Dear Badger Families,
As we embark on our Spring Break, I want to thank my Craig Family for being such a phenomenal community. Students, teachers, and families alike have jumped into various opportunities throughout the year to become a strong external family. Just this past week we had the opportunity to get off campus (both campuses!) and go bowling as a faculty. As you can see from the picture, we are a happy group of adults! These are the folks who are working day-to-day with your children so the happier they are, the happier your child will be. Likewise, throughout the year we have had opportunities for the larger community to gather– alumni basketball, STEM night, grandfriends day, back-to-school, RISE Against Hunger, and most recently, the chili cookoff!! What a great event! I love seeing families together and engaging with our faculty. I know we have some additional opportunities coming up after break like the drive-in movie (April 19th) and the faculty appreciation casino night (May 4). I hope that everyone is able to attend and continue our engaged community vibe!
Warmly,
Susan Schmitt
Dear Badger Families,
This week in their science classes, your children have been preparing for the solar eclipse on April 8th. They have learned what it is, why it happens, how often it happens, and maybe most importantly, how to safely view one. They have also been studying this particular event and its path.
When we come back to school on Monday, April 8th, we will be having an eclipse viewing, like so many schools along the path of the eclipse. New Jersey is not in the narrow path of a total solar eclipse, but we are close enough that only a sliver of the sun will still be visible at the height of the eclipse. This is what makes this event so special and a true educational experience for our students. We experience a partial solar eclipse to different degrees once every few years, but we have not experienced an eclipse to this degree in New Jersey since 1970 and will not experience a total eclipse until May 1st, 2079. This truly is an incredible sight to behold and an excellent learning experience for our students.
The eclipse will take place between 2:10 and 4:45 on Monday afternoon. 3:30 will be the height of the eclipse in our area, which will leave a small sliver of sunlight visible. If the weather cooperates we will go outside with our eclipse glasses and look at it in various stages. If the weather does not cooperate we will make sure to stream it in the classrooms.
I hope you all have a happy, healthy, and restful spring break!
Jennifer Guthrie
Director of the Lower & Middle School
April
Monday-Friday, April 1st-5th: School Closed: Spring Break
Monday, April 8th: Classes Resume
Wednesday, April 10th Speaker Series 6:45 pm- Support for Parents: Navigating Special Education and Understanding Available Supports and Resources.
Wednesday, April 10th: Teacher Feature Form & Payment Due
Wednesday, April 17th: Coffee with the Head of School (8:30-9:15 am) Head of School Office
Friday, April 19th: 12:00 pm Dismissal: Faculty Forum
Friday, April 19th: Craig ALL SCHOOL Drive-In (7PM, Montville Campus Parking Lot)
May
Saturday, May 4th: Teacher Appreciation Community Celebration Event (6:30 pm - 9:30 pm) Craig High School Gymnasium
Craig Community Evening - Faculty & Staff Appreciation Event
Join us for an evening to celebrate our amazing faculty and staff.
Saturday, May 4, 2024, 6:30-9:30 pm -
Craig School Annual Drive-In
This April marks the return of the Annual Craig School Drive-In. It will be held in the vast parking lots of our Montville campus.
On Friday, April 19th (which is a 12PM Close Day for Students), we will be hosting a snack-filled viewing of the computer-animated adventure comedy of the year......THE SUPER MARIO BROTHERS! Snacks are free courtesy of PACS, drive-in is free! All you need is to be here so mark your calendars. Arrival will be between 6-7 PM.
Teacher Feature Update:
In case you missed it, all the details for Teacher Feature are in your child’s VIP folder. We've made some tweaks to two events on 5/10: Color Me Mine and Sundaes now cater specifically to grades 2nd through 5th, and the Girls Sleep Under has been rescheduled to Friday 5/31 due to scheduling conflicts. While Ms. St. Peter can't join us, her creative input will still shine through, with Ms. Jahn stepping in. Apologies for any inconvenience, and please reach out to Mary Calvano at mcalvano@craigschool.org or Amanda Jahn at ajahn@craigschool.org for any questions. Can't wait to kick off on April 12th!
Deadline for Teacher Feature responses: Tuesday, April 10th!
After-school art studio
Join Ms. Kutcher on Tuesdays from April 9th to May 14th in the art room from 3:00 - 4:15. Have fun exploring and creating a variety of projects.
Leadership Council:
Plant Sale- Begins in April Delivery - May 9 Kaiden and Andy are chairing this committee. They have met already and begun discussing what we will focus our fundraising efforts on for this year and how we can improve our marketing strategies. Order forms will be available after April break, pick up will be a few days before Mothers Day.
Teacher Appreciation Week- May 6-10 Joel and Jules have begun working with the committee to develop ideas to show their thanks to our incredible staff.
7th and 8th grade School Dance-May 10 - LOOKING FOR CHAIRS ! We need parent chairs to lead this parent committee. Our school dance is May 10. Please consider stepping up and helping to make this a magical night for the kids. If we don’t have chairs soon we will have to cancel the dance. Contact lgiven@craigschool.org
SPEAKER SERIES
If you missed our Speaker Series, with Dr. Sharon Saline, you can visit the website -
ABOUT US/SPEAKER SERIES and download the recorded presentation.
There is still time to register for our final presentation.
Navigating Special Education and Understanding Available Supports and Resources with Meghann Bierly (Wednesday, April 10th, 7pm Zoom-REGISTER and ZOOM LINK): As a parent, you are the expert on your child, you know when your child is experiencing challenges even if you are unsure of the specific support needed. You will be an empowered advocate for your child when you understand how to navigate the school system to access appropriate support. In this webinar, Meghann will provide an overview of how to advocate when your child is struggling with learning to read. She will discuss a variety of supports and resources that are available to parents.
Bring your questions and concerns, as Meghann will offer a live Q&A for the second half of the presentation. As a fellow parent of a child with dyslexia, Meghann hopes you will leave the webinar knowing you don’t have to travel this journey alone. You will connect and learn with other parents navigating the system and supporting your children in becoming READERS and regaining their confidence in themselves as students! After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
After-School Basketball Clinic League All grades Co-ed
Skills, Drills, and Games!
3:05 pm to 4:00 pm
Tuesday, April 16
Thursday, April 18
Tuesday, April 23
Thursday, April 25
Click the link below for sign-ups
After School Basketball Clinic 2024
The Lacrosse Clinic is coming in May!
SUMMER ACADEMY
Registration for the 2024 Summer Academy is now open! Reserve your spot today!
Summer Academy will be held at our High School Campus: 24 Changebridge Road in Montville, NJ. All summer medical forms are due by June 1st.
Contact Kelly Wiederlight at kwiederlight@craigschool.org for more information.
Spring is around the corner, let's celebrate, and spread joy and cheer by supporting Craig School's Annual Giving!!
Thank you to all who've donated! We're working hard to reach our goal and need everyone's support.
Every gift matters. Annual Giving covers essential enhancement programming like photography, script handwriting, social and emotional learning, athletics, and more, beyond tuition. Your support isn't just about today; it's about securing tomorrow's opportunities.
Additionally, achieving 100% participation opens doors to additional grant funding.
Together, let's keep Craig thriving!!
Donate Here - Every Gift Matters!
If you have any questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to Mary Calvano, Advancement, at mcalvano@craigschool.org or call 973-334-1234 x229.
Thank you for being a key ingredient to Craig's success!
18th Annual Golf Outing
Save the date! Our 18th Annual Golf Outing, Dinner & Auction is on Tuesday, June 18, 2023. Even in winter, it's never too early to dream about hitting the course. Get ready for a fantastic event – more details are coming soon!
Dates
Monday, April 10th
Wednesday, April 12th
Thursday, April 13th
Pick-up is at 3:55 pm
Please contact Stephen Vaporis, svaporis@craigschool.org, for more information.
Movie Night
PACS could use your help with snack donations for our 3rd Annual Movie Night. If you can help provide some movie snacks, please click below to make a donation. You can leave all donations at the front desk at Wilson or at the front Desk at the High School. Please have all donations in by April 15th. Please Click Here for the Sign Up Genius.
PARKING MESSAGE
Mountain Lakes Campus
We are very grateful to have such an involved community! As with any large family, we can overwhelm those around us sometimes. Please help us by doing your best to be considerate of our neighbors whenever you come to campus.
As you come to campus for drop-off, pick-up, and various activities, please continue to be good neighbors to our community. Ideally, when picking up at regular dismissal time, please try to come as close to 3:00 as possible. It is even fine to plan to be here at 3:10. I certainly understand that not all family schedules allow for waiting until 3:00 and just ask that you do what you can. If you must line up before 3:00, please be very mindful of not blocking the road or driveways on either side of Laurel Hill Road and obey idling laws by turning off your car.
When coming onto the Mountain Lakes campus for activities, whether they are during the day or after school, please continue to be considerate of our community. Please only park in lined spots in our lot, in empty spots in the Blue House parking lot, or across the Boulevard at the Masonic Lodge.
We truly appreciate your support of and commitment to your children and The Craig School!
For more information on ways of giving or to make a donation online you can clicking here.
