NorthStar Lights
North Syracuse Central School District's weekly e-news
Hello North Syracuse Central School District Parents, Guardians, Teachers and Staff,
This week I had a special invitation to go back to school...honestly, it was a wonderful experience and the highlight of my week. Several years ago, I participated in a performance interview for Mrs. Danielle Delfanian, who is the music and orchestra teacher at Smith Road Elementary School.
Mrs. Delfanian thought I would like to come back to her classroom to see how far her students have come. The first things that I noticed were that ALL of the students were enthusiastically participating and they were genuinely happy to be there.
Mrs. Delfanian noticed me observing and together with her students, decided that I needed to get involved with the group. She set me up on the orchestra's bass, instructed me on playing a few notes and gave me my cue to join. The orchestra began to play and I prepared for my grand entrance. Unfortunately, just as my cue came, I was distracted by another teacher saying hello and missed my signal.
The students of course got a kick out of my misstep but Mrs. Delfanian, in true teacher fashion, simply directed the group to try again. And we did. And we succeeded...together. That lesson was so meaningful to me. The students saw that we all make mistakes. But the important thing to learn is that the mistakes we make do not define us. As a group we concentrated on the task at hand, came together and made beautiful music.
In the next few weeks, we will be sharing details about a Strategic Plan designed to guide the District over the next 5 years. A large group has been working on the plan for more than a year now and I am excited to start sharing their work and begin involving the community. As a District, we have so much potential. It is only by working together that we will reach the stars. I humbly invite you to come back to school and learn more.
Sincerely,
Daniel D. Bowles, Superintendent of Schools
School Budget Vote and Board Member Election on Tuesday, May 17
Next Tuesday, May 17 is the NSCSD School Budget Vote and Board of Education Member election. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. District residents who live south of Route 481 vote at the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building (5355 West Taft Rd.) in North Syracuse and residents who live north of Route 481 vote at Cicero Elementary School (5979 Route 31) in Cicero. Vote details are available online at www.nscsd.org/budget.
C-NS Hidden Opponent Club Encourages Wearing Green on May 17
The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month and to help bring attention to the issue, Cicero-North Syracuse High School students involved with the school's Hidden Opponent Club are encouraging everyone to wear green on Tuesday, May 17.
C-NS Teacher Honored by Local Radio Station
On Wednesday, May 11, Cicero-North Syracuse High School Music Teacher Danielle Rausa was honored by 95X, a local radio station, for teaching eXcellence in the community. Rausa was nominated for recognition by more than 35 students, teachers and parents and as a result, won a pizza party for her students. Two of the stations DJs, Marty and Shannon, arrived at the school with enough pizza for 60 students, courtesy of Paladino's Cicero Pizza.
Click here to read the complete article and see more pictures online.
District to Host Special Olympics Track and Field Event – May 19, 2022
The North Syracuse Central School District is proud to be hosting this year's Special Olympics on Thursday, May 19, 2022. The Special Olympics Track & Field Event will take place at the Cicero-North Syracuse (C-NS) High School Athletic Complex. Students will begin arriving at C-NS at approximately 9:30 a.m. with a Parade of Athletes taking place to kick off the day's events, followed by athletic competitions until approximately 1 or 1:30 p.m. The rain date for the event is Thursday, May 26, 2022.
Student athletes are expected from several local school districts including Fayetteville-Manlius, Jamesville-DeWitt, Liverpool, Lyncourt, Marcellus, North Syracuse, OCM BOCES, Solvay and West Genesee.
Everyone is welcome to attend this fun-filled day! Special Olympics games promote fitness, coordination and cardiovascular improvement. Additional benefits include self-confidence, discipline and self-esteem. Please come and cheer on the athletes!
GRMS Students Apply Classroom Lessons to Real World
Students in Monica Fitzgerald's Reading Class at Gillette Road Middle School put their skills to use this week and they applied their learning and worked together to assemble a storage cart for their classroom. Mrs. Fitzgerald shared photos of the students at work and then of the finished product. She said, "The students used their reading skills and worked together. At one point they made a mistake and had to back track. It was a great lesson on problem-solving, working together and applying their reading skills."
Junior High Talent Show Returns on May 26
After nearly 37 months, the North Syracuse Junior High School Talent Show is back! Come on out to enjoy a live, in-person 15 act show, entitled Night at the Movies on Thursday, May 26th at 7pm at the NSJHS Auditorium.
Tickets are on sale now at the junior high and can be purchased during all lunch periods outside the entrance to the lunchrooms. General Admission tickets are $7 and Reserve seating is $10. Reserve seating enables patrons to pick their exact seat and skip any lines. Door tickets will be available for $10.
If you would like to purchase tickets from home, you can purchase them online by emailing your ticket order to ordering@4dproductions.org after checking the live updated seating chart found at www.4dproductions.org. Online orders will be filled on a first come first serve basis and be processed when payment is received through the secure website. There is a $1 fee per ticket to cover the credit card transaction fee. Online ordering will close at 11:59pm on May 25th. Tickets can be picked up the following day at the JHS (lunch ticket table) or at the Will Call ticket window the night of the show.
Marching Band Alumni Sought for 40th Anniversary Celebration
Calling all former Northstars, Northmen, and Golden Eagles!!!
It may still be spring, but it’s time to think ahead to the fall – specifically, to Saturday, September 17! That’s the date for Starburst and the 40th anniversary of the first CNS Northstars Marching Band.
Let’s celebrate this milestone with an alumni performance – the biggest and best yet!
NSEF Celebrates 20 Years of Giving - Grant Focus: Books for Counseling
As the North Syracuse Education Foundation (NSEF) celebrates 20 years of giving this year, the NSCSD is helping highlight some of the outstanding programs that have been made available because of their grants. The NSEF serves a simple, but comprehensive purpose: to ensure that North Syracuse Central School District students benefit from a quality education to maintain and enhance the level of excellence in North Syracuse schools. With the unfortunate reality of diminishing local and federal funding, the NSEF has filled the desperate need of stretching budgets by funding projects and materials to enhance students’ education.
In its 20 years of existence, the NSEF has funded more than $200,000 worth of programs that have directly benefited all students from grades pre-k through 12. The group’s mission is to sponsor activities and projects intended to enhance the education and cultural enrichment of students of the NSCSD. Programs and materials provided through the NSEF supplement those typically funded by the regular school budget.
Click on the QR code to learn more about the NSEF 20th Anniversary fundraising campaign.
UPK Registration Has Begun
The North Syracuse Central School District is now accepting applications for its Universal Pre-Kindergarten program and will continue accepting applications through Thursday, May 26, 2022. You may submit your application and required documents by email at: UPK@nscsd.org, by mail to NSCSD, Attn: UPK, 5355 West Taft Rd., North Syracuse, NY 13212 or completed applications may be dropped off at the District Office.
To ensure all families have an equal opportunity for our UPK program, there will be a lottery drawing for acceptance. Enrollment in the UPK program is NOT on a first-come, first-served basis. If the UPK program fills up before all names are pulled from the lottery, the remaining students will be placed on a waitlist and parents will be notified if a spot becomes available. Additionally, registrations will be accepted after May 27 but those students will not be included in the lottery. Registrations taken after the lottery period will be placed on a waitlist and parents will be notified if a spot becomes available.
NSCSD Students and Staff in the News
Cicero-North Syracuse High School senior Hala Aldwas was recently featured in an article for OCM BOCES as part of a story about students working to earn a New York State Seal of Biliteracy on their high school diplomas. Hala, who is fluent in Arabic and English, shared her story as a feature of the article featuring students from ten Central New York school districts. House I Principal Heather Puchta was also quoted in the story. Click here to read the article online.
North Syracuse Central School District
Email: webmaster@nscsd.org
Website: www.nscsd.org
Location: 5355 West Taft Road, Syracuse, NY, USA
Phone: (315) 218-2100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NSyracuseCSD/
Twitter: @NSyracuseCSD