OSWEGO, NY – There was a writer’s celebration in the second grade classroom of Michelle McManus at Frederick Leighton Elementary School.

Writing is a major focus of second graders.

Second graders proudly displayed their stories which they did as part of the writing initiative. In front is Brandon Wise while seated are Megan Vivlemore and Liam Brown and in back are Payton Vantassell, Abby McPherson and Evan Tesoriero.

Literacy Specialist Amy Armet said, “Spending time as families, picking up trash, recycling papers are just a few issues we explored. We read tons of books written by writers who felt strongly about an issue and wrote about their issues.”

The students studied books both as readers and writers.

Armet continued, “We took a look at the books to study how these writers wrote. We learned that writers choose a topic that really and truly matters to them and then they write about it.”

Students researched and learned that writers write very purposefully and intentionally about their topics.

The teacher explained, “We discovered that sometimes the most important part would be the illustrations, or the use of examples. Some writers use sound effects and speech bubbles to make their points. Other writers use repeated lines or poetry.”

The past few weeks the second graders tried their hand at crafting our pieces in new and different ways.

They culminated their writing experiences by sharing their stories with the class and visitors.

When it comes to the United Way’s Annual Campaign, the staff at Oswego County Opportunities realizes full well just how important the success of that campaign is to the hundreds of individuals and families that are served through OCO’s many human services programs.

On Thursday, Ginny Stamm told the Oswego Sunrise Rotary about Heifer International.

October 30, 2009
Our October 24th meeting which coincided with archives day went quite well at our Richland facility. We had 30 for a sit down lunch at noon, and another 10 or so folks came in and out through the afternoon. At 1 pm we held a brief meeting of the society, our [...]