April 2024
Primary Education Center Newsletter
One Purpose. Your Pathway. Our Promise.
Classroom Instructional Design
Dear PEC Families,
Spring has sprung!. The Primary Education Center Staff believe that parental involvement in a child’s educational program is an essential cornerstone for a successful school year. We also recognize that each child has a unique learning style. To nurture your child’s strengths, we will continue to create a dynamic instructional design at each grade level. The following education programs may be implemented at the Primary Education Center next school year:
Traditional Elementary Classroom: Students remain with the same academic teacher for the entire instructional day.
Departmentalizing Model: Students transition to another class for one subject. Teachers specialize in a curriculum area like math and writing.
Co-Teaching Model: Students are in one classroom and are instructed by two teachers for the whole or part of the day.
Looping: This is an educational design or structure in which a whole class stays together for two consecutive years with the same teacher.
*Combined Looping and Departmentalizing is also sometimes an option.
If you need more program information, please contact me at 286-7220. You may also email me with specific information on your child’s learning needs. We place all of our students in classrooms that are balanced in needs across a learning continuum. Although we can not always honor teacher requests, we are interested in placing your child in a classroom design that meets his/her needs. Thank you.
Respectfully yours,
Mrs. Larson
Principal, Primary Education Center
Spring is in the air
It is that time of the year where we are all hoping that the groundhog was wrong and that spring weather will soon be upon us. It is a good time to review our student appearance code with families. Staff members are required to send any violations of this code to their building administrators for review as they act as the final authority on these matters. Students who violate the student appearance code will meet with the building principal or designee to discuss modification of their appearance. Any student who refuses to do so shall be subject to accountability and restorative practices as outlined in the Code of Conduct.
Student Appearance Code
All students are expected to give proper attention to personal cleanliness and to dress appropriately for school and school functions. Students and their parents have the primary responsibility for acceptable student dress and appearance. Teachers and all other District personnel should exemplify and reinforce acceptable student dress and help students develop an understanding of appropriate appearance in the school setting. The school setting is defined as both in-person and online or virtual learning experiences. A student's dress, grooming, and appearance, including hair style/color, jewelry, make-up, nails, body piercings, and tattoos, shall:
1. Be safe, and appropriate, and not disrupt or interfere with the educational process.
2. Recognize that extremely brief and see-through garments are not appropriate.
3. Ensure that underwear is completely covered with outer clothing.
4. Include footwear at all times. Footwear that is a safety hazard will not be allowed.
5. Not include the wearing of hats and headgear (including hoods) in the classroom except for a medical or religious purpose.
6. Not include items that are vulgar, obscene, provocative, libelous, or that denigrate others on account of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
7. Not promote and/or endorse the use of alcohol, tobacco, vaping or illegal drugs and/or encourage other illegal or violent activities.
Tips for Parents from the School Health Office
Many parents ask, “When is my child sick enough to stay home from school?”
This is not always an easy question to answer! We hope that these tips can help!
A child who is sick will not be able to perform well in school and is likely to spread the illness to other children and staff. We suggest making a plan for childcare ahead of time so you will not be caught without a comforting place for your child to stay if he/she is ill.
Please do not send your child to school if he/she has:
- Fever (100.0 or higher) in the past 72 hours (Must be fever free without medication)
- Vomiting in the past 24 hours
- Diarrhea in the past 24 hours
- Chills
- Sore throat
- Strep Throat (must have been taking an antibiotic for at least 24 hours before returning to school)
- Pink Eye – redness, itching & drainage of the eye(s)
- Bad cold, with a very runny nose or bad cough, especially if it has kept the child awake at night
- COVID - follow CDC recommendations. See the Lew-Port website.
- Head lice – until your child has been treated according to the nurse or doctor’s instructions
If your child becomes ill at school and the teacher or school nurse feels the child is too sick to benefit from school or is contagious to other children, you will be called to come and take him/her home from school. It is essential that your child’s school have a phone number where you can be contacted during the day and an emergency number in the event you cannot be reached. 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 child’s teacher immediately.
Please call the school’s Health Office if you have any questions or concerns.
PRIMARY EDUCATION CENTER
Health Office
4061 Creek Road, Youngstown, NY 14174
Phone: 716-286-7225 Fax: 716-286-7855
Remember that in April we are celebrating Arab American Heritage Month and Autism Acceptance Month.
Important dates to keep in mind:
4/9 Eid al Fitr
4/22 Earth Day
4/22 Passover
Anthony Pucillo
Anthony has been nominated by Hugh in Mrs. Winslow class for always following habit 1 – means to take responsibility for your choices and behaviors Anthony is proactive at all times. He is always focused and paying attention in class. He has an I can attitude and listens to directions. Other kids should watch him to see what to do.
Brodie Hedges
Liam Tweedie
Liam has been demonstrating great leadership skills, especially Habit 1 - being Proactive and Habit 4 - Think Win-Win. I have observed Liam in STEAM, Enrichment, the hallway, and his classroom really working hard on being a leader. He has shown such great growth in his proactive habits, especially his circle of control (knowing what he can control and choosing his own weather). He is finding and using great strategies when a roadblock pops up. He has become a good role model and helper for a new student in his class. He demonstrated a win-win mentality when the ice cream prizes were being announced - he heard his brother's class announced and he cheered for his brother! He was happy for him and was not disappointed when his own class was not the winner. I am proud of you and your growth Liam! Keep up the great work!
Getting Started with Parent Portal
If you are a parent/guardian that has not yet had an opportunity to set up your parent portal, please take some time to do so as soon as possible. Having access to parent portal and using the app can be a helpful way to receive important information regarding your child's grades, missing assignments, and other important updates. This is especially true for parents of students in grades 3-12. It can also be used to verify your contact information, as you'll see in the next section. Parent Portal also gives you access to Porfolio + which is a data warehouse that we use to distribute report cards, Aimsweb reports and NYS testing data. To access the parent portal, visit our website and click on the icon that looks like the image you see pictured here on the right.
If you are trying to reset your username or password, there is a link on the sign-in page. Follow the prompts and check your email. Sometimes it may find its way into your spam box. Once you get the email you should be able to reset your account.
If you are new to Parent Portal, you should have received a letter that would give you access codes to get connected. If you did not get that letter, or if you experience difficulty getting signed up, you may call your child's school for assistance.
Click this link to visit the Parent Portal Resource Page on our website. Here you will find everything you need. I have also included some resources for you here:
1. Links to the apps:
PowerSchool App (Google Play Store)
PowerSchool App (Apple Store)
2. Video on how to get set up with PowerSchool (see below).
3. Written instructions are also available here.
*Parents will need a working email address, and a PowerSchool Access Code. This is provided by the school at the start of the year. If you need that information, please contact the main office of your child's school. For the app, you will also need the district code CSXQ.
Updating Contact Information in Parent Portal
Mobile Hotspot
Dear Families:
At Lewiston-Porter we have made a strong effort to ensure that all students have equitable access to digital materials while they're at school and while they're at home. To that end, we have partnered with T-Mobile to offer free mobile hotspots to families that are in need.
If you would like to request a hotspot please complete the form below.