Notes from Split Rock Elementary

This page provides thoughts and commentary from Matthew Kimpland, the Principal of Split Rock Elementary School in the West Genesee Central School District.

It’s clear that our students are settling into their routines and working hard every day. We remain focused on our building-wide expectations for Being Present, Respectful, Responsible, and Safe. Of course, we’ve added an extra expectation -Being Awesome—and I am proud to say our students are living up to it every day!

Our Grade 4 students were treated to an incredible performance by the Grammy and Emmy award-winning string trio, Time for Three! The performance was engaging and inspiring for our Wildcats!

It was a heartwarming sight to see our students all dressed up and beaming with smiles on picture day, which was a resounding success. We are thrilled to have captured these precious moments of our school community.

I would like to thank all those who attended our first PTO meeting of the year, which was on Tuesday! It’s always exciting to see new and returning faces, and the door is open for any parent interested in supporting our Wildcats through this important organization.

As we close the week, I want to remind all families that we will continue with our emergency drills, evacuations and lockdowns throughout next week. These drills are essential to ensuring the safety of all staff and students. We encourage you to talk with your child about the procedures and protocols we practice.

BE AWESOME!

Mr. Kimpland

Positive Action and Wildcat Spirit

Purpose

Encourage and reward positive behavior and action among students, fostering a supportive and respectful school environment that aligns with our “Wildcat Way!”

• Be Present

• Be Respectful

• Be Responsible

• Be Safe

Classroom Awards

“Pack Awards”

• Golden Broom (classroom cleanliness)
• Golden Tray (classroom behavior in the cafeteria)
• Golden Whistle (classroom recess behavior)

Individual Awards

“Wildcats of the Month”

• Recognizes and celebrates students who consistently act as great role models while demonstrating outstanding effort and hard work.

Recognitions

Pack Awards/Wildcats of the Month:

• Monthly announcements will be held. Classrooms will receive the Golden Award to keep for the month. The Wildcats Of The Month will receive a certificate, and their picture will be posted on the weekly blog.

Split Rock Families,

Another great week of getting to know your children at "The Rock". Here are a few updates I would love to share.

• Over the next few weeks I will be visiting our kindergarten classrooms for social emotional learning lessons. Students will learn about my role as a school counselor, identifying feelings/emotions and learning new coping skills.

• Any students new to Split Rock will join me for a weekly lunch group starting next week. This group helps new students feel welcomed and learn about Split Rock.

• Split Rock offers weekend Power Pack bags. These bags are filled with small snacks and easy meals such as mac and cheese for kids. If you are interested in receiving a weekend power pack for your child please contact me.

Please feel free to call or email me anytime with questions, concerns, or with any information you think I should know about your child. Another great way to contact me is through ParentSquare.

~Miss G
School Counselor
mgiannino@westgenesee.org

(315) 487-4656

Staying connected is key to ensuring a successful school year for our Wildcats. Here are a couple of important ways to stay in the loop:

• Check bookbags and folders nightly: Classroom teachers send home valuable information and communication through this method. We don't want you to miss out on any important updates, so please make it a habit to review these each evening.

• Get ParentSquare up and running: This platform is essential for receiving regular communication from both the classroom and the building. It’s also where you’ll get time-sensitive messages when needed. If you have any questions or concerns about ParentSquare, please email us at splitrock@westgenesee.org.

• Daily Routine: Please be sure to send you child to school each day with a water bottle and a snack. Students also need a change of clothes and sneakers for gym. Also, be sure to LABEL ALL ITEMS, you will be glad you did!

By staying connected, we can ensure a smooth and successful school year for everyone!

Starting Monday, September 16, 2024, you can submit your child’s absence reason through ParentSquare. You must wait for a notification from ParentSquare (via text, app notification or email) confirming your child’s absence before providing the reason.

You have until the end of the school day to submit the reason via ParentSquare. If you miss this deadline, please contact the school directly or send a note with your child.

From the Website:

• Click “Send Note to School”

• Enter the reason for the absence

• Click submit to send it directly to your school’s attendance office

Click here for a printable version (PDF) from the website.

To respond to an attendance notification and submit a note, you need to be logged into ParentSquare as a registered user. We’ll send another email invitation this weekend to parents who haven’t registered yet. Please check your spam/junk folders if you don’t see it in your inbox.

As we launched the ParentSquare Communications system over the past month, please be on the lookout for more information to your email, text, and eventually to the ParentSquare mobile app!

• You should have received an electronic invitation to download the ParentSquare app to your phone and to activate your account. (You will also be able to access this information from your personal computer.) If you did not receive this invitation, please email publications@westgenesee.org ,and we will follow-up on sending that email.
• Review your contact information, and you may be asked to verify your information. Please feel free to make corrections as we will be notified and will update our Student Management System (Schooltool). After we update the the Student Management System (Schooltool) the correction will show in your account. If you have any questions, please contact centralregistrar@westgenesee.org
• Continue to receive intermittent posts and information with tips on the use of ParentSquare. (See a tips below about adjusting your Notification Settings and how to access SchoolTool from ParentSquare.)
• Should have received a hard copy instructional page in the mid-August mailing that came home from your home schools.

TIP: Did you know? You can access SchoolTool from ParentSquare from:

*’More’

*’District website’

*then select ‘SchoolTool’ from the website homepage (you can do that from your phone or a computer!)

FYI…This tip is also posted to ParentSquare in the feed area of all schools! Check it out!

ParentSquare Tip: Overview of Notifications

Users can fine-tune their notification settings for posts for each school and district. For General Announcements, you can select Digest, Instant, or choose to turn off notifications altogether (excluding emergency alerts and notices.) You can choose to receive email, text, and/or app notifications.

Click here for the article with the full Tip information on Overview of Notifications.

We are pleased to inform you that West Genesee CSD will be implementing a meal certification option available to schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs for 2024-2025.

What does this mean for your child(ren)?

All students enrolled at West Genesee CSD are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no charge to your household each day of the 2024-2025 school year. A full meal must include a serving of a fruit or vegetable for breakfast and lunch. If a fruit or vegetable is not taken, the student will be charged a la carte for their meal. Milk is included as part of the free meal. Milk is also available for purchase.

No further action is required of you. Your child(ren) will be able to participate in these meal programs without having to pay a fee or submit an application.

If you have any further questions, please contact us at ecullen@westgenesee.org.

Breakfast and lunch are free for all students this year. 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!

Robotics Club is coming soon! Grade 4 students can pick one 5-week session to participate in, held once a week after school. They will work together to complete "challenges" which are fun, hands-on activities that help them perceive coding and engineering in a fun and positive way! Stay tuned for more information!

MON 9/30: COLOR YOUR WORLD DAY! WEAR YOUR FAVORITE COLORS OR TIE-DYE

TUES 10/1: EMBRACE DIFFERENCES DAY! WEAR CLOTHES INSIDE OUT, MISMATCHED, OR BACKWARDS

WED 10/2: KINDNESS DAY! WEAR YOUR FAVORITE HAT OR CRAZY HAIRSTYLE

THURS 10/3: CELEBRATE YOURSELF & OTHERS DAY! WEAR YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM JERSEY, HAT OR COLORS

FRI 10/4: COMFORT OTHERS DAY! WEAR PAJAMAS OR COMFY CLOTHES

Spiritwear is now available to be ordered year round! Please click below to visit the website and place your order today!

Any questions, contact Kathleen Kolb at kkolb@westgenesee.org.

9/30 - 10/4- Spirit week

Tuesday, October 2- Author Visit

Monday, October 14-Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day- NO SCHOOL