FRIDAY NEWS NOTES
January 18, 2008
School Telephone: 274-2206
Remember to call the Attendance Line (274-2132) if your child is going to be late or absent! To contact our principal, Mr. Spence, call 274-2206 and leave a message or e-mail him at jspence@icsd.k12.ny.us.
Calendar:
Check out the Web Calendar at www.icsd.k12.ny.us/bellesherman
Monday January 21st No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
A Student Credit Union at Belle Sherman? Parents, staff and teachers: Are you interested in helping get a branch of Alternatives Credit Union started at Belle Sherman? Four other elementary schools have branches going and report that they are great ways to reinforce both math and saving skills. An organizational meeting will be held Wednesday, January 23 @ 6:30 pm in the Belle Sherman School Library. Joe Cummins from Alternatives Credit Union will share info about this program. If you can’t make the meeting, but are interested contact Andrea Lachance at 275-0388 or Lachance@cortland.edu.
No Basketball This Weekend - Last Home Game Next Week! The Belle Sherman Basketball Teams are not playing this weekend. Next Saturday, January 26, Belle Sherman will be playing Enfield at home. The schedule is: 9 am 3rd/4th Grade Girls; 10 am 5th Grade Girls; 11 am 4th Grade Boys; 12 noon 5th Grade Boys. There is NO 3rd Grade Boys game. Full schedule at www.bspta.org/Bballschedule.htm
Basketball Concessions: The PTA will be running a concession stand from 9 AM - 1 PM on Saturday, January 26 during the games against Enfield. THIS IS THE LAST HOME GAME, and we are looking for donations of baked goods/healthy snacks/pizza, etc. We also need volunteers to staff our table in half hour shifts. The money we raise helps offset the cost of PTA programs. If you can donate a food item, please drop it off on the day of the game in the main building entry way. If you can help staff the table, please contact Andrea Lachance at lachance@cortland.edu or 275-0388. Thanks for your support!
What is a "Responsive Classroom"? Come find out at the next general PTA meeting on Monday Feb. 4th in the Main School Library. 6pm pizza, 6:30 presentation by Sue Rakow. Childcare provided.
Mark Your Calendar for the 2008 Belle Sherman Spring Fair! Come on Friday, May 16 from 6-8pm for lots of fun and games with the Belle Sherman community! New, wrapped "fast-food" restaurant (Happy Meal)-type of toys are needed for spring fair prizes. Please send any toys in to the PTA.
A 5K run and Fun Run is planned for Saturday April 26 at Belle Sherman. The 5K and Fun Run will be a fund raising event for the 5th grade class trip and the PTA. All Belle Sherman kids and families are encouraged to start training! In-school wellness activities will be planned in the months prior to run.
Belle Sherman Talent Show! As a fundraiser to support the 5th grade NYC trip, Belle Sherman will be featuring its own local talent in a performance on Friday, March 28th. Students, parents, teachers and staff, please consider small group acts to perform in the show (up to 3 minutes in length). Each classroom teacher has a sign up sheet and spaces are limited. So sign up by January 29th to participate. 5th Grade parents will be providing after school practices – more info on this will be provided shortly.
Bottle & Can Collection: Please donate returnable bottles and cans to Belle Sherman 5th Grade to help raise money for our trip to New York City. You can drop them off in the collection box in the entryway of the main building or you can return bottles to P&C and put the receipt in the collection jar at the service desk, marked "Belle Sherman 5th Grade NYC Trip Fund" or you can return them at K&H Redemption and ask to put the money toward BS 5th grade. Thanks for your contributions!
NOTES FROM THE PRINCIPAL: Monica Lang, Kip Wilcox, Todd Peterson and the Jupiter Room led our all-school assembly in a celebration of Martin Luther King’s and Harriet Tubman’s lives and legacies. We also introduced students new to Belle Sherman and two new teachers: Pere Cohn (for Marcella Cox) and Alison Provan (for Peggy Dolan). Marcella and Peggy will be returning in the fall.
The nurse reminds parents to keep their children home for an additional twenty-four hours after a fever, throwing up, diarrhea, and other symptoms of highly contagious bugs stop. This will be very helpful in keeping illness from spreading rampantly through classrooms and buildings. Thanks.
Enrichment Program is looking for talented folks to lead enrichment classes 1day/week, 2-3pm for 6 weeks in Feb/March. Please contact Wendy Gutman at 277-0573 or gutmanw@verizon.net
Lehman Alternative Community School informational meetings. Tuesday, February 12th, Thursday, February 28th, and Wednesday, March 12th, 2008. All three meetings will be from 7:00-8:30 pm at LACS, 111 Chestnut Street in Ithaca. For more info, call the school at 274-2183. Please note that the deadline for applications for the 2008-2009 school year is March 31, 2008.
Student Life and Culture Survey Results: The Community Coalition for Healthy Youth and the ICSD have been in collaboration to examine student activities, substance use, experiences with school climate and safety, and parental monitoring. A survey focused on these topics was administered in April 2007 to 6-12th graders in Ithaca City Schools, and results are now available. A copy of the Summary of Highlights will be posted on the bulletin board at the main entrance of the main schoolor you can follow a link in the wellness section of www.BSPTA.org or find more information at www.healthyyouth.org.
One-To-One Big Brothers Big Sisters Get Involved in the world’s largest and most effective system of youth mentoring! Little Moments…BIG Magic…Huge Impact! BBBS works to establish and nurture friendships between caring, responsible adults and children aged 6-14 in need of such friendships. Become a BIG and spend 6 to 8 hours a month with a LITTLE! Volunteers dedicate a minimum of one year to the program. For more info, contact Molly Bargar 273-8364x156 mbargar@cityofithaca.org
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY OF SERVICE - MAKE IT A DAY ON, NOT A DAY OFF!!
The 14th annual celebration of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be held on Monday, January 21, 2008. This year's festivities will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC), 318 N. Albany Street, with workshops for children and adults and a panel on Human Rights titled "Undoing Silence." The luncheon, free to the public, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. will be held in the Beverly J. Martin School gymnasium, 302 W. Buffalo St. This year we are pleased to have Alan Gomez, Asst. Professor, Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity at Ithaca College, as our guest speaker. Special performances by local choirs, Cal Walker and John Simon.
GIAC's Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast The Greater Ithaca Activities Center, (GIAC) is holding its Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Breakfast, Saturday, January 19 from 9:00 to 11:00 AM at the Beverly J. Martin Elementary School gym. This year's theme is, "Crisis in our Community" Equity in the ICSD. Guest Speaker is Mr. Cal Walker. GIAC participants and local
community members will provide music, poetry and other entertainment. Awards to be presented include the Tompkins County Human Rights Commission Art & Poetry contest winners and the Peace Maker Award from the Community Dispute and Resolution Center. Costs for breakfast are $3- adults, $10 families (4 or more), $2 seniors and students. For more information please contact GIAC at 272-3622.
Friday News Notes are published weekly in cooperation with our school and the Parent-Teacher Association. Your input is welcome. News can be sent to fridaynews@verizon.net or put in the "Friday news" mailbox in the main school building. Please submit all news by 2pm on Thursdays. If you have questions, e-mail as above or call Karla Hanson at 277-6603. News Notes are posted to the BelleShermanFolks listserve at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/belleshermanfolks. BelleShermanChat is our more informal online group for community announcements, classified ads, etc. from Belle Sherman families. You can join at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BelleShermanChat or contact Jim Morris-Knower at 273-7695 or jpk15@cornell.edu. List serve for 5th grade families interested in planning and fundraising the NYC trip and graduation: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BSherman5thGrade