Dear All Star Families,
Wow! What a great first week we had! In each of our classrooms, we focused on making connections, establishing expectations and building community. This year, our fourth and fifth-grade students helped create our schoolwide expectations during our first ever Stony Brook Student Convention. Students worked in small groups to determine the areas of our school that require specific expectations, and what they should be. Our students did an amazing job working together and sharing ideas. I reviewed all of their work and consolidated them into our school expectations. Our students then presented them to the school at Friday's School Meeting. We also kicked off this month's Character Strong trait of Respect. There are some photos of the Convention and School Meeting below, as well as a copy of our school's expectations. It was really powerful watching our students!
Over the course of this week and next week, I will be meeting with each grade level to review our safety protocols. I have shared some specific information below if you are interested in reading what will be covered in these meetings.
I hope to see many of you on Friday for Popsicles on the Playground!
Thank you for your continued support. It's going to be a great year!
Sincerely,
Nicole
Over the next two weeks, I will be meeting with grade levels to review school safety. Unfortunately, we live in a world where this is critical. The NJ Department of Education requires schools to conduct monthly fire drills, along with monthly safety drills which may include a building freeze drill, evacuation drill, lockdown drill or severe weather drill.
For our kindergarten through third grade students, the presentation is very fun. We review the importance of staying quiet and listening to the teacher. We do this through a freeze dance game, a what's missing game and "stop, look and listen". Then we talk about the different drills we do at Stony Brook in a very "matter of fact" way. Our fourth and fifth-grade meetings follow a similar format with games, and stress the importance of listening to a teacher. We also discuss the drills in more depth.
We always have a counselor present during the presentation, and available for support if a student needs that afterward.
While it is unfortunate that we have to review this, it is important. Please contact me if you have any questions.
This month’s focus is "Respect". One way to think about Respect is “seeing value in all people and things and treating them with care.” Many people feel Respected in different ways. We hope this month inspires discussions with your family about what Respect means to you and how you can practice it together! PurposeFull Pursuits Respect is 1 of 3 traits we will focus on throughout the year that helps students Be Kind. Across grade levels, students will be developing skills like perspective-taking, conflict resolution, and leadership.
Please click on the link below for specific grade level info, as well as ways to continue this work at home.
Student Council
We have several after and before school opportunities for our "upperclassmen", including Journalism Club (Grade 5), Student Council (Grades 4/5) , Safeties (Grade 5), Festival Ensemble (Grade 5), Art Enrichment (Grade 5) and Green Team (Grade 4/5). They will begin throughout the month of September at varied times. We share the information with our students on the Morning Announcements, but I will also share details in the newsletter when available.
Here is some info about Student Council:
Our Student Council will be made up of representatives from fourth and fifth-grade classrooms. Representatives will be involved in activities that include school service projects and fundraisers. The Student Council will meet on the first Wednesday of each month at 8:00 am in the library (usually).
Students were asked to write a short persuasive essay containing at least one paragraph telling us why they would be a great member of Student Council signed by the homeroom teacher and parents/guardians. After the essay is signed, turn it in to Mrs. Marion (room 222) or Mrs. King (room 215) NO LATER THAN Wednesday, September 18th. Essays will not be accepted after this date.
Thank you for your attention to our changes. Things have been going smoothly.
Please note that staff members will not be outside before 8:20 am to monitor students. If you need to drop your child off earlier, please enroll them into the HVYMCA Morning Care Program.
Get all the details you need about school lunches, including menus, pricing, and Free & Reduced Lunch forms HERE. Remember, even if your child received Free & Reduced lunch last year, you still need to complete new forms for the 2024-2025 school year.
