NorthStar Lights

Hello North Syracuse Central School District Parents, Guardians, Teachers and Staff!

Next Tuesday, residents of the NSCSD will have the opportunity to vote on the District's $180,258,175 million budget proposal for the 2021-2022 school year. Polls will be open on Tuesday, May 18 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Polling will take place at Cicero Elementary School (5979 Route 31, Cicero) for residents who live NORTH of Route 481, and at the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building (5355 W. Taft Rd., N. Syracuse) for residents who live SOUTH of Route 481. Please take a moment to learn more about the proposed budget by going online to www.nscsd.org/budget and also be sure to vote next Tuesday.

Also next week, with vaccines now available to those age 12 or older, the County will hold an additional vaccination clinic in the NSCSD. The clinic is for students and families to receive their FIRST dose vaccination. It will take place at Cicero-North Syracuse High School (6002 Route 31, Cicero, NY 13039) from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 18. Eligible students (age 12 +) and their family members from schools other than C-NS can participate in the clinic as long as they have the printed and signed consent form, provide their own transportation and stay with their child during vaccination. Click here if you're interested in learning more about that opportunity.

As always, thank you for your continued support. Enjoy your sunny weekend!

Sincerely,

Daniel D. Bowles, Superintendent of Schools

This week, the North Syracuse Central School District celebrated Teaching Assistant Appreciation Day. The District has approximately 145 teaching assistants in various classrooms throughout its school buildings, supporting thousands of students, teachers and staff. Teaching assistants provide instructional support and work closely, sometimes one-on-one, with students with special needs. The work these amazing people do every day is critical to helping the District run smoothly.

Please take a moment to learn about our Shining Star Teaching Assistant, Heidi LaVere by clicking here.

Heidi LaVere, a Teaching Assistant at North Syracuse Junior High School, is this week’s Shining Star for the North Syracuse Central School District!

Being a proud graduate of the North Syracuse Central School District, Heidi LaVere says she feels privileged to work for the District she loves. “It is an honor to be able to work in a [place] where so much is given to this great community,” Heidi wrote.

Heidi was nominated by Shaun Tuper, one of her 9th grade students at the Junior High. In his nomination, Shaun wrote, “Mrs. LaVere is a valuable teaching assistant. She is interested in the needs of all students and is very flexible with the schedule. She cares about each of us as an individual and encourages us to be the best at what our strengths are.”

When Heidi learned that Shaun had nominated her for recognition, she was honored and humbled. She went on to express her mutual admiration and respect for the young man. Heidi said, “Shaun makes me feel like my job is so easy and he’s such a joy to work with. I have been so very blessed over the years to have had the opportunity/experience to work with him and so many special students.”

Click here to read more about Heidi.

Each May is designated "Better Hearing & Speech Month" (BHSM) by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. BHSM provides an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders and the role that we all play in combating the disorders. This year's theme of "Building Connections" was put on display in the hallways of the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building thanks to the efforts of NSCSD staff, Noelle Raymond and Joanne McCracken. The pair worked with students and staff to create messages of awareness and spent time at the office building creating colorful and informative displays.

This past week, the Universal Service Administrative Company launched an emergency broadband benefit program, which provides a temporary discount on monthly broadband for qualifying low-income households. The program, which is overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), began accepting applications on May 12. Click here to learn more and see if you may qualify.

In March, the Centers for Disease Control issued updated guidance for schools operating around COVID-19 and the NSCSD updated their reopening documents. If you have not had a chance to review the changes, please click here to see the NSCSD's April addendum to the reopening plan.

New York State recently announced a new investment in state-administered Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) programs. UPK refers to state government-funded preschool programs that are free for those who attend them. The UPK expansion funding is limited to full-day slots for four year old students. School districts will be required to submit an application and proposed budget to NYS shortly to qualify for expanded funding.

To help the North Syracuse Central School District submit a realistic application and budget, we need to determine the interest of our residents for full-day UPK. If you, or someone you know living within the North Syracuse Central School District limits, is interested in UPK, please click here to complete a brief survey. The survey will be open through May 24, 2021. Families are asked to complete the survey even if they have already registered for PreK.

The North Syracuse Central School District is currently accepting registrations for its North Syracuse Early Education Program (at Main Street) for the summer of 2021 and 2021-2022 school year. Registration for the state-funded Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program

Did you know that the North Syracuse Central School District's Athletics Department has a weekly email newsletter? If you'd like to subscribe to the newsletter, click here to fill out the necessary form. To view this week's athletic newsletter, click the download link below.

The North Syracuse Central School District produces a weekly digital newsletter, "NorthStar Lights," to share important information and good news with NSCSD families and staff. Parents and staff members automatically receive the newsletter through SchoolMessenger.

Grandparents, community members and all friends of the NSCSD are welcome to subscribe by providing an email address by clicking here. Newsletters are emailed each Friday when school is in session. Help us share the good news and the great things happening in the NSCSD!

Because this school year has been so different, it has been challenging to get new photos for our District website at www.nscsd.org and other publications. So...we need your help! We would love to share your photos of at home school environments. If you're willing to share, please send your high quality images using the link below. We'll be using your photos in this newsletter and other publications throughout the school year. Additionally, high resolution, horizontal photos will be considered for the District website. If you'd like to share pictures, please email them to our Communications Officer, Laurie Cook at lcook@nscsd.org or click here to upload them.

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