March 15, 2024
From Mrs. Legere
Save the Date
03/15 FAMILY FUN NIGHT 6:00-7:30 at Helendale - Please join us!
03/20 Music in Our Schools Assembly
03/26 Second Grade Fire Safety Presentations
03/27 First Grade Concert 2:00
03/28 Report Cards Come Home
03/28 Spring Picture Day
03/29 Spring Break starts
04/23 HR PTA Meeting 7:00 (Zoom link https://zoom.us/j/98755842313)
Women's History Month -How It Started
Educators in Santa Rosa, California first celebrated Women’s History Week in March 1978 to increase awareness of women’s contributions to society. Organizers selected a week in early March to correspond with International Women’s Day on March 8. Over the next several years, other cities across the country joined Santa Rosa in celebrating Women’s History Week.
In 1980, U.S. President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8 National Women’s History Week, urging everyone in the United States to participate. According to Carter, "too often the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength, and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well."
The week-long event officially became a month-long one in 1987 when Congress passed a resolution designating March as Women’s History Month. Women’s History Month has been celebrated in the United States every March since.
To learn more go to: Women's History Month (nationalgeographic.com)
Concert Time Change
On March 27 Helendale will be holding our first-grade concert. Please note the show for families is now at 2:00. We hope you can join us!
Drop Off and Pick Up Concerns
When picking up PreK students at the end of the day, please remember you must turn left out of the Helendale parking lot onto Westchester Ave. We have many cars turning right and passing buses with lights on, that are loading students. The new county bus patrol cameras can now take pictures of cars passing busses and issue citations. Please make sure you are turning left so you do not receive a citation. They can be avoided!
Also, please note that when the small parking lot by the playground is full, you may not create spots next to the sidewalk and on the grass. It blocks our small bus from dropping off students. Please follow the line of cars on Westchester to pull into the drop off zone, or park on a side street if you would like to walk your child to the front door! Thank you for helping us keep all students safe!
A Look Into Our Learning
PreK
Theme: shamrocks: next week we will begin talking about Spring
Reading and writing: this week we practiced a and g
Math: We are practicing counting and putting numbers in order. We are also practicing matching a group of objects to the correct number.
Social Emotional learning: Ways to play fair, like taking turns, trading toys, and sharing.
Kindergarten: This week we are learning to use the number line to subtract. We are sequencing events om a story and thinking about why story order is so important. "What if the Big Bad Wolf caught and ate the first little pig?" "What if the biggest Billy Goat Gruff crossed the bridge first?" Would the stories be the same?We are writing our own narrative pieces and diving deeper into our weather unit in science.
Identifying Story Elements
Importance of Play
Comparing Coins
First Grade: This week we are doing St. Patrick's day activities, learning about animals' unique features and learning about maps.
St. Patrick's Day fun
St. Patrick's Day fun
St. Patrick's Day fun
Second Grade: This week second grade worked on survey and creating bar graphs using data. In ELA we have been working on first person narratives based on the true Ruby Bridges.
Working with graphs
Community Circle to start the day
Working with charts
Solar Eclipse
New York State will be one of 11 states in the US which falls in the path of totality for the total solar eclipse, happening April 8, 2024. Please remember, students do not have school on that day. Please see the link below for some ways to enjoy the eclipse.
COVID 19 Updates
The CDC and NYDOH has issued new guidance related to isolation after testing positive for COVID 19. Individuals can go back to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both of the following are true: Symptoms are getting better overall, and they no longer have a fever without the use of fever-reducing medication. Please reach out if you have any questions.
REMINDERS
Many parents ask, “When should I keep my child home from school” This is not always an easy question to answer, we hope the information listed below helps 😊
- Fever (temp of 100 or greater) in the past 24 hours. Child must be fever free and not using fever reducing medication (Tylenol, Advil, Motrin) for a full 24 hours before returning to school.
- Vomiting in the past 24 hours (last episode of vomiting 24 hours prior to return to school).
- Diarrhea in the past 24 hours (last episode of diarrhea).
- Sore throat- that is severe or has fever and feeling ill for more than 48 hours.
- Strep Throat (Must be on antibiotics x 24 hours before returning to school).
- Bad cold, with a very runny nose especially if the nasal discharge is discolored or bad cough, especially if it has kept the child awake at night or could disrupt learning.
- Head lice – until your child has been treated according to the nurse or doctor’s instructions- no live lice present (please notify your school nurse and discuss re-entry procedure).
- Eyes- if your child has crusty, runny, or sticky drainage along with redness to the eye your child may have “pink eye” and will need to be cleared by your doctor before coming to school. (Must be on antibiotics x 24 hours before returning to school).
- Unexplained rash/ rash with fever and itching- Need to see primary doctor and have them write a note that student is not contagious with rash and may return to school.
- Impetigo (honey- crusted sores by mouth or nose), Scabies, Ringworm- need to be seen by the doctor and start treatment following doctor instructions (on medication for 24 hours before school re-entry).
If your child has any of the above, they will need to stay home until the symptoms subside or the doctor says it is okay to return. Sending them back to school while still contagious puts other children and staff at risk of acquiring illness.
If your child becomes ill at school and the school nurse feels the child is too sick to benefit from school or is contagious to other children, you will be called by the school nurse to come and take him/her home from school. It is expected your child be picked up within 30 minutes from being called. Please be sure that arrangements can be made to transport your child home from school and that childcare is available in case of illness. If your daytime or emergency phone number changes during the year, please notify your school nurse or main office immediately. Only people you have listed on your child’s emergency list will be allowed to pick up your student.
Attendance Line: (585) 339-1349
Health Office: (585) 339-1349 or email: azaffuto@eastiron.org
(PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE FRONT LOOP OR ON WESTCHESTER SIDE OF THE BUILDING)
Notes From the Nurse
Please make sure to call your pediatrician to schedule a yearly physical if you have not done so already.
New York requires all school age children to be up to date on immunizations. Students have 14 days from the first day of school to have immunizations completed. All children who will turn 5 years of age during the school year will also need to follow these guidelines and have 14 days, starting on their 5th birthday, to have updated immunizations completed.
Please see the attached link and flyer for more information.
If your child needs to have emergency or daily medication here at school, contact the health office for further information. Please do not send any medication in with your child, a responsible adult needs to be present for all medication drop-offs/pick-ups.
https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/immunization/schools/school_vaccines/
Infinite Campus parent portal
School Supplies
Drop Off/ Pick Up
Daily Drop off (see map)
- Students may be dropped off beginning at 9:00 A.M. There is no supervision before 9:00 AM. If a student is dropped off before then, we will contact you and invite you back to pick them up. Thanks for your help with this!
- When dropping off your student, please do not pull into the drop off area until the cars ahead of you pull out. We have had buses unable to turn the corner due to cars blocking the road.
- Please stay in your car if you use the drop off loop. We are happy to help your student get out and into the building. Do not get out of your car, nor should students open the car doors.
- Do not park on Westchester Avenue by the school (other part of Westchester is ok!) Cars pulling into the drop off area should be coming off of Westchester Ave. and not making U-turns.
Daily Pick up (see map below)
- PRE-K - 2nd Graders: We begin the dismissal pick up process at 3:20. Last year, we had the whole pick-up process complete by 3:26. We have a few additional students this year, but the line should still move quickly.
- Due to student safety and supervision, pickups between 2:45 and 3:20 are difficult and would only be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Attendance and Early Pick ups!
Please let the Office know of early pick-ups with a note or a call in the morning of the pick-up. You may also e-mail hr_attendance@eastiron.monroe.edu
Messaging teachers on talking points or e-mail is great, but because teachers are usually teaching or may have substitutes, a note, phone call, or direct e-mail to the attendance line is much appreciated so we don't miss anything!
ID ID ID!!!!!
Toys from home
Students are not permitted to have cellphones or electronic devices during the school day. If you would prefer your student have a cellphone/smartwatch etc.. it will need to stay in their backpack for the duration of the day.
Join the PTA!
There are many chances to be involved at Helendale! The level of commitment is completely up to you! To get started, you may want to join our PTA Facebook page, or reach out to our PTA: helendale.pta18@gmail.com
Visiting Helendale
We love visitors! All classroom visitors must first be approved by their student’s teacher and sign in at the Main Office with their ID.
You are welcome to have lunch with your student on Fridays beginning 9/29. Please see your child's teacher for lunch schedule.
If you’d like to come on a day other than Friday, we are happy to accommodate, we just try to stick to the Friday routine. Please call the main office if this is the case, no worries 😊
Classroom celebrations
At HR we participate in non-food celebrations for most events. Our school does not support bringing in food-related items for classroom celebrations, with occasional exceptions.
Please keep the following suggestions in mind when offering to contribute to a holiday or birthday celebration in your child’s classroom:
· A craft activity
· Reading with your child’s class
· A book donation in your child’s name for the classroom library
· Colorful pencils or markers
· Stickers or other age-appropriate surprisesCode of Conduct
We expect all those on school property to adhere to our code of conduct and values - including visitors and volunteers.
Our Code of Conduct Values and expectations are:
· H - Honesty
· E – Empathetic
· A – Acting Safely
· R – Responsible
· T - Thinkers
Violations to the Code of Conduct and Character are addressed on a case-by-case basis.
Stay Connected!
Email: jlegere@eastiron.org
Website: https://www.eastiron.org/Domain/10
Location: 220 Helendale Road, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: 5853391330
Facebook: facebook.com/helendaleprimary
Twitter: @helendaleschool