Cortland Enlarged City Schools
District Newsletter, May 2023
Weekly News Blast
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Cortland BOCES Students Compete in SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a nationwide club where student members practice personal, workplace, and technical skills through educational programs, events and competitions. Students can participate in competitions to showcase their technical and employability skills. Competitions occur in areas of cosmetology, health occupations, early childhood education, the medical field, culinary arts, baking, auto collision repair, heavy machinery, cabinet making, electrical, masonry and more. Many students competed locally in February at SUNY Morrisville. Five students moved on to complete at the state championships held at the NYS Fairgrounds in April. Their names and area of competition are listed below.
Tyerra Blake: Cosmetology, Competition- Nail Care
Anialae Herbert: Health Occupations, Competition- Nurse Assisting
Elizabeth Hurd: Early Childhood Education, Competition- Early Childhood
Ryleigh Larkin: New Visions Medical, Competition- Health Knowledge Bowl
Kortney Slavick: Early Childhood Education, Competition- Job Demo
We are so proud of all five students representing Cortland at the State Level. We also want to celebrate Elizabeth Hurd and Ryleigh Larkin who became State Champions, and are headed to Nationals in Atlanta, GA this spring!!
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NYSSMA festival
On March 25, students from Cortland City Schools participated in the state-wide music festival, sponsored by NYSSMA. Students, levels 1-6, prepare and perform musical pieces as soloists or in small ensembles (duets, trios, etc.) Musicians memorize up to 12 scales and sight read small passages of music in front of a NYSSMA rated judge. They are then given both complementary and constructive feedback, and a score. Levels 1-4 are rated on a 28 point scale, and levels 5-6 receive grades based on a 100-point possible score. The following students participated in the NYSSMA festival this year at Cortland Junior/Senior High School.
Grades 5-6 Orchestra Students:
Reid Kline, Sadie Marshall, Johanna Tagliavento, Makayla Brown, Anneke Coats
Grades 7-12 Orchestra Students:
Reagan Dubetsky, Gabi Hooko, Gia Perfetti, Alina Smith, Thomas Barnes, Olyvia Cohen, Amelia Fisher, Quintin HIll, Dot Kilmer, Maddy Nightingale, Sai Patel, Sophia Ramiza, Isaac Schmohe, Juliana Zarcone
Grades 5-6 Band Students:
Emmaleigh Eckstrom, Kaylee Loveall-Whittin, Maggie Ramiza, Reid Kline, Miles Bacigalupi, Daniel Caragher, Abby Martin, Autumn Horton
Grades 7-8 Band Students:
Cooper George, Casslyn Elliot, Anelia Corbin, Cara Partigianoni, Michaela Cullen, Cole Hudson, Emelia Johnson, Lealynn O’Brien, Diana Gudz, Hayden Lynch, Mason Coats, Joshua Veintimilla
Grades 9-12 Band Students:
Adam Lemon, Gino Barnes, Liz Slavick, Gracie-Jo Homza, Rileigh Madden, Gaven Jean- Baptiste, Christian Compton
The following students will be attending the festival in Johnson City in May for all-state auditions.
Matthew Casey, Kaleb Krissel, Gia Perfetti, Annie Barnes
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ESports Nationals Invite!
In the last week of April the Cortland Esports team finished second in the eastern region competition. After the competition, PlayVs contacted the team inviting them to compete in the National PlayVs Cup. The team will be competing through the month of May, against 16 of the best teams in the country. The winning team will be awarded $4,000.
The team is very excited to be in this national competition! GO PURPLE TIGERS! Updates soon!
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Barry Primary Read-a-thon
To promote literacy, Barry Primary is participating in a Read-a-thon from May 1st until May 19th. Classrooms have set their own read-a-thon goals, and students have been given book trackers, allowing them to keep a record of what they are reading in school, and at home. Prizes provided by the Barry Primary PTO include: Popsicles will be provided at the next ROAR party for the grade level that reads the most books. To the grade level team who reads the most, bubbles will be provided at the next ROAR party. The class that reads the most will get an ice cream party (date to be determined by the teacher). Assorted prizes will be given to individuals who read at home. We are all super excited for this event! We hope to have a great turn out, as well as make this an annual event. Our slogan is "All Reading Counts!"
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Johanna Ames donates $1,000 to the JH SEL Committee
Johanna Ames, owner of Ames Linen, donated $1,000 to the JH SEL Committee. Thank you, Johanna, for your generous donation! These funds will be beneficial to our JH students, and their efforts to show ROAR behavior each and every day.
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Spring Concerts
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Kindergarten Registration
Now is the time to register your child for kindergarten. To be eligible:
- Child MUST be 5 years of age on or before December 1
- Children who turn 6 years of age before December 1 MUST be registered
Please call 607-758-4106, or email registrar@cortlandschools.org, to set up an in-person registration appointment. Registration packets can also be found by visiting our website:
https://www.cortlandschools.org/teacherpage.cfm?teacher=2614.
Once your child is registered you will be contacted by Anna Young, secretary at Barry
Primary, to set up a screening appointment.
Kindergarten registration is an exciting time for both parents and children! We look forward
to working with you.
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Notes from the Board of Education
The CECSD Board of Education meeting dates and times are posted on the district website and are open to the public and all are welcome. The highlights below include some of the topics that have been discussed at the most recent meeting:
Junior High School Presentation
The May Board of Education meeting was hosted by the Junior High School and student string musicians opened the presentation with their performance. A powerpoint presentation that followed highlighted other areas of the music program, sharing videos of different musical groups sharing their talents. Staff spoke about the SEL experience in the Junior High and also highlighted the great work of student organizations such as Student Senate and Art Club. Thank you to all for sharing the wonderful learning opportunities for students in our Junior High School!
Tiger Paw Recipients
At the May 9 meeting, Kim Hay presented a Tiger Paw to Jonathan Herr for his work with students on many different levels of learning. Mrs Hay shared that Mr Herr has exceeded expectations for the Maker Space from high tech 3D printing, robotics, weather balloons and geocaching to low tech crafts and cardboard projects. Jon listens to what the students want to do and helps them make it happen.
Budget Hearing:
Superintendent Edwards and Kris Williamson, Business Administrator, conducted the budget hearing just prior to the opening of the BOE meeting. Guest Jennifer Graney from the Cortland Free Library also presented regarding the library budget resolution. The budget votes as well as school board member elections take place Tuesday, May 16. Please exercise your right to vote at your designated polling place. Your voice matters.
Language other than English:
As part of the normal program review cycle, the committee on Language other than English (LOTE) presented to the BOE on their observations and recommendations. Some of the insight shared included returning to a two year study of the first level of a language during 7th and 8th grade as well as the idea to offer American Sign Language (ASL) as a third language option in the future.
BOE Committee Meetings:
Sub committees of the board meet Tuesday evenings from 5:30-7:30 at the Kaufman Center and are, as always, open to the public. The next set of meetings will take place on Tuesday, May 23 in the Kaufman Center.
The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 13 at 6:30pm in the Junior Senior High School Auditorium.