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 4th 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 7th) 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 14th in observance of Columbus Day. October 25th will be a half-day with an 11:30 a.m. dismissal. Our Halloween Parade will be held on October 31st 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 5th. 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 12th. Dr. Brown will be attending our November PTA meeting on November 4th 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 12th!
Have a great October!
- Lisa
