February Update

Happy Valentine’s Day! It is wonderful to see such a considerable amount of red and pink being worn today by staff and students in the spirit of the day.  In addition to Valentine’s Day, there is a lot of energy in the building this week with Twin Day on Friday and our Winter Recess next week. It’s a great week to be a Wildcat!

Parent Resources

I always try to share any information that I think will be beneficial to parents and community members. Throughout the year I have written about the new Common Core Learning Standards, assessments and some of the other initiatives that we are in the midst of. Remember, I like to use the word improvement rather than change as change sometimes brings with it a negative connotation. A resource that I think will be helpful for parents as we work through this improvement process is the Common Core Toolkit for Parents and Families. It is a collection of materials and resources that will help parents and families understand the New York State education reform initiatives and how the changes will help your child graduate from high school ready for college and careers. Check it out and please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. It truly is a terrific resource!

http://engageny.org/parent-and-family-resources



 Student Success

Congratulations to our very own eighth grader Brennan Costello who finished as runner-up in the Post Standard Central New York Spelling Bee. She lasted 19 rounds and went head-to-head with the eventual winner who moves on to Washington D.C. for the National Spelling Bee.  Brennan is now proofreading all correspondence that leaves my office.

Library Traffic

Since the beginning of the school year our library has loaned out over 4,800 book and magazines! In addition, the library has a continual flow of students and classes coming in for a variety of research projects throughout the day, every day. With the new CCLS and a focus on the six Shifts in ELA/Literacy, our library is at the heart of supporting our students and staff with those efforts.

PE students getting some outdoor exercise

I am hoping that all of our students and staff have a wonderful and relaxing break from school next week. Whether we have a winter warm-up or a blast of arctic air this week, get outside and stay active. Grab a good book or some magazines that interest you and keep your mind engaged as well. As always, thank you for your ongoing involvement and support of our students and staff.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham