Message from Principal Geiss

It is difficult to feel the joy of this season as we ponder the unthinkable grief that the Sandy Hook community in Connecticut is experiencing.   No doubt you are sending your thoughts and prayers their way. 

As you can imagine, many children had heard varying bits of information about this tragedy upon their arrival to school this morning.  Because of this, our teachers took a few minutes with their classes to explain in an age appropriate manner that they are safe and that we follow procedures all the time to keep them safe.  We also had our counselors on hand to meet individually with students who showed any sign of being upset.  Our students have moved on to their typical day now and seem to be doing well.  We will be in touch with parents if their children are expressing fear or anxiety and we encourage you to let us know that as well.

In regard to building safety, please be assured that we have many practices in place to address potential safety issues.  Our doors are kept locked throughout the day and anyone we do not know is asked to provide picture identification.  We do not release students to anyone unless you provide us with a note in writing.  Even with a note, we require picture identification if the person you designate is not familiar to us before we will release your child.  Staff members are stationed at the entrance at both the beginning and the end of the school day and students are not allowed to meet any adult (even parents) at their vehicle – the adult must meet them in the lobby instead after signing them out.  During the day, students are not allowed to sit in the lobby unsupervised.  Throughout the year, we practice many drills, including lock-down, stay-in place, and bomb threat drills.  Administrators meet regularly to brainstorm and discuss what we would do to keep students safe in a variety of situations.  Our students’ safety is of the utmost importance to us and we will continue to be diligent in our practices and in our discussions about safety.  Please do not hesitate to call me at 487-4653 should you wish to discuss this further.

While our hearts remain heavy, my fervent hope is that you will enjoy the upcoming holiday recess with your families.  We need to continue celebrating the amazing children we call sons, daughters and students.  Here are some pictures from a few events to help remind us of some wonderful moments this past month.  In addition, my deepest gratitude for your caring and compassion in helping some local soldiers’ families who are in need this season.



4th / 5th Grade Chorus take the stage at WGHS.



5th Grade Orchestra students showcase their talents.

  



Kindergartners create gingerbread houses with their families.



5th graders listen to a classmate's presentation on his cultural heritage.

As you celebrate this holiday season, may you experience peace and joy.

~Deborah Geiss, Principal

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we wrap up Parent Conference time, I am hoping you have all been able to schedule a time to meet with your children’s teachers. These meetings are a crucial part of the teacher-parent partnership to ensure your child’s success in school.  If you were unable to attend during one of the times offered, please contact your child(ren)’s teacher(s) and they will find a time that works for you. Thank you for making every effort to meet!

Spelling Bee Finalists

Congratulations to our five spelling bee finalists: Joseph McLaughlin, Maggie Pallett, Meredith James, Carlin Barry, and Mike Miccio!. These expert spellers represented us well in the recent District Bee where they competed with 37 other top spellers in grades 4 through 8 from across the District.  Well done finalists!

 

Vitamin L – Thanks to our PTA for sponsoring Vitamin L, a talented and highly entertaining group who recently performed for our students. Their interactive songs focused on anti-bullying and friendship messages in a meaningful, engaging way. This was definitely one of our favorite assemblies!

 Parent Portal – I hope you have had a chance to check out our Parent Portal on Schooltool. While day-to-day grades are not posted, report card grades will be posted each quarter along with other information. Be sure to contact the office if you need help accessing the portal.

Walkers – If your children walk to school or if you drop them off, please have your them arrive at school as close to 9:00 a.m. as possible- especially with the approaching cold weather. If students arrive too early, they have quite a long wait outdoors. In addition, there is no supervision available outdoors or inside before school begins (unless your child is registered for the YMCA Before School Program). All other students, besides those attending the Y Program, cannot be allowed into the building until the bell rings at 9:00.

From all of us at Onondaga Road….

As Thanksgiving approaches we would like to offer thanks for the many ways you support the academic, social and emotional growth of your children at home. We at Onondaga Road wish all our families a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with many reasons to celebrate!

Welcome to the 2012-2013 School Year!

As we complete our first week of school I am sending a warm welcome to everyone.  We are off to a great start here at Onondaga Road and are excited for another productive school year!

We have several new staff members joining us this year! Tim Lane is our new P.E. teacher, Maggie Mercer will be our 4^th/5^th grade orchestra teacher, Leah Causer (formerly Leah Randall) has returned to our school to teach music, and Kristen Galimi will be a first grade teacher assistant. In addition, Julie Darmody-Latham joins me as my intern for this school year.

I hope you all can make it to our free PTA Ice Cream Social this coming Monday, September 10 from 6 – 7:30 pm.  In addition, our first PTA meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 12 at 6:15, followed immediately by our Open House at 6:45. We encourage ALL parents and guardians to attend both events on this evening.  We have an active PTA and are always looking for new members and ideas.  In addition, our annual Fall Open House will give parents and guardians an opportunity to hear from your child(ren)’s teachers regarding curriculum, classroom expectations and ways parents can partner with the school to help students have a successful school year.  Please note that this event is for adults only.  In the spring, we will offer a Family Open House Night.

Wellness Policy   As I mentioned in my summer letter, we are implementing a district-wide Wellness Policy.  Dr. Brown discussed ways this affects school lunches on his recent blog at http://superintendentwgcsd.blogspot.com/ .  In addition, the elementary schools will no longer celebrate birthdays with food.  Teachers will communicate directly with you about their ideas for alternative ways to honor students on their special day.

Redistricting   We are thrilled to welcome several new students and their families to our school.  In addition, we look forward to next year when West Genesee will redistrict (redraw the lines that dictate who goes to which school). This process will bring more students to our school from one of the other elementary schools. We will be scheduling opportunities within the next few months for families to visit their new schools this year.  Stay tuned for more info on this. For additional information on redistricting, please refer to the district website (http://www.westgenesee.org/) and click on the quick link “Redistricting”.

Safety: The safety of our students is always the foremost concern of all of us at Onondaga Road. To help us keep your child(ren) safe, please keep in mind the following:

·         If you have special custody arrangements, please provide us with the court documents as soon as possible, so we may follow the court orders.

·         We may only release students to their parents/legal guardians unless a written note has been provided with alternate instructions to release the child to a step-parent, grandparent, significant other, neighbor, etc. Picture identification may be required, so please be sure the adult has this with him/her.

·         If a student is being escorted from school by an adult, the adult must sign the student out at the main office.  No student is allowed to meet the adult at his/her car.

·         If a student arrives late to school, an adult must escort him/her to the nurse’s office to be signed in.

Please feel free to call the office with any questions regarding these policies.

SNN We are once again encouraging our West Genesee community to sign up for SNN (School News Notifier).  This is a fabulous, easy-to-use way for families to stay connected to the happenings all around the district. In addition, you can sign up to receive notification of school closings and delays. The simple directions for registering for SNN were sent home with our summer mailing.  Please call us if you would like some assistance with this process.

School Supplies:  We realize these are difficult times for many families. To ease some of the burden our district PTAs have a number of  school supplies that are available for donation. If you, or anyone you know, are in need of school supplies for our students, please contact your child’s teacher or Mrs. Geiss and we will handle this confidentially.

Working Toward Excellence:  We have an number of initiatives that are aimed at helping students reach their highest potential. Over the course of the coming school year, you will hear about:

·   OLWEUS (pronounced All-vay-us) – This is a research-based anti-bullying program we have adopted to meet the mandates of the Dignity for All Students Act. You will have an opportunity to view a short informational video about this program at our Open House Night on September 12.

·   RtI (Response to Intervention) – A number of research– based interventions will be provided in and/or out of the classroom to students who demonstrate difficulty on periodic screening measures.  Student progress will be measured and closely monitored to help all students grow and achieve in all areas of the NYS Common Core Curriculum.

There will be so much more to share over the course of the year.  Please continue to check in on my blog as well as our school newsletter, library link and PTA news.

In the meantime, enjoy some photos below from our kindergartners first day!

Mrs. Geiss

 Onondaga Road Welcomes Our Kindergarten Students!!

 

A New Face in the Office!

A big welcome to Christy Rotunno who joined us this week as our new full-time secretary!  Many of you may know her from the community, along with her son, Stephen, who is in 5^th grade here.  We are thrilled to have her here and I encourage you to introduce yourself to her when you stop by.  Also, until she gets to know your faces and names, please be prepared to show her identification if you come to pick up your child. Thanks!

Open House

It was wonderful to see so many of our families in attendance at our recent Open House! Children’s faces were beaming as they escorted their parents through their classrooms and showed them all they are learning.  Thanks for taking an active interest in your child’s education.

A Beautiful Luncheon

Thanks so much to the PTA and the team of volunteers led by Cori Carrodeguas, who presented our entire staff with a wonderful luncheon this past month.  The food was amazing and plentiful.  We so appreciate being appreciated in this manner!

Congratulations to…

5^th grader, Meghan Cook, one of two students in the District selected to read her essay based on the theme, “They Gave Their All” at the upcoming Village of Camillus Memorial Day Parade.  Kudos also to Thomas Gentile who was the other finalist from our school.  The fifth grade essays on this topic expressed sincere sentiments of gratitude to our veterans and soldiers.  We hope you will be able to hear Meghan’s speech before the parade on Monday.

   

Have a Wonderful Memorial Day!

Welcome Back

Testing Season Has Begun
As I mentioned in our newsletter, our NYS ELA's and Math Tests are underway for students in grades 3-5.  ELA’s are being administered April 17-19 and Math Tests will be given on April 25-27. 
Our kids have been prepared and are ready for these important exams!  What they need most in order to do their best is a good night’s sleep, a good breakfast each day, and a vote of confidence from the adults in their lives.  As always, please be sure they arrive to school on time each day and avoid appointments that would take them out of school on these days. Thanks!

5^th Grade Parent Meeting, PTA, and Dr. Brown’s Budget Presentation

Important Reminders…

Fifth Grade Parents will hold their next planning meeting on Tuesday, April 26^th at 5:15 in Room A133 at the WGHS.  We will begin discussing the 5^th grade Recognition Ceremony and other end-of-the-year events for students at this grade.  The meeting will be held here because it precedes out PTA meeting at 6:00 in this same location.  This is to allow as many people as possible to attend Dr. Brown’s Budget Presentation at 7:00 in the WGHS Large Group Instruction (LGI) Room.

Three important meetings and only one night out- not a bad deal!

Room Parents

As our Room Parent Coordinator, Michelle McMahon, informed room parents at the beginning of the school year, we will be sending a short list of parents’ names and phone numbers from your child’s grade for you to contact a few days before the Budget Vote on May 15.  You will receive clear and simple instructions on how to encourage family members of voting age to go to the polls on this day. 

Thanks in advance for taking on this brief, yet important task.  We have been doing this for years and have found that the few minutes parents spend to make these calls contribute greatly to our voter turnout.  More to come on this soon!

5th Grade Talent Show

Please take a moment to enjoy these highlights from the recent 5^th Grade Talent Show.  Mega thanks to Sandy Sutherland and the many parent volunteers for organizing this event.  Thanks also to these teachers: Rosemarie Speich (for providing us with a wonderful song for the 5^th graders to sing in the finale), and to Katie Williams, Shelly Kupiec, and Susan Erhard for their help with the finale and at the show.  The talent show ran very smoothly and the kids had a blast showcasing their amazing talents!

Volunteer Recognition and Open House - Save the Date!

We are so grateful to our volunteers!  We will honor our volunteers with a brief recognition ceremony in the gym beginning at about 6:30- just prior to our Open House on May 10^th (which will be held from 7:00-8:00 p.m.). If you have volunteered in any way this year for our school, please be sure to attend.  You will love this personal recognition created by our students and staff.

Best Wishes,

Debbie Geiss

Principal- Onondaga Road

If This Is Winter In Syracuse, I'll Take It!

 Greetings from O Road!

Lots going on over here at the "Road".   Here are a few highlights:

Enrichment Day...
was a blast!  Knitting, Irish Dance, Karate, Soccer, Pillow Making, Ice Cream Making, Coin Collecting, Card Collecting, Science Experiments and more were offered to our students.  Thanks to the many volunteers who shared their time and talent with our students (and with the principal, who also was enriched!) As you can see, fun was had by all...



Making and enjoying their pillows!





Coin collectors!


 

Everyone can be an Irish Dancer!



 

The Onondaga Road Knitting Circle!







    

Learning Sign Language!





The Best Part of Making Ice Cream!



100 Day Celebrations
This is a BIG milestone in our primary classrooms.  Lots of learning occurred based on the number 100.  Who knew a number could be so much fun!
 

Almost to 100!



Coming Events

• The 5th graders will be serving breakfast prepared by the chef at Applebee's on Sunday March 18th from 8-10 a.m.  Tickets are on sale ahead of time, but if you missed out on the sale, you may still buy tickets at the restaurant on the day of the event for $5.00 each.  Proceeds will go to support the end-year events for our 5th graders. Good food, good price, AND being waited on by kids- how often does that happen? Hope to see you there!
• On March 14th at our PTA meeting, I will be presenting information on the District's updated Strategic Plan and the various state / federal mandates that have led to initiatives across our elementary schools.  If you would like to learn more about our district's guiding document AND what all those new initials in education (DDI, RtI, RTTT, DASA, etc.) are about, then come and join us.  Check out the PTA link for more info on meeting times, etc. 

Strategically Planning

News and Updates

• Children who are purchasing breakfast are allowed and encouraged to enter school at 8:50 (ten minutes earlier than the regular start to the day).  This will allow them to eat and still get to class in time for morning announcements at 9:10.  If you drive your children to school and want them to buy breakfast here, please have them come into school at 8:50.
• As always you are encouraged to check the online calendar for details on upcoming events at our school and across the district. While you are at it, enjoy our new website with lots of "user-friendly" links!

Wishing you a wonderful winter recess in the "Winter That Almost Wasn't"  (at least so far :-)