Dear Strawtown Families,
Happy May! It is hard to believe that we are entering the final stretch of the 2024-2025 school year! Reflecting on the year and seeing how so many students have grown and matured from an academic and social-emotional standpoint has been amazing! The last few months of the school year are always busy because we balance closing up the current school year and preparing for the next one! Over the next few weeks, we will be completing our state testing, many grades are going on exciting field trips; we have exciting assemblies and many fun events for the students in conjunction with much quality learning left for the year! As always, should you have any questions about the happenings at Strawtown, pleas don't hesitate to reach out!
In Partnership,
Colin Andersen
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Strawtown News:
I am happy to announce that we have completed our first episode of Strawtown News! Mrs. Valenti and I have enjoyed working with our fifth-graders over the past several weeks to create the episode! This is a voluntary program where we work on students research, technology, and public speaking skills! We will have two more episodes before the end of the year! We hope you enjoy the first broadcast!
New York State Testing:
This month, our students in Grades 3,4,5 will continue the next round of state exams. This month, the students will be taking the math test. In addition, Grade 5 will also be taking the state science test. Grade 5 will be testing on May 5th and 6th for math. Grade 4 will follow next on May 7th and 8th. Grade 3 will take the math portion on May 12th and 13th. Grade 5 will close out the testing period by taking the science test on May 14th
Please remind your children at home to bring their Chromebooks fully charged on the day of the exam since the tests are computer-based.
Spirit Week:
May 5th-9th will be Strawtown Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week along with a fun spirit week! Please see this flyer for the different day's themes.
Assemblies & Workshops:
We have some exciting events upcoming for our students this month! On May 15th, Grade 4 will have their rescheduled Journeys into the American Indian Territory group to present their program on Native American Life. They will also have their rescheduled Colonial America workshop on May 2nd. We are also going to have our annual Memorial Day Celebration on May 22nd led by Ms. Pierce.
Field Trips:
This is a busy month for Field Trips! Grade 2 is venturing to LG Headquarters to see their Innovation Lab on May 29th. Grade 3 is headed to the Lamont-Dougherty Science Center on May 28th and 29th for some environmental learning and Grade 4 is headed to the DeWint and 1776 House on May 28th to make connections to their American Revolution learning! It should be a fun month of learning on the road! Grade 5 will visit Felix Festa on May 16th!
Kindergarten Orientation:
We welcome in our new Kindergarteners on May 20th for their official orientation to Strawtown. They will visit a classroom and take a bus ride around the Strawtown circle! If you are a family who has an incoming Kindergartner, we hope to see you there, and be sure to also sign up for the Brigance Screener on June 2nd and 3rd.
Common Sense Media:
Is a great resource for families in helping to understand the content of movies, books, YouTube originals, Social Media channels and more. It provides a detailed breakdown of the content. I use it all the time for my two daughters because there is simply so much media content out there that it is hard to keep up with it. For example, I know many kids are watching the popular web series Skibidi Toliet, here is CSM's review of that web series as an example of how informative the web site can be.
Lexia and Dreambox:
As a reminder each student has access to both Lexia and Dreambox learning apps via the Clever Portal. Both of these learning programs are opportunities to get in some extra practice with both Language Art and Math Skills. You will continue to have access to these programs over the summer months as well!
Emergency Drills:
Over the next few weeks, we will be conducting several emergency drills. This notice serves to meet the requirements of New York State new community notification protocols. Should you have any questions, please let me know.
Policy Reminders:
Warm Weather:
As the weather continues to warm up, please send your children dressed for the day's weather. Students will not be permitted to change clothing during the day unless an unexpected occurrence happens. Students changing clothes during the day is disruptive, so please plan for the high temperature and send a sweatshirt for the chillier mornings. Please also send a water bottle with your child.
Food and Drinks:
As a reminder only water should be sent in with students each day in their water bottles. Energy Drinks, or any other sugary drinks are not permitted during the school day. In addition, please remind your children that food sharing is not allowed in the cafeteria. In addition, food cannot be delivered to the school for your child.
Arrival and Dismissal:
Please try to build consistency with your child's arrival and dismissal routines. Frequent changes are complex for the kids to navigate and may cause confusion for us here at the building level or on buses. We want to ensure a safe arrival and dismissal at all times. At the same time, I understand life happens, so if a necessary change occurs, please make sure to email your child's teacher and the main office at strawtownoffice@ccsd.edu no more than 24 hours before the dismissal change and please not after 12:30 on a school day unless it is an emergency. This communication is essential to accuracy when there are dismissal changes. In addition, for car pickups/drop-offs, please ensure not to pass anyone in the parking lot, even if you offload your child faster than the person in front of you.
Cellphones, SMART Watches, Gum:
As a reminder, students should not have cellphones or Smartwatches on during the day. They should remain off and placed in the bottom of the backpack. If a device goes off during the day, the teachers will remind each student to turn it off. If a student misuses the device repeatedly, it may be taken away and must be picked up by an adult. In addition, as a reminder, gum is not allowed during the school day. I appreciate your cooperation with this guideline.
May Closings:
School will be closed on May 23rd and 26th in honor of Memorial Day.
May Calendars:
Please use this link to access the May calendar for the events happening at Strawtown this month. You can also use this link to see the May school lunch menu.
