Fall 2023

 

Welcome, Autumn!

This quote brings to light the power and influence of positive relationships on resilience. This way of thinking aligns with the LCSD Goals for 2023-24 school year. How do you encourage resilience through change?

LCSD 23-24 Goals

Here are a few ways that we are supporting this goal at the Tier 1 level - to reach all students - across WSS: 

• Professional Development for all staff members in the are of Social Emotional Learning and Character Education (Superintendent's Conference Day, Team Meetings, etc)
• Responsive Classrooms & Community Meetings to support SEL & Character skills with staff and students
• Restorative Practices to work through challenging behaviors
• Second Step Lessons provided to students by our counseling staff
• WSS Character Education

Community Events

Thank you to all of the families who came out for the 2023-24 Annual Open House! It was a fabulous night for all! Thank you to PTSO for your support with Kona Ice and Cravn' Food. 

We are also enjoying our Jersey days as we celebrate our favorite sports teams!

Academic Updates

Year two with our Bridges Math Program is underway with PK-3 and Year 1 with Eureka Math Squared has kicked off with eager minds and high engagement. 

Here is a link for families to learn more about the PK-3 Math program. 

Here is a link to learn more for families about the 4-6 Math program.

Special Area Updates

6th Grade Musical Tryouts have begin for the production, Finding Nemo for Kids! Thank you to our Music Department for all of your efforts to make this possibility come to life. 

In PE, the kids are warming up their muscles in our WSS Fitness Room. They could be your very own workout buddies at home, too!

Character Education/SEL Updates

We had so much fun kicking off the new school year with our school-wide WSS Character Kick-Off Day! From chalking messages of kindness, to games grounded in teamwork, to reviewing behavior expectations with the principals, we are ready for a great year! To check out more on our Character Education at WSS, click here. Check out how Mrs. Marcello's Class used ink and stamps to represent how they "make a stamp" on the world with their Good Character!

Principal's Corner

Wednesday, October 4th is Walk to School Day

October is National Fire Prevention (October 8-14)

Character Spirit Week is October 16-20th (in honor of National Character Counts! Week)

Wednesday, October 25th & Thursday, October 26th WSS Picture Days!

Welcome Back to the 2023-24 School Year!

 

Back to School

It is hard to believe that Summer is coming to an end and the new school year is about to begin. With a new school year on the horizon, many emotions arise and you may find yourself wondering..."is this my child?" Surely it is, just remember that your loved ones are experiencing a lot of curiosity and wonder and that shows up in many different ways.

Community Events

This summer, Wolcott Street School hosted 6 weeks of STEAM Camps for students entering 2-7th grade. We also hosted the "WIN" Summer Academics Academy, which was by invitation only. There were music and sport camps, too. Collectively, we saw over 300 different students this summer! 

Here are some highlights: 

School Meals

One breakfast & one lunch is available for every student in PreK-6 daily. It does not mean that students have to take the free breakfast or lunch, just know that it is available.

At Open House, families will be able to communicate their interest in school Breakfast by completing a simple form indicating whether your child will have breakfast at school everyday, some days or never. 

Open House

We look forward to meeting all families on Tuesday, September 5th from 4:30-6pm for our Annual WSS Open House. Bring your school supplies, meet your teacher, grab some dinner or a snack! Be sure to stop by the auditorium hallway for information on PTSO, Scouts, and Rotary - Kitchen!

Character Kick-Off

Friday, September 8th will be our WSS Character Kick-Off Celebration. Please wear your grade level color to help unify our grade levels. 

 

Pillars of Character

Code of Behavior Expectations

Please be sure to review this important document with your children to support a successful school year. 

2023-2024 Elementary Code Of Behavior Expectations

Back to School Stories to Enjoy as a Family

There are 9 picture books in this collection to listen to as a family to help support back to school feelings. 

Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School by Herman Parish

Welcome New Staff Members!

UPK (LTS) Mrs. Celina Powell - Mrs. Powell is a mother of two daughters. She loves gardening, doing crafts with her girls and teaching reading. 

Kindergarten Special Education Teacher Miss Kristina D'Agostino

4th Grade Special Education Teacher Miss Kylie Schlagenhauf - Miss Schlagenhauf is returning to WSS! Something exciting about her is that she took 3 mission trips to Mexico! 

5th Grade Special Education Teacher Mrs. Jeanie Anderson - Something pretty unique about Mrs. Anderson is that she spent a year in Denmark as an exchange student!

6th Grade ELA Teacher Miss Mimi Werner - Miss Werner loves dogs and one of the ones that she adopted is from Canada!

General Music Teacher Mr. Jeffery Fischer - Mr. Fischer is best known for his piano skills, but he also plays bass and sings in his band "Songbirds," a Fleetwood Mac tribute that performs all over WNY! After his time as a Vocal Teacher at the Jr/Sr High, we are thrilled to welcome Mr. Fischer to WSS! 

We are thrilled to welcome Mrs. Jessica Pullyblank from LeRoy Jr/Sr High as a new elementary Special Education Teacher here at WSS!

Welcome to our New Teaching Assistants Miss Jen Uptegrove, Mrs. Emily Bartz, Mrs. Mary Skoczylas, Mrs. Tonya Arshad, Mrs. Ashlee Miller, Mrs. Gina Perkins. We are lucky to have you joining the WSS Family!

Interested in Joining the WSS Staff? We are hiring for substitute teachers, substitute teaching assistants, food service helpers, bus drivers and cleaning staff. 

Principal's Corner

September Calendar

Save the Dates!

Friday, September 8th Character Kick-Off Day! Wear your grade level color

Friday, September 29th is Assistant Principal, Ms. Neu's last day at WSS

Wednesday, October 4th is Walk to School Day

Wednesday, October 25th & Thursday, October 26th WSS Picture Days!

May 2023

 

A Celebratory May 

May has been filled with gatherings designed to celebrate many accomplishments throughout the school year. We hope that you enjoy this month's digital newsletter that will highlight many of these accomplishments.

Community Events

Staff Appreciation Week

The first week of May was Staff Appreciation Week. Not only were the staff recognized by the PTSO, the administration and one another, but the students embraced many ways to express their appreciation for the adults across WSS. Take a look at this sweet video of THANKS from our very own kiddos. 

For a glimpse into our School Lunch Heroes, enjoy this video, too!

PARP Pizza Party with the Principals 

Mrs. Messura & Ms. Neu hosted a party for the PARP Class Winners, Mrs. Englerth's Kindergarten class and Mrs. Rehberg's 4th grade class. The kids sure did enjoy getting their dance moves on, pizza and popsicles on the playground!

Beautifying the Grounds

Each grade level collaborated on a design for a flower pot. The designs represent what Character Education means to them. Groups of students then planted flowers in them and they have been placed around the campus. 

6th Grade Field Trip to Frontier Field

C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Million Penny Drive

WOW!!! The Wolcott Street School community is beyond generous!! From pennies to $50 bills, the amount that was collected (& counted by our students!) is absolutely astounding. Stay tuned for the reveal of the total amount on Friday, June 2nd at our school wide assembly! It is the most ever raised by a single school locally!! We can't thank you enough for helping to teach our kiddos the power of giving to others in the community in celebration of Citizenship. 

And we can't forget our grade level building winners! Congratulations to Grade 3 for collecting the most on the WSS side of campus and to Grade 5 for earning the most points through the competitive Penny Wars in the Trigon Tower. We will celebrate you with an ice cream party on June 2nd, too!

To learn more about C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer, visit their website.

COMING SOON: June 15th is WSS Character Day! Stay tuned for more details, but get ready to have a day of play that is centered around our 6 Pillars of Character... and yes, that means bounce houses, too! 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Special Area Updates 

Art

What a success the WSS Art Show was! The campus was full of students' showing off their talented art creations across the school buildings. Kudos to Mrs. VanDerBeck for capitalizing on the strengths of students to help them reach beyond their potential!

Music

Concerts, Concerts, Everywhere! Well this was quite a month of performances from our Spring Concerts to parades and festivals, the choruses, bands and Mini Marching Knights are on the musical move!

5th Grade Chorus & Beginner Band Video Clips 

6th Grade Chorus, Jazz Band and the WSS Band Video Clips

Jazz Band in the Community: LeRoy Village Green

The Mini Marching Knights & WSS Band are out on the Town 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Character Education/SEL 

Students were recognized on May 12th for demonstrating Responsibility across all areas. Some of the wonderful recognition statements were as follows: 

• She always takes responsibility for her actions, even if she makes a mistake
• He is great at putting things back when he is done with centers or workplaces. His peers follow his good example.
• She approaches teachers if something is missed from an absence or lesson and always makes a plan to complete the work - she is always thinking ahead!

Grades 4-6 Character Awards Assembly

Grades PK-3 Character Awards Assembly

May and June we continue to celebrate the Pillar of Citizenship. In May, we focused our efforts on the local Rochester community with the C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Drive. 

With Memorial Day, Flag Day and the 4th of July approaching, we felt it was a great time to think beyond our own communities to acknowledge and honor our country throughout the month of June. 

Principal's Corner

Summer Academy Transportation information will be coming out mid-June. Thank you to the invited families for registering. 

STEAM Camps are FULL! They sure went quick - we hope you enjoy!! 

There is much more taking place across the community so be sure to check out the Woodward Memorial Library, LeRoy Recreation and more. 

• Wednesday, May 31 is the Annual 6th Grade Trip to Frontier Field for the Rochester Red Wings game - the Mini Marching Knights will be performing, too!
• Friday, June 2nd is the C.U.R.E. Childhood Cancer Assembly
• Monday, June 19th is Juneteenth: No School
• Wednesday, June 21st is the Last Half Day of School for Elementary Students
• NEW! We are going green! Friday, June 23 Report Cards will be available on the portal after 3pm NO PAPER COPIES WILL BE SENT unless you specifically request one from the main office. You can use this link to request a paper copy. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Messura, WSS Principal

Ms. Neu, WSS Assistant Principal

 

GLOW Dance!

 

April 2023

 

April Showers Bring May Flowers 

 Did you know that April is derived from the Latin word, aperit, which means to open? Flowers symbolize a tremendous reminder that even as tough as things may seem, there is always growth within each lesson and experience.

Community Events

In April, we celebrated students who are role models for the Character Pillar of Respect, came together to take responsibility in beautifying our campus for Earth Day, engaged in various emergency drills and welcomed Spring with our annual UPK Teddy Bear Parade. 

Mrs. Schwenebraten and Mrs. Nicoll's UPK classes took their special teddy bears on parade throughout the school as a reflection of bears coming out of hibernation for Spring. Check out the adorable video! 

 

What a beautiful day we had for our WSS Earth Day! Everyone across our school pitched in to clean up the grounds around our campus and community. We are so grateful for the responsibility that our students and teachers displayed! 

  

There's a new officer in town! To learn more about Officer Mattingly, read his story here. Here is an important safety reminder from him, too. 

It is springtime, and more children will be riding their bikes to school. In NY children under the age of 14 are required to wear helmets while riding their bikes.

"WIN the Summer" Learning Opportunities

By Invitation Only, WSS 1st-7th Summer Academy 

This offers a 16 day boost in the areas of reading, writing, math and mindset. You will receive an invitation letter by mail if your child is to take part in this. This is designed for students entering grades 1-7. 

• Academy Camp runs 7/17/23-8/10/23 (with bussing) at WSS
• Camp is 9-12pm and includes fun, engaging experiences in math, reading, writing, movement, relationship building and self-inquiry projects 

• The STEAM Camp offerings have been extended to accommodate students who are in the Summer Academy and also want to participate in one of the STEAM Camps as well.

 

By Registration Only (Coming in May!), WSS STEAM Camps 

We have 6 offerings this year over a 6 week period (7/10-8/17). Mrs. Tran & Mrs. VanDerBeck have worked on some high interest activities for each camp and students can choose any of these week long camps. STEAM camps help students learn to apply their knowledge of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math in new exciting ways.  

• Each camp is offered Monday-Thursday for students going into grades 2, 3 & 4 8:30-10am and students going into grades 5, 6 & 7 10:30-12:30pm

• Parents must transport for these camps (drop off at the main entrance to WSS)

• Location is the WSS Media Center

WSS School-Wide Earth Day Clean Up 4/21/23

As a school community, we came together to clean up trash, weed and plant flowers. We collectively showed respect and responsibility for our school, Earth and one another.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WSS Special Area Updates 

PE: 6th grade has been busy learning about the 11 steps to success with archery. Grades 4-6 have been working up a sweat with HIIT lessons (High Intensity Interval Training)

Music:

General Music with Mr. DeLuca:  

Thank you to all the students for your efforts and enthusiasm in general music classes each week.  For the month of May, students in grades K-3 will be learning how to play the piano keyboards, singing with proper technique, and taking part in group music and movement songs.  Students in Grades 4-6 will be learning how to play the guitar as well as  group singing. Keep up the good work in music!  

Other Music Department updates: 

1. The Mini Marching Knights will be performing our National Anthem at the Rochester Red Wings home game vs. the Syracuse Mets on 5/31/2023 @ 11:05am 
2. Congratulations to our two "Simon Says" Marching Commands Challenge winners, Killian Lapp and Regan Anderson, both of whom were awarded McDonald's gift cards!
3. KUDOS to 8 Genesee-Wyoming Music Educators Association Elementary All-County Band students were selected to perform on April 14th and 15th
4. Family, friends and the community are invited and encouraged to attend the following upcoming events: 

                -The annual Spring Concert is on Tuesday, May 16th @ 7pm in the Memorial Auditorium 
                -The annual Band Exchange Concert w/the Churchville-Chili 5th grade band and Wheatland-Chili 6/7 band is on Thursday, June 1st, 2023 on the WSS grounds near the playground!  

Art: Please join us for the Wolcott Street School Art Show on Tuesday May 16th from 5:30- 7:00pm. There will be a free raffle drawing for art materials, scratch art bookmarks, a community mural, a scavenger hunt as well as lots of beautiful artwork! We hope to see everyone there to support our young artists.

Character Education/SEL 

Our April school-wide assembly was a celebration of students who are role models for consistently demonstrating the character pillar of respect. Below are the students from each of our classrooms who were recognized for their commitment to being role models of Respect. 

We also kicked off the month of Responsibility. We compared responsibility to a chain. We all have responsibility as a team, which represents a link in a chain. If we don't take part in our part of the responsibility chain, the chain will break. 

Grades 4-6 Character Education Assembly Video 

Grades PK-3 Character Education Assembly Video

Character Pillar for May & June: Citizenship

Coming Up May 8 - May 19th is the WSS Million Penny Drive! More details will be coming soon from your classroom teachers. 

Updates Principal's Corner

• School Playground Hours are 9am-3pm
• Families and community members should not be on the playground during school hours. Thank you!
• Code of Conduct Reminders: No Hats or Cell Phone Usage in the WSS Building. To review our Code of Conduct, here is a link. 
• Kim Norman, Author, will be with us on May 8th!
• Million Penny Drive begins May 8th! 
• Wear School Colors (red & black) on May 12th for the Character Education Assemblies
• Parent Input Forms are due by April 28, 2023 (click here for another copy)