Family Handbook
What Children Need for School
What Children Should Wear
There is no school uniform at CPE1.
We ask that clothes are neat, comfortable, and appropriate. It is a custom that children do not wear hats and hoods indoors.
Children should be able to run, skip, jump, and climb. Flip-flops, slides, and shoes with heels should not be worn.
Much of the day may be spent sitting on the floor or working with materials such as paint and glue. Children should have informal, comfortable, washable clothing.
Children need to be outdoors. We go out when there are puddles and ice and snow. That means children of every age need a change of dry clothes in their cubbies. During cold months, hats, mittens, boots, and snowpants are needed; sledding, ice-skating, and playing in the snow are part of our community.
Rest Items
Early childhood classrooms rest after outdoor time and lunch. Children need two small blankets and a stuffy that fits in their hand. Please do not send sleeping bags or any items too big for a child’s cubby.
Children bring their rest things home for washing at the end of the week, and bring clean rest things to school after the weekend.
We sweep the floor just before rest time. Children lay out their blanket on the floor.
Bringing Food from Home
School lunch and breakfast are for free for all students. Your child also may bring lunch from home.
Each day, your child chooses school lunch or lunch from home. School staff do not prepare or reheat home lunch. If you want your child’s home lunch to be hot, please send it in a thermos.
Every day, children make snack for their whole class. Families should not send separate snacks.
Food Not Allowed in School
Please do not send:
Soda
Candy
Gum
Nuts (including peanut butter)
Glass bottles
Your child’s teacher will alert you about any food-related allergies in the classroom. Please do not send any food that could cause another child to have a serious allergic reaction.
Nuts allergies are so common that they are nuts and peanut butter are not served or allowed in the cafeteria.
Water
CPE1 has a bottle filler in the middle of our hallway. Children can get chilled, filtered water throughout the day.
Please send your child with a reusable water bottle. Please be sure your child’s name can be seen clearly on the bottle.
Restrooms
Children use the restroom independently; adults do not go into children’s bathrooms. Young children will be reminded to go to the bathroom several times per day.
Our hallway has three restrooms students may use: a girls room, a boys room, and an all-gender, single-use restroom. (The single-use restroom is still under construction, and will not be ready until after the start of the school year.) There is an adults-only restroom right off the corridor in Room 223.
Toys, Games, + Money
If you are sending money for a trip or school contribution, please seal the money in an envelope. Mark the envelope clearly with your child’s name, teacher, and the purpose of the payment.
Learning to hold onto valuables is part of growing up, though children do lose money. If your child needs money for an afterschool activity, it should be zipped in a backpack. Remind your child not to take out the cash during the school day. CPE1 cannot be responsible for lost money.
Toys, games and equipment should also be left at home. Children naturally like to show special items to their friends, which means those items can be lost or broken. Most children have a hard time focusing in class if they know a favorite toy is just outside in their cubby.
Children’s Electronics
As soon as children arrive on school grounds, all electronic devices, including cell phones, must be placed in their backpacks and turned off. Other electronics, such as tablets and video games, are strongly discouraged.
Children may not use their cell phones during the school day. Cell phones may be confiscated and returned to your child or you at the end of the day or at a later date if there has been more than one incident.
If you have to get in touch with your child, please call the main office (212.860.5821). Do not call or text your child’s personal phone.
CPE1 is not responsible for devices that are lost or damaged at school.
Remote Learning Devices
New York City public schools no longer have snow days. Instead, for weather or other unscheduled cancellations, students are expected to attend remote school online.
Children need a working computer, tablet, or smartphone for this unscheduled remote learning. There will be more than one time to log on during the day, and there will be offline breaks away from screens. (Too much screen time is bad for children.)
CPE1 has a limited number of devices to loan to students. Please reach out to Stephanie (stephanie@cpe1.nyc) if you do not have a device available for remote learning.
Children’s @CPE1 Accounts
All students will have a CPE1 email address and Google Drive. Older children manage their own @cpe1.nyc accounts, while younger children need more help logging on and uploading work.
For help with your child’s CPE email and drive, please reach out to Stephanie (212.860.5821 x 2041, stephanie@cpe1.nyc). Stephanie can reset children’s passwords if needed.