Notes from Principal Simmons: Weekend Update March 18th

Mrs. Olson and and friends rocking their St. Patrick's day green

Next Week:

Monday, March 21 - Rock Your Socks Day (see below)

Wednesday, March 23 - Open Library Night - 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm - Stonehedge Library

Thursday, March 24 - Gertrude Hawk Pickup - 4:00 pm - 7:30 pm

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

Saturday, March 26 - Report Cards Available on SchoolTool

In the Near Future:

Tuesday, March 29 - Talk With The Superintendent - 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm - WGHS LGI Room

Wednesday, March 30 - Thursday, March 31 - 3rd and 4th Grade NYS ELA Assessments

Thursday, March 31 - Last Day For Kindergarten Registration

Important Information:

Appropriate Dress

We ask that your child dress in a manner that reflects personal pride as well as respect for others. The elementary years help students develop habits that will carry through middle and high school years. Shirts/blouses must cover the stomach completely. Exposed under garments, tank tops and “spaghetti straps” are not appropriate. Should a student come to school dressed inappropriately, we will contact parents to find solutions.

We do ask that all students wear appropriate outerwear for playtime particularly during the winter months. Classes do try to go out for playtime, weather permitting. This time is an important time for the students to get fresh air and be active. Students who are not appropriately dressed (coats, boots, hat, gloves/mittens) will be allowed to go outside, but will stay in areas where the snow is cleared (ie: sidewalks).

Rock Your Socks

Together we can create a single global voice advocating for the rights, inclusion, and well-being of people with Down syndrome in our school, community, and around the world. Every year, on March 21, people all around the world come together to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day by wearing brightly colored, mismatched socks. March 21 is symbolic because people with Down syndrome have 3 copies of their 21st chromosome. Socks were chosen because the karyotype of Ds chromosomes actually looks like mismatched socks!

A Message From Our Librarian:

Who says that basketball is the only thing to do in March? We had an epic Open Library Night on Wednesday, March 9! So many families came in, looked at books, read for a bit, checked things out and some even played a little chess. It was a great way to spend a dark and misty night. We were so happy to see many of our former Stonehedge students who came with their younger siblings…it was a true alumni night! Don’t forget, we have another “OLN” scheduled for Wednesday, March 23rd from 6:30-7:30…AT NIGHT!

I’d like to put out a little teaser about a huge spring celebration we are working on at Stonehedge! In May we will be doing our first “One School, One Book” reading initiative. This is a chance for everyone in our Stonehedge community: students, staff, and families to enjoy the same book and some really fun activities. Details will follow, but for now, we are in need of a few brave “parental” souls who would like to do some recorded sessions that will be posted as read-alongs. If you are interested in helping out with this, send me a note at dabbott@westgenesee.org. Be on the lookout for more information about “One School, One Book”!

WGCSD March Calendar Adjusted: Superintendent Days

At the regular BOE meeting held on February 2, the Board of Education acted on the Superintendent's recommendation to amend the 2021-2022 school calendar for purposes of professional development for our staff. In year’s past this has been built into the calendar.

The changes involved are dates during the month of March. The addition will be that of Superintendent’s Conference Days for each of the K-8 buildings.

Unlike traditional Superintendent’s Days when no students report to school, each K-8 building has a date specific to only that school.

The conference dates for each K-8 building are:

March 9: West Genesee Middle School

March 21: Camillus Middle School

March 22: East Hill Elementary School

March 23: Onondaga Road Elementary School

March 24: Split Rock Elementary School

March 25: Stonehedge Elementary School

For example, on March 9, WGMS students did not attend school as the staff has professional development. All students in Grades K-4 and 7-12 had a regular school day.

Notable is that West Genesee High School is not included in this particular plan as there are different opportunities for the HS staff.

Click here to read the entire letter from Superintendent David C. Bills.

Report Cards

Electronic report cards will be available via SchoolTool beginning Saturday, March 26. Click here to access the viewing instructions. Here is a short video that also explains how to access the report cards online. If you need to update your email or phone number in SchoolTool, please click this link. If you need a hard copy of your child's report card mailed to your home, after March 26, please contact our school office.

Supplies For Ukraine

The district had an unbelievable response from the community! Thank you so much for your support! We will no longer accept any more supplies. You can make monetary donations directly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA via PayPal by clicking here.

NYS Testing

Our 3rd and 4th graders will be taking the state assessment in English Language Arts on Wednesday, March 30th and Thursday, March 31st. Please make sure your children have a good breakfast (always) and arrive to school on time.

Kindergarten Registration

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.

Positivity Project:

Students this week celebrated their love of learning, this week's P2 trait.

Mrs. Erwin's 2nd Grade Class listed all the things they love to learn

Fairness

Next week's character strength focus is fairness. Fairness means you believe that all people have value. You approach situations with an unbiased mindset and treat everyone with respect. Cultivating the character strength of fairness helps people to become trustworthy friends, responsible citizens, and generally moral people. To learn more about the character strength of fairness, click here.

PTA:

Book Fair

We had so many families shop at our Scholastic Book Fair this week. It was amazing!

Thank you to all the families who attended and bought books! Thank you for those who donated to support area schools. We received 48 books donations which we donated to Frazier and Delaware schools in the Syracuse City School District. Extra appreciation to everyone who bought books for teachers through our Teacher Wish List board - these are gifts that teachers & students will enjoy for years to come!

A few of the titles donated to Frazier and Delaware Schools

Scenes from the Scholastic Book Fair

Gertrude Hawk Order Pick Up

The Gertrude hawk orders will be available for pick up on Thursday, March 24th from 4:00 pm - 7:30 pm. This drive-by pick up will be behind Stonehedge on the WGMS side. If you have any questions, please contact Johanna LeFever at jblefever@yahoo.com

Special Eduction PTA

West Genesee has a Special Education Parent Teacher Student Association (SEPTSA). SEPTSA was founded in 2009 to promote advocacy and education in the area of special education. We host meetings, events, and speakers throughout the year in an effort to continuously improve the special education experience in our district. SEPTSA membership is open to any student, parent, teacher, administrator, or community member interested in inclusion. More information is available by clicking here or email wgseptsa18@gmail.com.

Around School:

Virtual Field Trip

Third Graders took a virtual field trip to the NASA Goddard Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. They learned about living and working on the International Space Station!