On the Lam: I have had several animal encounters during my career as a superintendent. Snakes and LARGE spiders in my office, a bobcat at a sports game, and my favorite, until last week, was a six point buck at my previous district who was scraping up against the front doors to the building, as if he was late to class.
Last week took the cake however, when I got a phone call that a small herd of sheep were grazing near the East Hill Elementary School playground. Yep. Sheep. Remembering that this isn't Ireland where that is probably pretty common, I spoke to the Camillus Police who indeed verified that a resident just outside of their jurisdiction had some sheep in their yard that "escaped" out into the larger community.
I have to give the Camillus Police, as well as several town employees, area law enforcement, and surrounding neighbors a lot of credit for their creativity. After they searched the Internet for a sheep "call", they took two long pieces of snow fence and slowly corralled them. A truck with an enclosed trailer scooped them up and they were taken to a wildlife refuge in the Watkins Glen area. I believe there may still be two more out there, but by now they have probably found sunglasses and are trying to fit in!
Annual String Festival: This picture probably best represents our string program; or all of our fine arts programs for that matter. We have tremendous student involvement in all of our performing groups and it is not unusual, as was the case on Thursday night during the annual string festival, for the conductor (in this case Mr. Mercer) to have to rise above the mass of students in order to do his job. If there was ever a picture to be used to advertise for the program, you are looking at it. Awesome!
Girls Volleyball Update: We are very excited and proud of our girls varsity volleyball team. Under the guidance of Mr. Martin, the team has performed very well this year and they have great student leadership. They have advanced to the sectional finals against Baldwinsville, on Wednesday, November 9 at Cicero North Syracuse High School starting at 8:00 p.m. If they were to win, it would represent the first time volleyball has been sectional champions since I have been here (2007). Best of luck to them!
Musical Season: Play and musical season is underway and I had a chance to catch a fantastic performance of The Little Mermaid at Camillus Middle School on Friday night. The set changes, costumes, music, and of course the actors and actresses were superb. Congratulations to all!
Veterans Day Celebrations: Our students are very aware, thanks to the dedication of our teachers and administrators, of the importance of our Veterans. With Veterans day approaching, I want all of you to know that our entire school family thanks Veterans for their service to our country.
We have several large Veterans Day celebrations, letter writing campaigns, donations to Veterans causes, and we also invite Veterans in to speak to our students. As long as I am "the boss" and I am sure well beyond that; any Veteran can consider West Genesee Central School District as a place where Veterans are respected, celebrated, and appreciated.
Thanks and enjoy the rest of the week-
Chris
Last week took the cake however, when I got a phone call that a small herd of sheep were grazing near the East Hill Elementary School playground. Yep. Sheep. Remembering that this isn't Ireland where that is probably pretty common, I spoke to the Camillus Police who indeed verified that a resident just outside of their jurisdiction had some sheep in their yard that "escaped" out into the larger community. 
