December 4, 2025

Dear Families,                               

Our community coffee for December will happen this week.  On Friday, December 5, please come up to the second-floor library at 8:30. 

Everyone is invited to these open-ended discussions about raising children and the life of our school.  I hope you can come this Friday morning for coffee and conversation.

Festival of Lights – December 11 - 5:30

Next Thursday evening will be one of CPE1’s loveliest traditions: Festival of Lights.

Festival of Lights evokes wintertime celebrations around the world.  We sing songs; tell stories; share a meal that reminds us of home; and, as so many cultures do at this time of year, light candles against the long, chilly night.  At Festival of Lights, we learn about how families in our community honor their cultural traditions and develop their own.

We start with a potluck.  Many families prepare a dish that represents their wintertime celebrations or cultures.  Please click here to sign up for the potluck.

For many kids, mixing school, nighttime, friends, and a table full of desserts is exciting.  They might be tempted to rush around with friends.  However, once we finish eating and begin sharing stories, traditions, and songs, everyone should be listening actively.  Please make sure your child is sitting with you.  Please put phones away.  Both children and adults should be present and attentive. 

In peaceful candlelight, when one person is teaching about their family traditions, Festival of Lights can feel magical.  I hope your family will be part of it.

Winter Clothing

How often do city kids find 15,000 square feet of perfect powder?   The morning after a snowfall, a few students choose hot breakfast indoors.  Most choose angels and snowmen. 

This photo sits on a wall in my office, among images that capture what I love about CPE1.  Some schools hold children inside throughout the winter.  Our school provides the outdoor play children deserve.   

Colds and flu are common during winter, but chilly air does not spread germs.  Freezing weather can trigger asthma attacks, so asthmatic students often warm their airways with extra layers, scarves, and face masks.  For  all children, warm outdoor clothing – boots, snowpants, gloves, hats – mean playing more comfortably, and for longer.

Wintertime teaches young children to take care of their possessions.  Some lose track of their accessories.  They drop scarves and forget hats.  

Teachers can recognize some distinctive items, but a plain black hoodie or pink mittens are hard to identify.  We already have seven hats in our lost and found.  We would have returned those hats right away…

…if only the hats had names written on the inside.

Please take time to label your child’s winter clothes.  That will aid teachers as they help your child learn to hold onto belongings and stay warmer. 

This month, we will begin ice skating.  Snow flurries will drift down during recess.  This morning, one boy asked why he could see his breath.  Winter should be a memorable part of childhood; I appreciate that CPE1 families dress children so that they can make those memories here.