Bird's Eye View

Hello Larries Community,

Welcome the February “Bird’s Eye View”! Each month we will:

1. Give you small snapshots of the great things that are happening here at SLC.

2. We may ask for a little help with some things to make our school community the most productive possible.

Our hope is you will read our newsletter each month, so we can continue to connect our great community with the students, staff, and programs that are here to help maximize our students’ futures.

Updates and Important Educational Dates:

• Thursday, February 13th is 100’s Day in the Elementary School.
• February 24th marks the first day of Kindergarten Registration for the 2025-26 school year. Please contact the District Office (389-5131 ex. 29108) for more information.
• Thursday, March 6th at 5:30 pm there will be UPK Information Night in the Elementary School. Please be aware that the selection process for full vs. half day slots must be done by “lottery”. More specifics on this and other information will be available at this time.

Shout-outs and Reminders:

• Congratulations to all those that have been recognized in this February issue for the outstanding work you are doing both here and at BOCES.

• Ticket information for this spring’s Drama Club presentation of, The Lightning Thief, will be out shortly. Production dates are set for March 7th and 8th.

• Shout-out to our All County band and chorus students that performed this past month and in the upcoming month, with a thank you to their teachers for the great preparation they provide them.

• Our student athletes continue to show great efforts during this winter season. February will be “playoff month” for all our varsity athletic teams, final competitions for cheerleading, and final games for JV, and modified sports. Please enjoy these final indoor events. Dates and times for events can be found on our district website and BFCSD app.

• Again, a reminder to all families with a “little one” getting to be school age. Both Pre-K and Kindergarten registrations will begin at the end of this month and beginning of next. Please be on the lookout for the information and get your child(ren) registered sooner than later.

• The week of February 3-7 is National School Counselor Appreciation Week. We’d like to thank our seven counselors for the patience and guidance they provide day in and day out.

• February 15th is National School Resource Officer (SRO) Day. We would like to thank Mr. Daggett for his continued hours of dedication in helping to keep our district knowledgeable on the importance of school safety.

• It is that time of year when we are again asking for anyone wishing to substitute (teachers, aides, cafeteria, cleaners) in our district to please reach out to 315-389-5131 ex. 29108 for more information.

Thank you for your continued support of our great district!

Christopher Rose

Superintendent

Dear Middle and High School Parents,

It is hard to believe that it is the start of the second semester already! Our students have been working really hard this school year and we have noticed many positive trends that we wanted to share with our community.

First, our attendance has improved overall for this school year in the high school. Middle school attendance has seen some decreases with all of the illness this year, so we are looking to see percentages going up this spring. We know that out of almost everything contributing to the success of a student, attendance matters most. We appreciate the efforts of our families to get your children here each day. What does attendance look like for our middle and high school students?

• Showing up for school when you might not want to

• Making your appointments after school when you are able

• Being in school for the whole day!

• And finally, being “present” in school- DO NOT SLEEP and sit in a manner conducive to learning (no slouching, head on desk, etc.)

• Making arrangements with teachers to stay after school when a child has to be out from school. It is the child’s responsibility to seek them out for availability after school to get materials and notes they may have missed!

Thank you to the parents and guardians who are making important strides in helping your child get to school each day. Our goal is for the students in our building to reach an overall marker of 95% attendance for the school year. We currently have a daily attendance average of 93.46 % in the high school and 93.44% in the middle school so please encourage your students to get to school when they are able!

Next, being in school is important as are following school rules and expectations. Learning to know the boundaries of the environment that you are in is a valuable and transferable skill for students to learn that will help them in the future with work and in life. We try to instill that school rules may be different from home rules and it is important for our students to follow what is expected in this environment. Again, this is another area where we have seen positive growth with our students. We have had a reduction of about 20% in discipline referrals so far this school year from last year. Ways that you can help your child be successful in school are:

• Communicate and reinforce that they should do as expected in school which includes following all school rules and expectations.

• We have the guidance that “if an adult in the building asks you to do something that will not hurt you, you are expected to do it.” Students always have the right to speak to adults about challenges that they are having but following expectations from the start is most important.

• If a child sees something within the building of concern, we encourage them to reach out to an adult as soon as possible.

• Recognize that there is a difference between behaviors allowed at home and those that are allowed at school.

Finally, we have stressed with our students the importance of working as hard as possible in the classroom and with their classwork. We have lots of opportunities for academic support throughout the school day including AIS, Learning Labs and more. Additionally, our teachers are available almost every day after school from 2:25-3:25 PM for additional support. You will be receiving your child’s report card within the next week. We encourage all parents to reach out to teachers with any questions that you might have about your children and how you can best support them academically.

Warm Wishes!

Mrs. LaBarge, MS Principal

Mrs. Zender, HS Principal

Congratulations to the following students who were recognized as Students of the Month for November, December and January! The character traits were Kindness, Effort and Accountability.

Emma Baker, Jace Sweet, Audreyann Sweet, Stella Todd, Kylee Sweet, Abe Snell, Leah Perry, Corban Flynn, Brayden Baker, Mindy Ross, Courtney Moreau, Natalia Love, Aleah Phillips, Savanah Jandreau, Austin Wultsch-Fuller, Jeffery Finazzo, Jennah Strawser, Emma Montgomery, Liam Marcil, Logan Gibson, Trevor Phillips, Chase Sirles, Missing: Hope Plante & Damien Ashley

Congratulations to our high school students that were named the November students of the month for the character trait of kindness!

Congratulations to our high school students that were named the December students of the month for the character trait of effort!

Congratulations to our high school students that were named the January students of the month for the character trait of accountability!

In Mr. Brown's art room, the ceiling tiles are all in place that Drawing and Painting students have completed. Stop in and spend some time looking at the work your classmates have done over the years. Some really neat coil pots were made by the Ceramics class. Studio in Art is finishing up their clay unit that started with pinch pot forms, and soon you will see some wild clay whistles.

Mackenna Knapp, Maddyson Bernard, and Aiden Haverstock dissected a sheep brain at Clarkson University for BRAIN-STEM's December campus trip. The students worked with professors and graduate students to explore the various lobes and functions of the brain.

The St. Lawrence Stingerz have competed in Utica and Albany, so far this year. On February 1st, they competed at Clarkson University as well. It has been a fun year so far, and the robot keeps getting better! Please check out their Facebook page at Slc Stingerz or their Instagram page (slc_stingerz) where they have a short video of the arm extending and dropping a sample into a basket.

The IMPETUS program has had a busy fall. They attended a hockey game at Clarkson University as well as had trips to visit Clarkson University. Clarkson students have also been to SLC to visit here.

The Outing Club enjoyed a field trip to the Wild Center over Winter break. They explored the Wild Lights display throughout the forest.

Attending the trip were Outing Club members: Mary-Cate Dow, Abe Snell, Addison Marcil, Logan Marcil, Hope McDonald, Hope Plante, Madi Austin, Giada Rufa, Leah Perry and Danica Dishaw.

We are in the stretch run of the winter athletic season. A reminder to everyone that there will be playoff games during the school Winter break, so please plan accordingly.

Congratulations to the Cheer team on finishing first in their division in the Sectional Invitational on January 26th!

The Annual Coaches vs Cancer Basketball event was held in Brushton on January 25th with over $2500 made for the Brushton community. The coveted C vs C Cup remains in Larrie Nation for another year after the two Varsity teams both won along with the JV Girls team making it a 3 to 3 tie on the day. Since SLC was the one that last outright won it, the cup will stay in our trophy case for another year.

Congratulations to Ayden Beach on passing the 1000 point mark in Boys Varsity basketball. He currently stands 33 points from the all time school record set by Bobby Hall.

Spring sports sign-ups will be February 3-7 with your child's PE teacher. Once signups are complete, emails will be sent to those that need a physical to be able to participate.

The middle and high school Physical Education classes enjoyed a week of skating before Christmas break. The students did a great job, and had a great time!

Hello Middle School Families,

January has come to a close, and we’re finishing up our 7th-grade check-in meetings to help students set goals and prepare for 8th grade. Term 2 report cards will be coming home soon—keep an eye out!

As we move into Quarter 3 and NYS testing season, here are some tips to help students stay on track:
✔️ Stay after school for extra help.
✔️ Ask teachers about deadlines and assignments if they are unsure.
✔️ Stay organized and manage time wisely. Please encourage your child to check Schooltool and write down assignments in their agendas.
✔️ Take breaks and practice self-care.
✔️ Keep up with homework and responsibilities.

Up next, we’ll be starting 6th-grade meetings! Parents/guardians who would like to attend should contact their child’s counselor.

Beating the Winter Blues:

Winter can be tough, but small changes can make a big difference! Here are some simple ways for your child to boost their mood and manage stress:
☀️ Get fresh air – Bundle up and step outside!
🎨 Do something creative – Try cooking, reading, drawing, or listening to music.
🏃 Stay active – Exercise is a great way to relieve stress!
📅 Stick to a routine – Good sleep and school habits make a difference.
😊 Spend time with family and friends – Stay connected and have fun!

If you have any questions and/or concerns, please reach out to your child’s counselor. Thank you!

All the best,

Mr. Niles nniles@bfcsd.org (Students A-K)

Mrs. Roldan rroldan@bfcsd.org (Students L-Z)

Great memories were made with the Extended Day students at the Wild Center and seeing the Wild Lights in Tupper Lake, NY.

The Extended Day 7th and 8th grade students enjoy their homemade pizza after doing their homework, and studying for their midterm exams.

The 5th and 6th grade Extended Day students had a great time decorating Christmas cookies.

Seaway Valley Prevention counselors recently worked with the 5th grade Extended Day students. They taught them about violence prevention. Students learned a lot and had a great time!

After the 3rd grade Extended Day students got done working on their homework, they had lots of fun playing on the Nintendo Switches.

The Extended Day 4th graders worked really hard getting their homework done, and then they had fun playing with the "Building Sticks".

Hello SLC Families,

We are officially halfway through the 2024-2025 school year. Time sure does fly when you're having fun! Speaking of fun, our school will be celebrating Global School Play Day this Wednesday, February 5th. Each class will be spending some time on Wednesday simply having fun.

All SLC elementary families are welcome to join us this Wednesday from 4:30-6:00 for our family engagement event. Bring an empty water bottle to make a sensory bottle and share some popcorn with your family!

As I have shared before, New York State is heavily in support of schools implementing the Science of Reading research in their practices. The good news is that we started this transition two and a half years ago, so we are right on track. This is our second year with schoolwide implementation of a new ELA curriculum, Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA). Our teachers and support staff have participated in professional development to support this implementation and continue to make instructional decisions on a daily basis to best meet the diverse needs of our students. Thank you to our teachers and support staff for all that you do, each and every day! Kudos to all of you on the excellent work we've done to this point, and that which is yet to come. I am excited to see increased academic progress as a result of these efforts. We will continue to have professional development around New York State's Literacy Initiative.

Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten registration will be taking place soon (the last week of February). When you see the advertisements, please do not wait to register your child. Spots are limited in UPK and much of our planning for kindergarten hinges on numbers. In order to best prepare for your child's kindergarten experience, we request that you register them sooner than later.

Dates to Know:

• Mid-Winter Break will take place from Monday, February 17 through Friday, February 21.

Respectfully,

Mrs. Colterman

Mr. Dow's Physical Education classes worked on juggling scarves to improve catching and cross brain training. They shot the scarves to the ceiling with an air machine, and had fun catching them on the way down.

The Little Larrie Ballhandlers, coached by Mrs. Page, have been practicing a routine and performed it recently at a modified game. They did a great job and really enjoyed showing off their skills! They will be performing at another game next week and hope to see you all there!

This issue of the Bird’s Eye View arises at a critical time as the district has received a communication from the NYSED Chief Information Security Office regarding a recent security threat affecting K-12 schools and their families, dated January 30th. The report highlights information from various states, indicating that malicious actors are employing a tactic known as "typo-squats." This involves impersonating legitimate schools by making minor misspellings of school names or domains, or by using different endings such as [state abbreviation].us.

Currently, there are no indications that these actions have occurred locally or even in New York. However, in light of this report, we want to remind everyone to carefully verify any emails received from staff of the SLC School District or SLL BOCES. Please ensure that all spellings in the email addresses and domains are correct before opening any emails from schools.

As always, if you have any questions, you can contact Mr. Welsh the district's Data Protection Officer via email at kwelsh@bfcdsd.org, or call the technology department at (315) 389-5131 ext. 29250.

Catch up with the latest student stories, events, and news updates. It’s everything Brasher Falls Central School District, in your pocket. Download the app on Android or iPhone it is the best way to get notifications of school closings, delays, and cancellations.

Email: crose@bfcsd.org
Website: www.bfcsd.org
Location: 1039 State Highway 11C, Brasher Falls, NY 13613
Phone: 315-389-5131
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrasherFallsCSD