💙🌟 Wrapping Up the Week! 🌟💙

SBS kindergarteners wind down a busy Week of Respect by working together and enjoying some outdoor fun on the playground! 🛝🤝

☀️ Wellness in the Sunshine! 🌿

The 4th Annual CHS Wellness Fair took place yesterday under beautiful sunny skies! 💙 Organized by Alex Mandala, Student Assistance Coordinator, the fair gave students the opportunity to explore a variety of student organizations and connect with local health and wellness providers during lunch.

🏃‍♀️💙 Join the Bailey’s Warrior Fun Run! 💙🏃‍♂️

On behalf of Students Against Cancer and Bailey’s Warriors, all Chatham families are invited to register, donate, and join the Bailey’s Warrior Fun Run on Sunday, October 18! 🎉

📍 Cougar Field
⏰ 3:30–6:00 p.m.

Gather your family and friends for an afternoon of fun, community, and a great cause! 💙

🔗 Register and donate using this link or QR code below. Every donation makes a difference, with all proceeds benefiting Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 🎗️

We hope to see you there! 💪💙🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

🎶💃 4th Grade “Dancing with the Lafayette Avenue Stars"! 🕺🎶

The 4th grade General Music students recently took on a fun and energetic folk dance competition set to September by Earth, Wind & Fire! 🌟

The activity reinforced steady beat, musical form, performance skills, and ensemble work—all while getting students moving and having fun! Each homeroom learned the choreography during music class and was evaluated on their ability to work together. The top four classes advanced to a championship round on the LAF blacktop, where judges scored students on teamwork, effort, steady beat, correct dance moves, and overall presentation. 👏

The dance was created by Franklin Willis, a music educator and advocate who inspires teachers to incorporate movement into their classrooms every day. 🎵 His choreography gave the students a wonderful opportunity to connect music, movement, and teamwork!

🏆 Congratulations to our top four classes! 🎉
🥇 1st Place: Ms. Mazzacano’s Class - first three photos 👏👏👏
🥈 2nd Place: Ms. Murphy’s Class
🥉 3rd Place: Ms. Marshall’s Class
🏅 4th Place: Ms. Grobert’s Class

A special thank-you to our students and teacher judges who helped make this activity such a fun and memorable experience! ❤️

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ LAF Mini Marathon: 31 Years and Running! 🏅

On Monday, October 5, Lafayette Avenue School celebrated its 31st Annual Mini Marathon! 🎉
This beloved tradition began when LAF opened its doors in 1995. Third- and fourth-grade students took to the streets of the surrounding neighborhood, running an impressive 2.6 miles! 👟💨

👏 Congratulations to this year’s winners:
🥇 Luke Johnson, Grade 4
🥇 Ryan Peterson, Grade 3

And a huge congratulations to ALL of our runners for their hard work, determination, and Cougar spirit! 💙🐾

🥨 CHS Pretzel Day! 🥨
Nothing says “perfect school day” quite like a warm, twisted treat under a glorious blue sky! ☀️
A big thank-you to the CHS PTO for treating our students to Pretzel Day today! 💙🐾

NEXT WEEK: The Chatham High School Red Cross Club is hosting a Blood Drive on Monday, October 12, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the C Gym at CHS.

The Chatham community is invited to participate and help make a difference. Every donation can help save lives! 🩸❤️

📅 October 12
⏰ 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
📍 CHS C Gym

🌟 CMS Champs: Celebrating Character, Merit & Service! 🌟

C is for Character! 💙
M is for Merit! 🏆
S is for Service! 🤝

We’re excited to introduce CMS Champs, a brand-new school-wide recognition program celebrating the great things happening every day at Chatham Middle School!

Students earn points from staff for demonstrating Character, Merit, and Service, while staff are also recognized for encouraging and celebrating these positive actions. Throughout the year, students and staff can earn special recognition, prizes, and work together toward exciting school-wide milestone rewards!

🌟 Each month, one student from each grade and one staff member will be named CMS Champ of the Month based on points earned.

CMS Champs shines a spotlight on the students and staff who help make CMS such a positive place to learn, grow, and make a difference! 💙

🎉Congratulations to CMS Champs Cup for September.
5th-grade: Atlas Stosic
6th-grade: Landon Cangelosi
7th-grade: Iliane El Khalfi
8th-grade: Maya Katz
Staff: Dr. Hrdina

📅 MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Join us for an opportunity to tour Cougar Field and Haas Field to learn more about the proposed referendum projects and improvements to our athletic fields and facilities.

🏟️ Cougar Field
📅 Tuesday, October 6
🕐 1:00 p.m.
Tour the current field house and learn more about the proposed improvements.

🏟️ Haas Field
📅 Thursday, October 8
🕐 1:00 p.m.
Explore the field and learn more about the proposed improvements to the facilities.

We hope to see you there! 🐾

Congratulations to Chatham High School French teacher Leslie Caulfield, who recently received the “Chevalier de l’Ordre de Lafayette” award! 🏅

Presented by the Association France-États-Unis, the honor recognizes Ms. Caulfield’s dedication to strengthening and promoting the relationship between France and the United States.

The award ceremony took place on Saturday, June 27, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin in the South of France, where Ms. Caulfield was there to accept the honor.

For many years, Ms. Caulfield has coordinated the CHS French Exchange, providing students with the opportunity to experience French culture and build lasting international connections. This year, French students visited Chatham from April 14–20, continuing a wonderful partnership with Mr. Emmanuel Desbordes, Professor of History-Geography at Institution Saint Joseph in France.

🐾 Wishing all our Cougars a FUN, exciting, and safe Cougar Weekend! 🎉⚽🏈🏐🏑

Let’s go, Chatham! 💙💛
GO COUGARS!! 🐾🔥

🏐🏑 Cougar Weekend is off to a FANTASTIC start! 🎉

Last night kicked things off with TWO fabulous wins! 💪🐾

🏐 Girls Volleyball defeated Pope John 2–0
🏑 Field Hockey defeated Morristown 2–0

Let's Go Chatham! 🔥💙💛

🏃‍♀️💙 Save the Date! 💙🏃‍♂️

On behalf of Students Against Cancer and Bailey’s Warriors, we invite all Chatham families to join us for the Bailey’s Warrior Fun Run on Sunday, October 18th!

📍 Cougar Field
⏰ 3:30–6:00 p.m.

Come out for an afternoon of fun, community, and support! 💪💙

More details about registration and donations will be coming soon. 🎉

📚 Building Strong Readers! 📚

We are incredibly grateful to the Chatham Education Foundation (CEF) for generously contributing more than $73,000 this year to support the School District of the Chathams’ foundational literacy initiative! ❤️

This funding provided decodable readers for students in Kindergarten through Grade 2, as well as assessment resources to help our teachers monitor the growth and progress of our youngest readers.

As phonics and phonemic awareness continue to be emphasized in the New Jersey Student Learning Standards, these decodable texts are an important part of early literacy instruction and will be used regularly in K–2 English Language Arts classrooms.

Thank you, CEF, for investing in our youngest learners and helping them build strong foundations for a lifetime of reading! 📖✨

TONIGHT: Tour Cougar Field and learn about the referendum projects!

Join us this evening Monday, September 28 at 6:00 p.m. to see the current field house at Cougar Field and learn more about the proposed improvements to the field and facilities. We hope to see you there!

We’re proud to spotlight Kristen Crawford, Principal of Milton Avenue School, who was recently invited by Bob Lay, CEO of the National Science Teaching Association to a Congressional Fly-In!

Kristen’s experience included opportunities to learn about current issues affecting science and mathematics education, including legislation, funding, and plans for FY 2027.

During her time in Washington, D.C., she joined fellow educators for 27 meetings on Capitol Hill, meeting with staff from congressional and Senate offices—including representatives from New Jersey—to advocate for continued support of Title IV funding, the restoration of Title II funding, and efforts to address the ongoing science teacher shortage.

And, in true Chatham fashion, Kristen made sure to extend an invitation to visit Milton Avenue School for Earth Day and explore Kelly’s Pond! 🌎🌱