East Hill Update

 

Spring Break Fun!

The East Hill PTA has whipped up some fun for your and your family to participate in during next week's spring break. The PTA invites you and your family to participate in a scavenger hunt to encourage you to get outside and enjoy some of the cool places our area has to offer. Each student will receive a small prize for participating, and, in addition, you will be entered into a drawing for one of three grand prizes - an American Girl doll, a Lego set, or a free session at the Warrior Factory Syracuse! More information will be sent home later this week!

Go Green for MDA

Thank you to everyone for your very generous donations for the Muscular Dystrophy association! Each of the elementary schools in the district participated and collected over $3400.00! That is awesome!!

Panera Bread

The Panera Bread fundraiser is this Wednesday from 4:00 - 8:00. Bring the flyer with you that was sent home or show this electronic version to the cashier. Thank you for your support!

Humility

This week we are focusing on the character strength of humility. Humility means you do not seek the spotlight and you let your actions speak for themselves. For more information on humility, click here. 

Upcoming Dates

3/23    Talk with the Superintendent

3/24    Panera Bread Fundraiser, 4:00 - 8:00

3/29    Spring Break Begins!

4/6      School Resumes (we have Monday, 4/5 off!)

Here are a couple pictures from last week - St. Patrick's Day and indoor physical education.

Have a great rest of the week and an awesome spring break!

- Lisa

East Hill Weekly Update

West Genesee Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council

As you may have read in the Superintendent’s Message from February 26th, there is an opportunity for all members of our community to come together as members of the West Genesee Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. The council recognizes the need to listen to the voices, experiences, and perspectives of people from diverse backgrounds in order to advance the council's mission and help all members of our community achieve success. This council is open to all members of our community. If you are interested in joining, please fill out this Google form and a member of the team will contact you directly. Thank you!

Go Green for MDA

As a reminder, this Wednesday is Go Green for MDA! Students should wear green on Wednesday and bring in a donation if they choose. They will "lap the loop" out front with their class, either in gym class or during the day with their own class. Here is the video again from Colton, an Onondaga Road 4th grader, and here is a BrainPOP video about Muscular Dystrophy that many of our students have seen in class. Thank you for your support!

Old MacDonald's Farm

Mrs. MacArthur arranged for all of our kindergarten classes to go on a virtual field trip to Old MacDonald's farm. Mrs. Devereaux's class actually got to see two baby calves being born! So exciting! Each class also gets to name a calf. Mrs. Devereaux's and Mrs. MacArthur's are shown below. Mrs. Tynan's class will "visit" the farm this Friday.

"Princess Snowflake" (MacArthur)

"Marshmallow" (Devereaux)

Remote Student Materials Drop-Off and Pick-Up Reminder

Remote students! Don't forget that this Thursday is your next pick up day for materials. Also, students in grades 1-4 have several items to drop off. Here is the list for your reference. Please plan to drop off and pick up materials on Thursday, May 18th, between 3:00 and 4:00. If you need to arrange for a different time, please call the office (315-487-4648).

Love of Learning

This week's character strength focus is love of learning which means you master new topics on your own or in school. Those with a love of learning are intrinsically motivated and engaged in a topic regardless of achieving an external standard. They enjoy learning simply for the sake of learning. For more information on this strength, click here. 

Masks

We are on our last box of children's masks. We have more on order, but please remind your child to bring in a mask daily, as well as a spare if possible. Mrs. Condon gave out 200 masks in the last ten days! Thank you!

Yearbook News

Yearbook sales are in full swing. This year's theme is "Using our Imagination". It is truly a unique book with more photos of classroom activities. To order your book, either return the order form that was sent home with your child, or, better yet, go to the Lifetouch ordering site: ybpay.lifetouch.com. The East Hill ID is 10705621. The deadline for ordering is 4/6. The PTA Yearbook Commitee is also looking for more photos, especially of our remote students in action. Please send a few photos to EastHillBook@gmail.com. Be sure to include the student's and teacher's name in the subject line. The deadline for pictures is 3/25. If your child didn't have a portrait taken, there's still time to take one at home and send it to the above email using the Shutterly app. Please choose a blue background for the yearbook if possible. You can find more information at lifetouch.com/picture-day-snaps-at-home. 

Kindergarten Registration

Kindergarten Registration for the 2021-2022 school year opened virtually on December 1, 2020 and has been extended until April 30, 2021. This will allow our families to register their children from the comfort of their home or office. Please click here to start the virtual registration process. This will schedule a telemeeting with you.

Upcoming Events

3/17    Wear Green for MDA (donations optional)

3/18    Remote Supply Drop-off and Pick-up, 3:00 - 4:00

3/19    SU Day! Wear your orange and blue!

3/28    Remote Students Materials Pickup and Return

3/23    Talk with the Superintendent, 7:00 (rescheduled from 3/16), RSVP here

3/24    Panera Bread PTA Fundraiser, 4:00 - 8:00

3/29    Spring Break begins

Have a great week!

- Lisa

East Hill Update

 

News from the Kitchen

Lunch: Last week we started having our third and fourth graders walk to the kitchen to pick up their lunch tray. So far it has been a success! This is a huge help to the kitchen staff and it is also helps to save money and trees as less packaging is needed. We may try it with second graders soon if it continues to be successful and if students continue to stay socially distanced in the hallways.

Breakfast: Starting tomorrow (Tuesday), all students who pre-order breakfast should enter through the main door. They will pick up their breakfast in the lobby and head right to their classroom. This should also be a huge time saver for the kitchen staff and should cut down on unneccessary packaging. If you have any questions, just let us know!

Lap the Loop!

On Wednesday, March 17th, we will be participating in a district wider fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Why? Let Colton, an Onondaga Road 4th Grader, explain it to you:

As Colton says, students are asked to wear green on that day. They will lap the front loop with their class, and if they want to, they can contribute a donation to one of the green buckets that will be placed outside. Flyers will be sent home later this week. 

PTA News

Our next PTA meeting will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, March 9th, at 6:30 via Zoom. The PTA is seeking volunteers so please attend if you can. Please RSVP to wgehpta@westgenesee.org. Additionally, don't forget that the next PTA dining fundraiser will be held on Wednesday, 3/24 from 4:00 - 8:00 at Panera Bread.

Positivity Project

This week's character strength focus is social intelligence. Social intelligence means that you are aware of other people's thoughts and feelings. You understand why they do things. It refers to a person's ability to understand and manage relationships. For more on social intelligence, click here. 

Remote Students Materials Pickup and Return

The next materials pickup date is March 18th from 3:00 - 4:00. Students in grades 1-4 also have several items that should be returned on that date. Here is the list of items to be returned and picked up. Please let us know if you cannot come at this time and we will arrange for an alternate time. 

Free National Park Service Passes

Every fourth grade student is eligible to receive a FREE National Park Service's (NPS) Every- Kid- in-a Park pass. NYS will accept this pass for free vehicle entry admission (with the fourth grader present) for all of their State Parks in 2021. Therefore, the student and anyone in the vehicle will have free entry. This pass is also accepted at state historic sites for the fourth grade student and up to three adults. To read more about the program you may do so at this link: https://parks.ny.gov/environment/connect-kids.aspx.

Have a great rest of the week!

- Lisa

Enthusiasm!!

Enthusiasm!

This week's character strength focus is enthusiasm! Enthusiasm means you approach life with excitement and energy. You energize people around you. It is the ability to bring life and excitement to different situations. Each week the people at the Positivity Project include a video for educators as an example of the week's character trait. The excitement and enthusiasm in this video brought me to tears! (Full disclosure: I remember seeing this while I was in college. I know some most of you weren't even born yet!)

The 100th Day

Last week we celebrated the 100th day of school! Here is a short video of Mrs. Ciciarelli who is teaching remote kindergarten this year. We were happy she shared this video of herself because we look forward to seeing, and especially hearing, "Mrs. Flannery" each year. 

For the 100th day celebration the students completed a variety of activities that demonstrated they were 100 days smarter. In addition, some dressed as though they were 100, some drew a picture of what they would look like and be doing when they were 100, some made 100 day hats, and in Mrs. Devereaux's kindergarten class students had to use their knowledge of numbers and their fine motor skills to glue together a picture puzzle of themselves, creating their own 100s chart.

Can you guess Mrs. Devereaux's top character strength?

Mark Your Calendars for these March Events:

3/3 - Board of Education Listening Session, 6:00

3/9 - PTA Meeting, 6:30

3/14 - Daylight Savings Time begins! (Set clocks ahead one hour)

3/17 - Lap the Loop MDA Fundraiser (More information to come!)

3/18 - Remote student materials pick-up and drop-off, 3:00 - 4:00

3/24 - Panera Restaurant PTA Fundraiser, 4:00 - 8:00

3/29 - Spring Break begins

3/31 - Kindergarten Registration ends

Have a great first week of March!

- Lisa