February Events
2/01
Twenty Week Report Cards Go Home
2/03 PTO Pancake Breakfast
2/04 PTO Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
2/18-2/22 Winter break
2/28 Variety Show/Dessert Night, 6:30 p.m.
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Family Engagement Survey
Recently letters were sent sharing information about the district's
Family Engagement Survey.
We hope you received the information about our continuing school improvement efforts and will take a few minutes to share your feedback by completing the 25 question survey. Surveys provide information which we use in the decision making and planning processes as we begin to prepare for the upcoming school year.
The survey will be open through
February 22, 2019
. Your response to the survey is very important.
Please take ten to fifteen minutes and share your ideas, experiences and feedback!
**Paper copies of the survey are also available at your child(ren)'s school. If you prefer to complete the survey on paper, please ask for a copy from the building office.
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Kindergarten Registration/Screening Dates
Steps to register your child:
- Child must be 5 on or before December 1, 2019. Children who turn 6 before December 1, 2019 must attend school.
- Parents are urged to call (607)-758-4106, prior to April 20, 2019, to make a registration/screening appointment and to receive a pre-registration packet.
- All students must have an appointment prior to the school registration/screening dates listed below!
ALL screenings will take place at Barry Primary School
Current dates for screenings:
- Thursday, June 27, 2019
- Friday, June 28, 2019
- Monday, July 1, 2019
There will be a Kindergarten Meet and Greet in the month of May.
- This is an event for parents AND their entering kindergarten student.
- There will be activities for students and students/families will get to meet all of our kindergarten teachers and other staff members
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Instrument Recruitment
The 3rd grade instrument recruitment process has started in each of the elementary schools! It is an exciting time for our 3rd graders to pick their instrument. Our elementary instrument teachers have been very busy getting started with the 3rd Grade Recruitment!
The Cortland Instrumental Process
First, music teachers have a recruitment assembly at each of the elementary schools. The teachers demonstrate each instrument the students can choose from and let the students ask questions about the instruments and the process. Next, students bring home the instrumental sign up sheet. Then as the teachers are able to schedule our new recruits, they travel to each school for a series of hands on days. The hands on day is when the students get to try out and get to play each instrument of their choice.
Read more...
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Physical Education Student Practice Gymnastics
Students at Parker Elementary School are learning about the different elements of gymnastics including the balance beam, uneven bars, parallel bars, floor, and vault. All of the students get the chance to explore each station before rotating to the next.
Luke Schweider, physical education teacher at Parker Elementary School, encourages students to push themselves and keep trying. On January 15th Luke said, “the class was focusing on perseverance which was our character strength for this week. If a student could only climb to the first or second knot in the rope, I would challenge them to try to get to the third knot. I am proud to see the kids keep trying! Thanks to the Cortland Public Education Foundation (CPEF) we have a new set of uneven bars for the kids to challenge themselves on.”
Read more...
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Fourth Graders Performs With Ithacapella
On January 16th, fourth graders from across the district united for an exciting musical experience! The fourth graders came together to present a combined concert with the college a cappella group Ithacappella, for community members, staff and parents. This concert, was a collaborative effort of the music teachers in all five elementary schools.
Virgil elementary music teacher, Jonathan Keefner said, “When our team of music teachers met during collaboration time, we saw an opportunity to create community through music during a transition period where community will be more important than ever."
Ashley Merritt, student at Randall School said, “I really enjoyed this performance. During the last rehearsal we had Ithacappella come and give us some advice on how we can make our performance better. Ithacappella also showed us how to beatbox which was really cool!”
Read more...
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First Graders Learn About Astronomy
First graders in Mrs. Canestaro’s class learned about Astronomy this past month! Students had the opportunity to recreate constellations discussed in class onto the windows in the classroom. On our final day, first graders got to paint a planet that resembled one of the eight planets in our solar system, try to use their imagination to build their own constellations like the Ancient Greeks did, and they got to act out the parts of the Sun, Moon, and Earth and how each celestial body moves in the solar system. Students had such a great time learning fun facts about all that is above and around us!
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Fifth Graders Learn About Helping Bullying Victims
Fifth Grade students read an article about how they can help when someone is being bullied. They used what they learned from the article to write an opinion essay to inform others about steps they can take to stop a bullying situation.
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Library News
In the library 5th & 6th graders are creating public service announcements for 3rd & 4th graders about what to T.H.I.N.K about when being a Digital Citizen. They are using their new Chromebooks and WeVideo, cloud-based online video editing software, to create a 1 minute video.
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Mrs. Snyder's Math Minute
Who doesn’t love Legos? Have you ever thought to use them in the context of fractions? When we add and subtract fractions, the reason we need a common denominator is because we need to make
same
sized
pieces. In this example, the big, orange piece is representing 1 whole or 8/8. The green piece next to it is 4/8 (or ½) and the blue piece next to it is 2/8 (or ¼). We could add the green piece and the blue piece together by thinking about it like 4/8 + 2/8 to make 6/8 (or ¾). Legotastic!
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News From the Nurse
All children entering
6th grade
in September 2019 must show documentation for the Tdap vaccine and Varicella Vaccine. Proof of the Tdap vaccine and two doses of the Varicella vaccine means medical documentation of having received the tetanus Diphtheira and Pertussis vaccine and two doses of the Varicella vaccine signed by your health care provider.
The nurse will require verification of having had the Tdap vaccine before the first day of school.
There is a new requirement from NYS. All children entered
7th grade
in September 2019 must show documentation for having had the Meningococcal vaccine. Proof of the vaccine means medical documentation of having received the vaccine and signed by your health care provider.
The nurse will require verification of having had the Meningococcal vaccine before the first day of school.
Plan ahead now to get your child vaccinated.
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Our public library has many
offerings!
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Stay Tuned for Our Newsletter Next Month! #WeAreCortland
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