Recently, students at the Fulton Junior High School learned the fundamentals of the piano keyboard from Music Teacher Cathy Chirello. Here, Chirello assists student Mike Peck. To her right are Kaylee Bort and Garrett Hazboun. Second row, left to right: Tre Contois, Cory Brown (behind Chirello), and Paul Madden. Third row, left to right: Abiu Velaszuez and Mike Ramsey. Back Row: Zach Petit. Fulton Jr. High students study piano and guitar during the school year.
Throughout the course of a school year, students at Fairgrieve Elementary School learn about the importance of good character traits such as respect, gratitude, empathy, tolerance, honesty, and perseverance. For the month of September, the emphasis was on the virtue respect and role model students from kindergarten through sixth grade were recently honored for consistently demonstrating that they value others. Through the honorees’ courteous and considerate efforts, Fairgrieve Elementary School Principal Jean Ciesla says, “they make Fairgrieve Elementary School a better place.†Pictured above are the following Respect Virtue Award Winners for the month of September with Fairgrieve fourth grade teacher Mr. Todd Terpening: kindergarteners Cassidy Duso, Trae Mitchell, Sean Wright, and Sabrina Carvey; first graders Molly Williams, ShayLee Sivalia, and Matthew Breton; second graders Ana Marroquin Aguilar, Alden Parks, Mitchell Foster, and Eric Mitchell; third graders Emma Long, Jade Brownrigg, Brianna Coakley, and Christabella Bennett; fourth graders Chadwick Bean II, Zachary Draughn, Kyle McCarthy, and Haley Bort; fifth graders McKenna Chesbro, Daniel Woodard, Jr., and Kasey Dickens; and sixth graders Cara Todt, Brittney Alton, and Jasmine Collins.
The public hearing on the Fulton City School District’s proposed 2010-2011 budget, which was held on Wednesday, May 5, will be aired on Time Warner Cable public access channel 96 in Fulton.
The hearing will air on the following dates:
5/10 – 5:30 p.m.
5/11 – 3:30 p.m.
5/12 – 5:30 & 1 minute after the Fulton Common Council Meeting which begins at 7:00 p.m.
5/13 – 7:00 p.m.
5/14 – 6 p.m.
5/15 – 6:00 p.m.
5/16 – 4:30 p.m.
5/17 – 5:30 p.m.
The vote on the school budget and for two board positions is Tuesday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Voting locations are Lanigan, Granby, Fairgrieve and Volney elementary schools.
Anyone interested in further information may call William Lynch, superintendent of schools, at 593-5510 or www.fulton.cnyric.org.
Members of Mrs. Erin Brewster’s fourth grade class at Volney Elementary School are pictured above with Wegmans ‘eat well live well’ tour guide Michele. The field trip for all fourth graders at the school included a fun and educational tour of the store’s bakery, produce, dairy, meat/seafood departments and discussions about healthy food choices.
Volney Elementary School fourth grade students read the clues in their Wegmans ‘eat well live well’ Treasure Hunt. Pictured above, left to right, is the team’s caption and Volney Elementary School Teacher Mr. Doug Farfaglia with students James Freeman, Jasmine James, Katie Curtis, Julia Guarrera, and Madison Wilson.
Volney Elementary School fourth grade students Jacob Willcox (left), Brianna Grinnell, and Mason Rowlee look on as Wegmans ‘eat well live well’ tour guide Michelle checks their answers in the health-related Treasure Hunt.
“Eat a rainbow a day,†Wegmans ‘eat well live well’ tour guide Michelle said to Volney Elementary School fourth graders during their recent field trip to the supermarket in Clay. Some raised eyebrows and a few confused looks emerged before the students realized she was referring to the USDA MyPyramid food guide.
The ‘eat well live well’ free, fun and educational interactive tour at Wegmans aims at arming students with the knowledge and skills needed to make healthy food choices. “The healthier your diet is, the better you are going to feel,†Michelle said as she explained the tour stops to the store’s bakery, produce, dairy and meat/seafood departments. Wegmans representatives along the tour emphasized the importance of whole grains, healthy fats, vitamins, fiber, protein, calcium, 100% juice, understanding serving or portion sizes, and also provided some taste tests.
The tour concluded with an ‘eat well live well’ Treasure Hunt where the students were given clues and asked to locate healthy products such as pork, lettuce and multi-grain bread. Each student left with a goodie bag filled with healthy food alternatives like oatmeal, raisins, an apple, a loaf of multi-grain bread along with a food pyramid and a fitness chart.
According to a ‘sex and tech’ survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and Cosmogirl.com 20% of teenagers have sent or posted a nude or semi-nude picture of video of himself/herself. This startling statistic, some helpful tips to prevent sexting, and more was shared with Fulton Junior High School students during the school’s recent PBIS Day.
“It’s hard not to notice that nearly every teenager has a cell phone and as useful of a tool as it is for communicating, not using it responsibly can be dangerous,†Fulton Junior High School (FJHS) Assistant Principal Ryan Lanigan said. For this reason FJHS partnered with the Child Advocacy Center to incorporate a discussion about sexting into the school’s recent Positive Behaviors and Interventions Services (PBIS) Day.
Defined as the act of sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photos, or images electronically, sexting can have legal consequences, social repercussions, and can be emotionally and psychological damaging to today’s youth. FJHS students watched the MTV documentary “Sexting in America: When Privates Go Public” about high school students involved in sexting. From a teenage girl who sent a boyfriend an explicit photo of herself where it eventually ended up on the internet to a teenage boy who passed on an explicit photo that he received the documentary capture two different aspects of the repercussions of sexting. The girl who had to deal with the embarrassment and humiliation to the boy who was arrested for child pornography and is now and will be a registered sex offender until he is 43, the documentary and proactive classroom discussions that followed aimed at informing FJHS seventh and eighth graders and arming them with the facts they need to make informed decisions and how to use technology responsibly.
More information is available by calling the Fulton Junior High School at (315) 593-5440.
Volney Elementary School students performed two concerts the last week in March in celebration of Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM). A true showcase of musical talents, the concerts featured performances by Kelly Evan’s fourth, fifth and sixth grade orchestra groups, Carrie Foster’s fifth and sixth grade band members, and Hope Lawton’s fifth and sixth grade choral group. Equipped with shades in preparation for their ‘Do I Dare’ performance, chorus members Kylee Hartle (front left), Makhali Voss (front right), and Kimi Ingersoll are pictured above with Hope Lawton (background) and pianist Becky Mattix. For more information about Volney Elementary School’s chorus, band, orchestra or other musical opportunities available at the school call (315) 593-5570.
Students at Volney Elementary School took their lunches ‘to go’ for the school’s fifth annual Literacy Luncheon. Librarian Sarah Fay, pictured above, hosted this week-long event for sixth graders at the school as a way to promote literacy and a love for reading and books. Normally a place where food and drinks are prohibited, the Literacy Luncheon transformed the library into a fun and relaxing café where Fay previewed the chapter book “Swear to Howdy†by Wendelin van Draanen. Each day Fay read to the students for 30 minutes and then the group participated in a discussion about the development of the story and characters, their thoughts as to how the story is going to pan out, and the books underlying message which in this case was about the consequences of actions. The students pictured above listening to Fay are from left to right Cameron Clarke, Dylan Batchelor (background), Luke Kush, Paige Scoville, and Lisa Carter.
The Lanigan Lift-off rocket sparks a high energy assembly that celebrates student accomplishments in TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) dedication and the school district’s PBIS (Positive Behavior, Intervention and Services) initiative. Lead astronaut in the program, Harry Meeker, a sixth grade teacher at Lanigan reviews the school’s four PBIS expectations as the assembly begins. The next Lanigan Lift-Off is scheduled to take place during the school district’s upcoming half day in February.
Students in Lanigan Elementary School celebrated positive behavior in an out of this world way recently at a Lanigan Lift-Off program held at the school. This program focuses on reinforcing the Fulton City School District’s Positive Behaviors and Interventions Services (PBIS) initiative, promoting a TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) attitude and uniting the entire Lanigan student and staff family.
Students filled the cafeteria dancing and singing along to a mix of fun and inspirational songs that boomed through the cafeteria. Once each class had settled into their seats, the theme song from Space Odyssey filled the room as a group of teachers and Lanigan Elementary School Principal Dan Johnson descended from a space rocket onto the stage. This Lift-Off was a no-go with the smoke/fog machine, but the audience did not seem to mind the missing vapor.
As always, lead astronaut, sixth grade teacher Mr. Harry Meeker, began the high energy program by reviewing the school’s four PBIS expectations: be respectful, be responsible, be safe, and be a problem solver and asked the students to uphold these expectations when then are not only in school, but at home and in the community.
Set to a NASA-inspired theme, each Lanigan Lift-off assembly promotes student accomplishments in a high energy, supportive environment. As part of the Lanigan Lift-off festivities, the school recognizes the many students who have remained referral free since the beginning of the school year. Wrapping up the assembly, student and staff members swayed back and forth as they sang I Can See Clearly Now.
These lift-off events, which are scheduled for early dismissal days in the district are an opportunity to bring the entire student body together, including those classes currently housed at other elementary schools, to celebrate Lanigan school spirit and promote the TEAM environment.
Fairgrieve Elementary School’s top spellers are pictured, left to right: Madison Lang, Allysha Dela Cruz and Gina Babcock. Dela Cruz and Babcock will advance to the next level of the spelling competition on January 23rd at Christian Brothers Academy.
Fairgrieve Elementary School’s top two spellers in grades four through six will advance to the 2009-2010 Post Standard/WCNY Spelling Bee to be held January 23rd at Christian Brothers Academy. Finishing in first place was Allysha DelaCruz, second place winner was Gina Babcock, and third place was awarded to Madison Lang.
The local spellers will join about 200 students from 45 school districts and home-school associations in taking a written test. The top 35 spellers will move on to an oral bee, with the winner granted an expense paid trip for two to Washington, DC to take part in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.
Earlier this month, a celebration was held for 19 students who passed the first written spelling test. A total of 76 students competed in the first written test, which was given by reading teachers Patti DeGelorm and Mike Church. The students were given study guides earlier in the school year that included word lists to study, as well as preparation tips. An oral bee was held following a series of written tests in order to narrow down the number of participants. The winning word at this bee was entourage.
The Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running education promotion with the purpose to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all of their lives.
Fairgrieve Elementary Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade students selected for virtue of the month for December are pictured left to right, front row: Caitlyn Warne, Ronde Wood, Danielle LaPierre, Jade Jodway, and Paris Kress. Second row: Azzul Leyva, Zachary Howard, Juanita Holmes, Sydney Lawson, Noah Congdon, and Morgan Hildreth. Standing in back is Jeremy Belfield, administrative intern at Fairgrieve Elementary.
Fairgrieve Elementary 3rd and 4th grade students selected for virtue of the month for December are pictured left to right: Lily Wright, Everett Stacy, Shaylee Cealie, and Kasey Dickens. In back is Principal Jean Ciesla and Administrative Intern Jeremy Belfield.
Fairgrieve Elementary 5th and 6th grade students selected for virtue of the month for December are pictured left to right: Emily Bush, Christopher Recore, Jolene Ingison, Paige Noel, Patricia Pryor, Ariannah Conley, and James Vincent. In back is Principal Jean Ciesla.
Several Fairgrieve Elementary School students were selected to receive the December Virtue of the Month award. December’s virtue, Empathy, recognizes wonderful examples of caring and understanding individuals. “All are kind hearted children who are always sensitive to the needs and feelings of others,†said Fairgrieve Elementary School Principal Jean Ciesla.
From the files of OCSD
Assemblyman Will Barclay recently met with town and highway supervisors from Constantia, West Monroe, and Hastings to discuss state issues that affect localities. Barclay talked about the state budget, local projects, and Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPs) which affects budgets for all localities.
The St. Luke Adult Day Health Care program continues to celebrate the program’s twentieth year of service to the Oswego County community through its “Twenty Acts of Kindness” event. Over the course of the year, registrants will undertake a variety of activities in support of other community organizations and initiatives as a way to say “thank you” for the support the St. Luke ADHC Program has received since opening in 1993.
Showers continue on and off overnight as lows dip into the 40s. Breezy and cooler on Friday. High about 55.
A public meeting will be held on June 5 to help draft the Eastern Lake Ontario Unit Management Plan, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced. The meeting sessions will be held at the DEC’s Salmon River Fish Hatchery, 2133 County Route 22, Altmar, from 10 a.m. to noon, 2 to 4 p.m. and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.