FRIDAY NEWS NOTES

February 8, 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- Friday February 18th - 22nd No School – February Vacation

Discussion about the Belle Sherman Principal Search: As you may know, the district has started the search for a permanent principal for our school. Mr. Jeff Spence has been serving as our interim principal for approximately 2.5 years. Applications are currently being solicited for a permanent principal. Screening of applications will begin in March and interviews will be held in early April. To gather community input on the selection process, the PTA is sponsoring a discussion about the kind of leader we'd like to have for our school. What is our community's vision for our school? What kind of leader can help our school achieve its goals? What are the characteristics we'd like to see in a new principal? This discussion will take place on Wed, Feb. 27 7 - 8 pm in the Main Building Library. Childcare will be provided. For more info, contact Stephanie Baptist at snbaptist@yahoo.com or 275-1231.

Enrichment Coordinator for the Main School Needed! The PTA sponsored afterschool enrichment program provides valuable, fun and educational experiences for Belle Sherman kids. Currently, there is no coordinator for enrichment activities for grades 2-5. Without a coordinator, the program cannot continue for kids in these grades. Can you help? Please contact Cindy Milner (cmilner@ithaca.edu, 273-4185) or Bonnie Comella (bec3@cornell.edu) for more info or to volunteer.

Lunchroom Changes From February 4th to March 3rd our main building students will be eating lunch in their classrooms because the gym/cafeteria will be set up for the PE gymnastics unit. Mrs. Thompson’s 2nd grade classroom will remain PEANUT FREE during this time, which means that only students with peanut-free lunches will be allowed to eat there. If you have any questions, please contact the school nurse at 274-2107. Thank you.

NOTES FROM THE PRINCIPAL: At our Superintendent’s Conference Day on Equity this past Monday, the keynote speaker, Dr. Eddie Fergus, challenged elementary staff to strive against the normalization of failure, to focus beyond test scores to determine what individual children really need, to provide students who are behind with opportunities for the additional work and effective instruction that can catch them up, to teach the way students learn rather than expecting them to learn the way we teach, to differentiate instruction all the time, to limit the amount of time students are involved in passive learning, and to display publicly all students’ work. Dr. Fergus reminded everyone that equitable does not mean equal, and that to achieve equity, some of our students are going to have to work harder and longer, while receiving more individually targeted instruction, than their higher performing peers. Our staff then joined their district colleagues in various workshops throughout the day designed to help them better achieve our shared equity goal of eliminating race, class and disability as predictors of school success.

TALENT SHOW PRACTICES Fridays in the music room between 2-3pm, starting February 8, 2008. Supervision will be provided by Heather Field and other 5th grade parents. If you have any questions call Heather at 319-4340 or email asharma3@twcny.rr.com.

Sewing Club starting! for 2-5th graders beginning Mon. Feb 25, 2-3:30 in the staff room (next to the band/ orchestra room). It is helpful to have parents rotate helping out. If your child wants to participate, please talk to Cheryl Tubbs: nurses’ office or ctubbs@icsd.k12.ny.us, or Ellen Morris-Knower: 273-7695 or emorrisknower@yahoo.com. If your child is in afterschool, please let Tara know s/he would like to participate. Sewing machines are needed. If you can loan one, please let Cheryl know.

Basketball Thanks The regular basketball season is over. Thanks to all our coaches: Eleanor Frankel, Bruce Lauber, Mike Rudan, Noreen Ruff, Chris Milner, Bob Kaputkin, Robert Levine, Susie Monagan, Dave Estes, Randy Sampson and Steve Cummings; and to folks who donated or helped out with the concession stand. Overall, we made approximately $400 to support our basketball program. Special thanks goes to Eleanor Frankel for overseeing our basketball program and Mike Rudan for coordinating home game set ups. It was a great season and many children learned new skills and had some fun!

Composting! Belle Sherman kicked off its composting initiative this week thanks to the leadership of second grade teacher, Allison Trdan. Reducing the volume of our trash and turning much of it back into earth-helpful compost represents a giant step in Belle Sherman’s effort to become a greener school.

Winter Recess Reminder For your child’s safety and good health, please make sure that your child brings a hat, gloves or mittens, snow pants, boots and a warm winter coat to school each day. Children go out for recess unless the wind chill is below 10oF. There are no indoor options. Thank you.

Recorders! If anyone is interested in ordering a recorder for your child to use at home, I can order one for $2.50 including shipping. I can accept cash or check made out to Sharon Nelson for that amount. Place the money or check in an envelope with your child’s name on the front and send it to school with your child. The deadline for ordering is Friday, February 15th. They should arrive two weeks later.

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.

Community News

Asian American Association Celebrates the Lunar New Year - Year of the Rat! Sat., Feb. 9, Center Ithaca, 11am-2pm Lion Dance Performance, Arts & Crafts for all ages. FREE and OPEN to the public

Ithaca Girls Hockey Team Holds Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser Sunday, Feb. 10, Moose Lodge, 367 Elmira Road, from 8:00 am - 12:00 noon. The Shooting Stars are part of Tompkins Girls Hockey Association (TGHA) and are raising funds to cover the cost of participating in hockey tournaments. Tickets ($5) are available at the door or from members of the team. For info call Lee at 273-8816 ext 101.

American Red Cross Classes (1) When I’m in Charge: Saturday, February 16th 10am-12:30pm. Ideal for 8-11 year-olds teaching them appropriate decision-making skills when out of the direct supervision of a parent/guardian. $15 (2) Babysitter’s Training Course: February 20th & 21st, 9am-12:15pm OR 1-4:15pm. Ideal for current and future babysitters, teaching them decision-making skills and solutions for real-life problems as well as first aid and basic care skills. $40. Call 273-1900x14 for more info.

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

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