Lessons Learned

Great Role Models: I tell people all the time that if they want to see one of the best Girls Basketball coaches to go watch a Coach Spreter Varsity Girls Basketball practice, or watch him work with girls of all ages in summer camp. He just gets it, plain and simple. At the same time, the young women who have played for him have risen to the challenge of being top role models and athletes.

While they did end up losing in the New York State Final Four (foul trouble proved to be too great to overcome), it was interesting to watch social media reaction to each post about the game while it was in progress. Retweets, favorites, and quotes were strong; people from all over were invested in this team. We are very proud of them for how they represent themselves, our school, and our community. They were the last team we had still in play for the winter and now if the snow ever melts, we can start spring competition!

Students Honor Students: Last Wednesday was National Student Walkout Day and as I had previously mentioned, our students planned an assembly outside for 17 minutes to recognize and remember the 17 people who were killed in Parkland, Florida. Well over half of our high school students participated in the event and it was incredibly well run, and very powerful. I appreciate the media for respecting our wishes to let it be a student event and to let them show emotion away from cameras.

Seventeen student leaders read one-minute bios of each of the victims and you could have heard a pin drop. To be respectful to the students, I have only shared this one picture so you can see the size and organization of the event while allowing their privacy and emotions to be preserved. What did we learn from this?  We learned that students can express themselves in a peaceful, non-disruptive way when they work well with the adults in the school. That mutual respect is something that continues to help us to grow as a school and community.

Upcoming Events: There are some important dates to remember. The first is March 27. We will be holding a public forum through our West Side Support Network and the purpose will be to feature speakers and resources about substance use disorder and also speakers and resources for mental wellness. Our two keynote speakers are Dr. Ross Sullivan from Upstate University and Kristin Botwinik, who is a highly regarded Clinical Social Worker who works with children.

Additionally, the Prevention Network is going to conduct a seminar titled "Hidden Mischief" where they have created two "bedrooms" full of warning signs of substance use and mental wellness. This seminar requires a pre-sign up (please email Shannon Coholan at scoholan@westgenesee.org to register) and it came to us highly recommended, so don't miss out! At right is the flyer with the event information, and I hope to see you there.

The other date is April 3 at 7:00 p.m. in the West Genesee High School Large Group Instruction Room. Our School Safety Committee is going to be assembled that night and will be presenting who they are and what they do to all of our PTO/PTA/PTSA and SEPTSA groups. This meeting is scheduled as an outcome from our February 28 public forum on safety. Hope to see you there.

Thanks and enjoy the week!

Chris