Onondaga Road First Week Notes

We finished our first September week of the new school year, and what a week it has been!  The students were so excited to see all of the changes that have been made to our building.  It looks great, and sparkly clean!  The new library is a big hit, and a well-deserved addition for our children.  Soon we'll be dining in our new cafeteria, and we'll welcome that building-wide central air conditioning, too! 

Thank you to all who were able to attend our Curriculum Night on Thursday evening.  It's been a warm week here at school, as you may have experienced on that warm night, but hopefully your time here was informative for you and you were able to get a feel for how your child's day will run.  

Please join us next week for our first PTA meeting on Tuesday night, September 13, 6:30 p.m. in our new library.  This will be a time for us to plan several fun events for our children.

I've attached several pictures from our first school week... Enjoy! 

Welcome Back to Onondaga Road

Welcome to Onondaga Road for the 2016-17 school year!

You will be pleasantly amazed at our newly renovated building!  A lot of hard work has gone into this project, and we’re ready to invite our children back to school.  We have a beautiful new library, several newly painted classrooms, new classroom cabinetry, a bright new main-entrance hallway, new bathrooms in every classroom, and more to come…The next phase will be the completion of our new cafeteria, so we are looking forward to that, too. 

Here are some important dates for your calendar as we get this year started:

• Tuesday, September 6 – First day of school!  This is a full day, 9:00-3:20.
• Thursday, September 8 – Curriculum / Meet the Teachers Night – 6:00-7:30 – Please see the flyer that comes home with your child on the first day of school explaining details for this Curriculum Night.
• Tuesday, September 12 – PTA Meeting in the library, 6:30
• Wednesday, September 28 – School Picture Day
• Thursday, September 29 – Half-day for students, 11:30 dismissal

Last year our school’s Shared Decision Making Team (SDMT), in close collaboration with our Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), sought input from you, our Onondaga Road families, for feedback regarding many after school events and enrichment activities for our students.  Thank you for the feedback!  We received over 100 responses to our questionnaire, and we are using that information to help plan and guide our PTA and school sponsored events.  You will notice on the school calendar several activities already in the works (Reading Night, Scholastic Book Fair, Enrichment Day, Family Picnic, etc.).  Our first PTA meeting will be a great time to plan these events, but we can’t do it without YOU!  Please consider attending our PTA meeting on Tuesday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m. in our new library to learn more!

We look forward to seeing our smiling children on Tuesday, September 6.  Rest up – it’s going to be a busy, productive year of learning and growing!

Onondaga Road June Update

The end of the school year is just around the corner, and OR is a busy place! 

Annual Family Picnic:
Friday evening, June 10, 5:30-7:30 p.m. is our family picnic, sponsored by our OR PTA.  The event is a family favorite, so come celebrate the end of another outstanding school year with us!

There are a lot of other upcoming events, so be sure to mark your calendar with these dates:
Friday, June 10, 5:30 – Family Picnic
Tuesday, June 14, 9:45-1:30 – Grade 4 goes to the Erie Canal
Tuesday, June 14, 2:00 – Flag Day Celebration
Wednesday, June 15, 7:00 – Board of Education meeting at WGHS
Thursday, June 16 – Grade 5 goes to Ultimate Goal
Thursday, June 16 – Kindergarten goes to Le Moyne Family Theater
Friday, June 17, 9:30-11:30 – R2D2 Olympics (Wear your team color!)
Friday, June 17, 2:00 – Banana Split Picnic
Monday, June 20 – Grade 5 walks to Fairmount Glen Miniature Golf
Tuesday, June 21 – 9:30 – 5^th Grade Recognition Ceremony (in OR gym)
Wednesday, June 22, 10:00-11:00 – Grade 5 visits West Genesee Middle School

NOTE about the last two days:
Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22 are half-days for students.  Dismissal is at 11:30 both days.

Other Interesting OR  Info:

Each year our 4^th and 5^th grade students participate in a project summarizing what they have learned through the CODE (Community Oriented Drug Education) program, and then a “winner” is selected from each class to share his or her project at the final CODE assembly.  The theme for this year’s 4^th grade poster project was Internet Safety, and for the 5^th grade essay project t was Drug-Free Me.  The projects were thoughtful and thought provoking.  Congratulations to this year’s highlights:

Grade 4 – Olivia Creaser, Alexis Ager, Laela Lansing

Grade 5 – Sophia Van Horn, Anthony Pontello, Caleb Williams

Several 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th graders submitted posters for Senator DeFrancisco’s annual Earth Day Poster Contest.  Their strong messages encourage people to take care of our earth and our community.   One of our 4^th graders, Chris Coyne, was acknowledged for his poster contribution, and the Senator himself came to OR to congratulate him! 

Our renovation is coming along nicely, and we’re looking forward to moving into our new library in the fall!  

May 2016 – OR News…

The month is a flurry of activity!  Be sure to mark your calendar for these OR events:

Thursday, May 12 – 6:30-7:30 p.m. – Spring Open House – If you live in the neighborhood, you might consider walking to school for this event.  Parking is always a premium, but with our construction, you may experience slightly reduced parking.

Tuesday, May 17 – Budget Vote – 6:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. – at West Genesee High School

Tuesday, May 17 – Grade 3 goes to the Landmark Theater to see Charlotte’s Web

Wednesday, May 18 – 7:00 p.m. –  Board of Education meeting at West Genesee High School

Thursday, May 19 – Special Olympics – We are proud to be represented by our kindergarten and first grade athletes!  Go team!

Friday, May 20 – 8:30 a.m. – Chorus Club

Monday, May 23 – 7:00 p.m. – Grades 4-5 Concert at West Genesee High School

Wednesday, May 25 – Grade 4 NYS Science Performance Test

Wednesday, May 25 – 6:30 p.m. – PTA Meeting in OR library

Friday, May 27 – “Snow Day!” – All schools are closed for the day!

Monday, May 30 – Memorial Day

Here are a few photos of our renovation project.  Enjoy!