Message from the Superintendent
Dear West Genesee Families,
This e-Newsletter is reflective of an active school community. It includes Wildcats as out-of-town ambassadors, advocates for great causes, interactions with special guests, welcoming new staff and a plethora of reminders of upcoming events and important information. Let me take a moment to provide a couple of highlights, as well.
An Example of Caring
There is a challenge that comes with public acknowledgment that is aligned with respect for privacy. This will be one such example. It includes two student-athletes, a coaching staff, a parent, and a teammate’s parent.
Recently, a student experienced a unique medical need. The response and support of the coaching staff was extraordinary, but not surprising. Being at an away and unfamiliar venue can add anxiety that the adults diminished with their care. A teammate’s awareness and care extended to their parent by going well out of their way to provide follow-up.
Too cryptic? That is out of respect for the individuals. The important part is that we habitually care for one another and recognize it with thanks. I assure you those referenced here have been appropriately acknowledged in private. Let us not miss the opportunity to follow their example of both supporting one another and for the appreciation, both of which are filled with positivity.
For those involved, even if a different example than this reference, well done, Wildcats!
Adjusting Procedures
As we grow and evolve with new protocols, safety is always a priority and it is important to shift, as needed. As we expect an increase in attendance at upcoming football games, we will add some new safety routines. You will notice some changes in parking locations, a check-in security procedure, and improvements to expedite departure following the games.
District administrators, chaperones (dressed in yellow jackets), and Camillus Police will be providing reminders and guidance throughout the games. This will begin on Friday, October 25 as we host our neighbors from Fayetteville-Manlius and celebrate our West Genesee senior student-athletes. To accommodate these changes, please plan to arrive a bit earlier for the 6:00 p.m. start. Future athletic contests will be monitored for any appropriate change in procedures. Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation.
I hope you and your families are well. I look forward to seeing you at events and gatherings that celebrate students and involves our community. In so many ways, these are great days to be a Wildcat!
Sincerely,
David C. Bills, Superintendent of Schools
Camillus Middle School to Present James and the Giant Peach
Mark your calendars for this exciting upcoming musical at Camillus Middle School; James and the Giant Peach on November 7-8 at 7:00 p.m. and November 9 at 2:00 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the show, and tickets are $10 general admission.
Camillus Middle School presents a fantastical journey with Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, now reimagined as a vibrant musical that promises to enchant audiences of all ages! Featuring a delightfully tuneful score from the EGOT (EMMY, GRAMMY, OSCAR & TONY) award-winning duo Justin Pasek and Benj Paul (known for their work on Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman and A Christmas Story the Musical), alongside a whimsically quirky book by Timothy Allen McDonald (who brought us Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka and The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley), this production has been hailed by critics as a "masterpeach!"
Click here to read the full article with the cast information.
Message from the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
Dear Parents/Caregivers,
At its core, MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) is a proactive framework that schools use to support the learning and well-being of all students. The goal of MTSS is to identify students’ strengths and areas for growth early on and provide appropriate support before challenges become larger. MTSS combines both academic support and behavioral support into a structured, tiered approach:
Tier 1: All students receive high-quality instruction and support. Teachers use best practices that work for most students. All West Genesee students receive Tier 1 academic and behavioral instruction and support.
Tier 2: Some students may need additional support. Teachers may provide differentiated lessons in small group instruction to support grade-level work or enrichment work where students apply their knowledge and skills to more complex tasks. All West Genesee students receive Tier 2 academic support; some West Genesee students receive Tier 2 behavioral support.
Tier 3: A few students may need even more intensive, individualized support to meet their needs. Some West Genesee students receive Tier 3 academic and/or behavioral support.
As part of MTSS, we conduct universal screenings three times throughout the school year. These assessments provide reports to help us identify each student’s areas of strength and growth in key academic areas, such as early reading, early math, reading, and math.
These reports are not meant to be a "grade" but rather a tool to better understand where your child is excelling and where they might need more support. It allows teachers to tailor their instruction to meet individual student needs and helps us track progress over time. Sharing these results with you helps create a partnership between home and school so we can work together to help your child grow.
To read the different Fastbridge family reports that were sent home:
earlyReading (Grade 1)
The Decodable Words report will show how many words your child could correctly read in a minute’s time.
The Letter Sound report shows how many letter sounds your child could correctly identify in a minute’s time.
The Word Segmenting report shows the level of accuracy your child had in isolating sounds in a given 3- or 4-sound word. Examples are cat or clock. Ten words are given and the number of correct sounds identified in isolation helps to calculate the score.
earlyMath (Grade 1)
The Decomposing report shows how many times in a minute a student can correctly identify the number that goes along with a given number to make a “whole” number (for example, if 4 is the whole number and 2 is the given number, what number is the other part?). This can be done with numbers in numeral form or dots (like a domino). The student’s responses in the report show the two parts and whether they were able to correctly identify the missing part.
The Number Sequence report shows how accurately a student can correctly count in sequence from a given number.
The Numeral Identification report shows how quickly a student can verbally and correctly identify numbers in one minute.
Reading (Grades 2-8)
The CBM Reading report shows how well students did on reading three passages aloud - the median words read correctly in one minute shows how fluidly they were able to read (Grades 2-4).
The aReading report shows how well a student does on 30 multiple choice questions related to all reading skills. It is computer adaptive with regard to item difficulty; the Fastbridge system presents easier or harder items based on the student’s answers to the preceding questions (Grades 5-8).
The AUTOReading report shows how well students did on the computer asking questions in categories of reading - word identification, decoding matching synonyms, morphology (Grades 5-8).
Math (Grades 2-8)
The CBM Math Process report shows how accurately students were able to work through twelve formulaic math problems in ten minutes (Grades 2-3).
The CBM Math CAP report shows how well students responded to a variety of math problems on the computer (Grades 2-4).
The CBM Automaticity report shows how well students responded to basic math fluency facts in four minutes (Grade 4-11).
The aMath report shows how well a student does on 30 multiple choice questions related to all math skills. It is computer adaptive with regard to item difficulty; the Fastbridge system presents easier or harder items based on the student’s answers to the preceding questions (Grades 5-11).
The FASTrack Math report shows performance on fluency and problem-solving on the computer. FASTrack Math is both Automaticity and aMath (Grades 5-11).
It is important to note that this is only one indicator of student performance. Lots of other data, including classwork, classroom assessments, benchmarks, and other examples of student work are used to determine a student’s pattern of performance. The norms on the reports may indicate a lower percentile than is expected for your child; we pay attention to this but many other points of information as well. This is a snapshot in time, and many of these screening assessments are done in one minute or less. There is a lot we can accomplish in Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction that all students receive, and that is the bulk of the time we have with students, so we spend a lot of time there focusing on what we can do to help students continue to develop their skills.
As the adage goes, though, it does take a village. Here are some ways you can help your child at home as they develop skills in reading and math:
For Reading:
Read daily: Spend at least 15 minutes a day reading with your child. Let them choose books that interest them, and ask questions about the story to engage their thinking.
Phonics practice: Use fun activities like singing rhyming songs or playing word games to help your child recognize sounds and letters.
Sight word practice: Practice common sight words regularly, such as "the," "and," "can." These help build reading fluency.
Encourage independent reading: Set aside quiet time where your child can read books on their own. Allow them to explore topics they love.
Ask comprehension questions: After reading, ask questions like “What happened in the story?” or “Why do you think the character did that?” This strengthens comprehension.
Model good reading habits: Let your child see you reading and talk about what you’re reading. This helps them understand that reading is important and enjoyable.
For Math:
Practice basic facts: Give your child math facts (like addition, subtraction, multiplication) in short bursts.
Play math games: Board games, card games, or apps that involve counting, number recognition, or strategy can be fun ways to build math skills.
Incorporate math into daily life: Let your child help with measuring ingredients while cooking or ask them to count money or change during shopping trips. These activities reinforce math concepts in real-world settings.
Sometimes students simply need a boost of confidence. Encourage them to grow in this area by having them practice their skills with others (a babysitter, grandparent, or someone who does not always get to see them shine with their work). This will continue to help them develop their skills so they can do well at math and/or reading any time, anywhere, with any audience.
This is a lot of information, and I hope it is helpful as you navigate some of the information we are sending home. By working together and supporting learning at home, we can help your child succeed and grow with confidence in all areas.
Sincerely,
Stacey Eger-Converse, Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction
WIN Time at CMS Celebrates a New Author....Our Own Teacher
On Friday, October 18, 2024, during WIN time, 7th grade math teacher and newly published children's author Mrs. Kristin Duschen presented her book to students. She read the story and explained the writing process, which took several years from start to finish. "My Magic Balloon" was released this summer and the idea for the story came to Mrs. Duschen in a dream.
Her creative and beautiful tale reminds us to use our imagination and believe that anything is possible. Students had an opportunity to ask questions and check out one of her books from the CMS Library.
NOTE: WIN stands for "What I Need Now" and it's a time of day when students can meet with teachers to get help or make up assignments. They also offer enrichment activities to students during this time; which includes a lot of fun stuff in the library including Mindfulness Mondays and DONUT Stop Reading Fridays when kids read books, share what they read, and get a donut to eat before class.
Meet our School Nurses: This Week...Brendan Hind
We would like to introduce you to Brendan Hind who is the new School Nurse at Split Rock Elementary School.
Hind grew up in the North Syracuse area and began his career as a Paramedic in 2007, serving the City of Syracuse for the majority of his career in EMS. He continues to serve his community as a paramedic with the Taunton Fire Department.
He graduated from Cayuga Community College with his nursing degree and received his Bachelors in Nursing from SUNY College at Brockport. Hind began his nursing career in the Pediatric Emergency Department at SUNY Upstate before continuing in various emergency departments throughout COVID and also serving patients under the care of Hospice of Central New York.
He is thrilled to now be a part of the Split Rock team. He resides in the West Genesee School District with his wife, Abby and their 3 children, Kevin (7), Patrick (5) and Ellie (3). He can't wait to meet and get to know your children throughout the school year.
Paige's Pajamarama throughout the District
On Wednesday, November 15, students in the West Genesee School District are invited to wear their pajamas to school in support of Paige's Butterfly Run, helping kids in the fight against cancer.
For a donation of just $1 or spare change, students can participate and contribute to pediatric cancer research and patient programs at Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital. Let’s come together in our comfy PJs for a great cause!
West Genesee PTA/PTO District Council Coat Exchange
The District Council is sponsoring a coat drive thru October 31, 2024. Place your clean, gently used winter coats, snow pants, gloves, hats and boots in the blue bins at your student's school.
On November 2, 2024, 10am - 2pm, The District Council invites West Genesee families in need to “shop” for coats and winter accessories for the whole family at no cost. Collected winter coats, snow pants, gloves, hats and boots sizes infant to adult will be available on a first come first serve basis. Please e-mail westgennydistrictcouncil@gmail.com with questions.
Mark Your Calendars! WINTER 2024 – 2025 Sports Start Dates
- Modified 7/8 Girls Volleyball- 11/4/24 (Winter 1)
- Modified 7/8/9 Boys Basketball- 11/4/24 (Winter 1)
- JV & Varsity Winter Sports- 11/18/24
- Modified: Boys 7/8 Swimming, Girls 7/8/9 Basketball, 7/8 Wrestling, 7/8 Boys Volleyball. - 1/21/25 (Winter 2)
A parent/guardian can register by clicking on this link: https://students.arbitersports.com/organizations/west-genesee-central-school-district
Sign-ups on ArbiterSports are 30 days prior to the start date.
Emergency Closing Information is Important
Announcements about school closings, delayed openings, or early dismissal will be posted on the News Headlines section of the District website home page. They will also be broadcast on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the following stations which you can access by clicking here.
Also, ParentSquare communications software allows us to send emails, texts, and make phone calls. (Phone calls will be used for emergency situations only.)
Parent/Guardians and staff will NOT need to sign-up to receive information from schools that you are registered for in Schooltool. (You will have the option to opt-out if you choose not to receive emails, texts, and/or phone calls. To receive texts, you also have to opt-in per the instructions in the Tips article below. )
LAN Tech Needed at West Genesee
West Genesee CSD is looking to a hire a Local Area Network Technical Support Analyst.
Inquiries can be made to Bill Roberge at (315) 487-4677 or wroberge@westgenesee.org.
Superintendent's Conference Half-Day
Reminder that November 5, 2024 is a half-day for students for a Superintendent's Conference Half-Day.
Dismissal times are as follows:
- WGHS: 9:55 a.m.
- WGIS: 10:10 a.m.
- CMS: 10:15 a.m.
- All Elementary: 11:15 a.m. (please check your school e-Newsletters for specific bus/pick-up/walker times)