Message from East Hill Principal-April 22, 2026
Hello East Hill Families,
It is a busy and exciting time at East Hill Elementary! This week and next, our Grade 3 and Grade 4 students will be participating in the NYS assessments. Our students have worked hard all year, and they are well-prepared and ready to show what they know. The NYS Math assessment will take place tomorrow and Thursday, followed by the ELA assessment on April 29–30. To help our testing Wildcats feel their best, please ensure they get a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast to set them up for success!
With the arrival of warmer and drier weather, we have also begun our required Spring safety drills, including evacuation and lockdown drills. These will continue over the next few weeks as part of our commitment to maintaining a safe learning environment. We encourage you to have conversations at home to reinforce that these procedures are routine and in place simply to keep everyone safe.
Our classrooms have been buzzing with activity lately! Today, our first and second-grade classes enjoyed hands-on science lessons led by Jack Gramlich. It was wonderful to see our young scientists in action. Additionally, our kindergarten classes had a fantastic time exploring nature during their field trip to Crazy Daisies last week, and our second graders are looking forward to their trip to the MOST this Friday!
We want to extend a huge thank you to our PTA for their incredible support. From sponsoring the Jack Gramlich science sessions to organizing such a wonderful Book Fair last week, your efforts truly enrich our students' lives. Thank you for making East Hill such a vibrant place to learn!
Warmly,
Mrs. Meskos
Message from East Hill Principal-April 7, 2026
Welcome Back, East Hill Families!
I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing, and rejuvenating spring break. Whether you traveled somewhere sunny or enjoyed a "staycation" right here at home, I hope you found time to disconnect and enjoy the company of family and friends.
As we head into the final stretch of the school year, our hallways are once again buzzing with energy and excitement. This is always such a vibrant season at East Hill—filled with field trips, spring concerts, and significant academic growth. Our teachers have some fantastic lessons planned, and we are ready to hit the ground running!
Let’s finish this year strong, staying focused on our goals while celebrating the community spirit that makes our school so special.
Welcome back, Wildcats!
Warmly,
Mrs. Meskos
Message from East Hill Principal-March 18, 2026
Dear East Hill Families,
What an incredible week we’ve had! We wrapped up our PARP (Pick A Reading Partner) celebrations on a high note. I am so proud to announce that our students crushed their goal, returning over 250 Reading Bingo Boards! To celebrate this achievement, the PTA and I had a little "messy" fun at today’s assembly—I officially got slimed! It was a joy to see the students' faces, and the energy was even higher thanks to a special performance by the Syracuse Highland Pipe Band to kick off our St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
You’re Invited: Spring Open House 🌸
Please join us for our annual Spring Open House! This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to take the lead and show you everything they’ve been working on.
Date: Thursday, March 19th
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
This evening is all about the children. We encourage you to let your student be your tour guide—have them show you their latest projects, their favorite writing pieces, and their creative artwork. It is always a highlight of the school year!
Parking & Shuttle Information 🚌
To keep our students safe and traffic moving smoothly, please note the following transportation details:
Shuttle Service: We will run two shuttle buses from the St. Joseph’s Church parking lot starting at 5:45 PM. The final shuttle will depart East Hill at 7:15 PM. (Pro-tip: The kids usually love giving their families a "tour" on a real school bus!)
Neighborhood Parking: Parking is very limited. If you choose to park on the street, you must park on the even side only of Parsons Road and Blackmore Road.
We can’t wait to see you there and celebrate our students' hard work together!
Warmly,
Mrs. Meskos
Message from East Hill Principal-March 3, 2026
Dear East Hill Families,
We hope you all had a wonderful winter break! We're excited to share some of the fun happenings from the past week.
Our 3rd and 4th graders had an incredible opportunity to work with the REV Theatre Company this past week in a Workshop in the Arts. It was a great experience for students to explore creativity and performance in an engaging and interactive way.
Many of our classrooms celebrated the 100th day of school—what an incredible milestone! Students enjoyed various activities focused on the number 100, and it was inspiring to see their enthusiasm and creativity.
Our 1st grade classes went on exciting field trips to Hospital Land, where they learned all about the different parts of a hospital and what happens when people visit. It was a great way for for students to become more familiar with healthcare in a fun and educational setting.
Our 2nd and 3rd grade students had an exciting opportunity to explore the wonders of space with a visit from the planetarium. They were captivated by the planets, stars, and constellations, making for a truly out-of-this-world experience!
Finally, we are so excited to celebrate PARP (Pick A Reading Partner) Spirit Week this week, where we're focusing on the joy of reading. Thank you to the PTA for supporting this!
Warmly,
Susan Meskos
Message from East Hill Principal-February 10, 2026
Dear East Hill Families,
What a wonderful couple of weeks we've had at East Hill!
We kicked off February last week with a special visit from Mr. Perry Ground, a Native American storyteller. Mr. Ground is a Turtle Clan member of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. Mr. Ground shared Haudenosaunee legends that have been told for hundreds of years. This presentation was highly entertaining and educational- thank you to our PTA for providing this experience for us!
Today many of our fourth grade students took the stage for the Battle of the Books, and we couldn't be prouder of them all! These young readers have spent months diving into new worlds, memorizing details, and building incredible teamwork to prepare for this competition. Their hard work has been truly inspiring, and today we were able to see the teams battle! We ended the highly competitive competition with 2 teams moving on to the district level competition where they will battle against teams from each of the other WG elementary schools. We wish them the best of luck and will be cheering them on! Thank you to Mrs. Holzwarth, our incredible librarian, for leading our Battle of the Books and working so hard to inspire a love of reading!
On Thursday we will be celebrating love and community with our Valentine’s Day festivities. A huge thank you to our amazing PTA and volunteers for planning and helping with our classroom parties—you are such an important part of our East Hill family!
Just a reminder that school will be closed next week for winter break. Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and restful time off. We look forward to seeing you back soon, refreshed and ready for more learning adventures!
Respectfully,
Susan Meskos
Message from East Hill Principal-January 27, 2026
Dear East Hill Families,
A huge thank you to our PTA and all the families who joined us for Bingo Night last Thursday! It was such a joy to see everyone laughing and competing together; it truly was the perfect way to brighten up a snowy January evening. Speaking of our PTA, we are currently in the midst of our Gertrude Hawk fundraiser, which is their biggest event of the year. This fundraiser is vital, as it provides the financial backbone for the many programs and activities the PTA coordinates for our students. Additionally, we are looking to give back to our community through the PTA Super Bowl Food Drive. For the next two weeks, we are collecting donations to benefit the Power Pack program, and we appreciate any contribution you can make to help tackle hunger!
Starting this week, we are conducting our winter universal screening for every student in the building. This allows us to check in on individual progress in reading and math. We use this data to ensure every child is getting exactly what they need during our WIN (What I Need) time. While every student receives team support during this block, those who show a need for more targeted, intensive instruction will have the opportunity to work in small groups with our Instructional Support (IS) teachers. It’s all about meeting our students right where they are to ensure they finish the year strong.
Winter in Syracuse is nothing new to us, but this season has certainly been packing an extra punch lately! To keep our students safe and active, please keep the following in mind:
Outdoor Recess: We use a “Real Feel” temperature of 20°F as our guideline. If the "Real Feel" is above 20°F, we head outside! If it drops below that, we stay cozy for indoor recess.
Gear Up: Please ensure your child comes to school with full winter gear—coats, hats, gloves, boots and snow pants. We want them to be able to play in the snow comfortably whenever the temperature allows.
Stay warm this week! As always, thank you for your continued support for all students at EH!
Respectfully,
Susan Meskos