As a school leader, the national events of the last several days, and especially here in Rochester yesterday, are deeply concerning. It is unfortunate that what began as a peaceful protest was turned into something far different and devastating for our community. I can only imagine the deep hurt that this has caused for many, particularly our Black and Hispanic families.
At Governor Cuomo’s press conference on Friday, May 1, 2020, he closed New York State schools for the remainder of the academic year with a continuation of remote learning. While this provides us with a concrete date for our planning, there are many questions which you will have. Our team has been working over the past weeks on different scenarios, which we will be sharing.
The situation with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is constantly changing. We have created an online webpage which will contain the most current information.
Wheatland-Chili Superintendent Deb Leh will use video conferencing to live stream the 2020-2021 Adopted Budget Presentations to the community on the following dates. Watch via the Budget Presentation page on the District website at: https://www.wheatland.k12.ny.us/Page/3229. All presentations will be approximately 30 minutes and will be recorded for future viewing.
All voters will vote by absentee ballot. Two absentee ballots with postage-paid return envelopes will be mailed to all qualified voters. If you need more than two absentee ballots in your household, please call the District Clerk at 585.889.6247. In all cases, the ballots must be returned to the district office no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2020.
“Working in a main office is a lot like customer service,” said Clement. “How a person views the main office is a reflection of the school. We are the first people that visitors come in contact with. I do my best to be helpful and make people feel welcome.”
Be sure to check out the educational and fun resources. Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium, learn about the National Parks and listen to wolves howl at the Wolf Conservation Center.
Board Member Kim Snyder received the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) Board Achievement Award. The award is in recognition of Board excellence through NYSSBBA for her participation in leadership development opportunities.
Art teacher Julia Mazzota has additional mindful coloring pages for you to download and print from her webpage
Teachers, staff members, Principal Eric Windover, Assistant Principal Danielle Hoch, WCPTA members, Transportation staff, the Scottsville Fire Department, and Superintendent Leh participated in a community parade to deliver Wheatland-Chili senior signs to each of the 52 graduates of the Class of 2020 on Thursday, May 6. The caravan started in the Village of Scottsville and traveled through the Towns of Wheatland and Chili and in to the City of Rochester.
Wheatland-Chili together with Act for Education and school districts in the Rochester area celebrate Small Business Week each May. We recognize Stokoe Farms as our community partner for Small Business Week for their dedication to our students, staff, families, and community. Stokoe Farms hosts field trips for over 9,000 students and staff members from area school districts, each year. “It is our fall field trip for our Kindergarten students and the one the kids and families look the most forward to,” said Jill Farrell, kindergarten teacher. “We have more than half the parents join us on this trip and it is such a fun day for our students to play, explore, and learn about the farm.
During the week of Teacher Appreciation Week celebrated from May 4 through May 8, the WCPTA held a virtual appreciation with Musical Monday, Teaching Tuesday, Watercolor Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, and Fortunate Friday. WCPTA Rocks!
The related service providers have created a new resource page on the District website. These pages include continued activities that support language, social language, fine motor, and gross motor skills. If your child receives speech-language therapy, occupational, and/or physical therapy, this page gives a list of functional activities that you can pick and choose from. We continued with the theme, “Fun at home,” including a list of interactive ideas that you can do right at home.
The first Friday in May is School Lunch Hero Day. We thank our food service staff members and Director Dana Bolt for all their hard work as they have continued to provide meals during the school closure. Through April 29, Food Services has provided 6,384 meals to our families.
Doris Grieco has worked for the Wheatland-Chili Central School for 12 and a half years. She is an assistant custodian in the Facilities Department. Her responsibilities include cleaning classrooms, cleaning bathrooms, ordering supplies, setting-up and breakdown of nightly activities, and locking the building. Prior to joining the District, she was a stay-at-home mom for 18 years. Doris is a Wheatland-Chili alumni
Every Wednesday at 9 a.m., the Wheatland-Chili teachers are invited to a coffee break. They have to provide their own coffee, but it is a chance to share stories, tips, and best practices for the fully online teaching they have all been doing for more than a month. Likewise, this weekly coffee break is online. “The virtual coffee break helps us to keep human connections, a sense of our teaching community,” said Wheatland-Chili Teacher Center Director Cara Montrois.
Eighth grader Gabriella Fals served as a guest art teacher for Megan Melville’s eighth grade art class. Gabriella taught the students how to create liquid art paintings. “She did a great job and it was really amazing to see her confidence and talent for teaching,” said Melville.
Wheatland-Chili CSD has received a Best Communities for Music Education Award 2020 from the NAMM Foundation. This award recognizes and celebrates school districts and schools for their support and commitment to music education. Congratulations to our parents and students for all their hard work and to our music teachers: Steve Zimmerman, Beth McDougall, Nicolas Roche and Julianne Burch.
