Time to Prepare...

-
It's hard to believe that we are already approaching Labor Day and the opening of another school year. The New York State Fair is underway, fall athletics are prepping for their first scrimmages, and back to school shopping sales have been ongoing for weeks. With the excitement of a fresh start and the opportunities that a new school year brings, there are also many stressful times for students and families alike when school re-starts. If your kids are anything like many others during the summer, they have probably been out of a sleeping routine, eating on a different schedule than normal, maybe eating differently than normal, and just plain and simple been enjoying some freedom unbound by a school schedule. Getting back to routines can be a challenge for any child or family. While none of this is new information and we know the challenges of getting back into the swing of things, a simple reminder and some resources never hurts. The article below may have some general information for families as we prepare for the opening of school. Enjoy the remainder of the summer and we look forward to having everyone back in action soon!!


2019 - 2020 Immunization Requirements

This year, the New York State legislature passed a law that no longer allows for the religious exemption for school vaccinations. This law took effect immediately and any student who held a religious exemption must be vaccinated this year for school attendance purposes. The link below will take you to the State Education Department website that outlines the required vaccinations. In addition to vaccination requirements, New York State requires several other health related items for attendance in public school. Some of these items include:
  • Health Examinations required in grades pre K or K, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11.
  • Vision and Hearing Screening required within 6 moths of entering school and in grades pre K or K, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11.
  • Scoliosis Screenings are required for females in grades 5 and 7, and for males in grade 9.
Please speak to your school nurse or family physician if you have any questions regarding any requirements.




Back to School Information

This time of year always brings with it a certain level of stress, anxiety, excitement, and questions. There is a lot of information to process and a lot of new things for our kids and families alike to start any school year. While there are many places and methods to receive information, we have developed a page on the website that has everything you would need. Orientations, open house, transportation routes, calendars, supply lists, and more can all be found by following the link below. Beyond the website, Facebook and Twitter are both good electronic means of information sharing that the district utilizes regularly. 


Here Comes the Bus

One of the best new features we have available this year is a software GPS mapping system called, Here Comes the Bus. Thanks to the technology available with GPS navigation, you can now follow your child's bus from the convenience of your home or smart phone. For more information about the program, including how to download the app and register for the program, please use the link below.


Popular posts from this blog

It Takes A Village...

-
Image
 We all know the old phrase, "it takes a village to raise a child." One can reflect on the phrase and find a few different ways to interpret its meaning, however, it cannot be argued that when groups of people work together to help their children grow, success is more likely. To me, I view this phrase as referencing that there is someone within every community that a child can connect with to help them feel a part of their school and/or community. It may not be their classroom teacher or their principal. It may be a bus driver, a coach, a teaching assistant, secretary, custodian, food service worker, music teacher, art teacher, computer specialist, monitor, etc. The list can go on and on. Why mention this? Well, currently, one of the largest and most important educational research projects in our nation's history is occurring with some of the leading educational experts researching what education needs to be by the year 2025. Education 2025 is producing information that m
Read more

Finish Strong...

-
Image
It is that time of year where many schools, teachers, and students want to "coast" to the finish line. A lot like that NFL team that has their playoff birth locked up weeks before the end of the season so they start resting players to avoid potential injury as the regular season comes to an end; some schools have traditionally modeled this mentality. Difference being is that we are in a race, not a season. In a race, if you let up at the end, your final outcome/product will suffer. Even if you are in first place in the race, you don't slow down as you approach the finish line do you? You don't see the jockey on the thoroughbred pulling on the reins so that the team doesn't set a time record. Those thoughts would be unthinkable. So why do we pull up the flaps at the end of the school year on our kids' learning opportunities. Yes, the weather is nice. Yes, it's been a long year. Yes, we've just made it through State testing and AP testing. But, we only
Read more

I Had A Dream...

-
Image
Once upon a time, when we all began our careers or started a new position/school, we had dreams. Dreams of what we wanted to accomplish, dreams we wanted to see our students accomplish, dreams we wanted to see our school communities achieve. Throughout my travels though, I have seen more adults tell students that should lower their expectations and downsize their dreams. Unfortunately, I would say that the ratio of adults encouraging students and adults discouraging students is close to 1:1 in my career. I ask, would you be where you are today without someone throughout your educational life encouraging you to pursue your dreams? As with many things in our schools, we need to focus on the positives that are happening and capitalize on them. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream for our country, and while his dream was related to equal rights and oppression, his intended message of having a dream and working tirelessly to achieve it can be applied universally in society. Recently,
Read more