Central Park East II
Week of January 18, 2016
Does your child ride the yellow school bus?
Yellow school bus parent email list.
Friday, Jan 22, 2016, 11:30 PM
CPE II Yellow Buses
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Dates to Keep in Mind
Wednesday, January 20 - Friday, January 22 - 4th Grade Camping
Thursday, January 21 - Middle School Parent Meet & Greet
Friday, January 22 - Community Meeting - Lower Grades (preK to 1st) Only
Saturday, January 23rd, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m- CPEII Winter Wellness Workshops
Thursday, January 28 - 10 AM - 5th grade performance - Rosie's Kids - All invited
Friday, January 29 - Early Dismissal for All Students - 11:30 AM
Wednesday, February 3rd AND Thursday, February 4th Evening Family Conferences
Thursday, February 4th Afternoon Family Conferences - Early Dismissal - 11:30 AM
Monday, February 8th, Luna New Year - No School
Monday, Feb. 15 - Friday, Feb. 19 - Mid Winter Break - No School
Friday, February 26th at 3:30 - Diller Quale Quartet
Thursday, March 3 - Early Dismissal for Staff Professional Development
Friday, March 4 - Deadline to apply for Pre-K
Friday, March 11 - CPE II Talent Show
Friday, March 25 – Good Friday - No School
Tuesday, April 5 – Thursday, April 7 – Grade 3 – 6 NYS ELA
Wednesday, April 13 – Friday April 15 - Grade 3 – 6 NYS Math
Saturday, April 16 – Spring Fair
Monday, April 25 – Friday, April 29 Spring Recess (including Passover) No School
Monday, May 30 – Memorial Day Observed No School
When: Saturday, January 23rd, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Where: CPE2 Cafeteria and Classrooms
What: Drop your school-aged kids in the cafeteria to participate in healthy sports and activities. Parents head upstairs for your choices of the following workshops. Healthy snacks will be available for purchase.
Dinner Made Easy: Sunday Night Prep - Colleen Christi Willett, owner of farm-to-table catering business, Bread & Spoon, will show you how to turn pantry staples prepped on Sunday night into quick, delicious and healthy weeknight meals.
Fitness for Busy Parents - CPE2 Phys Ed teacher, Robert Nuxoll, will lead parents through sustainable methods of keeping physical activities in our busy lives.
Super Salads - CPE2 mom, Kelly Dell'Aquila, will give tips on constructing creative, delicious salads perfected by make-at-home Mason jar salad dressings.
Calming Crafts: Crafting for Relaxation - CPE2 mom E'treea Tropp-Abram will discuss the importance of centering yourself through meditative activities and lead a take-home crafting project.
Supporting Children through Grief and Trauma - CPE2 mom, Dr. Nancy Freeman Carroll will provide guidance on supporting our children through life's most challenging times.
Building Family Empathy Through Games - CPE2 mom, Jessie Klein, will introduce games that build family empathy and lead a few that parents/caregivers can try at home.
Healthy Food Policy
By teaching and encouraging healthy eating habits, we are giving our children important tools for a lifetime of healthy living. Our Healthy Food Policy supports students in developing an understanding that sweets and chips are treats, not needed at every meal.
Students are encouraged to have fruits, veggies, lean protein, dairy and grains. The school salad bar is open every day.
If your child brings a home lunch, or supplements the school lunch, please do not send cookies, cake, candy, soda or drinks that are not 100% juice or water or a combination of that. Please do not send sugary cereal for either breakfast or lunch. Please do not send chips or so called fruit snacks, which are really candy, since they mainly have sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup.
If they bring crackers or unflavored popcorn, it should be just a small portion.
Students in preK, Kindergarten and 1st grade have Chocolate Milk only on half days. Students in grades 2 through 6 have chocolate milk each Friday. It is a treat.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Sign Up for CPEII Talent Show Auditions
Reports and Family Conferences
As noted in our Dates to Keep in Mind, Family Conferences will be held the evenings of Wednesday, February 3rd AND Thursday, February 4th and the
afternoon of February 4th. There will be an Early Dismissal (11:30 AM) on February 4th and there will be NO CHILDCARE at CPE II. Classroom teachers will be sending out sign up sheets for the conferences. Students will get their mid-year reports at that time.
Worktime Happenings
Cooking in Nell and Margrit's Class During Worktime
Cody taught students to make Sushi
The class really enjoyed it.
Parents have asked: What is a Writer’s Notebook and how do we use it at CPE II?
Our use of the “Writer’s Notebook” is based on the work of Ralph Fletcher. Fletcher is a children’s author but also the author of many professional books on the teaching of writing for young people. The basic premise behind his work is that writers need a place to collect story ideas on a regular basis.
At CPE II we introduce the Writer’s Notebook in second grade but it’s in grades three to six where the notebook lessons are really emphasized. Our hope is our students will keep a Writer’s Notebook for the rest of their life.
In grades 3 to 6 we begin the year by introducing strategies for “collecting ideas.” These strategies include (but are not limited to) making lists of first times, favorite places and important people in our life. They include capturing bits of conversation, gathering artifacts and wonderings we have about the world.
Throughout the year, students go back to their notebook again and again to add more and mine what they already have for story ideas. Years ago we were cautious about sending the notebook home for fear that it may not come back to school. We rethought this, because the notebook is so important we want to make sure our students have it with them to collect ideas even when they are not in school. After all, authors do not only have ideas from 8:20 to 2:40.
Often teacher assigns homework in the Writer’s Notebook. The work is usually to practice the strategy that was taught in school. This gives the students more of an opportunity to become familiar enough with the strategy to do it independently. This assignment is not graded and teachers normally do not write in a student’s notebook. Teachers read the notebook on occasion or when they particularly want to make sure a strategy was practiced. Our hope is for all students to love their notebook and want to use it.
At times students share their notebooks with classmates, when for example they are mining for story ideas or memories that might inspire poetry. Other students’ notebooks along with teacher notebooks often serve as an inspiration to others.
The Writer’s Notebook is not a diary, nor is it a journal. Some classes do have journals to report on the day’s events and daily feelings. Instead, the notebook is a place to collect important things from one’s life that may turn into a polished piece of writing one day.
For more information on the “Writer’s Notebook” visit http://ralphfletcher.com/?page_id=49.
Apply for Kindergarten at CPE II - Deadline January 15, 2016
All families interested in having their child attend Kindergarten at CPE II (INCLUDING CURRENT PRE-K STUDENTS AND SIBLINGS) must apply to the Department of Education by January 15, 2016
Online at: http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/Elementary/kindergarten.html
By phone at: 718-935-2400.
In person at: Family Welcome Center: 333 Seventh Avenue, 12th Floor; Room 1211
Please contact the school for assistance.