Merry-Go-Round Performance Reels in Audience

This week students in grades K-2 were treated to a fun and interactive performance by the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. The performance was based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grim, The Fisherman and His Wife. The timing was perfect as second grade classes had just finished studying the story. Audience members waved, clapped, and drummed along as they watched the story unfold. The play, which is a cautionary tale about greed, had students laughing while learning about differences between 'wanting' something and 'needing' something. 

Biscuit Author Alyssa Capucilli Visits Stonehedge 'Woof! Woof!'

Our students were treated to a wonderful visit from author Alyssa Capucilli thanks to Stonehedge PTA. Mrs. Capucilli spoke to all grades and tailored her presentations for each of the grade levels. She stressed the importance of imagination and discussed the creative writing process.

Mrs. Capucilli shows students a printer's spread of one of her books. 

"Who likes to write stories?" Mrs. Capucilli asked.

Second Grades Demonstrate What Makes a Good Citizen

There are many pieces that make up the puzzle of being a good citizen. During this month's Character Education assembly, Mrs. Schweitzer's and Mrs. Farrow's classes put on a short skit piecing together the puzzle of good citizenship.

Students described different characteristics of citizenship.

Making up the citizenship puzzle: Cooperation, Responsibility, Honesty, Patience, Thankfulness, Respect, Kindness, and Perseverance.

Congratulations to our first grade HEDGE Award winners:

Jad Abdelqader, Carter Brown, Riley Bullock, Nate Cammarata, Lincoln Christopher, Rebeca Dickinson, Mark Gulev, Molly Humphrey, Vlad Kishov, Victoria Lattimore, Maeve Lepak, Avery Mathewson, Tommy McCarty, Nicholas Meluni, Maddie Mignone, Marie Morano, Veronica Moss, Olivia O'Connor, Lillie-Mae Parker, Kayden Perkins, Victoria Petrovets, Elli Schad, Isabella Serrant, Caitlin Shortslef, Zachary Stevens, Samantha Winton

Congratulations to our second grade HEDGE Award winners:

Jackson Austin, Ryan Boyer, Addison Briggs, Jack Cosamano, Harper Flynn, Logan Frese, Dylan Frost, Emma Harris, Ethan Harvey, Giorgia Hess, Annalin Hyatt, Scott Johnson, Lent Kent, Katie Klaczko, Ryan Limpert, Stella Mikhailova, Samantha Orr,  Nash Oudemool, John Panek, Grady Robertson, True Sims, Sarah Smithers, Kaelyn Stone, Aubry  Vincentini, Grace Vincentini

Congratulations...C.O.D.E Program Receives Recognition

West Genesee School District is happy to announce that the C.O.D.E Program of the Camillus Police Department will be receiving the 2016 McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center Children’s Guardian Award.

Every year McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center honors those who go above and beyond to protect children and help them reach their full potential. Officer Brand and Officer Grace will be accepting this honor on behalf of the District. 

Congratulations to speech pathologist Sue Rozwod. She was recently honored for her 30 years of service to our district! She is a leader in her field and a valuable member of the Stonehedge community. She has a great sense of humor and always has a smile on her face. Thanks for all you do!

From left: Debbie Miller, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Lori Keevil, Principal Stonehedge Blue, Sue Rozwod, Speech Pathologist, Brent Suddaby, Principal Stonehedge Gold, Dr. Christopher Brown, Superintendent of Schools. 

Annual Budget Vote: The West Genesee Budget Vote will take place on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the High School auditorium lobby. As a West Genesee parent, your participation in the voting process is vital to the continued academic success of our children. Please review the detailed information in the special budget edition of the Communicator which is being mailed home the week of April 25. Click here to access this plus information about the voting process from our website.

Please remember that Spring Break is from April 25-29. Have a fun and safe time with your family.

~Lori

Stonehedge's first annual Hoops for Hedge fundraiser was held last night. The exciting event featured the teams the Hedgie Hoopers and the Hedgehog Hippies playing a friendly game of basketball. Principals Keevil and Suddaby were referees while Dr. Brown and Mrs. Conboy served as team coaches. 

The standing room only crowd was treated to a wonderful rendition of the national anthem sung by the fifth grade chorus. In addition, the fifth grade Jumprope Club jumped, whipped, and nae-nae-ed their hearts out during halftime. 

The event raised $1500 to support the Stonehedge PTA. 

PLEASE NOTE: Students not riding the bus should be dropped off at school at 9 a.m. There is no supervision provided prior to 9 a.m. as our staff is busily preparing for the day ahead. 

Shaving the Day

The brave Mr. Shoults once again raised funds to battle childhood cancers through the St. Baldrick's Foundation. He collected donations throughout the week. Students who donated were entered into a drawing. The winner, third grader Brayden Kitterle, won the rights to shave Mr. Shoults' head! Though the official head shaving was fun filled, at the heart of the matter was St. Baldrick's Foundation. Our generous Stonehedge community collected around $2000! 

Bunnies, Bunnies Everywhere!

Students were certainly hopping all day long. Little bunny eared kindergartners worked through their centers this morning. And first grade bunnies in Mrs. Cunningham and Mrs. Colburn's class bunny-hopped their way through the halls. 

Please remember there is no school tomorrow, Friday, March 25. Enjoy the long weekend.

~Lori

Celebrating Great Times at Stonehedge

Celebrating the 100th Day of School

Kindergarten students celebrated their 100th day of school in a big way recently. They decorated capes (with 100 of whatever special item they chose), made hats, and counted to 100 throughout the day in fun and creative ways.

The Cat in the Hat Stops by to Celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday

Miss Munley's class was treated to a surprise visit on March 2. It would have been Dr. Seuss' 112 birthday, and the Cat in the Hat stopped by to read one of his most treasured tales.

Other classes celebrated the big day by creating sky high Cat in the Hat paper hats.

Congratulations to Our HEDGE Award Winners

This month's HEDGE awards were presented to students who demonstrated perseverance. Their hard work was recognized at an assembly this morning.

First Grade Winners: Cali Abear, Samir Azar, Parker Berg, Nikki Betts, Madison Brigati, Noah Closson, Ella Deane, Chase Denman, Joey Farella, Sam Froio, Miley Ginty, Sabeeh Islam, Brody Knox, Dejeane Lawrence, Nikolas Lisovets, Eva Lukacs, Archer Macholl, Evelina Mauro, Finley Prior, Emma Pryce,  Lily Ross, Mason Sealey, Megan Steitz, Ava Vincentini, Jack Werbeck, Audrina Wood, Timmy Zeleznock

                                 

Second Grade Winners: Lawrence Baiz, Alanna Bowman, Angelo Caurso, Logan Dellow, Jakob DiMauro, Evan Dufford, Macy Dreher, Sofia Earl, Beth Friers, Ashley Foss, Evan Grebenovich, Alyssa Hadden, Alexis Houser, Braxton Kelley, Evan McCrohan, Nash Oudemool, Alice Pratt, Mariana Robert, Da'lesha Rufus, Danny Schiffer, Logan Scott, Jacob Skardinski, Gregory Wood


Don't forget: If you have a child who will be entering kindergarten this fall and you have not registered him or her yet, please do so at this time. Click on this link to learn how. 

Enjoy your weekend,
~Lori

                                 

Celebrating Winter "Wonder"land

The third annual Winter "Wonder"land event was a great success! Hundreds of people came out to celebrate the hard work of students in grades kindergarten through second. 

Guests waddled their way through the kindergarten's penguin exhibit. Lots of interactive displays had children of all ages measuring their height against an emperor penguin, carrying imitation penguin eggs, and much more.

After leaving their penguin friends behind, guests explored deep space in the first grade hallway. Each classroom was focused on a different planet. There were mini-planetariums set up, constellation maps, and papier mâché planets. Fun demonstrations of learning to infinity and beyond! 

As the journey through Winter "Wonder"land continued, attendees traveled through the seven continents in the second grade hallway. From Antarctica to Australia, travelers enjoyed viewing dioramas, fantastic animal artwork, Power Point presentations, and terrific projects from one end of the Earth to the other.    

Want to see even more pictures from the entire Winter "Wonder"land process? Please check out this video that captures the entire journey from "I wonder about..." to final project!

Click the image below or here to view. 

Click image above to watch video.

Kindergarten Registration Being Done Differently This Year
Kindergarten Registration for the 2016-2017 school year will be held this year from February 1 to March 4 at the Central Registrar Office located at 300 Sanderson Drive, Camillus, NY 13031. For information about registering your student, go to the Registration Section of the website by clicking here.

Please remember that there is no school from February 15-19, for winter recess. Enjoy the time with your family.

~Lori

Can't Wait for Winter Wonderland!

Planets were painted, the Great Wall of China constructed, paper penguins assembled...it has been a busy few days as students put finishing touches on their Winter Wonderland projects. As dozens of volunteers stepped up to help students research, paint, cut, construct, type, and more. Projects were completed and field trips taken! A huge thank you to teachers and staff for tailoring their instruction to meet the needs of these curious young minds!

You'll be able to view everything on the evening of February 4, from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Winter "Wonder"land event. We look forward to seeing you there!

First graders begin their papier-mâché planets with art teacher Mrs. McAloon. 

These first grade students are cutting out stars with Miss Keevil.

Mrs. Graser helps students line a solar system diorama with a starry border.

Second graders put the finishing touches on their Great Barrier Reef project.

Students in Miss Finger's second grade group borrowed some snow shoes and trekked through fields behind the school to experience a little of what life is like in the Antarctic. 

Volunteer Mr. Card works with students assembling their project about the pyramids.

Mrs. Malbone's kindergarten class poses among some curious looking penguins at Rosamond Gifford Zoo. Thanks to the PTA for helping fund the excursion.

Students in Miss Winters' class learned about feathered friends (like penguins) during the hands-on classroom experience part of the zoo field trip. 

Do Something Special this Superbowl

Our PTA's annual Soup-Er Bowl food drive will take place next week, February 1-5. There will be two collection boxes in each lobby, one for the Broncos and one for the Panthers. 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 Superbowl. 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. 

Last year's Soup-er Bowl was a great success! Let's see if we can outdo ourselves this year!!

Take Advantage of Field Trips over February Break

By now, you should have seen some flyers in your child's folder about field trips taking place over February recess (February 15-19).

One opportunity is through the District's own transportation department. On February 17, your child is invited to enjoy a trip to see Alvin and the Chipmunks at the Hollywood Movie Theater in Mattydale. The cost is $15 and includes movie ticket, small popcorn, and small soda. It will also include a lunch served at West Genesee Middle School upon return. Please see flyer for more information.

Another option is through the Town of Camillus Department of Parks and Recreation. They provide a different field trip each day of break for students in grades K - 5. Information can be found on the flyer or at www.camillusrecreation.com .

Don't forget, there is a half-day of school on Friday, January 29. Dismissal is at 11:30 a.m.

~Lori

A Most "Wonder"ful Time of Year

Save the Date

Our exciting journey into Winter "Wonder"land has begun! This week has seen our kindergarten students diving into learning about penguins, first graders reaching for the stars and studying planets, and our second graders are expanding their horizons and exploring the continents.

Teachers, staff, and parent volunteers have helped students answer their "wonder" questions while researching their areas of interest. Next week, students will take the information they learned and work in small groups to develop projects. These projects will showcased during the Winter "Wonder"land event on Thursday, February 4 from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

These first graders are studying the planets.

This second grade friend is learning about South America.

She is busy answering her I "Wonder" questions!

These kindergarten students are learning about penguins.

Kindergarten students took turns measuring themselves against an Emperor Penguin drawing. Emperor Penguins can grow up to four feet tall. Most of the students in the room guessed they would be taller than the penguin. Most were close, but no one was actually taller. 

With tonight's predicted snowfall, it will be important to stay tuned to Dr. Brown's twitter feed, the website, district facebook page, the West Genesee app, and the local radio and television stations for information on delays and cancellations. In addition, please make sure that your child has appropriate clothing. Students not only walk to and from the bus, but also play outside for recess. We want to make sure they stay warm! Please practice with your child to make sure they can put on their own boots and zip their own jackets.

Dates to Remember
January 18 No school for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 29 Staff Development Half-Day, 11:30 a.m. early dismissal

~Lori