This week, the small but mighty Craig High hosted four groups of 8th graders— or, as we will call them soon, aspiring 9th graders. Craig High students were excited to share their experiences, learning opportunities, and school pride. As you know, Craig High is intentionally small to craft individualized pathways to a successful post-secondary placement. Although Craig High is smaller than traditional schools, it magically offers the full range of New Jersey required courses— without the pressure and anxiety those bigger schools bring. Dr. Cap can also create unique schedules that accommodate athletics at another school, participation in vocational offerings, dual credit college offerings, or internships. Craig High is a phenomenal learning community, and we are thrilled at the prospect of adding more students next year.
Go Badgers!!
Susan Schmitt
This past week, we held a series of presentations for our students as an acknowledgment of Bully Awareness Month. In our small group discussions, we shared how we define bullying, its impact, and the potential issues that it creates both personally and within an environment. We emphasized the power of words and how to support others by just checking in with something as simple as an “Are You Okay.”
We also discussed that although we have many differences, we share many commonalities and one of them is that we are all Craig High, and Together We Stand. You may have noticed your teen sporting an orange wristband that says “Together We Stand”. That is hopefully one of the biggest takeaways from our shared discussions.
Our presentations culminated with a school-wide assembly with our guest speaker, Detective Daniel Saldutti who is the Student Resource Officer at Montville High School. He talked about his role in schools handling bias incidents as well as the levels of accountability we are held to as young adults and the potential consequences of poor decision-making when it comes to bias issues and social media. Our students did an amazing job in sharing and supporting their peers throughout our conversations and we couldn’t be prouder.
In this week's CHIL, you will find information on our Fall Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences including times, dates, and how they will work. Also in November, we will be checking for student interest in starting back up our afterschool intramural soccer league. We are hoping to hold three weekly sessions on Tuesdays starting in early November. The catch is we need 8 players to make it happen.
To all the CHS families, have a Happy Halloween, and may the neighborhood kids miss your house during Mischief Night!
Dr. Cap
Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences, Thursday, November 9th: For a plethora (Word of the Day) of reasons but none more important than the convenience and accessibility for our parents, Craig High will continue with its Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences.
You will have the option of an early morning, midmorning, or afternoon hour block to choose from starting at 8 AM and running through 4 PM on Thursday, November 9th. To schedule your virtual conference, email Mrs. Mershimer at DMershimer@craigschool.org or call CHS at (973)334-1234 with your chosen one-hour block time. Here is how our Virtual PT Conferences will work-
Also, let Mrs. Mershimer know if you would like to touch base with any of our CHS specialists (Ms. Blount-READING, Mrs. Brown-COUNSELING, Ms.Skerker-POST SECONDARY, or Mrs. Henry-SPEECH) and we’ll do our best to schedule around your scheduled hour conference.
October YUM Box, Czechia (pronounced CHE-KEE-A): This past month we mispronounced as well as enjoyed the tastes of Czechia, home of the creation of the soft contact lens and the less formal moniker of the Czech Republic. The reason why they needed a less formal name was that the name “Czech Republic” did not translate well into other languages.
Our CHS THUMBS-UP SNACK AWARDS went to the Smoked BACON JALAPENO CHIPS and the DARK CHOCOLATE Pistachio. Our CHS UPSET STOMACH AWARD went to the CARAWAY Pretzel Bites (which tasted like Rye Bread). For November, we are heading to Germany to try out some Weimar Onion Rings, Stracciatella Bonbons, and Pommes Ketchup!
The brave snackers of CHS enjoying the best of Czechia.
Badgers Run in Winston Prep Invitational Cross Country Race: Five Badgers made the trek down 287 to Whippany to run in the Winston Prep Invitational this past week. The race was held on the campus of Winston Prep High School. The Badgers were led by Freshman, Julian who took the title for this year’s race. Freshman, Miles and Sophomore, Ava ran their first races of the season. Junior Co-Captain Mary and Senior, Co-Captain Grace who are veterans of the Winston Invitational ran the solid race we have come to expect from them!
Congrats to the Craig High XC Team and Coach Crum for representing our school so proudly.
Badger Afterschool Intramural Soccer-Interest Check: This week, we will be polling students to check for interest in reestablishing our afterschool Indoor Intramural soccer league. Our league is CO-ED, open to all CHS students, and a great opportunity to improve basic soccer skills in game-like situations while being a part of a dynamic and supportive team. We are looking to hold our afterschool sessions on the following TUES in November from 3-4:30 PM if we get enough interest:
We will keep you posted if we get the numbers we need to make it happen.
Parent “Halloween Bash” Candy Sign Up: There is still time to check the list to see if there is any outstanding CANDY needed for our annual Halloween Bash next week. Final Candy can be sent in this Monday, October 30th. Here is the sign-up link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4CACA72EA0FCC52-45106940-chshalloween
Craig High Annual “Great Pumpkin” 2023: Entries can be brought into school starting this Monday, October 30th so this weekend is the perfect carving time! Each Pumpkin needs a very cool name so our students can brainstorm with you while carving. This Tuesday, October 31st, we will hold our CHS Community vote to crown “The Great Pumpkins” for 2023!
CHS Picture Day MONDAY, November 6th: Just a reminder of our picture day on Monday, November 6th, and the process that is specific by grade to order pictures:
FOR 12th Graders- Senior Parents WILL ORDER ONLINE AFTER PICTURES ARE TAKEN. Do NOT place an order beforehand. All seniors will have 2 different portraits taken - with and without a cap/gown - which will then be posted online for your approval. You will receive instructions for placing your orders when you receive proofs of the portraits. Till then, here is a pic of last year's 12th graders on Picture Day to inspire our current seniors.
9th, 10th, and 11th Graders- Order forms will be coming home this week (with the 1st-trimester progress reports). These order forms are for grades 9, 10 & 11 ONLY. You have two options. You can complete the order form and return it with payment by Picture Day or you may order online by:
Any questions about the Lifetouch website, ordering pictures, or picture day itself reach out to our Picture Day Coordinator, Mrs. Tartaglia at KTartaglia@craigschool.org
For more information on ways of giving or to make a donation online you can clicking here.
