Greetings from OR!

 

#PositivityInAction Next week we will learn about creativity as a positive character strength!

Fun Fall Frenzy

We will celebrate the autumn season with some fun, creative days, and students are welcome to participate in any or all of these themed days:

• Monday, October 25 - Tie Dye Day

• Tuesday, October 26 - Emergency Responder Day

• Wednesday, October 27- Wacky Hair or Hat Day

• Thursday, October 28 - Favorite Sport or Favorite Character Day

• Friday, October 29 - Halloween Colors or Fall Colors Day (no costumes, please)

Community Safety and Emergency Responder Day
As you can see, Tuesday of next week we have “Emergency Responder Day.”  With special thanks to Officer Tom Skardinski, our School Resource Officer, we have several safety units visiting our school to teach us about community safety and how our emergency responders help us:  fire, ambulance, SWAT, police, and K-9. We look forward to a fun and productive day with our emergency responders!

Parent/Teacher Conferences
If you have not yet done so, please be sure to respond to your child’s teacher’s request for a parent-teacher conference.  Conference days are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, November 22-23, and these are half days for students.  If you are unable to attend in person, please reach out to your child’s teacher to schedule a virtual conference. 

Optional Event at West Genesee High School
West Genesee community members are welcome to attend the Trunk-or-Treat event at our high school on Wednesday, October 27 at 5:00-7:30 p.m. sponsored by the WGHS Positivity Project team.

Looking Ahead:
- Tuesday, 11/9 - Picture re-takes and make-ups
- Thursday, 11/11 - Veterans’ Day, no school
- Thursday, 11/18 - PTA meeting at OR library, 6:30
- Monday & Tuesday, 11/23 & 24 - Half-day dismissal, parent-teacher conferences

Enjoy the evening and the beautiful fall sunshine!

Sincerely,
Jeannette Clark

Greetings from Onondaga Road

 #PositivityInAction

Integrity is the character strength that we will learn through the Positivity Project this week! You can use the links here for more conversation starters with your families at home for grades K-2 and grades 3-5!  Remember, the password is P2.

Scholastic Book Fair

We will hold our Scholastic Book Fair in school on Friday, October 15 and Monday, October 18.  Your child will bring home a flyer with samples of the books available at the fair.  If you choose to participate, your child can either visit and purchase from the book fair in school, or you can order online from October 15-28 by creating your own account: scholastic.com/bookfairs  

OR PTA
Please join us via Zoom using this link for our virtual PTA meeting on Wednesday, October 13 at 6:30 p.m.  Each month we will determine whether the next month’s meeting will be virtual or at school.  Feel free to join us this month virtually, and we will let you know the details for next month soon!

Fun Fall Frenzy

Watch for a flyer to come home, but here is a sneak preview of our Fun Fall Frenzy spirit week, October 25-28!  Throughout the week, students can get into the spirit of the fall season with these themed days:

• Monday, October 25 - Tie Dye Day

• Tuesday, October 26 - Emergency Responder Day

• Wednesday, October 27- Whacky Hair or Hat Day

• Thursday, October 28 - Favorite Sport or Favorite Character Day

• Friday, October 29 - Halloween Colors or Fall Colors Day

Also during this week, each class will decorate their own classroom door using the theme “Fun Fall Frenzy,” and at the end of the week, prizes will be given for creativity!  Friday, October 29, classes will have some fall snacks, games, and crafts in their own classrooms.  Watch for an update from your child’s teacher about snack procedures for the classroom.

Enjoy these warm fall days!

Sincerely,
Jeannette Clark

Greetings from Onondaga Road School!

 

#PositivityInAction This week we will learn more about how other people matter, and what it means to “be present and give others my attention.”  This link from the Positivity Project will help explain why this matters!

Q& A with the Superintendent

Please join the West Genesee PTA/PTO District Council for a talk with Superintendent David Bills on October 5, 2021, 7:00 p.m. in the West Genesee High School LGI room.

CODE Lessons
Beginning on Thursday of this week, we are happy to welcome Officer Diane Brand back to Onondaga Road School to teach our students CODE lessons.  CODE is Community Oriented Drug Education; the lessons are age-appropriate books and stories, taught by Officer Brand, encouraging students to practice healthy habits and positive community involvement!  Officer Brand will be here four times throughout the school year.

School Pictures
This Friday, October 8 is picture day!  Encourage your children to wear their best smiles!  Upstate Images is a  new photography company that will be working with us this year for picture day and our school yearbooks.  You should have received an informational flyer with a portrait order package.  For easier ordering, you are welcome to visit UPSTATE-IMAGES.COM and use order code 63199TA to place your picture orders.

A Note about Food Services
Please be aware that we are facing major supply chain issues with everything from paper products to food.  We try to stick with what is on the menu daily, and students will always have a meal, but there may be last minute substitutions to the menu. Since there are frequent substitutions, we do not always have time to notify everyone in a timely manner.  I like to think of it as potluck!  You never know, maybe the kids will be surprised and try something new for lunch or breakfast...and LIKE it!  

 

A Few Dates to Remember

• Tuesday, 10/5, 7:00 p.m. - Talk with the Superintendent at WGHS

• Wednesday, 10/6, 6:00 p.m. - Board of Education Meeting at WGHS

• Thursday, 10/7 - CODE Lessons with Officer Brand

• Friday, 10/8 - School Picture Day

• Monday, 10/11 - Columbus Day, Indigenous People’s Day - No School 

 

Have a great week!

Sincerely, 

Jeannette Clark

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