Important Dates 

November 22 -  Kindness Club Event, 6:30 pm

November 26 - School Picture Retakes

November 27 - Early dismissal, 11:45 am

November 28-29 - Thanksgiving Recess, school closed

December 7  -  PTA Holiday Hop Around

December 11 - Principal's Coffee, 9:15 am

December 11 -  Early dismissal, 11:45 am

December 13 - Winter Concert Parent Performance, 8:45 am

December 13 - PTA Holiday Winter Craft Night, 6:00 pm

December 23 - January 1 - Holiday Recess,  school closed

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CET Newsletter November 22, 2019

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

Message from the Principal, Mrs. Kelly Maloney

Dear CET Families,    

Last week we had two amazing events take place at CET that were, in my opinion, OVER THE TOP!  We had a math guru, Greg Tang, Jr. and his assistant, Mr. J here on November 14 for a day of math assemblies and professional development.  Greg Tang, Jr. provided professional development sessions for teachers at each grade level. During this time, Greg discussed the importance of number sense, the ability to see other numbers in a number, and demonstrated ways to apply the “part-part-whole” strategy to solve equations and word problems.  He also emphasized that multiplication is the most important skill in math, and that the concept of equal groups needs to begin in kindergarten.  Our teachers walked away from their professional development sessions excited and enthusiastic about incorporating what they learned into their mathematics lessons. Our students all attended a 45 minute assembly with Mr. J where they had the opportunity to play some Tang Math games like Numtanga. You should have heard their excitement!  It sounded like they were at a sporting event! And then, to top it off, Family Math Night, was a huge success!  Once again, the excitement was in the air...over MATH!  Please be sure to read News from Patricia Lynch, Math Teacher for more specifics about this incredible day and evening. Once again, a HUGE thank you to CHEF for sponsoring the assemblies, the professional development, and the family event! Also, a big shout out to Mrs. Lynch for spearheading this day. 

When I didn’t think the week could get any better, we had our first ever Veterans Assembly on Friday, November 15!  Thank you to our Kindness Club for organizing this assembly.  With students, staff, and faculty dressed in red, white, and blue, we recognized and honored 17 veterans, many of them parents and grandparents of our students. After the assembly, our guests visited classrooms and spoke about their time in the service, and answered students’ thoughtful questions. They then returned to the multipurpose room where the Kindness Ambassadors served them coffee and cookies. Our guests and their families were very touched by this small act of kindness. You can be sure this will not be our first Veterans Assembly!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope that you enjoy your time with family and friends, and have the opportunity to express your gratitude.  

Happy Thanksgiving, 

Kelly

News from the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Kerri Bianchi

Inclusion means that all people deserve to be respected and appreciated as valuable members of their communities.  Our CET community values inclusion and feels that the inclusion of others is directly related to our REACH acronym and our expectations for our students.  We foster the idea of inclusion through our explicit teaching in Second Step, REACH assemblies and our involvement in school-wide programs such as “Start with Hello” and “Unity Day”.   It is our hope that the knowledge and understanding that students acquire through this instruction carries over into their daily lives and interactions with others.  Lately, we have had a number of students show an interest in starting “clubs” with their friends.  While we encourage students to share their interests and show initiative, we have made it clear that all students must be included in any “club or activity” that is initiated by students.  Inclusion and acceptance among peers helps to strengthen the social/emotional connection for students in school.  With support from home, we help to teach our students to be inclusive, understanding and empathic and create a school environment where everyone feels accepted and valued.

News from Lauren Fitzgerald ,   School Psychologist   

Screen Time and Your Child’s Brain

A recent study conducted by JAMA Pediatrics found a strong connection between children who are exposed to more screen time and lower expressive language abilities, lower literacy skills, and trouble quickly naming objects. All of these attributes are typically associated with language and learning disabilities. The study went on to recommend some healthy habits for screen time in the lives of children:  

• Keep children off of screens for as long as possible when they are younger
• 1 hour/day for children ages 2-5
• Avoid screens for at least one hour before bedtime
• Have screen-free locations and times, no screens at meals or in bed
• Be engaged with your child during screen time and choose high-quality programming 

This study found that the brains of children who followed these recommendations were better developed and the connections were stronger between different networks of the child’s brains strengthening their retrieval for facts and ability to complete tasks within a timely manner.  Strong brain development depends on real-life experiences such as playing outside, interacting with caregivers, and imaginative play. It’s okay as a parent to discourage screen time and to encourage play skills with their children.  

The Fall 2019 Special Areas Newsletter is now available on our CET homepage for you to read. Or just click on the link below to find out what your child has been doing in Art, Library, Music, and Physical Education.

Remember to follow us on Twitter #CETelementary. This is a great way to see what goes on at CET!

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CET PTA   

All PTA members are invited to join our next PTA meeting on December 4 ^th at Black Rock Kitchen at 7 pm.  Light food will be served.  We look forward to seeing you there and hearing from you.

The holiday season is fast approaching and we have organized an event for YOU… the parents.  Join us at this year’s Holiday Hop Around on December 7 ^th at 4:15 pm starting at Black Rock Kitchen.  It is a festive afternoon to spend with new and old friends.  If you can’t join us in the late afternoon, join us at the After Hop at the Grandstand at 7:30 pm for food, live music and a drink.  We will be selling, and picking the winners of, raffle tickets for experiential events for your children and their teachers as well as raffles generously donated from local businesses.  For more information, please go to www.cetpta.com or contact us at cetpta@gmail.com

Mark your calendar for Winter Craft Night from 6-8 pm on December 13 ^th .  If you are interested in volunteering to help set up, clean up or organize a booth, please go here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d48a4a728abff2-2019

News from Patricia Lynch, Math Teacher  

C.E.T. Loves Math! 

What an INCREDIBLE turnout for our Family Math Night!  A HUGE thank you to CHEF for funding our time with Greg Tang, Jr. and to all that attended.  As a teacher, knowing that we have encouragement and support from CHEF and our PTA means the world to us. I looked at those cute math cupcakes and number pretzels that night and thought of all the love and effort that went into funding and sponsoring the student assemblies, teacher training, and math night. Even down to the smallest detail, everyone works so hard all year to support students and teachers. Thank you!

It is safe to say that the entire CET community is invested in helping our students grow as mathematicians.  I had told Greg Tang, Jr.  that we could get 300+ people for Family Math Night but he insisted that schools say that but it never materializes. We nearly doubled his typical attendance record! He honestly was astounded by the turnout, parental support, and engagement here in Croton. It was standing room only and was his largest Family Math Night ever! In the future, we envision having teacher-run Family Math Nights with activities geared more to individual grade levels.

The teachers were raving about the professional development sessions with Greg Tang, Jr. and would love to train further with him. The Fifth Grade Math teachers from PVC that joined us felt the same way. He spoke with compassion about how important it is to have our youngest learners truly competent in math and the amount of practice it takes both in school and at home. He clearly explained the elementary math progressions and how to strengthen number sense and problem solving in every grade.  He spoke about how supporting a third grader in multiplication starts back in Kindergarten with recognizing equal groups of objects. He modeled lessons and helped us to clarify our focus. Lastly, he spoke about the need for parents to be partners and to encourage mathematical thinking, observations and lots of practice at home. 

CET teachers are unified in making math fun, meaningful, and memorable.  We want to ensure that we are preparing CET students to succeed and eager to learn more.  I am excited to see this math enthusiasm and math competence compound in our students, teachers, and parents.  With the holidays coming up, you might want to check out https://tangmath.com/  You can purchase kits of his card games and there are free versions of his games on the site too.  Greg’s site has fun and engaging ways to strengthen critical thinking through problem solving. 

Check out these two sites also~

https://www.urbanmathtrails.com/

http://www.5280math.com/

Thank you again for supporting all we do! 

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.

CALLING ALL 3RD AND 4TH GRADERS!!

Drop into the Croton Free Library on Wednesdays for  HOMEWORK HELP, run by local high schoolers who want to help younger students.

Wednesdays from 3-5 pm, December 4, 11, & 18

No registration required. All are welcome. Snacks provided!

Email Gwen at gglazer@wlsmail.org for more info.

Find us on line at http://crotonfreelibrary.org/

COMING SOON......

We're restarting two book clubs for kids in January 2020! Stay tuned for details, or email Gwen at gglazer@wlsmail.org