The One Week Countdown Begins!

It’s hard to believe that the 2014-2015 school year begins just one week from today! I hope you and your families had a wonderful summer and are eager to begin the new year. My high school daughter is anxious to get back to seeing her friends on a daily basis while my middle school son wouldn’t mind having another month, or two, of summer vacation.

Kindergarten Orientation was held at East Hill yesterday. It was nice welcoming the class of 2027. Thank you to our PTA for organizing this yearly event for our youngest learners. Parents received a lot of information from the transportation director, the nurse, the PTA president, their child’s teacher, and the principal (me.) Students were able to meet their teacher and then participate in some organized games in the gym with the help of a few parents and some student volunteers. While there were several tears at the beginning (by both students and parents I think!) everyone was all smiles at the end.

Mrs. Augello reads a book to her new students.

Mrs. Devereaux and Mrs. Catalino teach the students a morning greeting song.

Please mark your calendar! Tomorrow is New Student Orientation. This informal orientation is held at East Hill at 9:00 for all students in grades 1 – 5 that are new to East Hill. Next Tuesday is our first day of school. It will be a half day with an 11:30 dismissal. Full days begin next Wednesday (9:00 – 3:20). Please remember to use the student drop-off parking lot if you are dropping your children off in the morning. The building opens again at 3:10 for parents wishing to pick their children up at the end of the day. Please note that the pick-up and drop-off times listed on your child’s transportation sheet may fluctuate a bit, especially the first two weeks of school, so it will be important to have your child at the bus stop five minutes in advance of the posted time. Don’t be alarmed if the bus is up to 20 minutes late at the end of the day for the first two weeks as the drivers become accustomed to their routes.

The PTA’s annual ice cream social will be held next Thursday, September 4^th, from 6:00 – 7:30. Curriculum night will be held on Tuesday, September 9^th from 6:15 – 7:00 for grades K-2, and 7:15 – 8:00 for grades 3-5. This evening is for parents and guardians only due to space constraints. The first PTA meeting of the year will be held on Monday, September 15^th at 6:30 in the East Hill Library.

Lastly, some advice I just read on a back-to-school blog that I felt was worth noting: review all of the important information sent to you from school, mark important dates on the calendar, make sure you have all of the necessary school supplies, designate a clear place to do homework, select a spot to keep backpacks and lunch boxes, and, most important in my opinion, re-establish the bedtime routines, backing it up if necessary. I guess I should heed this advice as well!

I look forward to seeing you at the Ice Cream Social! I know we’re going to have a great 2014-2015 school year!

-          Lisa

Another Year Over!

I’m sure I said the same thing last year but this year certainly seemed to fly by pretty quickly! We were fortunate to have amazing weather for yesterday’s field days. Thank you to Miss O’Keefe and all of the volunteers who helped pull it off to make it such a huge success!

Congratulations to Lauren Puchta, a 5^th grade student in Miss Button’s class, whose essay about “What Veteran’s Day Means to Me,” was selected as one of the winners. Her essay came in 3^rd place for Division 1. She was invited to read her essay at the Elks Flag Day Ceremony on Flag Day, June 14^th.

Please remember that next Tuesday and Wednesdays are half-days. Dismissal will be at 11:30. Report cards will be distributed on Wednesday. Just like last year, teacher’s names will not be printed on the report card. You will receive a letter in mid-August identifying your child’s teacher for the fall. As I indicated in the letter I sent back in April, we are unable to take specific teacher requests or non-requests, and any information you wanted us to take into consideration when placing your child needed to be submitted to me by Friday, May 9^th. The teachers have been working for over six weeks now to ensure the best possible fit for your child, and the best balance among the classes.

Our 5^th graders will have their recognition ceremony next Tuesday at 9:30 and then will visit CMS on Wednesday. They will be transported home from the middle school at 12:15. The students will eat their lunch at CMS so they will either need a bagged lunch, $2.50, or money on their MySchoolBucks account.

I hope you have a relaxing and wonderful summer

Happy Belated Memorial Day!

What a great weekend we had to celebrate Memorial Day! One of our 5^th graders was a winner of the annual Memorial Day essay contest sponsored by the Camillus Memorial Day Parade Committee.  This year’s theme was A Legacy of Honor. Michael Ciciarelli’s essay was chosen as one of the winners and he got to read his essay at the parade pavilion at the conclusion of the parade. Congratulations Michael!

If you went to the parade, you were able to see 35 East Hill runners participate in the Memorial Day 5K run. Molly O’Keefe, East Hill’s wonderful physical education teacher, has been running East Hill’s running club for the past several weeks in preparation of the 5K run. As you can see in the pictures below, everyone had a great time!

The 4^th and 5^th grade concert held last Monday night at the high school was fantastic as was the afternoon performance held at the school. The afternoon performance was combined with the monthly character education assembly. May’s character education traits were kindness and courtesy. Students were taught that in order to be a kind and courteous audience they needed to listen, stay seated, clap at the end of the song, save cheering and shouting for athletic events, and tell the performers what a great job they did at the conclusion of the performance.

The math words for the week are pint (T), quart (W), gallon (Th), and milliliter (F).

I will be having another procedure on my hip next week so Heather Silvia, an administrative intern in our district, will be in to help make sure things run smoothly. I will continue to be just an email away, but please feel free to contact Ms. Silvia with any questions or concerns.

Have a great rest of the week!

- Lisa

Busy, Busy, Busy!

It seems like our lives are getting busier and busier. Our teachers just finished getting ready for Open House and have already begun working on their placement lists for next year. Our PTA has begun work on our 5th Grade Recognition Ceremony. There are also a lot of things going on in our community this week. First of all, the East Hill 4^th and 5^th grade concert will be held at the high school tonight at 7:00. I think you will be impressed with each of the three performing groups. Today’s afternoon concert performance at 2:00 will be combined with our monthly character education assembly. This month’s character education trait is kindness and courtesy. Students will learn what that means in terms of being a concert audience.

Tomorrow is the annual school budget. The polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Thank you to the East Hill staff and PTA members who have volunteered to staff the polls tomorrow night.

This week’s math words of the week are dollar (M), tally mark (T), data (W), capacity (Th), and cup (F).

The high school’s Respect and Responsibility club is putting on Community Movie Night this Friday, May 23^rd, at 8:15 in the high school parking lot. It is free to the public. You should bring your own lawn chair or blanket for seating. They will be selling popcorn, soda, juice, and water for 25 cents each.

Thank you for coming to Open House last Wednesday. Many of our teachers reported 100% attendance from their classes and that is just amazing! Thank you for being so supportive!

We had some of our students participate in the Special Olympics last week. Their second grade class came to cheer them on and they all had a great time. We are so proud of them!

Mr. Kesel, our current Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and previous physics teacher, made his yearly visit to our third grade classes on Friday to teach them and provide demonstrations about force, inertia, and acceleration. The students loved it.

I'm not sure how much more busy we can get! Have a good week!

- Lisa

Spring has Sprung!

Well, spring seems to finally have arrived and that means it’s time for our Spring Open House. I hope you can join us tomorrow (Wednesday) night from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. The students and the teachers have been working hard and are eager to share with you all of the great things they have been doing and learning. Please remember that shuttle buses will be provided from the Applebees side of the High School parking lot.

Three of our students had artwork selected for the Student Art Exhibit at Baltimore Woods Nature Center during the month of May. In the picture below you can see the puppets created by 4^th graders Max Lauricella, Rachael Reynolds, and Allison Sincebaugh. Congratulations to these students!

Traffic continues to be a problem here at East Hill as I have mentioned in previous communications. Please remember that it is against the law to pass a school bus with its red lights flashing, and it is also a state law to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. When dropping your children off in the morning, please use the appropriate drop-off spot and do not turn around in the staff parking lot. I appreciate your cooperation in this matter!

The math words for the week are penny (M), nickel (T), dime (W), quarter (Th), and half dollar (F). Speaking of math, several teachers at East Hill worked together on a collegial circle this year and created parent guides for mathematics. These can be found on the website, and also accessed by clicking on the following links: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2^nd Grade, 3^rd Grade, 4^th Grade, and 5thGrade. Thank you to Susan Deegan, Courtney Reina, Heather Thome, Colleen Reilly, Ashley Greco, Kathy Barry, Pam Ciarla, and Janet McDonald for putting these great resources together!

Lastly, don’t forget that the budget vote is next Tuesday at the high school from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. We could use one more volunteer to staff the polls from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Please contact me if you’re interested.

Have a great week!

- Lisa

April Showers Bring May . . . Showers?

I didn't think that was how the saying actually went, but that's what seems to be happening!

I hope everyone enjoyed the time they had off in April. It's hard to believe May is already here. Pretty soon our 5th graders will be graduating and we will be getting ready for kindergarten orientation!

We concluded the NYS math assessments this week, with the exception of a couple of make-ups. The students put forth their best effort and that's all we can ask. Speaking of math, the math words of the week were line segment, ray, angle, acute angle, and hour hand. Next week's words are minute hand (M), quarter hour (T), elapsed time (W), A.M. (Th), and P.M. (F).

Madeleine learning about the value of coins in Mrs. Thome's class.

Please join us on Monday night at 6:15 in the WGHS LGI for the May PTA meeting. This will be followed by Dr. Brown's budget presentation at 7:00. District residents will be asked to vote on the budget on Tuesday, May 20th at the high school.

Please remember that Friday, May 16th will be a half-day. Dismissal will be at 11:30. Our spring Open House will be held on Wednesday, May 14th from 7:00 - 8:00. Shuttle buses will be provided from the high school parking lot on the Applebees side. I hope you can make it!

Enjoy the weekend!

- Lisa

April Break is Approaching!

I’ve gotten a little behind on my weekly blogs so I apologize! In case you are keeping track, last week’s math words of the day were cone, cylinder, sphere, cube, and rectangular prism. This week’s words are face (M), edge (T), and vertices (W).

This morning we were treated to the kindergartener’s school-wide assembly on Citizenship. They sang a song about citizenship and many students introduced a family member, told what they did, and why they were a good citizen. They told us about a book they read and every student received a packet of seeds to help make the world a more beautiful place.

Last week we were finally treated to some nice weather and got to play outside without freezing or falling in the mud. Let’s hope that the nice weather returns when we return from break which begins this Thursday, April 17^th. Students are off beginning the 17^th and will return on Monday, April 28^th.

If you know of anybody who has a kindergartener to register for school this fall, please send them our way. Kindergarten screening will take place the last week of June.

Looking ahead: Students in grades 3-5 will take the NYS math assessments on April 30^th, May 1^st, and May 2^nd. They are well-prepared for this assessment. Please make sure they are well-rested, well-fed, and arrive to school on time. East Hill’s Open House will be held on Wednesday, May 14^th at 7:00 p.m. The 4^th and 5^th grade concert will be held Monday, May 19^th at the high school, also at 7:00 p.m. Please plan to get out and vote on the school budget on May 20^th, and visit the East Hill Book Fair on the 20^th through the 22^nd.

Student Drop-off and Pick-up: Please use the student drop-off parking lot in the morning if you are dropping off your children. Please do not use the staff parking lot as a turn-around. This causes people to drive on and over the crosswalk which creates a very dangerous situation for our children. Also, as a reminder, our policy is that all transportation changes need to be in writing. It gets very hectic in the office toward the end of the day and it is not always possible to make last minute changes without a note, which is one of the reasons we have our policy in place. Thank you for your understanding.

I hope you have a nice April break!

-         Lisa