Francis Tabone, Head of School

Cindy Surdi, Assistant Head of School

Cooke Center Grammar School
Newsletter
Dates to Remember:
June 17h Graduation! 8:30 A.M. at
CCGS
June 20th Last day of School
Please Remember June 18th,
19th , and 20th are all half days!



In this issue:

Run, Chinchillas 1

Fire Station/Swimming 2

Off Broadway 3






A letter from a student to his teacher:
Hi Ms. Liebov, What's up? We just got
back from the mighty milers run! My
favorite part was running around the
track. What was your favorite part? In
the summer I play basketball. I also go
swimming! I am excited to watch soc-
cer during the world cup. What do you
like to do during the summer? From
Josh
Once again, Our entire school hit the
track for the annual Mighty Milers Fun Run full of exciting events and activities. Physical devel-
opment is a big part of our curriculum. Dr. Hon and all the therapists make sure our students
are in tip top shape for the fun run. Mighty Milers allows stu-
dents to monitor and maintain their own physical fitness all
year long. Students are encouraged to be active during the
day at recess, and the many physical fitness periods they have
all week.

Pichq'a, Soqta,
K'anchis, Pusac
Our crazy Chinchillas are at it again.
This time Chloe gave birth to quadru-
plets. Pichqa, Soqta, Kanchis, and
Pusac were born on June 8th and 9th
here at CCGS. Their names mean
5,6,7, and 8 in the Quechuan lan-
guage which is the native language of
Peru, a place very populated by chin-
chillas. These amazing creatures
share their birthday with their owner.
So welcome to the new brood of Geminis. Segunda and Gigi were adopted to a loving home. We
have been waiting for a male to be born to keep Elvis company and build boy and girl cages to
reduce the breeding. With any luck one of the new kids is a male and we can keep them all
socially happy. This morning we had most of the school watching this amazing event. Elvis and
Chloe are important members of the community. All the students have had a hand in taking
care of them at some point.
Eli ran so fast they needed to
stop him with a parachute.
Wellan is a hop, skip, and a
jump from the finish line!
Daniel is getting ready for the
Olympics!
Even the staff
got involved.
Ms. Leigh trails
Ms. Wigg, but
who won?
Everyone who
participated
won!

Page 2
Trip To The FireHouse

Grade 1/2 welcomed Ms. Kristi's dad, "Fireman Joe", to our class to talk about fire safety. Joe is a retired fire-
fighter, and he talked to the class about fire safety and the firehouse. The class got fire safety coloring books,
hats, and then walked to the local firehouse. There they got to see our own Ms. Wolff dressed up in firefighter gear,
explore and "drive the fire trucks, and even see the fire pole.
Learn to Swim!
Many animals are born with the ability to swim, but humans must learn practice before being able to swim with ease. Some people never
learn how to swim, which often causes them to fear water. Learning to swim is important for several reasons, and mastering this skill at a
young age can benefit you throughout your life.
An obvious reason for learning how to swim is to acquire the ability to survive in water. At one time or another, you are bound to
find yourself in or near water, whether you're on a cruise, boating trip, fishing or lounging by a pool with friends. If the water is deeper than
your height, and you find yourself in it, knowing how to swim could save your life.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 3,400 people drown in the United States every year. If
you know how to swim, you might have a chance of saving someone close to you. Having the ability to swim is especially important if you
are a parent or someone who works around children, as drowning is the second-leading cause of injury-related death for children less than
14 years old. Resources for teaching swimming for special needs students:

YMCAhttp://www.cymca.org/special-needs/swim-lessons
Mommy Poppinshttp://mommypoppins.com/newyorkcitykids/special-needs-programs-and-classes-for-all-new-york-city-kids
All Around Aquaticsallaroundaquatics.com

Dont Wait! All Children should learn to swim. Our Summer Program includes time in the pool. While it is not direct instruction, students
gain familiarity and safety lesson while using the pool.

Fireman Joe presents Danil with his
certificate. Danil is now a Jr. Firefighter
and Safety Specialist. Great work done
by all the 1st and 2nd Graders!
Fire drills are a big part of being safe in
school: They prepare you for what you need
to do in case of a fire. But what if there was a
fire where you live? Would you know what to
do? Talking about fires can be scary because
no one likes to think about people getting
hurt or their things getting burned. But you
can feel less worried if you are prepared.
It's a good ideas for families to talk about
what they would do to escape a fire. Differ-
ent families will have different strategies.
Some kids live in one-story houses and other
kids live in tall buildings. You'll want to talk
about escape plans and escape routes.
Make sure that you change the batteries in
your smoke detectors. This is some-
thing you can do with your children to
ensure they
know the
general pro-
cedures of
household
safety.

Ms. Wolff, speech pathologist or
firefighter? Both!

Page 3




UPDATE!!!!! Isqon Is Here!
Isquon was born on June 9th right after the other 4. Now there are 5 Chinchillas. Having Quin-
tuplets is a very rare occasion. In fact one in a million! Most chinchillas give birth to only one
kit. We had twins then two single births and then 5!
Coming Soon: Chinchilla Adoption..
The kindergarteners' final social studies unit this year has been fo-
cused on the theater, and performances. Their theater study will
culminate in a performance of Caps For Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkina.
The theater unit has allowed students to learn to work together as a
team, incorporate narrative structures into their cooperative play,
and provide authentic reasons to engage in reading, writing, and oth-
er academic activities. They have shown themselves to be expert
actors and performers, and are looking forward to their upcoming
show on June 18th in the famed, "Cooke Center Cafeteria Theater",
where other very famous actors have performed, including: Bruno
the submarine captain, Robbie the octopus, and Quinn the rock-
starfish.
Whats It Like To Be In Middle School?
Ella, Mirna, and Branden served as middle school ambassadors, hosting 5th grade
students in their classes who will be joining the ranks of middle school next year. 5th
graders got a chance to sped the day with the experts, meet teachers, play games,
talk with related service providers. While our 8th graders have been visiting the high
school, we may overlook the fact that many of our students are moving to new clas-
ses. For the 5th graders, they are moving to a whole new world. They get to change
classes, they have lockers, and they even get to pick some of their classes! All in all, we
try to make sure that all teachers know all stu-
dents. When we break into houses during the year,
students and teachers get to work with new people.

Next year will be our third year here. We have had
very little turnover, which means students can get
to know the teachers they may have in upcoming
years. I look forward to next year, seeing our stu-
dents move upwards and onwards!