East Hill Happenings

I am so excited to see the number of applications we have received so far for our Education Fair. To date we have students signed up to complete 41 science projects and 26 reading projects. Some students are working together so we currently have 101 students involved in the Fair altogether. Shown below is a reading project model that Mrs. Devereaux made. It is currently displayed in our lobby. If your child is interested in doing a project, please remind them to turn their application in by Thursday, although we will of course accept applications that come in later.  As a reminder, the Education Fair will be held on Tuesday, March 24^th. Students and families will be able to play math games in some of the classrooms from 6:30 – 7:00, and will be able to view the project displays from 7:00 – 7:45.

Other upcoming events to note: There is no school this Friday due to Teacher Workshop Day. The PTA’s annual Enrichment Day will be held this Saturday. The February PTA meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 3^rd at 6:30 (this is listed incorrectly in the East Hill Handbook.) Report cards will be distributed on Friday, February 6^th. Valentine’s parties will be held on February 13^th at 2:15. Please remember that treats in the nut-free classrooms must come in a labeled package so that they can be checked by Mrs. Condon, our school nurse. Winter break runs from February 16^th through February 20^th.

Please join me in welcoming East Hill’s new library media specialist, Emerald Holzwarth. Ms. Holzwarth will be joining us on Tuesday, February 3^rd. We thank Mrs. Andino for helping us out in the library these past few months. She has done a fantastic job and we will miss her.

Tomorrow you will be receiving a letter outlining our new and improved, revised dismissal procedures that will begin on Monday. As the letter states, most of the changes are internal, but it will be imperative that parents picking up their children are here by 3:15. If parents are not here by 3:15 will we assume the students need to take the bus home as there is no student supervision after the 3:20 dismissal. Any changes to transportation need to be in writing. Last minute changes need to be kept to an absolute minimum as it is the last minute changes that ultimately cause confusion. These new procedures will hopefully be much more efficient, will keep our students as safe as possible, and will get our students home quicker. I was able to watch these procedures in place at Onondaga Road Elementary and they worked great. The day I watched all buses pulled out by 3:25! Thank you for your cooperation in our new dismissal system.

Have a great rest of the week!

- Lisa

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a great two-week break and were able to spend some time relaxing with friends and family. I truly enjoyed my time off. I spent some time in NYC celebrating my 39^th birthday (ha), and then traveled to Maryland to spend the holidays with family.

We are right back in the swing of things here at East Hill. Last Friday Mrs. Mercer and Mrs. McConnell, with the help of several students, presented this month’s character education assembly on perseverance. You certainly need to persevere while learning a new instrument, that’s for sure!

Dr. Brown’s annual “Talk with the Superintendent” will be held tonight at 7:00. This is a time where community members are given a chance to ask him questions and engage in a dialogue. It will be held at the WGHS Large Group Instruction room.

Save the Date! Please set aside the evening of Tuesday, March 24^th to attend East Hill’s 1^st Education Fair. Last year we combined our Science Fair with Math Night. This year we are adding a reading component which we are really excited about. Our Shared Decision Making Committee came up with the idea, and our PTA is helping us to fund the display boards. Your child should have brought home a yellow packet with more information about the Education Fair. Here are a couple of clever displays that I saw online:

Please remember that there is no school next Monday in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. Also, there is no school on Friday, January 30^th due to our teacher workshop day. The PTA's annual Enrichment Day is Saturday, January 31st. They are still in need of additional volunteers to help out in the classrooms. Please call Bernadette Irving at 263-8149 if you are willing to help out. Have a good rest of the week!

- Lisa