Dear Craig Families,

Parent/teacher conferences will be starting next week, every morning from March 8th through the 19th,  and four half-days Wednesday, March 10th through Friday, March 12th, and Friday, March 19th. You should have already received an email from Kimberly McGroarty confirming your date and time for your conference as well as your login.

The following subject teachers will be at the conferences, Reading, LA, Math, and Science. If your child has an additional Orton pull-out that teacher will also be present.

The Goals and Objectives will be emailed Monday, March 8th. Since time is of the essence, while viewing your objectives think of questions you might want to ask the teachers. If you have any specific questions or topics you wish to discuss you may want to open with those during your conference.

Parent/teacher conference is a time for parents to receive important information about their child and for teachers to hear your perspective about your child’s needs. Therefore the most productive meeting would be without the student present. This may be a challenge with the virtual meeting and may require some creative planning. Our main goal is to explain and answer questions about your child as well as address your concerns. The parent-teacher connection truly helps the teacher-student connection.

Below are some helpful tips to consider for virtual conferencing:

• Familiarize yourself with Google Meet before the conference.
• Check your volume setting before beginning.
• Log in during your scheduled times, not earlier. We will be ending each conference after 25 minutes to ensure that two families are not on the same meet.

• If you have connectivity glitches, try hanging up and coming back to the meet.
• If your wifi is lagging you can turn off your video which helps consolidate resources and facilitate processing speed.
• Do not worry if time does not permit all questions to be answered. A follow-up email or phone call to either myself or the teacher is more than welcomed.

Remember, parent/teacher conferences are for you. We want you included in our conversations because you are an integral part of the equation. We look forward to meeting with you and sharing so our children can learn and grow in the best way possible.

Sincerely,

Janet Cozine

Monday, March 8 - Trimester II Goals and Objectives Emailed to Parents 

Wednesday, March 10 - 12:00 Dismissal (Parent Teacher Conferences)

Thursday, March 11 - 12:00 Dismissal  (Parent Teacher Conferences)

Friday, March 12 - 12:00 Dismissal (Parent Teacher Conferences)

Friday, March 12 - 3:00 2nd Twilight Ski Event at Mount Peter

Friday, March 19 - 12:00 Dismissal (Parent Teacher Conferences)

LIBRARY

The library continues to thrive. Currently we have 132 books checked out!  Thanks to all the reading teachers who bring their students to the library and give them time to explore all the wonderful resources we have accumulated. Students also enjoy participating in our Question of the Week. This last week the question was- “What is the smallest state in America?” Students looked in books or on their computers to confirm their guesses. At the end of each month we pull a name from the correct guesses from the lower school and middle school. Those “winners” are able to have a lunch delivered from a local restaurant. In February Eli and Ellie were the lucky winners. 

Read Across America

All our planning was well worth it!  The daily spirit days were great fun but Friday ushered in most of the laughs. 

Mount Peter Twilight Skiing: ONE MORE TIME!!!! Fri March 12th 

Due to popular demand, Mount Peter has extended another special twilight skiing discount offer to The Craig School community.  This Friday, March 12th, Mount Peter in Warwick, NY (https://www.mtpeter.com/) has put together some special pricing for Craig Families only.  Here is what you need to know: 

• • Skiing is from 3PM-8PM
  • If you are attending you must get your payment and any necessary form(s) (Equipment Rental Agreement, Helmet Rental Agreement and/or COVID form if taking a lesson) to the CHS Main Office by Thursday, March 11th
  • Check or Cash:
    • $30.00 for Lift ticket only  (No form needed)
    • $70.00 for Lift ticket and Rental (Rental forms needed (equipment & helmet)
    • $90.00 for Lift ticket, Rental and Lesson (Rental forms (equipment & helmet) & COVID form)
  • Checks are to be made payable to 'Mount Peter'. 
  • Please have payment and forms (link below), if applicable, in a sealed envelope and drop off with Mrs. Maas for CHS 

• Mount Peter Twilight Ski/Snowboard Forms

This is not a formal Craig School event but it is a great opportunity to get together with other Craig families to share some powder!  If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Mr. Furlong at NFurlong@CraigSchool.org

ADMISSIONS

Registration is open for The Craig School Summer Academy in grades 2-12.  Our summer program will be in person only.

All students starting in grade 9-12 this fall will be located at our Montville Campus and students in grades 2-8 will be in Mountain Lakes.  The enrichment program will located on the mountain lakes campus.  Please see the registration forms for times, dates and cost.  Spaces are limited and we need you registration form ASAP to hold your child's spot.   Please do not delay and come join us for a great summer program!

Registration forms at  https://www.craigschool.org/academics/summer-academy/

VOCABULARY

Although comprehension and application are the goals of learning, it is important to be able to recall and use foundational vocabulary words, especially in the content areas. Playing games to get in extra repetition is always well received as it is engaging and motivating. Some popular choices are Kahoot, Quizlet, Quizzes, and Gimkit. In the pictures in the Newsletter photo gallery, students in Mrs. Guthrie's 6th-grade science classes can be seen playing a digital version of Connect-4 with a partner on our class Google Meet to review the vocabulary words of the water cycle process.

See our photos in our gallery.

For those of you that would like to purchase The Craig School basketball gear, please check out our Squad Locker Store set up for both girl and boy basketball players. It is not mandatory to buy, but it is encouraged to show your Badger Pride!  Please use this link provided to order: 

https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/#/lockers/the-craig-school-basketball

Grades 2-4 Co-Ed Basketball Clinic Mondays March 8th from 3:05-4:00

If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Mr. Furlong at NFurlong@CraigSchool.org

There is NO Homework Help this week due to Parent Teacher conferences.

Our next date will be Monday, March 15th.

If your child is leaving early, not coming to Homework Help or will be virtual and wants to participate in Homework Help, please contact Mrs. Butter by email at bbutter@craigschool.org or via call/text message on the Homework Help hotline 1-862-207-9863. Thanks!

HALF DAY AND DELAYED OPENING SCHEDULES

Below are the schedules for your reference.

https://www.craigschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/THE-CRAIG-SCHOOL-LS_MS-Half-Day-Period-Rotation-Schedule-2020-21-revised-2-16-21-2.pdf

ATTENDANCE  

Please send an email to Kimberly McGroarty kmcgroarty@craigschool.org OR call our Main Line (973-334-4375 X101) for student absences before 7:30 a.m. We need to know:

(a) If your child is absent and is unable to attend virtually. This student will be marked “Absent.” OR

(b) If your child is absent AND attending classes virtually. This student will be marked “Present.”