The Eagle Express
January 22nd, 2018
From Your Plank South Leadership Team
Plank South Families,
There is lots happening around school this month so be sure to read through this week's newsletter. There is information on electronic report cards, our PBIS Assembly last Friday, Family Literacy Night (this Thursday!), Lego Robotics, the upcoming Science Fair, and more!
For the Calendar!
- Tuesday, 1/23: 2nd and 3rd Grade Chess Club 3:20pm – 4:20pm
- Wednesday, 1/24: 4th and 5th Grade Chess Club 3:20pm – 4:20pm
- Thursday 1/25: Literacy Night 6:30-8:00pm
- Friday 1/26: There is school this day, only grades 9-12 has off.
- Friday 1/29: Second Semester Activity Period starts. Intramurals and Art Club might end or change for your child!
- Tuesday, 1/30: 2nd and 3rd Grade Chess Club 3:20pm – 4:20pm
- Wednesday, 1/31: 4th and 5th Grade Chess Club 3:20pm – 4:20pm
- Thursday, 2/1: Plank South Blood Drive (see flyer below)
- Tuesday 2/6: PTSA Meeting 7:00 pm
- Wednesday, 2/7: Roller Skating – Grade 4
- Saturday, 2/10: Night at the Knighthawks (SAVE THE DATE!!)
- Wednesday, 2/28: Kindergarten Orientation
Warm Regards,
Your Plank South Leadership Team
Scott Wilcox & Jen Sullivan
Electronic Report Cards!
Webster CSD uses the Infinite Campus Parent & Student Portal as a valuable communication tool for all families. You may access your child’s transportation schedule, monitor attendance, report cards, daily schedules, and contact information by logging on to the portal. Important school-related and district-wide messages are also sent through the portal via e-mail, telephone, and text messages, including snow day notifications.
Beginning this year, elementary school report cards, previously shared via the portal and sent home as paper copies, will now be available online only via the portal. No paper report cards will be mailed home to elementary school families in January and in June. After January 25, you can view your child’s report card on the portal by following these steps:
1. Go to https://infinitecampus.webster.websterschools.net/campus/portal/webster.jsp
2. Login using your credentials
3. Select your student
4. On the left hand side, select Reports
Select the appropriate Report (ex. 2017-2018 Q1 Elementary Report Card).
If your child also receives and IEP, ENL, and/or Response to Intervention report you will click on "Campus Backpack" to view those reports.
As a reminder, the portal is a secure, password-protected, web-based program that provides families with an online portal into student information. Parents are only able to view their own child’s information, and students using the portal are only able to view their own information. You may also download the portal app to your electronic device to make monitoring the portal even more convenient. For additional information regarding the portal, you may click on this website's Parent & Student Portal button. If you have never logged on to the portal, please contact ICPortal@webstercsd.org.
If you would like to receive a paper copy of your child's report card, please contact your school’s main office. Should you have any questions or challenges regarding the portal, please contact ICportal@webstercsd.org.
PBIS Assembly
In the fall, teachers completed a social emotional assessment on each child and reviewed the results with their grade level teams, mental health staff and administrators. A common theme that arose from that data was that students across the grade levels were feeling a great deal of anxiety.
At our whole school assembly today the students learned about a variety of ways to cope with anxiety (or nervousness). Twenty five of the third, fourth and fifth graders were brave enough to share a personal story about a time they felt anxious or nervous and how they coped with it.
There were 4 underlying themes that emerged as coping strategies:
Take deep breaths
Be prepared (practice/study ahead of time)
Think positive thoughts
Ask for help
Erica Ebert, the district’s Mindfulness instructor, taught the children about mindful bodies (sitting up straight) and mindful breathing (deep, slow breaths...like inflating and deflating a balloon). We encourage you to talk with your children about times when they feel nervous and help them devise a plan for how they will cope.
Family Literacy Night!!
First Robotics and LEGO!
Dear Plank South 4th and 5th Grade Families
As communicated last fall, Plank South has an opportunity to start a First LEGO League team this year! For those of you who are not familiar with the program, First LEGO League is an alliance between First Robotics and LEGO, where teams of up to 10 students (grades 4-8) develop solutions to challenges based on real world problems. The teams then design, build, and program a robot using the LEGO MINDSTORMS system, and compete against other teams on a table-top playing field to solve the challenge. For more information, see the following link.
https://www.firstinspires.org/ robotics/fll/what-is-first- lego-league
We were fortunate enough to have enough volunteer adult mentors sign up to form two teams at Plank South this year. Each team will meet once a week, starting in February. The weekly meeting times are listed below. The team meeting locations and the date of the first meeting will be communicated by the adult mentors once the teams are formed.
Team 1 - Tuesdays @ 6:30 PM
Team 2 - Saturdays @ 2 PM
The team meetings will run 1-2 hours. The program will run for about 8-12 weeks, and will culminate in a competition later this Spring (date and time TBD) with other off-season teams forming at DeWitt Road Elementary.
If you are interested in signing up your son or daughter for one of the First Lego teams, please use the link below to fill out the-up sign form. Please note that space is limited to about 10 students per team. Teams will be filled on a first come first serve basis. It is highly encouraged that parents of participating students will attend the majority of team meetings, as everyone, including the adult mentors, are learning what First Lego is about.
https://goo.gl/forms/eEgkFqBkHwf9PPpc2
Have a wonderful week!
Jump Rope for Heart!!
Hi Plank South Parents and Families:
If you have questions about how to setup an online account for Jump Rope/Hoops for Heart, please consider: 1) Using last year’s account if you have the username/password (or reset password with e-mail address you used last year), 2) Using the form that was in the newsletter at the following link: https://www.smore.com/3fsa6-the-eagle-express
or 3) Just simply Google “Jump Rope for Heart”, open the site page, click on “Register Now”, Under “Find Your School” type “Plank Road South Elementary”, click Sign Up, and Log In with last year’s username and password, or choose “No, I’m New” and follow the instructions.
If you would like us to help your child set up their online account, please just send in a note with a clearly printed e-mail address you would like the account linked to, and we will send home the username and temporary password once it is set up.
Online accounts are the easiest and best way to help us save lives, and your children will not need to bring any checks or cash later when we hold our event on March 6 and 7. Online accounts have been used at our school for over 6 years and they have proven to be safe and most effective for saving lives. This year there is a free Mobile App as well and that makes it easy to help our effort on Facebook. There are many heart healthy messages for the whole family in this year’s program. Please consider joining our nation-leading lifesaving effort here at Plank South! Thank you! JRFH/HFH Committee
From our Fabulous PTSA!!!
Movie Marathon Day – Thank You!
Movie Marathon Day was a lot of fun! Thanks to all who attended and a special thanks to the volunteers who made this event happen!
Chess Club Begins January 23rd
If you signed up for Chess Club, don’t forget that sessions begin this week.
2nd & 3rd Grade: Tuesday, 1/23 3:20pm – 4:20pm
4th & 5th Grade: Wednesday, 1/24 3:20pm – 4:20pm.
Please pick up your student(s) promptly at 4:20pm.
If you signed up for Chess Club and were placed on the waiting list, Chess Club coordinators will be in touch if a space opens. If you sent a payment in with your application and no space becomes available, the Chess Club Coordinators will return your payment as soon as possible.
Please email Tracy Tan at chessClub.PlankS@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Night at the Knighthawks – Saturday, February 10th
The Rochester Knighthawks welcome friends and families of Plank South Elementary to Connor’s and Ferris Field at the Blue Cross Arena for a PTSA Family Fun Event. The Knighthawks will take on the Toronto Rock. Tickets are $10 per person. The gates will open at 6:30pm, game time at 7:30pm.
Look for a flyer with a sign-up sheet to come home this week.
Updated PTSA Calendar
Visit our website to get a copy of our updated calendar. A few event dates have changed, most notably the date for the Spring Dance. You can get a printable copy here. You can also get the January calendar and Spotlights here.
Please Consider Volunteering
We have several volunteer opportunities and really do need your help.
Our immediate need is for a Yoga Club coordinator. Without a volunteer to coordinate this program, as well as volunteers to help during the sessions, this after-school activity will not happen.
And as always, we still have open coordinator positions this year! Click here for more information or contact Michelle Lowe by email (michelleloweptsa@gmail.com) or phone/text (585.353.0766) to talk about volunteer opportunities.
Thank you!
39TH ANNUAL PLANK SOUTH SCIENCE FAIR
Thursday March 22, 2018
Dear Students and Parents of Plank Road South:
We are pleased to announce that the 39th Annual Plank Road South Science Fair will be held on Thursday March 22nd, 2018.
The purpose of the Science Fair is to promote interest in science related topics. The Science Fair provides the opportunity for all students to have fun while learning a scientific principle. The real reward is the knowledge gained, and in that respect, all students are winners.
All students will receive participant awards and certificates for their projects. Judges will determine winners of each grade level, the Allan Hillier[1] Award (best project, grades K-1), the William Mackenzie[2] Award (best project, grades 2–3), and the Al Sullivan[3] Award (best project, grades 4-5). The Science Fair Committee Representatives will announce and present all awards the morning after the Science Fair. Winners will be asked to bring their projects to school the following Monday for display along with their trophies.
All entry forms must be turned in by Monday February 5, 2018. Titles to projects and parent/guardian e-mail addresses must be included on the entry form to be accepted. Late entries cannot be accepted, as planning and procurement are crucial to the Science Fair’s success. All projects must be dropped off the night before unless prior arrangements have been made.
Here is the link for sign up form
Here is the link for general info
Projects will be judged after school from 3:30PM – 4:45PM. In order to be eligible for judging, all projects must remain in place until the night viewing. Please arrange transportation for your child at 4:45PM on March 22nd. Family and friends are invited back from 7pm – 8pm for viewing of projects. (Please note that doors will be locked until 7:00PM in order to distribute trophies and certificates.) As you leave Thursday evening, all project materials must be taken home with you.
Now is the time to start working – be creative, make it fun and you will learn so much!
Good Luck!!!!