Hancock Elementary School

UPK-KINDERGARTEN LEARN ABOUT THE WATER CYCLE Our UPK and Kindergarten boys and girls had a fun and educational time exploring the theme “April Showers Bring May Flowers!” They read The Little Raindrop, decorated cookies to look like rain clouds, and learned all about the water cycle. What a sweet and splashy way to welcome spring!

SPRING SPIRIT WEEK Get ready, Wildcats—Spring Spirit Week kicks off next week! Show your school spirit and join the fun by dressing up each day. Monday is Pajama Day, roll out of bed and come to school in your coziest PJs! Let’s make this a fun and spirited week—can’t wait to see all the creative outfits!

Important Update: School Vacation Days Added Due to Unused Snow Days Greetings Wildcat Families! We hope this message finds you well. As a result of unused snow days this school year, we are pleased to inform you that additional vacation days have been added to the school calendar. The following changes will take effect: Spring Recess will now begin on Thursday, April 17th and continue through Monday, April 28th. Memorial Day Weekend Break will be extended to include Friday, May 23rd through Monday, May 26th. These adjustments provide an opportunity for students and staff to enjoy a longer break this spring and early summer. We hope this will be a welcomed change for all! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further clarification. Thank you for your continued support!

ALL SCHOOL PLAY – DAYTIME PERFORMANCE A big thank you to our HCS students for being such a respectful and supportive audience as the cast of Wildcat Katie Brown performed for the school earlier today! Your encouragement meant the world to our performers. Here’s a sneak peek at some moments from the show to get you excited for tonight’s public performance! Wildcat Katie Brown - Tonight at 7:00 p.m. - MS-HS Auditorium We can't wait to see you there for an evening of laughter, talent, and Wildcat pride!

First Graders Make Their First Wildcat Buck Purchases! Exciting news from our elementary classrooms—our first-grade students recently made their very first purchases using Wildcat Bucks! These young Wildcats have been working hard, showing positive behavior, and saving up their bucks to earn fun classroom rewards! Wildcat Bucks are part of a positive behavior incentive program in the elementary school. Bucks are earned similarly to gold slips, but with a special twist—students can save them up and always have the opportunity to “purchase” rewards in their classroom. The more positive behavior they show, the more bucks they earn! It’s a fun and effective way to encourage great behavior while also teaching the value of saving for something special. Way to go, first graders—we're so proud of you!

HAPPY NATIONAL SCHOOL LIBRARIAN DAY! Today we celebrate Mrs. Phyllis Sanford, our incredible Library Media Specialist who is in her 30th year of teaching! Mrs. Sanford splits her time between Deposit and Hancock Central Schools, and we are very fortunate to have her as part of our HCS family. Reflecting on her first year shared between both schools, Mrs. Sanford shared: "This is the first year we are shared with library between Deposit and Hancock, and I must say that Hancock Central School has been very welcoming throughout the entire process. It has been really nice." Beyond her work in the library, Mrs. Sanford wears many hats: • Advisor for the National Junior Honor Society in Deposit • Co-chair of the Author Visit at DCS Elementary • Scorekeeper for the DH Eagles boys’ and girls’ basketball teams Outside of school, she’s an avid bicyclist, a passionate gardener, and a proud grandmother of 10 grandchildren! She’s also never far from her very devoted German Shepherd. One of her favorite quotes is by C.S. Lewis: “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” Thank you, Mrs. Sanford, for inspiring our students, supporting our schools, and bringing such joy and dedication to everything you do. We appreciate you today and every day!

CBT TESTING NEXT WEEK Attention HCS families, Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for ELA begins next week! 3rd Grade ELA: April 8 & April 10 4th Grade ELA: April 9 & April 11 To help your child feel confident and prepared, check out these test-taking strategies from Stellar Teacher: Test-Taking Strategies for Elementary Students - https://www.stellarteacher.com/blog/test-taking-strategies-for-elementary/ This resource offers great tips on staying focused, managing time, and tackling tricky questions. A good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and a positive mindset go a long way! Let's support our students as they show what they know!

NY THURSDAYS TOMORROW We have another tasty NY Thursdays lunch tomorrow at HCS! Philly cheese-steaks are on the menu, with roasted garlic potatoes, coleslaw, apple slices and milk. See the poster below for vendor information!

STUDENT OF THE WEEK, GOLD SLIP WINNER We would like to congratulate this week’s student of the week at Hancock Elementary, Emma Frost! Emma was chosen by Ms. Milk because she is a great learner, great student, kind and always thinking of others. She enjoys making gifts for her teachers/classmates and has been creating her own books to read to other classes! Wonderful job, Emma!! We would also like to congratulate this week’s gold slip winner, Maja Noble! Maja is pictured with Mrs. Vasconi-Smith and her prize! Nice work by everyone!!

UPCOMING DATES Please see the flyer below for important, upcoming dates for the month of April at HCS!

SPIRIT WEEK Students, show us your school spirit next week as we will be having our spring spirit week April 7th through April 11th! See the flyer below for more information!

Thank You for Joining Us at Today’s Morning Program! Hancock Elementary would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who joined us for today’s Morning Program! It’s always great to start the day together, celebrating our students and reinforcing the values that make our school community strong. During today’s program, Mrs. Feeney recognized several students with Triple-B Awards, rewarding them with Wildcat Bucks for demonstrating what it means to Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. Congratulations to Everly Dufton, Night Mason, Zander Wahl, Natalia Tarbox, Landon Emerich and Cade Thomason for being selected as Triple-B award winners! Mrs. Feeney also led an engaging discussion on integrity, helping students understand the importance of doing the right thing—even when no one is watching. She shared different scenarios, and students participated by giving a thumbs-up for examples of integrity and a thumbs-down for those that were not. It was a fun and interactive way to reinforce this essential character trait! Thank you again to everyone who joined us for another great Morning Program. We look forward to seeing you next time!

DELAWARE OPPORTUNITIES 2025 FOOD DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION See the flyer below for food distribution dates through Delaware Opportunities. All food distributions will be from 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. on the dates listed.

APRIL MENUS Our April breakfast and lunch menus are available for you to view at the images below, as well as at our 'School Menu' page on the HCS Website! https://www.hancock.stier.org/documents/support/nutrition-services/current-menu/569166

SUBSTITUTE FOOD SERVICE WORKERS NEEDED We are looking for dependable individuals to join our team as Food Service Substitutes. This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys working with children and is looking for flexible, on-call work during school hours. If you’re interested in applying, please contact Nicole D'Elia at: nicole.delia@dcmoboces.com for more information.

BIRTHDAYS, GOLD SLIP WINNER At yesterday's morning program, we celebrated a couple birthdays and selected the gold slip winner for the week! Happy birthdays go out to Analise Robinson and Kenlie Whitmore! We hope you both have a wonderful birthday!! Our student of the week, Jacob Bogart, selected this week’s gold slip winner, Zander Wahl! Zander is pictured with Mrs. Vasconi-Smith and his prize, congratulations!

STUDENT OF THE WEEK Congratulations to this week’s student of the week at Hancock elementary, Jacob Bogart! Jacob was chosen by Mrs. Robinson because he comes into class every ready to learn and improve. He has grown and improved tremendously in his classes throughout the school year and continues to do so every day. Excellent work, Jacob!!

NUTRITION AT MORNING PROGRAM We’d like to give a big thank you to Megan Freeman from Cornell Cooperative Extension for visiting today's Morning Program! Ms. Freeman spoke with our elementary students about nutrition in recognition of National Nutrition Month and encouraged them to explore new foods. She challenged our boys and girls to try a new vegetable this week and reminded them that trying new foods can lead to discovering something they really enjoy! Who’s up for the challenge? Let us know what new veggie you try!

Universal Pre-K (UPK) Registration is Open! Hancock Central School is excited to offer FREE Universal Pre-K for the 2025-2026 school year! • Who can apply? Children who turn 4 years old by December 1, 2025 • Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM – 2:34 PM, following the school calendar • Cost: Completely free through a NYSED grant • Limited Spots: 18 students will be selected via lottery Lottery sign-ups: March 24 – May 2, 2025 Notifications sent by: May 9, 2025 Apply here: https://forms.gle/SiQtiHw3p6tXzXVu5 For more info, see the information in the images below. You may also contact the Guidance Office at 607-637-1309. Don’t miss this great opportunity to kick start your child’s education!

Deposit-Hancock BOE Meeting Tonight Just a friendly reminder that community members from both Deposit and Hancock are invited to our joint board meeting tonight, Monday, March 24th, at 6:00 p.m. in the Hancock middle-high school auditorium to discuss the possibility of a merger study. Tonight's agenda, which includes information on the merger study & process overview, can be found on the HCS website under the 'Board of Education Page' at: https://www.hancock.stier.org/page/board-of-education If you’re unable to attend in person, a live stream will be available to view on the Hancock Central School District YouTube channel at the address below, under the ‘Live’ tab. https://www.youtube.com/@hancockcentralschooldistrict We hope you will be able to join us!