November "ROCKS"!

It has been a very busy two weeks, and Split Rock Elementary continues to shine! Academically students can be found working extremely hard and collaboratively throughout the day. On top of that,  students and families have risen to the occasion to offer help and support of others and had the opportunity to recognize those who have served!  We look forward to carrying this positive momentum through the month of November as we being to approach Thanksgiving break!

Veterans Day Celebration Assembly

It was an honor to host eight Veterans and VIP Guest Speaker Retired Army Captain Robert Burke last week at our Veterans Day Assembly. The tradition of this wonderful event continued as we had the help of some of the members WGHS Wildcat Marching Band, Mr. David Bills and four Grade 5 students Edison Coles, Dominic Talucci, Molly Sheehan, and Alessandra Vigliotti who were our readers during the ceremony. **Please note: You can view the Veterans Artifact Walk by clicking here and the Veterans Day Celebration Assembly if you click here.

Paying It Forward

Candy Donations

Split Rock students and families continue to amaze me! With the help of our phenomenal PTO, we donated over 198 pounds of Halloween candy in order to create treat bags for our Veterans at the Syracuse VA Medical Center. These treat bags will come with a thank you note for serving our country. 

Food Train

The Split Rock annual Food Train has left the station. Our donations are headed to St.Joseph's  Food Pantry and several Split Rock Families this Thanksgiving. As always, we appreciate your generosity, it certainly makes a difference in the lives of others. #otherpeoplematter

Inspirational Snowflakes for Golisano Children's Hospital:

Our fifth-grade students spent some time with our ADAPEP counselor, Lisa Eipp to create snowflakes with inspirational messages on them to distribute to kids at Golisano Children's Hospital for the holidays! I had the amazing and powerful opportunity to read many of these and I can tell you that our Grade 5 students are very compassionate.

Split Rock's Super Spellers:

We would like to congratulate Dylan Wainwright (Grade 5 Cunningham), Daniela Thorpe (Grade 5 Callahan), Keira McGlaughlin (Grade 5 Cunningham), Edison Coles (Grade 5 Cunningham) and Laura Anastasio (Grade 5 Callahan) for competing in the district-wide Grade 4-8 Spelling Bee last week. They all did a phenomenal job. Good luck to both Edison Coles and Dylan Wainright, as they have both made it in the top 12 and will be advancing to compete against students from other districts in the very near future. 

Halloween Celebration: 

We had a great time celebrating Halloween and carrying out our indoor parade and parties. We again, want to thank all families and friends for respecting our procedures and protocols ensuring student and staff safety throughout the event. For all those interested in viewing the parade click here or you may do so from the West Genesee website, click on Split Rock, On-Air tab then pre-recorded events.

Looking Ahead

Over the next two weeks, staff and students will focus on the Other People Matter Mindset "Knowing my words and actions affect others," and the character strength of  Gratitude.

Positivity Project Challenge

We have a building-wide goal of creating 1,000 handmade Christmas cards between now and December 19th. On December 20th we will hand over the cards to our ADAPEP Counselor, Lisa Eipp and our Kindness Committee to be delivered to a local nursing home! These cards can be created in many different ways and not just in school but at home as well. Students will submit their completed cards to their teachers, which will then be handed off to me prior to our December 20 Positivity Assembly! If this goal is achieved five staff members will have the lucky opportunity to be pied in the face by selected students during the December assembly.

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, November 13:

• Book Fair Family Night Art Room 7 pm

Thursday, November 14:

• Book Fair 

Friday, November 15:

• Chess Club (8:30 am)
• Positivity Project Rockin Readers Event (9:30 am-9:50 am)
• Book Fair

Monday, November 18:

• Merry-Go-Round Playhouse (Grade 3)

Tuesday, November 19:

• PTO Tully's Fundraiser Event 

Wednesday, November 20:

• PTO MEETING CANCELLED
• BOE Community Forum 6:00 pm 
• BOE Meeting 7:00 pm

Friday, November 21:

• Grade 4 Spirit Day

Monday, November 25:

•  Half-Day -11:30 am Dismissal for Students / Parent-Teacher Conferences 

Tuesday, November 26:

•  Half-Day -11:30 am Dismissal for Students / Parent-Teacher Conferences

ROCKin Through October!

Week In Review

Author Vist: 

It was an amazing two weeks at "The Rock!" I continued to be amazed of the many wonderful things that take place on a daily basis. Students were certainly busy this week and really worked hard! We would like to thank author Troy Cummings for visiting "The Rock" last week. He was very engaging! Both staff and students loved the presentations he offered.

Unity Day

It was great to see all the orange in the building on Unity Day in support of bullying prevention!

Grade 1 Science Experiments

Grade 1 worked very hard in preparing and carrying out their science experiment in which they studied erosion!

A Great Partnership

Mrs. Spurchise's class and Mrs. Callahan's teamed up last week to listen to a read-aloud "The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin," and then worked together to create their own pumpkins. A fantastic activity and opportunity for students to interact with each other. Teamwork makes the dream work!

2019 Annual Spelling Bee (Grade 4 & 5)

Congratulations to the following students who will be advancing to the district level competition on Thursday, November 7 at Camillus Middle School! We wish you the best of luck!

Dylan Wainwright (Grade 5 Cunningham)

Keira McGlaughlin (Grade 5 Cunningham)

Edison Coles (Grade 5 Cunningham)
Daniela Thorpe (Grade 5 Callahan)
Laura Anastasio (Grade 5 Callahan)

Looking Ahead

Positivity Project 

Over the next two weeks, staff and students will focus on the character strengths CREATIVITY and BRAVERY, which will lead us to our Veterans Day Assembly on November 8th! 

A Friendly Halloween Reminder

As we keep school safety at the forefront of our district decision making, thank you for understanding that Split Rock Elementary will continue last year's practice and will no longer hold outdoor Halloween costume parades. We will hold an indoor parade on Thursday, October 31, so that our students can have the experience within the building. Following the parade, each classroom will be partaking in a classroom party. ONLY parent volunteers who signed up at Open House will be able to enter the building and permitted into the classrooms for the parties. Implementing these protocols ensures the safety and well being of both students and staff. We thank you ahead of time for respecting these procedures.

D.E.A.R Program Has Kicked Off 

Drop Everything And Read! D.E.A.R began on October 24 and will run until November 8. Split Rock's PTO sent a letter home with a calendar and all the pertinent information. Be sure to chart your progress on the calendar and have your child return it to school on Friday, November 8. Upon submission, you will be entered in a drawing to win a $10 Scholastic Gift Certificate to use the Split Rock Book Fair November 13-15. There will be one winner per classroom!

Halloween Candy Drive

Our Halloween Candy drive is back! This year the Split Rock PTO is partnering with the Syracuse VA Medical Center for our Halloween candy drive. You may bring in your extra Halloween candy to school November 1-8. The Grade 5 students will package all candy donated to create treat bags for our Veterans, which will also include a thank you note for serving our country. A letter was sent home last week explaining the event in further detail.

Veterans Day Celebration Assembly

Our Veterans Day Assembly will be held on Friday, November 8 at 1:45 pm. We look forward to hearing from honorary guest speaker retired Army Captain and current NYS Trooper Robert Burke!

Special Guests

We would love to have your son or daughter bring a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle and/or sibling as a special guest if they are are a veteran and have them recognized during the assembly. If your child has a veteran that would be willing and able to attend the assembly please email me directly at mkimpland@westgenesee.org. I would ask that you include their rank, branch of service and the year in which they served.  

Artifact Walk

We will be setting up an artifact/memorabilia collection to honor those who have served our country. Tables will be set up along "The Bridge" hallway so the students can showcase pictures of their relatives in uniform, for all students to view the day of the assembly. We will start collecting photos/memorabilia immediately and continue through Thursday, November 7, the day before the event. Students will receive the pictures back no later than Tuesday, November 12. Please look for a letter to be sent home later this week with more details.

Early Dismissal Reminder: Tuesday, November 5 is a Half- Day for students. Dismissal will be at 11:30 am. Please be sure to send a note if your child's drop off location will change for that day.

Upcoming Dates:

Thursday, October 31:

• Halloween Parade 

Friday, November 1:

• Veterans Halloween Candy Drop-off begins

Tuesday, November 5:

• Half-Day Students- Early dismissal 11:30 am 

Wednesday, November 6

• BOE Meeting 7:00 pm

Thursday, November 7

• District Spelling Bee Competition at Camillus Middle School 

Friday, November 8

• Veterans Day Celebration Assembly 1:45 pm
• D.E.A.R Program ends
• Veterans Halloween Candy Drop-off ends

October Happenings at The ROCK!

Ready To Go

I hope everyone had a great long weekend with family and friends and enjoyed the great fall weather! We should all feel rested and rejuvenated and ready to continue and grow as students, as we work toward Thanksgiving Recess. Both staff and students will be extremely busy over the next month with both academic learning and many events and activities! These are all things you won't want to miss, so be sure you are doing everything you can to BE IN SCHOOL AND PRESENT! Attendance is important and will continue to be a focus at "The Rock!"  If you are not in school you are not learning!

Halloween is almost here!  

As we keep school safety at the forefront of our district decision making, thank you for understanding that Split Rock Elementary will continue last year's practice and will no longer hold outdoor Halloween costume parades. We will hold an indoor parade on Thursday, October 31, so that our students can have the experience within the building. Following the parade, each classroom will be partaking in a classroom party. ONLY parent volunteers who signed up at Open House will be able to enter the building and permitted into the classrooms for the parties. Implementing these protocols ensures the safety and well being of both students and staff. We thank you ahead of time for respecting these procedures.

Pick Up and Drop Off

The transportation department continues to do a great job of working with us to make our arrival and dismissal procedures as safe and productive as possible. You might have noticed the new bus parking procedures taken place to create a little more space for drop off and pick up. However, it is still not perfect and if procedures are not followed properly, it can still create some concern. We ask that all those picking up and dropping off are very cognisant of all bus warnings during these times and not crossing the paths of the buses when the lights and signs are flashing. Utilizing district transportation is the safest and convenient method of transporting students to and from school. 

Want to Stay Connected?

I do my best to showcase all the learning and hard work that goes on a daily basis at Split Rock. A great way to see this is to follow us @Split_Rock1 to get daily insights as to what is taking place throughout the day in the building. 

Positivity Project

We held our second Positivity Assembly last week to kick off the next three strengths that we will be looking at over the next few weeks. The strengths are; Integrity, Perspective and Creativity. Congratulations to those below who hold these as their top character strengths. These students were recognized during the assembly and celebrated.  A big thanks to Mrs. Chambala who shared some of the ways she is creative and her perspective. She also read "What If.." to the students which were a great way to introduce these traits. Students also had the opportunity to view a Kid President video on being AWESOME!

Upcoming Dates:

Friday, October 18

• Grade 5 Spirit Day~ Wear your BLUE and YELLOW 💙💛

Monday, October 21

• Merry-Go-Round Playhouse (Grade 5)

Wednesday, October 23

• 6:00 pm PTO Meeting
• 7:00 pm BOE Meeting

Thursday, October 24

• Author Visit (Grades k-5)
• DEAR Program Kick-off

Friday, October 25

• West Genesee Wears Pink

*The West Genesee faculty and staff will be showing unity against cancer.  Please join us in raising awareness, and showing support. We would love to have the students at "The Rock," participate if they are willing and able!

Welcome to "ROCK" tober!

Finding Our Groove

Job well done by both staff and students! We have seemed to find our groove and have settled in. Students are working extremely hard as we continue to focus on our FOUR Bs (Be Present, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Safe)!

It was a busy two weeks at "The Rock!" Our band, chorus and orchestra lessons kicked off, we had a visit from Merry-Go-Round Playhouse and Officer Diane Brand, who presented our first round of CODE Assemblies. On top of that, we continue to follow through with our safety expectations and regulations, as we have run through several evacuation drills. Let's not forget about all the wonderful instruction and learning taking place on a daily basis.  Enjoy some of the pictures captured over the last couple of weeks.

Officer Brand teaching our CODE Assemblies

Merry Go Round Theater Presentation 

Mrs. Speich's Chorus Class

Mrs. Lockwood's First Grade Class 

Positivity Project

Over the next couple of weeks we will be recognizing the following character strengths:

Sept. 30-Oct 5 Open-Mindedness

Here students will learn "why people who use open-mindedness are more likely to make accurate decisions and decisions that they won't regret." -Mike Erwin

Oct. 6-Oct. 12 OPM2 (Being present and giving others my attention)

Here students will have the ability to learn what being present means while making sure we are giving our peers our attention.

Upcoming Dates:

Wednesday, October 2

• BOE Meeting 7pm WGHS

Friday, October 4

• P2 Assembly (Grades K-5)

Monday, October 7

•  Chittenango Landing Grade Field Trip (Grade 5)

Thursday, October 10

• Merry-Go-Round Playhouse (Grade 1)

Monday, October 14

• Columbus Day (NO SCHOOL)