Family Newsletter - 12-16-24

  • Wednesday evening’s Holiday Festival was a beautiful event! It was so uplifting to see all of our staff members, students, and their families having such a wonderful time together to celebrate the holidays as a Cavallaro family. So many people to thank – organizing, decorating, serving, cleaning up, as well as those who brought their own children to join in the fun. This would not have been possible without the voluntary commitment of our dedicated staff.

    Most especially, thank you to Ms. Chris, who organized the entire event, reaching out to all of our Bensonhurst community businesses for donations of food to feed 600+ people, as well as managing the 64 raffle giveaways. 
    A special shout out to Mr. Gulino, our Santa, Ms. Zambri, for putting together a beautiful photo booth display, to Mr. Fan and Ms. Qudsi for facepainting all night, to Ms. Emily, Ms. Martin and Ms. Lorena for supplying and wrapping all of the raffle baskets, to Ms. Rubin, Ms. Colangelo and Ms. Singer for arranging student performances, and to Ms. Demiri, Ms. Richman, NIA and other staff and students who transformed our cafeteria into a Winter Wonderland, to Ms. Simoes for managing the entire kitchen and food distribution, as well as to Ms. Cinzia and our amazing servers, to our custodial staff and school safety - it truly was a night to remember.
     
  • As in prior years, the DOE recognizes and celebrates teacher excellence through the Big Apple Awards (BAA). The BAA nomination process for the upcoming cohort of fellows for the 2025–26 school year is now open through January 21. Families, students, and community-based organizations are invited to nominate a teacher for the Big Apple Award by completing this nomination form by January 21. Nominated teachers will receive an email from [email protected] with a request to complete a nomination application by February 24. All winning fellows will receive surprise visits to their classrooms in May and June 2025.  
     
  • Author Paul Griffin, a NYC-based Young Adult fiction novelist, came to give a special talk with three 7th grade and three 8th grade classes Friday. In conjunction with the Ulmer branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, Ms. Singer helped arrange for Mr. Griffin to visit and talk about the importance of “telling your story”. Mr. Griffin told the students the story of his own daughter’s adoption and her struggle growing up in an orphanage in Colombia. Her journey to America and finding her forever family all started with her telling her story; the good, bad and the challenging. He further explained that the way we tell our story, what inspires us and who inspires us is the hardest story we are all ever going to tell and the hardest question we will ever be asked
     
  • Thank you to our Cavallaro Robotics team, who did their part in the fight against pollution by organizing a microplastics cleanup in our local park. While Ms. Rubin and her dance team demonstrated the true spirit of the holidays by sharing their talents with the residents of Hyam Solomon on Thursday. The dancers and residents alike had a lovely time, and some were literally moved to tears by the performances. We are proud of how our Cav students continue to use their talents to spread cheer and build a stronger community.

 

Academic Vocabulary Word of the Week: 

12/16/24 –  Develop, Contribute

Spanish: desarrollar, Contribuir

Chinese: 開發, 有助於

Russian: развивать, делать вклад

Urdu: ترقی, شراکت

 

Morphology Map

Month: December      

Week:  3&4

Word Part 6th Grade- Bases: serv, servat ; Suffixes: -izm, -ist   

Word Part 7th Grade- Bases: tend, tens, tent ; Suffixes: -ose, -ous, n-eous, -ious          

Word Part 8th Grade- Bases: civ, cit, civil ; Bases: nov, neo                                     

                                                             

Social Emotional Focus Week 15:

6th Grade - Commitment: Explore commitment to sports goals; Evaluate students’ understanding of commitment

7th Grade - Courage Understand courage in public speaking; Evaluate students’ understanding of courage

8th Grade - HumblenessEngage with a real life scenario and practice humbleness; Vignettes: “Helping Friends” and “The Promotion

Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week:
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”– Anne Frank
Upcoming Events:
12/16   S.G.O. Door Decorating Contest Judging
            Toy Drive Ends
12/18   6:00pm CEC Meeting
12/19   Period 2 Student of the Month Breakfast - Math
            School Spirit Day: Ugly Sweater Day
            pd. 3, 4, 5 Dance Team Performance for Grade Assemblies
12/20   School Spirit Day: Celebrate December
            Report Card Distribution
12/21   First Day of Winter
12/23 - 1/1     Winter Break - School Closed
12/25   Merry Christmas!
            Happy Hanukkah!
12/26   Happy Kwanzaa!
1/1/2025   Happy New Year!
 
I am sure you are busy running around in preparation for the long winter break. Whether you are traveling or staying home for the holidays, I wish you and your loved ones a safe and blessed season of celebration. May the warmth of the holidays fill your home with comfort and love. To those families who celebrate...a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa to you and your families, and a Happy and Healthy New Year to all.
 
Peace and blessings,
Ms. Bender