Happy New Year!

I hope you and your family had a nice holiday break and had a good start to the new year. I’m still having a bit of trouble putting a “13” in the date!

We are back in the swing of things at East Hill with special events for a number of grade levels. Our 2^nd and 4^th graders visited the inside of the OCM BOCES Planetarium that was set up in our library last week. The second graders learned about day and night while the 4^th graders explored phases of the moon. Our 5^th graders will begin the CODE (Community Oriented Drug Education) program this Thursday with Officer Diane Brand. CODE graduation will be held on Tuesday, March 12^th at 6:30 p.m.

All of our students in grades K-5 will take part in screening over the next two weeks to assess their progress in math and literacy. The results of these screenings will be used to identify which students are in need of additional support. Some of these screenings will be done on the computer and some will be done on good, old-fashioned pencil and paper.

We have some upcoming events to note. First of all, school is closed on Monday, January 21^st in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. School is also closed Monday, January 28^th, as that day is devoted to professional development for our teachers. School is closed for February break (18^th- 22^nd).

Kindergarten registration will be held the week after February break. Please pass this information on to any of your neighbors who will be enrolling their child at East Hill. 

We will be holding our 3^rd annual Science Fair this year on March 19th. Students will be receiving information on the science fair this week. This is a non-competitive event that encourages students to have fun while exploring science. Students can work alone, with a friend, a neighbor, or a sibling. It’s my favorite event of the year.

I will be taking a medical leave beginning January 18^th to get a full hip replacement. I can’t wait to be pain-free again so that I can get out into the classrooms again on a more frequent basis. Christine Calandra, administrative intern, will be taking over for me in my absence.  Please feel free to contact her with any questions or concerns. I will be reachable via email. I am confident that things will run smoothly in my absence just as they did earlier this year.

Lisa