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!

 Here we go, ORANGE, here we go! 

It’s fun to feel the community pride as our SU Orange men’s and women’s basketball teams advance to the Final Four!  Let’s show our Orange Pride this weekend.  Go ‘Cuse!

March was certainly a busy month here at OR.  Be sure to ask your child about any of these events:
We started the month with our annual Science Fair where our 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th graders showed their savvy science skills and amazed us with their scientific processes and experiments.  We also had CODE assemblies for all grade levels.  We welcomed Irish dancers, bag pipers and drummers on St. Patrick’s Day.  Many grade levels participated in lessons from Mr. Gramlich, our very own Science Guy (like Bill Nye!).  Our 5^th graders experienced a science dissection demonstration.  All of our 1^st grade classes made a visit to Hospital Land.  Our 3^rd graders performed an awesome “Makin’ Music” choral concert.  We all participated in bus safety drills, so remember to talk to your children about their role in staying safe.  And our Student Council is hosting a book drive in collaboration with one of the Syracuse City elementary schools. 

April showers bring… Construction!  If you have yet to visit our school and see the progress of our renovation, be sure to ask your child about the view out the lobby windows!  They are witnessing history in the making here! Progress is coming along nicely, and you can see the outline of what will be our new library.  When the children grow up and move from Onondaga Road, they will have “I remember when…” stories to share about how we used to eat lunch in our classrooms because we didn’t have a cafeteria!  Once the library is complete, which will be this summer, the existing library will become the new cafeteria.  Stay tuned for progress updates as we continue to renovate!

We need YOU!
Our Shared Decision Making Team (SDMT), in collaboration with our Parent Teacher Association (PTA), are asking for your input…

Have you and your children attended or participated in any of these events: 

• Ice Cream Social?  Family Picnic?  Reading Night?  The Book Fair?  Field Trips? Purchase of a Yearbook?  Classroom Parties?  The Science Fair? Assemblies and Author Visits?  If so, we hope you have truly enjoyed your experience and have become a part of the school community.  We also hope you will consider helping with future events; we can’t do it without YOU!
• Do you or your family have any suggestions for new or different school events?  We would love to hear from you!  Our SDMT will work closely with our PTA to listen to your input and work collaboratively toward saving our OR traditions and also bringing new events to life.  Please take a few minutes to answer these few questions so that we may continue to improve our school community.  Here is a link to our questionnaire: 

    School Community Survey

Dates to Remember:

• April 5, 6, 7 – NYS ELA Testing for Grades 3, 4, 5
• April 8 – Report Cards are Distributed
• April 12 – Merry-Go-Round Theater Visits Grades K-2
• April 13, 14, 15 – NYS Math Testing for Grades 3, 4, 5
• April 13 – 6:30 pm, PTA Meeting in the OR Library
• April 20 – 7:00 pm, Board of Education Meeting at WGHS
• April 21 – “Poem in Your Pocket” Day
• April 25-29 – Spring Break (School is Closed)