Smith School Newsletter
September 11, 2019
September 2019 Events
9/12 Curriculum and Title I Info Night, 7:00 p.m.
9/17 PTO Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
News from the Principal
Dear Families:
 
Welcome to the inaugural year of F. E. SMITH INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL! We are excited to work with you and look forward to a productive and engaging year of learning. We welcome you as a partner in your child’s education and eagerly share with you the responsibility of ensuring your child’s success.
 
September is a great time to set goals, identify steps towards reaching those goals and establish routines. During these first few weeks, our teachers spend time helping students identify their hopes and dreams for the year, specific learning goals and specific strategies to get there. We encourage you to have similar conversations at home. Ask your child about his/her goals and what might be needed to accomplish those goals. This is also a great time for you to share the hopes and dreams that you have for your child and to establish consistent routines to support their learning.
 
As important as it is for your child to receive a strong education at school, a home environment that encourages reading and learning is crucial to a child’s success. This has a far greater impact on a child’s achievement than family income, family education or cultural background. We encourage you to read with your children, talk about what they are learning and reading about in school and recognize the effort they put into their work.
 
Additionally, to support your child’s success please be sure that your child:
  • Arrives on time (by 8:30 a.m.) and stays in school all day, every day
  • Is well rested and encouraged to put forth best effort
  • Arrives at school with homework completed
  • Practices math facts at grade level and reads nightly
  • Demonstrates safe and respectful behavior before, during and after school
 
Thank you in advance for your support and commitment. Let’s work together for an outstanding school year.
PTO News
Please join us for our first PTO meeting of the year on Thursday, September 19th at 7:00 p.m. in the school library.
Reminders
  • Students may enter Smith School at 8:00 a.m to attend Morning Program and/or breakfast. Parents may attend Morning Program. Please sign in at the office upon arrival.

  • Our instructional day begins at 8:30 a.m. Students arriving after that time are tardy and will need to be signed in at the main office.

  • Doors are locked 8:30 a.m-3:30 p.m. Visitors arriving during that time will need to press the intercom button and wait to be identified by office staff to be permitted building access. Visitors wishing access beyond the main office will need to present identification in the form of a driver’s license or other state issued identification card. The card will be scanned into our Raptor-Ware system.

  • Walkers are dismissed at 3:10 p.m. For their safety, students should go directly home. Please note that students should not be on the playground without adult supervision.

  • Parking is limited. Please adhere to the designated parking areas. Cars should not enter the bus circle. To ensure everyone’s safety, please use the designated crosswalks and crossing guard.

  • Smith Intermediate Curriculum and Title I Information Night – September 12th @ 7:00 p.m. Childcare will be provided.
Meet Our Staff
Sign up for Remind
Directions to sign-up are as follows:
News From The Nurse
School Nurse: Joanne Prezioso
Phone: 758 - 4184
 
Physical Exams
All students in third grade and any students new to the Cortland School District require a current physical exam.  If your child does not have a written physical exam from your healthcare provider, he/she will be scheduled for a physical exam at school.  Physical exams are scheduled every Tuesday morning with Kelly Hirsh, NP.  
 
Immunizations
Under Section 2164 of the New York State Public Health Law, all children entering and attending school must be immunized.  It is the responsibility of parents to provide proof of immunization for their child to the school.  Proof of immunization is required by the fourteenth calendar day, Thursday, September 19th, 2019. After that date, children without proof of immunization will not be allowed to attend school until his/her immunizations and records are brought up to date.  For a detailed listing of the immunizations required or if you have any questions, please contact our school nurse.
 
Head Lice
Head lice is a common and chronic problem in schools.  We want to inform you of this so that you can check and monitor your child for any signs of lice.  If you discover that your child has lice, treat their hair and comb daily with a nit comb for 21 days and inform the school.  Please call the nurse with any questions.
 
Clothing
Please wash and return any clothes borrowed from the nurse as soon as possible.
Positivity Project
During the 2019-20 school year we are continuing a school-wide program called The Positivity Project, otherwise known as P2. The Positivity Project is dedicated to helping youth build stronger relationships by recognizing character traits in themselves and others. Throughout the school year, the students will be learning about 24 character traits that are already a part of each one of us. Each week we will focus on one particular character trait which will be taught and reinforced in classrooms and throughout the school. Through the development of these character traits students will learn to develop positive relationships with others and acknowledge that other people matter.  

We would love for you to take an active role in your child’s character strength education. By using the character strengths vocabulary and having discussions about the concepts, you will help your child better understand his/her own character and the positive character traits in others. If you are interested in finding out your own character strengths, you can go to http://www.viacharacter.org  to complete a free survey. 

Follow us on twitter @CECSD_Smith to see the program in action or visit our school website. There is a large social media already established nationwide, so we encourage you to search Positivity Project online to learn more and see how other districts are implementing the program. You will receive information and updates throughout the school year to keep you posted on all our Positivity Project activities and events. You can receive weekly reminders of the P2 character trait by signing up through the remind app at https://www.remind.com/join/f46a7f  or by texting the following message: @f46a7f at the number 81010.
Fuel for Learning
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In an effort to ensure that all students are afforded an optimal learning environment, The District is participating in the Community Eligibility Provision of the The Healthy and Hungry Free Kids Act which is a federally-funded program. Breakfast and lunch will be provided at no cost to all students in grades Kindergarten through twelfth grade. We ask that families still complete the application for free/reduced meals. This information is used in conjunction with our federally funded programs.

Breakfast is served daily beginning at 8:00 am. A typical breakfast may include a choice of cereal or muffin, juice, milk and fresh fruit. Lunch menus are published monthly. Each lunch includes meat/protein, vegetable, starch/bread, fresh fruit or dessert and milk. Children may also choose to bring a lunch from home.  

A la carte options will still be available for elementary school students which can be purchased using cash or their My School Bucks account.
Student Dress Code
An area in which we need your assistance is the student dress code. Please be advised that students wearing inappropriate clothing will be asked to remove or change the item in question. The District Student Code of Conduct provides a more detailed explanation. Additionally, you should have already received a copy Dress Code Plain Language Summary.

Some popular clothing items which are prohibited include, but are not limited to: shirts with spaghetti straps or those which expose bare midriffs, tube tops or halter tops; brief shorts and skirts. We also ask that students refrain from wearing pants/shorts with writing on the seat. 

All forms of headwear are prohibited unless they are worn for religious purposes or to participate in a sporting activity. This includes but is not limited to, baseball caps and handkerchiefs. When choosing footwear, keep in mind that elementary children are active. Children should be able to walk/run comfortably in the footwear and it should help to protect their feet from injury.  Flip flops/sandals are not permitted at recess.

Please assist your child in making appropriate clothing choices .
Volunteering at School
Please be advised that anyone wishing to volunteer and/or attend school field trips will be required to complete a volunteer application form and receive approval from the district. Volunteer application forms are available in the main office and/or from your child's teacher.

Thank you for your assistance with this process.
Public Library
Offerings

School
Lunch Menu 
Get Social With Us @CECSD_Smith
  Stay tuned for our newsletter next month!