January Newsletter
January 2023
Message from Mrs. Yost
It has been an amazing four months getting to know the Cook Hill Community and working together to ensure our Cougars have authentic, fun learning opportunities. This truly is a devoted community, which I am grateful to be a part of. Thank you to our families and PTO for creating fun, holiday crafts and sponsoring a Holiday Shop. The excitement was magical!
I would like to wish our Cook Hill families a very healthy and prosperous New Year. I hope you found time to relax and wind down. With every New Year, we reflect upon our previous accomplishments and set goals for the future year. We are excited to see what 2023 has in store for our Cougars!
We will begin our STAR and iReady winter assessments in reading and math on Monday, January 9th thru January 20th. This data will be beneficial in setting new academic goals to meet the needs of our students. We appreciate the continued support ensuring your child is present in school daily.
In partnership,
Mrs. Yost
Classes resume Tuesday, January 3rd
Important Dates
Tuesday, January 3 - Classes resume
Tuesday, January 3 - Virtual PTO Meeting @ 7pm - link is below
January 3 thru 6 - Join us as we Eat a Rainbow to set heathy eating habits in 2023
Friday, January 6 - Three Kings Day
Friday, January 6 - Winter Math Challenge Gameboard due
January 4 thru 20 - Winter Assessment administration (STAR & iReady)
Tuesday, January 10 - K-Kids Meeting @ 8:10am-8:50am
Wednesday, January 11 - CH Town Meeting
Wednesday, January 11 - Virtual Community Forum - Facility Study 5pm-6pm
meet.google.com/omr-txkz-pkm
Wednesday, January 11 - Community Forum - Facilities Study 6:30pm-7:30pm at Sheehan HS
Friday, January 13 - Spirit Day - Hat Day
Have Fun wearing a silly hat, sports hat or be creative and make one.
Monday, January 16 -No School in Observance of Martin Luther King, Jr Day
Sunday, January 22 - Lunar New Year, Year of the Water Rabbit
Thursday, January 26 - Early Release for students @ 1:30pm
Virtual PTO Meeting Tuesday, January 3, 2023
Habits for Good Attendance
Join us the week of January 3rd-6th
This is optional, just a fun way to kick off healthy eating habits for the new year! Since it is a 4 day week, Wednesday is orange and yellow combined. We hope you have fun trying new foods!
Literacy Corner
Hello families!
This month, we will focus on Real World Words.
One of the ways to enjoy literacy at home together is to find practical ways that we use and interact with words. Some ways we might do this are through writing notes or letters to those we care about and creating lists (to-do lists, shopping lists, etc.).
You can include your child in some of these daily activities by having them tell you things to add to the list, encouraging them to give you the first sound of words, writing the first letter, or writing the note or list themselves!
Another fun idea is to write some of your favorite recipes together. These can be simple recipes, like spaghetti and meatballs, or more detailed recipes that may have been passed down in your family. Keeping a recipe box, with handwritten recipes, can be a fun way for children to look at some of the many different types of food you enjoy together.
To evoke a love and curiosity of new words, your child can also explore some books, magazines, or advertisements to create their own list of letters or words they are wondering about!
Happy Reading!
Kind regards,
Emily Blinn
Math Corner
Happy New Year Cook Hill Families,
This month we will focus on the power of goal-setting. Setting goals and sharing those goals with others has a profound impact on our choices. Our students set goals for themselves with the help of their teachers all year long. For example, every K-2 student has a year-long fact fluency goal:
Grade K- fluently add/subtract within 5
Grade 1- fluently add/subtract within 10
Grade 2-fluently add/subtract within 20
They explore different strategies for solving problems, select ones that are best for them and work to become more efficient and accurate over time. These are all part of your child(ren)’s goals. Once they can do this for a set of facts they will begin to practice for automaticity. Automaticity is considered the outcome, but not the goal. Students play games with their peers that allow them to reach different stops (goals) on their year-long fluency journeys. To learn more about what you can do at home, check out these Guides for Families:
Addition Fact Guides
Subtraction Fact Guides
As your child(ren)’s first and forever teacher, you can set goals with them as well. For example, did you complete the Winter Math Challenge? If not, set a goal to spend 10-15 minutes per night playing a game or completing a puzzle together! I look forward to celebrating students who complete and return their gameboard to their teacher by Friday, January 6, 2023.
Happy Mathing!
In Partnership,
Ashly Skiffington
35 New Year's Resolutions for Kids and Families
Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
School Hours
School Hours: 9:05 AM - 3:30 PM
(Parent drop off 8:50am-9:05am)
Delayed Openings
2 hour: 11:05-3:30
No AM Preschool class
Early Dismissals
2 hour: 9:05-1:30
2 hour and 45 minute: 9:05-12:45
No PM Preschool class
School Contact Information
Amy Yost ~ Principal
Kara Piper, Secretary - kpiper1@wallingfordschools.org
Aimee Heinrich, Office Clerk - aheinrich@wallingfordschools.org
Amy Yost, Principal - ayost@walllingfordschools.org
PreSchool Office
Kelly Vallancourt, Secretary - kvallancourt@wallingfordschools.org
Email: ayost@wallingfordschools.org
Website: https://ches.wallingford.k12.ct.us/
Location: 57 Hall Road, Wallingford, CT, USA
Phone: (203)284-5400