This report highlights some of the amazing things happening in our library.

On Wednesday, we will be celebrating February 2, 2022. This is known as “Two’s Day” (2-2-22). This is the only year this will happen “two” times – Wednesday, 2-2-22 and Tuesday, 2-22-22 during Winter Break. We will be participating in a few fun activities as a school community during the day. We hope your child(ren) can participate in “Twin Day” on Wednesday. Each class will be assigned a color to wear (shirt, pants, hair bow, sneakers, socks…anything you have). See who your Grade level twin will be!

• Pre-K/4th Grade: Red
• Kindergarten/5th Grade: Orange
• 1st Grade/6th Grade: Yellow
• 2nd Grade/7th Grade: Green
• 3rd Grade/ 8th Grade: Blue

[embeddoc url=”https://www.wynantskillufsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Twos-Day.pdf”]

Today is National Fun at Work Day. At Gardner-Dickinson, it was known as “GD Game Day.” Students and staff enjoyed trivia and bingo games over the intercom, which included some great prizes from our PTA. The school was also treated to a lunchtime concert by Technology Specialist Anthony Vescio and donated ice cream soda floats from Hannaford, homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches, pretzels, and popcorn. Thank you to our students and staff for coming together to build community and end the week for some fun activities.

Middle School Rocks pic.twitter.com/48UIp9xcv6

— Mary Yodis (@GDSuper_Yodis) January 28, 2022

Trivia winners! pic.twitter.com/64iGGOBWGD

— Mary Yodis (@GDSuper_Yodis) January 28, 2022

Dear Families,

The Wynantskill UFSD learned this week of 8 positive Covid-19 cases, including 5 elementary students and 3 middle school students. Please monitor your child(ren) for any symptoms of COVID-19 and report any absences and positive COVID-19 test results to our school nurse Tricia Gibbs at 518-283-4600.

As a reminder, the school district has moved to a weekly notification email to parents and guardians (rather than sending emails as cases happen. Families of children identified as a close contact at school will continue to receive a phone call from school personnel, consistent with what we have done throughout the pandemic.

Thank you all for your continued support and ongoing efforts to keep Wynantskill UFSD safe and healthy. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mary Yodis
Wynantskill UFSD Superintendent

Please note the following test schedule at Gardner-Dickinson:

• January 11th NYS MathTest Simulation – Third through Eighth Grade
• January 12th NWEA ELA – Kindergarten through Eighth grade
• January 13th NWEA Math – Kindergarten through Eighth grade
• January 14th NWEA make ups
• February 2nd NAEP Reading and Math – Eighth grade

October is National Principals Month – we want to take this opportunity to thank Principal Cornell for her tireless efforts to create an enriched and engaging educational experience for all students at Gardner-Dickinson School.

Fun fact: Mrs. Cornell is an avid bird enthusiast with seven bird feeders at home. Her favorites are cardinals and yellow finches.

Our entire faculty and staff including bus drivers and teacher’s aides met yesterday to discuss this year’s safety procedures and policies surrounding COVID-19, participate in safety trainings from Questar III BOCES and technology training on the new devices for students.

Today, we met to talk about teaching all students. We had a three-hour presentation on response to intervention services and special education from Jennifer Elliott, a special education training specialist at the Capital District Regional Partnership Center. We also received technology training on new IXL software for students in math, ELA and science. This software program can provide remediation and enrichment to all students Grades Pre-K through 8 at school and/or home.

Our teachers are coming back for one more day of training next week before our students arrive. Next week we will focus on social emotional learning and supports for students as well as more technology training and discussion about any updated COVID-19 protocols.

Gardner-Dickinson alumna Brigid Mack is currently working on her Girl Scout Gold Award for the Wynantskill Community Special Education Parent-Teacher Association (SEPTA). 

The Gold Award, the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts, can be earned by Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. Those who earn the Gold Award take on matters that are close to the heart and drive lasting change in their communities.

For Mack’s Gold Award, she has implemented “COVID Sense.” The project focuses on helping special needs children with COVID-19 regulations. Mack created sensory bags that include social stories/visual aids about mask wearing and hand hygiene and sensory toys for calming when frustrated or upset. 

“Keeping a mask on in public and always staying six feet away from others can be difficult for anyone to always remember, and it’s even harder for children with disabilities who are used to a normal routine,” said Mack. “With the use of social stories, kids can be reminded of the rules they need to follow in a fun and useful way. If they are in a stressful situation, they have sensory toys they can rely on to cope with their surroundings.”

Mack noted the importance for children with anxiety or sensory needs to have their own set of sensory toys since toys cannot be shared in schools at this time due to the ongoing pandemic. 

For the project’s launch, Mack held a bag distribution event at a community playground, which she says was her favorite part of the project. She believes the bags brightened kids’ spirits.

“It was a way for me to connect with (the kids), and I think I was able to reach them through kindness and concern for their wellbeing during this pandemic,” said Mack. “I think it was also inspiring to SEPTA because they now have a mission to continue this project after my part is done. They now see that the sensory bags are making children in the community happy, and hopefully more efforts like this will be made as people are being vaccinated and society may return to a degree of normalcy.”

If you or someone you know is interested in receiving a COVID Sense sensory bag, please email Brigid Mack. For more information on the Wynantskill Community SEPTA, please email Darcy Mack. 

More information on COVID Sense sensory bags.

Dear G-D Community,

One year ago today, the Gardner-Dickinson School closed due to COVID-19. On March 16, 2020, students and staff alike packed their belongings in the midst of uncertainty the then-new virus brought. Little did we know March 16 would be the last day our students and staff were in the building during the 2019-20 school year.

We quickly assembled Google Classroom, Google Meet, Seesaw and more to make remote learning a reality and worked to ensure each of our students had food to eat and children of essential workers were cared for during the shutdown last school year. 

During summer months, there was much trepidation. The unknowns of what lay ahead for the 2020-21 school year left our team wondering how we would possibly make this school year work. Though there were many questions, our staff buckled down and stepped up to the plate for our students, working together to create a plan. 

In partnership with our families, we were able to create a safe learning environment for students this school year when many districts could not. Our families played a pivotal role in our return to in-person schooling.

Today, one year later, we reflect on all that has occurred during this unparalleled year. Our hearts go out to each and every family across the globe that has dealt with hardships during the pandemic, whether that hardship was losing their job or the loss of a loved one. 

We must remember that Wynantskill is a strong community, and we can lean on one another in times of need. The one positive trait that stood out this year was our district’s unity. We have worked as a team with those we may not have worked with toward a common goal in the past. Collaborating with individuals within our school community whom we may not have known so well beforehand has in turn developed indestructible bonds. We have shared experiences and gotten through a difficult time together. Our already tight-knit school became even stronger than ever before.

We have all worked harder than ever before this year with very little relief. I acknowledge this hard work, and I thank you each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Mary Yodis
Wynantskill UFSD Superintendent