South Davis Shines

Hello South Davis Families.

I want to wish a blessed and peaceful Ramadan to all who are observing! For those who don't know, Ramadan is considered one of the holiest months of the year for Muslims. In Ramadan, Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Qur’an, and fast from food and drink during the sunlit hours as a means of drawing closer to God and cultivating self-control, gratitude, and compassion for those less fortunate.

Also, many of our Christian families are observing Lent at this time. Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and preparation to celebrate Jesus' Resurrection at Easter. Lent is a time for practicing self-control and a true inner conversion of heart.

While it looked like warmer weather was here to stay last week, we know better. As winter continues, please note that we plan to have outdoor recess as much as possible. To help us keep everyone safe, we use the following guidelines:

• Below 20 degrees "real feel" students may go outside, but must have their head and neck covered to prevent heat loss, in addition to proper layers.
• Below 10 degrees "real feel" there will be no outdoor activities.

Please remind your child to be dressed for the weather each morning.

Each month, our food service provider is happy to offer a free frozen treat to all students, often in connection with events like Earth Day or Flag Day. The treat, Sidekicks, is 100% fruit juice. I've included the dates for the rest of the year, so you are aware.

• Monday, March 2
• Wednesday, April 22
• Friday, May 15
• Friday, June 12

Have a great week!

Mr. Dolce

#WeAreSouthDavis

Saturday, February 28 - OPHS presents Billy Martin's Cole All-Star Circus (more information coming soon)

On the mornings of March 2-9, members of the South Davis Community Engagement and Wellness Committee will lead safety and community-building presentations with each of the 6 buses. These 15-20 minute assemblies will take place in the Cafeteria starting around 9:00, and will be focused on the SHINE expectations for school buses:

Stay Seated

Have Manners

Inside Voices

Neatness Counts

Everybody Helps

More information will be shared with students prior to these meetings.

Together, we will SHINE!

The Orchard Park Family Solutions Center, located at 75 Bank St., supports district and community families with school-age children by providing direct counseling services to families, hosting parenting classes, and providing resources. The mental health professionals at the Family Solution Center will work with families to promote problem-solving strategies to develop healthy relationships using solution-focused communication.

Check out the latest offerings.

Thank you to everyone who supported the cause by wearing PJs or donating! The District raised $11,088.88 this year on Pajamas for PUNT day. What a difference this money will make for so many families.

South Davis' own Carson B. and his mom were able to bring all the cash donations to PUNT over break and take a picture with them showing our grand total raised

We want to take a moment to share an important reminder about student Chromebook use and internet safety at school and at home, particularly as new AI-powered websites and chatbots continue to grow rapidly online.

The Orchard Park Central School District uses one of the highest-grade internet filtering systems available for schools. Websites are filtered by topic and category & content (such as education, video, social media, gaming, and adult content), and our Technology Department actively monitors and updates these filters to block inappropriate or unsafe sites. In addition, staff use classroom monitoring tools to supervise student activity during instructional time.

That said, no filtering system is fail-safe. The pace of change with AI chatbots and new websites makes this work increasingly complex. New platforms are created every day, and some are designed to appear harmless while allowing inappropriate conversations, images, or content. In some cases, websites change their content or structure faster than filters can automatically respond. Unfortunately, there are also bad actors online who intentionally attempt to bypass school filtering systems.

We share this information with students and families at the start of each school year, but this is an important reminder as technology continues to evolve. Our Technology Department continuously reviews, blocks, and updates access to emerging sites as they are identified, and we work closely with our filtering partners to strengthen protections for students.

In addition to filtering and monitoring systems, students are expected to follow the District Acceptable Use Policy and use Chromebooks appropriately for educational purposes both during and outside of the school day. Key expectations include:

• Using district devices for learning-related purposes

• Not attempting to bypass filters or access inappropriate content

• Demonstrating responsible digital behavior at all times

It truly takes a village to help children develop safe and responsible digital habits. While the district has strong protections in place, families play an important role in reinforcing expectations at home.

We encourage you to:

• Talk with your child about appropriate online behavior and searches

• Remind students that school devices are for school purposes

• Supervise device use at home when possible

• Report any concerning websites or content to your school so we can respond quickly

We remain committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and supportive digital learning environment for all students. Thank you for your continued partnership as we work together to protect students while leveraging technology to enhance learning.

Check it out 👇

Every other year, the Orchard Park CSD (with help from the PTO) provides an amazing experience by inviting a guest author to visit our schools and teach our children about the books they create. This year we are pleased to have Troy Cummings as our guest author this June. He has written over 20 different children's books including the series Notebook of Doom.

This year, PTO wants to help provide a lasting memory for the students of South Davis.

Introducing, Spare Change for Stories. In this optional campaign, from March 2 - April 2, students can bring in spare change that they find and feed a monster of their choice. Monster buckets will be found in the lobby of the school. If we reach our goal of $1,400, every child at South Davis will receive a book by the author that will include a signature!

Pass along the information and ask your kiddos what monster they will feed!

Participation is optional.

The PTO has is happy to congratulate the Hegyi family, as they are the winner of the 1 year membership to the Aquarium of Niagara!

OPSEPTSA NEXT MEETING:

Wednesday, February 25

6:30-7:30pm

OPCSD District Offices

2240 Southwestern Blvd, West Seneca

Join or Renew you OPSEPTSA Membership today!!

https://orchardpark.givebacks.com/shop

#specialeducation #advocate #IEP #DyslexiaAwareness #opseptsa

Our remaining meetings this year will be:

3/18/2026

4/22/2026

5/20/2026

6/17/2026

Website - https://www.opseptsa.org/

Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/share/16L1zq8TB8/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/opseptsa?igsh=dHBhajY5OHpvejJm

For the latest updates and great resources from BTPM's Learning and Engagement Team, click here.

Highlights include:

• Children’s Books to Celebrate Black History Month
• The PBS KIDS Read! collection on PBS Parents
• Children’s Books About Friendship

Also it's time for the BTPM PBS KIDS Writers Contest

Calling all young writers! Buffalo Toronto Public Media’s annual Writers Contest returns soon! Keep an eye out for the contest opening in January and start spreading the word with the young storytellers in your life.

The BTPM PBS KIDS Writers Contest fosters children’s creativity by encouraging participants in grades K-3 to write and illustrate stories. This Contest is open to children who reside in all the Western New York counties in our viewing area (Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Allegany, Wyoming Genesee, Orleans), as well as Southern Ontario.

Deadline is March 31.

Click here for more information

The Second Ramadan Youth Art Contest 2026, organized in conjunction with the Eid Festival hosted by APAPA Buffalo-Niagara at the Buffalo History Museum on Friday, March 20, 2026, from 4:00–8:00 PM.

This year’s theme is: “Ramadan in our Buffalo–Niagara community: How do you experience Ramadan with your community?”

All participants will receive certificates, and selected artwork will be exhibited at the Eid Festival. The submission deadline is Tuesday, March 17, 2026.

Please find details for the contest in the attached flyer and Contest Guidelines link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BdTXVvLXNnm3nHkkQCfu6Tji74sbHG_o/view?usp=drive_link