Family Newsletter - 4-2-26

• We will be administering the New York State ELA exam Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Our students are well-prepared to take the computer-based test, special thanks to our incredible teachers and support staff. Please assist us by ensuring that your child gets a good night's sleep, has a hearty breakfast, and gets to school on time, by 7:45am. As you know, they can also come in at 7:25am for breakfast here at the school.  
   
• Please join me in saying a BIG Thank You to our custodial staff, for doing such a fantastic job over the break beautifying our school. Along with all of the washing and buffing, they worked on a lot of painting throughout the building...special thanks to Enzo – our Master Painter. They will continue painting each floor as the months go on. Please do your best to encourage your children to keep the halls and walls clean.
   
• I am excited to share the April 2026 District 21 Newsletter, which features important updates, celebrations, and upcoming events from across the D21 school community. There is so much wonderful work happening in our schools, and this newsletter is one of the key ways we highlight and celebrate those efforts. https://sway.cloud.microsoft/gICpGq9CG4D0WPKr?ref=Link
   
• We thanked and honored our Assistant Principals this week – Mr. Adelson, Ms. Mohassib, Ms. Wiederhold, Ms. Napoli, and Ms. Delfini – for the dedication and hard work they expend each and every day in support of the staff, students and families of Cavallaro. As a Principal, I always say they are the absolute best team of educational leaders I could have ever hoped for, to help lead our school in the right direction. They each bring their own unique style and expertise to the table, always remaining laser focused on the road to student success.
   
• Shout out to our boys’ and girls’ basketball teams for representing us with pride in the Gotham City Winter Tournament. Our boys competed hard and made it all the way to the semifinals, showing resilience, teamwork, and heart every step of the way. And a huge congratulations to our girls for finishing strong and winning the tournament championship with a great victory over MS 447.
   
• Year after year, our 7th graders read A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Our students decided, especially with the humanitarian crisis on-going in Sudan, they want to take action to make a positive difference in the world. Our 7th grade representatives came up with the idea to share Salva’s story with a small group of first graders from Coney Island Prep. Using the picture book adaptation, Tehreem read the story for the youngsters and asked thoughtful questions about why water was so important and how we can conserve water. The SGO is still working on fundraising for Salva Dut’s foundation “Water for South Sudan”. This foundation builds wells and brings clean drinking water to South Sudan. Their fundraising page can be found here: https://secure.givelively.org/teams/water-for-south-sudan-inc/iron-giraffe-challenge-2026/cavallaro-honey-badgers. Many thanks to Ms. Dougherty for organizing and supporting our 7th grade student government initiatives.
   
• I.S. 281 was awarded a Certificate of Recognition from NYS Governor Kathy Hochul for our participation and contribution to the Empire State 2026 Dr. King Fine Arts and Essay Celebration.  Our students created beautiful works of art and wrote essays expressing their thoughts on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as reflections of his life in respect to civil rights and social justice advocacy.

Academic Vocabulary Word of the Week: 

4/20/26 –  Estimate, Predict

Spanish: Estimar, predecir

Chinese: 估計、預測

Russian: Оценивать, прогнозировать

Urdu: اندازہ لگانا، اندازہ لگانا

1.       Estimate (v.): roughly calculate or judge the value, number, quantity, or extent of.

Synonyms: approximate, guess

2.       Predict (v.): say or estimate that (a specified thing) will happen in the future or will be a consequence of something

             Synonyms: foresee, foretell

Morphology Map

Social Emotional Focus:

6th grade- Responsibility -What does responsibility mean to you, and how can it help you in preparing for a test?

7th grade-Collaboration-In what ways do teamwork help us to problem solve?

8th grade-Motivation- How does motivation help you to overcome challenges?

Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week:

"The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also." —Harriet Ann Jacobs