Dear Strawtown Families,
Happy May! It is hard to believe that we are entering the final stretch of the 2025-2026 school year! Reflecting on the year and seeing how so many students have grown and matured from an academic and social-emotional standpoint has been amazing! The last few months of the school year are always busy because we balance closing up the current school year and preparing for the next one! Over the next few weeks, we will be completing our state testing, many grades are going on exciting field trips; we have exciting assemblies and many fun events for the students in conjunction with much quality learning left for the year! As always, should you have any questions about the happenings at Strawtown, pleas don't hesitate to reach out!
In Partnership,
Colin Andersen
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April Highlights:
April was a busy and productive month here at Strawtown. We completed several rounds of state testing successfully. We had our finals of our inaugural Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament, Grade 5 went on a field trip, Grade 4 had their annual colonial workshop, Grade 2 visited LG Headquarters and Cropsey Farm visited too! So many grades celebrated Earth Day and began new units of learning! It was a great month.
New York State Testing:
This month, we will finish up our state testing. Grade Three will take the math exam on May 4th and 5th and then Grade 5 will finish up with their Science test on May 6th. Please remind your children at home to bring their Chromebooks fully charged on the day of the exam since the tests are computer-based.
Spirit Week:
May 4th-8th will be Strawtown Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week along with a fun spirit week! Please see this flyer for the different day's themes.
Strawtown News:
Here is out new episode of Strawtown News from our 5th Graders. Enjoy!
Spring Concert:
Our Spring instrumental concert will happen on May 27th. The whole school will get to see the dress rehearsal on the morning of the 27th. Please see this letter from Ms. Pierce outlining the details for the evening. It will be a great night of student music.
Lost & Found:
Last call on Lost and Found items from the winter! We will be donating items to the Salvation Army by May 15th if items are not retrieved. There are many items, they will be on folded and on display in the main hallway for the next two weeks before donation.
Memorial Day Assembly:
On May 22nd, we will have a whole school assembly in honor of Memorial Day. It will be a morning of patriotic songs and honoring our soldiers who have fought valiantly for our country.
Field Trips:
This is a busy month for Field Trips! Grade 3 is headed to the Lamont-Dougherty Science Center on May 12th and 14th for some environmental learning. Grade 4 is headed to the DeWint and 1776 House on May 6th to make connections to their American Revolution learning! Then they will head to DePew Farm on May 13th. Grade 5 will visit Felix Festa on May 11th and then on May 20th they will head to Broadway to see Wicked!
Kindergarten Orientation:
We welcome in our new Kindergarteners on May 19th for their official orientation to Strawtown. They will visit a classroom and take a bus ride around the Strawtown circle! If you are a family who has an incoming Kindergartner, we hope to see you there, and be sure to also sign up for the Brigance Screener on June 1st and 2nd using this link.
Common Sense Media:
Is a great resource for families in helping to understand the content of movies, books, YouTube originals, Social Media channels and more. It provides a detailed breakdown of the content. I use it all the time for my two daughters because there is simply so much media content out there that it is hard to keep up with it. Here is a link to the website.
May STEM Challenge:
We have a new STEM challenge for this month where kids can build birdfeeders for our returning feathered friends. Please see this link to take up this moth's challenge! As always, projects will be on display in room 103 and then be featured on the welcome board.
Emergency Drills:
Over the next two weeks, we will be conducting two emergency drills. This notice serves to meet the requirements of New York State's community notification protocols. Should you have any questions, please let me know.
Policy Reminders:
Warm Weather:
As the weather continues to warm up, please send your children dressed for the day's weather. Students will not be permitted to change clothing during the day unless an unexpected occurrence happens. Students changing clothes during the day is disruptive, so please plan for the high temperature and send a sweatshirt for the chillier mornings.
Food and Drinks:
As a reminder only water should be sent in with students each day in their water bottles. Energy Drinks, or any other sugary drinks are not permitted during the school day. In addition, please remind your children that food sharing is not allowed in the cafeteria. In addition, food cannot be delivered to the school for your child.
Arrival and Dismissal:
Please try to build consistency with your child's arrival and dismissal routines. Frequent changes are complex for the kids to navigate and may cause confusion for us here at the building level or on buses. We want to ensure a safe arrival and dismissal at all times. At the same time, I understand life happens, so if a necessary change occurs, please make sure to email your child's teacher and the main office at strawtownoffice@ccsd.edu no more than 24 hours before the dismissal change and please not after 12:30 on a school day unless it is an emergency. This communication is essential to accuracy when there are dismissal changes. In addition, for car pickups/drop-offs, please ensure not to pass anyone in the parking lot, even if you offload your child faster than the person in front of you.
Cellphones, SMART Watches, Gum:
As a reminder, students should not have cellphones or wear Smartwatches on during the day per New York State law. They should remain off and placed in the bottom of the backpack. If a device goes off during the day, the teachers will remind each student to turn it off. If a student misuses the device repeatedly, it may be taken away and must be picked up by an adult. In addition, as a reminder, gum is not allowed during the school day. I appreciate your cooperation with this guideline.
May Closings:
School will be closed on May 25th in honor of Memorial Day.
May Calendars:
Please use this link to access the May calendar for the events happening at Strawtown this month. You can also use this link to see the May school lunch menu.
