Weekly Stony Brook Update

Dear Stony Brook Families,

This week we celebrated our two January Students of the Month at a school board meeting (see below) and more second graders went swimming. Yesterday I was able to join Mrs. Stank's class at the pool. The children had so much fun learning or practicing their swimming skills. You could see their confidence grow in just one session. They had being together in a way that is different than their everyday school experience. Thank you to our second grade teachers and volunteers who help make this experience a success.

Speaking of success, we are seeing much academic success in the classroom. Each January, we complete "sweeps". This a time where we "sweep" the building and every child is assessed one on one with an adult in reading and math. You can really see the growth that students have made from the beginning of the year until now. Their minds are like little sponges absorbing new information every day.

We are continuing to collect food items for the Panther Pantry. Please see the information below to find out more. There is no school on Monday as we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The students will learn more about Martin Luther King, Jr. at our next community meeting later this month. Your child is invited to wear his/her Stony Brook R.O.A.R. shirt for our meeting on January 24th.

Have a great weekend,

Kelly Harper, Ed.D.

Principal

Each month, Stony Brook honors two Students of the Month. The Students of the Month are chosen not only for following R.O.A.R., but also for demonstrating our district's core values of character, perseverance, accountability, community, and excellence. This month I am pleased to announce our January Students of the Month - Sadie Duffy and Drake Lohss.

Sadie is a student with a true heart of gold. In fact, she often shares how very special her heart is because of medical complications with her heart throughout her life. She models beautiful character as she demonstrates empathy and kindness to everyone she encounters. She notices the little things in people and seems to always know what someone needs to hear to brighten their spirits. Sadie recognizes the importance of honesty and will be quick to accept responsibility for her actions. Sadie is gentle and tender-hearted and through her compassion towards others Sadie represents what we need more of in this world…a whole lot of love and acceptance! She touches our hearts every day.

Drake always comes to school with a smile ready to learn. Drake is very welcoming and supportive of everyone at Stony Brook. He has empathy for his classmates. Drake is always willing to lend a helping hand or share his school supplies. He is very proud of his academic achievements, and he applauds others when they succeed. While Drake demonstrates the core values of character and community, he also deserves the title of hero. Last month while eating lunch in the cafeteria, Drake noticed that a fellow classmate was having a medical emergency. Drake provided immediate help to his friend then quickly alerted an adult. Drake’s amazingly quick thinking and actions allowed his friend to receive immediate medical intervention and care. We are so proud of you, Drake!

All second graders get to enjoy swimming at our high school pool. While at the pool, they learn basic water safety skills and rules.

Thank you, Stony Brook PTO, for bringing the planetarium to our school! Last week, each class participated in a planetarium assembly where they learned about constellations and space.

Every third Tuesday of the month, Central York families are able to go to the Middle School to get non-perishable food items & other household supplies. During the month of January, Stony Brook is collecting items to stock the pantry. Our goal is to collect 500 items since we have approximately 500 students in our school. The following is a list of items needed:

• Canned Vegetables
• Canned Fruit & Applesauce
• Canned Soup
• Cereal & Oatmeal
• Macaroni & Cheese
• Peanut Butter
• Jelly
• Bagged or Boxed Rice, Pasta, Potato Sides
• Pasta Sauce
  

Donations can be sent to school with your child or brought to the main office by the end of the month. Thank you for helping families in CYSD. It is wonderful when Panthers can help other Panthers!

The CYSD Diversity Celebration is being held on February 12 from 6:00-8:00 at the high school. This event is a chance to highlight the unique experiences, perspectives, and cultures within our community. The event will feature school and community tables to explore, a selection of international treats to enjoy, and a special presentation beginning at 7:15 PM, where students and staff will have the opportunity to share "their story" through a variety of formats, including performances and spoken word.

This year, the Diversity Celebration Committee is seeking more involvement from students in the K-6 buildings to participate in the celebration by sharing their stories, artwork, and other talents in the celebration of diversity and inclusion. Students and staff can write a story about their specific culture, family traditions, journey to Central, their native language, and learning English as a second language. Participants can read their own stories or choose someone else to read. In addition, students can present their culture-related artwork, songs, and/or dances at the celebration.

Please use this link to sign up: https://forms.gle/VTfgAcmbh6tnmTUS8

Happy Friday SB Families!

On Friday, February 7 Stony Brook will be celebrating our annual Friendship Day! This day consists of individual class parties and school-wide activity stations in the gym/cafeteria. Keep your eyes open for emails from your student’s teacher and/or room parent with class party volunteering information, as well as information on bringing Friendship Day cards for classmates.

We need lots of volunteers to help with our activity stations! If you have a child in the following classes, please considering signing up to help as we are currently very short on parent volunteers for these classes: Etter/Kilbride/Sleeth/Zeigler/Walker/Buford (10:25-11:35 am), and Linsey/Sweitzer/Smith/Wolfgang/Payne/Shiflet/Tschopp (1:50-3:00 pm). Sign up here: ttsu.me/ymhvsz

Save the date for our February dine out night- February 6 at Red Robin in East York! More information will be sent home in the coming weeks!

If you plan to volunteer for any of our PTO events, you will need to register/renew your CYSD volunteer badge:https://www.cysd.k12.pa.us/our-district/human-resources/clearances

We encourage parents and caregivers to follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/stonybrookpto) as this is where you will get the most timely updates on volunteer opportunities, school events, and more.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Brittany Strine

Stony Brook PTO President

brittanystrine@aol.com

717-858-2104

Annual Notices

Breakfast/Lunch Menus

Free and Reduced Meal Program Forms

Community Flyers

Stony Brook Homepage

Parents and Families

Student Handbooks

Educational Trip Form

Volunteer Information

1/20 - No School

1/24 - Community Meeting; Wear SB ROAR Shirt

2/3 - Online Kindergarten Registration Begins

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

Click on the documents below for more information about Stony Brook arrival and dismissal. If you are driving your child to school, you will stay in your car during drop off. Please have your child practice unbuckling the seat belt or car seat by themselves as parents stay in the car during drop off. If your child is in the walk zone, but you plan to drive your car to the school to pick up your child, your child is now parent pick up and you should follow the parent pick up procedures.

All kindergarten students are required to have an adult pick them up at the bus stop or walk zone. Kindergarten students will not be released from the bus or at the walk zone unless an adult is present to receive them. An adult must meet all kindergarten walkers at the designated crossing guard spot.

For any changes in dismissal, be very clear with your child if they are being picked up early or if they will be parent pick-up when they normally ride the school bus. Any changes in routines or dismissal plans should be communicated to your child's teacher via note or email prior to 9:00AM. If you need to make a change during the day, please call the main office. Our teachers often do not have time to check their email during the school day. The office staff also requests that if you need to change your child's dismissal plan after school has started for the day, please call prior to 2:00PM. It is difficult for our office to communicate to your child's teacher and ensure your child knows about a change if you call after 2:00PM. The school recognizes that sometimes emergencies happen and you need to make a sudden change, but this should be the exception rather than the rule. Thank you!

ABSENCES AND ATTENDANCE IN SKYWARD

Families are encouraged to use the Skyward Family Access Center attendance function to alert the school that their child is absent. This can be done in the Skyward phone app or website. In the event a family cannot log the absence in Skyward, a doctor's note and/or phone call will be accepted as documentation of the absence. If you are unable to mark your child's attendance in Skyward, families should use the school's automated attendance line to alert the school that their child will be absent. This can be accessed 24-7 at (717)846-6789. This number is checked every morning for absences. Families should notify the school no later than 9:00AM on the day of an absence. If we do not receive a call reporting your child absent by 9:00AM, and there is no absence request in Skyward Family Access Center, an automated phone call will be generated via our phone system in order to confirm the whereabouts of your child.

Please note - families have five days by law from the date of a child's absence to report an absence to the district. This may be done in Skyward Family Access Center or by phone on the automated attendance line. Failure to do so will result in an absence being recorded as "unexcused".

All families should be aware that under Act 29, upon a student's accumulation of 6 unlawful or unexcused absences from school, the parent may be referred to Children & Youth Services. Should attendance not improve, the parent may be cited to the district magistrate and could be responsible for fines.

EDUCATIONAL TRIP FORMS

Please be sure to note the policy for educational trips. Approval forms must be obtained from the school office or online through the district website. The educational value and activities of the trip must be stated in detail to be eligible for approval. Thank you for your cooperation with this school policy. For your convenience, click here to download the educational trip form. A reminder that ALL trips MUST be submitted at least 2 WEEKS prior to the trip to be approved.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS

Get the jump on obtaining your parent volunteer approval for the 2024-2025 School Year. ALL parents planning to volunteer must re-apply prior to volunteering in our schools. Additionally, all volunteers must also meet with me during a meeting that will be advertised in the near future. Click here for our district-wide Parent Volunteer Manual that outlines how to begin the process of applying to volunteer or, if you are re-applying for another year. We are looking forward to having a record number of volunteers this year!