Sharing Curriculum Reminders

It was wonderful to see so many parents at Open House last night. The evening is always a wonderful opportunity for parents and teachers to get to know each other and for parents to gain additional insight into what their child will be learning for the year. 

Last night at Open House, parents were introduced to Molly Byrne, Ms. Byrne is a long-term substitute in second grade. She is subbing for Mrs. Bailey, who will return later this fall.

New second grade teacher Stephanie Mathewson warmly welcomed parents to her room last night. Though new to second grade at Stonehedge, Mrs. Mathewson has been with the district for a few years and has been teaching for nearly a decade. 

First grade teacher Ann Ross joins Stonehedge this year. No stranger to the district, though this is her 13th year with West Genesee. She's been teaching for 17 years and has taught first, third, fourth, and fifth grades. Welcome Mrs. Ross!

During Open House, kindergarten parents, like these in Mrs. Lauricella's room,learned more about their child's day and how the adjustment to kindergarten is going. 

Last night, when teachers were discussing English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum, many of you heard about the CKLA program. CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts) will be used throughout the district in grades K-5. For some additional general information, please check out the CKLA page on the engageNY website . 

Click here to view a PowerPoint presentation about CKLA. 

Similarly, when teachers were explaining the math curriculum, parents heard about the Investigations program.  The program will also be K-5 throughout the district. 

We're Exploring our Mindset!

This Fall, along with many other faculty and staff throughout the district, faculty at Stonehedge Blue is reading the book Mindset-The New Psychology of Success.  The wildly successful book, written by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, explores the differences in mindset and how it can influence learning and potential. Principal Keevil and Administrative Intern Kara Lux will facilitate as faculty meets several times throughout the year to study and discuss elements of the book. This would be an excellent read for parents, too! Do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset?

Upcoming Reminders: 

Monday, September 19- PTA Welcome Back Meeting, Blue Cafeteria, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, September 20- Picture Day Stonehedge Gold (3-5) 

Wednesday, September 21- Picture Day Stonehedge Blue (K-2)

Sunday, September 25 - Race for Respect 12 p.m.

THURSDAY, September 29- Half Day, Dismissal at 11:30 a.m. Staff Professional Development

Lori

Kicking Off the School Year with a Beautiful Week

A new school year is always an exciting time. It is filled with great learning opportunities and teachable moments for teachers, parents, and students alike. Lessons on flexibility, cooperation, transition, adapting, and more present themselves on a daily basis.

 We want to thank the many families who have been so accommodating when it comes to our new snack policy. Teachers are appreciative of the amount of time saved by checking a wide variety of snacks each and every day. Students spend less time waiting and more time enjoying their snacks! Most importantly, we know that we are creating the safest environment for students as we are able. We encourage all families to continue sending in healthy and safe snacks.

Please see the bottom of this post for more information about the Safe and Healthy Snack policy.

We look forward to seeing everyone at our Open House on 

Thursday, September 15 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

Kindergarten and First grade time slots are from 6:30 - 6:55 p.m.

Second and Third grade time slots are from 7:00 - 7:25 p.m.

Fourth and Fifth grade time slots are from 7:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Kicking off our Character Education Program 

We kicked off our Character Education program with an assembly for our first and second grade students. Children were shown an inspiring video by Kid President. Click here to view the video.

Students were then introduced to ADA-PEP Counselor Mrs. Sheehan, Administrative Intern Kara Lux, and District Resource Officer Officer Grace. 

ADA-PEP Counselor Susan Sheehan read a story that described what she does. She spoke about the best ways to talk to her. The District has increased counseling staffing to better meet the social and emotional needs of all of our children.

Mrs. Kara Lux was introduced to children as another resource they may turn to if they need to speak with a trusted adult. Mrs. Lux is a speech pathologist at Stonehedge who has added to her role and is a new administrative intern.

Officer Grace is our District Resource Officer and will continue to support our children by visiting our school on a weekly basis. 

Please enjoy these pictures taken throughout the first week of school.

Making Snack Time a Safe and Healthy Time for Everyone
In order to promote healthy eating and taking into consideration students with food allergies, we are asking that you only send in a snack for your child from the list of foods provided below. We have found in the past that this policy has worked well to keep our students healthy and safe. Since our students may rotate classrooms throughout the day for different learning opportunities, it is essential that all rooms remain free of peanuts and nut allergens.

Families of students in grades 1 and 2 are already aware of our healthy, kid-friendly snack options. Extending this to our kindergarten children seems natural and the right thing to do. It is important to keep children safe and our youngest students (who can't advocate for themselves) deserve our due diligence. 

PLEASE NOTE: This list only refers to foods eaten during snack time in the classroom. Your child may bring whatever foods he or she wishes for lunch that is eaten in the cafeteria. 

Snacks that are not on the list will NOT be allowed in the classroom due to severe allergies. Your cooperation and commitment in respecting this policy will ensure the safety of our students.

Healthy Kid-Friendly Snack Options
All fruits
All vegetables
Cheese sticks
Raisins
Applesauce
Goldfish brand goldfish crackers 

The following individually packaged options are acceptable as well. Items must be individually wrapped with label on and are brand specific.

Yogurt
Yoplait Go-Gurts, Go-Gurt Fizzix, Smoothies,
Trix yogurt cups
Dannon Danimals Drinkable yogurts
Dannon Danimals vanilla/strawberry surprised sprinklings
Dannon Frusion Drinks
Price Chopper squeezable yogurt tubes

Graham snacks/Animal Crackers
Nabisco Teddy Graham Snacks (Chocolatey chip, chocolate, honey cinnamon, minis)
Keebler Graham Crackers (Bug Bites, Scooby Doo bones)

Salty Snacks
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers - cheddar, rainbow, pretzel, baby, pizza, Parmesan varieties
Nabisco Cheese Nips Crackers-Cheddar, four cheese, and bold flavors
Sunshine Cheeze-its crackers

Though we can never fully prevent an allergic reaction, we are taking as many precautions as possible to lessen the likelihood of cross-contamination. We strive to create the safest environment possible for these young students who may not be able to advocate for themselves