District News

Back-to-School Health Notes

Head Lice Prevention & Treatment
Local schools work in partnership with the St. Lawrence County Department of Public Health to promote wellness and ensure a healthy school environment.  With the recent return to school and children spending time in close quarters for much of the school day, a few reminders can help contribute to good health and good attendance.  This month the Department of Public Health prepared this resource for head lice prevention and treatment.  It includes useful tips for prevention and treatment.  Please also contact School Nurse Marianne Weldon for additional resources and guidance when treating a child.

The Calming Room & Sensory Hallway

Welcome to the HCS Calming Room! This space is located in Room 10 past the nurse’s office. The Calming Room is staffed by teaching assistant, Sue Ann Cutway. The intent is to provide students with scheduled breaks in a proactive effort to develop self-regulation skills and coping techniques. This quiet calm space allows students to work through strong feelings/emotions in a productive manner, which then allows them to return to the classroom with a better mindset for learning. 

The Calming Room promotes positive mental health practices in a safe environment. The space has relaxing music, nature scenes displayed using technology, and dim lighting.  Bean bag chairs allow students to sit while they practice skills like mindfulness. The activities available for students in the Calming Room are based on sensory seeking or sensory avoiding needs. Students are welcome to use fidgets, coloring books, puzzles, books, legos, and sand. Students learn about mindfulness using a variety of videos, guided audio recordings and visuals as reminders. 

Students come to the room individually or with another student during their assigned times.  A team, made up of the teaching assistant, school counselor, mental health counselor, school psychologist, and principal, meets as needed to determine who utilizes the space.  With teacher input, students are then scheduled time in the Calming Room. Lunch bunch groups also take place for students that find the cafeteria too overwhelming. This gives students a quiet space to eat lunch with a friend.


In addition to the Calming Room, HCS also has a new Sensory Pathway for students to use individually or as a whole class. This path is located off the elementary hallway and offers students a chance to get up and move during the school day.  Its bright colorful appearance is attractive to both staff and students alike and truly adds joy to the school day.

October 4th - Staff Development Day

Dave Perry (standing) and Jean Anastasio, of APL Associates, taught their "Effective Teaching Refresher" course to Heuvelton Central School staff during the October 4 Staff Development Day.  The full 5-day "Effective Teaching" course serves as foundational training for new teachers across the North Country.  New staff and veterans alike benefited from the review of instructional strategies.

LIFT Grant

The Heuvelton Central School Students and Staff would like to say thank you to LIFT (Linking Interventions for Total Population Health) through the Health Initiative for funding a grant which provided us with a fully stocked recess cart, and under the desk bikes for all the classrooms! 

Mission Statement

Lead Survey

The St. Lawrence County Department of Public Health kindly asks for your help in spreading lead poisoning awareness by completing our survey. Our county has recently received a grant that will provide funding over the next several years for lead poisoning education and, eventually, lead removal from the homes of income-qualified families. To best serve our county and to provide the best lead education, we would greatly appreciate it if you complete our brief survey on your knowledge and awareness of lead.
 
Please complete the survey by clicking the link: http://bit.ly/leadsurveyschools.
 

Emergency Drills

The annual evacuation and emergency release drill for staff and students was a week ago.  Everyone followed established protocols, resulting in the safe evacuation and transportation home of students in a timely manner.  With an eye towards continual improvement, please direct feedback to the District office. 

Elementary Updates

Think Sheet

Mrs. LeBeau will be using this 'Think Sheet' with students after any discipline referrals.  She will work with students during lunch detention or loss of recess.  A copy of the 'Think Sheet', signed by Mrs. LeBeau, will be sent home.  Please talk with your child in support of making better choices.  In summary, we all make mistakes...this is an opportunity to learn from them in hopes they do not happen again.  Thank you for your support!
 

Elementary Magic Show

The Magic Amore Show came to HCS to do some magic tricks for students in grades K-4.
 

School Garden

Students in Mrs. Mills' and Miss Facey's class picked vegetables from the school garden with Mrs. Wulf. They had so much fun and learned how to properly pick them. Some of these students even planted the vegetables in summer school so they were able to see how the vegetables grow!   
 

Kindergarten Events

Buster the Bus visited Mrs. Mashaw's s classroom, and the Kindergarten students also had the opportunity to go on a field trip to Fobare's Fruits.
 

Ties and Tutus

The following students were chosen for Curiosity Trait.  Curiosity means you like exploration and discovery.  You ask lots of questions because you want to learn more about anything and everything. Pictured are Levi Lemieux, Andrew Kearns, Brian Todd, Christopher Avery, Rowen McAllister, Isabella Forsythe, Mason Garvey, William Avery, Ava McGaw, Blaire Reynolds, Callie Bevins, Levi Biller, and Saige Blevins.  Missing from photo: Victoria Forsythe, Brycen Clary, Christopher Beaulieu, and Joshua Beaulieu.


The following students were chosen for the teamwork trait.  Teamwork means you work well as a member of a group or team. You are loyal and sacrifice your individual desires for the greater good.  Pictured below:  Gavin Moore, Jase Reynolds, Sadie Mason, Jakob Trathen, Ashton Lowes, Jase Pray, James Scagel, Ayden Shepard, Brynn Eggleston, Ava Blackburn, Brianna Thornhill, Cory Ethridge, Jude Spooner, Schuyler Whiteford, Andrew Cole, and Drew Carpenter.  Missing from photo: Lilly Tooley, Gavin Cota, and David Lovely.
 

Reading in Elementary

Every student in PK-6 gets a book from Mrs. LeBeau during their birthday month. This is a small group of the September birthdays. Enjoy the gift of reading! Mrs. LeBeau participated in a Read Aloud with the students, here she is pictured reading to 1st grade!
 

Firehouse Visit

Mrs. LaBella's 6th grade visited the firehouse in honor of fire prevention week.
 

Staff Ties and Tutus

This year we are celebrating staff members character traits at the PK-6 level. Each month staff numbers vote for each other on who displays the character traits of the month. This month is Amy Mitchell for 'teamwork' and Emily Uppstrom for 'curiosity'. HCS has an amazing staff...we are excited to celebrate them along with students!

Secondary Scoop