Please take time to review the rest of the newsletter below for what is coming up in March. We have information about course preference selections and planning for next school year in the Counseling Office section, the next parent & community engagement seminar, and all the other highlights to celebrate.

Respectfully,

Dr. Whipple & Ms. Greibus

Gananda’s High School Drama Club is thrilled to present its upcoming production of Once Upon a Mattress, a quirky and fun-filled musical that will leave audiences laughing and singing along!

Performances will take place on March 6-8 at 7 PM, and March 8 at 1 PM, at Ruben A. Cirillo High School. Tickets are available for purchase at https://cur8.com/19535/project/129483 or at the box office before each performance. Tickets are priced at $10 adults; $8 students and seniors. Gananda staff and students are invited to attend Thursday evening’s performance for only $5. Elementary-aged children are invited to enjoy Saturday afternoon’s performance for only $1.

The production is also hosting two themed nights. Friday evening attendees are invited to arrive in their best "Royal Glam!," and Saturday evening audiences are invited to attend dressed for a "Pajama Party!"

Don’t miss the chance to experience this comedic and magical musical. Join us for a royal good time at Once Upon a Mattress!

Parents, or anyone who has a relationship with teens, know there’s a lot to keep up with in the fast moving world of young adults. The latest trends in fashion, video games, music, social media outlets…the list seems endless. But what about trends in drug and alcohol use? Would you even know what they are, or what to look for?

Well there’s help with that. “Hidden in Plain Sight, Telling Their Secrets,” a program developed by The Council on Alcoholism and Addictions of the Finger Lakes is designed to help parents, teachers and others learn about current local drug trends. Even if your child is not using drugs or alcohol, this program provides information that is important for anyone who has a relationship with young adults.

As part of the program, adults are taken through a replica of a teen’s bedroom to identify objects that could signal possible warning signs of substance use. It's an eye-opening interactive experience that really helps raise awareness to the less obvious signs, such as vaping devices made to look like everyday household items.

In order for the program to run, we need at least 15 participants to sign up by registering using the QR code on the flyer below. It is completely free and there will be pizza! You also do not have to be a resident in the district to attend, so if you have friends and family outside of Gananda, please feel free to share this with them as well.

The next ineligibility list will be published on Friday, 3/14. As a reminder from the Student Handbook, students who are failing one or more subjects will be considered ineligible to participate in athletic competitions, drama and school clubs for a minimum of one week after report cards or progress reports are published.

Students may regain their eligibility status by bringing all their grades back to passing and completing the “Ineligibility Sign-Off Google Form” from the Counseling Office secretary at the end of the minimum one-week probation period. If a student is still failing classes at the end of the one week ineligibility period, they may sign a Work Ethic Contract with their teachers. As long as students maintain good effort towards bringing their grades up, they will regain eligibility.

Grade level teams will also be mailing home letters on March 14 for students that are at risk of failing any of their core courses for the school year. We hope this encourages students to improve their performance before the end of the school year and avoid having to go to summer school or repeat courses next year. We appreciate your help in encouraging your student to take advantage of extra help from their teachers during Advisement or after school during 5th block.

Check out the many things our students have done this past month that make us Gananda PROUD!

For the first time in school history, Boys Swimming won the Class D Section V Championship! Congratulations to Coach Seither for also being named Class D Coach of the Year in Section V. This was truly an impressive team accomplishment!

Peyton Conner also qualified for the State Championship meet in Ithaca this weekend. GOOD LUCK AND GET THAT PODIUM PEYTON!

For the second year in a row our Varsity Cheer team won the Class D Section V Championship. Coach Pero also won Coach of the Year for Class D as well. The team will head to Binghamton this weekend to compete in the State Championship competition. GOOD LUCK LADIES!

The Marion/Ganada Indoor Track team competed in sectionals on 2/23. Both the boys and the girls teams finished 4th out of 14 schools. The girls scored 36 points and the boys scored 66 points.

Evan Clarcq finished 2nd in the 300 meters.

Max Ng finished 5th in the 55 meter dash.

The boys 4X400 meter relay team finished 3rd.

Justin Simpson is the Sectional champion in the high jump with a 5 ft 8 inch jump.

The boys 4X200 meter relay also won sectionals. Jayden Holmes, Aaron Kurziel-Tai, Bryce Oleksyn, and Evan Clarcq make up the sectional winning team.

Brody Oleksyn finished 3rd in the Pole Vault with a jump of 9 feet 6 inches.

Haley Conner finished 2nd in the 55 dash and won both the 300 meters and the 600 meters to be named a double sectional champion.

Kayli Norman finished 6th in the 600 meter run.

At state qualifiers on 2/28, Evan finished 10th in the 300 meters, Justin placed 9th in the high jump with a new PR, and Haley finished 2nd in the 600m with her best time of the season and qualified for the State Championship meet in Staten Island this weekend. Awesome job everyone and GOOD LUCK TO HALEY AT STATE!

Great job to Brianna, Arianna, Emily and Tessa for earning the February Student of Month award! They have done a great job exhibiting our PROUD behaviors! Calem and Katie have been awarded the Gananda Rotary Citizenship award for the month as well - congrats!

• Team 9 has selected Tessa for her outstanding performance in class. She exceeds expectations and consistently takes the initiative to help.

All Juniors will attend a field trip to the National College Fair being held at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center on Monday, March 17th.

The “open to the public” portion of the fair will be held on Sunday, March 16 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. For students who might like more time at the fair, or who would like to check it out with parents/guardians, please consider attending! There will be representatives from 171 colleges present.

For more information: National College Fair 2025.

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All juniors will sign up to attend sessions for the Career Planning Bootcamp led by Ms. Bertram, Mrs. Kelleher and Mrs. Marang. Students can select the bootcamp that aligns with their personal pathway goals: Military, Workforce/Trades/Apprenticeships, College, or Undecided.

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Wayne Technical Career Center (WTCC) Applications for 2025-26 are now available to all sophomores. Tech Center Application

All sophomores already visited the Tech Center to see all the programs available.

For additional information on the Wayne Technical Center WTCC Program Information

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WTCC New Vision applications are now available to all students interested in applying. New Visions is a one-year career exploration program hosted through WTCC that provides highly motivated seniors with the opportunity to gain valuable insights into career options from a real-world perspective.

The New Vision Medical Program

The New Vision Medical program’s goal is to provide an interdisciplinary and experiential learning opportunity to high school seniors interested in pursuing health careers. The classroom is located on the Geneva General Hospital campus allowing students to explore a full array of medical careers while gaining 150 hours of clinical

The Health Therapy Sciences Program

Exercise Science is becoming one of the fastest growing college majors and occupational area in the health and medical industry. Both theory and hands-on experience are introduced in this exciting program. The Health Therapy Science Program is designed to provide high school seniors the opportunity to intensely investigate future college and professional career options within the fields of health, exercise science, and kinesiology.

The New Vision Veterinary Assistant Program

The New Vision Veterinary Assistant program is designed to provide high school seniors the opportunity to intensely investigate future college and professional career pathways within the field of veterinary science. Both theory and hands-on experiences are introduced in this program and nine college credits (ENG101, ENG103, and SSC205).

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Course Preference Selections for 2025-2026

All students in grades 9th-11th will be making their core course selections and prioritizing their preferred electives for the 2025-2026 school year next week during Advisement in the Auditorium. Juniors will be meeting on Monday (3/10), Sophomores on Tuesday (3/11), and Freshmen on Wednesday (3/12). It's important that students bring their charged laptop to the Auditorium on their designated day so that they will be able to access the course selection page in SchoolTool. Students will have until March 17 to submit their course preferences for next school year. We encourage students and their parents/guardians to review course options together. The course catalog for 2025-26 is available here, on our Counseling Office website.

Gemini Registration is open for students enrolling in Gemini courses through Finger Lakes Community College. Mrs. Kelleher has assisted students with the online registration during class. All relevant information has been shared via Parent Square and Schoology. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Kelleher in the Counseling Office.

Sources of Strength launched their third campaign of the year, focusing on three sections of the Strength Wheel: Healthy Activities, Medical Access, and Spirituality. Students researched these areas and created a flyer that their peers could use as a quick reference guide to improve their wellness.

MASH Camp: Registered 7-10th graders will be attending their final session of MASH Camp on March 27. Students will be travelling to Nazareth University to meet with admissions staff, tour the university and learn more about their healthcare majors. We are excited to be offering this opportunity through our partnership with the WNY Area Health Education Center. Any other 9-12 students interested in joining us should contact Mrs. Marang in the Counseling Office by March 7th.

Nine junior and senior athletes have been attending sessions of SWAG Camp. SWAG Camp is designed to provide a series of health professions career exposure training opportunities to interested upperclassmen. We are excited to be offering this opportunity through our partnership with the WNY Area Health Education Center.

Mrs. Marang will be going into English 11 classes during the first week in March to guide students through the updating of their NYS Career Plans. The NYS Career Plan is updated each year of high school. It helps students connect their learning experiences both in and out of school as well as documents their skills and knowledge. This document is a great tool for students to use when meeting with college representatives, potential employers, apprenticeship representatives, etc.

The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) was administered to 10th graders in Mr. Broussard's Parenting and Daily Living Class the first week of March. The students will receive their results by mid March along with a detailed explanation of how to understand them.

Absences need to be reported to the school health office by the parent/guardian of the student. This may be done so online by completing this form.

Please continue to remind your child/children that they need to be in class by 7:30am. As we progress further into the school year, and now with the winter weather, we often see an increase in tardies to school. If your child is making a stop to Dunkin' or Starbucks on their way in to school, please remind them to build in enough time to make those stops so they are not late to school. We appreciate your support in helping to reinforce the importance of punctuality!

Please note that after 4 unexcused tardies in a marking period, contact home will be made, and students will be assigned consequences starting with lunch detention and/or after school detention.

You can also click on the buttons below that will take you directly to the Instructional Calendar and Daily Schedules.

If you have not received an invitation to join ParentSquare, please contact the HS main office.

Dr. Christopher J. Whipple, Principal

cwhipple@gananda.org

Ms. Mairi Greibus, Assistant Principal

mgreibus@gananda.org

(315) 986-3521, 8, 3154