Mrs. Sharon Carr

DECEMBER 2015 LINK Mrs. Sharon Carr Principal

As winter chill is upon us, Lazar continues to plan exciting programs, field trips, and special events for our students and staff. It’s hard to believe 2015 is rapidly coming to an end and a New Year is facing us!

Our Fall Play Traveling Troupe of Performers “wowed” the elementary school children with their performance of “Be Careful What You Wish For.” Our performers visited each of the 5 elementary schools to perform a wonderful children’s play, under the direction of Mrs. Marnien and Mrs. VanDeursen. The theme of the play encouraged those things that are important in life, along with loyalty, and kindness toward each other. Their spectacular show was enjoyed by all!

As we creep into December, Lazar is bustling with our talented students practicing for their choral performance at the Livingston Mall and Winter Concerts in January. Lazar’s clubs and advisory activities are well underway and continue to keep our students involved and engaged in “Lazar life.” You will hear much about club activities and initiatives over the next few months as our students work in their advisory and leadership groups on new and exciting projects and activities. You will also hear about the district PARCC results along with the guidelines for the assessment, administered in the spring. Once again, as we move through this “testing process,” information will be forthcoming from Mrs. Haight as she receives information from central office.

Parents’ Corner As the new marking period unfolds, there have been several staffing changes, replacement leaves, etc. Mrs. Kathy Ferraro will be retiring the end of the month from her position as English Language Arts Teacher. We wish her well as she moves on to the next phase of her life, filled with relaxing adventures, leisure time, and fond memories of her years with us at Lazar! Mrs. Kristen (Spagnuolo) Rollins, a former 6 th grade ELA teacher, will assume Mrs. Ferraro’s ELA position on the 7th grade White Team. We welcome Mrs. Rollins back from her leave! Also in 7th grade, Mrs. Sanzari began her maternity leave prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Ms. Kim Lawson will fill in for Mrs. Sanzari while she is on her leave. And lastly, Mrs. Michelle Schulz has also joined the Lazar family as a replacement Math Lab/7th grade teacher, replacing Mrs. Shatynski. We are very fortunate to have excellent replacement teachers in place while our teachers are on leave. We are thrilled they are part of our “Lazar family.”

On a serious note… With threats of terrorism, bombings, and horrific reports on our news daily, safety in our schools continue to be at the forefront of our discussions. Please be assured we continue to rehearse/practice/review several scenarios bimonthly in order to continually perfect all safety procedures. Please help us impress upon our children the seriousness of our practices should we ever be faced with a dangerous situation. Should you ever have concerns or questions about our safety procedures, please do not hesitate to contact one of the administrative team. Our collaborative efforts will continue to make Lazar the safest possible.

An ongoing concern for our children today is the influence of the media, peer pressure, and technology on our day-to-day lives. It is more important than ever to spend some time discussing the dangers of inappropriate cell phone use, “chatting” on social networks, videotaping others then posting it on sites, “going along with the crowd,” etc. and the possible consequences for such behavior. Some of these anonymous sites have been called “a predator’s playground” by some, and can be very dangerous for our children to post information, give personal details, pictures, etc. of each other. We can never do enough to stress the potential danger in these areas. The social-emotional safety of our children is very important, and together we can continue to stress good decision making, being a helpful bystander, and making the right choices.

After all that….  I wish you all a wonderful holiday season, filled with joy and happiness! Give extra hugs and take some time to enjoy the beauty of winter!

Thought for the day… “I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.” Maya Angelou

IMPORTANT DATES: 12/1 7:30 PM – BOE Meeting @ Town Hall 12/3 Picture Retakes 12/15 7:30 PM – BOE Meeting @ MTHS 1216 HOMEWORK Free Night 12/21 Mid-Point of MP 2 12/23 EARLY DISMISSAL – 1:10 PM 12/24 – 1/3/16 SCHOOLS CLOSED – Winter Break 1/4/16 Schools Re-Open – Happy New Year 1/5 7:30 PM – BOE Annual Org. Meeting @ Town Hall 1/8 5:30 – 7:30 PM – Gr. 6 Activity Night 1/11 7 PM – PTC Meeting – Media Center 1/18 Schools Closed – Martin Luther King Day 1/20 7:30 PM – Gr. 7 & 8 Winter Concert @ MTHS 1/21 7:30 PM – Gr. 6 Winter Concert @ MTHS 1/22 Concert Snow Day 1/24 5:30 PM – Harlem Wizards Game @ MTHS 1/27 Algebra I – 8th Gr. Mid-Term Exam 2/1 End of MP 2