RIDER REPORT

I cannot believe we have been back to school for almost a whole month! We are off to such a great start in so many ways!

During the first several weeks, much has happened on our ICC campus. The annual Unity Parade filled our track with students and staff from the Primary School, exemplifying the beauty and strength of togetherness.

The completion of the Capital Project coincided with the start of the new year, and I am just thrilled that so many community members came to our showcase to see firsthand the improvements and to go on tours led by our Middle and High School students.

And our teachers and staff simply have come together once again, filling hallways, classrooms, cafeterias, auditoriums, playgrounds, and our ICC campus as a whole.

We also welcomed many new staff members to the Ichabod Crane family. Below you will get to learn a little more about the teachers that joined our district. Spoiler alert: one even went skydiving!

Year-round, our students are hard at work, many receiving recognition for their many talents and aspirations. At this year’s Columbia County Fair, several Riders received accolades, including Mariah Kratt, who was named the fair’s School Queen, after the fair’s competition returned after a two-year absence; and several of our students received awards for their superb artwork.

We are very, very proud!

After the last few challenging years, it feels amazing to get back to a sense of normalcy, and to continue to face any adversity that comes our way united as an ICC family.

Students and staff across the district have put that unity into action by focusing on this quarter’s character trait of acceptance by holding an array of events, assemblies, and lessons so our students really learn the life-long importance and power of acceptance.

Did everyone see the video of Middle School Co-Principal Tim Farley and two MS staffers laying on the gym floor? If you haven’t, head over to our social media accounts (Facebook and our new Instagram – iccriders).

Acceptance will also be on full display during Spirit Week, which runs October 11-14. Keep reading to see what’s in store for those four days packed full of Rider Pride, acceptance and so much more! Please keep reading to see how you can donate your gently-used Rider swag, so everyone can sport some blue and white during Spirit Week.

We continue to stay informed about the Covid-19 pandemic, and update our page on our website whenever we get new information. Additionally, we know flu season is right around the corner, and we have disseminated information about how to fight that virus in school and at home.

As we welcome a new season, I am overjoyed to be back with our ICC community. All of our students are digging deep into our different curricula, and starting to learn new topics and subjects – from learning how to write letters and numbers to our senior counseling visits, where the 12th graders meet with their counselors to discuss their plans and aspirations after graduation.

Welcome back everyone, and welcome fall!

I am looking forward to seeing what this new season, this new chapter of ICC history, has in store for all of us.

Also in this issue:

• New teacher hires

• Acceptance and Spirit Week

• Columbia County Fair accolades

• What are you most excited for?

• Senior visits

• #ICYMI: the Capital Project Showcase

We are lucky to have many new staff members join the Rider family!

This month, we will spotlight the new teachers across the district, so you can get to know them a little better. Welcome again, we are so excited to have you here!

At the Primary School, we have three new teachers – Margaret Allen, Kelly Hindes and Nicole Canuteson.

Margaret is a second grade special education teacher. She decided to join the ICC family because she heard nothing but good things about the district. Previously, she worked in Avon, Connecticut, teaching second grade special education. She is from Bethlehem, and loves spending time with her goldendoodle, Finn, and reading!

After being a teaching assistant at ICC last year, Kelly was hired to be a first grade teacher. Before coming to ICC, she was a stay-at-home mom, and for eight years before that, she taught at Tamarac Elementary School. She is married with four children in the district. Her family has a farm with a lot of animals, including chickens, cows, turkeys, pigs and bees.

Nicole just started her first year as a special education teacher in first grade. Previously, she worked in the district for seven years as a special education TA in Kindergarten and first grade. She lives locally with husband and four children (two in college, two in high school). She loves to spend her weekends with her family and attending her son’s sporting events.

We have three new teachers at the Middle School – Jason Brewer, Rachael Imbert, and Kristyn McHugh.

Jason is a seventh grade special education teacher. He student-taught at Ichabod in 2007, and then worked for the district for three more years as a building substitute and as a year-long maternity leave replacement. Before ICC, he worked at Troy Prep Charter School as a social studies teacher for 11 years. He has a wife and two young sons. He loves to travel, cook and spend time outside with his family.

Rachael is a fourth grade special education teacher in the Elementary Wing. She sought out ICC because she was looking for a job closer to home that would allow her to be more involved in the community she teaches in. She previously worked for Mayfield Elementary School for 5 ½ years. Originally from Wisconsin, she lives in Latham, is married and has a rabbit named Gandalf. She enjoys traveling and went to England, Spain and Portugal in August for the first time.

Kristyn is a sixth grade ELA (English Language Arts) teacher. She had always heard many wonderful things about ICC, and the community of students, teachers, and families. ELA is her favorite subject to teach so she was very excited to hear about this opportunity. Before ICC, she taught at Taconic Hills CSD. She lives in Schodack with her family, and has two sons. She enjoys spending time with family, the beach, and boating during the summer.

We have one new teacher at the High School, Heather Scarano.

Heather is a special education teacher in the new self-contained work-based learning class. She used to do a lot of work-based learning in the past with students. She feels it is important for students to develop those skills and have those opportunities to learn within their own community. Previously, she worked in the Troy and Averill Park school districts. She is from Averill Park and is married with three children. When she’s not teaching, you can find her “ubering” her kids to their various sporting events and practices – #momtaxi as she calls it. She loves to decorate and spend time with her family. The craziest thing she has ever done was skydiving.

For the second consecutive year, all ICC staff and students have committed to a district-wide theme of Unity to promote the importance of togetherness and shared experiences across K-12. This quarter, the character trait that is being focused on is acceptance.

Since the start of the school year, teachers and staff have found unique, engaging and fun ways to teach our students why acceptance is such a critical character trait. District-wide, we are celebrating Spirit Week, Oct.11 to 14, where acceptance will be a key focus.

Students and staff across the district will celebrate the week with different themed days, including pajama day, wear your favorite color, creative hair, throwback Thursday and Rider Pride (blue and white). Keep an eye on our social media accounts that week for lots of pictures and videos! There will also be a pep rally, the homecoming football game and dance.

“School spirit is so important to the overall happiness and success of our students,” said Marcella Sanchez, Assistant Principal at the High School. “We want all of our students to feel like they are a part of a connected school community and having a vibrant Spirit Week is one way for us to create that.”

“School spirit is very important, not only for the students, but for our entire school community. It is a great way for the students to identify with each other as a fellow Rider - creating a common bond between all of us,” said Middle School Co-Principal Tim Farley. “#RiderPride isn’t just a hashtag, it’s all about having pride in yourself and as a Rider!

Additionally, the individual schools have held activities, including the annual Primary School Unity Parade and assemblies at both the Primary and Middle Schools, where Chris Poulos, a world champion athlete and youth motivational speaker, visited the students and staff. While demonstrating his amazing bicycle stunts, he shared his life lessons and spoke about core values, anti-bullying and acceptance.

At this year’s Columbia County Fair, several of our students received accolades for their hard work at Ichabod Crane.

Mariah Kratt, now a senior, was named the fair’s School Queen Contest at the end of August – after the competition returned after a two-year hiatus.

The contestants come from the area’s six public high schools. This popular event, with a roster of active and talented young women, marks a longstanding Columbia County Fair tradition that has continued for more than 80 years. They competed for the title and top prize of $500; all others received $300 each. Mariah also appeared in the Firefighters Parade on Sept. 3.

Mariah lives in Stuyvesant, and has experience in student government and National Honor Society. She is very interested in science, and is also a member of the Varsity Track and Field Hockey teams. In her free time she enjoys participating in 4H, hiking, horseback riding, and kayaking.

Congratulations again, Mariah!!

Several ICC K-12 art students participated in the fair this year and the show looked amazing!

Ichabod Crane placed Second Place in the Grades 6-12 Category. Additionally, two students, senior Darren Moon, and freshman Madison Paul, won Artist Awards. These awards are given to individual works of art that the judges feel are above the quality of school work.

Darren’s piece was titled, “Study of Hand,” and was made with charcoal. Madison’s piece was a large gorilla made from paper mache and paints.

Congratulations, Darren and Madison!

At the beginning of the school year, our new Communications Specialist, Mackenzie Rigg, went to all the district’s schools to ask students one simple question: what are you most excited about for the upcoming year?

She recorded their answers, and created videos that she posted on Facebook and Instagram. She interviewed a kindergartener, third grader, fourth grader, eighth grader, freshman and senior – the youngest and older in each building.

Here are some excerpts from what they said:

• Olivia, fourth grade: “I am excited to have more responsibilities and to have a Chromebook and homework that I have to complete, and to be in a different school building.”

• Emma, kindergarten: “... doing some of the centers annnnd reading books, ‘cause I love reading books … I love books!”

• Nate, senior: “I think I’m most excited about picking a college to go to, I’m still undecided … and obviously the sports teams and winning.”

Check out the videos (actually called reels) on both our Facebook and Instagram pages!

It might only be October, but our counseling staff knows that it is imperative now to help seniors and their families prepare for life after graduation, which could mean college, work, the military, continuation in different trades, and more.

The Class of 2023 have started meeting with their counselors to discuss what they need to do.

For Delaney, she plans on going to college to study biology and play basketball. Her mother, Melissa, attended the meeting, where Danielle Rosa, one of the high school’s counselors, had a very detailed and individualized discussion with the mother and daughter.

Delaney received a folder with all the information she needs to complete the college application process, from requesting letters of recommendation to the process of applying for financial aid. Delaney and Melissa were able to ask questions, and to have a reciprocal conversation with Ms. Rosa to help them all understand what needs to be prioritized going forward.

“The college application process can be an overwhelming process and after meeting with Ms. Rosa it was nice to know that we are on track regarding her recommendations,” Melissa said.

"The entire meeting was informational and Delaney and I gained some valuable information moving forward. We are feeling confident …and a tad bit stressed … to get everything in order for her college applications.”

#In Case You Missed It, ICC students, staff, administrators, and the community celebrated the completion of our Capital Project with a showcase in September.

The celebration included a ribbon cutting with two of our seniors, the school board president Matthew Nelson, and Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Guntlow. Following the ribbon cutting, Middle and High School students gave many tours of the new transformed spaces.

District voters approved the $27 million project in December 2018. Contracts were awarded to CSArch, as the project’s architects; and Turner Construction, as project manager. Representatives from both companies attended the showcase.

Also that night, the playground at the Primary School was packed with children and families at the annual Back-to-School Picnic; and several of our sports teams had competitions that evening, including the Varsity Boys Soccer under the lights.

The campus was alive with Rider Pride!

Donate your Rider swag!