South Davis Shines

Hello South Davis Families.

What a great event we had Monday morning, honoring veterans who have a connection to South Davis. We had over 40 current and former service members along with 40 family members and 65 students join the celebration. Guests shared stories, and everyone heard from Student Council about what it means to serve, listened to Mrs. Blazick share a veteran's perspective, and joined in some patriotic songs, while recognizing the sacrifice these veterans and their families have made.

We are fortunate to have so many role models in our midst. On behalf of all of South Davis, I want to thank the veterans for their service to our community. I hope the time set aside Tuesday gave us an opportunity to reflect on and truly appreciate the blessings and freedom that exist because of their service.

We're all in this together! Have a great week!

Mr. Dolce

#WeAreSouthDavis

November 12-19 - South Davis Fall Food Drive

Thursday, November 13 - PTO Meeting, 6:30

Friday, November 14 - Early Dismissal, 11:30, period 4-6

Tuesday, November 18 - SRP Appreciation Day; Board of Education Meeting

Wednesday, November 19 - Picture Retake Day; 3rd Grade BPO Field Trip; Food Drive Wrap Up

November 26-30 - Thanksgiving Break

December 4-5 - Early Dismissal, 11:30, Parent-Teacher Conferences

Friday, December 5 - Holiday House (see below)

Each year at South Davis we host this festive event at the school to welcome winter and the many holidays that are celebrated this time of year, and allow all of our South Davis families to come together and socialize! It's a winter wonderland with fun for the whole family.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!

These events—as magical as they are—don't happen by pure magic. We need your support and involvement! You could:

• contribute by purchasing items from the Amazon wish list
• help with planning and coordination of activities in the next couple of weeks leading up to the event
• help setup the afternoon of the event
• supervise activities/areas during the event: Holidays Around the World, Holiday Fun, North Pole, and Merry Moose shop
• help takedown after the event
• Not sure how you want to help? Join us at the next PTO meeting for an open discussion and planning session - Thursday, November 13, 6:30pm at the South Davis Library

Volunteer signup:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D49AFAA29A1FFC07-60252096-south

Amazon wish list:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1T1LAIMZ3TKYS?ref_=wl_share

Please reach out to Jordan Hegyi or Nancy Kobielski to get involved.

Make-up Day is scheduled for next Wednesday, November 19.

Instructions to participate in Absentee/Retake Day:

1. Mark your calendar!

   
   

2. We recommend letting your child's' teacher know that you wish to have a picture done so that they are sent to the photographer.

   
   

3. Students who were absent on the original pciture day should plan to be photographed on this day so they may be included on the class photos and/or the yearbook. (No purchase necessary.)

   
   

4. In order to submit a new online order, families will need to wait for the updated proof sheet and submit an order using their child's personalized online code. Online orders will be mailed directly to the home address rather than to the school.

   
   

5. It does not cost to have a retake. If you or your child are not happy with the original picture, please have a new photo taken. It is helpful to the photographer to add a note to the returned pictures explaining what you would like to have changed with their picture.

   
   

6. You do need to return the complete Picture Package in the envelope to the photographer on Retake Day. We cannot exchange your order with the Retake picture until the Picture Package envelope and its contents have been returned but we can still take a new photo if that information is not provided on picture day.

If there are questions, please contact our customer service department at 855-773-3321 (M-F, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm).

Thanks to everyone who you know November gift card raffle.

The latest winners are:

11.4.25 - Breeze Fitness - Angela Sobecki

11.5.25 - Paula's Doughnuts - Angela Papia

11.6.25 - The Room Theater - Jordan Hegyi

11.7.25 - Frank Youngs Skating - Darleen Stry

11.8.25 - Lockwood's - Kristin Beckett

11.9.25 - Main & Hamlin Gift card - Jordan Hegyi

11.10.25 - Dao Sushi Gift card - Amanda Wolfley

11.11.25 - Spot Coffee - Samantha Broad

A simple way to support the PTO and the entire South Davis program 👇

OPSEPTSA NEXT MEETING:

Wednesday, November 19

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:

12/17/2025

1/21/2026

2/25/2026

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

Attached is information about an upcoming virtual event, Understanding Autism: Together in Experience and Advocacy.

This session will feature a panel of local experts and advocates in a timely discussion about autism. Participants will explore the facts, what we know and don’t yet know about its causes, and learn about resources available within our community.

• Wednesday, November 19, from 6:30 pm to 8 pm
• Watch the livestream on the Buffalo Toronto Public Media YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@BuffaloTorontoPublicMedia/streams

The panelists, guided by Buffalo Toronto Public Media (WBFO) Disabilities Beat Reporter Emyle Watkins, will explore the evidence about false claims about autism, and how such claims may undermine health professional and advocacy efforts. Whether you're a parent, healthcare provider, educator, or interested member of the public, you will find tools to navigate these complex health narratives and support informed decision-making.

The School Mental Health Resource and Training Center (SMHRTCenter) is a project funded by the NY State Education Department and supported by the Office of Mental Health.

Please join us and share these upcoming Webinars with your community:

• *Our Family Education Webinar will be held on November 12 from 7:00 - 8:00PM: Understanding Graduation Stress: A Panel Discussion on Preparing for Post-High School
• *Our Educator Cafe will be held on November 18 from 3:30-4:40PM: Supporting Transgender Students: Best Practices Grounded in Youth Experiences

Any questions, please feel free to reach out to the SMHRTCenter Team at schools@mhanys.org

Parent Enrichment Series for K-5

Discuss and navigate the successes and challenges of parenting your elementary-aged child.

• Fall Dates: Note the changes - Thursdays - Oct. 23, 30, Nov. 6, 13, and 20
• 5:30-7:00 p.m. at the Family Solution Center; on-site childcare available

Other groups/topics at the Family Solution Center:

• Parent Enrichment Series for Universal Pre-K
• Parent Enrichment Series for pre-teens and teenagers
• Parent Partnership - Co-parenting support
• Parent Information Series topics - gambling, body image, vaping

See the attached flyer for all of the details.

November is Children’s Grief Awareness Month. At a recent staff meeting, Katerina Shlabig from the Western New York Compassion Connection shared what grief can look like in children, how we can best support grieving students, and how we can continue to grow as a grief-informed community.

Some key takeaways from her presentation:

• Grief is not linear and doesn't follow a specific pattern
• A variety of events can lead to childhood grief: death of a pet, incarceration of a family member, loss of job, loss of relationship, moving; sports team defeat
• New language to use:
• I can't even imagine how you're feeling right now.
• I'm so sad to hear that.
• How is your grief/how are you today?
• Offer concrete help; listen more, talk less; reach out, say their name
• Resources
• wnycompassionconnection.org
• nacg.org/flipthescript/
• childrensgriefawarenessday.org

As you can see the lost items are starting to pile up (and this isn't even half of it!).

We try to return all items, but without names on them it's often difficult. Especially with more gear coming into school with winter weather, it's super important to write your child's name on hats, gloves, boots, jackets, etc.

If you recognize any of these items, please have your child retrieve them. We are working on a system to more quickly reunite children with their missing items. Anything that is not retrieved will be donated to a local charity.