Insert
Breakfast & Lunch Menu
Letter from the
Principal
1
First Grade
3
First & Third Grade
4
Physical Education
5
PeaceBuilders
6
Coming in October
October 6 & 7
Picture Day
(Elementary)
October 9th
Superintendent’s
Conference Day
October 12
Columbus Day
No School
October 16th
Interim Reports
K-5
October 31
Halloween
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www.keshequa.org
Volume 9 Issue 1
KESHEQUA CENTRAL SCHOOL
Letter from the Principal
September 2009
'To be a teacher you must be a prophet - because yo u are trying to prepare people
for a world thirty to fifty years into the future.' Gordon Brown MIT
DALTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
Kindergarten
2
Library
7
H1N1
8 & 9
Dalton Goes GREEN
10
Breakfast and
11&12
Lunch Menu
Wow! September has gone by so quickly. It is terr
ific to see all of our students
back in the building. They seem to be adjusting to
their new classes and schedules
quite well. October looks to be a busy month. Stu
dent pictures, fire and bus
safety presentations are just a few of the activiti
es scheduled for our students.
Many of our clubs will also begin meeting in Octobe
r. Our Open House is scheduled
for October 21
st
. I hope you are able to join us. The students lov
e this opportunity
to show off their classrooms and projects that they
have been working on.
I wanted to add a few reminders about our school da
y and the procedures that we
have for arrival and dismissal. Sometimes these ma
y seem inconvenient but all have
been put in place to help us ensure student safety.
Your efforts and cooperation in
achieving that goal are greatly appreciated.
The school day begins at 8:15am. If your child is
walking or being dropped off at
school they should not arrive before 7:55am. Bus s
tudents will be dropped off at
that time as well. We do ask that students who will
be eating breakfast in school be
here at 7:55am in order to have enough time to eat
before the day begins.
Student dismissal varies between grade levels but b egins about 2:20. Buses depart
the school at 2:35. If you are picking up your chi
ld at the end of the day, please do
not arrive at the school until at least 2:15 pm. T
hose who arrive early should park
in our parking lot located near the kindergarten wi
ng. Also, we request that if you
will be in the building for more than five minutes
that you not park in the loop but
in the designated visitor parking spaces. All stud
ents being picked up, including
pre-k students, need to be signed out and dismissed
from the cafeteria. Please
wait for your child in the cafeteria instead of the
hallways.
We have many students that ride the bus home at the
end of the day. The bus
garage sends us a daily list of any bus changes. P
lease send a note in with your child
in the morning if they will not be riding their usu
al bus home. When transportation
changes are made in the afternoon it makes it diffi
cult to ensure that all the nec-
essary people are notified.
Thank you very much for your support,
Ami Hunt
Elementary Principal
Kindergarten News
Kindergarten
started the school year
off with an orientation
day on September 8
th
.
The students and parents
were able to spend time
in the classrooms with
the teachers and become
familiar with Kindergar-
ten routines and expecta-
tions. The parents also
met with Ivan Beardsley
to confirm the children’s
bus routes while the boys
and girls had a bus safety
lesson on a school bus. It
was a great way to help
the children feel comfort-
able about starting a full
day of school.
This month the
Kindergartners have
been busy learning class-
room and school rules.
All the children have also
been practicing letter
naming and letter match-
ing during reading time.
At math time they have
sorted a variety of objects
by size, color, and shape.
Everyone is com-
pleting a social studies
unit about families. As a
final project, each child
will trace and cut out
patterns to make a large
paper doll that resembles
him or herself. The doll
will be decorated with in-
formation about the
child. Look for these fin-
ished projects in the Kin-
dergarten area soon!
Welcome to Kindergarten
DALTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
The first graders in Mrs. Beachel’s class have star ted a project that will continue throughout
the school year. They have listened to the book Fla t Stanley by Jeff Brown. In this story a boy
named Stanley is flattened by a bulletin board that falls on him during the night. When he
awakens the next morning he is only half an inch th ick! Stanley proceeds to have many new
adventures such as being flown as a kite and helpin g to catch dangerous art thieves.
The adventure that the students will focus on is o ne in which Stanley is rolled up and
mailed to a friend in California in an effort to sa ve on travel expenses. Each student will
decorate their own Flat Stanley and we will mail th ese paper cut-outs to addresses that the
students provide. When our responses arrive we read about the exciting things Stanley did
while vacationing and then plot his location on a m ap. This project is a fun way to explore lit-
erature, hear about new places, and learn map skill s. We look forward to sending our
Stanley’s soon!
First Grade’s Adventures of Flat Stanley
DALTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
OH NO……
I’m flat!
Select Chorus (now
known as “Swing Choir”)
will begin rehearsals af-
ter school beginning on
Wednesday, September
30th.
2nd and 3rd Grade cho-
rus rehearsals begin on
Thursday, October 1st,
after school (please send
a snack and drink in
with your child.)
First Graders learned about
the life cycle of a Monarch
butterfly first hand.
For days they watched the
caterpillar eat greedily. Then
one day the students came to
school and the caterpillar had
formed a chrysalis.
Waiting patiently for the but-
terfly to emerge was not easy
for first graders...we checked
daily to see if it had become a
butterfly.
Finally the day came and we
got to see it come out! What
an amazing thing to observe!
Swing Choir
What We Do in Third Grade
The Monarch Butterfly
DALTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
We do a lot like Math, Cursive, Sci-
ence, and Social Studies.
We do Reading and have Centers. I
think all of us like Centers.
Some people think Cursive is hard but
most of us like it. So far in Math we
are doing thousands, hundreds, tens,
and ones.
We have Art, Music and Library once
a week. We have Computer two times
a week, and Physical Education four
times a week.
We are very busy, but we like third
grade!
by : Jada Luther,
Tori Weber and
Alyssa Cartwright
(from: Mrs. DeMarco’s 3
rd
Grade
Classroom)
Here is our caterpillar as the
Chrysalis has become clear in color.
Here is the butterfly as it emerges
from the chrysalis.
Here is the butterfly as it begins to dry its
wings. Notice how the wings are curled up.
October 10th is National Metric Day
DALTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
Yeah!!
The adventure course/fitness trail
The adventure course/fitness trail was
built 3 years ago. We received the money
from a grant and had help from faculty
members, community members and the
Boy Scouts. We all worked together to
clean the woods and build the course.
We use the course two to three times a
year in Physical Education (PE). Each
element has a name and purpose ( such
as Wild Woosy, Nitro Crossing and Trust
Fall.) All of the elements are used to
provide teamwork, trust, communication
and much more.
A big thank you to everyone who
helped and also to Nunda Lumber
for all of the materials they do-
nated to help build the
course/fitness trail.
PEACE COACHES AND BUS SAFETY
PEACE BUILDERS
ADAM YENCER
JACOB ELLIOTT
CLAY DAVIS
MACY BOSS
MADYSON SIMMONS
ANTHONY DIETZ
ALYSSA CARTWRIGHT
PEACE BUILDERS
PLEDGE
I am a peace builder
I pledge to praise people
To give up put-downs
To seek wise people
To notice and speak up
about hurts that I have caused
To right wrongs
I will build peace at home at
school and in my community
each day.
JADA LUTHER
KEARSTIN SCHARET
ERIC REED
ANGELINA CUTLER
ALLISON GALTON
BRENDAN WHITE
KELSEA MARTIN
Our students have been doing a great job of buildin g
peace in school, but behavior on the school bus sti ll
needs some improvement. Starting on Monday, Sep-
tember 28, we’re beginning our “school isn’t over u n-
til you get off the bus “campaign”. Our fifth grad e
students who have volunteered to be Peace Coaches
will greet students as they get on the bus at the e nd
of the day and remind them of the expected behav-
iors while on the bus. Peace Coaches will be ident i-
fied by their white Peacebuilder shirts and their
“peace coach” dog tags. Each Peace Coach will have
a copy of the Top 10 Expected Behaviors On The Bus
poster to remind students to act safely on their ri de
home. The top 10 list was actually developed by la st
years’ first graders with the help of Mrs. Hunt and
Mr. Wiggins. The top 10 list:
1. USE POLITE WORDS
2. SIT DOWN AND STAY SEATED
3. KEEP YOUR HANDS AND FEET TO YOURSELF
DALTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
4. BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELT IF YOU’RE
ASKED TO
5. KEEP THE AISLES CLEAR
6. USE AN INDOOR VOICE AND BE QUIET
AT THE RAILROAD TRACKS
7. BE FAIR TO OTHERS
8. WAIT TO EAT UNTIL AFTER YOU GET
OFF THE BUS
9. RESPECT THE BUS-PLEASE PICK UP
10. LISTEN TO YOUR BUS DRIVERS DIREC-
TIONS
With everyone’s cooperation, our students’ bus
ride can become more enjoyable and safer. If
you have any questions about the Peace Coach
program, please contact Mr. Wiggins at exten-
sion 1128.
Library Media Center News
By Joan Ellison
The library is a very busy place this fall! If yo
u have a
student in grades 3-5 who would like to join PageTu
rners, have
him/her see Mrs. Ellison. PageTurners is a group t
hat meets
every other Thursday after school. The students re
ad as
many books as possible from the official PageTurner s lists and
then twice a year compete against other schools to
see who
knows the most about the books they have read. It
is a fun
group and every year the students really seem to en
joy it.
Our first meeting was September 24
th
, but if your student
would still like to join, it’s not too late.
Our visiting author is coming in November this yea
r!
Barbara Palmer will be visiting our school on Thurs
day, Novem-
ber 19
th
. We will be starting soon to prepare for her visi
t.
Mrs. Strathearn requested this author/illustrator, so she will
be doing something exciting in the art room to help
prepare.
More information will be coming as we get closer to
the date.
Have a wonderful fall!
DALTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
'Every parent's deepest wish is that their childre n are self sufficient, happy, and able to live a fu ll life.' Peter Bloc
DALTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
Information for Students and Parents
about the FLU!
Some things to know about the flu
During the spring of 2009 a new flu virus started m aking people sick in the United States and throughou t the world. At first
this illness was called “swine flu,” but now you ma y hear it called novel (new) H1N1 influenza. To date, most people effected
with the novel H1N1 flu virus have experienced mild to moderate illness, similar to seasonal flu. Howev er, the flu can be seri-
ous, and many more people may get the flu this scho ol year.
What can you do?
• Get the seasonal flu vaccine now. It won’t protec t you from novel H1N1 flu, but seasonal flu is also
circulating and can make
you just as sick.
• Get the novel H1N1 flu vaccine as soon as it is av ailable, according to the priority groups establish ed by the federal Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Everyone should eventually be able to get the novel H1N1 flu vaccine, but those at
highest priority are:
– Pregnant women
– Health care workers and emergency medical respond ers
– People caring for infants under 6 months of age
– Children and young adults from 6 months to 24 yea rs
– People aged 25 to 64 years with underlying medica l conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes)
• Sick kids should stay home! They should NOT go to school, work, or out in public. If you think you ha ve the flu, you should
stay home and away from others. Individuals with fl u-like symptoms should remain home for at least 24 hours after fever has
disappeared (without the use of fever-reducing medi cation).
• Practice healthy habits. Cover your mouth and nos e when you cough or sneeze with a tissue – not your
hand. If you don’t
have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your sleeve. Wa sh hands often with soap and warm water, especially after you cough or
sneeze. Wash and rub hands for 20 seconds – as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice. Avoid to uching your eyes, nose
or mouth. Germs spread that way.
Flu in our school
We expect that some people in our school will get t he flu. Treatment for the novel H1N1 flu is the same as for seasonal flu. Rest,
fluids and medicine to reduce body aches and fever, are all that most of us need to recover. For peopl e with certain underlying
medical conditions, such as those with asthma and o ther chronic diseases, flu can be more serious, and these individuals should
contact their health care provider.
About school closures
The H1N1 flu outbreak that first occurred in the spr ing of 2009 taught us that closing schools does not reduce the spread of the
novel H1N1 flu. This flu moves too fast. That’s why federal, state and local officials no longer recomm end school closures due to
the flu except in special circumstances. For exampl e, some schools might close because of high student , faculty or staff absen-
teeism. Your family should plan what they will do i f school is closed for a time.
More information about the flu is available at www.nyhealth.gov and www.flu.gov.
This information is brought to you by the New York S tate Department of Health, the New York State Educat ion Department, and
your local school.
7226 New York State Department of Health 9/09
DALTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
September 2009
To The Keshequa School Community
Everyone at the Keshequa Central School is committe d to the safety and health of our students and staf f. As
we begin the school year, we are providing the follo wing information to everyone regarding the H1N1/Swin e Flu.
As you may know, flu can be easily spread from per son to person. Therefore, we are taking steps to r educe
the spread of flu at Keshequa. We want to keep the
school open to students and functioning in a norma l manner
during this flu season. But, we need your help to
do this.
We are working closely with the Livingston County D epartment of Health to monitor flu conditions and
make decisions about the best steps to take concern ing schools. We will keep you updated with the new information
as it becomes available. We are planning to host a
Livingston County Health Department Seasonal flu and H1N1
influenza vaccination clinic at Keshequa later this fall. We will notify you when such a clinic will b e offered.
For now we are doing everything we can to keep our
school functioning as usual. Here are a few things you
can do to help:
•
Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. You c an set
a good example by doing this yourself.
•
Teach your children not to share personal items lik e drinks, food or unwashed utensils, and to cover th eir
coughs and sneezes with tissues. Covering up their coughs or sneezes using the elbow, arm or sleeve ins tead of the
hand when a tissue is unavailable is a good idea.
•
Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms o f the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37. 8 de-
grees Celsius or greater), cough, sore throat, a ru nny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeli ng very tired.
Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.
•
Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours af ter they no longer have fever or do not have signs of
fever,
without using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping childre n with a fever at home will reduce the number of peo ple who
may get infected.
Do not send children to school if they are sick. A ny children who are determined to be sick while at school will be
sent home.
For more information, see the accompanying flyer fr om the New York State Department of Health and visit
www.flu.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO for the most current inform ation about the flu. We will notify you of any
additional changes to our school’s strategy to preve nt the spread of flu as they occur.
If you have any questions, please call our School N urses, Nedra Stevens in the Nunda building at 468-25 41
extension 2027 or Noreen Sanford at the Elementary building at 476-2234 extension 1148. Together we c an con-
tinue to provide a safe and healthy environment for e veryone at Keshequa.
Marilyn Capawan
Superintendent of Schools
50 years ago Velcro
was invented.
Do your children ever come home and say, “Mrs. (insert name) helped me today with my reading or math?” You proba-
bly have heard that and wonder who this person is. In the elementary school the answer is a Teaching Assistant. I
know your question now is who or what is a Teaching Assistant. I will try and tell you.
Teaching Assistants, assist the teacher. In New York State Teaching Assistants must apply to the State, obtain finger-
print clearance, take the New York State Assessment of Teaching Skills Test, have college credits and become certified.
All Teaching Assistants in the state must complete 75 hours of professional development every five years to maintain
their certification.
Teaching Assistants are given a probationary appointment and must be observed in the classroom by a supervisor or
principal on three separate occasions during the probationary period (one to three years) and annually after that. Dur-
ing these observations the assistant must demonstrate the ability to implement and reinforce techniques and subject
matter previously taught by the teacher. Teaching assistants support children and assist them in learning classroom
material and provide personal attention to students with special needs, help assess a student’s progress by observing
their performance and record relevant data. The bottom line is that a teaching assistant works closely with your child on
a daily basis.
Being a teaching assistant is a very rewarding career. Every time you see a child succeed at something they were strug-
gling with, you feel their joy, and you know you do make a difference.
The Teaching Assistants’ Corner
P.O. Box 517
Nunda, New York, 14517
Phone: (585) 468-2541
KESHEQUA CENTRAL SCHOOL
Dalton Elementary
Dalton, New York 14836
Phone: (585) 476-2234
Ami Hunt—Principal
1716 Church Street
DALTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
'Out of the questions of students come most of the creative ideas and discoveries'. Ellen Langer
Newsletter prepared by: Linda Jacobs
DALTON GOES GREEN
Recycling is back at Dalton Elementary. All classr ooms are being asked to
participate in paper recycling. Each classroom wil l have a recycle box that will be
maintained by students and staff in the classroom.
The recycle boxes will be sorted,
the paper will be bagged in clear plastic bags, the
bags will be tied shut and labeled
with a green sticker, then placed beside the garbag e can in the classroom. The cus-
todial staff will place the sorted bags of recyclab les the in the recycling bin outside.
We have an expanded list of acceptable paper for re cycling.
Acceptable paper includes copy paper, colored paper , construction
paper, index cards, newspaper, magazines, and catal ogs. This is con-
sistent with the paper recycling guidelines in loca l townships. Non-
acceptable material includes staples, paper clips, wax paper, wrap-
ping paper, and envelopes with cellophane windows.
Bag weight should be kept to about five pounds sin ce custo-
dians will be transporting bags out to the bin in t he parking lot. In
years past, Earth Club averaged half a ton of recyc led paper per year.
This number can be expected to rise, with more clas ses participating
and more types of paper being recycled.
However, we also need to remember to “pre-cycle” an d con-
serve paper as much as possible. That means use it up before recy-
cling it, don’t throw usable paper in the recycle b ox, and use both
sides whenever possible.
Earth Club is re-forming; Earth Club members will b e assist-
ing in implementing recycling in the classrooms and offices
throughout the school.
