Notes from East Hill Elementary

Dear East Hill Elementary School Families,

We had a wonderful second week of school! On Thursday we practiced 2 fire drills and our students did an AMAZING job! Next week (weather dependent) we will continue to practice these drills. These drills are essential to ensuring the safety of all staff and students. We encourage you to talk with your child about the procedures and protocols we practice.

Our Grade 4 students were treated to an incredible performance by the Grammy and Emmy award-winning string trio, Time for Three at the WGHS! The performance was engaging and inspiring for our Wildcats!

I would like to thank all those who attended our first PTA meeting of the year, which was on Tuesday! It’s always exciting to see new and returning faces, and the door is open for any parent interested in supporting our Wildcats through this important organization.

Just a friendly reminder that our buses are running on time in the morning and cars are coming into the bus loop at approximately 9:05 with our arrival ending at 9:10. Anyone arriving after that time will need to park their vehicle and sign their student in.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Susan Meskos

Troy Savage, Nolan Hawley, Evelyn Ames, Darina Dorofeeva, Logan Maxwell, Luca Teal, Ellie Boddy, and Maura Maule

Thank you to all of you who have joined the PTA! If you haven't had a chance yet, please do! We'd appreciate your support and would love to meet you at a meeting or one of our events-- please come and introduce yourself!

Some have questioned what the dues are for. Our PTA receives $2 from every membership and the rest goes to our state and national PTA, who use that to advocate on behalf of children and educators at the local, state and national levels. Although we don't get a lot from membership, it's still a great way to show support for the programs that we do throughout the year.

Follow us on Facebook to get the most up to date information from us!

As we return to school in the new school year we would like all Wildcat families to review our policy regarding electronic devices. Our elementary policy regarding such devices reads:

"Personally owned electronic games and devices, such as cell phones, CD players, iPods, remote control cars, hand-held video games etc., must be off and away throughout the school day. These items can be lost, stolen, broken and are a distraction. The school cannot and will not be responsible for these items. Please help us by keeping them at home."

Students who violate this policy may be subject to the following disciplinary sequence:

First Report:

The student will receive a warning.

Second Report:

Parents will be notified.

Third Report:

The device will be taken away and a parent/guardian will be required to pick it up.

Please note at this time all apple watches or similar devices are allowed but are not to be used for anything other than telling time and must not be a distraction, during school hours. These watches or similar devices will follow the same reports above if they are a distraction and/or being used inappropriately.

Staying connected is key to ensuring a successful school year for our Wildcats. Here are a couple of important ways to stay in the loop:

• Check backpacks and folders nightly: Classroom teachers send home valuable information and communication through this method. We don't want you to miss out on any important updates, so please make it a habit to review these each evening.

• Get ParentSquare up and running: This platform is essential for receiving regular communication from both the classroom and the building. It’s also where you’ll get time-sensitive messages when needed. If you have any questions or concerns about ParentSquare, please email us at easthill@westgenesee.org.

• Daily Routine: Please be sure to send you child to school each day with a water bottle and a snack. Students also need a change of clothes and sneakers for gym. Also, be sure to LABEL ALL ITEMS, you will be glad you did!

By staying connected, we can ensure a smooth and successful school year for everyone!

Starting Monday, September 16, 2024, you can submit your child’s absence reason through ParentSquare. You must wait for a notification from ParentSquare (via text, app notification or email) confirming your child’s absence before providing the reason.

You have until the end of the school day to submit the reason via ParentSquare. If you miss this deadline, please contact the school directly or send a note with your child.

From the Website:

• Click “Send Note to School”

• Enter the reason for the absence

• Click submit to send it directly to your school’s attendance office

From the App:

• Click “Send Note to School”

• Enter the reason for the absence

• Click submit to send it directly to your school’s attendance office

*Please note the notifications times:

• Grades 5 - 12 - 8:45 - 9:00 AM

• Grades K - 4 - 10:30 - 10:45 AM

Click here for a printable version (PDF) from the website.

To respond to an attendance notification and submit a note, you need to be logged into ParentSquare as a registered user. We’ll send another email invitation this weekend to parents who haven’t registered yet. Please check your spam/junk folders if you don’t see it in your inbox.

Did you know that you can be contagious with an illness without knowing you are sick? In some cases, you can be contagious up to seven days after showing symptoms! Keep yourself, your family and our community safe with the below guidelines and recommendations from the CDC (Center for Disease Control). Cold and flu season is on its way, let's be healthy together!

Picture day will take place on Tuesday, October 15. You can pre-order today on mylifetouch.com with the Picture Day ID code: EVTDJW7SD.

This week the 2nd graders solved "book crimes" to learn about how to take care of our books!

We are pleased to announce that all students enrolled at West Genesee CSD will be able to continue to receive one FREE breakfast and one FREE lunch meal per day at school.

This initiative was implemented in December 2023 and was a result of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) expanding access to the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). CEP allows eligible schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to offer school meals at no charge to all students.

Snacks and ice cream are an additional cost.

• Chips $1.00
• Cookie $1.25
• Ice Cream $1.50
• Rice Krispie Treat $1.25
• Fruit Roll Up $1.00
• Milk $.75

For any and all information pertaining to breakfast and/or lunch, including the process of MySchoolBucks please visit the district's food service website!

• September 27 - Jog-A-Thon! Wear Blue and Gold!
• October 2 - Board of Education Meeting - 6 pm (WGHS Library)