NorthStar Lights
North Syracuse Central School District's Electronic News
Issue #85 | February 17, 2023
Hello North Syracuse Central School District Parents, Guardians, Teachers and Staff,
It is hard to believe that schools are closed next week for President's Day and the Mid-Winter Recess. Although our recent weather might lead you to believe we are heading into SPRING Recess!
There has been a lot going on these past couple weeks. This week marked the 100th day of school for our students. The occasion happened to fall on Valentine's Day and I was at Lakeshore Road Elementary School that day so I had the opportunity to visit a few classrooms. As always, my classroom visits are an important reminder that a welcoming environment is one of the best learning tools. The school's kindergarten teachers were using the 100th day of school to enhance their math/counting lessons and the students were engaged and interested. I have to thank Katrina Hollenbeck and her kindergarten students for taking time to get a group picture with me. Their smiling faces truly made my day.
On Monday, February 6, the District had a special meeting with Robert Simmons, our Micron liaison, and Dee Mooney, the Executive Director for the Micron Foundation. We were able to show them around the NSCSD and invited them to see the space we will hold our June Chip Camp. They were able to see inside our schools and get a look at our community in relation to the Micron site and to see firsthand how interconnected we are. We look very forward to continuing our relationship with them and are excited about the ways we will collaborate.
If you are taking time off next week, I hope you are able to spend some quality time with family and friends. Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Daniel D. Bowles, Superintendent of Schools
C-NS Students Perform at NYSSMA Area All-State Festival
Congratulations to the following 17 C-NS High School student-musicians selected to perform in the 2023 New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Area All-State Festival at Ithaca College February 3 and 4. Area All-State musicians were chosen from more than 3,000 applicants based on outstanding audition scores from the NYSSMA solo evaluation festival last spring.
The festival features the best student musicians from Cayuga, Onondaga, Cortland, Tompkins, Tioga and Broome Counties. The festival runs every year for 2 days of intense rehearsal and comradery leading to an amazing concert featuring Treble Chorus, Mixed Chorus, Band and Orchestra. Ensembles are led by guest conductors from across the U.S. who are top professionals in the music field.
Students pictured above right: C-NS Area All-State Band Students: Maddie Hilt, Natalie Miles,
Lydia Morris (Orchestra trumpet) and Peyton Peck
Students pictured right: C-NS Area All-State Chorus Students: Ryan Hill, Ben Janack, Addison Romano, Jake Seitz and Ava Tyler and C-NS Area All-State Treble Chorus Students: Deborah Malley, Kiera Kot and Cheyenne Scott
Students pictured left: C-NS Area All-State Orchestra Students: Emily Bradley, Leo Chung, Aiden Hanas, Kaley Otis and Maddie Rodoski
Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Registration Opens March 1
The North Syracuse Central School District will open its online Universal Pre-Kindergarten application system program on Wednesday, March 1. Registrations will be accepted throughout the month of March. Once the system closes on March 31, all completed registrations will be placed into a lottery drawing and applicants will be chosen at random.
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 March 31 but those students will not be included in the lottery.
C-NS High School Athletes Spend Time at Smith Road Elementary
Some Cicero-North Syracuse High School athletes ‘teamed-up’ recently to teach younger students. They were invited to Smith Road Elementary School’s January Assembly to discuss respect and how it translates to team sports.
The eight student-athletes included a mix of football, basketball, and soccer players. They answered a number of questions like what respect means to them and how they respect their coaches and opponents.
Click here to read the complete article and see more pictures online.
Notice Regarding Non-Public School Transportation for the 2023-2024 School Year
Applications must be filed prior to April 1, 2023
To parents and guardians of students residing in the North Syracuse Central School District. As required by New York State Law, applications for transportation to and/or from Charter, private or parochial schools during the 2023-2024 school year, must be filed prior to April 1, 2023.
Applications may be picked up and returned to the North Syracuse Central School District Transportation Department (5520 East Taft Road, North Syracuse) or can be downloaded by clicking the following link: www.nscsd.org/transapp.
Families who need additional information should call the Transportation Department at 315/218-2107.
Students Attend Syracuse Crunch French Night
For more than 10 years the Syracuse Crunch have hosted a French Night. The educational experience is organized in conjunction with the American Association of Teachers of French of Central New York.
Students from 14 schools attended this year’s game, including some CNS junior and high schoolers taking French. The Syracuse Crunch try to host the event while playing a Canadian team. This year’s match was with the Laval Rocket, an affiliate of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens based in Quebec.
Click here to read the complete article and see more pictures online.
Optimist Club of Cicero-North Syracuse Seeking Entries for Oratorical Contest with $2,500 Scholarship as Top Award
The Optimist Club of Cicero-North Syracuse is sponsoring an Oratorical Contest with a top award of a $2,500 college scholarship. Students under the age of 19 who live within the boundaries of the North Syracuse Central School District are eligible to participate. This year’s contest theme is “Discovering the Optimism within Me,” and will take place on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building (5355 West Taft Rd., N. Syracuse, NY).
Contestants will be asked to speak on the official topic for four to five minutes with timing beginning at the first spoken word.
Contest applications, along with complete contest rules are available online by clicking here. The entry form should be mailed to Mr. Robert Crabtree at 5355 W. Taft Rd., North Syracuse, NY 13212. A printed copy of the speech must be furnished on March 1 before the speech along with a copy of the participant’s birth certificate.
Subscribe to Budget News
Leading up to the annual school budget vote and board of education member election in May, the district will present important updates and information to the board of education. To receive copies of the presentations and other budget-related news, subscribe to ParentSquare to receive notifications in this category.
Snow Day, Delay and Early Closing Information
The NSCSD 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.
NSCSD Students and Staff in the News
Cicero-North Syracuse sophomore leads team to boys wrestling Inter-Class title (122 photos) - Feb. 12 on Syracuse.com. Click here to view the article online.
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District Reminders!
FEBRUARY 20: Presidents Day - No School for Students or Staff
FEBRUARY 21-24: Mid-Winter Recess - Schools Closed
FEBRUARY 27: 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 the Friday prior to the meeting. Please email jherrera@nscsd.org to attend.
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