Notes from Onondaga Road

A Note from the PTA-

The next PTA meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 3rd at 6:00 in the Onondaga Road Library.

PTA elections for the 2025-2026 school year will be held at the April 3rd meeting, which is at 6:00 pm in the library. Elections are open to the public, and all PTA members who are present will cast their votes to elect the next PTA Board. There is still time to get involved as a nominee and really make a difference at Onondaga Road next year. You can also consider becoming a PTA member to help support all of the great PTA-sponsored activities. We would love to see you at the next meeting.

Here is a list of upcoming PTA events that your membership supports:

• Scholastic Book Fairs
• Enrichment Day
• Learning Fair
• Family Picnic

The PTA’s annual Gertrude Hawk fundraiser is now active until 3/10. Packets have been sent home with your child. This is the only PTA fundraiser and will support all PTA sponsored events in the 2025-2026 school year. The more we sell, the bigger the budget and the more activities we can deliver at O Road! Please support all the enrichment activities, free family events and assemblies that the PTA hosts by selling and purchasing some chocolate. Delivery will be to the school the week of 4/7 in time for Easter!

Our yearbook ordering deadline is quickly approaching. We will be sending reminders home to students who do not yet have a yearbook ordered on the near future. To order a yearbook by the 4/15 deadline, you can go to the website at https://ybpay.lifetouch.com . The school code is 14900325.

If you have any questions, please contact the PTA at WGORPTA@westgenesee.org.

Click below for quick access to the Onondaga Road PTA page, where you will find membership information, and other important PTA news:

https://www.westgenesee.org/o/ores/page/parent-teacher-association-pta

"WG SEPTSA is gearing up for the 2025 Fairmount Fish Fry . We are honored to be chosen by the Fairmount Fire Department to supply volunteers at their Fish Fry starting Ash Wednesday, March 5th and running every Friday thru April 18th. We are asking for help from community members to sign up and share the news. Thank you so much for your support! Volunteers will primarily be responsible for dishes, traffic, and clean up. Please contact SEPTSA at wgseptsa18@gmail.com or see the flyer to sign up. Thank you!"

Kindergarten Registration for the 2025-2026 school year opened up on December 4, 2024 and will go until March 28, 2025.

Watch for registration information on the Central Registration webpage. If you have any questions, email the Central Registrar at centralregistrar@westgenesee.org, or call Central Registration at (315) 487-4683.

When registering, parents/guardians should be prepared to upload the following:

• Two proofs of residency (i.e. mortgage or property statement or signed lease agreement, utility bill )

• proof of age

A physical examination and proof of immunizations are also required for entry into kindergarten and a dental certificate is requested for entry into kindergarten. These examinations should be done up to one year prior to the first day of school. Children who enter kindergarten this fall must be five years of age on or before December 1, 2025.

To access the most updated health requirements click here.

West Genesee partners with local Community-Based Organizations (CBO) for its Pre-K program.

To be eligible for UPK during the 2025-2026 school year, a child must:

• Turn the age of 4 on or before December 1, 2025
• Reside in the West Genesee Central School District

When registering, parents should be prepared to upload the following:

• proof of residency (ie. mortgage or property statement or signed lease agreement)
• proof of age

Registration will open on March 10, 2025. In the event that more registrations are received than can be accommodated, the District will conduct an initial selection process via an open lottery in which children will be selected at random.

Those children who have completed the registration process by 3:00 p.m. on April 2, 2025 will be part of the initial selection process.

Families who were part of the initial selection process will be called in order of selection and informed:

• whether their child has been accepted to the program, and
• which site (including hours of the program) is available for their child;

OR

• where their child is on the waiting list.

Families will be contacted by April 3-4, 2025.

If at any point after the initial selection process there are more students registered than seats available, students will be placed on the waiting list in the order that their registration was completed.

Transportation to and from the program is the responsibility of parents/guardians, and students must attend the program five days a week to maintain their seat.

Look for registration information on the Central Registration webpage at: https://www.westgenesee.org/district-services/registration/. If you have any questions, email the Central Registrar at centralregistrar@westgenesee.org, or call Central Registration at (315) 487-4683.

With an increase in seasonal illnesses, and to help keep all students and staff healthy, we ask families to monitor for certain symptoms before sending children to school.

If your child displays any of the following, please keep them home:

• Fever of 100 degrees or higher in the past 24 hours
• Vomiting or Diarrhea in the past 24 hours
• Strep Throat. Your child should be on an antibiotic for at least 24 hours before returning to school
• Bad cold with congestion or bad cough, especially if it has kept your child awake at night; and/or the cough is continuous and consistent throughout the day.
• Pink eye. Your child should be on an antibiotic for at least 24 hours before returning to school.

If your child becomes ill at school and the nurse and/or teacher feel your child is too sick to benefit from school and is contagious to classmates and staff, you will be called to pick up your child. Please note that if the nurse sends your child home with a fever or vomiting/diarrhea, your child cannot return to school until they have gone 24 hours with no fever or vomiting/diarrhea without medication.

Please keep in mind that our students go outside for recess daily. If the temperature is 20 degrees Fahrenheit or above, recess can take place outside. If the temperature is below 20 degrees Fahrenheit (this includes factoring in the WINDCHILL), recess will be indoors. Students should always have appropriate clothing for the weather each day: Coat, boots, snow pants, hat, and gloves.

**Also, please remember to LABEL your child's cold-weather clothing. You will be so glad you did!

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!

Announcements about school closings, delayed openings, or early dismissal will be posted on the News Headlines section of the District website home page. They will also be broadcast on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the following stations which you can access by clicking here.

Also, ParentSquare communications software allows us to send emails, texts, and make phone calls. (Phone calls will be used for emergency situations only.)

Parent/Guardians and staff will NOT need to sign-up to receive information from schools that you are registered for in Schooltool. (You will have the option to opt-out if you choose not to receive emails, texts, and/or phone calls. To receive texts, you also have to opt-in per the instructions in the Tips article below. )

3/9 - Daylight Savings Time - turn your clock ahead one hour

3/13 - Battle of the Books - 9:30am

3/18 - Learning Fair Research Night- 5:00-6:00 - Library

3/20 - First day of Spring!

3/31 - No School - Superintendents Conference Day