Greetings from Onondaga Road School!

It’s hard to believe we’ve finished our third week of school already, and there’s a feeling of fall in the air!  Our children are working into their daily routines and building stamina to give their best efforts throughout the school days.

The Positivity Project - #PositivityInAction
Through the Positivity Project (P2), each week our students will learn about a different character strength, or trait.  Throughout the year, as they learn about the traits, children will learn to identify their own strengths.  Just as importantly, they learn the strengths of their classmates and peers which allows them to understand how their strengths can support one another.  For example, this past week we learned about the strength of teamwork.  Students participated in lessons about how to work well in a group or team and how to encourage others.  Next week we will learn what it means to be open-minded and to try new things.  

To help extend the learning from the classroom to your home, we encourage you to try these conversation starters.  Here are some links for you to explore:   PreK-2 | 3-5
The password is P2.

Promise Zone:  Here to Help Students
Last year our county officials made an investment in our students by offering help in our schools and to support students as we transition back to school for this new school year.  West Genesee is fortunate to have specialists from Promise Zone joining us at each of our elementary schools.

Promise Zone's vision is "to increase the capacity and efficacy of service delivery to all students to ensure social, emotional, and academic achievement."  We look forward to working with Promise Zone to help all of our students.  You may hear your child talk about participating in groups or games or various activities to help them with transitions, build positive relationships, and gain self-confidence as we work through the school year!

Arrival & Dismissal
Thank you for your patience as we have worked out our dismissal process.  Between 3:10-3:15 we will dismiss all “walkers” through the front door.  Between 3:15-3:20 we will load and dismiss the buses.  As soon as the buses leave, between 3:20-3:25, we have cars pulling into the bus loop and to pick up students using the number tag system.  Please call if you have any questions, and I thank you for waiting safely, especially while we load the buses!

Bus Bucks
Please ask your child how they might earn Bus Bucks as they ride the bus to and from school.  This is our positive behavior incentive program for the bus, and it helps students to remember to be respectful, responsible and safe.  I would like to extend a special thanks to our drivers who work so hard to keep our students safe each and every day!

Looking Ahead

School Picture Day is scheduled for Friday, October 8.  We will be working with a new photography company this year called Upstate Images. Be on the lookout for an information flyer coming home soon from our PTA.

Enjoy the first weekend of fall!  Looks like a nice weekend for apple picking!

Sincerely,
Jeannette Clark

Greetings from Onondaga Road

 Welcome Back, and Thank You!

It’s been a great first week back to school!  I think we’re all a  bit tired as we get back into the full swing of things, and we need to build up our stamina!  I want to thank you for all of your support and patience as we finish up the first week, and we are looking forward to beginning fresh again on Monday!

Please join me in welcoming Bridget McGlynn, our school psychologist.  Dr. McGlynn is an integral member of our OR school community, and you can click here to get to know her a little better! Feel free to call us with any questions.

Let’s celebrate the end of our first week back to school with a BLUE and GOLD SPIRIT DAY!  Students, wear blue and gold to school tomorrow (Friday)! 

Greetings & Updates from OR!

8/30/21

Welcome Kindergarten and New Students!

On August 23, we welcomed all of our new students into Onondaga Road with our Kindergarten Orientation and our New Student Walk-through.  We are glad you’re here, and we look forward to an exciting new school year!

School Year Calendar At-a-Glance
Here is a one-page school calendar which shows the dates of attendance and school breaks for the 2021-22 school year, for your convenience!

Transportation

In order to improve the efficiency of our daily bus runs, it is helpful for us to know exactly which students are and which students are not planning to ride the bus to and from school.   Please complete this brief survey for each of your school-aged children by Monday, August 30 if you have not already done so.

Not riding a bus?
Remember that if your child is not riding a bus and you will be transporting to and from school, you will need a number tag for your car to pick up your child/ren.  You can get this number tag by calling the main office and requesting it as soon as possible (315) 487-4653.

Riding a bus?
If your child is riding a bus, parents must use the app called BusQuest to get up-to-date information.  On September 1, 2021, the app will be updated to provide you with a bus number, pick-up time, and drop-off time for your child for the upcoming school year. (More features will be added to the app as we progress.) If you do not have a mobile device you can create an account using a computer. The parent portal is called Trans-Sync.

 

To view a short tutorial/video about how to set up your account and profile for the BusQuest app and the Trans-Sync Portal, click here.  Get your BusQuest or Trans-Sync access ready to go so that you can get your information as soon as it is updated on September 1! 

 

School Meals
Your child is welcome to bring lunch from home or have a school lunch each day (not both!). Menus are posted on the district website and the Nutrislice App.  Meals do not have to be pre-ordered on the app because we will take a daily lunch count in school.  Breakfast is optional and will be available upon students’ arrival each morning if they choose to have it. School meals  are free for all students thanks to a federal grant for public schools (due to the pandemic).

 

Communications from West Genesee

Here are some helpful tips about our SchoolMessenger communication system:

• To be sure that you are receiving all emails sent from the District/schools/teachers, please periodically check your spam/junk/promotions folder for emails with @westgenesee.org, then mark that they are not spam or junk!

• To be sure that you are receiving text messages this year from WGCSD or your school(s), text a "Y" or "Yes" to 67587.

If you still have questions about receiving emails and/or text from WGCSD, please email your questions to publications@westgenesee.org.

 

Curriculum/Title 1 Night

Our Curriculum Night (formerly known as “meet the teacher night!”) is being held VIRTUALLY on Thursday, September 9, 2021.  We will have two different time blocks in order to meet the needs of families with students in various grades:
6:00-6:45 for grades K, 1, 2
6:45-7:30 for grades 3, 4.

Be on the lookout for log-in information from your child’s teacher on the first day of school!

 

First Day of School
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
It’s a full day, 9:00-3:15! See you soon!

Sincerely, Jeannette Clark

Hello from Onondaga Road!

 August Greetings from OR!

Hello, Onondaga Road School families!  Welcome to all who are new to our school or district, and welcome back to those families returning from remote instruction.  

While you are enjoying the remaining weeks of summer, I thought I would send you a greeting and introduce a few school updates.  This week you will receive a letter from me in the mail regarding your new classroom and your teacher.  This is a very exciting time for children and teachers alike!  

I would like to welcome Mrs. Bridget McGlynn (our school psychologist), Ms. Kelly Roy (grade 3 teacher), and Ms. Kayla Stirpe (grade 3 teacher).  We are very fortunate to have an amazing group of experienced professionals joining our staff at Onondaga Road!  Also, lucky are we to have several of our staff members returning from the remote setting last year to in-school this year:  Mrs. Hudson, Mrs. Marzola, Ms. Randall.

We have a few teachers who have changed to different positions within the building:  Ms. Tschernjawski has changed from grade 3 to an IS (Instructional Specialist) position and will be working with students in grades K-4, and Mrs. Laurie has changed from grade 3 to a grade 1 classroom.  We are excited for these adjustments and look forward to our new school year!

Here are some important things to keep in mind regarding our return to school:

• Our elementary school day is returning to our “regularly scheduled” school day hours, 9:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. 

• Mask up!  Students and staff will be wearing a mask inside the building and on our buses, and we will do our very best to keep one another healthy!

• Once you read all of the information regarding arrival/dismissal, which is included in your return-to-school mail, you must call our school if your child will not be riding a bus and will need a pick-up car number tag (315-487-4653).  Please be sure that you read all of the enclosed (mailed) information before calling, then let us know if you have any questions!

• Kindergarten Orientation is on Monday, August 23 at 9:00 a.m. There is an invitation in your packet that you will receive in this week’s mail!  Please wear a mask.

• New Student Orientation/walk-through is Monday, August 23 at 1:00 p.m. You will receive an invitation in the mail only if you are new to our school. Please wear a mask.

• School starts on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, and it is a full day for students.

Keep enjoying these sunny, summery days, and I will update you with anything new that comes our way! 
See you soon…

Sincerely,
Jeannette Clark