Central Park Cougar Chronicles

Central Park Families,

We are down to the final stretch of 2024, bringing it to a close by taking advantage of every minute before the start of 2025. We continue to strive to ensure your child receives top notch instruction. Remember, winter break officially begins December 20-January 3rd. Students return back to school on January 6th.

We are grateful for your support and collaboration this school year! Central Park continues to focus on many goals to support your child! One of which is that of focusing on healthy attendance habits. As November has come to a close, 43.13% of our Central Park students have been in attendance 95% of this current school year. Our school goal is to continue to increase this percentage. Instructional minutes add up. If your child is late to school, those minutes add up and accrue into days. Please be sure your child is at school on time by 8:50AM each day.

We look forward to seeing our Central Park families at the various activities planned during the course of next few months! In this installment of the Central Park Cougar Chronicles, you will find many important pieces of information, including the following:

• Central Park Gingerbread Night
• Holiday Music Program
• Winter Break
• Kindergarten Roundup

It is our hope the Central Park Cougar Chronicles will continue to be a resource you may refer back to throughout the month. If you should have any additional questions, please reach out to your child's teacher, or administration, for further support or assistance.

Go Cougars!

Mr. Williams, Principal

Mrs. Cordoba, Assistant Principal

Important Dates To Remember:

• Winter Concert
• 9:30AM (EC, K-5th grade only, no band or strings)
• 2:00PM (K-5th grade, band and strings, no Early Childhood Performance)

December 13

• No Early Childhood Classes

December 19

• Central Park Gingerbread Night 4:30-5:30PM

• Winter Break

• Students Return

• No School-Martin Luther King Jr. Day

• Kindergarten Round-Up 9:30-10:30AM

• 2 Hour Late Start

Please join us for our 2nd annual Gingerbread Night! Families that join will participate in creating a gingerbread house with their child. We look forward to seeing you!

• Due to assigned duty hours there is no supervision outside of the school building until 8:35 AM.
• The front entrance doors to the building will open at 8:35 AM. Students are to wait in their car or with their parent/guardian before the doors open. There is no supervision outside of the school building before breakfast.
• Once arriving into the building, we are asking that all families say their “goodbyes” in the main entrance, allowing their child to enter the cafeteria to get breakfast or walk to class on their own. This not only builds self-confidence but also dependence on their own.
• Should you need to enter past the office, all parties are asked to check in at the office and receive a visitors pass.
• Central Park staff thanks you in advance for your cooperation.

Join us in the fun with themed spirit wear days during the month of December!

Winter MAP testing is upon us! Please encourage your child to work hard, try their best, get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy breakfast. Testing sessions will occur during the month of December, with follow-up sessions in January.

What is MAP Growth?

https://youtu.be/79h958Qd8sA?si=2N8_mo198f8amkky

The single most important factor contributing to student achievement is school attendance. The Omaha Public Schools strongly believes that daily attendance is critical to academic success as well as social and emotional well-being. Strive for 95 is the Omaha Public Schools attendance focus to ensure students and families are aware of the importance and impact of daily attendance. Showing up ready to learn affects student's academic success and their connectedness to school starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school.

STRIVE FOR 95 focuses on students missing no more than nine days throughout the year. Students are expected to arrive on time and be engaged in learning throughout the academic day.

Attendance matters. Students who maintain the STRIVE FOR 95 goal are more likely to be on or above grade level academically, be socially and emotionally connected to the school and staff and remain on track to high school graduation. Good attendance prepares students to excel in college, career and life.

Ensuring students arrive on time and attend school throughout the day is everyone’s responsibility. Please contact the office if your child will be absent from school at 531-299-1200.

Throughout the semester, your child has been learning important digital citizenship topics, learning how to navigate and interact safely and responsibly in the digital world. As partners in your child's educational journey, we encourage you to support their development in these skills by talking with them about media balance. Here are some talking points:

Take Breaks

Encourage your child to take screen time breaks. Participating in other healthy activities like playing outside, reading a book, getting enough sleep, having device-free mealtimes with family, and engaging in creative free play are all effective strategies for maintaining a healthy balance and healthy for childhood development.

Understand Emotions and Feelings

Transitioning from online to offline activities can sometimes be challenging. Talk to your child about how they feel when it's time to put the device away. Help them recognize these emotions. Especially as children get older and spend more time online, by understanding their feelings, they gain valuable insights into self-regulating device use and know when it's time to leave a platform or step away.

Reflect on Media Habits

Guide your child in reflecting on their media habits. Whether it's TV shows, movies, apps, or video games, help them categorize their screen time into passive consumption (mindless watching, scrolling), interactive (co-viewing, video-chatting, playing games with friends), or creative (editing, making videos, coding). Not all screen time is created equal, and the quality of our online experiences is most important. This self-awareness lays the foundation for mindful media consumption.

You’ll now see a new icon on your child’s school iPad that directs you to the Common Sense Media website. This website contains research-backed advice on technology’s effects on learning and development and ratings and reviews to help you choose high-quality, age-appropriate content for your kids to watch, listen to, play, and read.

Chilly weather is approaching! Please ensure your child comes to school with proper attire as we will continue to go outdoors for fresh air each day (weather permitting).

It is that time again! In January, we invite our families to visit our school as part of Kindergarten Roundup. Families with children who will be of age for KDG during the 25-26 school year, are invited to join in the Kindergarten informational session on January 23, 2025 from 9:30-10:30AM.