NorthStar Lights
North Syracuse Central School District's weekly e-news
Hello North Syracuse Central School District Parents, Guardians, Teachers and Staff,
When I was at Gillette Road Middle School this morning, I experienced several things that I want to write about. The first is that the school was in the midst of celebrating the retirement of Jill Davern, one of the school's office staff members, after 54 years in the NSCSD. Jill has been a true constant in the school community and I was honored to be a part of the celebration recognizing her dedication to the school, staff and students.
After spending some time celebrating, I wanted to visit some classrooms so I walked through the hallways to see what was going on. I happened to notice some writing on one of the windows and the message struck me so I took a picture. In case you're not able to make out the message, it reads, "The most Beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart." The quote from "The Little Prince" seemed particularly meaningful to me today as I continued my visit at the school.
I ended my visit by spending time in the library with Morgan Gaulrapp and her crew of students involved with the morning announcements. I watched the kids prepare for the show by sorting through the notes and figuring out who would do each part. By working together, they all went into it with confidence and presented a great broadcast. After the show, I asked the students how they got involved with the group and what they liked about doing the announcements. It was interesting to hear them talk about being part of a team, which was one of the first things I noticed they did so well. When the students left and I talked with Ms. Gaulrapp, she also pointed out that the teamwork and camaraderie of the group was one of the most impressive things. She mentioned how much the students' self-confidence has improved over the year.
As I walked away from Gillette Road Middle School this morning, my thoughts wound around the "experience" of school and how important it is to all of us - students, staff and families. School isn't only about what happens in the classrooms. It is about the interactions and the observations. It is about the smiles and the encouragement. It is about the people that we see everyday and know we can count on to be there. It is about being a part of something great. I walked away from the school knowing that every interaction matters and that by simply smiling or saying hello I have the power to turn someone's school experience into a moment that matters.
Sincerely,
Daniel D. Bowles, Superintendent of Schools
KWS Bear Road Elementary Students Celebrate Reading Success
Students at KWS Bear Road Elementary School have spent much of the last week and a half engrossed in reading in order to meet a challenge set by their school principal Ms. Cambs, reading teacher Mrs. Parker and the Bear Road Literacy Committee. The school, which consists only of kindergarten, first and second grades due to the ongoing construction, had the goal of reading 250 books. Parents were asked to complete a paper strip for each book read at home with their child and the strips of paper were then brought back to the classroom and made into a chain. The chain is on display at school.
Today, the students were brought to the school’s library by grade level where they learned that they not only exceeded the goal, they more than doubled it!
The Cicero-North Syracuse High SchoolTalent Show is finally back! Come on out to enjoy a live, in-person 17 act show, entitled the CNS Late Night Show on Friday, April 29th at 7pm.
Due to renovations and limited capacity at CNS, the show will take place at the North Syracuse Junior High School in the Auditorium. Tickets are available at the door for $10.
NSCSD Partnering With Contact Community Services for Mental Wellness & Suicide Prevention
Suicide Safety in Schools (SSIS), a mental health education program through Contact Community Services, provides crisis management and suicide safety training to Onondaga County school communities including students, parents, teachers, school support staff and district administration using evidence-based practices, protocols and trainings.
Contact’s SSIS Mental Health Educators are currently piloting the SSIS program in the North Syracuse Central School District where they have provided teen mental health training during physical education classes to over 3,000 students in grades 8-12. Recently, over 500 junior and senior high school students participated in Pathways to Wellness, an educational mental awareness activity using the Six Dimensions of Wellness model. Students were surveyed on their physical, intellectual, environmental, spiritual, emotional and social wellness. 70% of all students stated COVID-19 had an impact on all six dimensions of wellness and approximately 37% said they struggled the most emotionally.
Gillette Road Middle School Students Take Top Honors in CNY Innovation Challenge
Earlier this month, a team of 7th grade students from Gillette Road Middle School participated in the CNY Innovation Challenge and walked away with the top prize for their efforts. The event asks students to come up with creative solutions that can be developed into marketable products. Students design and develop their product, create a marketing plan and pitch the idea to a panel of judges.
This year’s CNY Innovation Challenge was held at the Maker Faire Syracuse at the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College on April 2. The Gillette Road team of Alyssa Bubniak, Elvis Culum and Liam Pierce Joss, with oversight from teacher Claudia Hertzberg, came up with the idea for a cell phone “pop socket” that automatically charges the device to which it is attached. For their idea, plan and pitch, the students were awarded first place and a $500 prize in the competition for their age group.
Festival of the Arts at C-NS on April 30
The North Syracuse Central School District will celebrate student art and musical accomplishments at their Festival of the Arts on Saturday, April 30. The event will take place from 11 a.m. through 2 p.m. at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. Artwork from students of all grade-levels will be displayed throughout the hallways of the schools and various musical groups and ensembles will perform throughout the day.
The Festival is an opportunity for students to present their work in the fine arts and for the community to see the growth of our students as artists as they progress through each grade.
UPK Registration Starts Monday, May 2
The North Syracuse Central School District will begin accepting applications for its Universal Pre-Kindergarten program on Monday, May 2, 2022 and will continue accepting applications through Thursday, May 26, 2022. You may submit your application and required documents by email at: UPK@nscsd.org, by mail to NSCSD, Attn: UPK, 5355 West Taft Rd., North Syracuse, NY 13212 or completed applications may be dropped off at the District Office.
To ensure all families have an equal opportunity for our UPK program, there will be a lottery drawing for acceptance. Enrollment in the UPK program is NOT on a first-come, first-served basis. 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 May 27 but those students will not be included in the lottery. Registrations taken after the lottery period will be placed on a waitlist and parents will be notified if a spot becomes available.
Ms. Maureen Alvaro, a music teacher at Lakeshore Road Elementary School hared photos of her music students from various classes this week: Connor Obit and Addysen Doty from Ms. Person's second grade class, Riley Rushford from Ms. Patti's third grade class and and a group shot of Ms. Guarno's fourth grade students.
Students in Jonathan DeHay's Physical Education classes at KWS Bear Road Elementary School had some fun making noise while getting exercise this week. As part of a lesson with Miss Lourdes Dawson, a student teacher from SUNY Cortland, the students learned about cardio drumming using pool noodles and "drums" made from laundry baskets and giant rubber balls. The students had a great time getting exercise while making music.
Second grade student Sean Brown is pictured holding his "drumsticks" as he gets ready to play.
As the school's sportscasters, Cicero-North Syracuse High School students Johnny Lisi, Aaron Tarquinio, Owen O’Keefe, Rob Bateman and Drew Matyasik are familiar voices at school athletic events but this past week the group had the unique opportunity to do what they love to do at a semi-professional arena when they called the C-NS Boys' Baseball game at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse. This was the first time the Northstar Network has ever broadcast from NBT Stadium. Great job representing the NSCSD!
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