tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69091876815957083882024-03-12T23:59:27.124-04:00Notes from the SuperintendentThis page provides thoughts and commentary from the Superintendent of Schools for the West Genesee Central School District. From time to time, columns from this page will appear in the District printed publication, The Communicator, distributed at no charge to households in the district. (To subscribe to this link as a RSS feed, please click on the link "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)" located at the bottom of the postings.)Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comBlogger487125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-56521778224551374792018-12-31T08:41:00.003-05:002018-12-31T08:42:12.643-05:00Happy New Year!<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Well, Mother Nature has been pretty tame so far this winter; but I am sure we will pay for it. If you are keeping track at home we have used one emergency closing day, and I would certainly like to keep it that way. I am not keeping my hopes up though!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">District Office Building: </span></b>I would like to give a quick but huge "shout out" to our custodians, buildings and grounds crew, and our technology department staff. They totally dismantled the District Office over the first part of break so we could get some work done to it, and they worked long hours and over the weekend to get us back in business a full week early. Because of their efforts, we are now open for business again and not working with laptops in buildings all over the District!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">A Busy Time in Athletics: </span></b>Even though we have been on break, the high school has been especially busy with practices, games, meets, and matches. I have had a chance to see some great games so far, and I am really looking forward to the rest of the winter season, sectionals, and state competitions! </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I was also happy to see the Syracuse University Orange football team win their bowl game and their basketball team start to turn the corner before conference play. We can argue about the value of sports on a community, but when the local college teams and pro teams are winning, people are buzzing and spending money locally and that helps all of us!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Starting A New Year: </span></b>January represents my 18th anniversary as a superintendent; and the first half of this school year has been one of the smoothest I have been a part of. No complaints about that! As we start the new year, we are in very good shape, and I will outline some key dates and events of interest for you in my next blog post. We just need to continue to work hard, smart, and stay the course.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Happy New Year! Enjoy, be safe, and I will write again in the new year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Thanks for your continued support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span></span></div>
Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-23281014162989524002018-12-21T15:20:00.000-05:002018-12-21T15:26:08.534-05:00Happy Holidays!I wanted to take a quick moment to thank all of you for your support, and for choosing West Genesee as the school community to raise your children in. Merry Christmas to those like me who celebrate Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all. I will be around all break if you need me, and I will write again in the new year.<br />
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Thank you and take care!<br />
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Chris<br />
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<br />Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-7423465631951605152018-12-17T09:34:00.002-05:002018-12-17T09:52:19.037-05:00Lessons Can Come from AnywhereWe continue to be going full speed ahead into the long holiday break. Believe me, two full weeks off was something that I was not a fan of. Due to the number of required days of staff and student attendance contractually required, and where in the week Christmas and New Year's Days fell, it called for a two-week break. It will go quickly I am sure, but when you see it on a calendar it looks like an eternity!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Art Comes in Many Forms:</span></b> I had a pretty cool experience on Saturday night. I attended an art installation located at the Gear Factory on South Geddes Street. If you have been following along in this blog, I had mentioned that our Design and Manufacturing students made skateboard decks that were then given to art and photography students to be creatively decorated. The art installation on Saturday night was to show them off (there were other boards made by adult artists as well). They will be on display at West Genesee in the early spring and then auctioned off, with the proceeds benefiting the McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center <br />
(stay tuned for info on that).<br />
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As I stood in the building and observed the art, it hit me. I had been in that building almost 48 years ago, as a child in foster care through the Department of Social Services. It is where my mom and dad picked me out, adopted me, and took me home all those years ago. How full circle is that? At any rate, suffice it to say that I will be bidding on a many of these boards when the time comes!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Positivity in Practice:</span></b> I have struggled to get into the holiday spirit this year, but I ran across a situation during a building visit last week that changed that. Each of our buildings participates in a character program called the Positivity Project and the students learn traits for each along the way. A recent trait was "humility" and second grader Connor Hussong exemplified that.<br />
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During lunch last week, he saw a friend choking on his lunch. Connor did not hesitate to get up from his lunch, pat his classmate on the back until the food dislodged, and got him some help. He didn't attract attention to himself or the situation. He saw a situation, helped, and went back to what he was doing. I am very proud of Connor, as was our School Resource Officer, Anthony Gucciardi, who made a special trip to Connor's building to thank him as well. Good things do happen and great lessons can<br />
come from anywhere. Nice job, Connor!<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTZtlQKKXRQ/XBbUfAz17qI/AAAAAAAADN8/3KQoUDFgm2c3-yeOnRcv4jBYD6wDIDE6QCLcBGAs/s1600/EH_BusDrill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTZtlQKKXRQ/XBbUfAz17qI/AAAAAAAADN8/3KQoUDFgm2c3-yeOnRcv4jBYD6wDIDE6QCLcBGAs/s200/EH_BusDrill.jpg" width="150" /></a><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">School Bus Safety Pilot:</span></b> We are going to pilot a program that is so new, it doesn't have a name yet. In an effort to help keep students safe, the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office, Camillus Police Department, and the school are working together to help stop people from passing stopped school buses.<br />
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Officers will ride on select bus routes.When a car passes the bus while its red lights are flashing, they will radio to a patrol car(s) that will pull the offending cars over and issue tickets. We hope that this will spread the word that passing stopped school buses and putting children in danger is not cool. It will start shortly, and I will report back when I can as to how many cars were stopped.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">A Busy Week: </span></b>If you are looking for something to do, we have several home athletic contests this week (schedules are available from the District, Athletics, and school home webpages). The big "sleigh ride" concert is this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the high school. It is going to be a very busy but great week!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">District Office Building Update: </span></b>Lastly, we are having some minor work done to the District Office over the break, but it will cause us to close the building and for us to work in other areas of the District. The building will be closed from December 22 through January 6. If you email or call the office, however, we will respond, and it will be business as usual for us through the break.<br />
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Thanks and enjoy the week!<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-61750320013727511692018-12-10T09:20:00.004-05:002018-12-10T09:32:01.976-05:00A Little Bit of Everything<span style="font-family: inherit;">Last week felt like a whirlwind. On Monday, I had an opportunity to visit with people at the Camillus Senior Center. Meeting with them is a highlight of the school year for me because I get a chance to soak in more history of our community from the experts and I get an opportunity to talk to them about what is happening in our schools. I always like to answer questions as well. Probably the most prominent question I received was about the Marching Band and the direction we are headed. I assured them that they will want to pay attention to this upcoming campaign because it will not disappoint. In retirement, my dad has been working a few days a week there during tax season to help people with their tax return filings and it was funny to watch the reaction when I connected him to me. It was a "small world" moment. Good stuff!</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">West Side Support Network Update:</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> We held a very good West Side Support Network meeting during the week as well. We have a really diverse group of people who have joined our core group and we are in the planning stages of offering a night called "Lived Experiences" on January 14 at West Genesee High School. It will center around substance use disorder, mental wellness, juuling and vaping, and NARCAN training. As the official agenda comes into focus I will be sure to share it. Our previous forums and get-togethers have been well attended and informative, and I hope to see you there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">School Resource Officers:</span></b> Chief Tom Winn and I have been working since the spring to find a pathway to increase the number of School Resource Officers in our schools. It sounds easy, just hire some officers, right? Not quite. Inter-municipal agreements (between the Town of Camillus and the District) take buy-in from both governing boards (done); all the legalese you would expect in a sharing and employment agreement (done); and then an understanding of what we are trying to accomplish (done). Oh yeah, you also need to have the resources in place (done).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The shared vision is to add retired police officers (called School Patrol Officers by Civil Service title) to West Genesee Middle School and Camillus Middle School. They will also serve the elementary schools that feed the middle schools. We would like them to build relationships with students, staff, and parents, provide another layer of safety, as well as help when the need for their expertise arises. We currently have two officers at the high school (one is a regular patrol officer and one is a School Resource Officer). These additional officers will help to bolster a secure presence in our school buildings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You will begin to see advertisements for these officers, so if you are a retired police officer or know of a retired officer looking to return to work, please contact the Camillus Police Department. We will fill the positions once we have the people who will be the right fit for the Camillus Police Department and the District.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">A Busy Time at the High School:</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I spent a lot of time last week at the high school, just meeting with students and staff. I learned that the popular online game Fortnite is losing some of its shine, and kids are looking for the next thing (they think Call of Duty will go back to being really popular again). I learned that the Apple Airpod headphones are a worthy opponent to the Beats brand that I see most kids using. I also reaffirmed that this time of the year before break is stressful for a lot of students. All noted, and you should too, as we dig into the holidays and then the darker part of winter. I really do enjoy my time with the students and I always learn a lot. I hope they learn a little from me every now and then too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Saturday night was the High School Semi-Formal Dance and the theme was the "Enchanted Forest". The students did an awesome job of getting it all set up, and it was a wonderful night for about 850 of our students. Unfortunately, more than 850 students wanted to attend, so the dance was officially a "sell out". If you are a musician or athletic team, you celebrate playing in a venue that is sold out. For us, there was no celebration. You never want to turn kids away from anything but in this case, there was no other option. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The high school </span>advisers<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and administrative team have worked tremendously hard to build a positive school culture and it showed during ticket sales and again on Saturday night, and there was no time to make a venue change. Even though it was a high school event, everything with West Genesee on it is my responsibility and I will work with the team to make sure that they can continue to ride the wave of positivity and student participation with the right tools to do so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are looking for a good, fun, holiday thing to do, I would recommend <i>Elf the Musical</i> at Syracuse Stage through January 6 I believe. I went on Friday night and it was light and a lot of fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for reading and enjoy the week!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span><br />
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<br />Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-61745245990185429962018-12-03T09:06:00.001-05:002018-12-03T09:07:08.474-05:00Different Ideas<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope that you had a great week last week. I am so used to writing a blog every week that I really missed not posting one after Thanksgiving, but I really didn't have much to say besides how much turkey I ate; and I didn't want to bore you what that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I spend more years as a superintendent (18 years this January!), I get more and more opportunities to present at and be a part of national conversations surrounding education. I choose wisely and only a couple a year that I think I can learn the most from. Late last week I presented about distributed leadership and communication to superintendents from around the country. I also learned about the national conversation around getting more diversity in my role, school safety, national school budget strategies, making telemedicine for underprivileged students available in schools, and updates to the survey tool "Thought Exchange" that you may remember us using for Strategic Planning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I thought the presentation went well on my end, and I took a lot away and actually created two key partnerships with companies in the school safety and communications spaces that will really help us. As those partnerships develop, I will keep you up to speed. I just don't want to jinx anything by describing them before agreements are made in writing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One thing that I found quite frustrating as a superintendent from New York was how schools, particularly in the south, are able to work with commercial partners to help pay for things and programs in schools. New York State prohibits any commercialism in schools.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am certainly not saying that I want our children, buses, or fields to look like NASCAR drivers, but when every budget conversation in New York revolves around costs, taxes, and impact on you and me, why can we not begin to at least talk about how a commercial partner(s) could help us grow programs and defray costs? Schools in the south have sponsors for their athletics, fine arts, career, and technical education programs, etc. and that helps to drive down their cost per pupil. That lower cost per pupil lowers the tax impact. I just think there is a way, and I would love to see the law change from "NO" to "maybe". I am going to carry that flag for a while and see where that goes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We are in full-fledged "concert season" so if music is your thing, be sure to keep an eye on our website and Facebook page for upcoming concert dates. Also, high school athletics works in cycles, and we are really in an "up" cycle in our basketball programs at the moment. You can expect very large crowds for our girls and boys games this season, so if you are coming to see them play and want a good seat, be sure to get there early!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you and enjoy the week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span><br />
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<br />Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-1301873298289621762018-11-19T09:45:00.001-05:002018-11-19T09:45:24.588-05:00Giving ThanksI am still upset that we had to use a snow day on Friday, and it was no one's fault but Mother Nature. Our own plow people were out at 11:30 p.m. Thursday night trying to keep up, as were town and county crews. They all worked tirelessly to help us to get school open on Friday, but too much heavy snow came too close to the start of the school day for us to be able to open school safely. Obviously, we can't have a four-hour delay, but it probably would have worked. My hope is that Friday will be the last snow day until at least Christmas break. This is Syracuse though; so who knows.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Students Perform in Musicals:</span> </b>We now have two very successful middle school musicals in the books. West Genesee Middle School delighted attendees with their rendition of <i>The Addams Family</i>, and Camillus Middle School sang and danced their way through <i>The Music Man</i>. Many of these performers will choose to continue in high school, so I would say that the performing arts continue to be alive and well at West Genesee!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Athletic Letter of Intent Signing:</span></b> Last week we celebrated National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Mike Burns, our Athletic Director, does a really nice job of reminding everyone in attendance that while the students athletes are receiving scholarships to play sports at the Division I or II levels, they also excel in the classroom. If they weren't going to college to play a sport, they would (and some are also) receive money to attend college for their successes in the classroom. The students in this photo have a combined grade point average of 90.4. Thank you for representing West Genesee so well and good luck at the next level! <a href="https://www.westgenesee.org/national-letter-of-intent-signing-day-ceremony-at-west-genesee-high-school/" target="_blank">Click here to read a full article about the ceremony with a list of the students and colleges they plan to attend. </a></span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qm_nIr1Jo2k/W_IM21ZfJNI/AAAAAAAADLU/hH2PSXBe2l0Wc3vGOJjWh97t6Wjlwq8SACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qm_nIr1Jo2k/W_IM21ZfJNI/AAAAAAAADLU/hH2PSXBe2l0Wc3vGOJjWh97t6Wjlwq8SACLcBGAs/s200/IMG_1979.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Back in the Day:</span></b> Last week when I was visiting elementary classrooms, I got to thinking that the elementary classroom today is nothing like the Norman Rockwell type of classroom that I was a part of "back in the day". When you attend open houses, or parent-teacher conferences, you only get to see a quick glimpse of what life looks like inside your child's classroom. In one round of visits last week I saw direct instruction (like you and I used to get); center time where students used iPads, Chromebooks, shaving cream, sand, paper, glue, glitter (my least favorite), pens, pencils; and robots. None of this happens without the dedication, thought, and master execution of our teachers and support staff. I wish my kids were young again so they could experience how kids today get to learn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>Giving Thanks</b>:</span> Many of you will be welcoming family into your homes, and others will be traveling. As we give thanks for what we have and who we have, please keep your eyes open for elderly neighbors, less fortunate people, or members of your own family who just need an extra hug or piece of turkey and conversation. People sometimes don't show it, but they appreciate the time and help.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks, enjoy your Thanksgiving, and I will see you soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span>Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-46793139732373877142018-11-13T08:51:00.001-05:002018-11-13T08:52:10.516-05:00We are ALL Ambassadors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">A Great Long Weekend:</span></b> I hope that all of you had a good and reflective Veterans
weekend. I spent the weekend in
Iceland. Yes, you read that
correctly. We had heard from friends
that Iceland was definitely a place to travel to, and it did not disappoint. Once you realize that Iceland is a four and a
half hour flight from Boston and that the only thing that is pricey there is
the food (so pack snacks in a checked bag, but the food is excellent there if
you don’t; we did a combo) you realize that Europe is closer and cheaper than
you think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now I can start stories with things like, "While I was
(insert cool topics here such as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in a
geothermal hot pool, underground in a lava tunnel, in an ice cave,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on a boat in the North Atlantic watching the
Northern Lights, and speaking to people all over the world.)” So, yes, place
Iceland on your trip list and shoot me an email if you want suggestions of things to do while you are there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zNhqBVp43D4/W-oyoMqwydI/AAAAAAAADK8/CUfQpYTlJkogazydgxNJalrYPEJtxZWTwCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_1891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="1600" height="110" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zNhqBVp43D4/W-oyoMqwydI/AAAAAAAADK8/CUfQpYTlJkogazydgxNJalrYPEJtxZWTwCEwYBhgL/s200/IMG_1891.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Something really powerful happened while I was there as
well.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was Veterans weekend in the
United States, but it was also the </span>remembrance<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of 100 years since Armistice Day, the
conclusion of World War I. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So some of the
talk in the eateries and venues was politics, not “who am I going to un-friend
next on Facebook” political talk; but real, global political conversations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was the second evening we were there when we really
realized how closely people were listening to us talk as Americans, and
about</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">American politics in general.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It made me realize that we do not need
pundits, elected </span>officials<span style="font-family: inherit;">, or the media, to be true ambassadors of our
country.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I take great pride in where I
live and feel very fortunate, so it was easy for me to gush about our country,
the great things in it, and how we as a people use conversation, debate, and
legislation to rule.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not every person we
spoke to had those abilities, so my take away was that we all really need to
realize that while we may be at odds from time to time about our politics here
at home, there are probably millions of people out there who would like to be
in our shoes. We are the ambassadors who deliver the message of how good we
have it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Back home, we wrapped up winter sports tryouts, and tried to
get our custodians, who work harder than anyone realizes, a couple of days off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Events Update: </span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">On November 5 we celebrated the Camillus </span>Optimists<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Teachers and Students of the Year </span>honorees at the Tuscarora Golf Club. The student honored were: Lindsay Chamberlain and James Clark from WGHS; Emma Evanchak and Tyler Anastasio from CMS; and Emilie Shoults and Eli Owens from WGMS were honored by the Camillus Optimists with the David Kenna Outstanding Student Award. The teachers honored were: Erin Hogan (WGHS social studies teacher), Nancy Muldoon (CMS health teacher), and Rebecca Gesser (Stonehedge fourth-grade teacher). <a href="https://www.westgenesee.org/students-and-teachers-honored-by-the-camillus-optimists/" target="_blank">Click here to read the full article about the event.</a></div>
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Another annual event showcasing the academic talents of our students, the District Spelling Bee, took place on November 8 at CMS. Congratulations to WGMS students Cooper Corcoran and James (Jamie) O'Donnell for coming in first and second, respectively. <a href="https://www.westgenesee.org/top-district-spellers-compete/" target="_blank">To read the full article that lists the top twelve students moving on to the next level of competition, click here.</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Critical Time of the Year:</span></b> The time from now until late February is really
critical.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For full-year courses at the
high school, or classes at the middle and elementary schools, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">the students and teachers are in rhythm.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> S</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">tudents and teachers know where they stand
with each other, have a pretty good idea of how the course or class will
complete based on how much </span>effort<span style="font-family: inherit;"> is exerted, and what we need to do to help
children close learning gaps. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is just
an absolutely critical time of the school year academically.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our seniors are getting into the thick of deciding about
life after high school, and half-year courses are getting just beyond the
middle point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the parent of two
graduates, it can be a stressful time. Don’t forget to smell the roses or to take a break and stay glued together
as a family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This time of the year is also the time of giving. I
wrote in an earlier blog that we are trying to put something bigger together as a
District with other community partners. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">That continues to be a work-in-progress </span>because<span style="font-family: inherit;"> we want to get it right;
and be able to repeat it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">All of our buildings and many of our organizations led by students will be ramping up their giving efforts, so please stay tuned to
individual building blogs and our social media presence for ways to help or to
receive help if needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am looking forward to the coming weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks for reading and have a great week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-74980251383752725982018-11-05T09:04:00.004-05:002018-11-05T09:08:01.976-05:00The Quality Triangle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Athletics Updates:</span></b> We had quite a week and weekend of activity in the Wildcat Nation. By the way, how about that Wildcat Nation? They showed up in full force to watch our football Wildcats play an incredibly strong team from Cicero-North Syracuse in the Carrier Dome for the Section III Championship. I appreciated the effort of the fans as well as the players. We came up short, but the players gave 100%, and their coaches had them well prepared. That is all I can ask for, and the team is back to being a contender as they begin to prepare for next season.<br />
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When we come up short in sectionals, we always wish the other team the best of luck the rest of the way. Why? For starters, it is good sportsmanship. In addition, every Section III team should want themselves or another Section III team to make waves in state play.<br />
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If you look back at our mission statement, we are preparing our students for whatever they want to do after high school. If our student-athletes want to play after high school and at the highest levels possible, it doesn't hurt on the recruiting trail if they compete in one of the toughest sections in the state. The competitive strength of the section and the abilities of the athlete will help them to get the best opportunities after high school.<br />
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Congratulations are in order for members of our swim team and our cross country team. On the running side, senior Matt Bartolotta qualified for state competition in sectionals on a really rainy, cold, "soupy" day. He is a machine and proved it in those conditions!<br />
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In swimming, we had "bookend" winners. I couldn't ask for a better role model in senior Maddy Zapisek. She is quietly ferocious and has done things the right way throughout her swim and school career. She won Section III titles in the 200 free and the 500 free, and was awarded the Swimmer of the Meet and won the 200 free and 500 free while setting the school record in 500 at yesterday’s NYS Qualifiers. She qualified for the NYS Championship in both the 200 and 500.<br />
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On the other end, freshman Anna Ivery is starting to make a name for herself. She won the Section III title in the 50 free, and you will hear her name for years to come.<br />
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Also, congratulations to all of the West Genesee swimmers who competed in the NYS Qualifiers yesterday including the following swimmers who ‘placed’: Anna Ivery, Haley Hagadorn, Hannah Murdoch, Miki Riley, Maggie Smith, and Maddy Zapisek.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">The Quality Triangle:</span></b> Last week I wrote about the Marching Band finishing in fourth place. I was challenged by some (and believe me, I enjoy the feedback because it means people are reading this) as if I didn't care that we finished in a position that we aren't used to at West Genesee. Hardly. I was up until 3:00 a.m. after the "Dome" show, deciding what was going to come next. I care deeply about our community, our students and our staff, and the Marching Band is a part of our fabric.<br />
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Just like the football example above, one of the things that I do is take a step back and see how what we do impacts opportunities for our students' long-term. We have a 50-year history of success in Marching Band. When we take a little dip, we can "survive" it to a point, just due to our past success. That is not acceptable to me because that's not how I work. Adapt and overcome. I hold myself accountable every day for everything, and that makes its way into what we do at school. I just don't yell and pound my fists to deliver accountability like you see on television shows. I use the quality triangle, and you can too in your personal and work lives.<br />
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Take out a piece of paper. Draw a triangle. Label the bottom, "Quality", label one side, "Resources" and label the other side "Time". Here is how it works to achieve accountability and how to make the conversations and decisions professional and non-blood pressure raising, and without emotion:<br />
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Think of a home. You want to renovate the kitchen. You want it to be a quality job, but money is not falling off of trees in the yard. You find a reputable contractor, and they can do a quality job, but with lower resources from you, it is going to take a while. They will renovate when they have time and maybe even with materials left over from other jobs in order to keep your costs down.<br />
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Conversely, if you have the resources and want that quality kitchen, the contractor can work quickly to provide you with a quality kitchen. It is that simple.<br />
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My job involves the management of dozens of these triangles simultaneously. In the Marching Band example, we all want to live up to our reputation of quality, and we want that to happen tomorrow. It will, I guarantee it. The conversations will revolve around the resources. Personnel, ideas, strategy, and preparation are some of the examples of resources. When I am satisfied that we have the correct resources in place, the program will be stamped as "held accountable", and I will make the necessary decisions or approvals, and we will move on. No fanfare. No yelling. No fist pounding. The quality triangle has been around for decades and it works. So in short, yes, I care.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xpAa0XCdU30/Wgjvu9PyGzI/AAAAAAAACnc/OBda_7J1AGwLlQBixrDSfqwPyZQXgQubwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/VeteransDay%2BCollage.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xpAa0XCdU30/Wgjvu9PyGzI/AAAAAAAACnc/OBda_7J1AGwLlQBixrDSfqwPyZQXgQubwCPcBGAYYCw/s200/VeteransDay%2BCollage.PNG" width="200" /></a><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Veterans Day: </span></b>My next blog won't come out until after Veterans Day. As you go to vote tomorrow in very contentious mid-term elections, don't forget about the men and women who have provided us the opportunity to argue our political views; and to be able to vote. Our Veterans carry with them the sights, sounds, smells, and memories of unthinkable things they had to endure in order to secure our freedom. Check in on a Veteran, thank a Veteran, support a Veteran. Repeat.<br />
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Just a reminder that this Tuesday, November 6, is a half-day for students. They will attend in the morning and the dismissal times for the buildings will be as follows: WGHS: 9:55 a.m.; CMS/WGMS: 10:10 a.m.; and All Elementary Buildings: 11:30 a.m.<br />
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Thanks for reading and enjoy the week!<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-81792238073387064622018-10-29T10:44:00.001-04:002018-10-29T10:45:56.681-04:00Things to Cheer About<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Athletics Update:</span></b> The Wildcat Nation had quite a week and weekend! Girls Tennis stars Mikayla Mannara and Katie Viau won sectionals and then competed all the way to the New York State quarterfinals; the Football team won a huge game against Liverpool and earned a chance to play in the sectional championship this Saturday at the Carrier Dome against Cicero-North Syracuse; and our Cheerleaders are Section 3 Champions for the second year in a row. How cool is that!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Conference and Safety:</span></b> I had a couple of eye-opening moments at a conference last week. The conference was a national superintendent summit, invitation only, and there were a variety of topics for us to talk about. I helped to present the topic of communicating with staff, community, and students, as well as receiving feedback, and using that feedback.<br />
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With the regularity of active shooter situations and mass shootings happening today, one of the other topics was school safety. I spoke to several different superintendents about how they are approaching school safety. Interestingly, approaches were all over the board. I spoke with some who were just hearing about the slogan "if you see something, say something" and to the superintendent of Newtown Public Schools (Sandy Hook Elementary) who has experience with every security product and protocol available. I also spoke to superintendents who arm teachers because the nearest law enforcement needs to be flown in by helicopter and is 40 minutes away; and to superintendents who will not support anyone armed in schools, including School Resource Officers.<br />
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I am comfortable with where we are right now after taking it all in. We have the input from our forums, the guidance of the Onondaga County School Safety Task Force (I was a committee leader), excellent training for our staff, a great partnership with our local law enforcement, armed School Resource Officers, consistent drills for our students, an anonymous tip line, a way to take attendance in an emergency, and a capital project that will harden our entrances and upgrade our locks and cameras. Best practices in the area of safety are always changing, and we will stay on top of that.<br />
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We had a great West Side Support Network Meeting last week and are beginning to plan some events related to substance use disorder and mental wellness in our community; so stay tuned for that. The major topics will be NARCAN training, mental health awareness, substance use disorder programming, support groups, and working with other organizations to support people in poverty in our area.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Halloween Carnival: </span></b>Speaking of events, if you are looking for a really cool, safe place to take your kids for some Halloween fun, look no further than the West Genesee High School Halloween Carnival today from 4:00-7:00 p.m. in the upper gym of the high school. If you have attended before, you will notice it has gotten so big that they had to move it to a bigger space. There are all kinds of fun things to do for elementary students.<br />
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The event is sponsored by the high school chapter of our Positivity Project, and admission is free; but bringing a canned good or non-perishable food item would be appreciated. We will keep some of the food on hand for our students who need it and donate the rest to our local food pantry. If you are there early, I will see you before I head to Buffalo for my first Monday Night Football Game.<br />
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Thanks and enjoy the week!<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-20089861121506906182018-10-22T09:34:00.002-04:002018-10-22T09:48:37.526-04:00As Much Information as I Could Fit into a Three-Minute Read<span style="font-family: inherit;">When this blog first started years ago, my intention was to get you up to speed about what happened over the past week, feature students and staff, let you know about what lies ahead, maybe fit in a larger example of something, and give you an understanding of my personality as your school leader. As the readership has grown to about 10,000 a week, I think we have kept to that model. I have also tried to keep these blogs to about a three-minute read, because I know that all of you are very busy. With all that in mind, buckle up because there is a lot of news you can use to report this week!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On my end, I had a great time reading the "Big Pumpkin" to kindergarten students; teaching a class about strategic planning to adults. taking in </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Fiddler on the Roof</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (long but enjoyed it); and an SU Football overtime win (no, I am not going to weigh in on the quarterback controversy there, I have enough of my own things to take care of). </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Competition Updates: </span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wildcat Tennis stars Mikayla Mannara and Katie Viau advanced beyond the New York State regionals and much closer to a New York State Championship; Wildcat football advanced to the Section III Semifinals with a win over CBA; and the Marching Band took first place at their most recent competition held at Central Square, reminding the competition that they are still here and look forward to competing against them at the Carrier Dome in a couple of weeks. Our JV and varsity cheerleaders also took first place at the CNS Cheer Competition. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Take a breath. Also last week, Our West Genesee High School PTSA held a "Car Care 101" program to teach students how to change a tire, know what to carry in their cars during the winter, and how to check and replace common car fluids.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The "course" was taught by two of our employees, Gene Bobey and Sean Fahey, and Board of Education member Joe Simon. At the end of the evening they deployed an airbag in the parking lot that launched about 25 feet in the air, driving home the point that it is not a good idea to put your feet on the dashboard. It was so well received that they are going to have an encore performance in the spring!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Update on Previous Blog Topics:</span></b> Bringing you up to speed on two topics that I wrote about previously and that received a lot of feedback, we are making progress with the "skateboard project" and they are responding to your willingness to help for our students in poverty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The skateboard project, now titled "Deck the Halls" (get it?) has a poster (will share when it is totally final), a venue, and who will benefit from the production and auction of the boards. The decks have been produced and, </span>as we speak, they <span style="font-family: inherit;">are in the hands of our art and photography students to be designed. I don't want to post pictures of the final product until they are done, but they are COOL.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many of you responded to my last blog about how our community has changed, and you have offered to help with clothing and resources. Your response was actually overwhelming. We are working on a way to tap into your generosity and it may take the form of a pop-up clothing "shop" (everything would be free of course). There is a lot of work to get from idea to reality on this so stay tuned and THANK YOU.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Being Neutral:</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> The midterm elections are November 6, and the last couple of weeks before an election can be very negative. I have an obligation as superintendent to ensure that the District is not endorsing any candidate(s). If you see advertisements including me, our school, classrooms, fields, or students, please know that the District and I did NOT give permission for the use of any of those things. We have notified each of the area campaigns and candidates outlining our obligation to remain neutral. One of the reasons why I love my job is because I deal with different things every day, and this election cycle is certainly different.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">Lastly, in my career I have coached little league baseball, youth basketball, boys modified soccer, and junior varsity and varsity boys basketball. My time coaching little league and modified soccer remain some of my best memories, even though I was fortunate to have teams find success at the JV and varsity levels. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At those younger ages, the players are learning how to work with and be a part of a team, how to win and lose, and I was able to establish relationships with kids that still exist today now that they have kids of their own. These two pictures really symbolize the joy of working with younger kids at the modified level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for reading, #GoWildcats, and enjoy the week!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span><br />
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<br />Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-77290560990768057522018-10-15T09:16:00.002-04:002018-10-15T09:16:38.280-04:00School Spirit!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">We had quite a Homecoming Week!</span></b> Everywhere I turned I saw students full of pride for themselves, us as a school, and us as a part of something bigger. There is no way to collect data on the true feeling of positive morale unless you want to measure in decibels from the pep rally or the amount of blue and gold seen throughout the District all week. We are having fun, learning, and making our community the "place to be", as real estate agents continue to tell me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Congratulations to Emma Farmer and Matty McMahon who were crowned Homecoming Queen and King in front of a full house on Friday night. The football team and cheerleaders also enjoyed their senior nights as well as a win on the field. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Athletics Update</span></b>: Our teams will be continuing in Section III Competitions as follows:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Football team will play the first round of sectionals this Friday at home against Christian Brothers Academy at 7:00 p.m. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Boys Soccer team will play in sectionals on Thursday at Liverpool at 7:00 p.m. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Girls Soccer team is the third seed and will play the second seed, Fayetteville Manlius (FM), in the semi-final; date and time to be announced. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Girls Swim, Girls Volleyball, Cross Country, and Cheerleading teams will compete in Sectionals, but the games start in another week or two. Once we know that information, we will share it with you!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Just before the game, girls tennis players Mikayla Mannara and Katie Viau became Section III Class A Champions in a convincing win over a pair from FM. They will continue to the New York State Regional Competition tomorrow. Best of luck to them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Our Demographics: </span></b>Community members often ask me the question, "how poor are we?". I have always been a believer that poverty does NOT and should NOT define a child or a school district. My expectation as a superintendent is that every child can succeed no matter their background, and the school community should always band together. Every child is an equal member of the Wildcat family. Our results show that our employees and students believe in this as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Looking at the raw numbers though, some of you may be surprised at the number of families who are living in poverty in our community. Federal guidelines for the 2018-2019 school year tell us that in order for a family to qualify for free and reduced lunch, a family of four must make $25,100 or less before taxes for free lunch and $25,100 to $46,435 for reduced lunch (<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/08/2018-09679/child-nutrition-programs-income-eligibility-guidelines" target="_blank">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/08/2018-09679/child-nutrition-programs-income-eligibility-guidelines</a>). As of today, just under 30% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch. In raw numbers, that is almost 1,400 of our students in grades K-12. When I arrived in 2008, 8% of our families qualified for free or reduced lunch, which was approximately 440 students.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next, we need to consider students who are homeless. In 2008 when I arrived, we had no homeless students. As of today, 26 families in our District are homeless by definition. To be homeless by Federal definition, the child must lack fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence (<a href="https://nche.ed.gov/downloads/briefs/det_elig.pdf" target="_blank">https://nche.ed.gov/downloads/briefs/det_elig.pdf</a>).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We have structured our support and leadership styles so that you as community members, and students as a body, see our students as students; not affluent, poor, or homeless. Again, our results show that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One place where it is important to at least have an understanding of our families is when we do winter clothing or school supply drives. There IS a need, even though you might not see it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I had a meeting last week with several members of the faith community; multiple denominations. We spoke about how we can work together to help our families in poverty, families experiencing mental illness, and families experiencing substance use disorder. We also spoke about how we can support families that aren't experiencing any of those things, but are just trying to work through raising kids in the very fast paced society that we live in. We are creating some plans to help provide additional support for those who need it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our West Side Support Network (formerly known as the Community Coalition) will be having its first meeting on October 23 in the West Genesee High School Library at 2:45 p.m. All are certainly welcome. I will be rolling out our plans to meet the mental health needs of students and will also be giving an update on substance use disorder support in our area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for your support and have a great week!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span>Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-19041747348107474122018-10-09T09:05:00.001-04:002018-10-09T09:05:24.503-04:00Homecoming!<span style="font-family: inherit;">Looks like summer is here for one last stand; and I'll take it! I hope you enjoyed the long weekend. I was able to get caught up on work and enjoy some time with my twin nephews. Leading into last weekend, and then over the weekend, we had some great things happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Competition Results:</span><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></b>First, our Boys Golf team won the Section 3 title for the second time in as many years, and our Girls Tennis team won their first round of Sectionals. Cool!</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zGSVZZv8n-4/W7v7fVh2RGI/AAAAAAAADFg/6EDPQct99F82poKETzIINHVgoVXWRRibgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zGSVZZv8n-4/W7v7fVh2RGI/AAAAAAAADFg/6EDPQct99F82poKETzIINHVgoVXWRRibgCLcBGAs/s200/IMG_1229.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">On Friday night the Boys Football team went to Fayetteville Manlius on their homecoming night. They won a very hard fought battle to gain them a home game in the playoffs. The probability is high that their main rival CNS will be on the opposite side of the bracket, setting up a potential rematch.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rerrFJLhEvk/W7v7e4aBWFI/AAAAAAAADFU/1JuP_iFUSD0pNADVwEztxg9xWG9r_MobgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="133" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rerrFJLhEvk/W7v7e4aBWFI/AAAAAAAADFU/1JuP_iFUSD0pNADVwEztxg9xWG9r_MobgCLcBGAs/s200/IMG_1205.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">While all that was going on, our Marching Band took their show on the road to Virginia Beach to compete in the Tidewater Regional. They were all smiles as they returned to school. T</span>hey came in first in their division and had the highest score overall of 86.75 <span style="font-family: inherit;">as they inch closer to the Carrier Dome show at the end of the month. Congratulations to them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Homecoming Week is Here:</span></b> Homecoming is this Friday and all of you are invited to join us at the high school for a Homecoming Carnival from 3:00-6:00 p.m. and prior to the football game versus Rome Free Academy. They will have all kinds of games, bounce houses, face painting, and will be celebrating as we show off our Wildcat pride!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Students are also celebrating their pride throughout the week with themes for each day leading up to our annual pep rally. Check out their decorations! We are very fortunate to have such respectful students because they will all still look exactly like this headed into the upcoming weekend!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Have a great week and hope to see you at the game Friday night!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span>Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-16226743238916947372018-10-01T09:18:00.001-04:002018-10-01T09:18:12.713-04:00Wildcat Weekend<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">What a weekend!</span></b> I really like it when our facilities are used as much as possible because it shows how much care our buildings and grounds crew and custodians put into what they do. It also solidifies the District's spot as the center of the community. This weekend did not disappoint!<br />
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On Friday the high school was alive with football, fans, Friday Night Lights, the Marching Band, and the Wildcat Nation. Loud would be an understatement! The boys played a great game against a very tough CNS football team and came up just short. The Marching Band captivated the crowd at halftime with a great performance, and the Wildcat Nation was in full force. Just a fantastic night all around.<br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>Tournament of Bands and Technology:</b></span> The Marching Band (and their parents and staff) got right back to work on Saturday morning to host the Tournament of Bands. They played host to nine other high-quality Marching Bands and also put on quite an exhibition themselves! What made the evening even cooler were the awards that were handed out by Executive Principal Shannon Coholan and West Genesee graduate and United States Rear Admiral John Okon. The awards were truly one of a kind. They were manufactured by students in our technology club under the direction of teacher Matt Makowiec; and I want one of them! Congratulations to all on a very successful Tournament of Bands.<br />
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Sometimes during my building visits, I come across multi-disciplinary projects that are just so cool that they need to be recognized. Steve Ficarra, a technology teacher at our high school, has students working on a mass production project as part of the Design and Manufacturing class. They are mass producing (about 40) skateboard decks. I received a prototype and these decks are as nice as, or better, than what you would buy in a store. But wait, there's more. The decks are going to be decorated by students in art and photography classes. We have a TON of art and photo talent so I can only imagine what these are going to look like when they are done.<br />
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Next, the board decks are going to be entered into an art competition in downtown Syracuse at the Gear Factory. Lastly, they are going to try to get donations for the "trucks and wheels" so they become full functioning skateboards. They will then be auctioned and donated to needy children in our area leading up to the holidays. This project certainly makes me proud to be a Wildcat, and I am sure Tony Hawk would be proud also! I will post pictures of these pieces of art as they move through the development process.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aSTgApT_Oh0/W7FmX4t0X6I/AAAAAAAADEQ/xYC6QUExzIU_6smLHG9TpYlv9plBws4QwCLcBGAs/s1600/All_ForBlog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1600" height="141" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aSTgApT_Oh0/W7FmX4t0X6I/AAAAAAAADEQ/xYC6QUExzIU_6smLHG9TpYlv9plBws4QwCLcBGAs/s200/All_ForBlog.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Student Academic Achievements:</span></b> Congratulations goes out to our National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist, Philip Martin, and to National Merit Commended Scholars: Luke Mullane, Rose Hays, Kayla Hoovler, and Benjamin Davis. These students are among 50,000 of more than 1.6 million students who entered the Merit Program by earning high scores on the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT) taken in October of their junior year. <a href="https://www.westgenesee.org/nationalmeritcommendedscholars/" target="_blank">Click here to read the full article.</a><br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">A Bucket List Item:</span></b> If that wasn't enough, my older son and I got a chance to check off a bucket list item and get to Lambeau Field to watch the Buffalo Bills take on the Green Bay Packers. Now an adult, he and I had been planning this since he was in middle school. I am a Bills fan until they are out for the season and then a Packers fan the rest of the way so I couldn't lose. Although the Bills didn't come out on top, it was still a great experience and one I recommend if you are a football fan. We also made some good memories.<br />
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Thanks and have a great week!<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-18751986603942727622018-09-24T09:07:00.000-04:002018-10-02T15:02:36.492-04:00It's Fall!On the first day of fall, BAM, it was fall. It is crazy how quickly the weather changed, but this is an exciting part of the year.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Fall Events: </span></b>For starters, in our Marching Band and athletics programs we are beginning to have a good idea of where we stand and what it is going to take to have a successful postseason.<br />
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Second, fall means the Tournament of Bands, which is this weekend. It is always exciting to host so many other communities and this year we will have a special guest to hand out the awards. In addition to our Executive Principal, Ms. Coholan, West Genesee graduate and Naval Rear Admiral John Okon will be on hand to help the students to celebrate their success. Very cool! (Check out these great pictures from the annual Middle School Marching Band Day held last week for our middle school students.)<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">When Not in the Buildings: </span></b>I received good feedback from the blog last week regarding what happens when I am visiting buildings. So, what happens when I am not visiting buildings? It depends on the time of the year and what is happening that particular week.<br />
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Last week we had to meet about shutting down the air conditioning system and flipping over to our boilers for heat. This is not as easy as it is in a home and requires planning and scheduling. We also start talking about our fall/winter grounds and bus plans. What should be put into storage and when, are we in good shape to get our winter fuel mixture for the buses, and has anything changed that would disrupt our snow removal plans.<br />
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On the instructional side, last week was a great week to finish data meetings with principals, meet with teacher groups, and talk about the strategic plan and where we are in terms of completing our goals.<br />
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We also submitted the second phase of our Smartbond project, which means planning for the purchase of nearly 1,000 more pieces of technology, to add to the 3,000 that we purchased last year through this state funded grant. That is also a heavy lift, and we want to be sure that we have all of the details.<br />
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Add to that my usual superintendent meetings, some events, and a fundraiser, and that was a week! One of the great things about this job is that every day is different and every day is busy.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">A Big Thank You:</span></b> I want to give a big thank you to Stonehedge fourth grader Andrew Larocca. We read about a lot of negative things but Andrew certainly canceled that with something very positive. For the past few years, and instead of birthday gifts, Andrew has tried to help different causes. This year he wanted to contribute to the Stonehedge landscape by raising money for a "Buddy Bench". A Buddy Bench is a special place where people can make friends and not be alone. The bench will look like the one pictured that Andrew and his friends are on and we welcome its addition in a few weeks. Thanks Andrew!<br />
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Time to bust out the sweaters. Have a great week!<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-87165688079417872482018-09-17T08:47:00.001-04:002018-09-17T08:47:20.766-04:00Florence?<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Weather Changes:</span></b> I hope that you had a great weekend. The weather has been absolutely amazing, and I have tried to take advantage of it before it changes! Speaking of weather changes, it was really interesting to listen to the chatter around town about Hurricane Florence. MANY of us have or do vacation in North and South Carolina, so everywhere I went people were wondering how their rental houses and condos would make it through the storm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, the devastation of Florence has gone well beyond property damage. The storm has taken the lives of at least 11 people and counting, and I am sure they will need help repairing and rebuilding. It has been refreshing to see how people have banded together to help those in need and my hope is that Florence is the only hurricane we need to worry about this season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">An Interesting Week:</span></b> I have a face made for radio, but last week I was asked to model some clothes as a part of the Syracuse Fashion Show to help raise money for the Food Pantry. I have spoken to crowds as large as 6,000 people without issue. For this event, however, I was out of my element. In the end I think it was good to feel uncomfortable and to accept a different challenge. I won't be quitting my day job, that's for sure, but I was able to wear some cool clothes! </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Supporting the Sports Boosters:</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Yesterday our Board of Education president and vice-president, our high school executive principal, and I participated in the Sports Boosters Golf Tournament. We had a blast, but that was another subtle reminder that my golf game is not going to put food on the table. We did have a great turnout though and raised money for our student-athletes! Thank you to all who donated time and resources to support our student-athletes. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Competition Season: </span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Congratulations to the Marching Band for getting their first top finish of the year! They have been working very hard since July and they are continuing to gear up for the "Dome" competition at the end of October.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our athletes are also continuing to put in solid performances so if you get a chance to get out for an event, please do!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Visiting our Schools:</span></b> I was asked a great question by a student during one of my visits last week. The question was what am I doing when I visit a building. Visiting buildings and classrooms is one of the most important parts of my job, and it is much more involved than posting pictures of students on Twitter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is my expectation that each building principal is the "owner" of their building, and I expect that they will treat and care for it and everyone in it like they would their own home and family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I get out of the car, I am looking at the grounds. Is everything cleaned up, trim, and free of garbage? People eat with their eyes, as they say, so curb appeal is important.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next, I listen to how the secretarial staff interacts with me when I buzz into the building. Are they polite, courteous, and prompt? Next, I look at the floors and walls. Are they clean, inviting, and are posters and student work up to date? Are the hallways free from clutter? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then I check in with food service, custodial, and support staff. How are things going? Is there anything I should know or be aware of? What do they have planned for the next few weeks?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I then visit the classrooms. Sometimes I visit with the building principal, but because I visit the buildings so frequently, I often visit classrooms by myself where I check in with the students. Are there any new students I should introduce myself to? Did any kindergarten or first-grade students lose teeth since my last visit (that is a big deal to them)? Are there any casts I should sign (I always write "Dr. Brown was here" and the kids get a kick out of it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_qccpMvN9Lg/W58FLQU6NVI/AAAAAAAADC4/i8IPHTb83ekSnzvgtITnkUh6-wTHLRg8wCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_0916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_qccpMvN9Lg/W58FLQU6NVI/AAAAAAAADC4/i8IPHTb83ekSnzvgtITnkUh6-wTHLRg8wCEwYBhgL/s200/IMG_0916.JPG" width="150" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next, I dig deeper. Are the students engaged? Are the teachers dialed in and having fun? How does the classroom "feel" in terms of climate (happy, tense, stressed, mellow, smooth, etc.) and what has caused those feelings? </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then I take some pictures with the students because they enjoy showing off their work to you, and it provides a classroom connection to you from afar. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If I am in the middle schools or high school, I talk to students about current events and how they feel about them. Sometimes I talk about volunteer opportunities, or we talk about the next time the Wildcat Nation will be together. I learn a lot from them about the life of a teenager, and I use what I learn to be a better superintendent for them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After my visit and as I am getting ready to head out, I will meet with the principal. We talk about if there was anything that I felt that just didn't seem right, or at the same time, I will congratulate the principal and teachers for an awesome visit. So the next time you read one of my tweets you will know what went into it! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: inherit;"><b>Open House/Curriculum Nights:</b> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you for attending our various open houses and curriculum nights. They are almost complete, and we will then be rocking and rolling for the rest of the school year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">West Side Support Network:</span></b> Be on the lookout for meeting dates for our West Side Support Network. This is our fourth year in existence and we will again be focusing on support for those with substance use disorder as well as mental health challenges. We are always looking for new members!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Have a great week and I will see you soon!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span>Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-74696381235010028262018-09-10T09:01:00.001-04:002018-09-10T09:01:12.839-04:00We RememberWell, as a Buffalo Bills fan, this season is starting out like most of the others in recent memory, but Syracuse, my favorite college team, is showing some promise! Football season also means that kids are back at school.<br />
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I want to give our bus drivers, mechanics, and transportation administrators a super huge thank you. Their first week was just absolutely crazy. Bus routes are established and sent out to families around the middle of August. Because students are entitled to school transportation, routes are created for every student. It is still summer, so like I used to do, many parents leave the school mailings until the last couple of days before school.<br />
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On opening day, the drivers pre-check their buses and then 100 buses turn on and get rolling. Our mechanics get really pressed into service, and this year they also had the Department of Transportation in the garage inspecting buses as part of their routine inspections. While the drivers were out driving, parents were calling into the transportation administrators with changes; 200 to be exact, the morning of opening day alone. Somehow they make it all happen. They will drive 1,000,000 miles before the year is over. Remarkable.<br />
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This week we will really know who is going to utilize their bus pickup and who isn't, and we will then make the final bus route and timing changes for the year. I certainly appreciate your patience and at the same time really applaud our people for getting the job done.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Remembering September 11</span></b>: Tuesday is September 11. September 11, 2001 to me is always in the present, but to our students it is history. On September 11, 2001, I was a brand new Superintendent not knowing if we were under attack, and if we were, what I was going to do about it. One of our teachers spoke to her brother from my office. He was in Tower II and told her he would be fine. She hung up and about ten minutes later, Tower II collapsed. All I could do was tell her I was sorry, drive her home, and then get back to work and figure out what to do next. I remember that day like it was yesterday.<br />
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Our students don't remember that day at all but they learn about it in their history classes. It got me to thinking that life-changing historical events are generational and stick with some people like they happened yesterday. To others, they are events that don't hold the same level of emotion for them; but they are learned. There is no disrespect there; just perspective. I was not alive for John F. Kennedy's or Martin Luther King's Assassinations for example, but my parents can tell you exactly where they were when those events happened, just as they can about the moon landing. I had to learn about those events but deeply understand their significance.<br />
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When I visit with our older students this week I am going to ask them what events in their lives have occurred that were so moving for them that they remember exactly where they were and what they were doing. Should be interesting to hear what they have to say.<br />
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Thanks again for reading and have a great week.<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-84892438841410779312018-09-04T08:13:00.002-04:002018-09-04T08:13:18.938-04:00Liftoff!As much as I love the great New York State Fair, I just could not go again yesterday. Nine times was enough for me this year. I think it might have been the heat, or that every time I went I probably spent six or more hours there! I already asked about having a Wildcat hockey game in the Exposition Center this year but was told "not likely"; that won't stop me from trying!<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rZHwrtxX5BU/W43MXghI6nI/AAAAAAAADBA/tTib84ytRvY5bvQ-RkaocIGKZedvtKGOgCLcBGAs/s1600/BestinSHow_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1551" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rZHwrtxX5BU/W43MXghI6nI/AAAAAAAADBA/tTib84ytRvY5bvQ-RkaocIGKZedvtKGOgCLcBGAs/s200/BestinSHow_cropped.jpg" width="193" /></a>I do want to give a "shout out" to sophomore Gabby Mitchell. She is an incredibly talented photographer and her photograph, pictured, was the winner, "Best in Show", of ALL Youth submissions at the New York State Fair. She has won awards for other works as well. With two years of high school left, we certainly haven't heard the last of her. Congratulations, Gabby!<br />
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Also deserving of congratulations are our fall sports student athletes. They have started their seasons very well and have the promise to do some great things this season. If you get an opportunity to get out and see any of the contests please do. I will certainly keep you posted on their progress.<br />
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Marching Band is also getting ready to start their season, and I am looking forward to what they will do!<br />
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We are fortunate to have air conditioning in each of our buildings and it will be put to use this week. As we return to school, please know that we will keep all of the kids cool the next few days. We will also make the right decisions regarding the heat for our student athletes and Marching Band members. Looks like once we get to Friday we will get back to more normal temperatures for this time of the year.<br />
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Also please remember that we are going to have 100 school buses on the road along with our parent, student, and community traffic. Use a little extra care, look both ways, and we will get this school year kicked off safely.<br />
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Thanks and I will be posting a lot of pictures on opening day on my Twitter account, @cbrownwgcsd!<br />
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Take care and here we go!<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-31391076202382467572018-08-27T07:43:00.000-04:002018-08-27T07:43:04.709-04:00So. Much. Stuff Going On!<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VG56fABO3P0/W4MFYHtp8bI/AAAAAAAADAY/gxmvj1erh-UTDoYcTg_Sc0ytHZbbr7UZACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="1125" height="133" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VG56fABO3P0/W4MFYHtp8bI/AAAAAAAADAY/gxmvj1erh-UTDoYcTg_Sc0ytHZbbr7UZACLcBGAs/s200/IMG_0647.JPG" width="200" /></a><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Marching Band Previews Their New Program:</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Under a full moon and on an absolutely perfect night, the Marching Band held their annual preview. They have been practicing all summer, and I have a very good feeling that they are going to be fiercely competitive this year. At 160 members strong, they sound full, present, and confident. </span>The color guard make you feel how the music sounds.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7e5YCN_SL4/W4MFYB2KXmI/AAAAAAAADAg/eIZoEkwvoFUI8Ez0PJYl38VphCMZI0PaACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="612" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7e5YCN_SL4/W4MFYB2KXmI/AAAAAAAADAg/eIZoEkwvoFUI8Ez0PJYl38VphCMZI0PaACLcBGAs/s200/IMG_0651.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">They are very ready to make a name for themselves; and I am looking forward to watching them perform. Thanks to Charlie Miller for taking some fantastic photos. Check out the online calendar from our website for their performance schedule as they make their way to the "Dome Show". I am excited!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Girls Varsity Lacrosse Coaches: </span></b>I am also excited to announce that we have selected our Girls Varsity Lacrosse head coach, as well as his paid assistant coach. We are happy to welcome Drew White and Riley Donahue to our Wildcat Family. Drew White is very involved in the Girls Lacrosse community, and he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in running a successful girls program. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since 2007 he has been the head Varsity Lacrosse coach at Fulton as well as the owner/director of the Salt City Snipers Girls Lacrosse Club. Some highlights from Drew’s career include: Section 3 Girls Lacrosse representative, three- time Freedom League Coach of the Year, 2018 Under Armour Games Highlight Coach, and Coach of four US Lacrosse High School All-Americans and 18 US Lacrosse Academic All-Americans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Riley Donahue returns to West Genesee after a very successful four-year campaign at Syracuse University, where she was a two-time team captain and earned ACC Academic All-American honors. While at West Genesee she was a two-time NYS Champion, team captain her senior season, 2014 All-CNY Player of the Year, and First Team All-American. She also participated in Ice Hockey, winning the 2014 NYS Championship and earning All-CNY First Team honors. Riley has coached with the Gary Gait Lacrosse Club, Salt City Snipers, Syracuse Lacrosse camps, and Town of Camillus Parks and Recreation program. They will begin lacrosse operations immediately. Congratulations Coaches White and Donahue!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Transportation Training:</span></b> I want to publicly thank Armoured One for coming to West Genesee last week to train our bus drivers and mechanics on how to handle potential active shooter situations on school buses. I cannot release all of the techniques that were demonstrated, but I can tell you that after riding one of the buses that I was pretty car sick by the end! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q26csQTbuoA" target="_blank">Check out this coverage from Newschannel9 about the training</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">We are Ready to Roll: </span></b> You will start seeing more cars and activity at each of the buildings this week, and our employees return on Thursday for our Opening Day festivities. If you are a local restaurant owner and reading this, you may want to have some extra staff on hand as we pump nearly 1,000 people back into the local economy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">West Genesee Athletics Honored for Sportsmanship:</span></b> At the last Board of Education meeting the </span>New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) presented West Genesee High School with the Sportsmanship Promotion Banner Award; we are only one of four school communities in the state to receive this 2017-2018 honor.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>The award is presented to schools which have developed proactive approaches in keeping sportsmanship in the forefront with their students, coaches, spectators, and communities. <a href="https://www.westgenesee.org/wg-athletic-community-receives-sportsmanship-promotion-banner-award-again/" target="_blank">To read more about the award, click here</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Athletics Update: </span></b>This Friday our Varsity Football team starts their season against Henninger on the turf field at 6:00 p.m. Also, all the fall JV and Varsity sports teams begin competition this week. The daily schedule of competitions is available from the <a href="https://www.westgenesee.org/athletics/" target="_blank">Athletics webpage</a>. If this isn't a sure sign that fall is around the corner, I don't know what is!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for reading! I hope to see you at the State Fair and enjoy the week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span>Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-73424514111910604002018-08-20T08:56:00.001-04:002018-08-20T09:05:06.448-04:00Creature of Habit<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">In a Routine: </span></b>There has been construction on Vanida Drive for about the last three weeks. The road is closed, so I have had to use Sanderson Drive to get to my office. That would be great if I hadn't been programmed for the past 11 years to take Vanida Drive to get to my office. I can't tell you how many times over the past few weeks I have pulled into Vanida, remembered that it is closed, and had to turn around and go to Sanderson Drive. I did it twice last week alone. No, I am not crazy, I am just a creature of habit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The same thing is going to happen this week when The Great New York State Fair opens. My wife and I had a route that we used to walk BEFORE all of the changes. It made me comfortable. The Gianelli sausage spot was always in the best place for our walk, as was the fried dough stand. I will once again want to walk that same route; but it will be different and I will reminisce about "back in the day". I will, however, find the Gianelli stand, in the new and different spot, and my sausage sandwich with peppers and onions will taste the same. Creature of habit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We are all creatures of habit in some way, especially our kids. Creature of habit is a long way of saying "in a routine". Now is the time of the summer to get your kids back into some type of routine. It always took my wife and I a week or so to get the kids back into a sleep pattern, waking up a little earlier, and being as motivated as it takes to tackle school head on. Starting now, even baby steps to getting back on schedule will pay dividends in early September!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>Board of Education Vacancy:</b></span> </span>Over the summer <span style="font-family: inherit;">we had a vacancy on our Board of Education (Board) as Karen Fruscello resigned to make time for a new job.The Board met and decided that it would be best to fill the position before the school year starts, and they have selected Jennifer James. She and her family live in our community, and she has been a Spanish teacher for the Onondaga Central School District for 21 years along with being involved in many of their extracurricular activities. We welcome her aboard and into the Wildcat family. She will need to run again in May to continue her time on the Board of Education.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">STAR Payments Update: </span></b>The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has changed how they are processing STAR payments for some people; especially senior citizens. I know how many people read this blog, but I do not know the demographics; so if you are a senior citizen, or maybe a son or daughter with aging parents, please take the time to <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NYTAX/bulletins/2066c31" target="_blank">read this release by clicking here</a>. The way that I interpret it, people like me will apply for STAR once and it will just continue each year. The big change is that senior citizens who qualify for the Enhanced STAR Exemption will need to apply EACH YEAR. Once you have read the document, please contact your local assessor if you have questions. We don't want people to lose out on the exemption if they qualify, so please pass the word along if you have a loved one who qualifies for the Enhanced STAR Exemption and lives anywhere in New York State. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Mental Health Literacy:</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> In my last blog I wrote about the Every Student Succeeds Act. Today I am writing about the new mental health literacy requirements. I do not think that we can take mental wellness seriously enough, so I welcome these requirements. While West Genesee has met the majority of them for years, it is important to audit what we offer to children in the area of mental health literacy and when it is offered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The requirement calls on schools to teach about what to look for as signs of mental wellness or concerns, where an individual can get help, and how students can let people know if they see someone who is struggling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We are fortunate to be a "Positivity Project" District, so we already have a way to accomplish this in addition to what we teach in Health and Physical Education courses and in counseling sessions. To give you more detail, we are also required to have community service connections to mental health treatment facilities. We are accomplishing this through the connections we have in the West Side Support Network, as well as with Helio Health, which we are finalizing a contract with to have higher level counseling available for students right in the buildings. Good stuff, and you will get more details from your individual building principals as the year progresses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for reading, enjoy the week, and see you at the New York State Fair!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chris</span>Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-16529759869384442992018-08-13T10:10:00.000-04:002018-08-13T10:10:10.238-04:00Microphone Check...There were two indicators between the last blog and this one that really let me know that I am getting old. Well, two, if you don't include the current status of my lower back.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1onrhY5U5qs/W3DMScBAkTI/AAAAAAAAC_g/t2bME0gIL50hCYGMhbwNLSaCGhbCD-aaACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="1280" height="101" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1onrhY5U5qs/W3DMScBAkTI/AAAAAAAAC_g/t2bME0gIL50hCYGMhbwNLSaCGhbCD-aaACLcBGAs/s200/IMG_0424.JPG" width="200" /></a>First, on Thursday I went out back of the high school to check in on Marching Band practice. Like always, I climbed the thing the drum majors stand on to direct the band so I could get a good picture. I got to the top of the platform looked out at the kids and immediately felt unsteady on my feet; awesome! I made it back down, but that was probably Mother Nature's way of telling me that I should be taking pictures from the ground from now on.<br />
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The second came yesterday. I was playing golf with some friends, and I hit a good four iron (for once) about 190 yards. It was a downhill hole so the people behind me couldn't see me. I hit my shot, walked toward the hole another thirty or so yards more, and a gold ball missed my face in the air by less than a foot. No harm no foul, so I continued on to the green and putted out. A golf cart came up and it was the kid who had hit the shot. It was one of our golfers from the golf team, and he apologized profusely and told me that he had hit a FIVE iron, 220 yards. It was right then and there that I reaffirmed that Father Time is undefeated!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Welcoming New Boys Lacrosse Coach:</span></b> It was fun to have a full house on hand last week to introduce Shaun Smith as our new Boys Varsity Lacrosse coach. After a couple of quick words to introduce him, I retreated to the back of the room where I could really feel a new chapter of our history beginning. He and his coaching staff have a great plan in place to respect the past and represent our future in boys lacrosse. There was a lot of excitement in the room, and I am looking forward to seeing what they put together.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">A Few Educational Topics:</span></b> I want to thank you for reading this blog. I thought some of you would take the summer off, but the stats indicate that many of you are reading as frequently as you do during the school year. That is great! Since you are reading, I want to hit on a couple of educational topics that you are going to hear more about in each building as the school year unfolds.<br />
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The first topic is called the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and is the replacement of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). To "measure" student and school district progress, NCLB used test scores predominantly. ESSA uses test scores (some are the same and some are different than NCLB) as well, but there will be a few more markers that will be featured more predominantly.<br />
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Two of them that will directly impact you as parents are absenteeism (for sure) and civic readiness (I think). Students who are chronically tardy and absent (without proper excuses) will significantly count against us in terms of our overall performance. We will be ratcheting up the importance of getting your children to school so you may sense that a bit if you have children who were late or absent (without proper excuses) last year.<br />
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New York State has not totally defined what civic readiness is going to look like, but I would guess that there will be some extended volunteerism in the community. Completion rate is also thrown in there and we are crushing that right now so I am actually looking forward to challenging ESSA this year. Once ESSA comes more into focus, the principals will keep you up to speed; I just wanted you to hear about it as we finish the summer.<br />
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Next week I will start getting you familiar with the new Mental Health Literacy guidelines.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Other Updates: </span></b>By the end of the today we should also be able to make the Onondaga County Safety Task Force Report available. It was a very humbling experience to be able to represent not only West Genesee but educators around the county, and I am very proud of the work the committee completed.<br />
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If you are looking for something to do next Saturday, our High School Executive Principal Shannon Coholan is going to be rappelling (yes, you read that right) over the side of a building downtown to help raise money for one of our community partners, the McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center. She is scheduled to rappel at 9:00 a.m. and <a href="https://www.mcmahonryan.org/news-and-happenings/over-the-edge/" target="_blank">more details can be found by clicking here</a>. Good luck to her!<br />
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Thanks and enjoy the week!<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-24769018564693546242018-08-06T08:53:00.001-04:002018-08-06T08:53:17.789-04:00Getting Back to NormalAnother great weekend in the books! We had a very rare occurrence at home when BOTH of our boys were under the same roof at the same time. Even though they are both over 21, we spent the time cooking out and just catching up. If you have younger kids, I don't care how much they argue and fight, you will miss those days when it takes six months or more at a time to get them together.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Some Employees Return:</span></b> Welcome Back Today we welcome our eleven-month administrators and secretaries back to school. There are only a few of us who work 12 months so we appreciate the company! Their arrival means that life will begin to come back to each of the elementary and middle school buildings, new families will get tours, class lists will be finished, and professional development will begin. Good stuff!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Security Update: </span></b>Over the past few weeks, we have been working to get all of our security enhancements in place for the fall. First, we have finalized the schedule for the security project that was approved in May. When you come back to school in September you will see the beginnings of the staging necessary to harden our entrances, upgrade our exterior cameras, and provide more advanced door locks for our classrooms. The big work to make all of that happen will begin at the end of September and should be completed by late spring.<br />
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In the meantime, my work with the Onondaga County Safety Task Force is complete and our findings and recommendations will be released on the steps of City Hall on August 13 at 9:30 a.m. I was responsible for the "Training and Communication Subcommittee" and the recommendations coming from our group include consistent active shooter training (details of the type of training will be in the full report), constant promotion of door locks and saying something if you see something, and an emphasis on mental health training, crisis intervention training, and Stop the Bleed training. West Genesee is already engaged in all of the above and this will continue and be enhanced into this school year.<br />
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On the communication side, we are recommending the addition of two communication services: Navigate Prepared and Tip411.<br />
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Navigate Prepared will give police an opportunity to have three-dimensional pictures and videos of each of our buildings in the event of an emergency. It will give our employees an instant way to take student attendance and also signal an alarm from a given area if necessary. This will be in place for West Genesee by the time school starts.<br />
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Tip411 is a product that has been very successful for the police, but has not been available for schools, until now. Tip411 allows anonymous communication between a tipster and law enforcement so a case can be solved more quickly.<br />
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As a result of the safety committee, we were able to get the company to tailor a product for schools, and West Genesee will be the first school in the county to use it. If you are a school administrator and reading this, imagine getting a tip about an incident in a hallway or bathroom and being able to communicate back in an anonymous way to ask for a time, exact location, clothes a person is wearing, etc. This will allow us to cut investigation time from all day to a matter of minutes. We are looking very forward to adding this service for the start of school.<br />
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Chief Winn and I are also speaking about ways to maximize school resource officers and those conversations will continue into the fall. All in all, I am pleased with the progress we have made since our last safety forum in the early spring. Everything we spoke about is happening.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Meet the New Coach:</span></b> In my last blog, we welcomed Coach Shaun Smith as our new Varsity Boys Lacrosse Coach. He will be meeting with returning players and parents from grades 7-12 from 6:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. this Thursday in the West Genesee High School Large Group Instruction Room. He will then be meeting in that same location with any members of the community who would like to meet him and hear what he has to say about the program and his vision from 7:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Supply Drive Update:</span></b> I also want to thank everyone for your generosity during our school supply drive. There are families and children in our community who really benefit from your donations! (<a href="https://www.westgenesee.org/west-genesee-pta-pto-district-council-is-again-sponsoring-a-school-supply-drive-2/" target="_blank">For more information about the Supply Drive click here</a>.)<br />
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This week I will be getting all of our academic initiatives lined up for the school year and will relay those and more to you next week. Stay cool, stay dry, and enjoy the week.<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-25212840104423210952018-07-31T13:02:00.000-04:002018-07-31T20:15:33.155-04:00New Boys Lacrosse CoachI would not normally write a blog about a new head coach of an athletic program, but considering how long Coach Messere guided our Boys Lacrosse program (as well as how many people came to recognize him over the weekend at his retirement gathering), I felt it was appropriate to let the entire community know who will be taking over as the Boys Lacrosse Coach.<br />
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We had excellent applicants for the position, and I appreciate the efforts of our hiring committee, our Athletic Director, Mike Burns, and the time of all the references we checked! We were looking for someone who will provide stability and leadership, is student focused in both on and off the field development of our student athletes, understands college pathways for lacrosse and has the connections to help student athletes to get opportunities, and someone who respects the tradition of excellence that West Genesee Lacrosse has come to enjoy.<br />
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We found all of those characteristics, and more, in our new Boys Varsity Lacrosse coach, Shaun Smith. Coach Smith started the lacrosse program in the city of Syracuse in 1996, and is currently the lacrosse coach of Corcoran High School. Along the way he has helped young men from a variety of backgrounds to find unity in their team and mission. He values academics and athletics, has coached a multitude of other sports as well, runs very successful off-season and summer camps, has been recognized and rewarded for his efforts, and has a winning attitude.<br />
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Coach Smith is also a long time District resident, and understands the expectations of West Genesee athletics as he had a son, Ryan, play both hockey and lacrosse for us and his daughter, Brianna, swam for West Genesee.<br />
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We expect that Coach Smith will hit the ground running and make an immediate impact. His stability, vision and experience make him a great choice to replace a legend in Coach Messere.<br />
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Congratulations to Coach Smith. He will begin lacrosse operations late next week.Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-82011785675259359662018-07-30T09:50:00.002-04:002018-07-30T09:50:33.574-04:00Systems CheckI often equate the school year to a plane ride, and this time of the year is systems check time. This is when we kick the tires, walk around the aircraft, and figure out what is needed in order to have a successful flight. Right now things are looking good. The Marching Band got a great start, summer school and summer camps are nearing completion, and we have concluded the annual Board of Education Retreat.<br />
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Our data from the completion of last year is very positive, with a District record of 94.5% June high school completion rate (it will be higher after we account for our August graduates), which sets us up nicely to challenge the first year of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) which replaces the old No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). I will present much more about this when all of us are geared back into thinking about school.<br />
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Mid-summer is also when we have completed both the Boys and Girls John Pepper Lacrosse Tournaments. The boys and girls were very successful and the boys weekend that we just had also served as a great time to bid a final farewell to Boys Lacrosse coaches Mike Messere and Bob Deegan. Somewhere between 700 and 1,000 former and recent players, parents, and community members spent Saturday night reminiscing and celebrating the careers of our coaches culminating with a large retirement dinner that was held at SRC Arena. Our Athletic Director, Mike Burns, also a former player, spoke to the crowd and gave Coaches Messere and Deegan custom made and inscribed Native American lacrosse sticks. Congratulations to them! Also, we are getting closer to completing the process to find our next Boys Lacrosse coaches!<br />
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If you still aren't convinced that we are just past the mid-point of summer, take a look at "Fred." Fred is a regular at my favorite golf course and he has seen me hit some great shots, and plenty of junk shots as well. He really doesn't show any emotion either way. If you don't have this blog to read, or a calendar to tell you it is the beginning of August, you have Fred and his antlers that are "in the velvet", which is nature's way of telling us that there is still some summer left; but we should start thinking about the fall. Hopefully, Fred makes it through the fall and winter, and I can then grab another picture of him around this time next year!<br />
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I hope that you have gotten a chance to rest a little and recharge. Keep enjoying this beautiful weather, and I will start writing a little more about back to school starting next week.<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-1021653108075906842018-07-16T09:42:00.001-04:002018-07-16T09:42:58.197-04:00Mid-July Check In<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">A Busy Summer at Home:</span></b> I usually travel to Hilton Head, South Carolina for a week each summer but was unable to go this year. Not a huge deal because the weather here has been a mirror image of the weather down there. The only thing missing here in Syracuse is, well, you know, the ocean; but the Fingerlakes are no second banana!<br />
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You know it is mid-summer when you are able to buy $3 advance New York State Fair tickets, and the enrollment at many summer camps is down a little due to family vacations! My wife and I have significantly lucked out with the weather as we attend the concerts at the Lakeview Amphitheater. So far this year it has been Dave Matthews, Foreigner, and Weezer (I know, I am dating myself) which was last night.<br />
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Mid-July is also my wedding anniversary, so Happy Anniversary to the person who has stuck by me from my student teaching days until now; 24 years! Being the spouse of a superintendent is not for the thin-skinned. She has been the most special piece of the puzzle all these years. More importantly, she has been a great mom and partner!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">A Busy Summer at Work:</span></b> People ask me what I do over the summer. Well, besides hiring, firing, negotiating contracts with vendors, planning, designing the vision and path of the next school year, accommodating new Federal and state directives, rolling the budget over, starting Capital projects; not that much. We also hosted BOCES summer school, work camp, and Parks and Recreation programs.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Advanced Placement Exams:</span></b> I want to give some kudos to the students who were able to academically achieve this past school year. Exams aren't everything, but Advanced Placement exams are taken nationwide, are very rigorous, and the higher the score can mean a greater chance that it will transfer to many colleges and universities. The students found by <a href="https://www.westgenesee.org/students-earn-perfect-scores-on-advanced-placement-examinations/" target="_blank">following this link scored a "5" on those exams</a> (the highest score possible). They and their families should be very proud of their achievements; I know I am!<br />
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I hope you continue to enjoy this great stretch of weather, and I will write again soon!<br />
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Chris<br />
<br />Christopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909187681595708388.post-34970449169806207982018-07-02T09:54:00.000-04:002018-07-02T09:54:23.920-04:00Early Summer Check-InI hope you are beating the heat! I am trying and am in NO way complaining about it; that's for sure. I am again thankful that we have air conditioning in all of our buildings. With summer recreation underway and Summer School about ready to launch, it is certainly nice to have.<br />
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I am writing just to give you a quick update on three things that will get buried if I wait two or three more weeks.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">WorkCamp Update: </span></b>The first is that we were very thankful to have the WorkCamp workers and in our community last week. I had a chance to spend time with the adult volunteers and student workers last Wednesday and it didn't take long to see why they are such a benefit to any community. They were upbeat, enjoyed the work they were doing for those in our community, and were very thankful for the support they have received from everyone. They shipped out of the high school on Saturday, and I certainly wish all of them well.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Will Supreme Court Ruling Impact Us? </span></b>The second thing is that the Supreme Court ruled in a case called Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31.The bottom line of the over 80-page decision is that employees will no longer be forced to pay a union as a condition of employment. We have excellent relationships with our unions, also called associations. For us, this decision doesn't have a positive or negative impact; it will be business as usual. The complete "Janus" decision can be found at <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-1466_2b3j.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-1466_2b3j.pdf</a>.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #134f5c;">Mental Wellness Education: </span></b>The third thing is that the New York State Education Department approved regulations to mandate mental wellness education in schools for the next school year. In essence, schools MUST offer mental health education in physical education and health classes to include detection of mental illness warning signs, coping strategies, and how to get help.<br />
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This will be nothing new for us to add at West Genesee. Our mental health education is already delivered in health and physical education classes; and in every other class as well. We have counselors, psychologists, and social workers who help support the education that is given both in assemblies, regular classes, and in small class settings.<br />
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To me, it just does not matter what type of mental wellness education is offered, it is all about developing relationships with students. Every employee in the District MUST want to get to know the students they work with so they can best detect when something isn't quite right. Relationship building is also important when it comes to helping students to find coping strategies or to find ways to get further help. I think we do an outstanding job with that and it is one of the big reasons why we are considered one of the smallest large schools around. A podcast that we helped NPR with regarding this mandate can be found at <a href="http://wrvo.org/post/first-nation-new-york-requires-mental-health-information-curriculum" target="_blank">http://wrvo.org/post/first-nation-new-york-requires-mental-health-information-curriculum</a>.<br />
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That gets you caught up as of now! I hope you are able to enjoy July 4th with family and friends. Thanks to all of our servicemen and women past and present for giving us a reason to celebrate our independence.<br />
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#Wildcatpride!<br />
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ChrisChristopher R. Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17827792124092306291noreply@blogger.com