Enthusiasm

Hi, Team Remote families! Can you believe that it is March? Before you know it, spring will have sprung! This week's P2 Character Trait is Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the ability to bring life and excitement to different situations. It often leads to a higher level of involvement and engagement both for individuals and for groups. Those who demonstrate zest and enthusiasm bring energy and a level of intensity to individual and group work. These people are often identified as early leaders and innovators as a result of their outward excitement about a task or project. Look for these people to recruit new group members and generate ideas. Read more about Enthusiasm here.

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

I use Twitter to connect with a global community of educators and am oftentimes rewarded with learning something new. Sometimes, I also have a laugh. Check out this snow sculpture someone recently shared:

I'm willing to bet our remote learners are just as enthusiastic and creative when it comes to playing in the snow. I hope I'm not too late for this considering the recent spate of warm weather and rain. When I wrote the first draft of this blog post, it was snowing outside. I suspect, however, that more snow will fall before the last throes of winter come to an end. So I'm throwing down a challenge to all of Team Remote--Get outside and build a snowman/snow sculpture! Email me a picture and I'll feature it on the blog (rleo@westgenesee.org). Please include the following with your submission:

• Your name
• Your grade level
• A picture of your snow sculpture (feel free to put yourself in the picture as well!)
• A title for your work of art (optional)
• Put "Snowman" in the subject line of your email

Not sure if I have to say this, but please DON'T put your school-issued Chromebook in the snow 😲

Need a Desk for your Remote Learner?

The Wildcat Family is known for its kindness and generosity. Case in point: Retired West Genesee Technology Teacher Jim Hunter reached out asking if any of our kids could use a desk to work at from home -- for free! Mr. Hunter has been volunteering with a group that has been making desks for students that are in need. They have delivered many to various school districts in the area. The desks are free and the group has donated over 800 so far. If you are interested, please refer to the contact information below and be sure to check out the Operation Northern Comfort website.

Contact Norm Andrzejewski: 

• email: NormAndrzejewski@gmail.com
• phone: 315-559-9413

Website: https://www.operationnc.org

Elementary Updates

Remote Materials Pick Up
We are going to make Thursday, March 18, 2021, the next date for remote families to pick up materials for the last marking period. This should get us through June. Families should arrange to pick up children's materials at their home schools on 3/18/21 at 3:00-4:00 p.m. Please return all materials that you are finished with up until now. We will have another date in June for everyone to return ALL materials.

Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration for the 2021-2022 school year is currently open until March 31, 2021. If you know of anyone who will begin Kindergarten, please let them know! Parents may utilize the Virtual Registration process to get started and schedule a tele-meeting! If parents have any questions, please call our Central Registration Office at (315) 487-4683.

Secondary Updates

Kudos to WGMS Team Remote 6th Graders

Research shows a positive correlation between student attendance and academic success. Congratulations to our Team Remote 6th graders for their perfect attendance last week! What a great way to demonstrate Zest and Enthusiasm for learning!

As an added bonus...All Cameras On!

CMS Maker Space to Go

The Camillus Middle School Librarian, Mrs. Bush, and library assistant, Mrs. Gifford, created the first Maker Space in the district five years ago. As we have had to reimagine what school looks like, they have reimagined how the Maker Space can continue to provide engaging and creative activities. Remote students are welcome to participate in our "Maker Space to Go." Click here for details.

Be sure to check out the various Principal blogs (links on the right of this page) for more building-specific information.

Cheering Others' Success

Hi, Team Remote Families! I hope you had a chance to enjoy Winter Recess and are feeling recharged as we get closer to spring. This week's Positivity Project character strength involves the "Other People Matter Mindset" of cheering others' success. This means that when other people succeed, you are happy for them and cheer them on. Take a look at this example from the world of sports in which Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts was benched at halftime and backup quarterback Tua Tagovaiola led the team to a national championship back in 2018. 

Success can be measured by the score of a game, but it can also be measured in other ways. In the world of social media, for example, the number of likes, retweets, and views can shape how we perceive success. Take the Marsh family, for example. You might remember them from a song parody I shared in a previous blog as they sang about their experience during the initial outbreak of the covid pandemic to the tune of One Day More from Les Miserable, generating over 6 million views on YouTube. Well, they are at it again. This time, they pay tribute to the '80s classic Total Eclipse of the Heart as England is dealing with a new strain of the coronavirus and is enforcing more lockdowns. They have racked up over 1 million views in just one week! Enjoy "Totally Fixed Where We Are" from the Marsh Family!

All kidding aside, I am cheering on all of you who have persevered over the course of this school year to help make remote learning a success for our students. Anyone who has had to support a remote learner knows just how stressful it can be. I recently came across an article from the Washington Post that acknowledges the stress that comes with supporting remote students and offers advice on how to tame the anxiety and thought I'd share it with you. Hang in there! 

District Updates

I don't have much information to share that is grade-level specific this week as we return to remote learning after a week-long break. Be sure to check out your home school's Principal blogs (links on the right) for more info.

Elementary Update

Elementary Fine Arts Lessons

Just a reminder...K-4 Fine Arts lessons are available via the link below:

https://sites.google.com/westgenesee.org/remote-fine-arts/home?authuser=0

With these home-grown lessons from Mrs. Ta (music) and Mrs. Moser-Voger (art), your children will have access to weekly asynchronous lessons with the added bonus of turning work in for feedback from the teachers. Please consider taking advantage of this opportunity...Mrs. Ta and Mrs. Moser-Vogler are top-tier educators! Please feel free to contact the teachers if you have any questions:

• Mrs. Ta: kta@westgenesee.org
• Mrs. Moser-Vogler: kmoser-vogler@westgenesee.org

Something Fun From Spirit Week

Team Remote K-4 students participated in "Spirit Week" prior to Winter Recess. Check out some of the blasts from the past from Time Travel Day! Thank you to all who participated!

Hocus Pocus

Toga Toga Toga

Princess Diana

A Pirate!

Queen Victoria

A Flapper!

Grandpa!

Fun fact--Eddie's grandpa started the bocce ball tournament at the Festa Italiana in Syracuse!

Thank you to all the teachers, students, and parents who participated and are making remote learning a fun, memorable, and worthwhile experience. We know this isn't easy and appreciate all you are doing.

Teens, Tweens, and Friendships During the Pandemic

I grew up in the '70s and '80s when free-range child-reading was the norm. Give me a bike and a curfew and everything would be fine! Even before the pandemic, however, kids these days seem to socialize much differently, relying more on technology to socialize with friends through texting and video chat. Isolation from living during a pandemic, however, may be having an impact on our kids' social lives. I recently came across an article from the Washington Post that offers parents some ideas for helping teens and tweens renew their social relationships with their peers and thought I'd pass it along to you: 5 Ways to Help Tweens and Teens Refresh Their Friendships During a Pandemic.

Podcasts for Parents

I may have mentioned previously that I have enjoyed listening to Brené Brown's "Unlocking Us" podcast. Click here to visit her website. Note: Brené's language is occasionally "colorful" (i.e she casually swears--you may want to use headphones if you have little ones at home!). If you enjoy podcasts, feel free to check out this list of 100 "Parenting" podcasts--not everything is "pandemic-related", but there's something for all types of families with descriptions and links.

Love

Hello, Team Remote Families! As Valentine's Day approaches, love is in the air! It just so happens that this week's Positivity Project character strength is love. Those who possess this character trait value close relationships with others and being close to people. Check out this 1-page Character Card to read more about love. And check out the video below as some young people put their own spin on what love means to them.

District Updates

Calendar Reminders

February 15th - 19th: Winter Recess (no school)

School Closings and Delays

If there is a snow day or a delayed start to the school day, Team Remote students and teachers follow the same schedule as their in-person counterparts. At the K-4 level, teachers typically pick things up at their regularly scheduled time. Your child's teacher should communicate any changes to synchronous meeting times. For students in grades 5-12, please follow the bell schedules posted below for synchronous meeting times:

• WGMS 1-hour Delay Bell Schedule
• CMS 1-hour Delay Bell Schedule
• WGHS 1-hour Delay Bell Schedule

Elementary

Spirit Week: February 8th - 12th

Back by popular demand, Team Remote students will once again show off their school spirit with another Spirit Week! In last week's blog post, I shared the suggested dress code for the week. Please note that some teachers may have put their own spin on things. Those teachers will communicate directly with their students and families to share their plans. If your child's teacher has not modified things, you can refer to the list below for each day's suggested attire:

• Monday, 2/8: School Spirit Day (blue and gold)
• Tuesday, 2/9: Silly Sock Day
• Wednesday, 2/10: Time Travel Day (Pick a person from the past to emulate)
• Thursday, 2/11: Class Color Day (teachers will poll their students to vote on which color the entire class will wear)
• Friday, 2/12: Pink-Purple-Red Valentine's Day

Secondary

Classlink
Starting on February 8, 2021, students in grades 5 - 12 will start using ClassLink. ClassLink provides a Single Sign On (SSO) tool and “landing page” on Chromebooks which will be pre-populated by grade with relevant links for school resources. Students using personal devices will also have the ability to use ClassLink. Logging into ClassLink also provides the ability to track attendance so we will no longer need to use Operoo for daily attendance after February 5, 2021. If students are using a school-issued Chromebook, there is nothing "extra" they will need to do as they will automatically be signed in to ClassLink when they log in to their Chromebook. If students are using a personal computer, they can access ClassLink at the following Web address: https://launchpad.classlink.com/westgenesee. They can "Sign in with Google" to access their grade-level landing page. Thank you for your patience and continued support as we transition to ClassLink.

Integrity

Hi, Team Remote Families! This week's character trait is Integrity. People who possess this trait are honest and speak the truth. They present themselves genuinely and sincerely. You can read more about integrity here. For those of you who grew up in the 1970s like I did, Fred Rogers from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood provides an instructive example of living a life of integrity. While you may be familiar with Mr. Rogers' TV show, you might also be interested in learning more about his activism and support of funding for public television. Check out the video below as Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications on May 1, 1969.

District Updates

Calendar Reminders

• February 1st: first day of the 2nd semester for our students in grades 6-12. Some students may be starting new half-year courses at this time.
• February 3rd: half-day for all students due to a scheduled Superintendent's Conference Day.
• February 5th: second-marking period report cards (grades 6-12) available in SchoolTool

Classlink
Starting on February 8, 2021, students in grades 5 - 12 will start using ClassLink. ClassLink provides a Single Sign On (SSO) tool and “landing page” on Chromebooks which will be pre-populated by grade with relevant links for school resources. Students using personal devices will also have the ability to use ClassLink. Logging into ClassLink also provides the ability to track attendance so we will no longer need to use Operoo for daily attendance after February 5, 2021. If students are using a school-issued Chromebook, there is nothing "extra" they will need to do as they will automatically be signed in to ClassLink when they log in to their Chromebook. If students are using a personal computer, they can access ClassLink at the following Web address: https://launchpad.classlink.com/westgenesee. They can "Sign in with Google" to access their grade-level landing page. Thank you for your patience and continued support as we transition to ClassLink.

Grades K-4

Spirit Week: February 8th - 12th

Team Remote students in grades K-4 are encouraged to take part in our upcoming Spirit Week for a bit of fun before Winter Recess. The week's "dress code" will be as follows:

• Monday, 2/8: School Spirit Day (blue and gold)
• Tuesday, 2/9: Silly Sock Day
• Wednesday, 2/10: Time Travel Day (Ppck a person from the past to emulate)
• Thursday, 2/11: Class Color Day (teachers will poll their students to vote on which color the entire class will wear)
• Friday, 2/12: Pink-Purple-Red Valentine's Day

Grades 9 - 12

Second Semester Changes

WGMS

As the 2nd semester gets underway, please be on the lookout for some new opportunities for students. Please refer to Principal Dunham's blog outlining some changes for 5th grade (PE, Art, Music) and 6th grade (Family and Consumer Science, aka FACS). Sixth grade students in particular should be on the lookout for invitations to join FACS classes on Google Classroom. Please join me in welcoming Mrs. Boswell and Ms. Tomi (FACS) to Team Remote!

CMS

Remote students in 7th grade will be scheduled in Health classes for the second semester. Synchronous health classes will take place on students' asynchronous days. For example, if students attend synchronous classes on Monday/Tuesday, they will be enrolled in a synchronous Health class on Thursday/Friday. Please join me in welcoming Mr. Sweeney (Health) to Team Remote! Please refer to Principal Lozier's blog for more information relevant to CMS.

WGHS

Due to an increase in the number of requests from families to enroll their children in our remote learning modality, we will be adding some sections of ELA and art classes. Please join me in welcoming Mr. Newvine (ELA), Mrs. Ostrander (ELA) and Ms. Long (Art) to Team Remote! 

WGHS Yearbooks

There is still time to order a yearbook this year! The yearbook will be a piece of history recording how we did school during a global pandemic! You won't want to miss out!

• To order a yearbook go online to - ybpay.lifetouch.com
• Our school ID is 12506821
• Yearbooks will have over 200 pages and are $55.00.
• Please get your order in as close to February 1, 2021 as possible.

If you are going to have trouble paying for a yearbook please contact Joanne Pooler ASAP, and we will put you on a list to ensure you have a yearbook in June. Email Joanne at - jpooler@westgenesee.org.

For more information specific to WGHS, please refer to Principal Ackle's blog.