Wellness Week a Hit at East Hill!

Wellness Week was a big hit at East Hill last week. The majority of the students dressed in the selected color of the day to represent different healthy fruits and vegetables. Most of our students earned a plastic toe token for walking five miles during recess over the course of the week. Several students also brought in pictures of colored fruits and vegetables that Miss O’Keefe displayed on a rainbow collage (see below.)

Students participated in DRAE every day – Drop Everything And Exercise! Students took this very seriously as you can see by the pictures of Mrs. Augello's and Mrs. Devereaux’s kindergarten students. They had such a great time!

Mrs. Augello's Class Dropping Everything and Exercising

Mrs. Devereaux's Class

You should have received a letter from me about our upcoming Halloween Parade and parties. Our parade will begin at 2:00 Thursday. If the weather allows, we will parade around the front circle a couple of times. Please do not park on the front circle on Thursday. Please remember to send your child’s costume (elementary-appropriate costume of course) in a bag, versus having them wear it to school. Only those parents who are designated as room helpers will be permitted in the classrooms during the parties. Helpers should sign in at the main office. All treats should contain a label so that they can be checked as we have many students with food allergies. Following these guidelines will help us to make the day a safe and enjoyable one for all of the students.

I’m happy to report that the momentum is still strong for our math words of the day. Students can’t wait to tell me the word when I walk in their classroom or see them in the hallways. The words for this week are fact family (M), standard form (T), expanded form (W), word form (Th), and estimate (F). Please encourage your child to talk to you about these words and tell you what they mean.

We have decided to move our math night that was tentatively scheduled for November 5^th to Thursday, December 5^th. More information will be sent out to you about this night. We will be asking you to RSVP so that we can get an idea of roughly how many people will be coming. This night will be for parents only. K-2 parents will come from 6:00 – 7:00 and 3-5 parents will come from 6:30 – 7:30. Again, more information will be sent out soon.

Please remember to mark your calendars for the November 4^th PTA meeting. Dr. Brown will be here to discuss the upcoming capital project which means a lot of important and needed changes for East Hill as well as for the rest of the district. The meeting begins at 6:30 in the East Hill library.

In my next blog I will inform you about the exciting changes that are happening to our parking lot that are sure to make arrival and dismissal much more safe for all of us.

Have a great week and a safe and enjoyable Halloween!

- Lisa

Healthy Minds and Healthy Bodies Continue at East Hill!

Last Thursday the first of our four CODE presentations were held at East Hill for every grade level. Each presentation was given by Officer Diane Brand of the Camillus Police Department. The focus of the kindergarten presentation was on Police Officers and Physical Safety. The first grade presentation was presented in conjunction with the McMahon/Ryan Advocacy Center. Being safe and growing up healthy was discussed. Second and third graders talked about bullying and bystanders. Fourth graders learned about risky behaviors and consequences, and fifth graders had an introduction to drug and alcohol addiction. Each presentation was well received. Officer Brand did a great job holding her audience captive.

This week is Wellness Week at East Hill. You should have received a packet that was sent home with your child this past Friday. The purpose of the week, organized by our physical education teacher Molly O’Keefe, is to promote healthy eating habits and exercise. Because different healthy foods are different colors, we are asking students to wear a different color each day. Monday is red day, Tuesday is orange day, Wednesday is yellow and green day, Thursday is blue and purple day, and Friday is brown, black, and white day. During recess, students will have the opportunity to walk up to five miles over the course of the week. We will have DRAE time each day for roughly three minutes – Drop Everything And Exercise! These are just some of the great activities Miss O’Keefe has planned for the students. 

A kick-off assembly was held this past Friday morning to promote the event and build up student excitement and enthusiasm for the week. A “Fear Factor” food tasting was held where student volunteers were blindfolded and tried out different fruits and vegetables, including cauliflower, dragon fruit, cactus mangoes, blackberries, pomegranates, and more. Please refer to the packet that was sent home for more information.  It should be a great week.

The Math Words of the Day for this week are as follows: minus (M), equals or equal to (T), compare (W), greater than (Th), and less than (F).  Please remember that there is an 11:30 dismissal on Friday, October 25^th, and please make sure to mark your calendar for our November PTA meeting. Dr. Brown will be here to discuss the upcoming capital project. It will be held in the East Hill library November 4^th at 6:30.

Have a great week! 

- Lisa

October 14, 2013

I hope you enjoyed the long weekend. If only all of the days in October could be like this past Saturday! The leaves always seem so much more vibrant with the sun out.  I am going to try to start sending out my blog on a weekly basis rather than on a monthly basis when my schedule (and my memory) permits. Don’t worry – they will be short and sweet and give you the latest happenings in the school as well as inform you about upcoming events.

This past week the PTA held their fall Scholastic Book Fair. Thank you to all of the people who volunteered their time to work at the fair. Students love going to this event each year. Another Book Fair will be held in the spring.

A big thank you goes out to the Camillus Fire Department for providing each of our 1st grade classrooms with such a great presentation on fire safety and fire prevention. The firefighters spent about an hour in each classroom explaining what they do and what students should do in an actual emergency. In the picture to the left you can see one of the firefighters showing students in Mrs. Reina’s first grade class how they stay low to the ground when looking for people or animals in a burning building. The students were all able to go outside to see the fire truck close up, as well as all of the tools that are housed inside it. The presentation was very informative.

Each year our 1st and 5th grade classrooms team up for our Peer Partners Program. In the picture below you can see students from Mr. Meaney’s 5th grade classroom reading to students in Mrs. Bergan’s first grade classroom. The students from both classrooms love opportunities such as these to get together. 

Our math words for this week are round (T), addition (W), plus (Th), and subtraction (F). Students are enjoying hearing and learning about the word of the day. They are eager to tell me what it is when I enter their classroom. I hope we are able to keep the momentum going! 

Enjoy the rest of your week!

-          Lisa 

We're Off and Running in October!

September seemed to fly by extremely quickly this year (although I think I may have thought the same thing about last year). Many great things took place at East Hill in September.

We started out the year with the PTA’s Annual Ice Cream Social which is always a big hit.The Fall Curriculum Night was very well attended. If you were unable to make it to Curriculum Night, please contact your child’s teacher to set up a parent conference for November. East Hill Family Handbooks were handed out that night so please contact me if you didn’t get a copy. Our 4^th graders kicked off our character education assemblies for the year; the theme was responsibility. Students talked about how they show responsibility at home, at school, and in our community. Kindergarteners took a trip to Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards. We ended the month with the annual Jogathon, our PTA’s only fundraiser. The Jogathon symbolizes our commitment to healthful choices. Instead of selling candy, we jog!  It was a beautiful day which made it all the more fun. The PTA is still accepting donations for this event.

Safety is always a priority at East Hill. Our Fifth Grade Safety Patrol began the third week of September. Safety Patrol Officers are receiving a monthly training session led by our instructional specialists. Officers help to make sure that all of the students walk in a safe and orderly fashion out to the bus. Bus safety drills were conducted by the bus drivers, and all of our drills for the fall have been completed. This week is Fire Prevention Week. Members from the Camillus Fire Department will be visiting our first grade classrooms to discuss fire safety, fire prevention, how and why to make a 911 call, etc. They will be bringing one of their fire trucks and one of the firefighters will suit up for the students. It should be very educational and exciting!

There’s a lot going on in October, too. Last Thursday we were fortunate to have Keith Munslow, a storyteller, artist, and musician, come to our school for an assembly. The kids loved him! Tonight (Monday, October 7^th) is our first PTA meeting of the year (see below regarding information about November’s PTA meeting.) Please join us in the library at 6:30 p.m. The Book Fair will be held Tuesday through Thursday this week in the back half of the gym. There will not be any school on October 14^th in observance of Columbus Day. October 25^th will be a half-day with an 11:30 a.m. dismissal. Our Halloween Parade will be held on October 31^st at 2:00 p.m.

Our Shared Decision Making committee (SDM) met this past week. Our SDM goal for the past three years has been aimed at promoting Healthy Minds and Healthy Bodies. While we will always promote healthful choices at East Hill, we have decided to have an academic goal for this year: we will focus on math this year. As part of our goal we hope to have two math nights – one for parents and one for families. The tentative date for our parent night is Tuesday, November 5^th. We have other ideas that we are working on, including strengthening our students’ math vocabulary. As part of this effort we will have a math “Word of the Day” that will be announced and posted. Please try to use these words with your child: number (M), even number (T), odd number (W), digit (Th), and place value (F).

If you have been following Dr. Brown’s blog and/or other District communications, you are aware that West Genesee residents will be voting on a Capital Project on November 12^th. Dr. Brown will be attending our November PTA meeting on November 4^th to provide an overview of this project and to  answer any questions you have. This project will address security, technology, energy efficiency, repairs, updating, and new construction. At East Hill the project will include addressing the following areas:

·         A library addition/cafeteria reconstruction

·         Technology upgrades

·         Air conditioning

·         Restroom upgrades

·         General repairs and upgrades (plumbing, electrical, etc.)

·         Building security

·         Emergency generator (if funding is available)

Another important part of the Capital Project for us at East Hill is the replacement of the current playground. The playground has served us well since parents helped to build it in 1988 but it has reached the end of its usable life. The wood is over 25 years old and needs to be replaced by more modern materials and with a design that is more in compliance with the playground standards of today.  When the time comes we will celebrate the closing of our current playground and the breaking of ground on our new playground.  One thing that I found to be exciting is that our superintendent likes to have the students involved in picking out pieces of equipment and how the playground can be laid out. This will help them to "own" a new chapter of East Hill history! Please stay tuned for more information regarding this project. Please come to our November PTA meeting to hear more, and please come out to vote on November 12^th!

Have a great October!

-          Lisa