Season's Greetings!

Season’s Greetings!

Please forgive me for not communicating via this blog in over a month. As some of you may be aware, I’ve been out of the building quite a bit during these past four weeks recovering (or should I say, trying to recover) from hip surgery. The building seemed to run smoothly without me thanks to the great staff we have here at East Hill. Thanks to Christine Calandra, administrative intern, who oversaw the building in my absence. I’m fortunate to work with such great people, that’s for sure.

The December Character Education assembly was all about Caring and Compassion, organized by Miss O’Keefe. To start things off, Miss O’Keefe engaged everyone with “Fit Friday” exercises (see picture). After we were all warmed-up, Miss O’Keefe taught us about compassion by sharing different definitions of compassion, sharing two stories about compassion (including the recent story in the news about the New York City Police Officer purchasing a pair of boots for a homeless man), and having students share ideas about how to show compassion. The assembly concluded with everyone dancing and swaying to the song, Lean on Me. Wow! It was powerful! We are certainly fortunate to have Miss O’Keefe here at East Hill.

Speaking of caring and compassion, the soldiers came last week to retrieve the Salvation Army barrels which were overflowing with canned goods and other non-perishable items, thanks to your generosity and that of our students. The PTA’s annual Community Giving project was also a huge success. Due to everyone’s generous contributions, six families in our community will have more under their tree.

While we celebrate the holidays in the coming weeks, we know that the Sandy Hook community in Connecticut will be grieving. Our hearts and prayers go out to them at this time. I can assure you that we do everything possible at East Hill to keep your children safe. Mrs. Farley knows almost everyone in our school community, but if she does see an unfamiliar face she asks them to provide identification. I know this is sometimes inconvenient for people, but it is a necessary precaution that we must take. We also do not allow anyone to pick up your children if not listed on your emergency contact list. If you need to add anyone to your emergency pick-up list, please do this in person. Transportation changes must be in writing; parents cannot call to make a last minute change. This is also in the interest of safety. We practice many drills throughout the year, including fire drills, lock down drills, stay-in-place drills, and bomb threat drills. Administrators meet regularly to brainstorm and discuss what we would do to keep students safe in a variety of situations. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of your children.

On a happier note, holiday parties are scheduled for this Thursday at 2:00. If you are one of the scheduled parents helping out in the classroom, please leave siblings at home, sign-in at the office, and don’t arrive before 1:50pm. This helps us preserve as much instructional time as possible. On behalf of East Hill Elementary School, I wish you a safe and happy holiday spent with family and friends.

A-D-J-O-U-R-N-M-E-N-T

Correct! Adjournment was the final word spelled correctly at this year’s District Spelling Bee. Five students represented East Hill at this year’s Bee – Sandra Gardino, Maison Lamanna, Abigail Ray, Emma Santola, and Ella Watts. Liam Kelley and Jack Hickey were alternates. I was the official “pronouncer” again this year which is always a lot of fun. Congratulations to these students!

As you may have read from Dr. Brown’s blog, our district has coordinated efforts to help provide some relief to Hurricane Sandy victims. You should receive a letter home today from the school. We are collecting supplies by grade level as follows: Kindergarten – 6 Band-Aids (in a sandwich bag); 1st Grade – 1 washcloth; 2nd Grade – 1 nail clipper; 3rd Grade – 1 small container of hand sanitizer; 4th Grade – 1 bar of soap; and 5th Grade – 2, one-gallon plastic Ziploc bags. Thank you in advance for helping to support this project.

The Salvation Army has also dropped off their barrels. They are looking for non-perishable food items. They will be collecting these items through Friday, November 16th. I apologize that we are seeking donations for two different causes at the same time. Speaking of causes, it is my understanding that several people from the East Hill Community supported the Sarah Smiles fundraiser last Saturday. Our staff wore purple last Friday and also donated to this worthwhile cause in remembrance of our own Sarah Peek. I feel fortunate to be a part of such a giving and generous community.

Some reminders about upcoming events: There will not be any school on Monday, November 12th in observance of Veterans Day. Monday and Tuesday, November 19th and 20th will be half days. Students will be dismissed at 11:30 on these two days. AM kindergarteners will attend on Monday, and PM kindergarteners will attend on Tuesday. We have decided to devote Tuesday to anti-bullying activities at East Hill. Each class will be conducting a morning meeting and will read a picture book or story about bullying. They will then follow that up with a reading-related activity. It should be a great morning for the entire building.

Finally, we will not have school on Wednesday to Friday, November 21st through 23rd. Enjoy this time with your family. My next blog will be after the Thanksgiving holiday. Have a great rest of the week!

Reading and Respect at East Hill

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks at East Hill. Our annual PARP (Parents as Reading Partners) two-week celebration kicked off last Monday. Several of the teachers put together a skit based on the book The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. Mrs. Tynan portrayed the little old lady, Mrs. Wolbert narrated the story, and several other teachers played various roles. The kids got a big kick out of it. We are welcoming several guest readers into our classrooms every day and enjoyed going to the Book Fair last week. The Reading Celebration closing ceremony will take place this Friday. Students will sing the song, “Read it!” to the tune of Michael Jackson’s, “Beat it!” In addition the PTA will provide pencils and “PARP” corn, and students will share their character pumpkins.

Last Thursday students in Miss Button’s and Mrs. Barry’s class, with the help of Mrs. Ciarla and Miss T. (student teacher), put on a great character education assembly about Respect, which is the character trait for October. They danced along to a catchy Rap (It’s called R-E-S-P-E-C-T; I give it to you and you give it to me!) This was the first of our monthly character education assemblies put on by the students.

Our Halloween Parade will be next Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. Your children should avoid wearing costumes that might scare some of our younger children. All parents are invited to attend the parade, however only the parents signed up to help with the parties will be able to attend the parties so as to keep the amount of people in the classrooms manageable.

Our next PTA meeting will be held on Monday night, November 5th at 6:30. We will have a brief presentation about our Olweus anti-bullying program. Please consider joining us. A parent video will be shown as well.

Lastly, please remember that there is no school on Monday, November 12th in observance of Veterans Day, and November 19th and November 20th are half-days due to parent conferences.

Have a good rest of the week!

The Times They Are A-Changing

I hope everyone was able to enjoy the extra day off this weekend. Hopefully you got a chance to get outside and see the beautiful fall foliage. It’s amazing how quickly the colors change. Speaking of change, we have been going through a lot of changes here at school. As I mentioned previously, we have adopted the Olweus Anti-Bullying program in response to the Dignity for All Students Act. Classroom teachers have weekly class meetings where they do activities and discuss the importance of treating each other with respect and including everyone. I’ve enjoyed being able to watch some of these meetings. Please join us at the November 5th PTA meeting for a brief Olweus parent presentation.

Another change has been the way in which we identify students receiving intervention/support services. We are now using three different points of data, versus just one test score, a teacher’s or a parent’s recommendation. These support services will begin shortly. Student lunches have also changed – they are healthier than they have been in the past in response to the newer nutrition guidelines. The way principals and teachers are evaluated is also changing as I’m sure you have heard.

Our curriculum is also changing. We are now fully implementing the Common Core Learning Standards in both English/Language Arts and Mathematics. These standards involve a shift in the way we are teaching and what students are expected to know and be able to do. I am particularly excited about the math curriculum as we will now be able to go deeper with many of the topics, enabling students to have a greater conceptual understanding of mathematics. The good news is that all of these changes are good changes! They just take time and effort and we are working tirelessly to adjust and adapt.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the variety of activities and opportunities we are able to provide our students. Our 5th graders are able to serve as Safety Patrol Officers. Safety Patrol began just last week and allows our dismissal to run smoothly. Students who completed math packets over the summer were rewarded last week by our instructional specialists. The students were taught a new math game and walked away with the supplies necessary to play the game at home. Our PARP (Parents as Reading Partners) Reading Celebration begins next week. Our theme is, “Fall into a Good Book!” We look forward to having guest readers in our classrooms, having daily DEAR time, reading at home (with the TV off), attending the fall Book Fair, and doing a variety of reading-related activities.

Stay tuned for more!

- Lisa

Welcome Back!

Welcome to my first blog! I hope to send out a brief message each week to keep you updated on important information and timely events. We are off to a super start at East Hill this year! It was great seeing so many of you at our annual PTA Ice Cream Social last Thursday and at last night’s Curriculum Night. If you weren’t able to attend last night, please make sure you make contact with your child’s classroom teacher so that you can sign up for a parent conference in November.

We have several new staff members at East Hill this year as well as some returning staff members. In the music department we welcome back Maggie Mercer and Leah Causer, formally Leah Randall. Derek Campbell has joined us as a part-time physical education teacher. Sandy Ladd is our new speech/language teacher. You will find Ellen McManus greeting you in the office as our part-time secretary. We also have three long-term substitutes with us: Courtney Reina in 1^st Grade, Melissa Simmons in 4^th Grade, and Elizabeth Kolis in 5^th Grade. Cari Tudman is our new part-time special education teacher, and Denise Paone, April Dolan, and Susan Zoanetti have joined our staff as teaching assistants. Finally, Cindrye Frazier is our new evening custodial helper. Please join me in welcoming them to East Hill!

We kicked off our new Anti-Bullying initiative with a great program today. Lyle Cogen presented “Sticks and Stones” to our entire school. Hopefully you received a letter home yesterday about our school’s anti-bullying efforts. A parent video will be shown at our November PTA meeting. Class meetings have already begun and students have learned our four schoolwide rules:  1) We will not bully others; 2) We will try to help students who are bullied; 3) We will try to help students who are left out; and 4) If we know that someone is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home. Stay tuned for more information about Olweus, the bullying prevention program that our district recently adopted.

Have a great year!

- Lisa