The Disney Digest

Important phone numbers:

Main Office: 585-247-3151

Attendance Office: 585-340-5560

Health Office: 585-247-3177

Email: lamiller@gateschili.org
Website: www.gateschili.org/wds
Location: 175 Coldwater Road, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: 585-247-3151
Facebook: facebook.com/gcwaltdisney
Twitter: @GCWaltDisney

Dear Disney Families,

Don't blink, spring is almost here! From longer days, warmer weather, and solar eclipses, there is a lot to look forward to in our near future.

We are so proud of the growth our students are making academically. By now, everyone should have received their students' mid year i-Ready growth report. This report is one measure of our students' academic progress in both math and in reading. Our goal is for all students to grow one or more years academically in both subject areas. Do not hesitate to contact us directly if you have any questions about your students' academic progress or interpreting their mid-year i-Ready report. Be on the lookout for your students' second progress report of the year. Progress reports will be available for families to access online through SchoolTool in mid-March. We will send out a reminder with directions for accessing academic progress reports in a building update email soon.

Our school events and extra curricular activities are THRIVING! Thank you for all of the support you continue to show our students and our school community. The craft show our PTO hosted in December had over 60 vendors and 1,100 attendees. The BINGO night we hosted earlier this month had over $1,500 in prizes donated from our community partners and 450 attendees. Our PTO profited $3,300 on the event! This money will go a long way towards sponsoring grade-level field trips later this spring. Winter clubs and after school learning lab are currently underway with over 165 students in grades 2-5 participating in these programs. We were able to offer multiple clubs this session based on suggestions from our students. We love seeing the ownership and leadership our students continue to demonstrate in our school community every day.

We are about to launch our school's very first student council in March! Students in grades 3-5 will meet once a month to turn their ideas for making their school the best school ever into action. If your student(s) are at all interested in participating please encourage them to apply. Our goal is to cultivate a sense of leadership and belonging among all of our students.

Please see the rest of our e-newsletter below for additional information and celebrations. Proud to be your principals,

Dr. Z (dtzdanowski@gateschili.org) and Mr. T (cxtavelaris@gateschili.org)

Feb. 19-23: February Break, no school!

Feb 28: PTO meeting, 5 p.m. in library

March 7: WDES PTO Chuck E. Cheese Fun Night, 4-8 p.m.

March 8: Superintendent's Conference Day, no school for students

March 21: Splatter's Paint Night, 5-8 p.m. in our cafe

March 22: GC Pride Day and Dragon Buddies Day

March 26: WDES BOE Presentation at 6:30 pm in the PLC

March 29-April 8: Spring Recess, no school!

April 9: Virtual School Improvement Team Meeting, 5 p.m.

April 16-17: New York State ELA Tests

Earlier this month, we launched our very first One School, One Book program. Our whole school met for an assembly where representatives from each classroom played a series of games pertaining to the theme of the book. At the end of the assembly students were asked to guess what our One School, One Book could be this year from a list of titles. All students, including those in the audience, guessed correctly! Our book this year is Change Sings, by Amanda Gorman.

The following week, students participated in a series of school-wide activities in class and during their lunch. They reflected on the different levels of change they could make (personal, school, and community), they contributed to a school-wide mural, and they engaged in a writing prompt. At the end of the launch week, all students went home with their very own copy of the book.

The last activity each classroom participated in was suggesting one positive change our whole school could focus on. Our new student council's very first task will be to review the suggestions and select one to focus on in the second semester. Stay tuned for more updates about our students' awesome work engaging in this program and making our school a great place to learn.

Consider watching some, or all, of the 29-minute video posted below where Dr. Zdanowski and Mr. Tavelaris present what it means to be a Title 1 school in New York State.

We understand many families want to know what's going on in our school but may not be able to attend meetings during the week after school. That's why we are committing to posting these videos after every School Improvement Team Meeting this year.

Our next virtual school improvement meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26 at 5 p.m. Dr. Z and Mr. T will present and seek feedback pertaining to various facilities improvements that have occurred over the last two years. A link to the meeting will be emailed home to all families the week of the meeting. A video of the meeting will be shared in the next edition of our Disney Digest.

Please consider adding your name and email address to our 2023-2024 mailing list (click here). We use this list to advertise meetings, share minutes, and call for volunteers at school events. Please see the most recent contributions to our school community below. All are welcome to join our Parent Teacher Organization! Recently we...

• Ran a cookie box fundraiser
• Ran our school's BINGO Night
• Began planning for our school's Splatter's Paint Night
• Began planning a potential spring fun run on our school campus
• Began approving funding requests for a field trip to occur at every grade-level this spring
• Supported our school's Dragon Buddies program by pledging to support each classroom pair with money to enhance the activities they are facilitating with our students
• Pledged to support our staff participating in an elementary volleyball benefit for the GC Education Foundation
• Began planning ways to support Disney Dragon Day, our students' end of the year celebration in June

Our next scheduled meeting is Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 5 p.m. in our school library. We hope to see you there!

Anyone can view our meeting agendas, minutes, and budget by visiting our website www.gateschili.org/wdespto.

Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Messerino, Mrs. McCumber, and Ms. Frank have over 70 years of combined teaching experience! They frequently facilitate clubs and learning lab sessions after school. They have worked extremely hard with various curriculum changes this year. They are lifelong learners and always advocating for our students. From all of us in the Walt Disney Elementary School community, thank you for working tirelessly to support our Disney Dragons each and every day.

In February our building's theme is "mindfulness". All grade-levels will be incorporating this theme into their morning meetings, community circles, and Dragon Buddies activities. Check out our K-5 counseling department's one-page newsletter in the link below!