahl book earlier this year and were thrilled to see it performed on stage. Ask your second grader about their favorite part of the show, or their favorite character. Don’t forget to ask them “why?” Why was that your favorite part? Why is Mr. Centipede your favorite character?  They will be reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory later in the year.

First-grade students enjoyed the Starlab, an inflatable planetarium, that was set up in our multipurpose room for a day. This intergalactic experience supports their Science unit of study, “Space Systems: Patterns and Cycles The Sun, Moon, and Stars”.  Ask your first grader what they have learned so far.

I want to thank our CET families for their generosity this month. We collected over 200 pairs of pajamas, packed up numerous boxes of food for the Croton Caring Committee Holiday Food Drive including leftover Halloween candy, and raised over $2000 for the Scholastic All for Books Challenge. 

Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble, gobble,

Kelly

P.S. The evening Parent/Teacher conferences are rescheduled for Thursday, November 29th.

News from the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kerri Bianchi 

In anticipation of the colder weather that is sure to head our way soon, I wanted to take this opportunity to review a few guidelines that we follow here at CET in order to have your children outside during the winter months as much as possible yet still maintain their health and safety.  Generally speaking, if the sun is shining and the wind is not too harsh, we will send our students outside if the temperature is above 28 degrees.  We do take into consideration the wind chill factor and the real feel temperature when making decisions regarding outdoor recess.   We encourage students to stay outside for at least 10 minutes on cold days but we do allow them to come in to the Multipurpose Room if they are too cold to last the entire recess time outside.   We also know that the building remains quite warm in some classrooms all winter long and that some children like to wear shorts to school.  With that said we recommend that children who choose to wear shorts in the winter bring a pair of sweatpants to leave in their book bags to put on for outdoor recess.  We also recommend that children dress in layers so that they are comfortable throughout the building.  With the cold temperatures becoming more regular we will make announcements to remind students to zip up their coats and wear their hats and gloves while they are outside.  Once we have snow on the ground, students are encouraged to wear boots and other snow clothes if they would like to play in the snow.  If your child loses a warm winter item please remind them to check the lost and found regularly.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation in dressing your children appropriately for the weather and labeling your child’s outerwear.

News from Lauren Fitzgerald, School Psychologist  

Empathy is Essential

As you learned in Mrs. Bianchi’s last newsletter article, CET is focusing on Empathy as a character trait this month. At CET, we define empathy as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. There are ways in which this trait can be taught and encouraged within your homes. The Making Caring Common Project, which is affiliated with Harvard University, recently wrote about 5 steps to help practice empathy within your homes. These include:

• Empathize with your child and model empathy for others.
  • Ex. “I see that you’re feeling….” 

“It looks like Oscar is feeling frustrated because he can’t tie his shoe.” 

• Make caring a priority and set high ethical expectations.
• Provide opportunities for children to practice empathy. An easy way to do this is to hold family meetings.
• Expand your child’s circle of concern. For example, focus on others besides your child’s immediate family and friends. Also, try perspective taking activities with your children.
• Help your child to develop self-control and manage feelings effectively. In order to foster this step, make sure you discuss feelings with your children and also work on different problem-solving skills. 

For more detailed information about empathy within your home, please visit:

https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/resources-for-families/5-tips-cultivating-empathy

 News from Patricia Lynch, Math Teacher

C.E.T. Loves Math!

Our CET Math program is based on the Common Core State Standards.  Being competent in Math establishes a base for all STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math learning. Our vertically aligned curriculum supports your child’s mathematical skills and strategies through their years at CET.  While discussing your child’s math progress during the parent teacher conferences this month, you might be wondering how to support your child in Math at home. 

One easy way to support your child is to get to know how we approach the concepts in your child’s grade.  The ‘ Read, Draw, Write’ model is used in every grade.  First, we  read the problem carefully to understand what is being asked and then begin to generate strategies and estimates. Critical thinking comes into play as we chose a strategy and  draw a model(s) to aid our computation and understanding.  Finally, we  write our solution making sure our answer is embedded in a statement. 

The concepts and model drawing for each grade and module can be found on the EngageNY site or easily on our CET Math Lab site under the student/parent tab.  Exploring the resources and lessons for each Module will help you to become familiar with our Math expectations.  Teachers incorporate problem-based, critical thinking into these lessons as well as, in extended tasks and projects.  Making time for your child to utilize our online ZEARN Math program at home is another way to help your child.  Each child has a unique username and password.  Students and teachers at CET love math and LOVE that this continues at home!  

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Way to go CET!!! Together we collected 232 pairs of pajamas in our Pajama Drive.  As a reward for exceeding our goal of 200 pairs, we will have a school-wide Pajama Day on Wednesday, November 21 ^st .  Remember to wear pajamas that are appropriate for the weather and no slippers please.

News from CET PTA

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.