NorthStar Lights

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

This week I had my first meetings of the year with our Parent Advisory Council (PAC) and Superintendent's Student Advisory Council (SSAC) groups. These groups are two of my favorites and always produce some thoughtful discussions.

In our student group the conversation centered around the students' overwhelmingly positive feelings about being back in school. In no uncertain terms, these young people sat in front of me and talked about how much better their year has already been because they are in school. I am grateful that we continue to be in a position to safely educate our students in-person.

At the PAC meeting, our District's Director of Social Emotional Learning, Lisa Goldberg, was kind enough to give attendees an overview of the mental health resources available to students. The District is focusing a great deal of time and money on mental wellness in an effort to combat issues brought to light during the pandemic. Thanks to specific mental health funding, the District has been able to add additional mental health professionals throughout its buildings. The addition of these people is critical in our work with students and I want to encourage everyone to reach out. It is so important for us to connect with one another - it is part of of the reason in-person education works.

It occurs to me after reviewing these two meetings in my mind the we are truly heading in the right direction together. Thank you for your partnership and enjoy your holiday weekend.

Sincerely,

Daniel D. Bowles, Superintendent of Schools

Visitors to Allen Road Elementary School now have a special view of their school community thanks to a school-wide collaborative art project led by Megan Paye. Megan is an art teacher at both Allen Road Elementary and Gillette Road Middle School. As an art teacher, she recently worked with Allen Road students around the concept of being a part of a community. The students gave examples of different communities they belong to (sports teams, North Syracuse and churches) and how it feels to be part of those communities.

Megan discussed the project and said, “The conversations led to students sharing that it feels good seeing friends they've made on the bus in the hallways, at lunch, or seeing people from school at the grocery store. Students discussed the importance of caring for the things they share in their school community, like art supplies, music instruments, bathrooms, and the playground. Students used words like belonging, happy, and fun when chatting about how it feels to be a part of our Allen Road community.”

Click here to read the complete article online.

For the past 2 years, the Cicero-North Syracuse High School chorus has participated in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's local walk. Chorus Director Danielle Rausa recently shared that the group will again be participating in the “Out of the Darkness” community walk on Saturday, October 9. The group is participating in honor of Rhianna and Carson, two former students in the NSCSD. Rausa shares, "It is important to our students that they help to raise money for research and resources. This is a VERY important event for our Chorus." Tax deductible donations are welcome and can be made online by clicking here. Thank you for supporting our community and the C-NS Chorus!

C-NS Chorus' Team Captain Gen Costigan is pictured above with Chorus Director Danielle Rausa at last year's "Out of the Darkness" event.

Voters will be asked to approve the December 8 bond vote with no tax increase for $64.96 million of facility improvements

At its meeting on October 4, the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a December 8 public referendum on $64.95 million worth of construction upgrades to Cicero-North Syracuse High School and Cicero, Lakeshore Road, and Smith Road elementary schools.

Click here to read the complete article online.

Last Friday, October 1, many schools in the North Syracuse Central School District held Pajamarama events in their buildings. Paige’s Pajamarama is a charity event allowing students to wear their pajamas to school when making a donation to Paige's Butterfly Run, Inc., an organization which supports children with pediatric cancer at Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital.

Students at Cicero-North Syracuse High School have been participating in the event for several years but turned it into a community-wide competition in 2019 when C-NS students challenged Liverpool High School students to raise more money for the cause.

Since then, the "challenge" has expanded to include the Fayetteville-Manlius and West Genesee school districts as well. Click here to watch this year's video.

Pictured below are some of the Pajamarama pictures that were shared with us. Event totals are currently being calculated but donations are still graciously being accepted by clicking here.

On Friday, September 28, New York State Assemblyman Al Stirpe accompanied the NYS Assembly Speaker of the House Carl Heastie on a tour of Central New York. The tour included a stop at the North Syracuse Early Education Program to help advocate for Governor Hochul to sign a bill to bring funding for schools like the NSEEP in line with other public schools. The lawmakers were welcomed at the school by NSEEP Principal Dawn Hussein, school staff, District officials, Board members and union representatives, who were also there to advocate for the cause. Click here to learn more or read on in the newsletter to see some great pictures of NSEEP students.

In accordance with CDC guidance, students, teachers and staff who have symptoms of infectious illness (influenza or COVID-19), should stay home and be referred to their healthcare provider for evaluation care and testing. Individuals who are absent from school will need to provide either a medical note or proof of a negative COVID test (PCR test).

Students or staff members who develop symptoms during the school day will be sent home immediately. Parents of students will be contacted immediately to come and pick up their child.

Please remember the symptoms of COVID 19 include:

● Fever or chills

● Cough

● Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

● Fatigue

● Muscle or body aches

● Headache

● New loss of taste or smell

● Sore throat

● Congestion or runny nose

● Nausea or vomiting

● Diarrhea

Did you know that the North Syracuse Central School District is hiring? There are a variety of positions available, both full and part-time. Learn more about employment with the District online by clicking here. Applications can also be submitted online.

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 fill out the necessary form.

North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education Member Robert Crabtree shared the above pictures from the October 5 Boys' Varsity Soccer game against Liverpool. C-NS defeated Liverpool with a final score of 2-0. Great job!

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 SchoolMessenger.

Grandparents, community members and all friends of the NSCSD are welcome to subscribe by providing an email address by clicking here. Newsletters are emailed each Friday when school is in session. Help us share the good news and the great things happening in the NSCSD!

We love to share photos from our students, families and teachers. If you're willing to share, please send your high quality images using the link below. 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 or click here to upload them.

Stefanie Dair, and Kate DeBottis, teachers with the North Syracuse Early Education Program (NSEEP), shared some cute photos of their students this week. Top photo: Cesare and Lennox Weber are enjoying their first year of preschool at NSEEP. They love going through the tunnels in the Zoom Room! Middle left photo: Jackson Bennet and Elijah Ford are working together to make music on the new playground at NSEEP. Bottom photos: Kate DeBottis shared a gallery of photos of students from her morning and afternoon classes enjoy their class and outdoor time at school.

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