Notes from the October 7th BOE
meeting
Tonight’s Art Moment was performed by the Chamber Strings ensemble, which is made up of high school students and their talented teacher, Ms. Keely Blaikner. The group played two songs from their ‘On the Go’ repertoire. The Chamber Strings ensemble plays their ‘On the Go’ music often out in our community, any donations they receive for playing they use towards fundraising efforts. If you would like to hire these talented students for an event you can email Keely at: kblaikner@wvcsd.org. They were wonderful!
Commendations: Congratulations to All!
Semifinalist in the 2014 National Merit School Program
Kyle Roeloffs
Commended Students in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program
Andrew Brown, Thomas Hamling, Emily Mears, Evan Rzeznik, Hannah Tucker, and Kathleen McKenna
2013-14 Scholar for Excellence in Academic Achievement – National Hispanic Recognition Program, The College Board
Kayla Madden
Selected to Represent the Warwick Valley High School at the 2013 NYSSMA Conference All-State in Rochester, NY on December 5-8, 2013
Peter Moore, Jared Silbernagel, Travis Silbernagel, Maya Ramos, Morgan Kriegel, Faith Wilkens, Nick Ruggeri
The High School received a commemorative plaque for being recognized as a New York State "Reward School."
The school liaison report focused on school transitions per the Board’s request. Principal, Roger Longfield from Sanfordville Elementary had two fourth grade students, Mackenzie and John, report on their transition to SES. Principal Sandy Wood from Park Avenue Elementary selected the following student representatives; Laura (4th grade), Jake (4th grade), Ashley (4th grade), James (3rd grade), Nicholas (4th grade). All of the children reported they were nervous and sad when they found out they would be going to a new school, but they all agreed that their parents helped them to feel better along with all of their new friends, their teachers and principals. They have been excited to try new things and see some of their old friends. They all feel happy now.
The middle school principal, Cindy Leandro, had two students who are sisters, Rhianna (5th grade) and Angela (7th grade) speak about the middle school. They reported that the students were very excited to see all the classrooms ready and decorated at the start of school, all the 5th graders thought their classrooms looked beautiful. The students like the feeling of independence they get at middle school, they can choose where to sit at lunch and they like to switch classes for Social Studies and Science. They also liked the PBIS tours were they learned about positive attitudes and they are excited about winning tickets as rewards when they display good behavior. The 7th graders love to use their lockers and they also had a great time at the pep rally! It was a great way for all the students to come together and celebrate the beginning of a new school year.
Dr. Bryant did comment that going forward efforts will be made to include 5th grade students who remain at Sanfordville in any events that are scheduled for the 5th grade students at the middle school.
The Board recognizes that it has been an adjustment for many students, parents, teachers and staff in transitioning children to their new schools. We would like to thank all of you and our Principals and PTA groups for all of the hard work they are doing to make all the students feel at home.
The high school students reported that getting into college today is difficult, stress and pressure build when filling out applications, so specific skills are being taught and used so that students can help each other out. Students are collaborating with each other and are developing confidence in preparing for college. The students also reported that they felt that homecoming was a success this year. They had fun decorating hallways, having spirit day(s), participating in the powder puff ball game and of course enjoying the BIG game, which Warwick won!
All schools will be receiving anti-bullying posters to display. The posters have an anti-bullying pledge written on them for kids to say and follow.
Dr. Bryant will be hosting a breakfast for our new high school students who have recently come to Warwick high school from Greenwood Lake. The purpose of the breakfast is to talk with the students about their recent transition to our high school.
Dr. Bryant recommended to the Board that they waive the $15 dollar school fee for Odyssey of the Mind teams and US First Lego League teams. Both clubs will be able to use classroom space afterschool to practice for their competitions.
Dr. Bryant and Lynn Lillian reported on the recent 'Fair Funding for Our Schools' regional advocacy event. They thanked Maureen Westphal, Louise Hutchinson and NYSSBA members of Orange County for helping to plan and organize this large event. The evening was a success, good conversations about the demand for fair funding have been started throughout our region. You can follow us on FB at Fair Funding for Our Schools and twitter @fairEDfundingNY
Tim Holmes, Assistant Superintendent gave the board an update on facilities and capital projects. Projects in Phase 2 are complete or will be completed by the end of this week. They include: fire alarms, HS door replacement, HS roof, district network, the Energy Performance Contract, replacement of HS boiler, power management, water conservation; co-generation unit, Park Ave and SES security, weatherization and emergency management system. Phase 3 plans include: SES roof repairs, district office roof, HS curtain wall, pool-filter change out, and Park Ave. tennis court.
Reports from the Board:
Audit Committee: The 2012-2013 Independent Audit Report was approved. Board members who are on the audit committee met with the external auditor and they reported he is doing a great job and all of our books are in order.
Facilities: There has been interest from a few different groups in renting out portions of Kings Elementary School. The committee is evaluating building usage and fees.
Advocacy Committee: The next advocacy event will be on November 13, from 7-9pm at OU BOCES in Goshen. The purpose is to help other school boards and community members start advocacy groups in their own school districts, the featured guest speaker will be Chad Raddock from the Alliance for Quality Education.
Warwick Valley Community Coalition: Next meeting is scheduled for October 24th, at the Warwick Valley Community Center.
Warwick Foundation for Excellence in Learning: The first fundraiser for WVCSD is this Friday, October 11th at Jester's Comedy Club in Chester. For more information visit: A Night Of Comedy with Bobby Collins
Wellness Committee: John Connolly is putting together a presentation on the danger of concussions, 'How to prevent further damage and how to help your child recover.'
AG Liaison: A meeting was catered by the FFA at Pennings Farm for the AG team. Steve Pennings spoke with FFA students about his farm. Another meeting is scheduled for this month, date and time TBA. The focus will be on finding internships for FFA students who are looking to work in the field of agriculture.
Student Member: Gianna reported the following: sophomore and junior classes are preparing to take PSATs, a committee is working on creating a Haunted Hallway fundraising event, the high school will hold a Blood Drive next week on October 15th and October 26th will be the ‘Drive for Your School Fundraiser’ at Leo Kaytes Ford.
October 28th – November 1st, 2013 will be recognized as School Board Recognition Week.
October 21st – 29th will be Red Ribbon Week at all schools. The elementary schools will make a pledge to remain drug free and the students will see a video assembly. Terrence Fox, a former Warwick high school student will come in for the day to do assemblies for the middle school and high school students. There will be a door decorating contest at the middle school with prizes and the high school will be making a float with a giant Red Ribbon on it, the float will feature a positive message about health and drug and alcohol prevention.
The board accepted a donation of a used Concept 2 indoor rowing machine from Frank Petrucci.
Shannon Hockswender asked if the PIE grades could be studied for reconfiguration due to the large number of 5th grade students who moved out of their 4/5 PIE class to be with their fellow classmates in middle school. Dr. Leach will look into the possibility of adding a PIE 5/6 classroom to the middle school for next year.
The Girls Varsity Volleyball Team will attend the 2013 Horseheads Classic in Horseheads, NY on Saturday, October 19th. Good luck girls!!
The board accepted a check in the amount of $5,000 dollars for the “Be the Change for Kids” Award for the WVCSD’s Partners in Education program. Congratulations to PIE!
The board approved the 2013 -2014 APPR plan.
WVCSD will seek a waiver from the Commissioner of Education in regards to implementing the data repository (In-Bloom) and “Data Dashboard.” We currently assume cost of a student data management system/portals and cannot assume the cost of adding a second one. There are also concerns about where the data will go from the suggested In-Bloom data repository.
Comments from residents:
A resident would like the board to consider waiving a pool fee.
A resident would like the board to concentrate on keeping the Music and Art programs in place as they approach the school budget season. The resident also asked the board to reconsider holding the home coming parade in the village next year.
Submitted by Shannon Hockswender
Tonight’s Art Moment was performed by the Chamber Strings ensemble, which is made up of high school students and their talented teacher, Ms. Keely Blaikner. The group played two songs from their ‘On the Go’ repertoire. The Chamber Strings ensemble plays their ‘On the Go’ music often out in our community, any donations they receive for playing they use towards fundraising efforts. If you would like to hire these talented students for an event you can email Keely at: kblaikner@wvcsd.org. They were wonderful!
Commendations: Congratulations to All!
Semifinalist in the 2014 National Merit School Program
Kyle Roeloffs
Commended Students in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program
Andrew Brown, Thomas Hamling, Emily Mears, Evan Rzeznik, Hannah Tucker, and Kathleen McKenna
2013-14 Scholar for Excellence in Academic Achievement – National Hispanic Recognition Program, The College Board
Kayla Madden
Selected to Represent the Warwick Valley High School at the 2013 NYSSMA Conference All-State in Rochester, NY on December 5-8, 2013
Peter Moore, Jared Silbernagel, Travis Silbernagel, Maya Ramos, Morgan Kriegel, Faith Wilkens, Nick Ruggeri
The High School received a commemorative plaque for being recognized as a New York State "Reward School."
The school liaison report focused on school transitions per the Board’s request. Principal, Roger Longfield from Sanfordville Elementary had two fourth grade students, Mackenzie and John, report on their transition to SES. Principal Sandy Wood from Park Avenue Elementary selected the following student representatives; Laura (4th grade), Jake (4th grade), Ashley (4th grade), James (3rd grade), Nicholas (4th grade). All of the children reported they were nervous and sad when they found out they would be going to a new school, but they all agreed that their parents helped them to feel better along with all of their new friends, their teachers and principals. They have been excited to try new things and see some of their old friends. They all feel happy now.
The middle school principal, Cindy Leandro, had two students who are sisters, Rhianna (5th grade) and Angela (7th grade) speak about the middle school. They reported that the students were very excited to see all the classrooms ready and decorated at the start of school, all the 5th graders thought their classrooms looked beautiful. The students like the feeling of independence they get at middle school, they can choose where to sit at lunch and they like to switch classes for Social Studies and Science. They also liked the PBIS tours were they learned about positive attitudes and they are excited about winning tickets as rewards when they display good behavior. The 7th graders love to use their lockers and they also had a great time at the pep rally! It was a great way for all the students to come together and celebrate the beginning of a new school year.
Dr. Bryant did comment that going forward efforts will be made to include 5th grade students who remain at Sanfordville in any events that are scheduled for the 5th grade students at the middle school.
The Board recognizes that it has been an adjustment for many students, parents, teachers and staff in transitioning children to their new schools. We would like to thank all of you and our Principals and PTA groups for all of the hard work they are doing to make all the students feel at home.
The high school students reported that getting into college today is difficult, stress and pressure build when filling out applications, so specific skills are being taught and used so that students can help each other out. Students are collaborating with each other and are developing confidence in preparing for college. The students also reported that they felt that homecoming was a success this year. They had fun decorating hallways, having spirit day(s), participating in the powder puff ball game and of course enjoying the BIG game, which Warwick won!
All schools will be receiving anti-bullying posters to display. The posters have an anti-bullying pledge written on them for kids to say and follow.
Dr. Bryant will be hosting a breakfast for our new high school students who have recently come to Warwick high school from Greenwood Lake. The purpose of the breakfast is to talk with the students about their recent transition to our high school.
Dr. Bryant recommended to the Board that they waive the $15 dollar school fee for Odyssey of the Mind teams and US First Lego League teams. Both clubs will be able to use classroom space afterschool to practice for their competitions.
Dr. Bryant and Lynn Lillian reported on the recent 'Fair Funding for Our Schools' regional advocacy event. They thanked Maureen Westphal, Louise Hutchinson and NYSSBA members of Orange County for helping to plan and organize this large event. The evening was a success, good conversations about the demand for fair funding have been started throughout our region. You can follow us on FB at Fair Funding for Our Schools and twitter @fairEDfundingNY
Tim Holmes, Assistant Superintendent gave the board an update on facilities and capital projects. Projects in Phase 2 are complete or will be completed by the end of this week. They include: fire alarms, HS door replacement, HS roof, district network, the Energy Performance Contract, replacement of HS boiler, power management, water conservation; co-generation unit, Park Ave and SES security, weatherization and emergency management system. Phase 3 plans include: SES roof repairs, district office roof, HS curtain wall, pool-filter change out, and Park Ave. tennis court.
Reports from the Board:
Audit Committee: The 2012-2013 Independent Audit Report was approved. Board members who are on the audit committee met with the external auditor and they reported he is doing a great job and all of our books are in order.
Facilities: There has been interest from a few different groups in renting out portions of Kings Elementary School. The committee is evaluating building usage and fees.
Advocacy Committee: The next advocacy event will be on November 13, from 7-9pm at OU BOCES in Goshen. The purpose is to help other school boards and community members start advocacy groups in their own school districts, the featured guest speaker will be Chad Raddock from the Alliance for Quality Education.
Warwick Valley Community Coalition: Next meeting is scheduled for October 24th, at the Warwick Valley Community Center.
Warwick Foundation for Excellence in Learning: The first fundraiser for WVCSD is this Friday, October 11th at Jester's Comedy Club in Chester. For more information visit: A Night Of Comedy with Bobby Collins
Wellness Committee: John Connolly is putting together a presentation on the danger of concussions, 'How to prevent further damage and how to help your child recover.'
AG Liaison: A meeting was catered by the FFA at Pennings Farm for the AG team. Steve Pennings spoke with FFA students about his farm. Another meeting is scheduled for this month, date and time TBA. The focus will be on finding internships for FFA students who are looking to work in the field of agriculture.
Student Member: Gianna reported the following: sophomore and junior classes are preparing to take PSATs, a committee is working on creating a Haunted Hallway fundraising event, the high school will hold a Blood Drive next week on October 15th and October 26th will be the ‘Drive for Your School Fundraiser’ at Leo Kaytes Ford.
October 28th – November 1st, 2013 will be recognized as School Board Recognition Week.
October 21st – 29th will be Red Ribbon Week at all schools. The elementary schools will make a pledge to remain drug free and the students will see a video assembly. Terrence Fox, a former Warwick high school student will come in for the day to do assemblies for the middle school and high school students. There will be a door decorating contest at the middle school with prizes and the high school will be making a float with a giant Red Ribbon on it, the float will feature a positive message about health and drug and alcohol prevention.
The board accepted a donation of a used Concept 2 indoor rowing machine from Frank Petrucci.
Shannon Hockswender asked if the PIE grades could be studied for reconfiguration due to the large number of 5th grade students who moved out of their 4/5 PIE class to be with their fellow classmates in middle school. Dr. Leach will look into the possibility of adding a PIE 5/6 classroom to the middle school for next year.
The Girls Varsity Volleyball Team will attend the 2013 Horseheads Classic in Horseheads, NY on Saturday, October 19th. Good luck girls!!
The board accepted a check in the amount of $5,000 dollars for the “Be the Change for Kids” Award for the WVCSD’s Partners in Education program. Congratulations to PIE!
The board approved the 2013 -2014 APPR plan.
WVCSD will seek a waiver from the Commissioner of Education in regards to implementing the data repository (In-Bloom) and “Data Dashboard.” We currently assume cost of a student data management system/portals and cannot assume the cost of adding a second one. There are also concerns about where the data will go from the suggested In-Bloom data repository.
Comments from residents:
A resident would like the board to consider waiving a pool fee.
A resident would like the board to concentrate on keeping the Music and Art programs in place as they approach the school budget season. The resident also asked the board to reconsider holding the home coming parade in the village next year.
Submitted by Shannon Hockswender
