Mid-Summer Check In

That Time of Year for Lacrosse Tournaments: In Wildcat country you know you are nearing the mid-point of summer when the boys and girls lacrosse programs hold their Annual John Pepper Tournaments. The girls tournament was held yesterday and Saturday and was once again a huge success. I can never pin down exactly how many people attend these tournaments each year, but it has to be in the neighborhood of 2,000-3,000 people over the two days.

On top of that, our players, as well as the players from the teams around the area, state, and east coast, get a chance to interact and be seen by many high level college coaches. It is a great event to see the school, boosters, and the community working together for the benefit of kids. The boys tournament is July 29-30.

Music is in the Air: I often tell the story about how tough Marching Band members were when I was walking behind the school about six or seven years ago and it was raining.  I did not expect to see anyone, and I was actually just walking outside in the rain because I had been cooped up all day in meetings and I had evening meetings about to begin. I heard the sounds of the drumline and through the moderate rain, and light fog, I saw the Marching Band practicing.  As I walked closer, there was Nick Baratta, Creative Director/Music Arranger/Instructor, who was soaked with his glasses completely fogged up. He just looked at me calmly and said, "how's it going?".

The Marching Band is as determined as ever to notch another Field Band Championship, and even though it has rained a lot this summer, you can hear the band out back...every night. The beat rolls on and if you listen closely, you can hear the dedication.

It has also been fun to poke my head into the various summer camps that are held through the Town of Camillus. We are very fortunate to have such a great partnership with the town, and I really enjoy getting to interact with the students outside of the school year and participate in some of their activities with them (with the exception of water balloons however!).

Money for Technology Comes Through:  I have been working on getting ready for my tenth opening day at West Genesee, as well as helping some of our new employees transition into their roles at West Genesee. We also received word that the state government FINALLY released our Smart Schools Bond Act grant allocation, meaning we can now purchase the 3,641 pieces of equipment that we have been wanting to get into the hands of students for some time.

I am also working on some of the support pieces that our students are going to need as we head into the fall. We had the most successful school year that I have had as a superintendent; under some challenging conditions. Continuing that success takes time and planning, but that is what the summer is for!

Board of Education Plans Ahead: Today is our Board of Education retreat. The cohesiveness and dedication of our Board of Education should not be taken for granted. None of the members have hidden agendas or egos; they serve to make things better for ALL students, and that makes my job easier.

I will check in again next week. Until then, enjoy the sunshine when you can and I will see you around!

Chris