A Busy Time of Year

Another Great Senior Ball: Just when you thought the Senior Ball was going to be a washout, the clouds parted, the sun came out, and over 400 students had a wonderful time at the "Phantom of the Opera" themed dinner and dance held at the OnCenter. The students were mature beyond their years and were just awesome to be with for the evening.

Earlier in the day they attended a modified presentation of a Mock DWI exercise that although abbreviated due to the weather, was still very powerful. Afterwards they enjoyed a delicious breakfast.

All told, I would say that nearly 100 staff, community members, and parents helped to make sure that the students had a safe and enjoyable 24 hours. Thanks to all!

50th Anniversary of Alumni Marching Band: What has 1,276 legs and is over a quarter of a mile long? The West Genesee Alumni Marching Band. On their 50th anniversary they will try to make the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest alumni band. How cool is that?!? I hope to see you there.

Reward School Honor: Last week we received some great news. For the second year in a row, West Genesee High School was recognized as a "Reward School" by the New York State Education Department. This is the highest academic award given by New York State, and we are proud to be a recipient. The main criteria that has helped us to achieve this goal is our overall completion rate, which is very high compared to other schools in New York State.

Congratulations goes to all of our teachers, support staff, administrators, Board of Education, parents, and especially our students! Other schools in our area to also receive this award are Jamesville-Dewitt, Skaneateles, and Westhill High Schools. I want to congratulate those schools for also receiving this honor.

Update on the STAR Program: In keeping an eye on what is happening around the state, I wanted to draw your attention to some changes that are being made to the STAR program. STAR is a property and school tax reduction program that primary homeowners qualify for. If you have not bought a new house this year, you have nothing to worry about as STAR will work as it always has. If you have bought a home this year, check out this brief article from syracuse.com to see how to register and receive the STAR reduction.

Special Olympics is this Week: If you have time on Thursday, May 19, please join me as I cheer on hundreds of children (including many of our own students) at the Special Olympics being held at Cicero-North Syracuse High School starts at 9:30 a.m. with the parade beginning at 10:15 a.m.. This is always one of my favorite things to do each year and every competitor is an inspiration to us all!

Time to Vote on the School Budget: Lastly, please remember to vote on the school budget and for Board of Education members this Tuesday. It is very important to us to hear from as many community members as possible.Voting will take place from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the high school auditorium lobby.

Please remember that due to the state no longer providing waivers to use the old style of voting machines, we will be using the new voting system with the Board of Elections workers working the polls.

A special thank you to all of the volunteers who have worked the school budget vote over the years. We are planning a small celebration for them on vote day, including community member Hugh Stannard who is one hundred years young!

Thank you for your support and have a great week!

Chris