Gator Gazette
Central Park Elementary October 2022
From the Principal
Autumn is in the air. Cooler temperatures are surely on the way, and we have settled into what promises to be our best school year ever!
Fall parties will be held on Monday, October 31, 2022. Students will be allowed to wear costumes that reflect a storybook or historical character. Masks, Scary, morbid, or violent costumes will not be allowed, such as “grim reaper, Frankenstein, zombies, etc. Please think “fall fun” when deciding what/if your child will be dressing up on that day. Students will be working the majority of the day so costumes should be such that they will not interfere with school work or recess/activity classes. We also ask that parents not come to school in costume. As always, our front office staff will screen all guests through our Raptor system. Please have your license ready upon check-in. You will not be allowed to go down to the classrooms without a valid ID that can be scanned through our system. You are welcome to come to school anytime before October 31st and let us scan your license. This will save you some time on party day.
Parent/Teacher conference week is October 24-27. Your child’s teacher will be reaching out to schedule a conference. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and discussing your child’s progress.
Karrie Bradshaw
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Reminders
- Important Dates
October 13th: Hat Day (bring a $1 donation for United Way)
October 17th-19th: Fall Break, No School
October 24th-27th: Parent Teacher Conference Week
October 31st: Fall Parties and School-appropriate Costumes dress up day
Activity Classes
Library News October
It’s been a great start to our school year in the library!
Students have been stopping by in the mornings to check out a new book. Our library is open from 7:00-7:30 every morning for students to drop by before heading off to class.
Mrs. Jackson has been super busy getting our new books ready for the shelves. We have a section in the library where all new books are shelved. Encourage your child to stop by and check out our new book section!
October is BOOK FAIR Month!! The book fair will be open for business the week of October 24-28. The students will be visiting the book fair during the school day but it will also be open for parents after school on the following days:
Monday, Oct. 24 3-5 pm
Tuesday, Oct. 25 3-5 pm
Thursday, Oct. 27 3-7 pm
You may send cash or check with your child to purchase books or you may set up an E-Wallet on the website. Use the information below to set up your account.
Use this link to view all the information about Central Park’s book fair.
Central Park Book Fair Information Sheet
Happy Fall Everyone,
Mrs. Hedstrom and Mrs. Jackson
Music:
October is here and we are off to another busy month in the music room! Our focus this month will be to continue working on expectations when students enter my classroom. In addition, we will be working on rhythm patterns, steady beat, and dive into music symbols, while sight reading using a variety of musical instruments. In addition, first grade students will continue to work on music to prepare for their performance on the 9th of November and third grade students will begin to work on theirs later this month as well.
Fourth grade students have officially kicked-off their recorder unit. Students will need to make sure to bring their recorder and book with them every time they attend class. They will also have a short assignment (we will do a portion of it together in class) and they will need to spend some time at home practicing their assignment. I want this to be a fun unit. If your child ever has a problem, please have them feel free to come see me anytime.
Please be sure to write the following dates on your calendar.
Wednesday, November 9 at 5:30 p.m. 1st Grade on the Square
Tuesday, December 13 at 6:00 p.m. 3rd Grade in the CPE Cafeteria
Thursday, February 16 at 6:00 p.m. 2nd Grade in the CPE Cafeteria
Thursday, May 11 at 6:00 p.m. 4th Grade in the CPE Cafeteria
PE:
In the month of October students will be working on rolling, tossing, throwing and catching with a variety of fun activities. We will finish our unit with an exciting week of Cosmic "Glow Light" Bowling. October 24-28 is Healthy Choices Week and we will be discussing the importance of eating right, importance of exercise, and getting good sleep. Mindset Matters!
Art:
Is Fall your favorite time of year? I know Fall is my favorite time of the year because of all of the brightly colored leaves we see this time of year as the season changes in beautiful NWA.
For the month of October students in art class will be learning about how to create a landscape artwork that is Fall themed. We will be discussing and creating Fall themed landscapes.
What is a landscape?
A landscape is a large area or piece of land, there are many different types of landscapes. We will be creating a landscape based on the beauty of the Ozarks. Students in First through Fourth Grade will be using watercolor paint on their landscape drawings to capture the intensity of the warm Fall colors! Students will also be using watercolors to create a colorful artwork based on different kinds of tree leaves. We call this project our Fall leaves art project.
Global Connections:
Hola world travelers!
We are having so much fun in Global Connections so far! Last month we learned the differences between a continent, country, and a state. They have worked so hard on learning the 7 continents song! I am so proud of them! We also celebrated International Day of Peace. We learned the differences between a peacemaker and peacebreaker.
This month we will be traveling to our very first continent! Where will we go? Stay tuned! I am so excited to explore the world with your kiddos!
Computers:
We will continue working on Learning.com and learning important technology skills.
From the Counselors
Our Character word for the month of October is GRIT.
SAY IT:
Grit means refusing to give up when life gets hard.
KNOW IT:
ASK A GROWN-UP:
What’s the hardest thing you have ever had to do in your life?
Did you ever feel like giving up?
What made you want to keep going even when it got hard?
ASK A KID:
Have you ever wanted to give up when you faced a challenge? How did if feel to keep on going and finish the challenge?
Have you ever given up and wished you had kept on trying?
SEE IT:
Plan a family movie night and watch The Gabby Douglas Story (you may have to rent it on a streaming platform.) As a young girl, Gabby Douglas had a dream so she set a very ambitious goal for herself. She faced challenge after challenge. Every time she made progress, she faced another challenge that seemed almost impossible to overcome. If you are familiar with her story, you already know her grit paid off in a big way. If not, get ready to be inspired to never give up on your dreams, no matter how hard life gets.
BE IT:
This month, set a family goal that will be hard to reach. Choose something that will take grit. When it starts getting tough, encourage each other to refuse to give up, even when it gets hard. Pick something fun, like practicing a sport for an hour every day. Maybe something healthy, like walking 2 miles each day. Or something for your brain, like reading 5 books as a family. How about something practical, like a saving goal or a home improvement project? You may even want to set individual goals that you can encourage each other to accomplish and keep motivating one another to never give up.
PHASE
Before you can lead someone where they need to go, you need to know where they are.
That’s why it helps to understand what’s changing…physically, mentally, relationally, culturally, emotionally, and morally.
The more you know them, the more they will…
Know they matter.
Believe they can win.
Feel like they belong.
Decide what they should do.
Remember, if you don’t know who you are talking to, you can’t really expect them to listen.
So don’t miss it. The better you understand who your kids are now, the better they’ll understand who they’re meant to be.
In Guidance this month we will be discussing what the difference between mean, rude, and bullying is, as well as practicing conflict resolution techniques using “I messages.”