December 4, 2015

Volume 4 / Issue 14

IN THIS ISSUE:

- Note from Dr. Beekley
- CES Puzzle Pieces
- Social Development Books from CES Library
- Health Office News
- Social Development News
- PTO Fall Fundraising Totals
- PTO Mini Grants
- PTO Holiday Craft Night
- Valley Shore YMCA

Digital Backpack

YMCA Holiday Splash Week Flyer

Tuesday, December 8th
- Winter Concert

Thursday, December 17th
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Friday, December 18th
- PTO Holiday Craft Night
(6:00-8:00 pm - Gymnasium)

Tuesday, December 22nd
- Snow Day Play

December 23rd-January 1st
- Holiday Break

Friday, January 8th
- Grade 2 LEARN Field Trip to New Britain Art Museum

Tuesday, January 12th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Friday, January 15th
- Early Dismissal
(Professional Development for Staff)

Monday, January 18th
- Martin Luther King's Birthday (No School)

Thursday, January 21st
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Thursday, January 28th
- Chester Board of Education Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Tuesday, February 9th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Friday, February 12th
- Early Dismissal (Professional Development for Staff)

Monday, February 15th
- Presidents Day (No School)

Tuesday, February 16th
- Professional Development Day (No School for Students)

Wednesday, February 17th
- Possible Snow Make-up Day

Thursday, February 18th
- Possible Snow Make-up Day
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Friday, February 26th
- PTO Bingo & Basket Raffle Night

Tuesday, March 8th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Thursday, March 17th
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due
- Grade 2 Field Trip to Charlotte's Web Play

Tuesday, March 22nd
- PTO Book Fair

Wednesday, March 23rd
- PTO Book Fair
- Early Dismissal (Parent/ Teacher Conferences)

Thursday, March 24th
- PTO Book Fair
- Early Dismissal (Parent/ Teacher Conferences)
- Chester Board of Education Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Friday, March 25th
- Good Friday (No School)

Tuesday, March 29th
- S.T.E.A.M. Fair Open House

Wednesday, March 30th
- S.T.E.A.M. Fair Judging

Tuesday, April 12th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Thursday, April 14th
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Friday, April 15th
- Early Dismissal (Professional Development for Staff)

April 18th-April 22nd
- Spring Recess

Monday, April 25th
- Possible Snow Make-up Day

Tuesday, April 26th
- Possible Snow Make-up Day

Friday, April 29th
- Arbor Day

Friday, April 30th
- State Invention Convention

Tuesday, May 3rd
- PTO Teachers' Appreciation Lunch

Wednesday, May 4th
- ACES Day
- Spring Arts Festival

Tuesday, May 10th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Tuesday, May 17th
- Grade 3 Field Trip to Trash Museum

Thursday, May 19th
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Thursday, May 26th
- Chester Board of Education Meeting
(7:00 pm - Location TBD)

Friday, May 27th
- Early Dismissal (Professional Development for Staff)
- Memorial Day Program

Monday, May 30th
- Memorial Day (No School)
- Memorial Day Parade

Tuesday, May 31st
- Possible Snow Make-up Day
- PTO Spring Clothing Drive

Wednesday, June 1st- Friday, June 3rd
- PTO Spring Clothing Drive

Thursday, June 2nd
- Grade 6 Unity Day (JWMS)

Wednesday, June 8th
- Grade 4 Field Trip to State Capitol

Monday, June 13th
- Field Day

Tuesday, June 14th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Wednesday, June 15th
- Early Dismissal (Last Day of School - depending on number of weather/ emergency days used)

A NOTE FROM DR. BEEKLEY

December is a time when the nights grow longer and colder. During December, our lives are brightened and our hearts are warmed by the holidays and traditions each of us embraces. This is the time of year for rejoicing and for rededication. A quote from Thomas Drier says it well: "If we are to enjoy life, now is the time--not tomorrow or next year. The best preparation for a better life next year is a full, complete, harmonious, joyous life this year."

As we enter the holiday season, our lives become very full of special activities and extra jobs to be done. Along with the joy and fun comes additional stress for families. Children also feel this stress when the adults in their lives are short on time and energy. Your family and children might find these suggestions helpful for keeping stress down and spirits up:

*   Keep regular bedtimes. Being overtired easily leads to cranky children.

*   Limit the number of visits, performances and other special events. It is better to really enjoy a few than to rush from one event to another.

*   Keep the usual daily routines. If your child is used to having a bath and story before bed, changing their routine can be stressful.

*   Look for low-cost family activities that can be done in the peace of your own home. Children get as much pleasure from playing a game with their parents as they do from going to a movie.

Enjoy this wonderful holiday season!

Joanne D. Beekley, Ed.D.
Principal

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CES PUZZLE PIECES

For the 2015-16 school year, the Chester Elementary School theme is: "Like Pieces in a Puzzle, We All Fit Together at CES." When you enter the building, you will see large decorated puzzle pieces that students created. When an adult sees a child exhibiting the behaviors that match our school code ("I promise to be responsible, respectful, prepared and safe"), the student is given a ticket to take home and a puzzle piece to decorate for our student recognition bulletin board. On Friday mornings, our student leaders pick five puzzle pieces from the bucket in the main office. Those students are recognized on morning broadcast for doing a good deed, and their puzzle piece is then hung on the recognition board. This "catch them being good" philosophy is one that is an integral part of our school community.

Chester Elementary School is a proud member of the Chester community. For the town tree, each student decorated a puzzle piece related to the topic that their class was assigned. Our monthly topics are Respect, Self-Esteem, Charity, Peace, Diversity, Cooperation, Honesty, Responsibility, and Friendship. Our students worked hard on developing ideas/pictures to put on their puzzle pieces based on the theme of the month they were assigned. The puzzle pieces were decorated during buddy classes, so the younger children had the opportunity to work on this cooperative project with the older students. We hope that you enjoy the students' artwork representing these ideals.

Mrs. Conashevick's Kindergarten class and Mrs. Waz's Third Grade class worked together to complete their Community Decoration Project. The students discussed charity, November's Social Development Theme, and drew pictures to represent what charity means to them.

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SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT BOOKS AVAILABLE FROM CES LIBRARY

Our Social Development theme-of-the-month for December is Peace. There are many excellent books in our library about peace. A few will be featured during December, and any may be borrowed from the library to be shared with your family. Just email bmoshier@reg4.k12.ct.us to request the book and she will send it home with your child.

All the World by Elizabeth Garton Scanlon

Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning until night, this book affirms the importance of all things great and small in theworld, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky.

The Peace Book by Todd Parr

This book describes peace as making new friends, sharing a meal, feeling good about yourself, and more.

The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech

In a tiny village in the Swiss Alps, an angel meets an American girl named Zola who has come with her father to open a school, and together Zola and the angel rescue a group of homeless orphans, who gradually change everything.

The Big Book for Peace edited by Ann Durell and Marylyn Sachs

This book presents seventeen stories and poems with the theme of peace by outstanding authors of today such as Jean Fritz, Milton Meltzer, and Nancy Willard, illustrated by famous illustrators such as Paul Zelinsky, the Dillons, and Maurice Sendak.

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HEALTH OFFICE NEWS

Please remember to check your children's heads regularly to help prevent infestation and the spread of head lice. Some ways to reduce chances of getting head lice is to limit sleepovers and not to share hats, combs, etc.

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SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT NEWS

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

The CES Student Leaders will be having a bake sale the nigh

t of the Winter Concert. The proceeds from the bake sale will go towards shipping costs for our Project Gratitude project. We were able to ship out 50 pounds of candy to our soldiers. (Thanks for your donations! We're sure they will be greatly appreciated.) Please stop by the bake sale to check out the great treats.

Our current service-learning project is collecting items for clients at Gateway Community Treatment Center, a facility in Chester that services people with chronic mental illness. This is our 24th year of collecting items for this agency. The items we collect are, sometimes, the only things that the clients receive for the holidays. The collection will end on December 16th. Please see below for a list of needed items.

Grade K.....Socks/slipper socks for adult men and women
Grade 1......Hot chocolate packets and chocolate (candy)
Grade 2......Playing cards and puzzle books
Grade 3......Art supplies (markers, drawing paper, colored pencils and coloring books)
Grade 4......Hats/gloves/scarves for adult men and women
Grade 5......Shampoo/conditioner
Grade 6......Deodorant and shaving cream
Staff...........Bath Soap/denture cream

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEMES

The Social Development Theme-of-the-Month for December is Peace. The Social Development Book-of-the-Month is The Lady in the Box. Please enjoy a description of the book below.

It is wintertime in the city and freezing cold, but not everyone is inside and warm. Ben and his sister Lizzie know that there is a lady who lives outside in a box over a warm air vent. The children worry about the kind-looking lady, and begin sneaking food and clothes out of their apartment for her. Gently told and powerfully illustrated in rich hues, The Lady in the Box deals candidly with the issue of homelessness.

The goal of our Social Development Book-of-the-Month is to integrate literature and concomitant language arts objectives with themes and ideas that support our social development program.

The Chester Public Library is graciously partnering with us on our social development Book-of-the-Month initiative. Our Book-of-the-Month is displayed at the library and there are multiple copies available for families to borrow, so that the discussion begun at school can be shared and extended at home.

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PTO NEWS

FALL FUNDRAISING TOTALS

Thank you to all who have participated in our fundraising efforts so far this year! So far, we have raised:
Yankee Candle Sale: $3,012.58
Halloween Carnival: $1,994.50
Fall Clothing Drive: $621.60 for 3,108 pounds!
Square 1 Art: $868.09

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CES STUDENTS ENJOY BIG BENEFITS FROM THE PTO MINI GRANTS PROGRAM

Every year, the CES PTO sets aside $3,000 in funds for the PTO Mini Grant Program. In this Program, CES faculty and staff apply for funds to purchase items to enhance the CES students' educational and developmental experience.

This year, the following items have been awarded based upon requests from the following:

Ms. Raymond - Resistance Bands
Mrs. Conashevick & Mrs. Mantie - Ball Chairs and Yoga Items
Mrs. Giordano - 6 Polar H7 Heart Sensors
Mrs. Sciuto, Mrs. MacKinnel, & Mrs. Siraco - Ball Chairs
Mrs. Moshier - Puppets and Props
Mrs. Corcoran - 2 Olympus Noise Cancelling Mircrophones & 2 CAD 37 USB Condense Recording Mircophones

The CES PTO had funds remaining after these requests from the budgeted $3,000 and has solicited faculty and staff to submit requests for a second round of Mini-Grant Program. Keep an eye out for a future communication detailing the additional items awarded.

Thank you to everyone on the CES PTO Mini-Grant Board including: Lisa Sacks, Kim Stack, Elizabeth Bird, Keena Toth, Suzanne Fetter, and Leanne McKenna.

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PTO HOLIDAY CRAFT NIGHT

Friday, December 18, 2015 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm (CES Gym)

Mark your calendars for the PTO Holiday Craft Night on Friday, December 18 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm in the gymnasium! This is a fun holiday tradition at which students will make a variety of craft projects and enjoy some holiday baked goods and refreshments. Please note that the date of December 11th as noted in the school calendar has been changed to December 18th.

There is no admission charge. We ask each family who attends to donate a healthy snack item to be used by Nurse LeAnn when CES students forget their snacks at school. Good examples of snacks to bring for Nurse LeAnn are granola bars, cereal bars, raisins, pretzels, popcorn, crackers, dried fruit or fruit snack packs.

If you can provide a holiday snack or treat, assist at a craft table, or help with event set-up or clean-up, please sign up by Monday, November 30 at the following site:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjTlmfiVC80qdE9RV3lRdnpwVDFuZnI0OTJMWF8xTkE&usp=sharing

You can also contact committee chair, Allison Liggett, at (860) 227-9713 or allisono2003@yahoo.com. Also feel free to check out our Holiday Craft Night wiki page: http://ces-pto.wikispaces.com/Holiday+Craft+Night

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COMMUNITY NEWS

VALLEY SHORE YMCA

The world is made up of 71% water. Your children are 100% curious! The Valley Shore will be offering four FREE swim lessons to every child between 3-10 years old during the Winter Holiday break to help keep kids in our community safe, build confidence, and develop a love of water activities. Visit http://www.vsymca.org/splash to register today. Space is limited and registration ends December 20th.

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Chester Elementary School

"It Takes a World of Differences to Make a Difference in this World"
23 Ridge Road / Chester, CT 06412 / 860-526-5797
www.ces.reg4.k12.ct.us