Spreading Out the Talent

Over the Weekend

The past weekend was a gift on many levels. I was able to get a lot of yard work done, but more importantly many of our students were spread out across Syracuse and beyond representing our West Genesee Community. 

Cross Country Runners at Federation Championship/Girls Swimmers to Compete at State Championships - There were several cross country runners (Laura Leff, William Randall, Jack Erhard, David Leff, Michael Richards, Michael Lannon, Jr., Matthew Romano, Nathan Conroy, and Sean Beney) who had a chance to compete in the Federation Championship in Wappingers Falls, NY. Our students placed very well compared to other runners from across the state. We also still have girls swimmers competing this coming weekend at the state championships in Ithaca Congratulations to these awesome athletes!

Honk! Jr. Swims into West Genesee Middle School - Many talented West Genesee Middle School students performed on Friday night and Saturday afternoon in a musical called Honk! Jr.  Christy Knowlton and the gang always put on a great show. I am looking forward to checking out the video as soon as I can get my hands on it!

Split Rock Chorus Sings at Crunch Hockey Game - Lastly, members of the Split Rock Elementary School fourth-grade chorus had an opportunity to sing the National Anthem at the Syracuse Crunch hockey game on Saturday night. They did such a good job that it earned them the honor of "Anthem of the Week" by syracuse.com.  See the video embedded below. Pretty cool!

 

Coming Up this Week:

National Honor Society Induction - I am excited to induct mid-year members of the National Honor Society (NHS) tonight. The NHS is one of my favorite evenings because being inducted is not the end for these students. They have to live by the traits of service, scholarship, leadership, and character each day in order to keep this award. These traits really help our students to develop into responsible young adults, and I congratulate them and their parents. Keep up the good work!

Freshman Sings at SU Game - Also tonight, high school freshman Caitlin Barry will be singing the National Anthem in front of over 20,000 people at the Syracuse University vs. St. Francis basketball game. Wow! Look forward to the video on our Facebook page on Tuesday!

Camillus Optimists Honor Teachers/Youth - On Tuesday night I get to help recognize the Camillus Optimists Students and Teachers of the Year. This year our Students of the Year are Emily Cook and Michael Richards from the high school, Sophia Valerino and John Howes from Camillus Middle School, and Kyle Jenkins and Grace Walker from West Genesee Middle School. Teachers who are being honored are Melanie Callahan from Split Rock, Kathleen Byrne from WGMS, and Leandra Kovalchik from the high school. Nice work and I am looking forward to celebrating with our recipients and their families. 

Suessical the Musical at Camillus Middle School - The week ends with the Camillus Middle School Production of Suessical, which I am sure will be as excellent as Honk! Jr. Wow, what a week ahead!


Tracking Changes in NYS Education
For those keeping an eye on the Commissioner, do not think for a second that I have taken my eye off of that situation. His talk of local schools giving fewer tests (if parents are angry about testing) and broaching the topic of K-2 standardized testing, as well as his slow implementation of some pretty easy suggestions from parents and educators in the field, has "poked the bear". I will let you know how we can strike back in the coming weeks.

Have a wonderful week, and I hope to see you around.

Chris