Dear Elsmere Families,
What a week! As one staff member put it, the energy in the building was like the first week of school, the last week of school and a full moon rolled into one. No matter each person’s decision about masks, the feeling of hope was palpable.
As the staff and I basked in the glow of your children, it was hard to believe that next week, March 13, 2022 will be the two year mark of “the day we shut down”. A lot has happened over the past two years, but at least one thing has remained the same:the magic of your children’s curiosity, determination, “aha” moments and smiles. Our photos this week provide a glimpse into this.
Congratulations to our Recycling Olympic medalists! EVERY class medaled and students now seem to be in the habit of single-stream recycling at school and our dining room composting is in full swing. Note: these results may be a tad inaccurate because the stickers from our chart had a tendency to fall off!
Gold
- Mrs. Peters (created our composting method)
- Mr Valenti
Silver
- Mrs. Baldwin
- Mrs. Barcomb
- Mrs. Buffaline
- Mrs. Davis
- Mrs. Sericolo
- Mrs. Mooney
- Ms. Stoddard
- Mrs. Downs
Bronze
- Mrs. Amitay
- Mr. Balcavage
- Mrs. Mara
- Mrs. Suhr
March is Read Across America month and we are celebrating in a big way at Elsmere. Please mark your calendars:
- THURSDAYS in MARCH School Spirit days
- March 10 – A Team of Readers – wear a symbol of a favorite team to show our spirit to author Mac Barnett Author visit (we have another spirit day surprise planned for students during the day too!).
- March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day – Wearing o’ the Green
- March 24 – We Love Pets – wear a shirt with an animal, animal print, animal ears, anything to show our love of animals. Remember to submit your pet picture for our bulletin board. March 25 is the last day to send in any donations for the humane society.
- April 1 (Friday) – Fashion Disaster Day – wear your most mismatched outfit to show how crazy we are about reading. This day is also our Gently Used Book Sale.
- Book Madness “Sweet Sixteen” to determine Elsmere’s favorite book of the month.
- Author Mac Barnett will be visiting all classes virtually on March 10.
- In March Elsmere students may participate in a reading fundraiser to support RMC House of the Capital Region which provides housing close to hospitals for families of sick children. I myself have stayed at a similar home, and I can attest that lodgings like this are a real lifesaver when you have so much else to worry about. Here is the Elsmere page if you would like to participate. There will also be a special RMHC-CR book fair featuring local authors this afternoon, March 4, 4:00-6:00 in Albany. Check it out.
- Reading could also earn students tickets to the Albany Firewolves (see information here)
- Start sending in your gently used children’s books for our Gently Used Book Fair. Our third grade will be collecting, organizing and hosting the sale, which will be April 1. Books will cost 25 cents or 5 for a dollar.
Please continue to keep yourself informed of what is happening around the district by regularly visiting our revamped district website. We ask that you pay special attention this week to registering for kindergarten and the request for feedback regarding solutions to our bus driver shortage.
Have a delightful weekend!
Sincerely,
Kate