Eagle Express
December 13, 2019
Message From Your Leadership Team
Students to be Dismissed Early on December 20th as Part of a Drill:
Webster Central School District will conduct an Emergency Preparedness Early Release Drill on Friday, December 20. This drill is an annual requirement designed to test the district’s plan for the early dismissal of students. Parents need to be prepared for their students to be dismissed early and arrive home by bus early on December 20. Buses will depart at 2:10 PM and parent pick up will take place at 1:59 PM, effective for Friday, December 20 only . Activity period for 4th and 5th graders will also start and end 10 minutes early on 12/20.
Opportunity to lead a station during Family Literacy Night on January 23, 2020:
We are looking for individuals/families that are interested in helping during our upcoming whole school Family Literacy Night event on January 23rd. Please consider sharing your heritage/culture/interests with our school community and fill out this Family Literacy Night interest survey by Thursday, December 19, 2019.
We will have whole school PJ day on Friday, December 20. We encourage students and staff to wear their pajamas to school on the 20th but please make sure that students are still prepared with sneakers for P.E. as well as outdoor gear for recess. Please take a look at the rest of the newsletter as there is a lot of important news! Have a wonderful weekend!
Warm Regards,
Jen Sullivan (Principal) and Jill Doyle (Assistant Principal)
Important Dates
12/16: NO 5th Grade Chorus Activity Period
12/19: NO 4th Grade Chorus Activity Period
12/20: WHOLE SCHOOL PJ DAY! (All students are encouraged to wear pajamas to school.)
12/23-1/3: NO School (Holiday Recess)
1/6: School Resumes
1/9: PTSA Meeting @ 6:30pm in the Plank South Think Tank Room
1/20: NO School (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
1/23: Family Literacy Night from 6:30-8:00 PM at Plank South
1/24: NO School (Superintendent's Conference Day)
Celebrating Diverse Holidays
In Webster, we draw strength from the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students, teachers, and families. As we enter what is traditionally referred to as the holiday season, we want to be sure that we create the space to learn about how different members of our community celebrate what is important to their cultures and histories. While many of our students and staff celebrate Christmas, we need to acknowledge that each of our families may experience the holiday season differently. This may mean different traditions, meals, and/or observance dates based on their unique backgrounds.
We also know that there are many other ways, occasions, and times of the year that our families celebrate. With that in mind, we are encouraging our teachers to provide students and families with an opportunity to share their important cultural celebrations. We know that our students enjoy learning from each other. Not only does this sharing build community in our classrooms, but it also builds empathy and breaks down stereotypes for our children.
Below are a number of links that you can explore with your children to learn about holiday celebrations from around the world. We encourage families to join us in learning more about each other as we continue to strengthen our One Webster community.
Message From The Health Office
“Tis The Season” for winter illnesses!
The decision to keep your child home from school is not always clear cut. Most often your child will do fine in school with a little encouragement! Here are some guidelines to use in determining whether your child should stay home.
Any condition you think or know is contagious to others.
Fever greater than 100.4 orally. Your child should remain out of school until temperature is less than 100.4 for 24 hours without fever reducing medication.
Your child is too ill, sleepy or lethargic to sit and learn.
Sore throat with fever or lethargy - consult a physician
Honey-crusted sores around the nose or mouth - consult a physician
Headache with fever - consult a physician
Severe ear pain or drainage from the ear - consult a physician
Red eye with itching AND drainage - consult a physician
If your child receives a diagnosis of strep throat, they need to be on antibiotic therapy for 24 hours prior to returning to school.
When calling in an absence it is very helpful to indicate the reason. For example stating strep throat or vomiting is helpful to the nurse for tracking illnesses, stating “sick” gives no significant information.
As always if you have any questions please feel free to call the health office at 670-4054.
Digital Citizenship
PTSA
Open PTSA Coordinator or Co-Coordinator Positions:
There are several positions that we would like to get filled so that the activities can occur this year. If you have any interest, or want to know what kind of commitment is needed for any of the listed activities, please contact Sue Ball (Sball002@yahoo.com), or Jennifer Lega (jennifer.lega@gmail.com)
· Co-Treasure
· Chess Club
· Garden Club
· We are also looking for anyone interested in shadowing our currently School 17 Gift Giving coordinators for open positions needed in future years!
Poetry Day
In an effort to increase equity, encourage creative writing and in response to the feedback we have received about the length of the evening event, we have made some changes to our Poetry Day/Night event.
Here are the pros and cons that we considered when making the decision to change the format of the event:
PROS:
- All students will continue to have the opportunity to build their confidence as public speakers while performing their poem in front of peers and parents
- Students will strengthen their creative writing skills by writing their own poem
- Students have a unique opportunity to be published in our whole school poetry book that will remain in circulation in our library for years to come
- Increase equity for those families that work evening hours (giving families at least one opportunity to participate in a whole school event that is during the school day)
- No more waiting to go on stage/watch your child on stage for 1 minute of an event that lasted over 1 hour
- No more conflicts with evening events
CONS:
- Change is hard!
- Families that work during the day have to take time off to come in
- Students may no longer perform other author's poems
Stay Connected
The School Website: http://www.websterschools.org/plankSouth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlankSouth
Parent Portal: https://websterny.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/webster.jsp (Individuals that need access to their Infinite Campus activation code or have troubleshooting questions should email icportal@websercsd.org)
Remind: For Text Reminders Text @plankro to 81010
Social Worker
If you or another Plank South family is in need of support, please contact our social worker Janet Weisensel, LCSW: 585-670-5980, janet_weisensel@webstercsd.org
Breakfast and Lunch
Check out the menus.