October 25, 2024

 

Dear Families,

 

Congratulations to everyone who made last Saturday’s Fall Festival so successful.

If you volunteered on Saturday, you probably experienced what our students experience in class: working together to benefit your community is fun.  If you spent months planning and organizing before Saturday, congratulations.  Fall Festival 2024 set a new fundraising record.  The money raised for the parent association will go right back to classrooms.

(If you did not purchase the craft your child made for Fall Festival, it’s not too late.  Please reach out to your child’s teacher.)

This year, our community welcomed many alumni who returned to celebrate CPE’s fiftieth anniversary. I started at CPE1 only eight years ago, so most of the alumni I know are still in their teens.  The adult alumni who came helped me think about the lasting impact of our elementary school. 

Over and over, I heard alumni say that our school made them curious and confident.  No matter where they attended high school and college, they had the habits and belief in themselves to do well.    

Some of their confidence came from having skills – skating, carpentry, cooking – that most schools don’t teach.   Adult alumni also recalled camping trips, singing together from the CPE song book, and ‘funerals’ after the death of class pets.  A school with traditions and ceremonies helps children realize they belong somewhere special.

Our current students will remember Fall Festival as one of those special traditions.  Children contributed handmade crafts and games.  They witnessed hundreds of old friends hugging hello on the school yard.  And on a perfect October day, they and played in a space their community made just for them.  

 

 Halloween Parade – October 31

Next week, we have another special celebration.  The Halloween Parade happens on Thursday, October 31. 

Halloween at CPE1 celebrates imagination and childhood.  Our Halloween is never scary.

Students in pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade wear regular clothes to school.  They change into costumes after lunch. 

Older students and adults do not wear costumes in school.  They cheer on the younger kids as they parade through the hall and out of the building.

Families in the lower grades already heard from teachers about the parade.  Here are some reminders:

  • No scary costumes

  • No violent costumes

  • No weapons

  • No masks

  • No superhero costumes

  • No princess costumes

  • No candy on Halloween or after

Adults may join the parade when children exit the school building at around 1:15 on October 31.  They will walk up Fifth Avenue for several blocks before looping down Madison to Lehman Playground.  As always, we appreciate volunteers to set up the playground.

Not all students or staff participate in Halloween.  We always make space for this, with class discussion if anyone is not dressing up.  Understanding that some in our school have different traditions is an important part being a community.

 

Your Child and CPE1 Camping

This week, from Monday through Wednesday, our fourth and fifth graders were camping in the Catskill Mountains. 

When they got back to school Wednesday afternoon, the bus driver gave us his phone number so we could request him for future trips.  He said our students were the politest school group he's ever driven.

The bus driver’s impression shows that camping at CPE1 is still school.  Our teachers continue supervising kids while we are away. There are new camp counselors, but even at night, our students remain with the adults they know.

Some of our students have taken two CPE1 camping trips.  I asked a few to explain why camping is important:

  • “We got closer to our peers, not just our friends.”

  • “We do things together like hiking, which we can't do in the city.”

  • “We learn about wildlife.”

  • “I get away from the pollution in the city.  I can see the stars at night.  And I can sleep without loud noises, like motorcycles, going past my window all night.”

Outdoor learning is part of our school.  And even the kids who feel unsure about spending two nights away from home come back proud that they did. 

Before fourth grade, start talking about camping with school.  Sometimes, kids feel more comfortable than their grown-ups; prepare now so everyone feels comfortable when it’s time for this special opportunity.