Excitement Abounds at East Hill!

Last Friday was full of excitement here at East Hill. Friday marked the opening of East Hill's brand new cafeteria! We are having a "soft" opening to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row. Our fifth graders were to the first to be able to eat in there, followed closely by our fourth graders. We should have everyone in by the end of the week. Our Shared Decision Making Committee has spent a good deal of time doing research and figuring out all of the logistics. There's a lot more to having a smoothly-running cafeteria than one would think!

4th & 5th Graders Enjoy Lunch in the Cafeteria

Equally exciting on Friday, I believe, was the culmination of our two-week PARP (Pick a Reading Partner) Reading Celebration. At the closing ceremony we had several special guests on hand: the Camillus Middle School Band (Directed by Mr. Dimmel, with Mr. Stachnik and Mrs. McConnell playing their instruments), Grace Craig, my daughter, who sang the National Anthem, the Fiction and Nonfiction candidates (played by Mr. Meaney and Mrs. Wolbert, respectfully), and, of course, the Secret Service (Mrs. Catalino, Mrs. Trivison, and Mrs. Klaben) were present to ensure the safety of our candidates.

Mr. Dimmel conducts the CMS Band

Grace Craig sings the National Anthem

The candidates, with Secret Service protection, eagerly await the results

The results of the election, which was held on Thursday, were revealed. Fiction took roughly 68% of the votes, while nonfiction took the remaining 32%. The candidates each gave their speeches where Fiction revealed that nonfiction is really his favorite, and Nonfiction did the same. They vowed to work together as we all need a balance of fiction and nonfiction in our lives to make us well-rounded readers. The day was capped off with the PTA providing "Parp-sicles" for the students in the new cafeteria. Many of us felt it was the best-themed reading celebration to date. Thank you again to the PTA for all of your help, to the many guest readers that came in to read, to the CMS band for playing at the ceremony, and to everyone else involved.

Kindergarteners cast their votes on Thursday

An excited kindergartener after casting his vote

Fiction giving his acceptance speech

Results of daily polls shown in tens frames 

Bulletin board indicating staff preferences

The Halloween parade will be held today out in the front circle at 2:00 as long as the weather permits. We will not have a parade if the weather doesn't allow for it. Please remember that only those parents who have been contacted by the room parents are to come into the building and into the classrooms. Everyone coming into the building needs to sign in at the main office as always.

This week's words of the day are fragile (M), perilous (T), plot (W), miraculously (Th), and immense (F).

Family BINGO night, which was tentatively scheduled for this Friday, has been postponed until the spring. Next Tuesday, 11/8, is a half-day with an 11:30 dismissal (11:20 parent pick-up.) Next Friday, 11/11, there is no school in honor of Veterans Day.

Our PTA, in conjunction with our Student Council, will again be providing Thanksgiving meals for families in need of some additional help at the holidays. Please let me know if we can help your family at this time.

Have a safe and happy Halloween and a great week!

- Lisa

Elect to Read!

Our two-week Pick a Reading Partner (PARP) Reading Celebration was kicked off this morning in style! Our theme this year is "Elect to Read" to coincide with the presidential election. An assembly was held for the school to promote the reading campaign. East Hill's two candidates are Fiction (played by Mr. Meaney) and Nonfiction (played by Mrs. Wolbert).

As you can see in the pictures below, the Secret Service (played by Mrs. Klaben, Mrs. Trivison, and Mrs. Catalino) came in before the candidates to make sure the area was secure. They stayed throughout the debate to ensure the safety of the candidates.

The candidates then entered the gym. They shook hands, kissed babies, and asked people to vote for them.

The debate then began. Questions were asked by moderator Leslie Holt (played by Mrs. Greer). These questions included:

What is fiction?
What is nonfiction?
What is your idea of the perfect library?
Why should we vote for you?

Candidates each took turns respectfully answering the questions. Over the next two weeks students will be encouraged to read each night, color in a bookmark, and report to their teacher in the morning whether they read fiction or nonfiction the previous night. The results of this daily poll will be depicted on a tens frame chart outside the gymnasium. A calendar is also being sent home today with election-related activities to do as a family. Next Thursday students will enter a voting booth to choose their favorite candidate (fiction or nonfiction) and the results will be revealed on Friday, 10/28 at the closing ceremony. Throughout the two weeks we will also have several guest readers reading to the different classrooms, thanks to our PTA. It's going to be awesome!


This Wednesday, 10/19, is Unity Day. Mrs. Rose has been visiting classrooms this past week to teach students about the purpose of this day, which is to show kindness, acceptance, and inclusion of all and stand together against bullying.

Last Friday we held the official opening of our new playground, complete with a time capsule burial. Among the contents of the time capsule are letters to future students from last year's Student Council, and items that this year's Student Council collected, including a newspaper, yearbook, current magazines, a Nike shoe, local restaurant menus, change, and pictures of a variety of things, including our new playground, current technology, teacher's cars, the school, and the current layout of the school. We had a beautiful day for the ceremony. Dr. Brown was on hand to say a few words to the school. Student Council members really enjoyed helping with the burial, as did Dr. Brown and I. (It was also hat day at East Hill as you will see.)

This week's words of the day are slither (M, 3rd), determination (T, 4th), transport (W, 5th), character (Th, K), and nutrition (F, 1st).

The Halloween Parade will take place in front of the school on 10/31 at 2:00 if the weather allows. If we have poor weather, the parade will be cancelled and parties will take place at 2:15. A letter will be coming home with more details about this day later this week.

Have a great week!

- Lisa

Happy October!

Once again September seemed to go by in a flash. We ended the month on a high note here at East Hill with our PTA's annual jogathon. The weather cooperated for the most part so all of the students were able to run their laps outside.

School Picture Day was yesterday. If your child was absent, they can have their photo taken on the make up day which is November 10, 2016. We will also have group photos and candids taken that day.

Please remember that there is no school on Monday due to Columbus Day. Other dates to remember this month are as follows:

10/17      PARP (Pick a Reading Partner) Two-Week Reading
              Celebration begins
10/18      PTA Meeting, East Hill Library, 6:30
10/19      Book Fair Family Night, 6:00
10/31      Halloween Parade, 2:00 (If there is inclement weather, the
              parade will not take place.)

Next week's words of the day are: symbolize (T, 5th), boasting (W, K), complicated (Th, 1st), and surrender (F, 3rd).

Have a great day!

- Lisa

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