 CET Field Day 2012 will be on Wednesday, May 23rd! (Rain date May 24th) PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO WEAR YOUR SNEAKERS!!!!
 SEPTA DRAWING CONTEST: It's that time of year again! SEPTA is looking for exceptional artwork to decorate the covers of our 2012-2013 school minicalender. The calender is SEPTA's biggest fundraiser and is sold to families at Back-To-School nights in all three buildings.
THEME: HEALTHY HABITS IN CROTON! Try to draw at least 2 scenes -- use a different form for each entry. It will be printed in black & white so use contrasting colors. Pencils, crayons and marker all work fine. Please leave at least 1” of blank white space around the edge of your drawing. RETURN TO: Lisa Cohen, 179 Old Post Road North, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520. Questions: lisac@10520 or 827-9805. Winners will be notified in September. Deadline to enter: June 30, 2012
Click here for the form
 ATTENTION PARENTS: The Croton Free Library is offering free homework help to children in grades K – 6. This service is available on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:00 – 5:30 p.m. For more information, contact the library at (914) 631-7734.
Please label your child’s lunchbox and outer clothing including sweatshirts. Each year our Lost and Found is piled high with sweatshirts, sweaters, and coats that go unclaimed.
NEWS
The Wizards game is Tuesday, May 8, at 7:00 pm at CHHS! Doors open at 6:30 pm. Please contact Jennifer Minihan at jenniferminihan@yahoo.com if you still need your tickets!
Earlier this week, we celebrated School Principals’ Day on May 1. Teacher Appreciation Week is May 7-11 and Teacher Appreciation Day is Tuesday, May 8. Also, Wednesday, May 9 is National School Nurse Day. On Monday, May 7, our CET PTA will kick off the week with our annual Staff Appreciation Lunch to show our thanks. Please take some time to thank Kelly Maloney, Megan Argenio, Judy Cohen, and all of our wonderful teachers for their dedication and commitment to our children! Thank you all from the CET PTA!
Friday, May 11, is Provider Appreciation Day. This is a special day to recognize and celebrate child care providers for their dedication and commitment to our children. At CET, many families are fortunate to have ChildrenSpace on site to provide care for our children after school. Please thank Jim, Jessica and all of the staff at ChildrenSpace for all they do for our children every day. Thank you all from the CET PTA!
Field Day is scheduled for Wednesday, May 23. Our CET PTA provides water, watermelon and ice pops for the children. In addition to purchasing the items, we provide volunteers to cut up the watermelon and distribute the items to the children. We need volunteers to help all day. Please contact Stacey Nusbaum Stacey.nusbaum@gmail.com or Suzanne Gardos suzannegardos@hotmail.com if you would like to volunteer.
Kindergarten orientation is scheduled for June 7 and 8 and we need volunteers to provide CET tours to new parents as well as to provide information at our CET PTA table. Please contact us at cetpta@gmail.com if you are able to help!
 CHEF: Croton Harmon Education Foundation
UNDER THE STARS TICKETS ON SALE NOW SPACE IS LIMITED! ORDER YOUR TICKETS FOR UNDER THE STARS 2012!
CHEF’s annual Under the Stars dinner, dance and auction is being held this year on Saturday, May 19 th at Monteverde at Oldstone Manor in Cortlandt Manor. Tickets are on sale now at www.crotonfoundation.org for $125 per person. A pre-event wine tasting ticket will also be available for an additional $50 per person. Sponsored by Nancy Kennedy Real Estate, the wine tasting event will be held under the beautiful Monteverde grape arbor overlooking the Hudson River.
This year's grand prize raffle is Free Gas for the School Year (September 2012-June 2013). It is a $2000 value. Raffle tickets are available online for $5 for one ticket and $20 for five tickets.
All proceeds from Under the Stars will go to the Croton-Harmon Education Foundation in support of innovation and excellence in the Croton-Harmon Schools. Space is limited so please purchase your tickets early.
Does your little tiger cub need some Spiritwear? If you would like to order or have any questions, please contact Alicia Anfiteatro at 271-9641 or aliciaanfiteatro@gmail.com .
Kindergarten Registration
for 2012-2013
If you have a child eligible to attend Kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year (he/she must turn 5 years of age on or before December 1, 2012), please call Mrs. Kooney in the CET Principal’s Office (271-5184 x 3212) to request a registration packet.
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The Daily Croton News Articles about CET:
Black Cow in Croton Packed with Pint-Sized Poets (5/9/12)
‘“In our writing program we were encouraged to have the kids feel like they went public with their work and a reader reading their work. So I thought taking them to the Black Cow would be a great time to have their work shine and give them a unique experience, like a poetry slam,” said first-grade teacher Patricia Lynch.’
Perez-A-Palooza a Hit in Croton (2/3/12)
"Faculty, staff and friends came together to celebrate the life of Francis Perez, and to donate to a memorial scholarship fund in her name at Perez-a-Palooza in late January. Over $10,000 was raised for after-school programs and the Fran Perez Memorial Scholarship Fund."
Perez-A-Palooza Sells Out Evening Show, 4 pm Show Still Open (1/24/12)
"The much beloved Fran Perez will have a fundraiser in her name, to benefit the children of CET. “Perez-a-Palooza” will feature a variety show of faculty and staff to benefit the Fran Perez Memorial Scholarship."
Recycling E-Waste Raises Money for CET PTA (1/20/12)
"CET will host an electronics take-back day on Jan. 24 for old cell phones, laptops and other electronics that shouldn’t be thrown in the garbage."
Croton Teachers Look to Internet to Fund Projects (12/29/11)
"Kristine Robinson and Ana Maria Strattner, both fourth grade teachers at Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary, use DonorsChoose.org to finance projects in their classrooms."
Understanding Thanksgiving a Must at CET (11/24/11)
"The students at CET are thankful for more than toys and material objects. Many students have spent the week leading up to Thanksgiving vacation learning about the history, and meaning of the holiday."
Better Schools Bonanza Awads CET $500 (10/26/11)
“We started this contest with schools in mind and we know times are tough,” said associate publisher of Main Street Connect, Cathleen Stack. Main Street Connect is the publisher of The Daily Croton. “Schools are the life blood of the community and we like to give back to our community." '
Native American Craft Expert at Croton Arboretum (10/04/11)
"A Native American crafts expert will build a wigwam and live in The Croton Arboretum for half a week in October. The event was specially designed for fourth grade students from CET as part of the social studies curriculum."
Croton Varsity Soccer Escorts Girls into the Future (9/21/11)
"The Croton Tigers varsity girls soccer team had their homecoming game on Tuesday night, but support was in short order. Short, as in their biggest supporters were about four-feet-tall. Dozens of girls from AYSO, from about age five and up, were present to support their older counterparts."
Croton-Harmon Students Far Exceed State Averages (8/9/11)
"At CET, 74 percent of the 138 third grade students met or exceeded the state's ELA proficiency standards, while 66.7 percent met or exceeded the math standards."
News from
Mrs. Argenio,
Assistant Principal
Third and Fourth Grade CET students completed the NYS Math Assessments last week. This year the test was 90 minutes in length each day, as compared to 70 minutes last year. The assessment was comprised of three books and assessed the NYS Mathematics Learning Standards. Students were assessed in the areas of: Number Sense and Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement and Probability and Statistics.
Our students applied the skills and knowledge they gained in the classroom in order to answer three types of questions: multiple-choice, short-response, and extended-response. Books 1 & 2 of each test consisted of multiple-choice questions only. Book 3 consisted of short and extended response questions. The questions on the Grades 3–8 Math Tests assessed both the content and process strands of NYS Math Standard 3. Each question may be aligned to one or more content performance indicators and was aligned to one or more process performance indicators, as appropriate for the concepts embodied in the task. As a result of the alignment to both process and content strands, the tests assess students’ conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and problem-solving abilities; rather than assessing their knowledge of isolated skills and facts.
Our third graders are happy to be over with testing for this year; however our 4 th graders will still need to complete the NYS Science Assessment as well as a NYS Field Assessment, which will have ELA questions focused on the area of Reading.
On another note, two of our CET PTA Green Team Parents, Leila Goldmark and Paola Dalle Carbonare, are working with our Green Team kids to educate all of our students about reducing the amount of garbage they accumulate during lunch. Last Tuesday, Mrs. Goldmark and Mrs. Dalle Carbonare spoke to the students during lunch about the proper disposal of their waste and also weighed each grade level’s garbage. The goal is to continue this every Tuesday during the month of May. The class in each grade with the least amount of total garbage will be rewarded with a pajama day! More information about the program will be sent home via K-12 alerts and “quick tips” will be send home via your child’s backpack. Thanks to the PTA Green Team for their efforts. If you would like more information on waste-free lunches please visit http://www.epa.gov/wastes/education/lunch.htm
 Bottle caps for Aveda: Bring in bottle caps and help save the environment! There is a bin near the Multi-Purpose Room to put your caps in. Together with 1700 schools, Aveda has been able to recycle over 700,000 pounds of caps - preventing approximately 81 million caps from entering our waterways and landfills. Click here for more information.
 An important message from Mrs. Argenio:
To ensure the safety of our students, faculty and staff and for anyone involved in dropping children off in the morning, we ask that you follow the rules below.
When dropping off, please:
- pull up to the back doors near the Multi-Purpose Room, where a greeter will meet your child
- do not unload before you reach the back doors
- have your child prepared to exit the vehicle at the back doors and remain patient while waiting to unload
Read more...
Dealing with Behavior Difficulties
Jessica Klein, School Psychologist
Jessica.Klein@chufsd.org
Many children experience behavior difficulties at some point in their lives. Dealing with these problems effectively can be a challenge for parents. Below are some tips from Dr. Alan Kazdin of Yale University Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic.
All of the following tips are based on this simple principle: Attention to bad behavior increases bad behavior (yelling, lecturing, scolding, spanking and punishing are all forms of negative attention), while attention to good behavior increases good behavior.
Read more...
Success in School
Jessica Klein,
School Psychologist
Jessica.Klein@chufsd.org
Success in school is evaluated not only by academic success but also success in the social realm. Teachers in CET utilize the Second Step curriculum to assist students in learning valuable social skills that address a variety of different topics. Parents also play a vital role in assisting children to learn and practice social skills. According to Audrey Prince, M.Ed. some suggestions for teaching social skills at home are as follows:
1. Discuss the Need for Social Skills
2. Work on One Social Skill at a Time
3. Talk About the Social Skill
4. Practice the Social Skill
5. Pause, Reflect, and Review
Read more...
 Test Anxiety
Jessica Klein,
School Psychologist
Jessica.Klein@chufsd.org
Students in grades 3 and 4 are already beginning to prepare for State testing which will occur in the spring. Students may experience anxiety about tests and may experience heightened anxiety before a testing situation. A certain degree of test anxiety is normal and may help students prepare more effectively, work more efficiently, and remain focused during testing. Too much anxiety, however, can negatively affect performance. The following strategies may assist students, parents, and teachers in reducing test anxiety.
- Teacher/Parent Strategies for Reducing Test Anxiety
- Student Strategies for Reducing Test Anxiety
Read more...
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