The week before winter break is always full of many different emotions. There is happiness coming from all of the students, staff, and parents who are fortunate enough to have things going their way. There is frustration and sadness from all of those students, staff, and parents who are coming to the end of a year in which they have lost a job, or maybe a loved one, or things just aren't working out the way they would like. Trickle in five week reports that are due out shortly. Stir.
This is the season, no matter what denomination is followed, if any, when the human element really shows. It is critical that all of us as community members recognize that it is what we do when people are not watching that could make all of the difference for a family in need. If you have the time, take the time to do the right thing for someone who needs it.
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the high school "Sleigh Ride" concert. What a treat. I always enjoy this concert because one of my good friends, Santa Claus, shows up to help conduct! Santa also brings snow that falls from the rafters and makes for a wonderful scene. The students bring their "A" game as they always do and perform all kinds of songs. This year they showed just how good they are by playing a seven minute piece by Tchaikovsky that was stunning. Nice work.
Right after break I will begin to post about the status of our budget building, redistricting study (remember the first public meeting is on January 5, at 6:00 p.m. at Stonehedge), and the sale of our wooded lot. I will also give you an update about SchoolTool, a piece of software that we will be using starting September 2012 that will give staff, students, and parents K-12 online or smartphone access to student grades, assignments, schedules, and other important pieces of student information. I am excited about this endeavor.
Please enjoy the week and happy holidays to all.
Chris
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
The ABCs of December....Athletics, Budgets, and Concerts
Normally I would take this space to write about individual and team accomplishments. However, while summarizing all of the successes of our fall athletics programs I came to the realization that there are too many to print in this column! Please take a few moments to travel to our District Facebook page to check out our athletes being honored for each sport.
There is also a great piece about Laura Leff, a cross country runner who received some accolades of her own. She can run about two and a half miles for every one that I can. In summary, many athletes made us and their families proud, and I am sure they would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to read about their successes and even leave them a note if you have the time.
We continue to closely monitor state and federal budget action (or inaction, I suppose) to make sure that we are in the best position possible to build a fiscally responsible budget. We are in the process of establishing a baseline budget in which we are estimating what the new 2% tax cap might mean. It is quite clear that we will not be able to restore any cuts that we have made, but what is not clear yet is how many more cuts may need to be made to fall within the regulations of the tax cap. Stay tuned.
If you are looking for a relaxing evening out, please join us this Thursday evening in our high school auditorium for our annual holiday concert. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. where our finest players will be singing and performing some of your favorite holiday tunes. Santa Claus has been known to be a guest conductor as well.
Have a great week!
Chris
There is also a great piece about Laura Leff, a cross country runner who received some accolades of her own. She can run about two and a half miles for every one that I can. In summary, many athletes made us and their families proud, and I am sure they would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to read about their successes and even leave them a note if you have the time.
We continue to closely monitor state and federal budget action (or inaction, I suppose) to make sure that we are in the best position possible to build a fiscally responsible budget. We are in the process of establishing a baseline budget in which we are estimating what the new 2% tax cap might mean. It is quite clear that we will not be able to restore any cuts that we have made, but what is not clear yet is how many more cuts may need to be made to fall within the regulations of the tax cap. Stay tuned.
If you are looking for a relaxing evening out, please join us this Thursday evening in our high school auditorium for our annual holiday concert. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. where our finest players will be singing and performing some of your favorite holiday tunes. Santa Claus has been known to be a guest conductor as well.
Have a great week!
Chris
Monday, December 5, 2011
White Lights, Big City
It was great to run into so many of you yesterday as I was going to almost every store in Camillus to find five boxes of white Christmas lights. Of course I had five strings of said lights in a box in the basement that worked perfectly last year, but then did not work when we tried to plug them in this year. Must have been gremlins. Anyway, I did find the lights at the last store I checked (of course) but thank you for being concerned! Decorating resumed and all was well by sundown.
I would like to thank all of the staff and students involved in decorating for and attending the winter semi-formal at the high school over the weekend. The decorations were fantastic (New York City theme), and as I walked down the hallway to the gym I thought I was walking along Fifth Avenue. Inside the gym were approximately 800 students, a DJ spinning tunes (probably playing them from an iPod, but spinning sounds cooler), and the New York City skyline. Very well done and an excellent time was had by all.
We are heading towards the new year which means budget planning (which I will discuss in a future blog) and Strategic Planning. If you are fortunate enough to have a job and your employer actually has a plan that they follow, then you know what it is like to work at West Genesee. We take our strategic planning very seriously with the initiatives and goals that wind up making their way into the plan are completed and are provided resources. It genuinely is our guiding document, and we will begin creating our new document right after the new year.
Our redistricting study is moving right along and our community focus group is coming together. The first official committee meeting will be held on January 5, at 6:00 p.m. in the Stonehedge Library. Members of the public are welcome to attend and will be given a chance to speak at the end of the meeting.
If you are looking for things to do. be sure to check out our website at http://www.westgenesee.org and check the District events calendar. The main events calendar has academic and fine art curricular events; and our athletic calender has all of our sporting events. All of the winter sports teams so far have had strong starts with the boys basketball team tipping off their season this Friday night at Fowler.
Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to address how we are handling all of the recent news related to the sexual abuse of children. While all of our staff are trained to spot and report abuse, there are times when we all go into a heightened awareness for signs of abuse. This is one of these times. When events like we have been reading and watching about unfold, conversations about the events naturally make their way onto buses, into hallways, cafeterias, locker-rooms, and classrooms.
Penn State and Bernie Fine are not topics included in the New York State Curriculum, so we do not teach or really even weigh in about what we think. We do however become very active listeners in case conversations that students are having turn into conversations that might require the help of counselors or building administrators. You should also listen at home to what your children are saying in the event that these events stimulate them to discuss experiences that they may have had. I wish we DID NOT have to think about or discuss such things, but unfortunately we do and we are ready and equipped to help.
Have a great week!
Chris
I would like to thank all of the staff and students involved in decorating for and attending the winter semi-formal at the high school over the weekend. The decorations were fantastic (New York City theme), and as I walked down the hallway to the gym I thought I was walking along Fifth Avenue. Inside the gym were approximately 800 students, a DJ spinning tunes (probably playing them from an iPod, but spinning sounds cooler), and the New York City skyline. Very well done and an excellent time was had by all.
We are heading towards the new year which means budget planning (which I will discuss in a future blog) and Strategic Planning. If you are fortunate enough to have a job and your employer actually has a plan that they follow, then you know what it is like to work at West Genesee. We take our strategic planning very seriously with the initiatives and goals that wind up making their way into the plan are completed and are provided resources. It genuinely is our guiding document, and we will begin creating our new document right after the new year.
Our redistricting study is moving right along and our community focus group is coming together. The first official committee meeting will be held on January 5, at 6:00 p.m. in the Stonehedge Library. Members of the public are welcome to attend and will be given a chance to speak at the end of the meeting.
If you are looking for things to do. be sure to check out our website at http://www.westgenesee.org and check the District events calendar. The main events calendar has academic and fine art curricular events; and our athletic calender has all of our sporting events. All of the winter sports teams so far have had strong starts with the boys basketball team tipping off their season this Friday night at Fowler.
Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to address how we are handling all of the recent news related to the sexual abuse of children. While all of our staff are trained to spot and report abuse, there are times when we all go into a heightened awareness for signs of abuse. This is one of these times. When events like we have been reading and watching about unfold, conversations about the events naturally make their way onto buses, into hallways, cafeterias, locker-rooms, and classrooms.
Penn State and Bernie Fine are not topics included in the New York State Curriculum, so we do not teach or really even weigh in about what we think. We do however become very active listeners in case conversations that students are having turn into conversations that might require the help of counselors or building administrators. You should also listen at home to what your children are saying in the event that these events stimulate them to discuss experiences that they may have had. I wish we DID NOT have to think about or discuss such things, but unfortunately we do and we are ready and equipped to help.
Have a great week!
Chris
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Missing Student
We were informed by the Camillus Police Department that a tenth-grade student, Brittney Ruggireo, ran away from her home on Sunday, November 27, and was last seen near the home of a cousin on the north side of Syracuse.
She is approximately 5'5" tall and weighs approximately 120 lbs. She has brown hair and was last seen wearing a pink Aéropostale® shirt, black sweatpants, and white sneakers. If you have any information, please contact the Onondaga County Sheriff's office at 425-2111.
I will update this blog if I hear of any new information.
Thank you for spreading the word.
Chris
She is approximately 5'5" tall and weighs approximately 120 lbs. She has brown hair and was last seen wearing a pink Aéropostale® shirt, black sweatpants, and white sneakers. If you have any information, please contact the Onondaga County Sheriff's office at 425-2111.
I will update this blog if I hear of any new information.
Thank you for spreading the word.
Chris
Monday, November 28, 2011
The Blur
I have heard the time between Thanksgiving and the New Year described as many things, but "the blur" seems to be the most appropriate. One blink of the eye and we will be in January. Testing, concerts, sports, holiday plans, get-togethers, dances, and white knuckle driving (keeping fingers crossed that this current weather holds up though) will test the will and patience of all of us. If we all take a moment to actually enjoy this time and put things into perspective, I think we will all stand a better chance of remembering that each day is a gift.
Our redistricting study is moving along at a strong pace now. Consultants Dr. Silky and Dr. Pole came to my office last Friday and collected a large box of information to sift through as they begin the process of completing the study. Every piece of school community information that you could possibly imagine was collected: census information, schedules, street maps, course catalogues, building condition surveys, building maps, and grade level configurations to name a few.
While they are collecting and analyzing the information, we are assembling a redistricting focus group consisting of two members of each of our PTA/PTO/PTSA and PTSO volunteer organizations, as well as three Board of Education members (Deb Simon, Neil Widrick, and Karen Fruscello). This 19 member task force will work with the consultants as the study is completed.
There will be approximately five public meetings where the focus group and consultants will meet and which will be open to the general public. The general public audience will be given an opportunity to comment at the end of each meeting. The first public meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, January 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the Stonehedge Library (each meeting will be held at a different building). As this date and time are solidified, I will keep you updated.
On another topic, the Board of Education is considering an offer for the wooded lot on West Genesee Street. Because the matter involves a real estate transaction, the conversations have been held in the Executive Session of our Board of Education meetings. When the time comes to accept an offer and move forward, that announcement and Resolution will be made at a public meeting. I do not have a timeline at this point for a recommendation and Resolution to be made public.
Our anti-bullying task force is meeting this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the large group instruction room at the high school. The task force will be finalizing our anti-bullying policy that meets the requirements of the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). The committee will then be screening a video that may be shown to high school students about the effects of bullying.
In the meantime, some of our students through English classes at the high school are reading a book titled, TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY, by Jay Asher. This book is a New York Times Bestseller and is about a girl who commits suicide because of bullying. Before her death, she sent tapes to thirteen people who she felt responsible for her decision. I am reading the book myself and it is gripping. It is one of the few books that I have seen a wide cross-section of students read from cover to cover. When it comes to bullying and helping students make better choices about words and actions, you need to blanket them with themes and topics that hit home, and this book certainly does that. As a parent of teenagers, I would consider the book a "must read".
On the athletic front, Laura Leff took 5th place at the Footlocker Northeast Qualifier Competition this past Saturday. Laura led the cross-county race through the half-way mark before relinquishing the lead on the infamous "Cardiac Hill." She ran one of the toughest 5k's of her career and was the only sophomore to qualify, and she finished it in 18:26.1. The top-10 runners advance to the national race in San Diego's Balboa Park on December 10. Laura also led the New York runners to first place to the states championship as they edged Pennsylvania by one point. Footlocker information can be accessed at: http://www.footlockercc.com/.
Have a great week and my next post will be in...December!
Chris
Our redistricting study is moving along at a strong pace now. Consultants Dr. Silky and Dr. Pole came to my office last Friday and collected a large box of information to sift through as they begin the process of completing the study. Every piece of school community information that you could possibly imagine was collected: census information, schedules, street maps, course catalogues, building condition surveys, building maps, and grade level configurations to name a few.
While they are collecting and analyzing the information, we are assembling a redistricting focus group consisting of two members of each of our PTA/PTO/PTSA and PTSO volunteer organizations, as well as three Board of Education members (Deb Simon, Neil Widrick, and Karen Fruscello). This 19 member task force will work with the consultants as the study is completed.
There will be approximately five public meetings where the focus group and consultants will meet and which will be open to the general public. The general public audience will be given an opportunity to comment at the end of each meeting. The first public meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, January 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the Stonehedge Library (each meeting will be held at a different building). As this date and time are solidified, I will keep you updated.
On another topic, the Board of Education is considering an offer for the wooded lot on West Genesee Street. Because the matter involves a real estate transaction, the conversations have been held in the Executive Session of our Board of Education meetings. When the time comes to accept an offer and move forward, that announcement and Resolution will be made at a public meeting. I do not have a timeline at this point for a recommendation and Resolution to be made public.
Our anti-bullying task force is meeting this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the large group instruction room at the high school. The task force will be finalizing our anti-bullying policy that meets the requirements of the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). The committee will then be screening a video that may be shown to high school students about the effects of bullying.
In the meantime, some of our students through English classes at the high school are reading a book titled, TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY, by Jay Asher. This book is a New York Times Bestseller and is about a girl who commits suicide because of bullying. Before her death, she sent tapes to thirteen people who she felt responsible for her decision. I am reading the book myself and it is gripping. It is one of the few books that I have seen a wide cross-section of students read from cover to cover. When it comes to bullying and helping students make better choices about words and actions, you need to blanket them with themes and topics that hit home, and this book certainly does that. As a parent of teenagers, I would consider the book a "must read".
On the athletic front, Laura Leff took 5th place at the Footlocker Northeast Qualifier Competition this past Saturday. Laura led the cross-county race through the half-way mark before relinquishing the lead on the infamous "Cardiac Hill." She ran one of the toughest 5k's of her career and was the only sophomore to qualify, and she finished it in 18:26.1. The top-10 runners advance to the national race in San Diego's Balboa Park on December 10. Laura also led the New York runners to first place to the states championship as they edged Pennsylvania by one point. Footlocker information can be accessed at: http://www.footlockercc.com/.
Have a great week and my next post will be in...December!
Chris
Monday, November 21, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving
I just took a look back at some of the entries that I have made over the past month or so. The budget and state nonsense withstanding, we have had A LOT of things to be thankful for. In our school world we celebrated many academic, athletic, and fine arts accolades. We also spotlighted several stories of our students, staff, and community doing extraordinary things outside of our four walls.
Simply put, we have it good. Please take the time this week to be thankful for family, friends, role models, and people who have helped you out. I know I will. Please accept my best wishes for a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving and I will post again in a week.
Chris
Simply put, we have it good. Please take the time this week to be thankful for family, friends, role models, and people who have helped you out. I know I will. Please accept my best wishes for a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving and I will post again in a week.
Chris
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Some News Stories to Follow
If you have read enough about the Penn State scandal, global budget pressures, and Lady Gaga, then consider the following three stories that could have a big impact on how we all do business:
1. First is a story out of the New York State Education Department where officials have agreed to support mandate relief for special education requirements. Special education expenses make up a large portion of school budgets, but the money goes to help service students with disabilities. Mandate relief in general has been a big topic for the past couple of years. There are over one hundred mandates for schools that cause money to be spent without any local control. It has been difficult to get the state to make changes to mandates related to reporting, paperwork processing, conducting a census, and other items that really do not impact children.
To see the Commissioner and Governing body at the State Education Department support changes in mandated regulations that directly impact students with disabilities makes me curious, and it should make you curious as well. If this is truly on the table and gaining traction, the questions should be "why now?" and "what don't we know about the state budget that is causing these changes to be seriously considered?" My guess is that we will learn these answers shortly. Something to keep an eye on.
@JohnKingNYSED via Twitter
2. New York State announced today that they will likely have a $350 Million structural deficit (in English it means that they will be short) by the end of their fiscal year. For all of us in the public sector (schools, towns, villages, and counties) what will this mean? The answer cannot be good. My feeling is that the sooner the state confirms this and tells all of us what this means to our organizations, the more time we will have to plan and make the changes that will be necessary to accommodate this shortfall.
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP5d0610e3ff5747758894ff93b19fb283.html
3. Lastly, there are five towns who are in disagreement with the county about snow plowing. At this point, the towns are refusing to plow roads for the county because the reimbursement rate is just not financially beneficial enough to take on the work any longer. In Camillus this means that the following roads will be plowed by the county instead of the Town:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/five_towns_wont_plow_county_ro.html
Van Buren Road and Armstrong Road South
Belle Isle Road
Gere Lock Road
Milton Avenue
Pottery Road and Armstrong Road North
Thomas Avenue
Thompson Road
Winchell Road
We have been assured that these roads will receive the same care from the county as they did from the town, and I am sure that they will. However, I think that the three topics that I have outlined show you how bad things are finally getting in New York State when decisions have to be made that potentially impact children with disabilities and general public safety. Not good, but telling in my opinion. My advice is to be part of the solution whenever possible.
Chris
1. First is a story out of the New York State Education Department where officials have agreed to support mandate relief for special education requirements. Special education expenses make up a large portion of school budgets, but the money goes to help service students with disabilities. Mandate relief in general has been a big topic for the past couple of years. There are over one hundred mandates for schools that cause money to be spent without any local control. It has been difficult to get the state to make changes to mandates related to reporting, paperwork processing, conducting a census, and other items that really do not impact children.
To see the Commissioner and Governing body at the State Education Department support changes in mandated regulations that directly impact students with disabilities makes me curious, and it should make you curious as well. If this is truly on the table and gaining traction, the questions should be "why now?" and "what don't we know about the state budget that is causing these changes to be seriously considered?" My guess is that we will learn these answers shortly. Something to keep an eye on.
@JohnKingNYSED via Twitter
2. New York State announced today that they will likely have a $350 Million structural deficit (in English it means that they will be short) by the end of their fiscal year. For all of us in the public sector (schools, towns, villages, and counties) what will this mean? The answer cannot be good. My feeling is that the sooner the state confirms this and tells all of us what this means to our organizations, the more time we will have to plan and make the changes that will be necessary to accommodate this shortfall.
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP5d0610e3ff5747758894ff93b19fb283.html
3. Lastly, there are five towns who are in disagreement with the county about snow plowing. At this point, the towns are refusing to plow roads for the county because the reimbursement rate is just not financially beneficial enough to take on the work any longer. In Camillus this means that the following roads will be plowed by the county instead of the Town:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/five_towns_wont_plow_county_ro.html
Van Buren Road and Armstrong Road South
Belle Isle Road
Gere Lock Road
Milton Avenue
Pottery Road and Armstrong Road North
Thomas Avenue
Thompson Road
Winchell Road
We have been assured that these roads will receive the same care from the county as they did from the town, and I am sure that they will. However, I think that the three topics that I have outlined show you how bad things are finally getting in New York State when decisions have to be made that potentially impact children with disabilities and general public safety. Not good, but telling in my opinion. My advice is to be part of the solution whenever possible.
Chris
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
