THE CRAIG SCHOOL

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Message from the Head Of School

NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear Badger Families,

It seems like just yesterday we were welcoming all of our Badgers onto campus for the beginning of the school year. In a blink of an eye, we are already into November with the holiday season right around the corner. November is a busy month at The Craig School. We begin our conferences next week. Thank you to those who have signed up. If you haven’t signed up for a conference yet, please contact Renee Hecht, rhecht@craigschool.org and we will make sure you get a conference scheduled.

On Tuesday, November 21st, we will host a day that is always a favorite at The Craig School. It has traditionally been called Grandfriends’ Day, but it has really become Friends of Craig Day. On this occasion, the children bring a special adult to school with them that they would like to share their Craig experience with. This can be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, older cousin, family friend, or the like. Sometimes a parent is their Friend for the day; parents can choose to stay with their child and the Friend, some parents elect for the child to have time alone to bond with their Friend. There is no right way to do it, we are flexible and allow you to choose what works best for you and your child.

The day will revolve around a theme with four interactive sessions to visit and learn together. One stop is always the cafeteria, where PACS helps us by planning the decorations and the food. After rotating through the four sessions, we will all meet in the auditorium for a combined activity. The day ends with a noon dismissal and a heartwarming feeling of community heading into the Thanksgiving holiday. I know it has always been the perfect way for me to begin the holiday season.

Please help us prepare by RSVPing to the event by following the link below.

RSVP HERE

Have a great weekend,

Jennifer Guthrie

Director of the Lower & Middle School

CALENDAR INFO

November

School CLOSED: Parent-Teacher Conferences - 11/9/23 & 11/10/23 - Thursday-Friday - All Divisions

Picture Retakes - 11/14/23 - Tuesday - LSMS

12:00pm Dismissal: GrandFriends Day - 11/21/23 - Tuesday - (9:00am-12:00pm) - LSMS

School CLOSED: Thanksgiving Break - 11/22/23 - 11/24/23 - Wednesday-Friday - All Divisions

December

12:00pm Dismissal: Faculty Forum/Trimester 1 Ends - 12/1/23 - Friday - LSMS

Goals & Objectives/Report Cards Emailed Home & to Districts - 12/15/23 - Friday - LSMS

12:00pm Dismissal: Gingerbread STEM Day - 12/15/23 - Friday - LSMS

School CLOSED: Holiday Break - 12/18/23-1/2/23 - Monday-Tuesday - All Divisions

COMMUNITY NEWS

Veterans Day Committee- is working diligently to put together a great day on November 8. In the morning we will have a full school assembly with three speakers, followed by our 2nd annual Veterans Day luncheon. There is still room so if you have a family member who served and would like to join us please let me know, lgiven@craigschool.org.

ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS

Science in the lower school takes a hands-on approach while ensuring the foundational vocabulary, content, and skills of middle school science are learned. All of the lower school students began the year with a unit on Thinking Like a Scientist where they learned how to make observations using their 5 senses, make predictions, and collect data to create graphs. Then they all transitioned into their life science units and are all working on grade level life concepts revolving around plants and habitats. Mrs. Restieri has developed multi-sensory lessons including songs, dissected plants to find plant parts, and learning about dispersion and transpiration through short videos and hands-on activities. Through these hands on activities they learned that in an experiment only one variable can change at a time. Some classes have grown radish plants, some watched their beans germinate, and other classes have done various other experiments. They are all little scientists in Mrs. Restieri’s classroom!

Hands-on science is intentionally a part of the middle school multi-sensory approach as well. The 6th graders, with Ms. Lancaster, recently went on a scavenger hunt around the school for the parts of the school that served similar functions to the different parts of a cell. This activity helped students conceptualize a system being parts working together, whether that system is a school or a cell. In 7th and 8th grade, Ms. Arena’s students did a back-to-school "Mystery Substances Experiment," to review the scientific process where they were given 3 white substances and had to perform different tests and use the research available to them to determine the identities of each substance (baking soda, cornstarch, flour). More recently the 7th graders performed a lab as part of their energy unit where they investigated how the temperature in a baking soda and vinegar reaction changes, as well as how thermal energy is transferred when you make ice cream by hand. During a unit of forces, 8th graders performed a lab where they used their math skills and knowledge of our content vocabulary to calculate their average running speeds, and performed another where they calculated and graphed the velocity of a ball rolled off of a ramp. In all labs, students recorded their observations and used them to write conclusion questions for a lab report, related everyday observations to science principles and the real world, and learned vocabulary such as acceleration and thermal energy in multi-sensory ways.

This week all grades, 2-8, have been working on a STEM activity - Pumpkin Chunkin. With a group, they have to create a contraption that will launch a mini candy pumpkin using popsicle sticks, rubber bands, masking tape, bottle caps, and such. This week and next students will test their catapults for accuracy. There are 3 challenges for a possible total of 28 points; a target challenge, a pumpkin bucket challenge, and topple the 10 cup challenge Our focus is on design, adaptability, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Good luck to all teams!

All of these hands-on experiences require both sides of the brain to work together; listening and analyzing on the left in conjunction with visual and spatial on the right. This harmony leads to better understanding and higher retention of vocabulary and concepts.