To Be Young Again

Junior Prom: I must have checked the weather every ten minutes on Saturday as we closed in on the time of the Junior Prom. I cannot remember a time when we had a winter weather advisory on prom night. I mean, who does that? I had been talking with students all week about the prom, what kind of limo they were riding in, whose special car they were going to get to drive, where they were going to eat, what color tux and tie, and where dresses came from. 

Actually, during those conversations, I got a stomach ache when one of the girls told me that a prom "package" (shoes, limo, dress, makeup, tan, and hair) can cost over $1,000. I had boys, and one of them worked at Men's Wearhouse during high school so our yearly cash outlay was a LOT less for proms and balls; comparatively speaking. I think if I spent that on my outfits and hair and stuff, I would wear it for about two weeks following prom!

Anyway, at about 5:30 p.m. I realized that the temperatures were going to stay high enough until the overnight hours and the heavy rain was going to stay north of the prom site. We were golden! Actually, we were blue and gold. What a great night. Prom always makes me feel young again. The DJ was excellent and put the students through the paces. As students left at 11:00 p.m., they told me they were exhausted from dancing so much. It was REALLY a good time. Thank you to all of the student and staff volunteers, as well as our administrative team. I always sleep with one eye open on prom and ball night, and I did not get one call or text. Success!  Next up, Senior Ball in a few weeks.

Assessment Update: Earlier in the week, our students took the Grades 3-8 English Language Arts assessment. About 2,000 of our students tried the assessments online for the first time. On day one, we had some Internet issues followed by larger issues at Questar, the test site, so we pulled the plug and decided to start the assessments the second day (we have six days to administer a two-day assessment). On day two, we had some glitches, but nothing that prevented us from moving forward, and the third day was pretty smooth. I was disappointed, but not surprised, that there were some issues during this ramp up into digital testing. I hadn't read about a state that had a smooth launch, and we were no different. They will get everything resolved and I expect smoother delivery of the math assessments in the coming weeks. There are bigger fish to fry for sure.

School Security: We met with the architects on Friday to finalize our budget and plans for "Proposition 4" on the upcoming budget vote regarding school security. We had established a number of up to $2M (no increase in taxes) to make security updates including entryways, interior locks, cameras, and other hardening measures. To do "all of it", the cost is going to be $3.8M, so we had to decide which items need immediate attention with the $2M, and which can wait until our larger capital project in the fall.  

We decided that we will work on the entrances and the interior lock upgrades first, and then tackle camera and software upgrades in the next project. Pending approval in May, we will get started in late summer. I will be explaining in more detail this Tuesday when I present the budget in the West Genesee High School Large Group Instruction room at 7:00 p.m., and then again in the West Genesee High School Library on Wednesday during our regular Board of Education Meeting. I feel comfortable with the direction we are headed. It will meet our goals and keep our word as to what we said we were going to when we met as a large group back on February 28.

Hosting Outside Organizations: As you know, we are hosting the multi-denominational "Workcamp" for a week in late June at the high school, where close to 500 teens from all of the country will come to Camillus and work on the homes of senior citizens and the less fortunate.

We are also excited to be hosting the Syracuse chapter of the National Organization of Missing and Exploited Children. They do a very large bike ride each year to raise money and bring it back to our local youth. They are having their organizational meeting at West Genesee Middle School tomorrow, Tuesday, from 6:00-7:15 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

Community Open House-#CMSVotesforWomen: Tonight at Camillus Middle School starting at 7:00 p.m., you will be treated to a traveling active museum to celebrate the Women's Suffrage movement. Our librarian and assistant did an awesome job of securing artifacts and information. The students have learned a ton from it and it is worth the trip to see it. Click here for more information about the event.

Swing-In is a Success: Congratulations to our performers who crushed it in the 50th annual "Swing In" on Wednesday night. Professional musician Winston Byrd, loves to come to West Genesee and he definitely gets the most out of the students. Cool! Click here for more information about the event.

Spring Letter of Intent Signing: Congratulations also to Meredith Barrett, Carly Benson, John Bergan, John Howes, Karsyn Plis, Kevin Sheehan, Kevin Snow, Paul Stannard who signed their National Letters of Intent to further their academics and athletics at a Division I or II college. What always impresses me about these signing events is the overall grade point average of the students. It takes special people to perform at a high level in the classroom and on the field, and I wish them the best of luck in the future. Click here for more information about the event.

Reminder: April 20 is a Half-day for Students: Just a friendly reminder that Friday, April 20, is a half-day for students, as we conduct security and safety training. If you are traveling for spring break, travel safe and have fun! For those of us who are staying behind, lets hope we get some warmer weather!

Thanks for reading and enjoy the week!

Chris