FRIDAY FLYER

Dear Families,

Congratulations to the cast and crew of High School Musical Jr.! A month of intense preparation, and then three hugely successful performances this past weekend – I was at opening and closing nights and WOW were they super! It was also exciting to see so many additional Pocantico families coming out for the shows, and we even had a healthy audience on the livestreams. And a special thank you goes out to the PTA for the fantastic helium balloon bouquets for the shows!

DO YOU HAVE THE POCANTICO HILLS APP?

Pocantico Hills CSD has an app for both iPhones and Androids – simply go to your app store and search “Pocantico Hills CSD.” Once you’re in the app you can go to Settings and select the District notifications you want and schools you want to follow. If you want push notifications, you should also go into your phone’s Settings, scroll down to the Pocantico app, and turn them on.

REMINDER: TRANSLATING THE FRIDAY FLYER AND THE WEBSITE

Please know that you can always translate the Friday Flyer and our website into just about any language! Look for “Translate” on the upper-right side of the Friday Flyer, and at the top of the website, then search/select a language.

FOOD DRIVE GOAL OF 200 ITEMS ACCOMPLISHED!

Our Student Government wanted to add a schoolwide incentive to collect food. It was agreed that if the school could collect 200 items, then we would allow kids to purchase ice cream on an additional day of the week right before spring break. We did it, collecting well over 200 items! The date for the additional ice cream sale will be announced once we get back, but more importantly – thank you for your generosity.

PTA FUNDRAISER – BULB AND SEED SALE – FINAL DAY

The PTA Bulb and Seed Sale is almost over! Beautify spring and order garden bulbs from our Pocantico Seed Sale! You can order for your home, as gifts, or for our school’s wish list!

Order by TODAY - March 31st here: http://pocanticohillsschoolpta.fpfundraising.com/.

To purchase items for our school’s garden and grounds, click here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090548AEAF2DA3FD0-pocantico

Thank you! Questions? Email PTA@PocanticoHills.org.

NYS ELA STATE ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE

All of our students in grades 3-8 will be taking the ELA test on computers – very exciting! All tests consist of two sessions, and we give one session per day. However, we are going to test in two groups – grades 6-8, and grades 3-5. Here are the dates we’ll be giving our NYS ELA State Tests:

Wednesday, April 19 – Grades 6-8, Session 1

Thursday, April 20 – Grades 6-8, Session 2

Tuesday, April 25 – Grades 3-5, Session 1

Wednesday, April 26 – Grades 3-5, Session 2

· We always start testing in the morning, usually by 8:45.

· Tests are UN-timed, so kids can take as long as they need. Generally, they take a little over an hour, but it could be longer if kids are taking their time (which isn’t a bad thing!)

· Yes, kids can go back and change answers or edit their writing! They can even bookmark questions to go back and review, make notes for themselves, and more.

· Even though the test is computer-based, kids still get paper and pencils to plan as they wish.

· We conducted a simulation this winter that allowed the kids and teachers to experience the platform and learn how to use all the “bells and whistles.”

· If you’d like to check out a practice version of the test platform, you can try it out here: NY Question Sampler (questarai.com) (answers are not saved, don’t worry) – I actually think it’s a great platform and the kids thought it was easy to use.

If you drive your children to school, PLEASE make sure they are on-time. Also, please make sure they get a good night’s sleep and breakfast. Any students who miss any of the testing days will be able to make them up until April 28 – we'll work that out at school scheduling-wise, so no need to worry.

CAMP REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Summer camp online registration began on February 27th! Please see the attached flyer, as well as our website, for more details.

YEARBOOKS ON SALE

Our yearbook is created by our 7th & 8th grade yearbook staff with input from our 8th graders. It is an amazing full-color memory of the school year and is available for only $35.00.

Please use the link below to purchase online: Buy the 2023 Poco Yearbook

DON’T FORGET: COVID HOME TEST KITS STILL AVAILABLE

There is still plenty of general winter sickness around us, especially coming off of the holiday break. Please pay extra close attention to symptoms of flu or COVID, and If you’re in need of COVID home test kits, even if just to have in your closet, please reach out to Nurse Juliet and we can send home some boxes in your child’s backpack. We have plenty to share with you.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week off for spring break! Whether you’re staying local (like me) or heading out of town, enjoy your time together and we’ll see you April 10th!

Best,

Adam

APRIL RECOGNITION MONTHS

• National Poetry Month
• Autism Awareness Month

4/3/23 - 4/7/23

• Spring Recess (SCHOOL CLOSED)

4/5/23 - 4/13/23

• Passover

4/7/23

• Good Friday

4/9/23

• Easter Sunday

4/14/23

• End of 3rd Marking Period

4/18/23

• Holocaust Remembrance Day
• Board of Education Meeting - 7:30 PM

4/19 - 4/20/23

• NYS ELA Test - Grades 6-8

4/21/23

• Ramadan Ends

4/22/23

• Earth Day
• NYSSMA Solo Festival at Ossining High School

4/25 - 4/26/23

• NYS ELA Test - Grades 3-5