NorthStar Lights

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

Earlier this month I was at Roxboro Road Middle School during student arrival. As I was walking into the building that day, I was feeling a bit low because of the cold weather. My mood quickly improved though as the atmosphere of the school took over. There is a group of staff playing upbeat music, dancing, singing and warmly greeting each and every student. While some students simply acknowledge the staff and head on to their school day, others break into smiles, some run up and give hugs, high-fives, fist-bumps and others shout happy greetings back. I've even seen some students join in the dancing and singing. The positivity is inspiring and contagious. It is hard to feel low when you're surrounded by upbeat people and activity - and that is the point. Throughout the school, messages of kindness fill the hallways and classrooms. Roxboro Road Middle School is a shining example of how integrating kindness into culture matters.

Next Friday our students will begin their holiday recess so today is the final Friday of school for the year 2022. The beginning of the school year has flown by but I think it has been a great start to the year. Most recently we passed a capital project referendum with more than 60% voter approval. I can't thank you enough for your support. I'm incredibly grateful to live and work in a community that supports education. Thank you NSCSD!

Speaking of thanks, I also want to extend mine to those of you who gave input during our communications audit with Capital Region BOCES. We've spoken with the auditors since the focus groups and interview sessions ended and they've informed us that they received a lot of great feedback. They're in the process of compiling a report they intend to provide us with sometime around the end of January or beginning to middle of February. Once we receive their results and recommendations, we'll be sharing them with our Board of Education and the community.

When we return to school in January, we'll be sharing more information with you about some exciting things beginning in the NSCSD. We have a lot going on so we're planning to publish a special District Dispatch newsletter early in the new year so we make sure to get to everyone in the community. In the meantime, I wish you a peaceful and happy holiday season. Enjoy your time with family and friends.

Sincerely,

Daniel D. Bowles, Superintendent of Schools

Did you know that the North Syracuse Central School District uses a program called MySchoolBucks for student meal accounts? With the program, families can create a free account to check their child’s meal balance, see their meal activity at school and set alerts for low balances. Payments can also be made through the system for a small fee.

Enrollment in the program is easy!

1. Go to www.MySchoolBucks.com and register for a free account.
2. You will receive a confirmation email with a link to activate your account.
3. Add your students using their school name and student ID.
4. Make a payment to your student's accounts with your credit/debit card or electronic check.

After the holiday recess, the NSCSD will begin sending notifications to families of students with negative meal balances as in previous years. Families with questions about the meal program, can contact the food services department at (315) 218-2176.

North Syracuse Central School District voters have approved a capital project referendum for $61.2 million including safety & security and infrastructure improvements throughout the District, along with the installation of a multipurpose turf field for athletic teams. 786 votes were cast, with the final tally being 485 yes votes and 301 no votes for a 61.7% voter approval. The majority of the project will be covered by state aid, reducing the tax levy increase to less than ½ percent or approximately $9 annually on a home valued at $100,000.

“Many thanks to all of our community members who came out to vote on this important project. We’re grateful for a community that supports all aspects of education and extracurricular opportunities for students,” said Superintendent of Schools Dan Bowles. “Now, more than ever, we need to make every effort to ensure that our schools are safe environments for our students and staff and that our students have opportunities to compete on high quality athletic fields.”

Additional details about the project implementation and timeline will be announced at upcoming Board of Education meetings and will be made available on the Capital Projects website.

The North Syracuse Central School District is excited to announce that between 200 to 300 NSCSD students will have the opportunity to attend Chip Camp this June thanks to a grant from the Micron Foundation, awarded to the North Syracuse Education Foundation (NSEF) on November 30.

Sponsored by the Micron Foundation, Chip Camp is a day camp filled with hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) activities related to semiconductor manufacturing and engineering jobs. Chip Camp attendees will learn and experience what engineers and scientists do every day in a semiconductor company. Thanks to the grant funding, the camp will be offered at no cost to 7th, 8th, and 9th grade NSCSD students.

The North Syracuse Central School District has been meeting with Micron officials since the company announced their plans to build their largest ever semiconductor plant at a site in Clay, located completely within the North Syracuse Central School District’s boundaries.

The Cicero-North Syracuse High School Optimist Club is collecting nonperishable food items and hats, mittens and scarves for children. The Club is asking for the community's help by bringing these items to the high school and asking that they be brought to the school's Career Center so that children have food and winter hats, mittens and scarves for the holidays.

Again this school year, the North Syracuse Junior High School Library hosted their very own Project Runway! This is the second year that Ms. Bellucci's Fashion 9 classes have been tasked with creating beautiful wedding dress designs out of toilet paper, mimicking the popular show, Project Runway. Students and staff at the junior high then had the very difficult task of voting on their favorites.

The results are in and the school is proud to announce winners from the four categories of Best Overall Design, Best Use of Fabric, Best Execution & Detail, and Most Original Design. Don't miss congratulating the winners and participants on a job well done for this exciting event showcasing their talent and hard work.

Click here to see pictures of the winners and their creations.

Winter weather is sure to arrive in Central New York soon and the North Syracuse Central School District wants to remind our families and community members of some important snow day, delay and early closing information.

ParentSquare - ParentSquare is a unified app for school communication so parents and guardians can receive all announcements from the District, their children’s schools and teachers in one place, with options to specify how and when parents/guardians are notified. NSCSD students, parents and employees are automatically connected to ParentSquare through our school and employee information systems.

Community members and NSCSD partners can also sign up for the system in order to receive District Alerts. If you would like to receive messages from the District, simply go to https://www.parentsquare.com/community_signups/c20fecde-1b97-4e1b-9d37-ac66a49208ac/new and enter your name and email address. You can opt to receive messages in a variety of categories including “Emergency Alerts” for school closures and weather-related delays and dismissals.

In case you missed the announcement last month, Karen Seamans was named the November Education of the Month by WCNY Classic FM Radio. After station representatives made a surprise announcement to Karen in front of her classroom, she and her students were invited to the station's studio for a special presentation. Click here to see the video on YouTube.

The Station's Music Educator Awards Program began this September as part of their 50th Anniversary celebration. Of the award program, Ron Lombard, the station manager for WCNY Radio Classic FM, said, "We felt strongly that it’s our place as Central NY’s only classical music station to lead the market in drawing more attention to the hard and wonderful work being done every day by music teachers throughout our coverage area."

Click here to read the November article online.

The North Syracuse Central is hiring bus drivers. If you're interested in learning more, mark your calendars for a job fair on January 21. Click here to view the flyer on Peachjar or click here to download an application.

The North Syracuse Education Foundation is celebrating 20 years of giving in 2022 and wants to use the final weeks of the year to get the word out about the importance of programs that have been made available to NSCSD students 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.

Scan the QR code above to make a donation to the NSEF 20K for 20 Years fundraiser.

Onondaga County will again be offering asymptomatic COVID testing for NSCSD students, families and staff. Anyone that was signed up last year will only need to make sure that the school listed as where their child attends is current. Directions to follow can be found here.

Those who did not participate last year but would like to be tested this year, will need to create an account and a testing profile for their child on https://app.clarifi-covid-19.com/register

If you are no longer interested in asymptomatic covid testing, please change your child’s testing profile to "Opt Out Of Onondaga School Testing" so that their name no longer appears on the school's list. Direction for opting out can be found here.

We love to share photos and videos from our students, families and teachers. If you're willing to share, please do! 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.

Natalie Walters, our Restorative Practices Specialist at Roxboro Road Elementary School, shared a picture of some adorable and meaningful work from Alissa Mirizio's and Alexandra Miner's 2nd grade class. She said, "The students worked together to share what each brings to their school community with this neat "cup of kindness" activity. Students took time in their circles to share special skills and attributes that heighten and brighten their classroom climate. Not only is this low level engagement esteem building, but it lends towards student voice in our meaningful relationships that are always evolving!"

Bridget Cooley, the Technology Assistant at Roxboro Road Elementary School, shared pictures of staff at the school getting in the Christmas spirit by turning themselves into elves!

Danielle Barrett is an Instructional Technology Coach who works with students and teachers at several of our schools to help with classroom technology integration. She shared pictures of "Hour of Code" at Roxboro Road Middle School. Hour of Code is an introduction to computer science using fun tutorials through which anyone can learn the basics. Hour of Code is available year-round, but every December, our classes join millions of others around the world celebrating Computer Science Education Week with focused Hour of Code Instruction. Danielle shared pictures of the 5th grade students in Mrs. Nelson and Miss Finger's classes taking part in the activity.

#nsbrightertogether

Thank you to Stacy Peffley for sharing her great pictures from Cicero Elementary School's Holiday Shoppes this past Monday. The evening was filled with shopping, caroling, cookies, hot cocoa and gift wrapping. Stacy said the event is a great way for students to purchase gifts for their loved ones during the holiday season. There was a great vendor turnout, many of whom are students and parents at the school! #nsbrightertogether

Congratulations to the Cicero-North Syracuse High School students recently named to 2022 All-CNY Fall Sports Teams. Selected for All-CNY Boys Volleyball Team: Senior Reece Congel, Junior Carter King, Senior Joe Seliger and Junior Jack Waite. Additionally, Joe Seliger was chosen as a finalist for MVP. The winner of that award will be announced at the annual All-CNY Sports Awards in June. Click here to read the article on Syracuse.com.

Selected for All-CNY Girls Volleyball Team: Senior Madeline Howell. Click here to read the article on Syracuse.com.

Selected for the All-CNY Girls Cross Country Team: Senior Marissa Navarra, Sophomore Gabby Putman and Senior Kate Putman. Additionally, Kate Putman was chosen as a finalist for MVP. The winner of that award will be announced at the annual All-CNY Sports Awards in June. Click here to read the article on Syracuse.com.

Congratulations to this year's Section III Girls Soccer League All-Stars from Cicero-North Syracuse High School! This year's 1st Team selections include: Junior Emilee Rio, Senior Grace Engle and Senior McKenna Slate. 2nd Team selections are: Sophomore Katalina Lawrence, Sophomore Maya Germain and Senior Alison Dimitrijevski. Honorable Mentions are: Senior Kori Toms and Junior Meghan McGrath.

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 learn more.

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 ParentSquare. Grandparents, community members and all friends of the NSCSD are also welcome to subscribe. Newsletters are emailed each Friday when school is in session. Help us share the good news and the great things happening in the NSCSD! Click here to learn more.

DECEMBER 19: Board of Education meeting at 6 PM at the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building (5355 West Taft Rd.) in North Syracuse. If you'd like to attend the meeting in-person, you must pre-register by Friday, December 2. Please email jherrera@nscsd.org to attend.

DECEMBER 23-JANUARY 2: Schools Closed for Holiday Recess

JANUARY 9: Board of Education meeting at 6 PM at the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building (5355 West Taft Rd.) in North Syracuse. If you'd like to attend the meeting in-person, you must pre-register by Friday, December 2. Please email jherrera@nscsd.org to attend.

JANUARY 16: Schools Closed for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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