East Hill News

Positivity Project

Students have spent the last two weeks learning about perspective and why it’s so important to be able to see the world from another person’s point of view. Starting today, we are learning about teamwork & citizenship. According to Postivity Project co-founder Jeff Bryan, "These two words are grouped together as one character strength because they are inextricably linked, which is important to understand. Teamwork is the ability and willingness to place overall group success as a higher priority than individual achievement. Citizenship is a willingness to work towards the common good as opposed to one’s own self-interest." Click here to learn more about teamwork.

Book Fair

The PTA’s annual fall Scholastic Book Fair will be held this Wednesday and Thursday. Students will visit the Book Fair during the day with their class. There is also a family night on Wednesday, 10/18 from 6:00 – 8:00.

PARP

Pick a Reading Partner (PARP) kicked off today. This year’s theme is Wild About Reading! Thanks to the PTA we were able to bring in two zookeepers and several animals from The Wild Animal Park in Chittenango, including a bearded dragon, a kangaroo, a python, a sugar glider and a tortoise.

Student Drop-Off

As many of you have discovered, we have made improvements to our student drop-off system. If you walk your child into the building, please park in one of the available, legal parking spots. There should be plenty in the Ski Hill parking lot. If you plan to just drop them off, please pull into the Ski Hill lot, turn around, and drop them off at the bottom of the hill. They will walk up the new sidewalk that has been fenced off. If you are dropping your child off in the morning, and the buses have already left, you should pull up to the front of the school.

Halloween is Coming!

The Halloween Parade is scheduled for 10/31 at 2:00. If there is inclement weather, the parade will be cancelled. If the weathery is iffy, I will send out a notice by 1:40 that day to let you know of the status. Please remember that only parents who have been contacted by the room parent in advance will be allowed to come into the building. Additionally, please avoid wearing any type of mask, and please make sure your child wears an appropriate costume for the elementary level (no scary masks, blood, weapons, etc.). If your child is in a nut-free room, all treats must be store-bought and contain a label that can be checked by the nurse and/or teacher. I appreciate your cooperation in these matters of safety. In addition, you should have received a flyer about the annual Halloween Carnival held at the high school. If not, here it is!

I hope to see you at tonight’s PTA meeting which will be held at 6:30 in the East Hill Library.

-          Lisa 

Arrival and Dismissal at East Hill

Dear East Hill Families,

As many of you are aware, there is very limited parking at East Hill which makes the drop-off and pick-up situation less than ideal. Please know that we are working together with the Town of Camillus to try to remedy the situation.  We have come up with a plan that will improve, but not completely resolve, the issues with the student drop-off area. Beginning this weekend we will be adding fencing on the school side of the ski area parking lot. On the school side of the fence we will add a walkway for students. This walkway will lead students up to the current crosswalk where a staff member is always present. It will be important that students are dropped off down in the parking lot so that they can walk up the walkway, versus dropping them off at the entrance.

It is likely that we will add a new parent drop off area in a future capital project. In the meantime, I ask that you please follow the posted signs and park only in legal parking spots. We have less than 25 available parking spots at dismissal and anywhere between 50 and 80 parents picking up on a daily basis. Given this information, it is likely that you will need to park down the road. I apologize for the inconvenience and I appreciate your patience and consideration in this matter. The safety of our students is of the utmost importance to all of us. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Lisa Craig,
Principal

Thought Exchange

Dear East Hill Community,

Every year, the West Genesee Strategic Planning Team asks all stakeholders to provide feedback on areas of strength and areas for potential growth. This year, Dr. Brown has partnered with Thought Exchange, a web-based organization that will help us reach more of the community to maximize input. 

Using the email you have shared with us already for SchoolTool, you will be given a link to take part in the first stage of this survey, the Share Stage. You can tell us what we are doing well and what can we improve. This step will take approximately 5 - 10 minutes. A few weeks after that, you will be asked to take part in the Star phase where you will see others’ responses. You have the opportunity to “rate” the comments that resonate with you. The final stage, Discover, is where you will have a chance to see what concepts are most important to all participants.

Please know that your submissions are confidential, but not anonymous to Thought Exchange. Thought Exchange will not share the authors of comments with the District. Your name will not appear on your submissions. This allows you to answer fairly and honestly. However, responses that are demeaning to any individuals will be removed by Thought Exchange.  

The members of the Strategic Planning Team will use this information in evaluating our successes as well as our areas in need of improvement when we begin planning for 2018 - 2019 school year.  Please take the time to complete the survey when it is sent to you. Although the link cannot be forwarded, there are directions on how to get other community members on the list if they don’t receive an invitation. We truly want to hear from as many people connected to West Genesee as possible. Thank you!

On a different note, this week and next week will be devoted to teaching our students about the character strength of perspective. Click here to read more about this strength. Our learning target for these two weeks is, I can appreciate that people see things in different ways. I have the ability to understand the world from multiple points of view.

Our PARP (Pick a Reading Partner) committee has met and has decided on the theme of "Wild About Reading" for this year's reading celebration. Thanks to the PTA, our kick-off ceremony will include a visit from The Wild Animal Park in Chittenango, and our closing ceremony will feature author Cynthia DeFelice whom many of us are wild about! We can't wait! Thank you to those of you that signed up to be a guest reader in one of our classrooms during the reading celebration.

Upcoming Dates: 

• Wednesday, 10/4: School Pictures (Make-ups are scheduled for 11/17)
• Friday, 10/6: Jogathon Donations Due
• Monday, 10/9: No School, Columbus Day
• Monday, 10/16: PARP Reading Celebration Begins; PTA Meeting @6:30p.m., East Hill Library
• Wednesday, 10/18: Book Fair; Family Night is from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
• Thursday, 10/19: Book Fair
• Tuesday, 10/31: Halloween Parade, 2:00 p.m.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

- Lisa