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Principal's Message 3/18/24

 

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE: 

 

Good Evening, Stallion Families!

Here we are!  One week away from Spring Break!  This week can be a challenge for both students and staff as big emotions about plans for spring break take over in our minds and bodies.  I want to thank you in advance for all you will do this week to partner with us in supporting our Stallions with emotional regulation.  Enjoy your week!    

 

Upcoming Events

  • March 18, 2024- Special Event- Harlem Globetrotters

  • March 19, 2024- Parent Information Meeting- 5th grade Field Trip

  • March 21, 2024- P2 Assemblies (Invitation given to families of students receiving awards only)

  • March 25-29, 2024- Spring Break!

  • April 1-30, 2024- Occupational Therapist Appreciation Month

  • April 1-5, 2024- National Assistant Principal Appreciation Week

  • April 4, 2024- School Library Media Coordinator Day

 

Shout outs!

  • Our book fair is over, so it is now time to extend a HUGE thank you to Ms. Catherine Lee, our PTA Vice-President for her leadership with this event.  I know Ms. Lee had a team of volunteers working with her and we are grateful for all of you!  To see the faces of children when they have new books in their hands… there is nothing like it!  Wow!  We are grateful for the $ that is raised to support our school library.  Thank you!

  • WCPSS recognized March 11-15 as Gifted and Talented Celebration week.  I want to thank Dr. Lecia Cecconi-Roberts for her commitment and dedication to our AIG program here at Stough Elementary School.  Lecia- we love you!  

  • Congratulations to our two Stough students who won third place in the National Picture Book Reading Contest. This contest was organized by the Chinese Language Teacher Association of California.

    • 5-8 Years Non- Heritage Group- Student Audrey Cuni

    • 9-13 Years Non- Heritage Group- Student Blythe Abercrombie

 

Positivity Project: March 18-22- Perspective

  • This week we are learning about perspective during our P2 time.  Perspective means you appreciate when people see things in different ways. You have the ability to understand the world from multiple points of view.

  • I encourage you to talk with your family this week about perspective.  Please use this link as a reference.  Link to newsletter



First in Fitness

  • Congratulations to our Stough First in Fitness team who competed on March 13th.  We are proud of all of our students who participated and gave their best efforts, and grateful to Mr. Hooker for his leadership of our First in Fitness program.  Special thank you to Shelly Cox for attending the event to support students.

    • SPEED ROPE

      • 1st Place Henry Scruggs

      • 1st Place Will Brearley

      • 3rd Place Marilyn Brearley

      • 5th Place Noah Perry

    • Standing Long Jump

      • 1st Place Sadie Dalonzo-Baker

      • 5th Place Ari Keshava

    • 100 Yard Dash

      • 3rd Place Dylan Williams

    • Mile Run

      • 4th Place Eden Woods

 

The Harlem Globetrotters

  • Stough Magnet Elementary, are you ready to DRIBBLE, SPIN and DUNK? Joey "Hot Rod" De La Rosa from the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters will be stopping by Monday afternoon (March 18) to share the importance of teamwork on and off the court and to showcase some signature Globetrotter moves before their big game April 17 at the PNC Arena. Inspired at age 9 to become a Harlem Globetrotter during a similar visit to his own school, Joey's passion for sharing the game of basketball with others is unmatched. In addition to his chat, Joey will also lead a brief basketball clinic for those that volunteer to participate during the assembly.  We are excited to offer this opportunity to our Stallions.

 

Parent/Caregiver Information Meeting- 5th grade field trip to the Outer Banks

  • If you are a parent/caregiver of a 5th grade student who is choosing to attend our 5th grade field trip to the Outer Banks, you are invited to attend a virtual meeting where information will be shared with time for questions/answers.  We look forward to seeing you there.



Kidz Art

  • KidzArt drawing classes Session 4 begins on Apr 16. Every week is a new project and returning students are welcome! Classes meet on Tuesdays at 4-5 pm in the Art Room for K-5th grades students. Your child will bring home a finished artwork that he/she will be proud of each week! For more info contact Chen the owner at cjiang@kidzart.com. To register please visit www.northraleigh.kidzart.com.

 

Single Subject Acceleration (SSA)

  • The Test Request window for Single Subject Acceleration or SSA at Stough will be open April 1-12.  SSA allows students to show mastery of content in select elementary or middle school courses. Students who prove mastery do not have to take the course and may move on to the next level.  Parents may request testing for their child to skip a grade level of content in either English Language Arts or Math. Testing will be April 22-May 6.  No requests for testing will be honored prior to April 1. Please email Mrs. Cecconi-Roberts at lcecconi-roberts@wcpss.net for more information.

 

Spring is Here!  Let’s talk about dress code.

  • One of the best measures of how much your child has grown over the winter is the fit of their clothing come springtime.  All of the sudden, shorts and shirts that fit last summer are too short, too tight, too small.  I know how busy and hectic morning routines can be.  I want to remind you to be intentional about looking at what your child is wearing, especially if you have an older elementary student.  Please make sure students are appropriately covered with no exposed undergarments or bare midriffs, even when they remove layers of clothing like hoodies or jackets.  Thank you!

 

Cell phones

  • We are beginning to see an increasing number of students using their cell phones during the school day.  The expectation is that students do not have cell phones on campus.  With that said, I do understand they are needed for safety reasons in some situations.  Please speak to your child about cell phones expectations.  We are not going to search for cell phones.  If a cell phone rings during class, or if a student has a cell phone out of their book bag during the school day, we will follow protocol:

    • First offense- teacher confiscates a cell phone and turns it into administration.  Cell phones will be returned to students at the end of the day.

    • Second offense- teacher confiscates a cell phone and turns it into administration.  Cell phones will be returned only to a parent/caregiver.

    • Third offense- teacher confiscates a cell phone and turns it into administration.  Cell phones will be returned at the end of the school year.

 

EOG Testing

  • End-of-Grade Tests will begin on May 30, with the last day of testing on June 12.  Please plan accordingly.  

 

Substitute Teachers

  • Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  I am excited and grateful!  A good number of you have reached out to me to gather information about becoming a substitute teacher.  Remember, we can use you for any amount of time… as little or as much as you have to give.  To make this process easier, these are the steps to follow.

    • The Wake County Public School System has a process.  You can find it here.  https://www.wcpss.net/subs

    • Once WCPSS has cleared you to sub, and you have gone through orientation, please reach out to our lead secretary, Ann Coventry (acoventry@wcpss.net).  She will help you get set up in the system to accept sub jobs here at Stough.

 

Stough Magnet Elementary PTA

  • PTA Communications: 

    • We endeavor to email a newsletter every one to two weeks. You can find our newsletter for the week of March 8 here. Not getting our newsletters? You can subscribe here. 

    • Want to see the latest in your browser instead of your inbox? The Stough PTA Events & Updates page is a great place to see what's going on at the moment. There you can scroll through our current announcements, see links to volunteer signups, event dates, and more! 

    • Like always, we continue to post the highlights here in the Principal's Weekly Message.

  • Book Fair

  • The book fair ended on Tuesday and we're still in awe of it all. We are grateful to Stough and Mrs. Galvan for sharing the Media Center with us. It was beautiful to see so many students and families in this space on Family Night and throughout the event. 

  • In partnership with Stough teachers and student services, PTA distributed 60 coupons for free books. Your support for PTA programs like our angel charity fund allows us to do this and more! Thank you! 

  • Spring is around the corner

  • We have lots of events and volunteer opportunities coming up as we look to warmer weather! Staff Appreciation Week, Super Kids Day, Fifth Grade Promotion, Spring Auction & More! Get in on the planning now. We'd love to have your voice and help! Email us at stougpta@gmail.com to share your thoughts and interest.

 

Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Jodi Lay 

Principal, Stough Magnet Elementary School