Weekend Update February 18th

Next Week:

Monday, February 21- Friday February 25 - Winter Recess - No School

In the Near Future:

Saturday, March 5 - WGCSD Culture Fair - 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm - WGHS

Friday, March 25 - Professional Development Day for Stonehedge (No School for Students)

Important Information:

Kindergarten Registration Begins in December

Kindergarten Registration for the 2022-2023 school year opened virtually on December 1, 2021, and will go until March 31, 2022. This will allow our families to register their children from the comfort of their home or office. Please click here to start the Virtual Registration process. This will schedule a telemeeting with you.

When registering, parents should be prepared to upload the following:

• proof of residency (ie. mortgage or property statement or signed lease agreement)
• proof of immunizations
• proof of age

A physical examination is also required and a dental certificate is requested for entry into kindergarten. These examinations should be done up to one year prior to the first day of school. Children who enter kindergarten this fall must be five years of age on or before December 1, 2022.

To access the most updated health requirements click here.

Mark your Calendar for the West Genesee 13th Annual Culture Fair

The 13th Annual Culture Fair will be held at West Genesee High School on Saturday, March 5 from 12:00-3:00 p.m in the upper gymnasium.    

As the district prepares for the event, they are looking for community members/families interested in having a table to share aspects of their culture through performances, artifacts, food, art, and/or language! Please call the WGHS Main Office at 315-487-4601 if you are interested in participating!

Join us as we celebrate our community’s diversity at this fun event featuring dance performances, live music, cultural demonstrations, food samples, artwork, T-shirts, kids crafts, and more

Food Pantry Information for Over the Break

Many students enjoy breakfast and lunch at school on a regular basis. It is understandable when families find it challenging to provide those meals during school vacations.

                                                                                                

Food pantries partner with the Food Bank of CNY to provide low cost, nutritious food to those in need. The following is a list of food pantries and services available in our community to assist families. Please know that you will be serviced by the food pantry nearest your legal address. If you have questions or need assistance please call: The Interreligious Food Consortium (IRC) weekdays at 315-474-8855 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. 

Their website is: http://www.ifccny.org/.

For more information listing the local food pantries, click here.

Positivity Project:

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm/Zest is this week's character strength focus. Individuals with this strength might be described as energetic, excited, spirited, animated, passionate, and upbeat. For more information on zest/enthusiasm, click here!

Around School:

101 Days In School

It's hard to believe that we have already been in school over one hundred days this year!  Since 100 days actually fell on Valentines Day, classrooms celebrated 101 days on Tuesday! The classrooms celebrated this exciting event in a number of ways. See below for just some of the activities in which students participated.

Mrs. Stalter's Kindergarten Class 

Fun 101 Days activities in Mrs. Hesler's 1st grade class

Miss Kolis' 1st grade class earned a party to learn about tornadoes!

In music, Mrs. Lizzi's 2nd graders explored the high and low sounds in their voices by having an indoor snowball fight.

Weekend Update February 11th

If Stonehedge has any magical predicting powers...the game is going to be a close one with the Bengals squeaking out a win.  Thank you for your GENEROUS donations to our PTA sponsored SOUPer Bowl and thank you to our PTA members for organizing this food drive.  The kids really enjoying seeing the collection grow each morning! While it is too soon to call the game, the true winner of the STE SOUPer Bowl is, of course, the Camillus community.  The generous donations will go to our local food pantries and our Stonehedge families in need.

On another note, I hope you can help us with a growing concern of the misuse of smartphones, iPads, and tablets during the school day.  According to our Stonehedge Parent Handbook, smartphones and other devices are prohibited at school or on the school bus. Our young students often do not have the maturity to sensibly use phones without adult support and supervision.  I asked one of our ADAPEP counselors to weigh on this topic... Susan H-P's advice -

no elementary student requires a smartphone.  If you need a way to connect with your child via technology use a device with the least amount of access to other content.  Use a device that allows texting or facetime only with trusted family members and adults. Otherwise you are allowing your child access to content well above their developmental capacity to understand. Please see the articles on this topic I have included below.  I do hope you will help us by keeping electronic devices at home and used under your strict supervision. 

 https://www.activefamilymag.com/the-first-cell-phone-rules-for-responsibility/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/cellphone-parenting/whats-the-right-age-for-parents-to-get-their-kids-a-cellphone

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/5-questions-to-ask-before-you-get-your-kid-a-phone

https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2018/10/children-and-cell-phones

Next Week:

Wednesday, February 16 - Board of Education Meeting - 6:00 pm - WGHS Library

Wednesday, February 16 - Gertrude Hawk Orders Due

Thursday, February 17 - Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test Distribution 

New York State continues to support Covid-19 testing and has been very supportive in supplying testing kits to schools. With that, test kits will be available for all interested students and their families (ONE test kit per student). We will be distributing them on the following dates and times: 

• February 17: Stonehedge Support Office Pick Up 8:00am - 4:00pm Stonehedge families may come and pick up a test kit at the Stonehedge Support Office (door #4).  A staff member will be assisting the process. 
• February 18: Parents who can not make it between 8:00am - 4:00pm may send a note or contact the office to give the building permission to send a kit home with your child on Friday, February 18.

Please understand Rapid Antigen Tests are only acceptable when a student is not showing signs or symptoms of illness (Asymptomatic). 

   

In the Near Future:

Monday, February 21- Friday February 25 - Winter Recess - No School

Saturday, March 5 - WGCSD Culture Fair - 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm - WGHS

Friday, March 25 - Professional Development Day for Stonehedge (No School for Students)

More Important Information:

Outdoor Recess

Students should come to school dressed for the weather and prepared to go outside.  All

children go outside for recess until the chill factor temperature is 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Outdoor recesses give the children a much needed break in routine and fresh air.  

Students should have a heavy, winter weight coat, snow pants or a snowsuit, warm hat or hood, and gloves or mittens.  Boots are essential for outdoor recess. A pair of shoes should be brought to school  to wear inside the building. Sitting with boots on all day is not healthy for feet. Contact

the school nurse if you need help securing these items for your child. 

Label Those Clothes!

This is the time of year when students tend to lose their boots, snow pants, gloves, etc.  Please take a few minutes to clearly label your child's belongings. You will be glad that you did!  Also, if you have any gently used snow pants, boots or gloves you'd like to donate to the school, we'd love to take them off of your hands!

Kindergarten Registration Begins in December

Kindergarten Registration for the 2022-2023 school year opened virtually on December 1, 2021, and will go until March 31, 2022. This will allow our families to register their children from the comfort of their home or office. Please click here to start the Virtual Registration process. This will schedule a telemeeting with you.

When registering, parents should be prepared to upload the following:

• proof of residency (ie. mortgage or property statement or signed lease agreement)
• proof of immunizations
• proof of age

A physical examination is also required and a dental certificate is requested for entry into kindergarten. These examinations should be done up to one year prior to the first day of school. Children who enter kindergarten this fall must be five years of age on or before December 1, 2022.

To access the most updated health requirements click here.

Positivity Project:

We continue pay tribute to the generations of African Americans who have contributed to our country's history.   Students in Mrs. Hayes' 3rd grade class read to the school how some of these great Americans showed humility; this week's P2 focus.  

"Ruby Bridges showed humility being the first African American to be part of the change to desegregate schools."

"Rosa Parks showed humility by starting a boycott on the busses because they did not treat all the passengers fairly.  She stood up for the rights of African Americans to end segregation."

Love

Love, fittingly, is next week's P2 character strength focus. Love means that you value close relationships with others and being close to people. The character strength of love represents the way we think, feel, and behave towards people with whom we have close relationships. To read more about the character strength of love, click here.

PTA:

Gertrude Hawk Orders

Wednesday, February 16, all  Gertrude Hawk Orders are due. The profits we make on the sale of chocolate is what the PTA counts on to fund the many assemblies, virtual field trips,  Educational Line Funding and so much more. Please make one last push to sell that chocolate and support our PTA. 

School Counseling Week

The PTA has been celebrating our incredible school councilors this week.  They do so much for our students.  

Around School:

Mapping It Out

Mrs. Erwin's 2nd Grade class made molds of land forms and bodies of water for their Map Unit.

Valentines for Veterans

Students wrote valentines to be sent by Senator Mannion's office to vets right here in Central New York.  

Friday, February 11th is National Get Our Your Guitar Day

Mr. Barrigar and Mr. Peterson played and sang "You Are My Sunshine" to students.

Weekend Update February 4th

Next Week:

Monday, February 7 - Friday, February 11 - PTA "Soup"er Bowl 

Thursday, February 10 - Gertrude Hawk Orders Due

In the Near Future:

Wednesday, February 6 - Board of Education Meeting - 6:00pm - 7:00pm - WGHS Library

Monday, February 21- Friday February 25 - Winter Recess - No School

Important Information:

Kindergarten Registration Begins in December

Kindergarten Registration for the 2022-2023 school year opened virtually on December 1, 2021, and will go until March 31, 2022. This will allow our families to register their children from the comfort of their home or office. Please click here to start the Virtual Registration process. This will schedule a telemeeting with you.

When registering, parents should be prepared to upload the following:

• proof of residency (ie. mortgage or property statement or signed lease agreement)

• proof of immunizations

• proof of age

A physical examination is also required and a dental certificate is requested for entry into kindergarten. These examinations should be done up to one year prior to the first day of school. Children who enter kindergarten this fall must be five years of age on or before December 1, 2022.

To access the most updated health requirements click here.

Positivity Project:

Humility

The Positivity Project trait next week is humility. True humility is a sign of strength; it is a quiet confidence in who you are. It requires an honest self-reflection on your strengths and weaknesses. It also asks for self-control over ego, arrogance, and vanity. As the line between online and offline blurs, we need to reflect on how we can strengthen positive online communication. When we show humility, we show how other people matter. It is not thinking less of ourselves, it’s thinking of ourselves less, and others more.

PTA:

Souper Bowl

During the week before Super Bowl 56 (February 7 – February 11) there will be Souper Bowl collection boxes in each lobby.  One box will be a Rams box and another will be a Bengals box.

Have your child bring in soup, non-perishable food, or toiletry items and put them in the box for the team who they think will win the Super Bowl.  At the end of the week, we’ll add up how many items were donated in each box and crown a Stonehedge Souper Bowl Champion! The true winner will be the Camillus community.  The generous donations will go to our local food pantries and our Stonehedge families in need. 

Founders Day

The Stonehedge PTA announced the 2022 winners of the Founders Day Awards! Each honoree has been selected to recognize his or her service and dedication to go above and beyond for the students of Stonehedge Elementary.

Parent winners:  Patty D'Angelo and Lisa Diers

Staff winners: Shennen Colburn, Elizabeth Kolis, and Deb Ratcliff

Congratulations!

Around School:

We are a school community full of rich and diverse cultures. We share in teaching our students about all who have helped shape our community and country.

This month our library is proud to celebrate the stories of Black history. Our diverse collection of books includes many informational books and fantastic stories.  We hope our Stonehedge family will read and enjoy an important part of our history.

3rd Graders are studying Vikings.  Teachers are making the content come to life by making it fun and interactive!

Mrs. Goodnow's class are rowing their Viking boat.  Watch out for sharks and big waves!

4th Grade Classes were learning about personal narratives in January.

See what is happening in 1st grade. 

 On 2/2/22, Miss Kolis' class made time capsules not to be opened until 3/3/33 (their senior year)!

First graders are learning about constellations and even creating their own!

Congratulations to Miss Cizenski!

PE Teacher Miss Cizenski is now Mrs. Brooks!

Our students have been working so hard with their learning.  We hope your children enjoyed their snow day.