Dear Families,
Congratulations and thank you to everyone for such an incredible ONE POCO NIGHT! It was an all-time high turnout – maybe 250+ people?! And with more cultures so proudly represented than I could even count. Just amazing. This is exactly the type of community spirit that makes Pocantico so uniquely special. If I didn’t get to your table to enjoy your offerings and express my sincere appreciation of you, please forgive me!
We’d love to hear YOUR thoughts on the night as well, plus any new ideas, suggestions or enhancements you might have – here is a quick survey to share your thoughts with us!
https://forms.office.com/r/Zsu5zBfTsZ
NEXT FRIDAY IS “WEAR RED DAY”
In recognition of American Heart Month and to raise awareness of heart health, this coming Friday is “Wear Red Day.” It isn’t on our wall calendar, so we wanted to let you know here!
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
February is also Black History Month! We continue to work on scheduling special events and building classroom activities that celebrate achievements and recognize their central role in US history.
CULINARY CLUB POPULARITY
Due to the overwhelming response to the 3rd-6th Mini-Culinary Club popularity, please know that we’ll be looking to creating additional culinary club offerings, so if you missed out, don’t worry – there will be more later this winter/early spring.
PTA-SPONSORED MOVIE NIGHT
Next Friday is our first PTA-sponsored movie night of the year – Minions! A flyer is attached with details. This is not a drop-off event – parents must accompany their children.
EDUCATOR/PARENT MOVIE SCREENING - “LIKE”
On January 31st at 7pm EST, iMPACTFUL – a creator of films for schools, businesses, and non-profits – is offering a free screening of the documentary “LIKE” for educators and parents. This movie discusses the impacts of social media on our lives and the effects of technology on our brain. Technology can be a very powerful tool, but there is always a balance, and this documentary seeks to understand and address the struggle to find our balance in our virtual and real worlds.
· Click here for a link to register
· Additional information from iMPACTFUL, including the trailer
JPK REGISTRATION FOR 2023-2024 – IT'S ALREADY TIME!
Registration for our full- day Junior Pre-Kindergarten (JPK) Program for the 2023-24 school year is open! In order to help us plan, we ask that if you have an eligible child, you register before FEBRUARY 28.
Eligibility for JPK (3s Program): Child must be 3 years of age on or before December 1, 2023.
Please use the link below or the QR code to go to our District’s website to register.
· Tinyurl.com/PocanticoRegistration
Early Childhood programming provides opportunities to get to know the needs of children from an early age and allows us to improve student outcomes by teaching preschool students the school readiness skills that will help to ensure their success. These skills include social, self-regulation, numeracy, language, and early literacy skills. Early childhood programs also provide opportunities to support family engagement by strengthening parent-child relationships and supporting families in learning about their child's development. Most importantly, this will be a fun, engaging, and wonderful experience for your children, providing a strong educational foundation and a love of learning.
Our program's first year has already been extremely successful, with positive feedback from the community. Most importantly, our students are thriving and happy to come to school! We are excited to see what our second year has in store for us!
ELMSFORD SPRING TEE BALL – PRE-K and K
Elmsford Little League Spring Tee Ball registration is open until FEBRAURY 2nd for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children. It’s a great way for boys and girls to build early skills and learn sportsmanship and teamwork – don't miss out! We’ve attached flyers at the end of this newsletter, and the link is here: https://www.elmsfordlittleleague.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1875186
UPCOMING EVENTS AT ROCKEFELLER
If you’re interested, we’ve attached the February calendar of events being hosted at Rockefeller Park, including several fun kid-friendly activities!
COVID HOME TEST KITS STILL AVAILABLE
There is still plenty of general winter sickness around us, especially coming off of the holiday break. Please pay extra close attention to symptoms of flu or COVID, and If you’re in need of COVID home test kits, even if just to have in your closet, please reach out to Nurse Juliet and we can send home some boxes in your child’s backpack. We have plenty to share with you.
DIGITAL EQUITY SURVEY
If you haven’t participated yet, the New York State Education Department is still asking parents/guardians to complete a Digital Equity Survey (*for each student in the family*) in grades Kindergarten - Grade 12. This survey will provide information on student access to devices and internet access at home. To access this survey, log onto the eSchoolData Parent Portal and follow these instructions. Please complete one survey for each child in the family and make sure to answer every question in the survey. Click here for information from the New York State Department of Education regarding this survey. Thank you!
NOTES FROM THE PTA:
The PTA just got word from Amazon that they are winding down their AmazonSmile program by February 20, and wanted you to be aware of this as you go forward.
Below is the link to the video recording of the most recent PTA meeting. If you watch it, SKIP the first three minutes, which are muted. The rest is great!
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/nKVBCIo9EuOeeNf9vUvyxu_CgEhUErEJLTXMEG7b8c-HeoYbvVCOu9KXfxOt9YFS.PcEHhK9k2cDizto4
Passcode: tsgr6cI?
Enjoy your weekend!
Adam
