Jogathon Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is our annual jogathon and we can't wait! We are hoping the weather holds out. This is the PTA's sole fundraiser for the year. The tentative schedule is as follows:

10:00 - 10:20 1st Grade
10:30 - 10:50 2nd Grade
11:00 - 11:15 Kindergarten
11:25 - 11:45 4th Grade
  1:10 -  1:30 3rd Grade
  1:40 -  2:00 5th Grade

If it rains the students will run in the gym rather than on the front circle. Speaking of the front circle, cars will not be allowed to park out there tomorrow. It is possible that the schedule may be altered due to rain. If there is a schedule change, I will send out another post. If you are available, please come out to cheer on the students!

Please remember that today is a half-day. Parent pick-up is at 11:15 and the rest of the students will be dismissed at 11:30.

This Tuesday we had our first CODE assembly of the year. The students look forward to meeting with Officer Brand and Officer Grace to learn about a variety of topics. You should have received a letter home on Tuesday indicating what the focus of each assembly was for each of the different grade levels. Please talk with your child about what they have learned.

This Tuesday we also held our first Student Council meeting of the year. Their first task is to finish filling the time capsule that will be buried in our playground in October. Next week they will start working on posters for the Word of the Day. Mrs. Gipe, our District Math Coach and Administrative Intern, will work with the students using Google Draw.

All of the words of the day are taken from our new Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) program which has a rich vocabulary component. It's exciting to hear kindergarteners talk about their unique fingerprints, first graders talk about personification, and third graders say they are meandering down the hallway!

The following are this week's words of the day. The day of the week and grade level(s) where these words are being introduced is also noted: personification (M, 1st and 3rd); exaggeration (T, 2nd), recoil (W, 4th), rapport (Th, 5th), and obedient (F, 4th.) Next week's words are the day are frightened (M, K), voluntary (T, 1st), astonished (W, 2nd), migration (Th, 3rd), inevitable (F, 4th.)

October dates to remember:
10/5   School Pictures
10/10 No School, Columbus Day
10/12 4th Grade Trip to Chittenango Landing
10/18 PTA Meeting, East Hill Library, 6:30
10/19 Book Fair Family Night, 6:00 - 8:00
10/31 Halloween Parade and Parties, 2:00

Have a great day!

- Lisa

In Full Swing!

Things are in full swing here at East Hill. Thank you to everyone that was able to attend last week's Curriculum Night. We had a great turnout once again!

Our PARP (Pick a Reading Partner) Reading Celebration Committee met this week to begin planning the two week celebration which will take place in October. This year's theme is "Elect to Read." We wanted to do something in conjunction with the election. The candidates we will be focusing on, however, will not be Donald and Hillary. We will be running a fiction vs. non-fiction campaign! It should be a lot of fun. The teachers have many great ideas and activities planned for the students.

This morning our Shared Decision Making Committee met. The goal we decided to work on this year is developing procedures to maintain a safe and supportive cafeteria for our students. The cafeteria should be done in about a month. The committee came up with a lot of great ideas.

Student Council elections are being held this week and we will hold our first Student Council meeting next week. Their first task will be to finish filling the time capsule which will be buried in our playground in October. They will also work on posters for our Word of the Day, have a role in the Reading Celebration, run a Community Service event, and plan other activities as well.

Fifth Grade Safety Patrol is up and running. The Safety Patrol helps to make sure that all students get to the correct bus in a timely fashion. Speaking of buses, bus safety drills were held last week.

Please remember that next Thursday, September 29th, is a half-day with an 11:30 dismissal. If you are planning on picking up your child, please plan to arrive at 11:15 as they will be dismissed at 11:20.

Next week you will be receiving information about School Picture Day which will be held on Wednesday, October 5th.

Lastly, the PTA directory forms are due tomorrow. The class directory enables families to communicate for social purposes as well as for room parents to organize classroom activities and many PTA sponsored events. If you have any questions about the directory, please contact Edelika Becker at edelika@aol.com.

Enjoy the beautiful fall weather we have coming!

- Lisa

Curriculum Night Tonight!

Just a quick note to remind you that East Hill's Curriculum Night will be held tonight. The schedule is as follows:

Kindergarten and 1st Grade:  6:00 - 6:25
2nd Grade and 3rd Grade: 6:30 - 6:55
4th and 5th Grade: 7:00 - 7:25

During Curriculum Night you will be able to meet your child's teacher and learn about the program your child will experience this year. You will also have the opportunity to sign up for parent conferences, volunteer opportunities, and guest reading. Additionally, you can join the PTA. This evening is only for parents. The Open House that is held in May will be for the entire family.

If you follow me on twitter (@lisadcraig) you will have already seen a couple of these pictures, but here they are again in case you missed them.

Mrs. Hill's 4th graders working on factors and multiples.

Mrs. Cregan's Kindergarteners completing their "Shades of People" lesson.

Mrs. Devereaux's kindergarteners tracing their bodies for their "All About Me" unit.

I look forward to seeing you tonight!

- Lisa

A New Year Begins!

A New Building
We've had a great start to the 16-17 school year here at East Hill! The students and staff returned to a newly renovated building. We have a brand new beautiful library, a new kindergarten classroom, new bathrooms, new cabinetry, and a new lobby. Work will begin shortly on our new cafeteria which should be ready by November. If you are able to attend tonight's Ice Cream Social you will be able to see all of these exciting changes! The Ice Cream Social will take place from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. I hope you can join us!

Our new lobby

The new classroom

A corner of the new library

New Staff
We also have six new teachers at East Hill: Karey Drake (1st Grade), Mary Kate Kirk (2nd Grade), Justine Hill (4th Grade), Dan Mercado (PE), Stephen Yarnell (APE) and Cheryl Dubar (Occupational Therapist).

East Hill's PTA
A big thank you to our PTA for hosting tonight's event, as well as coordinating last week's kindergarten orientation. If you are not a member of the PTA, please consider joining. They are always looking for more volunteers to help out at the many functions that they plan for our students. The first PTA meeting will be held on Monday, September 19th at 6:30 in our new library.

Sign welcoming kindergarteners to East Hill

All of East Hill's new kindergarteners

Mrs. Cregan, kindergarten teacher

Mrs. Tynan, kindergarten teacher

Mrs. Devereaux, kindergarten teacher

Shared Decision Making
We are looking for a couple of parents to join our Shared Decision Making Team this year. If you are interested, please email me. We meet 4-6 times a year from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Upcoming Dates
Please mark the following dates on your calendar:
9/8 (Tonight) - Ice Cream Social, 6:00 - 7:30
9/15 - Curriculum Night:  K & 1st  6:00 - 6:25; 2nd & 3rd 6:30 - 6:55; 4th & 5th 7:00 - 7:25
9/19 - PTA Meeting, 6:30, East Hill Library
9/27 - CODE Assemblies
9/29 - Half day for students, Teacher Workshop Day, 11:30 Dismissal (Parent pick-up at 11:20)

Have a great day!

- Lisa