This week at Onondaga Road

We are well on our way to a great school year!  Looks like Mother Nature is going to treat us to some summery weather this week, so it will be good to get the kids outside playing after school while you can.

Hopefully you heard a little about how "other people matter" last week while your children learned about what it means to truly live with the mindset that other people matter.  That was the introduction to the Positivity Project.  Children are learning to show others that they matter by cheering for other people's success, supporting others when they struggle, giving others your attention, appreciating the good in others, and knowing that our words and actions affect others.

This week we will introduce one of the 24 character strengths that students will learn over the course of the school year:  curiosity.

You will receive an overview of the "curiosity" strength once it has been introduced to your child.  I hope this will help you to have conversations with your child about his/her own character strengths.

Please help us to reinforce the importance of bus safety rules.  Students should have assigned seats on the bus, and they are expected to stay seated the entire duration of their ride.  Students have learned what it means to be respectful (to one another and the drive), responsible (for their behavior and their belongings), and safe (by following simple safety expectations) on the bus, and they are expected to adhere to these guidelines.

Overall, we have had a positive first couple of weeks, and we are well into our academics now.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions!

For your calendar:

• Wednesday, 9/20 - Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 at WGHS
• Wednesday, 9/27 - School Picture Day 

Enjoy the sunny week!

First Week of School at Onondaga Road

What a Great Week!

We had an exciting, action-packed week here at Onondaga Road.  We're happy to welcome all of our new students and families as well as our returning friends.  It was great to see and talk to so many parents on Thursday at our Curriculum Night; thank you for your continued support.

This week we had an introduction to our school expectations: Be respectful.  Be responsible.   Be safe. 

If you think about it, all of our expectations fall into those three categories.  It is our way of life here at Onondaga Road!  We expect our students and adults to be respectful, responsible and safe in all settings. That's why we took time this week to teach every class what it means to act respectfully, responsibly and safely in every setting:  the bus, upon entering school, in the hallways, the cafeteria, the playground, in assemblies, and upon dismissal.  We hope you will talk about these lessons with your children, and we also hope you will witness our fine behavior when you visit our school!

Next week we will be introducing our students to the "Other People Matter" mindset.  Isn't it true?  Other people matter!  We will learn about other people's positive character strengths, and we will learn about our own strengths as well. This is our kick-off to the Positivity Project.  Hopefully you took home some information about the Positivity Project, or P2 as we fondly refer to it, from Curriculum Night.  

The Positivity Project teaches children by acknowledging and defining 24 different character strengths that make up each of our personalities or characteristics.  Throughout the year, we will learn about these strengths and continue to develop these strengths as we grow. It is a positive way to learn about others, too, because #OtherPeopleMatter!

Here are some upcoming dates:

• Monday, 9/11 - Bus safety drills 
• Tuesday, 9/12 - PTA meeting at 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, 9/20 - Board of Education meeting at WGHS, 7:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, 9/27 - School picture day 

Thanks, Jeannette Clark