It was great to catch up with so many of you during our recent Parent-Teacher Virtual conferences. It has been a wonderful 1st trimester on so many levels at CHS, and we look forward to keeping that momentum going. And with your continued trust and support, we know we will.
In this week's CHIL, we share Halloween Bash results. Our students and teachers truly stepped up their Halloween game this year!
Also, we would like to highlight THE CRAIG SCHOOL MOBILE APP with a focus on SMS TEXTING. Cell Phones are tricky, especially for our teens. Limits and guidelines are our first line of defense, but on the offensive side, they can also be a true resource. Over the next few weeks, we will be integrating TEXT MESSAGING into our school communication system. We are looking to keep you current on important school announcements, calendar reminders, and school events. To be a part of this, you will need to DOWNLOAD The Craig School App, log in using your Veracross email that you use for the school, and ENABLE NOTIFICATIONS. You can find the “Craig School App” on the Google Play and Apple App Store, depending on your phone.
Have a great week,
Dr. Cap
NEXT WEEK
DECEMBER/JANUARY IMPORTANT DATES
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CHS Halloween Bash 2025 RECAP: This year’s Halloween Bash set a record for student pumpkins. We had 13 pumpkins vying for the “Great Pumpkin” title, but it was CHS junior, Max, who not only took home the Pumpkin gold with his “Under The C” candycorn masterpiece but also defended his Great Pumpkin title from 2024. Way to go, Max!
Other pumpkin champs included MOST ORIGINAL, Matius and Peyton with “Eye-Con”. MOST SCARY, Joey D and Mike T with “Drr”, and FUNNIEST, Griffin with “Quilkin”. Congrats to our Pumpkin Champs!
Next up was our annual Costume Contest. We had some Knights, wolves, crabs, law enforcement, a T. rex, a few superheroes, and Dr. House walking the hallways of CHS. If that wasn’t cool enough, we also had an Eraser, Uncle Sam, a couple of Waldos, and from the movies, Cappy Gilmore, Maverick, and Teen Wolf! But when the candy smoke cleared and the votes were tabulated, this year's Costume Contest winners were SCARIEST, Joey D as Scream, ORIGINAL, Alex as Raha the Giraffe, and Ava, Ana, and Erin took the TEAM TITLE as Princesses. Our OVERALL COSTUME CHAMP went to Matt as Patrick Star! Thank you to everyone who made this year’s Halloween Bash a true blast.
CHS Guest Speaker: Alum and Founder of Triple Threat Team Building, Mike Phillips - The CHS PE/Health Program had a special guest speaker join us this past month. Mr. Mike Phillips is an alum of Craig, a current Craig Board Member, a graduate of Lynn University, and Founder and CEO of Triple Threat Team Building based in Palm Beach, FLA.
He shared with our students his school path from Craig to College and the message that all students with Learning Disabilities are superheroes that just need to understand their superpowers and how programs like Craig and the support systems at Lynn helped him to find his. He also led our classes in some team-building exercises that focused on letting go of the little things so we can focus on the big things. It was interactive, collaborative, and fun all at the same time! We thank Mr. Phillips for his time and insights.
Badgers XC Season 2025 in Review: This year’s Badger XC squad was one of our largest ever. We had ten runners join us this season, with five runners completing their first 5 Ks ever!
Our season started in Lincoln Park, where our runners competed in the OCTOBERFEST 5K. Freshman, Elijah, took 1st place in the 15-19 year old category, Juniors Mike B and Alex took the silver and the bronze! And if that wasn’t awesome enough, CHS senior and Roxbury High Track member, Sivert, joined the Badgers for the run and took 1st place overall with a blistering time of 18:09 to set our school record 5K. Next up was the WINSTON PREP INVITATIONAL, where we had six runners go up against runners from Winston Prep HS. The Badgers were led by Junior, Daniel, who placed 4th overall.
Our post-Frost Valley race took us to Greystone Park for a 5K (HAMMOND HUSTLE 5K). The Badgers had the opportunity to run an official cross-country trial course used by NJ high schools across the state, dodging branches and jumping over tree roots. Real XC stuff! Check out our post-race 360-degree CHS ChackTok Vid!
Our season wrapped up in Morris Plains for the STRIDES FOR EDUCATION 5K. Sophomore Asher placed 3rd in the 12-19 year old category while the rest of our running crew set personal bests for the season. Big shout-out to Coach Crum and all of our runners!
SAVE THE DATE
Badger Bowling Fundraising Event- Saturday, January 24, 2026 12:00–2:00 PM | Boonton Lanes, Boonton, NJ: Shake off the winter chill and join us for an afternoon of fun, food, and fundraising to support The Craig School! Mark your calendars, more information to follow!
PACS Membership 2025 2026-CHS Parent Drive: PACS does so much for our students and teachers. They start up in August with our community welcome back cookout, and just recently, supplies for the Halloween Bash. And all of this is made possible by your membership in PACS.
Join us as we strive to get all of our CHS families on the PACS membership roster. You can find the PACS membership forms under the COMMUNITY RESOURCES tab on our school website, or just click on https://www.craigschool.org/parents/pacs/. Slide down to the bottom of the page, where you will find the PACS WELCOME BACK HS FORM 25-26 PDF link. Fill it out, write the check, and send both in with your teen. Let’s make it happen for our kids, our teachers, and our school community.
REMINDER-Ordering School Pictures from Josten PIX: You should have received an email link from JOSTENS PIX to set up an account, which will allow you to view your teen's pictures from picture day and the various ordering options available. The website is www.jostenpic.com/shop, and our CHS EVENT CODE is FE243825
Any orders will be conveniently done online, and pictures will be mailed directly to you. Picture retake day is scheduled for later this month (Nov 20th). If you would like your teen to have a retake, reach out to Ms. Steinel (HSteinel@craigschool.org) and she will add them to the retake roster.
Ordering CHS Lunch Delivery-DECEMBER: It feels like only yesterday we were ordering lunch for November! The ordering window for the short month of December will open up next Friday, November 14th, and run through Friday, November 21st. To register to place orders or to re-order, go to www.myfooddays.com. If you have any questions, reach out to our CHS Lunch Program Chair, Amanda Jahn, at AJahan@craigschool.org
For more information on ways of giving or to make a donation online you can clicking here.
