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 :-)