On Friday, May 11th, we held the seventh of our eight assemblies celebrating the Crocker Cougar  “word of the month.”  The Cougar word for April  was  “Perseverance.”    Ms. Haffner’s and Ms. Kantrowitz’s 2d grade and Ms. Oretsky’s 5th grade buddy classes were our “Perseverance Cougars”.    At the assembly, the Cougars buddies recited an acrostic poem where the first letters of each line forms a word, the subject of the poem (thank you google).

P is for Pride of a job well done

E is for Energy to keep on going

R is for Respecting and believing in yourself

S is for Sticking to it and carrying on

E is for Effort to stay motivated

V is for Vowing to hang in there

E is for expecting to get to your goal

R is for reaching beyond and taking risks

A is for Appreciating our hard work

N is for Never giving up, never quitting

C is for Commitment to the task

E is for Endurance to the end!

Other buddies wore signs with words that mean perseverance like “Grits and guts,” “Spunk,” “Pursue your goal,” “Be determined,” etc. Pictures of the Perseverance Cougars are on the bulletin board outside the office and their designed posters of the PERSEVERANCE letters are hanging in the MPR.  Photos of our Perseverance Cougars are on the photo gallery page.   Thank you PERSEVERANCE Crocker Cougars.

For the last months of school, the Cougar word will be FRIENDSHIP.  Friendship reflects ALL the Cougar words:  respect, compassion, self-discipline, cooperation, acceptance, responsibility and perseverance.   For example, when talking with your child about how friends treat each other you can point out that good friends listen to each other (respect, self-discipline).   Good friends try to understand each other’s feelings and moods (acceptance, compassion).  Good friends help each other solve problems (responsibility).  Good friends don’t give up on each other after a disagreement (perseverance).

Here are some things you can do to encourage your child to develop positive and healthy friendships.

• Encourage your child to talk with you about his or her friendships—use the Cougar words if you can (respect, compassion, self-discipline, cooperation, acceptance, responsibility and perseverance).
• Discuss how to have good friends you must be a good friend.
• If your child shows signs of feeling rejected or left out talk with him or her about it. Share a time when you felt the same way.
• Be sensitive to friendships that may involve negative activities or put-downs of other kids. Discuss it with your child and let him or her know how you feel about it.
• Encourage your child to show appreciation when a friend does something thoughtful or helpful.
• Remind your child that it’s never too late to make a new friend—even at the end of the school year.

Crocker Highlands 5th Grade Class Presenting Movie Night – Parent’s Night Out

When: Friday 5/11
Time: 5:30-8:00 pm
Where: Crocker MultiPurpose Room
Who: Any Crocker student (well behaved students please!!)
Movie: We Bought A Zoo
Fund Raising Cost: $20 first child, $10 second child, $5 third child (additional donations welcomed!!)

Please join your fellow schoolmates along with your comfortable snuggly (pillows, blankets, etc) for a Friday Movie Night in the Crocker MultiPurpose Room! Enjoy popcorn and pizza while hanging with your friends.

All Proceeds to support the 5th grade Promotion!!
Thank you,
5th Grade Parent Volunteers

On Friday, April 6^th, we held the sixth of our eight assemblies celebrating the Crocker Cougar Word of the Month, Responsibility.  Ms. Keller’s 2^nd grade class read journal entries sharing examples of responsibility, and Ms. Spees’ 5^th grade class performed skits showing what responsibility means to them, with a 5^th grade twist! The Cougar Celebration board has a display with pictures of the buddies in these classes. Thanks also to all the other teachers and students who learned about and discussed responsibility this month. And don’t forget about Compassion, Self-Discipline, Acceptance, Cooperation and Respect.

In April, the Crocker Cougar word of the month is PERSEVERANCE, which means to keep on trying in spite of difficulties.  Perseverance looks like practicing a new skill, or pushing harder to do something, like running.  Perseverance sounds like ”I can almost do it,” or “We’re almost at the of the mountain.”  Perseverance feels like success or confidence.  For families, teaching your children perseverance will help them overcome many of the challenges they face each day.  Whether learning to tie shoes or finishing that hard problem in homework, perseverance in the face of hardship is vital to success.  Here are some suggestions to foster this important trait: Model perseverance.  It helps your children to see you going after goals you set for yourself and sticking with a job until it is completed—even if you are frustrated.  Talk with your children about how some of the difficulties you encountered and how good it felt to finally accomplish your task.  Notice and praise your children when they persevere.  Help they see the value of completing activities they may not always enjoy.  Refer back to time spent doing homework when they bring home a good grade.  And if they haven’t done well despite studying, emphasize that their continued hard work will eventually pay off.   Remind your children that things don’t always come easily.  Explain that success is not always immediate and victory is often how they perceive it.  Even the smallest steps or most gradual improvements can bring a strong sense of accomplishment.  Remind your children that even famous people have to work hard and persevere to succeed.  Sport stars like Michael Jordan and writers like J.K. Rowling are just a few examples.  Look to the past.  Talk about the accomplishment of Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks or Anne Franks.  Contribute stories about your ancestors.

Please stop by the Bulletin Board by the office. Talk with your child about what he or she sees about Perseverance. Any questions on Crocker Cougar’s Word of the Month Program, please contact Liz O’Brien at lizobrien@pacbell.net.

On Friday, March 2nd, we held the fifth of our 8 assemblies celebrating the Crocker Cougar “word of the month.” The Cougar word for February was “Compassion.” Ms. Shannon’s kindergarten and Mr. Donahue’s 3rd grade buddy classes were our “ Compassion Cougars”. At the assembly, these Compassion Cougars performed 5 skits written by the 3rd graders about showing compassion: compassion for someone being teased, compassion for those who are hungry, compassion for someone in trouble, compassion for someone new at school and compassion for someone who was hurt. Thank you for showing us compassion. Pictures of our “ Compassion ” Cougars will be posted on our website. In addition, the Cougar Celebration board has a display with pictures of the buddies in these classes. Thanks also to all the other teachers and students who learned about Compassion this month. Let’s keep that compassion going: Let’s continue to show we care: here at school, at home, and in the community. And don’t forget about Self-Discipline, Acceptance, Cooperation and Respect, our Cougar words for January, December.

Any questions on Crocker Cougar’s Word of the Month Program, please contact Liz O’Brien at lizobrien@pacbell.net.

In March, the Crocker Cougar word of the month is RESPONSIBILITY.  Here are some things you can do to support the idea that being a responsible person makes us feel good about ourselves and makes other people respect and appreciate us.

·      Talk with your children about responsibility. Tell them that responsibility isn’t just doing chores, it’s following through on commitments, answering for their own actions, being reliable and trustworthy, using good judgment, taking care of their own affairs, and not procrastinating. Let them know that these are signs they are growing up and can be trusted with greater freedom.

·      “Catch” your children making a responsible choice or behaving in a responsible manner. Tell them how much that means to you.

·      Try to “forget” past failures at being responsible.

·      Have a discussion about responsibility in the family. What are your responsibilities (other than chores), and what are your parents’ responsibilities? Make a chart of these responsibilities and put it up on your bedroom wall (or, perhaps, the refrigerator door). What happens if you are irresponsible? What if your parents are irresponsible? What are the rewards for being responsible?

·      Talk with your family about what things you can do together to take responsibility for the environment (recycling, using less water and energy, buying non-polluting products, etc.). Make a plan and do it.

·      For one week keep a daily record of all your responsibilities. Include social commitments, homework, household chores, everything. At the end of the week give yourself a grade on how well you did in carrying out your responsibilities.

·      Stop by the Bulletin Board by the office. Talk with your child about what he or she sees.

Responsibility also means having integrity and doing the right thing. Here are some things you can do to encourage your child to always try to do what’s right.

·      Start with your own example. If you always base your own decisions on what you believe is right, that will mean more to your child than hours of lecturing.  This can mean following the rules—such as not parking in the “no parking” zone around the school.

·      Take time to talk about issues of right and wrong with your child.

·      When you watch TV or movies with your child, look critically at the way the characters behave and have a discussion about it.

·      Be sensitive to what your child says about decisions involving right or wrong. Don’t hesitate to correct statements like, “It doesn’t matter—nobody will ever find out” or “Everybody does it.”

·      Encourage your child to think about whether something is right or wrong before acting.

For more information check out http://www.teachkidshow.com/teach-your-child-to-do-the-right-thing/

Any questions on Crocker Cougar’s Word of the Month Program, please contact Liz O’Brien at lizobrien@pacbell.net.

On  Friday, February 3rd, we held the fourth  of our 8 assemblies celebrating the Crocker Cougar “word of the month.”  The Cougar word for January was  “Self-Discipline.”    The surprise Cougars for self-discipline were . . .  the teachers!  At the assembly, the students (and teachers) watched a video called “Crocker Teachers Gone Wild!” where teachers demonstrated (in a slightly exaggerated fashion) behaviors they have witnessed by students at Crocker where self-discipline was lacking.    But in the video, Crocker students are asked to stop and think and use self-discipline.  Students respond by saying what self-discipline should look like!     The video was put together by Liz “Scorsese-Spielberg” O’Brien.

The video of the “Crocker Teachers Gone Wild!” and pictures  of our “Self-Discipline  Cougars” is posted on our website under the Photo Galleries.   In addition, the Cougar Celebration board has a display with pictures of the self-discipline cougars.  Thanks to all the teachers and students who learned about Self-discipline  this month.  Let’s keep that Self-Discipline acceptance  coming:  here at school, at home, and in the community.   And don’t forget about  , Acceptance, Cooperation and  Respect, our Cougar words for  December, November, October and  September either!

By now you all should have received a flyer in your child’s backpack about the Cupcake Challenge.  We need your donations, ads, parties/sign-ups & wine!  Now is the time!!!  We truly are hoping for 100% school participation – after all, it is OUR KIDS who benefit from this auction!

Please take a moment to donate.  This is the perfect time to contact an old friend, the person who cuts your hair, your favorite boutique or restaurant, that college buddy who has that super cool job or to even just donate that restaurant gift certificate you haven’t gotten around to using!

You can donate an item or service, fill out an ad form and even sign up to host a party – all online at www.auction.crockerschool.org – we appreciate anything and everything!

If you have any questions want to help us out further – please let us know! auction@crockerschool.org

*Please know that while we appreciate multiple donations per family, each family can only earn one cupcake stamp. If you have more than one child at Crocker, they will each receive a stamp.