Smith Intermediate School
Newsletter, March 2023
Upcoming Events:
March 9 Imagination Celebration @ SUNY Cortland 4 - 7:30 pm
- March 14 BOE Mtg. @ Smith
- March 20 Prof. Development Day - No School for Students
- March 23 2nd Trimester Report Cards
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News from the Nurse
Physicals
All 3rd graders must have a physical exam done and on file at school.
School physicals are available Wednesday mornings. Or, make an appointment with your doctor and ask them to fax a copy of the physical to the school.
Reminders
Pack an extra pair of pants for accidents, spills, mud or snow.
Return borrowed clothes to the nurse.
Check your child’s hair for head lice, treat as needed.
Dress for winter weather & outdoor recess.
If your child is sick, please keep your child home.
Please do not send a sick or injured child to school with the intention that they will be diagnosed and treated by the nurse. Our school nurse is not a medical diagnostician.
Any child displaying the symptoms of fever, vomiting, diarrhea, undiagnosed rashes, sore throat, ear pain, productive cough or wheezing, drainage from wounds, redness or drainage from eyes should not come to school until seen, diagnosed and treated by their personal physician.
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Report Cards
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News from Mrs. Hegedus, the K-6 School Counselor
In 4th grade we are about the importance of managing strong emotions. We are looking at how these emotions can affect our thoughts and our actions.
In 3rd grade we have been finishing up our lessons on responsibility and starting to discuss tough feelings and what students need when they have these feelings.
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Positivity Project
Smith Intermediate students have been busy learning about the Positivity Project's Other People Matter Mindset (OPM), and the character strengths that help us develop and maintain positive relationships with others. Last month we learned about; Integrity, Love, Humility, and OPM- Cheering Others' Success. This month we will focus on; Enthusiasm, Social Intelligence, Love of Learning and Humility.
You can learn your character strengths by taking the quiz at: https://www.viacharacter.org/character-strengths.
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Kiwanis PBJ Drive
Thank you to all who supported the Kiwanis PB&J drive this year! Thanks to your efforts and donations, we collected over 560 jars of peanut butter & jelly, with over 300 coming from our schools!
PB&J was distributed to food pantries throughout Cortland County including: The Backpack program at CAPCO and BOCES, The Purple Pantry at the JSHS, The Cortland Cupboard at SUNY Cortland, Helping Hands in the County Office Building, Loaves and Fishes, Harmony Methodist Food Pantry, McGraw United Methodist Food Pantry, Marathon Food Pantry, Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army.
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News from the Art Studio
I’m happy to announce the Imagination Celebration, a student art show, which celebrates student artists in grades K - 12 within Cortland County. It is a true honor to be selected as there is only a limited number of student art work each teacher is allowed to submit. Those students have been notified, it was incredibly difficult to make those choices. This year's Imagination Celebration will be held at Dowd Fine Arts Gallery, located on SUNY Cortland's campus. The address is Dowd Fine Arts Center, 48 Graham Ave, 106 SUNY Cortland, Cortland, NY 13045.
The show will be open to the public Monday - Friday, March 6th - April 14th from 10:00 a.m. through 5:30 p.m., except the week of March 13 due to SUNY Cortland’s Spring break. There will be an Opening Celebration, which will be held on March 9th, 2023 from 4:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.to honor the student artists whose work was chosen. There will also be the Empty Bowls event during this time, which is an annual sale of handmade ceramic bowls made by Cortland County students as well as teachers! All proceeds go to Cortland’s Loaves and Fishes in an effort to help fight hunger in our community. Please consider supporting this cause.
As for our own Smith art show, on April 20th, each art student will have at least 2 pieces of art displayed in this fabulous event showcasing the talent of our young artists! Please save the date!
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District Prism Concert
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PE News
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Winter Fun
Fourth graders learn to ski at Greek Peak
Third Graders learn to skate at JM McDonald Center
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News from the library!
4th grade is beginning to finish up their research projects. They are learning how to summarize and build a complete paragraph using the information they found from our databases.
3rd grade is learning about nonfiction call numbers and how we sort them using numerical order. We practiced this skill through a few ordering games and are wrapping up with finding these books in the library catalog and on the shelves.
Don't forget to keep your books in a safe place away from food, drinks, and other hazards that can damage them!
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Smith PTO News
Thank you for attending and supporting our annual Book Fair. Special thanks to those who volunteered to work the event.
Likewise, thank you to those who have supported the Schoolstore.com fundraiser. Remember that you can support our school year round using the Schoolstore.com site. SchoolStore.com is an online shopping mall where over 400 nationally-known online merchants have agreed to give a percentage of sales to K-12 schools. Companies like Walmart.com, DisneyStore.com, and Best Buy participate. SchoolStore is a great way to support your school when you shop at your favorite online merchants.
Upcoming:
Teacher Appreciation Luncheon - Volunteers needed.