Superintendent: Mr. Rose
Thank you for checking out our December issue of Bird’s Eye View. Again, our original thought behind its creation was to help inform our great community on what is happening here at SLC, at a time when we could not invite you in to see for yourself. As you are about to see, our students and staff are doing some amazing things and are doing everything they can to ensure Covid is NOT getting the best of them! Our hope is you will continue to follow us every month, and as things open up, that we will also see you back in the building and on the grounds to see for yourself.
I would like to thank all of our parents that attended our Parent Teacher Conference nights either in person, on a Google Meet, or by phone. Student representation was as follows:
Elementary School - 95.7% of students were represented
Middle School - 34.4% of students were represented
High School- 24% of students were represented
This representation is what we commonly see every year, it is not a surprise. My plea to all parents and guardians is this: although physically it may not seem our children in grades 5-12 need us as much any more, and they do often love to tell us this :), but they actually need us even MORE than when they were in elementary school. They face so many more challenges, aside from their daily education, that they do not face in Pre-K-4th grade. These conferences often are the beginning of a relationship/bond between parents, teachers, counselors, and principals that will hold many advantages as the year(s) progress. Face to face meetings, whether in person, or by Google Meet bring another level of connection that I promise will only benefit our children in the days, weeks, and years to come. Please mark all Parent Teacher Conference nights and Open Houses on your calendars and make whatever arrangements you need to attend (thank you).
Congratulations to our SLC Whiz Quiz Team that just keeps on winning!
On November 15th, SLC hosted our first ages 5-11 Covid vaccination clinic. Public Health was able to give out 60 shots here that day (the most of any school in our 18 school BOCES District). SLC was glad we could host for those who were interested.
Our athletic and music departments have been working very hard to provide some great upcoming entertainment at sporting events and concerts in December. When attending a school sponsored event, masks will need to be worn at times.
I wish you all a great holiday season.
High School Principal: Mrs. Zender
On Friday, December 10, 2021 the SLC HS will be hosting an “Elective and Club Fair” in the morning to showcase all of the course offerings and clubs that students have to choose from. Students in grades 8 and 10 have had the opportunity previously to visit the Technical Center to learn about these programs and likewise, the high school will be showcasing all of our offerings for all. This day will serve as our official kickoff to the scheduling season where our guidance counselors will begin to meet one on one with every student in the high school to develop a plan to meet their unique needs and interests. Parents and guardians should be on the lookout for notification from Mrs. Jenkinson about your child’s individual meetings and connect with your guidance counselor if you have any questions about dates and times. Students with the last name A-K have Mrs. Andrea Martin as their school counselor and students with the last name L-Z have Mrs. Rachel Roldan.
Additionally on December 10th, the SLC HS will have an early dismissal for staff development. Students will be dismissed at 11:30 am. Morning Seaway Tech students will be released early from the Tech Center to arrive on time for bus dismissal. Afternoon Seaway Tech students are excused from their programming for the day.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me as needed!
Enjoy the holiday season, and see you all in 2022!
Golden Apple Award
The “Golden Apple” Award is a special recognition of a High School staff member who goes above and beyond the call of duty.
Amy Cheevers was the "Golden Apple" Award Winner for the Month of November.
Amy was nominated by one of her peers because she always has a smile on her face and brings positivity to every interaction. She is incredibly organized and works hard to meet the needs of all of her students. In particular, her Real World Math class makes math relevant and fun even for students who otherwise struggle with the subject. Amy leads by example and makes our school a more welcoming place.
Would you like to recognize a staff member? Stop in and see Mrs. Zender or email at kzender@bfcsd.org
Greenhouse Pollinator Garden
Come help us plant it with wildflowers in the spring!
The Farmstand Grow Tower
Last month the Greenhouse highlighted the Farmstand grow tower that we received from the Whole Kids Grow With Us grant from the company, Lettuce Grow.
We wanted to give an update on how it's doing. Our Farmstand is currently growing: marigolds, oregano, tatsoi, green beans, dill, thyme, sugar sprint peas, alyssum, Italian parsley, spearmint, kale, strawberries, dianthus, celery, snapdragons, cilantro, violas, garlic chives, alpine berries, fennel, and broccoli.
Look how much it has grown in the last month!
Check out the Farmstand's story on our Greenhouse webpage.
Middle School Principal: Mrs. LaBarge
Hello Middle School Family!
We are really excited that we have made it to December. There are a lot of events and things that will be occurring where we can start to feel some normalcy. We are looking forward to winter concerts and sports with spectators this year, and I hope to see some of you at these events.
It was nice to see many parents at our conference night, and we want to continue to ask that if you have concerns about your child, that you make an appointment to meet with teachers, counselors, or myself. We also welcome you to email with any questions. The greater levels of communication really help to ensure that students are doing their best. It is also important that you have updated an email and phone numbers in Schooltool, so we are able to reach you if necessary. If you do not have Schooltool access, please fill out the form on the district website to do so. We appreciate the many parents who are checking their child’s account on a weekly basis. Our teachers do their best to keep this information updated so parents know how their child is doing.
One other helpful parent reminder is to try to have after school plans confirmed before going to school. If you do need to let your child know they should go to parent pick-up, or that there are other plans, please make sure to email Mrs. Crump at lcrump@bfcsd.org before 2:00 pm.
Activity Period Pick-Ups: Any middle school parents picking up students after activity period must be waiting outside the high school entrance by 3:25. Any students who have not been picked up will be bused home on the 3:30 bus. If you are running late, and will be a couple minutes late, please call the office by 3:10 to notify us.
Reminders for Middle School Students: CORE Focus
Communication: Students should communicate with teachers if they have questions, or need help. Students should also be checking their Schooltool on a weekly basis.
Organization: All middle school students are expected to use their agendas, and keep their paper materials in an enclosed binder section, or folder for each class.
Respect: Students should treat each other and all staff members appropriately at all times. This includes appropriate language, respecting the personal space of others, and keeping their hands to themselves at all times. We want our students to practice for future employment and dress/act the part of their current job as a student.
Effort: Everyone has their own personal goals, and personal bests, but we want to see every student handing in all assignments, and doing what is asked of them to work to their full potential. This also includes staying after school for extra help.
Thank you for working with us to help your child be as successful as possible!
Mrs. LaBarge
MS Principal
Middle School Counseling News
Mr. Niles A-K
Mrs. LaVoie L-Z
Happy Holiday Season!
We hope that everyone is happy, healthy, and coping well. Below are some updates from the Middle School counseling team.
We will be going into classrooms again in the forthcoming months. The topics will include:
“Guidance” topics such as student progress updates, academic, and career planning
Social/emotional education - managing emotions and coping skills
We will be working on a plan to familiarize students and parents with Erin’s Law (Chapter 187 of the Laws of 2019). Erin's Law - requires public schools to teach child sexual abuse and exploitation prevention to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. For more information regarding the law, please visit: http://www.nysed.gov/curriculum-instruction/erins-law.
We are already looking at planning for next year’s schedule. 6th and 7th graders will be meeting with their counselor in the next couple of months to talk about their course selections. As we approach the mid-year, it’s important to keep students focused and motivated. Our goal is for students to move on to the next grade level well equipped for success. Parent involvement, and communication are key to that success. Be sure to reach out to your child’s counselor if you or your child need support or guidance.
Elementary Principal: Mrs. Colterman
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Once again, with the weather changing, I'd like to remind everyone to be sure our children are dressed appropriately for the weather. If you are in need of winter clothing, please reach out and we will see what we can do to help.
We look forward to bringing families back into the building. Our first step in this direction was with parent-teacher conferences. We were very excited to have almost all of our families participate in parent-teacher conferences! It was so nice to have families in the building and to discuss ways to better support our students. Thank you to our families for taking time out of your busy schedules to invest in your child's education. Our partnership is essential to their success.
The Kindergarten team is eagerly anticipating bringing families in for gingerbread house decorating, and a modified version of the Kindergarten Christmas Concert.
We enjoyed celebrating our first quarter character education awards. Congratulations to all of our winners! If you'd like to check them out, you can view them here:
SLC Elementary has received a grant to work with the Brilliant Pathways program. In our school, the program is focused on our fourth grade students. The program strives to "prepare students for college, careers, and life. The secret to success? It’s having caring mentors. It’s mastering skills you can leverage for success in the classroom, and in life. It’s having a vision of what’s possible, and knowing what it takes to make it reality. For 30 years, CFES (Brilliant Pathways) has worked side by side with educators and students to ensure the secret isn’t really a secret at all." On November 23, our program director, Hannah Corkery, came to introduce the program to our fourth graders and work on the program's six essential skills (leadership, agility, perseverance, teamwork, networking, and goal setting). To learn more about Brilliant Pathways, you can visit their website: https://brilliantpathways.org/.
I encourage you to take a moment and check out the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES Parent Newsletter for the month of December. We will share these monthly. They have some great information in them.
Dates to Know:
SLC Elementary will have a 12:30 dismissal on Friday, December 10. Winter break begins on December 23. School will resume on January 3. Please plan accordingly for these days.
I wish your family a magical month of December! Enjoy the holiday season.
Mrs. Colterman
Technology Tidbits: Mr. Welsh
As we approach the end of 2021, I just want to remind parents and students that in January of 2020 the New York State Department of Education passed Education Law 2d. This law is designed to protect students' Personal Identifiable Information (PII). Under this law, PII uses the definition provided by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy ACT (FERPA) which includes, but is not limited to, a students name, address of the student or student’s family, a personal identifier such as a student ID number, other indirect identifiers such as date of birth, place of birth, or mother’s maiden name. These can also include other information that, alone, or in combination, can be linked to a specific student that would allow a reasonable person, who does not have personal knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to identify the student with reasonable certainty.
To meet the requirements of this law, the district has to put certain practices in place. These practices assist in limiting the chances of student PII being used by a contractor, or for marketing purposes by third party software companies. The major change is that the district must enter into a contract with any third party software company which states that they do not collect and use student PII, and that they have protections in place to protect our students. You may have noticed this school year that some programs we have used in the past are no longer being used.
Secondly, the district is closely following the parameters of the Brasher Falls Central School District Acceptable Use Policy that describes that student internet access, Chromebooks and computers, and email provided by the district are intended for educational use, instruction, research and the facilitation of communication, collaboration, and other district related purposes. The more strict alignment to this policy is in relation to the number of potential releases of PII through attempted extractions of data while students have been using online games and visual media sites such as Youtube, Hulu, and Netflix. Students will continue to have access to approved Youtube videos that are embedded in their lessons, however, they no longer have access to this website using their school assigned account.
Any questions on any of these changes can be directed to kwelsh@bfcsd.org, and I will be more than happy to explain Ed. Law 2d and the current restrictions on district provided accounts.
Contact Information
Email: crose@bfcsd.org
Website: www.bfcsd.org
Location: 1039 State Highway 11C, Brasher Falls, NY 13613
Phone: 315-389-5131
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrasherFallsCSD
