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COLEBROOK SCHOOL
OCTOBER NEWSLETTER
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Families,
I have thoroughly enjoyed welcoming students, staff and faculty back to the buildings this school year! Although it’s just the third full week of school, the students are already accustomed to classroom routines and learning how to successfully navigate the school day, including the transitions to lunch, recess, and specials. Students are eager to enter school each day and arrive with a smile, which is a great indication that we’re off to a great start! You may have noticed some adjustments to some of our school policies and practices. Specifically, there have been changes to the arrival procedures for students and families as well as updates on the use of technology in school.
Arrival Procedures
Across our district, we’re working to improve safety and security during morning arrival. The purpose is twofold:
- To ensure that each child is welcomed by a staff member as soon as they depart a bus or leave an adult
- To increase efficiency of our arrival procedures
To do this safely, we need your support. When you drop your child off, please adhere to the guidance of school staff to access drop-off locations. During drop-off, school staff may offer to open your car door to help your child exit the care safely and quickly. Students dropped off by buses will be restricted to the bus drop-off area. If you stop your vehicle for a long period of time to walk your child to the front doors, please pull into an appropriate parking spot or secure street parking.
Use of Technology in Schools (i.e., SmartWatches)
Based on feedback from staff, our administrative team has worked to implement a collective push district-wide to ensure building policies on phone/mobile device usage are followed in accordance with the school’s Student Handbook (see Respect and Responsibility in the K-3 Handbooks) and the District’s Code of Conduct (Page 14 via this link). This alignment will develop cohesion throughout the district, minimize classroom distractions and create better and more engaged learners with more focused listening habits. We know even the sight of devices can adversely affect focus for some students.
In our K-3 buildings, phones/devices/smartwatches should not be used. They must be stored in lockers for the duration of the school day. If a student needs to call their family and vice-versa, a phone in the main office or their classrooms can be used. Our devices are powerful tools, but they can sometimes be distractions and lead to disruptions. For these reasons, smartwatches and phones must be kept outside the classroom.
I am excited for all the great events that this school year will bring, such as our upcoming Curriculum Nights and Halloween Parade, and for the growth your children will make as they learn to become a kind human, reader, writer and mathematician.
In partnership,
Brenna Farrell
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address: 210 Colebrook Dr.
Principal: Brenna Farrell | brenna_farrell@westiron.monroe.edu
Main office: 585-336-1600
Fax: 585-336-0866
Secretary: Melanie Maloney | Melanie_Maloney@westiron.monroe.edu
Website: westirondequoit.org/colebrook_school
Health Office: 585-336-1608
· Nurse: Lona Cornell
Transportation: 585-336-2992
District Office: 585-342-5500 | District website: westirondequoit.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
October-
10/2- National Custodian Day
10/2-School Picture Day
10/5-Go Home Early Drill: Dismiss at 2:20
10/6-NO SCHOOL: Superintendent Day
10/9-NO SCHOOL: Indigenous People Day
10/24-10/27- PTSA Book Fair
10/26- Open House 6:30PM
10/27-PTSA Family Event: Trunk or Treat
10/31- Halloween Parade
November-
11/7- School Pictures: Make-up Day
11/10- NO SCHOOL: VETERAN'S DAY
11/17- Report Cards Available in Infinite Campus Grades 1-3 (Feb 2, 2024, for kindergarten)
11/22-11/24- NO SCHOOL: THANKSGIVING RECESS
December-
12/8- NO SCHOOL: CONFERENCE DAY
12/18- Winter Singalong: Time TBD
12/25-12/29- NO SCHOOL: HOLIDAY RECESS
Link to full calendar: westirondequoit.org/colebrook_school
Deadline Approaching!
Eligible families must submit Free-and-Reduced Meal applications to West Irondequoit Food Services BEFORE OCT. 20, 2023 so students can continue receiving free meals. Last year's application will expire soon. Please do this ASAP. Learn more and get the application via this link: smore.com/7693x
Go Home Early Drill is Friday, Oct. 6
The state-mandated Go Home Early safety drill is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 5 - the start of a four-day weekend. All students are released 10 minutes early - at 2:20 p.m. for our school. If you pick up your children at school, please arrive 10 minutes early. Expect students who ride buses to arrive 10 minutes early. The K-6 Extension Childcare Program will open early and remain open until 6 PM. Crossing guard schedules also will accommodate. Note: There is no school on Friday, Oct. 6th (Supt. Conference Day) and Monday, Oct. 9th (Indigenous People’s Day).
IPD TO ALTER GUARD STRUCTURE IN WINTER
We wanted to give you plenty of time to plan for a Crossing Guard schedule change in early 2024 that will impact some families. The Irondequoit Police Dept. has informed us that it will eliminate crossing guards at the following locations from Tuesday, Jan. 2 through Friday, Feb. 16 because of a "low-to-no student count," during that time frame.
St. Paul @ Pattonwood
Lakeshore @ Washington
St. Paul @ Westbourne
Portland @ Coronado
“It is both safer and more practical to have those crossing guards redeployed to other posts where there is a need to cross students," IPD shared with us, adding that shifting those guards to higher traffic areas during that seven-week span, such as in front of Dake Jr. HS and IHS, will enhance student safety.
If you have questions, please email IPD Crossing Guard Coordinator, Mary Beth Egeling, at megeling@irondequoit.gov. If you or anyone you know would want to be a crossing guard, please also email her to obtain more information.
Family-friendly events at HNC!
The 41st annual Fall Harvest is Sunday, Oct. 15th at Helmer Nature Center, 154 Pinegrove Ave.! Games, crafts, food, music and pony rides – yes, pony rides! New this year: An inflatable obstacle course. The kids will love it! Entry is free. All-inclusive wristbands are $20! Don’t forget to also check out the 3rd Thursday Series each month. Visit the Helmer Facebook page at this link: facebook.com/HelmerNatureCenter or website: bit.ly/HelmerNC.
Ensuring Youngest Learners Have It All: Humanities & CKLA Reading Instruction
Frederick Douglass said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” At its core, literacy instruction is Diversity Equity and Inclusion work; ensuring all students have access to engaging, rigorous, and research-based literacy instruction is of the utmost importance to fostering the success and growth of every student in West Irondequoit. To this end, our literacy instruction is constructed of three components:
Explicit foundational literacy instruction
Explicit language comprehension instruction
Independent Reading
Over the last two years, we have worked diligently to build this as a vertically aligned structure across grades K-6, and this year, we are excited to see this work come to life in our classrooms.
K-4 students will have two separate opportunities for this instruction. One is a daily Foundational Literacy block informed by the CKLA Reading Program, which is dedicated to direct and systematic literacy instruction aligned with the science of reading instructional approach. In addition, students will also engage in a Humanities block, where they explore novels, build their understanding of the world around them and their place in it, and apply their knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in authentic and relevant experiences.
Students in grades 5-6 will engage in a daily Humanities block. Those incorporate all components of literacy instruction, with a heavier emphasis on strengthening, applying, and expanding literacy skills through direct instruction and novel studies, building academic vocabulary, constructing historical and civic understanding, and engaging in opportunities for reading and writing interventions and extensions.
Additionally, all students will have time and space in their classes dedicated to independent reading. "Even a small amount of independent reading helps increase students’ reading comprehension, vocabulary growth, spelling facility, understanding of grammar, and knowledge of the world,” according to Bernice E. Cullinan, a former professor at Ohio State and New York University who is in the Reading Hall of Fame. Additionally, while LEARNING to read is dependent on systematic and explicit research-based instruction, LOVING to read is fueled by students finding their identity as a reader and connecting with books that ignite their passions and imagination. All together, we are excited to see our youngest eagles soar as readers, writers, and thinkers this year!
CHECK/UPDATE YOUR INFO IN THE PARENT PORTAL, PLEASE
Do you:
Have a new cell phone number or switch carriers recently?
Have a new email address or new work phone number?
Need to update your emergency contacts?
Be sure to keep us informed of any changes to your numbers or emergency contact information. Update it directly on the Infinite Campus Portal, or send in a note with your child.
TO REACH THE PORTAL, Click here
WHY YOUR MOBILE NUMBER IS CRITICAL
You must have your mobile number in the MOBILE NUMBER field. Our system does NOT default even if you have just one field filled out (Home/Work/Mobile). 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).
COLEBROOK BIKE BASH
Second graders discovering how erosion happens through mimicking wind and water.
Partner work with bean bags in PE
Mrs. Wagner's Class Getting to Know Each Other
October is Wellness Month in WI!
October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month! During the month of October, we encourage students, staff and community to strengthen their healthy habits by trying new strategies. Your family is encouraged to use the attached Wellness Calendar (or see the graphic below) as a resource to start conversations and increase wellness strategies. Feel free to use the calendar in a way that makes sense for your family! See more at THIS LINK. Look for more from our new Substance Abuse and Prevention Counselor, Nicole Corcimiglia, on district social media channels!