The Dragon`s EYE

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The D
Newsletter
Title
East York Elementary
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
December 2010
Thursday
Friday
1
Happy Hanukkah
Decorate
the Warmth
Tree
6
7
Dec 6—17
Saturday
2
3
4
9
10
11
16
17
18
Favorite/Crazy
Hat Day
Book Fair & 8
Secret Santa
Shop 3:45—8p
Scholastic Book Fair 2nd Recess
12
13
EYE T-shirts 14
19
20
15
PPL Gr 2 & 4
EY/IR Combined
Holiday Concert
PTO Mtg 7pm
YSHS Aud. 7pm
Holiday Concert 9:15a
21
DaddyOs Pizza
22
23
Spike’s Store
2nd Recess
24
25
Merry Christmas
NO SCHOOL
26
27
28
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
29
NO SCHOOL
30
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
31
NO SCHOOL
York Suburban School District educates, challenges, and
prepares students to shape the future.
Dr. Mary Beth Grove—Principal
701 Erlen Drive
York PA 17402
755-1021
East York Elementary
School Day
Principal—Dr. Mary Beth Grove
Dean of Students— Kate Leik
8:30a.m. Entrance of children
School Secretary— Gayle Rudacille
8:45a.m. School Begins
School Nurse— Mrs. Stipanovic & Mrs. Dennen-Stanley
11:50a.m.—12:30p.m.— Gr.2 1st recess/lunch
Kitchen— Mrs. Brenda Schmohl
12:00—12:40p.m.— Gr. 3 1st recess/lunch
AM Receptionist— Mrs. Tracey Chance
12:20—1:00p.m.—Gr. 4 1st recess/lunch
PM Receptionist— Mrs. Joyce Landis
12:35—1:15p.m.—Gr. 5 1st recess/lunch
1:45—2:00p.m.—Gr. 3 2nd recess
Numbered Day Schedule
2:00—2:15p.m.—Gr. 4 2nd recess
York Suburban uses a
2:15—2:30p.m.—Gr. 2 2nd recess
numbered day schedule for the school year.
Numbered days mean each day is labeled 1 to 6,
rather than Monday to Friday. The sequence is
repeated throughout the year. The only time for a
change in the sequence will be in the event of a
snow day. The numbered day schedule will be
printed on the cafeteria menu.
2:30—2:45p.m.—Gr. 5 2nd recess
3:30p.m.—Dismissal of bus students
3:35p.m. Dismissal of car/walking students
East York Safety Alert
When transporting students by automobile, please follow these guidelines:

Discharge/pick-up students on the same side as school (students may not cross in the middle of the
street)

No Parking in the drop off zone

Drop-off should be timely (pull away from drop
off zone for long good-byes)

Do not stop car to discharge in traffic lane

Use caution when pulling away from the curb
Transportation Office
Mrs. Jennifer Grove
848-3714
jgrove@yssd.org
Mark your calendars!
January 3—7 - Book Swap Collection
January 12—Book Swap
January 8 - 10a—2p Buck a Book Kick-off
January 17—No School—Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Come vote for Spike at York Galleria!
January 11—EYE T-shirt Day
January 17-21—Buck a Book Week
January 19—DaddyOs Pizza Fundraiser Night
Parent Pack-a-lunch Grade 3 (12—12:40pm) January 24—Early Dismissal at 1:15pm
Grade 5 (12:35-1:15pm) January 28—Spike’s Store
PTO Meeting 7pm
February 18—21—Mid-Winter Break
Dr. Grove’s Office Notes
Thank you to everyone who donated canned goods for the Salvation Army food drive. We are accepting donations until the food drive ends on December 3rd.
With colder weather approaching, please review with your child your plan if school dismisses early.
Weather announcements will be given on WSBA AM 910 and FM 103.3, WOYK AM 1350 and FM 92.7, WRKZ
FM 106.7, WGAL TV, WHP TV, WHTM TV, and WITF TV. Weather related information is also posted on the
district website at www.yssd.org. In addition, York Suburban School District is currently in the process of
establishing an automated message system to inform you of school delays and closings. We anticipate this
process to be incorporated in the future.
The first marking period ends on Thursday, December 2nd. Progress Reports will be issued on Friday, December 10th.
We will be holding our Book Fair and Holiday Secret Shop on Wednesday, December 8 th from 4:00 pm to
8:00 pm. Fifth grade East York and Indian Rock combined Holiday Concert will be on December 10 th at the
High School Auditorium at 7:00 p.m.
Our winter break will start on Thursday, December 23rd and school will reconvene on Monday, January 3rd,
2011.
We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday break with their family.
GRADE 2
GRADE 3
GRADE 4
Aiden Hughley
Jandiel Tati
Leon Bellenbaum
Jenna Raubenstein
Brooks Coughenhour
Austin Chandler
Macie Brown
Raymond Covey
Dylan Poff
Skye Holland
Alex Probert
KeLoni Dawkins
Tylor Kelly
Chadwick Brulia
Cody Sams
Mileena Garonzik
Lorenzo Mendez
Andrew Shultz
Jeffrey Shoemaker
Tara Vo
Emma Shelton
Sadrina Imam
Karlie Hinkle
Kylie Billet
Emma Kearns
Andrew Davis
Charles Kraut
Cody Willoughby
Josh Raffensberger
Olivia Blake
Hailey James
Jada Brown
Travis Aughenbaugh
Livia Demopoulos
J-Lin Durost
Kaleb LeVan - Fisher
Kaitlyn Hunt
Matthew Rivera
Niko Doularis
Madison Barshinger
Jaxson Meisenhelter
Evelyn Lyle-Moreland
Lily Kimpel
Caroline McIlany
Devon Lonergan
Erick Sanford
Alex Ket
GRADE 5
Julian Gifford
Jason Chen
Alexis Bowen
Josh Allen
Lauren Bryant
Marvin Chen
Mackenzie Hubb
John Pizzonia
Courtney Fishel
Sam Rowcliffe
Jack Tibbett
Isobel Smith
Samantha Arnold
Ban Khuc
Hailey Jones
Osvaldo Torres
Guidance Goodies
New and newly returned to the Parenting Library:
The Difficult Child
The Defiant Child
The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood: Ten Ways to Get Your Family on the Right
Nutritional Track
Books from the East York Parenting Library can be borrowed at any time. For a complete list, contact Mrs. Hess, or go to
her moodle at https://moodle.yssd. Scrolldown to East York/Indian Rock and then click on Guidance. No password is necessary – simply log on as a guest.
Parenting library book quote of the month, from Discipline Without Distress by Judy Arnall:
Five keys of discipline:
Teach, not hurt.
Stay with your “no” and honor your word.
Look for the need or feeling behind the behavior.
Separate your anger from your discipline.
Be the person you want them to be.
Sleeping Soundly
Most kids have busy days – some are even jam-packed. While it seems as though all that activity should make them tired
enough to fall asleep easily, that’s not always the case. If your child is having trouble sleeping, here are some ideas that
might help.
Try to develop a regular sleep schedule. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day helps make it
easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Be aware of how much sleep your child needs. Individual needs vary, but most children need at least ten hours of
sleep per night. Unlike adults, who become tired and sluggish when they don’t get enough sleep, kids who
are sleep-deprived often feel hyper – like they’re bouncing off the walls.
Make sure their beds are ready for sleep and relaxing – not so jammed with toys and stuffed animals that there's
no room for them.
Take stock of your child’s medications. Just as some medications can cause drowsiness, others can make it difficult to fall asleep.
Make sure kids aren’t overdressed for the temperature on the thermostat. Not all family members will agree on the
ideal sleeping temperature, which means someone may wake up because he’s too hot or she’s too cold.
While one child may need to break out the flannel pjs, another may be most comfortable in a cami and
shorts, even in the winter.
Have a regular bedtime routine. Include a light snack if your child often feels hungry when it's time to turn in.
Allow your child to read or write in a journal before turning in. This practice can clear your child’s mind rather than
having all those thoughts crowding her brain and crowding out sleep.
Help them get comfy. Light signals the body that it's time to be awake, so for most children, going to sleep in a
darkened room is the best choice. If your child is really afraid of the dark, however, it's OK to try a dim nightlight.
Keep pets out of beds. This can be a tough habit to break, but furry family members can keep their human friends
awake. As your pet cozies up to your child or makes noise, it can unwittingly disrupt peaceful sleep. Try having
your pet sleep on the floor of your child’s room instead of in his bed for a couple nights to see if sleep improves.
Avoid caffeinated beverages (like soda or iced tea) after about 3:00 in the afternoon. Caffeine is a stimulant and
might keep your child awake. And the color of the drink isn’t always a predictor – some root beers don’t have
caffeine and some orange sodas do. Check the label to be sure. Caffeine isn’t always listed, but most decaffeinated beverages display this fact prominently.
Minimize exercise right before bed. While exercise to earlier in the day can improve sleep, exercise within a couple hours of bedtime can make falling asleep difficult.
Have your child try a peaceful mind exercise. For instance, have your child close her eyes and count backward
from 100. Remind your child to relax, and avoid watching the clock. She’ll fall asleep when her body is ready.
Adapted from “What to do if You Can’t Sleep,” www.kidshealth.org, with additional information from Dreams: Mind Movies of the Night, by Mary Herd Tull, available in the East York Elementary library.
Family Fun Nights Sponsored by East York’s PTO
Coming home in backpacks in early January—info on East York night at
AVALANCHE EXPRESS!
Discount tickets will be available for purchase.
Family Movie Night coming in February.
We look forward to seeing you and your family at the next East York Family Fun Night!
To All of our East York Photographers!
We know that all of you take a lot of photos when you visit East York. How about sharing them? Nikki Hunt is our amazing
Yearbook Editor who works her magic using photos she takes, as well as those she receives from people throughout the year.
If you have photos from Field Trips, class parties, school activities or just the everyday happenings at East York, please send
them to Nikki. You can send them Backpack Express c/o Katie Hunt 4B or email them to her at nlh4672@aol.com
It’s time for the Scholastic Book Fair!
The Book Fair will run from Tuesday, December 7th - Friday, December 10th. The theme for this Book Fair
is "Here's To Our Hero's - Reading Saves the Day!"
There will be a special Family Event on Tuesday, December 7th from 3:45-8:00pm, which will include a Secret
Santa Shop for the children. With your support, we know this will be another successful Book Fair. If you are interested in helping out, please contact me at 755-0134 or at rfamily21@verizon.net.
We look forward to seeing you at the Book Fair!
Dana Rodriguez
Book Fair co-chair
DaddyOs Pizza on East Market Street will have a fundraising night for East York Elementary the 3rd Wednesday of every
month. Be sure to mention your teacher’s name when you pay and East York Elementary will receive a donation for each person in your party. Kids will receive free game tokens and pizza, pasta and salad are served on an all-you-can-eat buffet.
We look forward to seeing you at DaddyOs Pizza Night on
Wednesday, December 15th!
East York Elementary
Spike’s Store
Be sure to check out the display case by the gym to see what’s coming to Spike’s Store
next month. There’s always something fun at Spike’s Store!
Please remember-students may not purchase items for others & keep
your money in a safe place.
Don’t forget to save your Box Tops! Get a croc style bracelet or add a charm for 5 Box
Tops each-no limit!!
Come join us
December 17th
during 2nd recess!
If you have any questions about Spike’s Store, please contact:
Elizabeth Axe - Chair-Spike’s Store
elizaxe@verizon.net
Dear East York Elem,
My name is Charles Rogers from Mrs. Mason's class. Two years ago I had a brain
aneurysm and stayed at the hospital in Hershey. While there the Ronald McDonald
house of Hershey supplied my family with food and support. Every month families
like mine use the Ronald McDonald house to stay at while their kids are suffering. So
now I want to give back by collecting tabs to donate to make money to help run the
house. All you need to do is bring the aluminum soda tabs to school and look for bins
around the school. If you can't find the bins bring them to 4M. My goal is to raise
$500 worth of tabs by the end of school. I would be happy to deliver them. Thank
you.
Charles Rogers
Co-Presidents;
Dawn Smith—718-5107 ddzccsmith@yahoo.com
Jenna Markle—840-2676 js.markle@comcast.net
Treasurer Megan Penson— 600-2141 psumom9502@yahoo.com
Secretary Andrea Raffensberger— 751-4476 araffy784@comcast.net
Please note: Our next meeting is December 14th at 7pm.
We meet in East York’s Library
PTO is held on the second Tuesday of each month.
We welcome all East York parents to our meetings and look forward to seeing lots of new faces!
Free childcare for preschool and school-age children is provided by the York Suburban Honor Society in
EYE’s all-purpose room.
GO GREEN!
Send your email address to your child’s teacher to be included in the PTO classroom
parent’s emails. We send out various information this way and it gets to you quicker
than Backpack Express! This is also a great way to give direct feedback to the PTO.
We are always looking for suggestions, input and ideas!
Parent Pack a Lunch
December 14th
Grade 2—11:50am—12:30pm
Grade 4—12:20—1pm
Please enter through the doors nearest to the cafeteria.
We look forward to seeing you there!
If you have any items to be included in the school newsletter, please
email them to Amy Rowcliffe at ajrowcliffe@comcast.net no later than
the 22nd of each month.
Giant A+ Rewards Cards
The easiest way to raise money for East York Elementary!
Do your grocery shopping at Giant
Use your bonus card to get all of their great deals and Giant will donate money directly to East York
Elementary! Make sure to visit www.giantaplus.com to designate East York as your
school.
Collect bonus card numbers from family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.
East York earned $4187.60 from Giant A+Rewards last year! That is easy money for
our school. Let’s beat that number and raise even more this school year!
Ever see this on an item?
Cut it out and return it to your child’s teacher. We have even included a collection sheet with this
newsletter!
Start a collection at work, call family members and have
them send them to you!
MayFest is coming!
Planning for the May Festival starts in January and we are still looking for enthusiastic people to
take on our chair positions for the Flowers and Volunteers committees!
We would love to hear any ideas that parents may have for May Festival! We need everyone’s help
to make this year’s MayFest better than ever!
Please contact Dawn Smith at ddzccsmith@yahoo.com
A New Gift for the Holidays
You’ve heard the old adage, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink…” The same is true of
our students. Part of our job as parents and educators is to help to build motivation to read and to write. This
comes through the little things we do … the things we model for our children as well as in the opportunities that
we provide for them each day.
As parents, we can show that we value literacy by reading and writing in front of our children. Whether we are
reading the news, a magazine, or the latest novel OR writing a thank you note, a list, or an e-mail to a friend, we
show our children we value literacy by engaging in it. Think about sharing something that you are reading or
writing. Share a funny part of a story you are reading. Quote an interesting fact from the newspaper. Read
back some particularly notable part of a letter you’ve written. Your time spent reading and writing can inspire
your child to join in with you!
Providing children with many opportunities to read and write shows that we care about their literacy as well.
Draw your child in by reading together from a joke book. Pour over the latest copy of Sports Illustrated for
Kids together and talk about your favorite players. Whatever it is, keep it light… especially if your child is
struggling at school. If your child is struggling, gather reading material that is of high interest to them. Reading
at home should be fun and comfortable. Having reading feel good to your child will help them to become readers.
When something is pleasurable, we tend to repeat the experience!
As you are pondering what to add to your holiday shopping list, think of items to promote literacy for your child.
Funky pens, interesting journals, magazine subscriptions, books on the latest movie, World Record books, Almanacs… the list of fun and engaging items goes on and on! They don’t have to have the classics under the Christmas tree or a phonics workbook for Hanukah… look for something that will draw them in to read and write without bringing attention to the fact that you are setting them up for a lifetime of success!
From Monday, December 6th to Friday, December 17th the EYE PTO will be collecting items to help kids
and adults in the local area keep warm this winter season. All items collected will be donated to Bell
Socialization Services. Decorate the Warmth Tree in the lobby with your donations.
Items Needed: Hats, Mittens, Gloves, Scarves, Socks, NEW Underwear
All ages & sizes are needed including children, teen, women & men.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Holly Weinrich at 840-6850 or shweinrich@comcast.net
From the Nurse’s Office
Chris Stipanovic, School Nurse
Season’s Greetings from East York Nurse’s Office!
Did you know that the week of December 5-11 is National Handwashing Awareness Week? Handwashing awareness involves both hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, and cross contamination
awareness. According to the Centers for Disease Control, "the most important thing you can do to
keep from getting sick is to wash you hands." Here are the 6 main rules of handwashing:
Always wash your hands after using the bathroom, changing diapers, cleaning up after your
pets, or handling money.
Wash your hands when they’re dirty.
Always wash you hands before eating.
Don’t cough or sneeze into your hands.
Avoid putting your fingers in your eyes, nose, or mouth. These are the places where most
germs enter the body.
Avoid touching people and surfaces with unclean hands.
There are several great websites to share with your children about proper handwashing and disease prevention. Here are a
two of them: www.henrythehand.com
www.scrubclub.org
Also, here is a link for a great video on respiratory hygiene and doing the “elbow cough.”
http://ofprincipalconcern-educationworld.blogspot.com/2009/09/flu-in-school-tools-you-can-use.html
If you or your child can come up with a handwashing rap or jingle, they can bring it to one of the nurses, and
they can read it over the announcements during Handwashing Awareness Week! The holiday season is a
great time to practice handwashing awareness with your family. Let’s try to keep ourselves and our families
healthy One Handwash at a Time!
Health tip of the month: Winter is a time when household fires often occur. It is a good time to remember to:
Buy and install smoke alarms on every floor of your home
Test smoke alarms monthy
Practice fire drills with your children
**Memorial Hospital is hosting the KidShape program. KidShape is a nationally recognized family-based weight management
program. It will run from January 25 throught March 22, 2011at Stillmeadow Church, and the fee is $10. If you are interested
in more information, please email me cstipanovic@yssd.org and I will send a flyer home with your child.
WE IN THE NURSE’S OFFICE WOULD LIKE TO WISH ALL EAST YORK FAMILIES A VERY
HAPPY AND HEALTHY HOLIDAY SEASON!
MRS. STIPANOVIC AND MRS. DENNEN-STANLEY