Important Dates

April 11 -  Kindergarten Concert, Parent Performance, 8:45 am

April 11 -  Harlem Wizards basketball Game, CHHS Gym, 7-9 pm  

April 15-22 -  Spring Recess,  school closed

May 4 - Earth Day Celebration @ Vassallo Park

May 9 - Broadway Kids Show, 7:00 pm

May 13-15 - CET Incoming Kindergarten Screening, by appointment

May  17 - Croton Recreation Dept. - 4th Grade Moving-Up Celebration! - Croton Municipal Building, 5-7 pm

May 21-23 - District Wide Art Show, CHHS, 9-3 pm

May 23 -  District Wide Orchestra Concert, CHHS, 7 pm

May 27 - Memorial Day,  school closed

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CET Newsletter April 5, 2019

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

Message from the Principal, Mrs. Kelly Maloney

Dear CET Families,

Well, spring is in the air! You might not be able to tell by the temperature outside, but we can certainly tell inside!  As you will read in Mrs. Bianchi’s newsletter article, we have had to remind students about our Code of Conduct due to a number of recent behavioral infractions.  The two overarching expectations are “to follow the Golden Rule” and “to follow the rules whether an adult is present or not”.

Our first graders have been out and about in the community to visit local businesses as part of their Community studies. Thank you to Bagels on Hudson, Baked by Susan, The Dessertist, Mex-to-Go, and Yoga So  for welcoming our students and teaching them about the work you do. I tweeted some pictures of these trips, and they can be found on @CETelementary. If you don’t have a Twitter account, you can see our tweets from our CET homepage.

Some of you have been asking about CET’s Spring Concert as you have received information about the district-wide Orchestra Concert.  The CET Spring Concert is scheduled for June 12 at 7:00 pm and will feature our fourth grade band and fourth grade chorus. Students who play a strings instrument will be showcased on May 23 at the district-wide Orchestra Concert at the high school. 

I hope that when you were here for your Parent-Teacher conference, you had the chance to check out the student work that was on display in the halls.  I am always so impressed with the level of work that our students are engaged in and the interdisciplinary connections that are made. Our fourth graders have been engaged in a debate over zoos as a result of reading The One and Only Ivan, a novel told from the perspective of Ivan, a gorilla, who lives in a cage at a mall.  Students in fourth grade are currently in a unit of study on “Digestion, Nutrients, Food Chains, and Food Webs” and as part of this study, they dissected owl pellets!  Using a Bones Sorting Chart, students attempted to identify what primary consumer (mole, shrew, mouse) was devoured! Fascinating! In keeping with the theme of what’s happening in fourth grade, they have been learning how to measure angles using a protractor.  This is a new skill that they all seem to be enjoying!

Ask your child what they’ve been learning in school!  Better yet, ask them to teach YOU something they learned!

Warmly,

Kelly

News from the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kerri Bianchi 

Spring is on its way and hopefully it will bring plenty of nice weather.  As a result, our students will have more opportunities to benefit from consistent outdoor recess.  With that usually comes an increase in behavior related incident reports. Students have more freedom to run and play but often require reminders about how they should interact with their friends and the lunch monitors appropriately.  Ms. Maloney and I reinforced both recess and lunch expectations with the students during morning announcements and visits to the Multipurpose Room during lunch this week. Please remind your child that rough play is not permitted on the CET playground and that they should always keep their hands to themselves.  If they do encounter a problem with a peer they should be encouraged to use their words first when solving a conflict and then if necessary, ask an adult for help. Students should also always be encouraged to include everyone in their games and activities. These guidelines for appropriate behavior also apply to the bus.  All students are riding the bus during this time of year either to and from school or for field trips. Again, students should be reminded that kind words and keeping their hands to themselves are always expected. If a student finds themselves in an uncomfortable position where conflicts are not easily resolved, they should always speak to an adult at school and at home.  Together we work to make CET a safe and happy place for all students! This is also the perfect time to reinforce and remind students of the four Olweus rules that help to keep CET Bully Free:

1. We will not bully others.

2. We will try to help students who are bullied.

3. We will try to include students who are left out.

4. If we know that someone is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and at home.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

News from Lauren Fitzgerald, School Psychologist

Helping Children Overcome Test Anxiety   

Test anxiety is the uneasiness or apprehension that a student feels before, during or after a test because of worry or fear of failure. Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time; in fact, low levels of anxiety can motivate students to study and perform well. However, when anxiety interferes with test-taking and learning it can cause students to blank out or have trouble paying attention, limiting their ability to think clearly and do their best work. The good news is that parents can help their children manage test anxiety. 

Some Practical Steps: 

• Make sure your child has enough sleep, eats a healthy breakfast, and gets to school on time.
• Make sure your child has the needed school supplies for the test.
• Doing well on the test is usually easier if the child has been completing the academic assignments that lead up to the test. 

Some Other Advice: 

• Motivate your child to want to take the test by praising them for good efforts on their homework and studying.
• Help your child to reduce fear and anxiety. This can be accomplished by helping your child to replace their negative thoughts (e.g., “I am not good at math so I will never do well on this test.”) with positive thoughts (e.g., “I have studied and completed my work, so I feel confident that I will do well on this test.”).
• Teach your child ways to relax if they are feeling tense in the testing situation such as, taking deep belly breaths, thinking positive thoughts as discussed above, and counting to 10 in order to give their bodies time to calm down. 

Things to Avoid: 

• Avoid giving too much reassurance (e.g., “I know you’ll do great!”). This can actually make a child more anxious because they may begin to feel as if you are putting too many expectations upon them.
• Don’t allow your child to avoid the situation by allowing them to stay home because they are feeling anxious about the test. This only reinforces their anxiety by sending the message that these feelings will allow them to stay at home.
• Try not to be impatient with your child about their anxiety (e.g.” Just take the test and get it over already!). Even though you may be trying to convey a message that the test is not something they should worry about, it may actually send the message that you do not care about how they are feeling. Acknowledging their feelings/anxieties about the test is much more beneficial for the child and for you. 

Please take these considerations into account when helping your children to prepare for tests and when helping them overcome any anxiety. Staying calm and helping your child to feel prepared are the best ways to ensure low levels of anxiety and a happy test-taker! 

 News from Patricia Lynch, Math Teacher

C.E.T. Loves Math!

" Why would they change Math? Math is Math!”

If you feel like you have become your child’s math teacher or tutor at home, you are not alone.  Whether you are providing homework support, enriching or extra practice, keep the curiosity and exploration vibe high!  Aside from being a lawn mower, a bulldozer, or a helicopter parent, if you are interested and involved in what your child is learning, you are strengthening their academic foundation. Hopefully, at parent/teacher conferences, you were better able to understand your child as a learner and how they are performing in the classroom.

If you watch this video clip from ‘ The Incredibles’ you will see, Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) wrangling with his son's Math homework, and promptly ridiculing, " I don't know that way! Why would they change Math? Math is Math!” His wife arrives home and he quickly concedes to her. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QtRK7Y2pPU

CET teachers are here to help and I am here to support students, teachers, and parents too!  We all work together to support your child’s trajectory in math.  If Mr. Incredible, Bob Parr were a C.E.T. parent, I would tell him to have his child explain the homework to him.  Bob could explain his methods to his son and they could find the commonality between the two approaches.  If that did not work, Bob may just have to go to the C.E.T. Math Lab site to explore the curriculum link or even watch a few homework help videos linked directly to lessons (found under the ‘student/parent resources’ link). Better yet, teach your child how to seek help or even to write a note to the teacher about what was confusing so it can be reviewed. 

Keep in mind that what YOU do when you don’t know something will be reflected in what your child does.  The satisfaction in knowing that your child loves math and finds it engaging at home and school is an INCREDIBLE feeling as a parent!  C.E.T.’s parents are superheroes and we appreciate and thank you for all you do!  

CET PTA

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MEMORY BOOK

The deadline for submitting ads to 2018-2019 Memory Book is fast approaching. We must have your ads by FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019. Please remember that the ads help us provide a free Memory Book for everyone at CET. 

Thank you for your help!

Jean Flandreau & Kara Shilling
Memory Book Advisors

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  Experience Science 2019

Sign up NOW for the  2019 Experience Science Technology and Innovation Fair! 

This event takes place on Thursday, May 2nd from 5:30-7:30 pm in the Croton-Harmon High School Auxiliary Gym. All K-12 students are eligible to participate.

For more info, visit our Experience Science website

Students can sign up right now. Use this simple student sign up form 

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

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High School Homework Help

for Grades 1-6

Drop into the Croton Library on Wednesdays for homework help, run by high school students who want to help younger friends. It takes place from 3:15-5:00 pm in the Small Program Room.

For more information, contact criedel@wlsmail.org

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NYS Senate Earth Day Celebration

To celebrate Earth Day this year, the NYS Senate is sponsoring a poster celebration for children in grades K-6. The theme is: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE. 

Please photograph and submit your entries electronically, in jpeg or pdf format, via www.harckam.nysenate.gov. Submissions must be uploaded to the website by April 17, 2019.

If you have any questions, please contact the coordinator for this event, Cynthia Thomas Greenstein, 518-455-2520 or cthomas@nysenate.gov