Seneca School

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe we are heading into the last quarter of the school year! It is a great time to remind our students, staff and families of our safety practice drills since we will conduct our end-of-the-year drills soon. As part of the requirements through the State Education Department, we complete 12 drills throughout the school year. Eight happen each fall and the rest occur in the spring. While most are fire drills, we also practice lockdown drills and other safety drills, such as Hold-in-Place and Shelter-in-Place. In our K-3 schools, all drills are communicated to families and introduced to students as "practice drills" to help them stay calm and feel safe.

Recently our K-3 students participated in a safety assembly led by Irondequoit Police Officer, Officer Lawton, and Mr. Don Wood. The officer taught students how to stay safe and respond if a stranger approaches them. Through engaging discussions and role-playing, students learned to identify safe adults, how to say "no" firmly and seek help immediately. The assembly emphasized the importance of trusting their instincts and always informing a trusted adult if they feel unsafe. It was a valuable experience that empowered our students with practical strategies to stay safe in their community. Please preview the video below as it may be something you want to review with your child.

At West Irondequoit, we value safety and security. On top of our required live drills with students, we also practice reviewing drills with our school’s Health & Safety Teams in what we call “tabletop experiences.” Through this teaming structure, one drill we prepare for is the Reunification Plan, which we would enact if we needed to leave campus for a safety reason and reunite families with their children at an alternate location. Examples of when a Reunification Plan would be enacted include a flood or a gas leak. In both events, the building would not be safe until the flood or gas leak was fixed. If either of these scenarios were to happen, we’d safely move students to the school’s relocation site. Those sites for many of our K-3 buildings include local churches and other school buildings in our District.

If we needed to relocate, families would be contacted via our district’s mass notification system with details regarding why the school needed to be evacuated and directions on where and when to pick up your child. The district website and social media may also be used to inform. Students would take a short walk to these locations with their teachers and support staff. Our plan is well-designed to ensure that students are safe and calm when moved to the alternate location. Additionally, the plan is designed with the purpose of reuniting students with their families in a smooth and efficient manner.

We will continue collaborating with our faculty and staff to consider diverse perspectives and strengthen our approach. While we hope never to need our emergency response plans, we remain committed to thorough planning to ensure we are always prepared. Please rest assured that the safety and well-being of your children remain our highest priority.

Thank you for your partnership,

Alicia Spitz

Secretary: Connie Iglewski | connie_iglewski@westiron.monroe.edu

Main office: 585-336-1620
Health office: 585-336-1628

Fax: 585-336-1621

Transportation: 585-336-2992 | Website

District Office: 585-342-5500

District website: westirondequoit.org

Email: connie_iglewski@westiron.monroe.edu
Website: https://seneca.westirondequoit.org/
Location: 4143 Saint Paul Boulevard, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: 585-336-1620
X/Twitter: @Spitzy19

SENECA FULL CALENDAR

April

11: K-4 Parent/Teacher Conferences 1/2 day (11:30 dismissal)

25: Artistic showcase @ IHS 6:00 PM

29-30: NYS Grade 3 ELA Assessment

May

2-6: NYS Grade 3 ELA Make Up

5-9: Staff Appreciation Week

7-8: NYS Grade 3 Math Assessment

12-14: NYS Grade 3 Math Assessment Make Up

13: PTSA Candidates' Night, 6:30 PM at IHS

20:District Vote & Board of Education Election (more details)

26: NO SCHOOL- Memorial Day

June

10: Third Grade Culture Fair 9:00 AM

11: Kickball game

13: Flag Day 10:30 AM

13: PTSA Carnival 5:30 PM

19: NO SCHOOL- Observe Juneteenth

20: Kindergarten Celebration 1:30 PM

23: 3rd Grade Recognition 1:00 PM

24: Sports Day

25: Last Day of School (1/2 day release @ 11:30 AM)

NEW: Click banner above to see the 2025-26 school calendar!

If your child is going to be late or absent from school, please call or email the office by 9 a.m. each morning of the absence. If a student is changing their dismissal/pick up routine, please send in a note that morning or call before 12:00 p.m. Call (585) 336-1620 or email: connie_iglewski@westiron.monroe.edu

In Ms. Nassimos class, Kindergarten students listened to a read aloud of the story "What I like about me." Students then followed a guided drawing lesson to draw their self-portraits. In the following class we worked on colorful tissue paper backgrounds.

All schools will dismiss early on Friday, April 11th because of Parent/Guardian-Teachers Conferences. Here is the K-12 release schedule:

North End
11:30 AM – Colebrook, Listwood, Seneca, Iroquois

South End
12:10 PM - Briarwood, Brookview, Southlawn, Rogers

Grades 7-12
10:45 AM - Dake Jr. HS/IHS

Note: No transportation available to EMCC, multi-OCC and New Visions for Grades 7-12.

Teaching social-emotional skills to our students is incredibly important. There are many benefits to incorporating social-emotional learning (SEL) throughout the school day. In our K-6 buildings, we utilize the Zones of Regulation. This framework is designed to teach children how to identify and regulate their emotions by categorizing different feelings into four colored “zones:” Blue, Green, Yellow and Red. Students are taught additional strategies to cope with various emotions, depending on what “zone” they are in. The goal: For students to increase their emotional awareness while building a toolbox of coping strategies.

BLUE ZONE
Includes feelings associated with low energy, illness, boredom and/or sadness. Strategies students can use in this zone could be taking a walk/engaging in a movement activity or reading a book.

GREEN ZONE
This is the optimal state for learning and interacting, when students feel calm, focused and happy. Teachers will often use the phrase, “When we’re in the Green Zone, we’re ready to learn.”

YELLOW ZONE
Students may exhibit moderate feelings of anxiety, frustration, silliness and/or excitement in this zone. They can “get back to green” by using calming techniques (i.e. deep breathing), taking a break, or using positive self-talk.

RED ZONE
Red Zone students exhibit more intense emotions that leave them feeling out of control. These students may feel angry, overwhelmed and/or scared. Strategies for this zone include taking a break/stepping away from the situation, counting to 10 and seeking help from an adult.

School staff members incorporate the Zones of Regulation in many unique ways. Often, you will find teachers beginning their morning meetings by asking students, “What zone are you in today?” This is a way for teachers to identify if any students feel dysregulated and how to best support them. “The Zones of Regulation” visuals displayed classrooms are helpful to students when identifying which zone they’re in. “The Zones” are also used in individual therapy sessions for students needing additional support with labeling their own feelings and identifying coping strategies they can use.

Utilizing the Zones of Regulation in our elementary schools not only teaches students to identify their feelings but also builds their understanding and awareness that all feelings are OK. Teaching students how to effectively cope with their “big” emotions in healthy ways leads to improved behavior, better self-regulation and stronger social interactions.

The Rochester Knighthawks indoor lacrosse team is offering discounted tickets to our community for West Irondequoit PTSA Night on Saturday, April 19th during Spring Recess. The K-Hawks face the Toronto Rock at 5 PM. Tickets are $15 and one dollar from each will be donated right back to the WICPTSA. Get the ticket offer AT THIS LINK and learn more about our PTSA here.

Celebrate Arbor Day at Helmer Nature Center. Be a part of making HNC even better and greener! Help plant maples and other trees! After planting, stick around for pizza as a thank you for your work! We’ll also have Balsam Fir seedlings for you to take home and plant (while supplies last).

• When: Friday, April 25th, 4-6 p.m.
• Ages: All ages & abilities welcome!
• Note: Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Parents/guardians,

Do you:

• Have a new cell/work phone number or email?

• Switched phone carriers recently?

• Need to update your emergency contacts?

Please keep us informed of any changes to numbers or emergency contact info. Update it directly in the Infinite Campus Portal or send a note with your child.

WHY YOUR MOBILE NUMBER IS CRITICAL

Our system does NOT default if you have just one field filled (Home/Work/Mobile). Best practice: Whatever number you receive calls on, put that in the HOME field; for text messages, put that number in the MOBILE field even if the same number.

If your mobile number is not in the correct field, you will not receive text messages from our school/district for emergencies (such as school closings in winter months).