Happy New Year Allen Road! As you can see, I have decided to trade in the traditional newsletter for an ongoing blog format. Feedback over the past year has indicated that the gazette isn't as widely read as it used to be, and it seems that a monthly update and entry in this format can keep you equally informed to the degree that you want to read more, dig deeper, or just visit occasionally to keep up on what is happening at Allen Road from my perspective. Why 'Gator Bait'? Well, let's just hope the topics are enticing enough to hook you and have you read on to find out more each month about being an ARE Gator!
My intent will be to write briefly about two or three topics each month that will be informative to you as an Allen Road parent, and include connections and links to other resources in which you might also be interested. I will post an entry at the beginning of each month and email it out via SchoolTool. I'm hoping to learn more about blogging, resulting in the final product for you being better with each passing entry - and I have left the blog open for comments in the event you might want to submit topics you'd like me to write about, or feedback on the information offered.
For the month of January I would like to specifically share about staff changes, building events, and the start of a new calendar year.
Who's Who - and Who's New?
This school year continues to be full of surprise changes with staff with a number of new faces to share with you. We welcomed back both Mrs. Burns and Mrs. Corrado from maternity leaves during December, while thanking Mrs. Glinski and Mrs. Lawrence for doing a great job filling in across the fall. In addition, we have welcomed Miss Gildemeyer to our staff for an extended period of time while Mrs. Henty remains on maternity leave as well.
Just before the holidays we congratulated our School Psychologist Mrs. McDougall on landing a new position in a nearby district. We welcome Mrs. Michelle Owsiany as our new Psychologist on Monday, January 7th, coming to us from Bear Road Elementary School.
Additionally during the holiday break our new building head custodian, Mr. Todd Smith, began his career in North Syracuse, coming to us from the Baldwinsville district.
And finally, it was bittersweet for us to say congratulations and goodbye to Mr. Sayler our Physical Education teacher for more than 20 years as he entered retirement, while also giving a warm welcome to Mr. Cody Casaletta who steps into our full time P.E. position Monday as well.
What's Happening? (any 80's sitcom fans still out there?)
January is a quiet month for building events, but offers us a great time to get a head start on our annual fundraiser: Race For Education. I know that everyone cringes at hearing that word, especially following the holidays, but fear not - the focus of our work in January will be to help inform everyone and get the preparations in place for a successful spring.
Whether you are new to Allen Road, or a seasoned veteran of this process - please remember the following very important main points about Race For Education:
My intent will be to write briefly about two or three topics each month that will be informative to you as an Allen Road parent, and include connections and links to other resources in which you might also be interested. I will post an entry at the beginning of each month and email it out via SchoolTool. I'm hoping to learn more about blogging, resulting in the final product for you being better with each passing entry - and I have left the blog open for comments in the event you might want to submit topics you'd like me to write about, or feedback on the information offered.
For the month of January I would like to specifically share about staff changes, building events, and the start of a new calendar year.
Who's Who - and Who's New?
This school year continues to be full of surprise changes with staff with a number of new faces to share with you. We welcomed back both Mrs. Burns and Mrs. Corrado from maternity leaves during December, while thanking Mrs. Glinski and Mrs. Lawrence for doing a great job filling in across the fall. In addition, we have welcomed Miss Gildemeyer to our staff for an extended period of time while Mrs. Henty remains on maternity leave as well.
Just before the holidays we congratulated our School Psychologist Mrs. McDougall on landing a new position in a nearby district. We welcome Mrs. Michelle Owsiany as our new Psychologist on Monday, January 7th, coming to us from Bear Road Elementary School.
Additionally during the holiday break our new building head custodian, Mr. Todd Smith, began his career in North Syracuse, coming to us from the Baldwinsville district.
And finally, it was bittersweet for us to say congratulations and goodbye to Mr. Sayler our Physical Education teacher for more than 20 years as he entered retirement, while also giving a warm welcome to Mr. Cody Casaletta who steps into our full time P.E. position Monday as well.
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| Mrs. Michelle Oswiany, Mr. Todd Smith, and Mr. Cody Casaletta |
What's Happening? (any 80's sitcom fans still out there?)
January is a quiet month for building events, but offers us a great time to get a head start on our annual fundraiser: Race For Education. I know that everyone cringes at hearing that word, especially following the holidays, but fear not - the focus of our work in January will be to help inform everyone and get the preparations in place for a successful spring.
Whether you are new to Allen Road, or a seasoned veteran of this process - please remember the following very important main points about Race For Education:
- It is our only official fundraiser for the entire year, so as RFE goes - so goes the building for activities and events we can successfully pull off the following year. We have elected to do just one in order to avoid the traditional barrage of flyers every couple of months asking you and your children to peddle and buy everything from salsa to cookie dough - greeting cards to chocolate.
- RFE raises funds for our students WITHOUT digging into your pockets on top of already paying taxes. The premise of 'Race' is to ask a small network of your friends and relatives to donate and help us reach our goal.
- The key to RFE is simply volume - not huge monetary amounts. The statistics have held true for many years - we receive a 60-70% return rate on flyers that go out, with an average donation of $12.00 - $15.00. BUT....60-70% of 5,000 flyers/mailers ends up being a lot more than 60-70% of 500 flyers. Please consider starting to think about who you might submit names for sending flyers/mailers out to - this process will begin soon.
The math is pretty simple - the operating expenses for all PTO provides for our students and staff across the year is approximately $20,000, and we set a goal to raise $5,000 to put toward a capital project as well. If we were even able to get only $10.00 donations from only 2,500 people, we'd get there.
More information to come - or feel free to come by the PTO meeting on January 8th at 6:00 when we will begin discussion about our spring RFE plans and schedule.
Getting Back Into the Groove...
So it's been a longer break than usual since we said goodbye during the holiday rush, and although some of you might be getting ready to do a little celebration dance on Monday that your cherubs are back in the hallways of higher learning...some of you might be thinking about how the transition will go either Monday morning, or across the first few days next week.
I'm not sure if it will be a comfort to you or not to know that even with four grown children ranging from 18 up to 27, this is still an issue in our house - especially for those in college. I am glad that home is a positive place that our children never really like to leave, but I understand that this can add to the stress of transitioning back into a different place with a tighter schedule, more structure, and new expectations.
If you get a moment over the weekend, visit the link below and skim the article for some ideas and tips - most of which are common sense that we simply need a little reminder or. The article is geared more toward High School and college age students, but easily and quickly adapts down to our elementary level and needs. The basic premises hold true:
- Find ways to embrace getting back in the groove - go 'Into the teeth of the dragon'.
- Make sure there is consistency and routines around the transition back to school.
- Expect a little bit of a bumpy road for a little bit of time - we see it every year!
In addition to this information, please feel free to visit the following links for the resources that many of our parents use each month:
Enough rambling for now from me, or maybe in the blog world it is 'Blambling' - but thank you for taking some time to read through my thoughts as your building principal.
I hope it was a great holiday break for you and your entire family - and here's to a fantastic 2019!
-Mr. Lunden
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