COLEBROOK SCHOOL
MARCH NEWSLETTER
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Colebrook Families,
Recently, we have looked at our reading and mathematical achievement data across all grade levels and it has been exciting to see all the growth students have made over the first several months of school. At the beginning of this school year, our students started a new math curriculum that involves math discourse (also known as math talk) regarding the different ways to solve math problems. The curriculum emphasizes how equations can be solved with various math strategies and encourages students to explore solving problems in multiple ways. Students have been enjoying talking with peers about how they solve problems in different ways, and we are hoping for your help in fostering this love of math talk!
To this end, there are many things you can do at home to help your child with math that can be both fun and educational. Please find some suggestions below:
Make it practical: Incorporate math into everyday activities like cooking, shopping, or measuring ingredients. This helps children see the relevance of math in real life.
Use games: There are plenty of math-related board games, card games and online games that make learning math enjoyable. Games like "Math Bingo," "Math War," or even classic games like Monopoly and Yahtzee can help reinforce math skills.
Create a math corner: Set up a designated area in your home with math-related books, puzzles, and manipulatives like counting blocks. Encourage your child to explore and engage with these resources at their own pace.
Use everyday objects: Use household items like coins, buttons, or Legos to teach counting, sorting, addition and subtraction. Hands-on activities can make math more tangible and easier to grasp.
Encourage questions: Create an environment where your child feels comfortable asking questions about math concepts they don't understand. Work through problems together and celebrate their progress.
Provide encouragement: Praise your child's efforts and progress in math and remember, mistakes are opportunities to grow! Encourage a positive attitude toward learning and emphasize that it's okay to make mistakes if they keep trying.
Model math skills: Let your child see you using math in your daily life, whether it's calculating tips at a restaurant, budgeting, or measuring ingredients for a recipe. Modeling math skills reinforces its importance and shows that math is a valuable tool for adults, too.
By incorporating these strategies into daily routines, you can help your child build confidence in math and develop important skills that will benefit them in school and beyond. If you are interested in learning more about the curriculum we’ve adopted, please click here.
In partnership,
Dr. Brenna Farrell
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address: 210 Colebrook Dr.
Principal: Brenna Farrell | brenna_farrell@westiron.monroe.edu
Main office: 585-336-1600
Fax: 585-336-0866
Secretary: Melanie Maloney | Melanie_Maloney@westiron.monroe.edu
Website: Click here
Health Office: 585-336-1608
· Nurse: Lona Cornell
Transportation: 585-336-2992 | Web page
District Office: 585-342-5500 | District website: westirondequoit.org
Social media: Follow @BrennaFarrell9 on X/Twitter and @WestIrondequoit
UPCOMING EVENTS
March-
3/7- 5:30pm Principal Coffee Hour
3/7- 7pm Kindergarten Orientation (For incoming students)
3/9-3/10- Helmer Nature Center Maple Weekend
3/10- Daylight Savings
3/21- 6:30pm Open House
3/29- NO SCHOOL- Spring Recess
April-
4/1-4/8 NO SCHOOL - Spring Recess
4/8- Helmer Nature Center Eclipse Day Festival 1-5 pm
4/9- School Resumes
4/26 K-4 Half-Day of School (Parent Teacher Conferences)
May-
5/5-5/10- Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week
5/7-5/9- NYS Grade 3 Math Assessment
5/10- Helmer Nature Center Bloomin' Baskets
5/21- District Vote/BOE Election
5/22- INCOMING 4th Gr PARENT ORIENTATION - IROQUOIS - 6:15 p.m.
5/27- NO SCHOOL- Memorial Day
5/29- Colebrook Sports Day
5/31- Colebrook PTSA Family Playground Night
Link to full Colebrook calendar
Link to 2023-24 District calendar
NEW PLATFORM SUPPORTS STUDENT DATA/INSIGHTS
As one task last year for our Strategic Plan, we looked for a product that would synchronize all student data into one platform to allow our building and District teams to optimize support for students in terms of their attendance, behavior, coursework and social-emotional needs. The product chosen is "Panorama," which incorporates student data from Infinite Campus, various assessment tools and Student SEL Surveys into one comprehensive dashboard.
The Panorama dashboard is a valuable tool that supports students by providing educators with a comprehensive overview of student data and insights. This dashboard allows educators to track student progress, identify areas of improvement, and tailor instruction to meet individual students' needs. By analyzing data on student performance, behavior, and engagement, educators can make informed decisions to support student success. The Panorama dashboard helps educators monitor student growth, identify at-risk students, and implement targeted interventions to support their academic and social-emotional development. Overall, the Panorama dashboard plays a crucial role in supporting students by enabling educators to make data-driven decisions and provide personalized support to help students thrive.
District, building and teacher leaders were trained on Panorama over the summer to utilize with their teams. Since then, all intervention teachers have been using Panorama to track intervention goals with progress monitoring to ensure instruction is matched to students’ needs and they are progressing. Building leadership and our building problem-solving teams also have been utilizing Panorama as an equity lever to ensure all students are progressing and not falling through the cracks.
From March 4th – March 15th, we will utilize Panorama’s SEL Survey platform to gain valuable information on students’ social-emotional well-being so we have a full picture of every student’s educational data. After this data is collected, our building and District teams will then look at trend data and individual student data to optimize SEL support to the students that require this support in a streamlined and effective way. We look forward to continuing to utilize this new platform in the future to ensure that ALL means ALL.
- Kelly Santora, Director of Data, Assessment and Interventions
DRESS WARMLY FOR RECESS!
Parents/guardians: Please note that all students will go outdoors for recess as long as the temperature and wind-chill are 20 degrees or warmer. Students will need to wear hats, mittens or gloves, boots and snow pants to play in the snow. Students lacking proper clothing will still go outdoors but will remain on the sidewalk with limited play. Please remember to send appropriate outside play clothing in everyday! Due to COVID, we will not be able to lend outdoor clothes on the days students forget. Let us know if you need any help with cold weather clothing.
SPRING SAFETY DRILLS
As we prepare to welcome warmer weather, we will begin planning our safety drills, including Fire Drills and Lockdown Drills. Lockdown drills involve a new system for locking down the building that is automated through our phone service. The only change students will experience is that the announcement for the drill will come through the phone service in their classroom. To prepare students for this automated phone announcement, I will first announce the drill over the PA system. Lockdown and Fire drills begin in March. If you have any questions, please contact Brenna Farrell.
KINDERGARTEN POST OFFICE
HOORAY FOR 100 DAYS!
MS. JOHNSON'S 3RD GRADE CLASS IS 100 DAYS SMARTER!
2nd AND 3rd GRADERS LEARN THE IMPORTANCE OF DENTAL HEALTH
COLEBROOK STUDENTS ENJOYED A YOGA LESSON!
FUN AT COLEBROOK!
HELMER NATURE CENTER EVENTS!
Eclipse Fest is April 8th (and FREE)
Helmer Nature Center is one of just a handful of sites in the Rochester area that will host on-site activities Monday, April 8th – the day of the total solar eclipse (no school that day)! The event, “Irondequoit Eclipse Fest – Together in Totality,” is from 1-5 p.m. It’s a free event presented with Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Town of Irondequoit Recreation.
There is no on-site parking at HNC. Free shuttles will run every 15 minutes from the Town of Irondequoit Recreation Center (former Medley Centre), 450 Skyview Centre Parkway. All West Irondequoit CSD students and staff will receive free eclipse glasses (sent home the week of March 25th). The district has purchased the glasses for each student and staff member. Glasses are available to purchase for $2 at HNC during regular business hours. Just email helmernaturecenter@gmail.com for details. There will be hands-on activities, information stations, presentations, a bounce house and more!
For all HNC Eclipse information, go to the new Eclipse page on the district website at this link.
Maple weekend is March 9-10!
Come celebrate the Maple Sugaring Season with us at Helmer Nature Center! Walk our trails as we take you through and teach you all about the sugaring process. Help collect sap and stop at the evaporator to watch it cook into syrup. Enjoy a delicious meal including all-you-can eat pancakes and real, made on-site maple syrup. Our Pancake Brunch is a 30-plus year Irondequoit tradition! For more information, go to the HNC page on our website.
IHS musical runs March 21-24
This year’s Irondequoit High School musical is “Into The Woods,” the beloved production from legendary composer Stephen Sondheim. It weaves together the stories of classic fairytale characters as their separate missions bring them together in the woods where they discover that granted wishes don't always end with a "happily ever after." IHS students are excited to share their performance with the community. Hope to see you all at the IHS Auditorium March 21-24. Show times are below. Buy tickets in advance at ShowTix4U.com!
Thursday, March 21-Saturday, March 23 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 24, 2 p.m.
Grades 3-12 to take SEL survey in March
This is a follow up to an email we sent to families on Feb. 14th. During the weeks of March 4th and March 15th, students in grades 3-12 will take age-appropriate surveys in school to reflect on their own mindsets and approaches to learning. Building social-emotional learning skills is an important goal for our district and this survey will help us better understand how they perceive these skills in themselves. The brief survey will ask students to self-reflect on self-management, social awareness, emotional regulation, sense of belonging and supportive relationships. Responses will provide invaluable insights into students’ experiences and how our district can improve and adapt to meet their needs. If a student doesn’t feel like they have enough information to answer a question, they can skip the item. All survey responses are confidential. For full details, read the Feb. 14th emails via the links below:
UPDATE YOUR INFO IN PARENT PORTAL, PLEASE
Do you:
Have a new cell phone number or switch carriers recently?
Have a new email address or new work phone number?
Need to update your emergency contacts?
Be sure to keep us informed of any changes to your numbers or emergency contact information. Update it directly on the Infinite Campus Portal, or send in a note with your child.
TO REACH THE PORTAL, Click here
WHY YOUR MOBILE NUMBER IS CRITICAL
You must have your mobile number in the MOBILE NUMBER field. Our system does NOT default even if you have just one field filled out (Home/Work/Mobile). If your mobile number is not in the correct field, you will NOT receive text messages from our school/district for emergencies (such as school closings in winter months).