Dear parents and guardians,

This week is a short week due to the observance of Good Friday tomorrow. Therefore, our newsletter is coming out a day earlier than usual.

As a reminder, in addition to having no school on March 29 in observance of Good Friday, there is also no school for students on April 2, as it is a Statewide PD day (this is NOT a virtual instruction day), and no school on April 10 in observance of Eid al-Fitr. Our spring vacation week will take place April 15-20.

Several of the Opportunities for Students have deadlines that are fast approaching. Be sure to check through these opportunities to see if there are any that are right for you.

Sincerely,

The Cranston Public Schools Leadership Team

Congratulations to: all of our CACTC students who medaled at the SkillsUSA awards ceremony last night! Our students brought home medals in 34 categories-including clean sweeps of all three places in some categories, 11 gold, 11 silver, and 12 bronze! Our gold and silver medalists now have the opportunity to attend Nationals in Atlanta this June! See photos here.

Congratulations to: the seniors at CHSE who participated in the recent Electric Boat hiring day event. They are spotlighted in this week's Cranston Herald.

Congratulations to: the staff and students from CHSE and CHSW who participated in this past weekend's Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics.

Congratulations to: our very own CHSW Assistant Principal Brian Flinn who is featured in this week's Cranston Herald as part of their recurring Humans of Cranston column. We're proud to see Brian spotlighted and glad that he's one of our staff members!

Congratulations to: Gladstone Principal Amy Vachon and her students, who presented at the A4LE Power to the Pupils presentation about the construction of our new Gladstone School, which is being designed and constructed based on student and staff feedback and the Project Based Learning projects that have been done thus far, including furniture design.

Congratulations to: Julie Baker's Spanish for Healthcare students at CHSW who have been welcoming guest speakers throughout the past several weeks. They recently welcomed Ms. Baker's sister, Kerri Baker, a Child Life Specialist at Hasbro Children's Hospital. Ms. Kerri Baker spoke to the students about her role at Hasbro, and connected how important it is to be able to communicate with patients whose first language is not English, in order for them to have a positive experience while they and their child are patients at the hospital. The students have also been doing many hands-on learning experiences connecting Spanish and healthcare.

Congratulations to: the boys basketball players who received awards from the RI Boys Basketball Coaches Association (RIBCA), including players from both Cranston East and Cranston West. You can also read about many of our spring teams and players in this Cranston Herald article, and get some preseason baseball and softball information here.

The new calendar is available on our district website. Additional specific dates will be added to the bottom of the calendar as the school year gets closer. However, this will allow you to begin your planning for next year.

Although it is tempting to take additional days out of school before and after our scheduled days off, we encourage you to think carefully about those decisions, knowing the impact that absences have on our students' long term and short term academic success. We don't want our students to miss out on the learning that takes place in school every day that we are in session.

Are you struggling with chronic absence? If you are having trouble getting someone to school, you can reach out to our district Dean of Students and Attendance for help.

Email: vturchetta@cpsed.net

Phone: 401-440-5216.

Medicaid renewals are back! Here’s how to #StayCoveredRI:

Make sure your contact info is up to date so the State can reach you. Updating your info on the HealthyRhode Mobile App is quick and easy!

Yellow or green notices will be mailed from the State to households with kids with RI Medicaid from December to April. Follow instructions in the notice right away to avoid gaps in health coverage.

For more info, visit staycovered.ri.gov

Check out this step-by-step guide and video tutorial which will show you how to translate PDFs and read-only Google docs.

Visit this page for tutorials and information about using Aspen.

2024 Solar Eclipse Resources

Photo: Agate Fossil Beds, Nebraska August 21, 2017

Photo Credit: Doug McGunagle

Quick Details:

Rhode Island will experience a partial solar eclipse (91.9% of sun covered).

The moon will begin to cover the sun at 2:15 pm.

Mid-eclipse or maximum cover will occur at 3:29 pm.

The next solar eclipse visible from the US will be in 2045!

Safety:

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/safety/

It is always dangerous to look at the sun even with sunglasses

Do not look at the sun during an eclipse, you must have special glasses, or indirect viewing.

Never use a binoculars or a telescope to look at the sun

NO EXCEPTIONS - you can do serious damage to your eyes.

Resources:

NASA Resources:

https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/

Safely Viewing a Eclipse:

https://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/how-to-view-eclipse

Solar Glasses

https://123solarwear.com/

Guide for families:

https://static.nsta.org/pdfs/SolarEclipses2023_Handouts.pdf

RISTA Resources for Educators.

Rhode Island Science Teachers Association

What If You Don't Have a Safe Solar Filter/Viewer?

An alternative method for safe viewing of the partially eclipsed Sun is indirectly via pinhole projection. For example, cross the outstretched, slightly open fingers of one hand over the outstretched, slightly open fingers of the other, creating a waffle pattern. With your back to the Sun, look at your hands’ shadow on the ground. The little spaces between your fingers will project a grid of small images on the ground, showing the Sun as a crescent during the partial phases of any solar eclipse. Or just look at the shadow of a leafy tree during a partial eclipse; you'll see the ground dappled with crescent-shaped Suns projected by the tiny spaces between the leaves. A colander makes a terrific pinhole projector, as does a straw hat, a perforated spoon, or anything else with holes.

Resource for Teachers and Administrators

Misconceptions about eclipse safety

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz3F4Kg6rSY

We always encourage our families to look to us as the source of your news and information in order to make sure that the information you are getting is correct. We offer the following social media platforms for up-to-the-minute information:

LinkedIn

Instagram

X(formerly Twitter)

Facebook

• Cranston Combined Percussion Rhythms of the World: the CCP is hosting a community performance event on Saturday, April 13th at Cranston East in the gym. See flier for details.
• Earth Day Clean-up: there will be a clean up of Meschanticut Park on Saturday, April 20 beginning at 10 am. This is an excellent opportunity for our students to participate in community service. See the flier for more information.
• Cranston High School East Class of 2026 is hosting a Calendar Raffle during the month of April to raise funds for their class events such as proms and graduation. If you would like to support them, you can purchase a calendar here.
• Roger William University is hosting a spring information session to share their discounted tuition program for all Cranston residents. It will be held from 6-7:30 pm at William Hall Library.
• Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC): Final meeting will be held on May 14, 2024: Topic: SEL. Meetings are from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm at the Horton Building on online. See link to join below.

The Huddle Center's March events: The Huddle Center has announced their events for the month of April for students and families. You can see them here. You can learn more about the Huddle Center in our Resources section below.

2024 Hon. Francis J. Darigan, Jr. Rhode Island Law Day Essay Contest! The Rhode Island Bar Association, Rhode Island Bar Foundation, Rhode Island Judiciary, and Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association, with support from the Rhode Island Department of Education and Roger Williams University School of Law, are sponsoring the 2024 Hon. Francis J. Darigan, Jr. Rhode Island Law Day Essay Contest open to 10th, 11th, and 12th grade Rhode Island resident students attending school in Rhode Island. This year’s essay topic is Voices of Democracy. The topic focuses on how the electoral process supports democracy and why voting is an essential aspect of American citizens’ rights and responsibilities. Please use the following links for the student entry form, essay contest rules and guidelines. See the essay contest flyer for more details. This information is also available on the Bar’s website under FOR THE PUBLIC and 2024 LAW DAY for more information. The entry deadline is Monday, May 13, 2024. Please direct questions to: Allison Baker at the Rhode Island Bar Association: telephone: (401) 421-5740 email: abaker@ribar.com.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island - Art Contest: In honor of Earth Day, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island is hosting an art contest initiative for K-12 students. Students are asked to create a piece of art from recycled materials. The challenge: they must incorporate one piece of cloth that would have otherwise been thrown out. Our goal is to raise awareness about textile recycling and sustainability while fostering creativity. Criteria that projects will be judged by include creativity, innovation, use of recycled materials, and the overall impact of the message conveyed. Students can review contest rules and submit their entry form here by Monday, April 15. Winners will be chosen on Earth Day, April 22, 2024. Prizes include a gift card basket worth $100 for fun excursions throughout Rhode Island, recognition on all our social media platforms and website, and a display of your project at our headquarters for one year.

RIDE Announces STEAM Month Logo Design Contest 2024: RIDE and the RI STEAM Center are inviting high school students to design a logo and slogan in celebration of STEAM Month 2024. The purpose of STEAM Month, which will take place in November, is to highlight the importance of learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art+Design, and Mathematics, and celebrate STEAM opportunities offered by Rhode Island schools. Designs and slogans will be used on promotional items and public announcements in November. Entries are due by April 12, 2024. For additional information, including contest criteria and submission instructions, see the entry form. Questions can be directed to Carolyn.higgins@ride.ri.gov.

CLCF accepting applications for the Castiglioni Award: Cranston League for Cranston’s Future (CLCF) is accepting applications for its 2024 Leo J. Castiglioni, Jr. Award. CLCF will issue multiple $1,000 grants to qualifying Cranston residents graduating from any public or private high school or career academy. Leo Castiglioni founded CLCF in 1953 and was the organization’s first president. Leo died in 2002, and the following year CLCF established the Castiglioni Award in his honor. The on-line application is available on the Castiglioni Award Page. Applicants must have participated in both CLCF sports and high school sports, and have demonstrated outstanding leadership and volunteerism. There are no academic criteria, and future college attendance is not a requirement. Applicants are encouraged to submit additional information about themselves for each of the categories listed on the application. The application deadline is March 31, 2024. Recipients will be selected in April and announced in May. Any questions may be directed to Tom Aman, Chairperson, Castiglioni Award Committee at castiglioniaward@clcfsports.org.

Rhode Island PBS Scholarship The Rhode Island PBS Scholarship offers awards to residents of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts who demonstrate promise of a successful career in the fields of broadcasting, communications, or journalism. Applicants must be either a graduating high school senior planning to attend a 4-year post-secondary institution, or a currently enrolled college/university student studying in any of these fields. Awards of up to $15,000 will be awarded annually and are renewable for an additional three years. For application details, please go to ripbs.org/education. Applications are due by 5:00 pm on April 15, 2024.

2024 Navigant Scholarship Opportunities: The Navigant Credit Union Scholarship opportunities are available by visiting Scholarships - Navigant Credit Union - Rhode Island (navigantcu.org). It is open to any graduating high school senior entering an accredited junior college, college, university or tech school. The applicant must be a member of Navigant Credit Union in good standing. The deadline to apply for this scholarship is Monday April 1st 2024.

Courageous Rhode Island Opens Youth Media Contest: The Media Education Lab’s Courageous RI is awarding 16 prizes totaling $7,000 to students in middle school, high school, and college, including a $1,000 grand prize! Middle school, high school, and college students from across Rhode Island, the nation, and the world are welcome to participate. The Youth Media Contest accepts creative work in print, graphic design, video, or audio formats. Students will be awarded prizes for creative work that addresses this question: How can media literacy, active listening, kindness and compassion, and community engagement reduce the hate and fear that leads to violence? Students can "listen in" to Courageous Conversation on topics including preventing violent extremism, social media influencers, conflict entrepreneurs, targets of propaganda, and hate speech, free speech, and censorship. The Youth Media Contest submission portal is open now through May 15th. For more information, contact YMC Contest Director Benjamin Thevenin.

BSL Sleep Research Study: Bradley Hospital researchers are seeking children ages 10-15 for research studies of sleep. These studies are enrolling children with or without attention-deficit/hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD). These studies involve: following set sleep schedules at home; 2 MRI Scans at Brown University. All participants are paid for their time and effort. For more information, call Alice at (401) 421 – 9440, Monday – Friday, 9AM –5PM or visit the website.

Gammbassadors (Youth Ushers) Program Kicks Off Second Year at The Gamm Theatre:

Are you a high school student who loves theater? If so, you can learn about professional theater and see shows for FREE — plus earn community service hours. It's easy and fun! For details, click the link below. Gammbassadors must be aged 16-18 and willing to fulfill the same roles as any other usher: scanning tickets, directing patrons in the lobby and the theater, stuffing and/or passing out programs, seating patrons, and answering patrons' questions. In return, you have the option to earn community service hours and see Gamm productions for free! Please contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Lauryn Sasso at 401-723-4266 x 163 or email volunteer@gammtheatre.org with any questions and to let us know if you want to earn community service credits. Performance Dates: Twelfth Night Mar 21 - April 14, 2024, Doubt: A Parable May 9 - June 2, 2024. More information is available on their website.

The CPD will occasionally design and sell special police badges to support a particular charitable cause. In the past, they have done badges to raise money and/or awareness for autism, breast cancer charities, and even Cali the CPD support dog. This year they designed two badges to support our students. One has the Cranston High School East color of green with white the other has the Cranston West color of red with white. These badges are being sold in addition to challenge coins that match each of the badges. The money raised in the sale of these products will go to a scholarship fund that will provide $500.00 scholarships to three students in the spring- one student at Cranston East, Cranston West and the Apprentice Exploration School (formerly known as NELS charter school).

March 22, 2024

March 15, 2024

March 8, 2024