October 2024: News to Know

Dear Parents & Caregivers,

Wow! September seems to have gone by in a flash! We have had a wonderful start to the school year. We are settling in to the routines of school and in many ways it feels as though we never left!

Many of you may have students in our building for the first time. We welcome you, and encourage you to be active participants in your child’s education. Thanks to all of our families who participated in our recent curriculum nights. These presentations provided an opportunity for parents and families to create a personal connection with teachers and to learn more about their child’s classroom and school– certainly a great way to kick off a new school year! For those of you who may have missed it, a Welcome Presentation was sent by email. This presentation provides an overview of our school protocols and procedures. 2024 Curriculum Night Welcome Video

In addition to the teachers who interact with students on a daily basis, we are fortunate to have an incredible team of Mental Health providers who can provide additional support to students. This support can be ongoing over the course of the year such as individual or group counseling, or it may be less formal and situational in nature, such as a Lunch Bunch. Our Indian Landing Mental Health team consists of a school counselor, school psychologist, and a school social worker. In addition, we are lucky to have a social learning specialist from the Center for Youth. To learn more about the fantastic individuals working in these roles, please see below.

Thank you for your continued support. Enjoy the sights and sounds of autumn!

Sincerely,

Marcie Ware

Principal

Eric Traugott

Assistant Principal

Indian Landing's Project LEAD team is a school-based committee comprised of both parents and teachers. LEAD stands for Learning, Evolving and Advancing Diversity. We acknowledge respect, honor, and value the diversity of our community by welcoming all cultural identities, orientations, socioeconomic statues, and abilities. We will foster a culture where all feel safe, seen, heard, represented, and respected. To help support our mission, please complete respond to the following questions. We will use your responses to broaden our understanding of our Indian Landing community and to inform and deepen our instructional practices, our school climate, and most importantly, our relationships with students and families.

This is the last call for our survey! The deadline has been extended to Friday, October 4th and will close after that time. There is a drop down menu for translation options on the form. If you would prefer a paper version, please contact Marcie Ware at mware@penfield.edu.

Project LEAD Family Survey 24-25

Options for translation are available by clicking the drop down menu at the top of the survey.

• Thursday, October 3rd — PTO Meeting, 7:00 PM virtual via Zoom
• Thursday, October 10th — Early Release drill; Students will be dismissed 5 minutes early
• Friday, October 11th — Supt. Conference Day; No School for students
• Monday, October 14th — Indigenous Peoples Day & Columbus Day; No School
• Saturday, October 26th- Make a Difference Day Pancake Breakfast; 9:00-10:30 AM IL Cafeteria; details below!
• Friday, October 25th — Partner's Pride Assembly; 2:15 p.m.
• Thursday, October 31st — Indian Landing's Annual Costume Parade; 9:30 a.m. in the bus loop- weather permitting; See below for details

Looking ahead to November—

• Friday, November 1st- Picture Make-Up Day
• Thursday, November 14th— PTO & Project LEAD Combined meeting ; 7 p.m. IL Library
• Monday, November 25th and Tuesday, November 26th —Parent Teacher Conference Days- No School for students
• Friday, November 11th— Veterans' Day; No School

Did you know that our Mental Health team is available to assist students and families with a wide range of needs? Learn a little more about who is who and what they do.

Elsbeth Ebenhoe- Our students know her as "Mrs. E" and this is her third year at Indian Landing. As the school social worker, Mrs. Ebenhoe works with individuals and groups, as well as providing whole-class lessons in grades K-5. She also participates in MTSS or CSE meetings as needed. In addition, Mrs. Ebenhoe is available to assist families who may benefit from connections to outside resources and agencies. She can be reached via email at eebenhoe@penfield.edu.

Tiffany Melendez- Ms. Melendez is our school psychologist. This is her first year at Indian Landing, but her second year in the Penfield district. Like the rest of her colleagues on the Mental Health team, Ms. Melendez provides counseling support to individuals and groups. Ms. Melendez is a core member of our MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) and she is the individual who coordinates all student psychoeducational evaluations for the Committee on Special Education (CSE). Her email is tmelendez@penfield.edu.

Tessa Perez- Mrs. Perez is our school counselor and she has been at Indian Landing for over fifteen years. She teaches whole group SEL lessons to grades K-5, and she also sees students for individual or group counseling sessions for issues that are school-based. Mrs. Perez will attend MTSS meetings for specific students as needed. Mrs. Perez is also the #1 human to our favorite therapy dog, Simon! Mrs. Perez can be reached at tperez@penfield.edu.

All members of our Mental Health team are available to provide behavioral and emotional support to students as needed. It is important to note that school-based counseling is for issues that are having an impact in the classroom, and for those behaviors that impede a child's ability to function successfully at school. If you have questions or need information about outside providers, we are happy to assist you. We work in partnership with outside counselors and therapists to provide a comprehensive approach to meet student needs.

In addition to our school-based Mental Health team, we are lucky to have additional support from our community partner, The Center for Youth Services. The Center for Youth provides a service called The Help Zone to our building. The Help Zone room is staffed with a Social Learning Specialist during the school day. The Social Learning Specialist at Indian Landing is Ms. Paige Fletcher. She runs our Help Zone and she works with students on social skills and problem-solving. Ms. Fletcher can be contacted via email at pfletcher@penfield.edu.

The Help Zone is a room for students who need a quick calm down time, break, or just someone to talk to. The main goal is to give the students the time they need, teach them social emotional skills, and get them back to class so they miss minimal instruction.

You might also see our social learning specialist running restorative circles in a classroom, teaching small groups, or helping students one on one. Their main goal is to work with students in different ways to learn social emotional skills and keep students in class whenever possible.

MTSS is designed to provide a framework that ensures every child receives the necessary supports to thrive academically, socially/emotionally, and behaviorally. It recognizes that each student is unique, with varying needs, and enables us to meet these needs effectively. Information was sent home to families via a district wide letter in November, but I wanted to take a few moments to review MTSS and how it can support students.

The primary goals of MTSS:

• Early Intervention – Identifying and addressing academic, social/emotional, and behavioral needs of students as soon as they start impacting educational progress.

•Data-Driven Decision Making – Analyzing student data from district assessments and benchmarks.

•Customized Support – Designing interventions and support systems, i.e., RtI, ASC, SEL, etc., to meet the specific needs of each student.

One advantage of utilizing the MTSS process, is that specific goals are created for students’ area(s) of need and progress towards meeting these specific goals is then monitored on a frequent basis with follow-up meetings every 6-8 weeks as necessary. In order to accommodate more meetings, the length of these meetings has been shortened and will only include the school’s MTSS team, the classroom teacher, and any specialists working with the students, Although parents/guardians will no longer directly participate in MTSS meetings, we believe that family involvement is crucial to the success of students, therefore we will communicate and partner with parents/guardians/caretakers throughout the entire MTSS process. With your collaboration and the MTSS continuum of support and intervention, we are confident that your student will achieve their full potential.

Principal Marcie Ware is the MTSS Coordinator for Indian Landing. Please reach out to your child's classroom teacher or Mrs. Ware with any questions you might have.

We will once again host our annual Costume Parade at the end of the month We recognize that some families do not recognize or celebrate Halloween, and we will be providing alternate Fall Fun activities for students. If you do not wish to have your child participate in any Halloween activities, please contact Karen Miller at 249-6910 in the Main Office and we will be sure that they participate in Fall Fun rather than the parade.

Our parade will be held on Thursday, October 31st at 9:30 AM in the bus loop (weather permitting). Parents are invited to join us since this will be an outdoor event. Students should wear their costume TO SCHOOL and bring a bag to put it in after the parade. In the event of inclement weather our parade will be moved indoors. Unfortunately due to space issues, parents will not be allowed to attend the parade if it is moved indoors.

If it looks as though we may need to cancel the outdoor event, a decision about the weather will be made on Wednesday, October 30th by 6:00 p.m. and will be communicated via Parent Square.

Please keep in mind the following guidelines pertaining to the Parade—

· Costumes should be worn TO school. Please label all parts of your child’s costume and have them wear it to school. Please send in a separate bag to keep all the pieces in one place after your child removes their costume.

· We kindly ask that face make-up, paint, or props of a violent nature be left at home.

· Violent, bloody or overtly scary costumes are not considered appropriate for the school environment.

· Students are encouraged to make a literary connection to their costume as there are princesses, cowboys, super-heroes, witches, ghosts and many animals in our favorite storybooks.

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

At Indian Landing we have been celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with daily announcements, music, library books, and a school-wide activity using the book, Alma and How She Got Her Name.

We are excited to invite all families to join us for our first ever Cooking with IL event! This virtual event will take place on Wednesday, October 9th at 5:30 PM. Indian Landing parent (and Teaching Assistant) Mrs. Nancy Hernandez will be teaching us how to make empanadas and tostones! A flyer with all the details will be sent home in backpacks this week and a separate invite will be sent via Parent Square.

The Penfield District is also hosting a special Hispanic Heritage Month event on Tuesday, October 15th. Details can be found below.

We offer a variety of extracurricular activities outside the school day. Some take place in the morning and others take place after school. Clubs may take place daily, weekly, or monthly. Each of our clubs have at least one Indian Landing staff member as the advisor. Information about clubs is sent home via Parent Square and parents/guardians must register their child. Some clubs have a limited number of spaces available so participants will be selected randomly via a lottery system. Below is a list of current clubs being offered this school year:

• Intramurals- open to students in grades 4/5; meets before school (runs September to December)
• Best Buddies Club- open to students in grades 4/5
• Chess Club- open to students in grades 1-5; meets before school (starting soon!)
• Culinary Club- open to students in grades 2-5; meets after school (starting soon!)
• Drama Club- open to students in grades 4/5; meets after school (is underway)
• Principal's Partners- open to students in grades 4/5; meets during lunch/recess block
• Rainbow Club- open to students in grades 3-5; meets after school (starting soon!)
• Yearbook Club- open to students in grades 4/5; meets before school (starts mid-year)

Detailed information about all our club offerings can be found in our 2024-2025 Parent Handbook. Registration information is typically sent home through Parent Square and in student backpacks.

Every new student receives a red IL t-shirt courtesy of the PTO when they start kindergarten or when they enroll at Indian Landing. As we know all too well, children tend to grow like weeds and that tiny shirt they received in kindergarten may not fit your 4th or 5th grader!

Replacement shirts are available to purchase online through the PTO. Shirts are $12 each and when orders are placed, shirts will be delivered directly to students in their classroom.

The Indian Landing (IL) Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a partnership of parents, guardians, teachers, and administrators committed to supporting and enhancing the educational and social growth of all students at Indian Landing Elementary School. Did you know that events such as LEGO Night, Ice Cream Social, and the Annual Carnival are sponsored and supported by our PTO?

Want to learn more? Join us at our next meeting! Our next meeting will take place on Thursday, October 3rd. Meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM and they rotate between virtual and in-person. Please check out the PTO website for more information.

We are looking for any and all volunteers, but if you are someone who would like to take on a more active leadership role, our Vice President for Diversity position is currently open. We have a fabulous group of officers to work with! If you are interested in learning more please email indianlandingpto@gmail.com for more information!

Email: indianlandingpto@gmail.com
Website: indianlandingpto.org
Facebook: Indian Landing PTO

Our district's goals continue to focus on developing and supporting the whole student. Our approach to positive behavior support will emphasize the idea of Be a Partner! Students will learn specific expectations focused on these key concepts-

Be Respectful. Be Responsible. Be Safe. Be Kind.

These ideas are a part of what we do each and every day, and our staff will continually be looking for ways to acknowledge students who are respectful, responsible, safe and kind. Students will receive Partner's Pride stickers as recognition from adults in the building and on the bus. Students who receive stickers will be eligible for random prizes such as bracelets and t-shirts. Once a month, we will be recognizing "Partners Proud Moments". Students selected for this honor can be selected by their teacher for any reason- a positive attitude, responsible behavior, overcoming a difficulty, or meeting a personal goal are just a few examples of reasons why a student may be selected for a Partner's Proud Moment.

Email: mware@penfield.edu
Website: www.penfield.edu
Location: 702 North Landing Road, Rochester, NY, United States
Phone: 585-249-6900
Facebook: Indian Landing Elementary School
Instagram: @indianlandingelementary