Important Dates

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

May 28 -  Principal's Coffee, 9:30 am

May 30 - Principal's Coffee, 7:00 pm

June 12 -  School Spring Concert, 7:00 pm

June 24-26 - CET Early Dismissal, 11:45 am

June 25 - 4th Grade Moving-Up Ceremony, 9:30 am, Multipurpose Room

June 26 - Report Cards 

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CET Newsletter May 17, 2019

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

Message from the Principal, Mrs. Kelly Maloney

Dear CET Families,

With the end of the school year almost here, I know many of you have placement on your mind. Who will be my child’s teacher next year?  Developing classes for the 2019-20 school year is a challenging, complex task. A lot of thought goes into creating balanced, heterogeneously grouped classes in order to create the most optimal learning environment suitable to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of our students.  Your child’s current teacher is involved in the placement of your child as well as special area teachers, support staff, and building administrators. If there is something that you feel is important to share regarding your child’s placement, please put that in writing and send it to me before June 1.  While we do our best to take any information you share with us into consideration, please know that a placement request letter or meeting is not a guarantee. I will be holding two PTA Principal’s Coffees on the topic of placement for those of you who are interested in the factors that we consider when creating classes: May 28 at 9:30 am and  May 30 at 7:00 pm. You will be informed of your child’s class placement in mid-August.

If you are moving out of the district, please be sure to notify the Principal’s Secretary, Gail Anzovino.  

In order to prepare them for the transition to a new school, our fourth graders visited PVC today. They toured the school, met some of the teachers as well as the building administrators, Mr. Plotkin and Mrs. Scollins, and learned about PVC’s programs and clubs. There was time for our students  to ask questions. As is the case each year, students expressed nervousness about finding their classrooms and unlocking their lockers! There is an Incoming Fifth Grade Parent Orientation on May 30 at 7:00 pm at PVC. I highly recommend you attend this meeting.  

May has been a month of field trips. Our second grade classes went to Tarrytown Music Hall yesterday to see Charlotte’s Web. This performance coincided perfectly as second grade had just completed their study on this classic novel.  To learn more about the Hudson River and New York, third grade classes all took a trip to the Walkway Over the Hudson.   Next week, third graders will be visiting the Wolf Conservation Center. Additionally, a number of classes will be heading to the high school next week to view the District-wide Art Show.

The end of the school year is also a busy time for parents. There are a lot of events scheduled for this time of the year. Please check out our important dates section of this newsletter to stay on top of all that is going on! In addition to these dates, there are also grade level picnics scheduled for the last weeks of June.  I look forward to seeing you at one or more of these upcoming events.

Enjoy the warmer weather!

Best,

Kelly

News from the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kerri Bianchi 

Attention 4 ^th Grade families, starting May 29 ^th our 4 ^th graders will participate in the New York State Science test.  The 4th grade science test is made up of two parts.  The students will take a performance test where they are asked to manipulate science tools such as balances, rulers, circuits and measuring cups.  On Monday, June 3 ^rd they will complete the written portion of the test that consists of both multiple choice and extended response questions.  The 4 ^th grade Science test is a culmination of skills and concepts learned from kindergarten through 4 ^th grade.  Typically our students enjoy taking the 4 ^th grade Science test and they perform very well.  If you would like to see sample questions you can visit www.nysed.gov .  Scroll down and click on assessments then Grade 4 and 8 Science.

News from Robin Woolley, School Counselor

While thinking of topics to write about this week, I found an article that Lauren Fitzgerald, our school psychologist, wrote several years ago.  As the days get warmer and summer approaches, this is a great reminder of the importance of letting our children “just go play” and allowing them to figure it out for themselves.

Learning to Play and Playing to Learn – Lauren Fitzgerald, 2/2014

When faced with the demands of everyday life, we often forget how important it is to allow our children time to engage in free play. Some of the factors that limit free play include:

• Scheduling lessons, supervised sports, and other structured activities that consume a large chunk of a child’s non-school hours.
• More hours per week spent by children watching television, playing video games, and using other electronic devices.
• More emphasis on formal learning in preschool and more pressure from parents on young children to quickly acquire academic skills.

Articles on this topic indicate that limiting free play may actually be producing a generation of young people who lack social skills, have poor eating habits, and are more anxious than typical. Some benefits to engaging in free play include:

• Play gives children a chance to find and develop a connection to their own self-identified and self-guided interests.
• It is through play that children first learn how to make decisions, problem solve, use self-control, and follow rules.
• Children learn to handle their emotions, including anger and fear, during play.

Next time your child wants to have a playdate or some time to go to the park, think about ways he or she can play in an unstructured environment to help foster the benefits of free play.

 News from Patricia Lynch, Math Teacher

C.E.T. Loves Math!

Math and Art!

Is Mathematical critical thinking embedded into the creation of art?    

Critical thinking is paramount to the Croton-Harmon’s ‘Portrait of a Graduate’ and it is evidenced in student artwork.  I hope you are able to visit the incredible District Art Show held at CHHS on May 21, 22, and 23!      

Art and math go hand in hand and are related in a variety of ways.  Mathematics has been described as an ‘art motivated by beauty’.  Math principles apply to music, dance, painting, architecture, sculpture, quilting and more.  Proportions, perspective, landscape, fractals and tessellations, scale and balance, computer graphics . . . the math and art connections go on and on!   

As you soak in the work of our student artists with your child, take note of the mathematical critical thinking that went into each piece.  You could even explore how the art is spaced on the display boards or how many display boards fit into the gym, or why the spacing of the displays allows for optimal viewing.     

There is so much to explore at the Art Show.  I promise that you will be amazed to see our students’ critical thinking through math and art!     

To explore math and art connections with your child now, follow the PBS link below.      

https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/picture-this-using-art-to-explore-math-and-math-to-create-art  

News from Christine Martins, School Nurse

Deer Ticks and Lyme Disease 

It seems like spring has been dragging its heels a bit, but it has finally arrived!  But… it has also brought the start of tick season.  There are many different types of ticks, but for now, I will be focusing on deer ticks as these are the ones that transmit Lyme disease, the more common tick-borne disease in our region.  Deer ticks are also called black-legged ticks. 

Deer ticks can range in size from poppy seeds (baby ticks) to sesame seeds (adult ticks).  They can be red and black (females) or all black (males).  Deer ticks are active from early spring to late fall and like to live in tall grasses, shrubs and “brushy” areas.  They tend to be dormant during the cold winter months.  Ticks will usually crawl around on your body until they find a warm, protected spot.  These are the more common spots of our bodies that ticks like to feed from:  Inside and behind ears, along the hairline, the back of the neck, armpits, belly button, waistband, behind the knees, between the legs and between toes.  

When you or your child go outside, especially if you live in a wooded area as many of our Croton families do, be sure to take these measures to help prevent tick bites:  Wear light-colored clothing to better see the dark-colored ticks.  Wear long-sleeve shirts and long pants; tuck pants into socks.  This will help keep ticks from crawling into pant legs and onto skin.  Tie up hair or wear a cap.  Use a bug spray/insect repellent spray containing DEET; sprays containing 20% DEET will provide about 4 hours of protection.  Change clothes once you get back inside and shower, using a washcloth, within 2 hours (to wash away any crawling ticks).  Do a full-body tick check. 

If you find a tick, don’t worry!  Removing a tick within 24 hours greatly reduces the chance of getting Lyme disease.  And, not all deer ticks carry the bacteria that transmits Lyme disease! 

Removing an attached tick: 

• Use fine-tipped/pointed tweezers
• Using the tweezers, grasp the tick by the mouth/head as close to the skin as possible and pull upward, away from your skin
• Clean the bite spot AND the tweezers with rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide after you are done
• Monitor for signs and symptoms of Lyme disease
• DON’T use your fingers to pull it off.  DON’T squeeze or twist it.  DON’T use Vaseline, nail polish, kerosene, a hot match… to remove the tick. 

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection; it requires antibiotics.  If you suspect Lyme disease, call your doctor.  Diagnosis of Lyme is usually done after the first month.  

Common symptoms of Lyme disease: 

• Erythema migrans rash (bulls-eye rash).  The rash is usually not painful or itchy.  It can appear up to 1 month after the tick bite, can have a diameter of 2 to 6 inches, and can last for 3 to 5 weeks.
• Mild flu-like symptoms:  Headache, fatigue, muscle aches, fever/chills. 
• Later signs of Lyme are:  Severe fatigue, stiff neck, tingling and numbness of limbs, facial paralysis (Bell’s Palsy)
• Long-term effects of Lyme:  Severe headaches, arthritis and swelling of joints, heart and central nervous system problems 

Check out these websites for more information on ticks, Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses: 

https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/lyme/ 

https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/ 

https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/lyme-disease.html?ref=search 

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

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CET PTA

The CET PTA's 5th Annual Raffle Basket Fundraiser is in full swing this spring! Order forms have been sent home in student folders and can be found online by clicking here!

You can view the baskets and purchase raffle tickets in person in the front hallway of CET at the following times:

• Wednesday, May 15th, 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
• Tuesday, May 21st, 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
• Thursday, May 30th, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm (before and after the Principal's Coffee featuring Placement as the topic)

Winners will be drawn on Friday, May 31st at 7:30 pm!
(You do not need to be present to win)
Baskets will also be available for viewing and raffle tickets will be on sale beginning at 7:00 pm on the evening of the drawing.

If you would like to volunteer to help at the drawing on Friday, May 31st, please e-mail Meredith Hertlein at meredith.hertlein@gmail.com.

Please reach out to us if you would like to get involved. We have many vacancies and need your help to fill the roles. We're sure we can find something just right for your interests, skills, and schedules. CETPTA@gmail.com   

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