Crocker Highlands Elementary School

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.

Do you have some burning questions that you have been dying to ask me?  Are you wondering about the state of the school, what we are doing and where we are going?  Well, we have a “Coffee with the Principal” on Friday morning at 8:45 a.m. in the Art Room.  Stop on by and bring your questions…or just come on by to listen and hear what the hot topics might be!  (Well, maybe lukewarm topics…)

Beth Rhine

Dear Crocker Community,

As many of you know, recently there have been many discussions regarding the expanded boundaries and the impact on enrollment at Crocker Highlands Elementary. We were able to add an additional kindergarten class this year to accommodate all our neighborhood families but that is a short-term solution.

We are having a meeting with David Montes de Oca, Executive Director, Quality Community Schools Development of the Oakland Unified School District, to address the long-term enrollment capacity of the school on Wednesday, June 6, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at Crocker Highlands Library. Everyone is invited.

Beth Rhine

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.

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.