Students at Fairgrieve Elementary School were announced as Expectation Experts for exhibiting the district’s behavioral expectations for the month of October.

Expectation Experts for the month of October at Fairgrieve Elementary School were recognized during Morning Express at the school. Pictured with the students is Todd Terpening.

The students represented the four expectations: Be Safe; Be Respectful; Be Responsible; and Be a Problem Solver.

The following students were named Expectation Experts by Principal Jean Ciesla:

Abbott Patterson, Alyvia LaPage, Kayla Pero, Laurissa Bruska-Ostrander, Ayden Cusic, Devin Patchen, Jadriel Baez, Jaelyn Jimenez, Jayliana Padua, Hayden Carvey, Maddison Blake, Natasha Carpenter, Averin Miner, John McCauliffe, Meadow Waterhouse, Chelsey Latocha, Adon Heaney, Annyka Halligan, Caleb Dillingham, Madison Clark, Paige McConnell, Shyanne Miller and Robert Peck.

The students were presented with special certificates and a pencil to commemorate the award.

Lacona First Assistant Chief Travis Balcom crawls through the crowd of students to allay their fears and show them that he’s just a person with lots of safety equipment on to protect himself in a fire. Lacona and Sandy Creek fire departments visited several classes at Sandy Creek Elementary during Fire Safety and Prevention Month.

Students at Sandy Creek Elementary received a visit from the Lacona and Sandy Creek fire departments.

The firefighters shared safety and prevention information with students at the school.

Andrew Amell tries on Joe Norton’s firefighter jacket when the Sandy Creek Fire Department visited the school and talked to students in Pre-Kindergarten through first grade classes. The firefighters talked to students about the importance of checking smoke detectors and determining a family meeting spot, and also warned them of the dangers of playing with matches, lighters, fire, appliances and much more.

Zoe Britton checks out a fellow classmate with the body heat detector equipment utilized by the fire department to quickly locate people and/or pets still inside a smoke-filled building. Members of the Sandy Creek and Lacona fire departments visited the school to share safety and prevention information with students.

First grade students at Sandy Creek Elementary School stop for a quick photo with members of the Lacona Fire Department following a presentation at the school.

Students in Martin Scoville’s Advanced Drawing and Painting classes at Sandy Creek High School took a recent field trip to Old Forge where they drew inspiration from nature.

Senior Sarah McDougal holds her water color painting from the field trip to Bald Mountain in the Adirondack Mountains. McDougal and other students in Martin Scoville’s Advanced Drawing and Painting classes traveled to the inspiring location to draw from nature. Other student paintings from the trip are on the table next to McDougal.

Prior to the field trip, the students studied the water colors of Winslow Homer, who worked in the Adirondack Mountains during a period of his life and painted many works during that time.

“We used Winslow Homer’s works as an historical springboard,” said Scoville, who also said that painting from life rather than from two-dimensional photos is an important part of drawing and painting.

Senior art student Sarah McDougal agreed saying, the experience helped her and the other students to understand perspective.

“It was awesome being up there,” she said. “You could choose your perspective and what you wanted to paint.”

Advanced Drawing and Painting students as well as advanced art students working on portfolio preparation took a trip to the Adirondack Mountains for inspiration and experience drawing from nature.

Upon arriving in Old Forge, the students needed to get to the vantage point that would provide that inspirational view.

Together they hiked up Bald Mountain where they chose a spot that provided the amazing vista.

The students ate lunch on the mountain before hiking back down and returning to school.

The view from Bald Mountain served as both inspiration and subject for student artists from Sandy Creek High School.

It may surprise many people to learn that 25 percent of those who die every year in the United States are veterans. To help provide care and support that reflects the important contributions made by these men and women, Oswego County Hospice is a national partner of the We Honor Veterans program, and is a level 2 of the four level tiers.

This program was developed by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs to better serve our veterans with life limiting illnesses.

Oswego County Hospice utilizes resources provided by the campaign to integrate the best practices for providing end-of-life care to veterans.

By recognizing the unique needs of our nation’s veterans, Oswego County Hospice is better able to assist veterans and their families toward a more peaceful and dignified death.

It is our mission at Oswego County Hospice to provide end of life services to the men and women who have served our country that reside within the community.

It is our honor to recognize five of these veterans, who are currently clients in our program.

They will receive a certificate and small gift as a token of our appreciation this Veterans’ Day.

If you would like more information about this program, please contact Betty Dunsmoor, LMSW, ACSW, PhD, and facilitator of the We Honor Veterans Program at (315) 349-8512.

Although there has not been a major snowstorm to hit Oswego County yet this school year, students in Joe McNamara’s sixth grade class at Granby Elementary School have already gotten a heavy dose of lake effect flurries.

Granby Elementary School sixth grader Lauren Kingsley watches in amazement as a hardboiled egg is sucked into a glass bottle as part of a science experiment illustrating changes in air pressure. Looking on in the background are sixth graders Nathan Rivera, Jaden Patterson and Kaliena Ripley.

TV meteorologist Jim Teske stopped by the school recently to teach the children about lake effect snow and the factors that come into play to produce major storms.

Using data and photos from recent storms that have hit the county, students received a glimpse into the mechanics behind our local weather.

“When you have a warm lake – in our case it’s Lake Ontario — and cold air passes over the lake, you can get lake effect snow,” Teske said.

Combine the warm body of water and the cool air with changes in the atmospheric pressure and winds, and the conditions are prime for serious snowfall, the weatherman said.

To illustrate air pressure changes, Teske and sixth grader Lauren Kingsley conducted an experiment.

The pair created low pressure inside a glass bottle by adding a heat source (a cotton ball that the weatherman ignited with a lighter) and then placed a hardboiled egg on top of the bottle.

TV meteorologist Jim Teske shows Granby Elementary School sixth graders the snowfall totals during the lake effect storm in February 2007.

Since the egg blocked off the airflow into the bottle, this created a change in air pressure and the egg was sucked down through the glass top.

“The pressure inside the bottle is lower than the air pressure outside,” Teske explained. “Air wants to go from high pressure to low pressure, which is why the egg is pushed down.”

Armed with knowledge about atmospheric changes, lake effect snow and weather related terminology, McNamara said his students are ready for whatever Mother Nature has in store this winter.

“This gives them a better understanding of the environment they live in,” he said. “Now, when they hear ‘lake effect snow,’ it’s more than just a phrase. They know the science behind the storm.”

Fairgrieve Elementary School held its own elections recently selecting representatives from each class to serve on the school’s inaugural student council.

Student council representatives from each class in grades 3-6 were elected at Fairgrieve Elementary. The students and their class representation are pictured here. In front, left to right are: Miah Johnson (Nagelschmidt); Lilly Cunningham (Earl); Kamila Miranda (Sherman); Rosalind Taylor (Merry); Kiara Pittman (Warner); and Konnor Moody (Sheldon). In back, left to right are: Caleb Crandall (Pelcher); Olivia Cunningham (Phillips); Abby Hinman (Brown); Emma Weaver (Bush); Lexi Patterson (Mercer); and Caitlin Warne (Terpening).

Students applied for the privilege to run for office, stating why they thought they would be a good class representative and then created campaign posters to aid in their election.

Ballots were made up of the eligible candidates and students in grades three to six voted for three representatives by grade level, one from each grade’s classroom.

The successful candidates were announced on Election Day and the first meeting was held the following day (November 5).

The group’s advisers are Ariana Suhr, Fairgrieve’s School-Home liaison, and Colleen Kehoe Warner, fourth grade teacher at the school.

Student representatives broke into small groups to discuss important issues that the student council hopes to work on during the school year. The newly formed council met for the first time at Fairgrieve Elementary following the recent election.

VOLNEY – The Volney Elementary School gymnasium became a wax museum recently as inventors, past presidents, astronauts, celebrities, athletes and other historical figures were on display.

David Wells, left, and Evan Detor portray Orville and Wilbur Wright, respectively, during Volney Elementary School’s annual wax museum activity.

In the weeks leading up to the museum’s debut, sixth graders conducted research on various people from history, wrote a report about the person and practiced posing perfectly still to give the illusion of a wax figure.

All that prep work culminated with tours of the museum in late October, where family members, classmates and teachers made their way throughout the exhibit.

“This is our eighth year doing the wax museum and it’s always a great lesson,” said sixth grade teacher William Cahill. “The kids have more than 200 people from history to choose from and research as part of this unit. They put a lot of work into this and it shows.”

Albert Einstein (Volney Elementary School sixth grader Gage Zupancic) is captured deep in thought as part of the wax museum display.

According to Cahill, sixth graders receive a plethora of knowledge and life lessons from the wax museum activity.

Students develop life skills such as work ethic, perseverance, confidence and communication, while also getting a better idea of the people and events who helped shape the world.

“It’s important that they learn about history rather than have the attitude that ‘I can look it up on my phone if I need to,’” he said. “They are responsible to have some base knowledge of our nation’s history and our world’s history, and this allows them an opportunity to do that.”

Madison Johnson transforms into Betsy Ross as part of the wax museum exhibit.

FULTON – Jake Davenport, a G.Ray Bodley graduate and son of Gary Davenport of Fulton and Liz Weske of Waialua, Hawaii, formerly of Fulton – is currently the drummer for a Nashville based artist, Ben Gallaher.

Jake Davenport in Camp Hill this past summer

Gallaher and the band will be opening for the country artist Lee Brice on Thursday in Springfield, Illinois.

Gallaher was recently just signed by SONY Nashville.

Davenport resides in Nashville, Tenn.

GRANBY – The G. Ray Bodley wrestling team visited Granby Elementary recently to talk about Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.

Head wrestling coach Jeffrey Waldron and varsity coach Jack Popper brought along four members of the wrestling team for the PBIS Assembly on Halloween.

G. Ray Bodley Sophomore Travis Race hands out wrestling T-shirts to Granby Elementary students at October’s PBIS assembly, where Coach Waldron and members of the wrestling team spoke about the importance of character traits like responsibility.

“We’re here to talk about PBIS, wrestling and a little bit about being safe tonight,” said Waldron.

Each wrestling student took a moment to talk about a character trait, such as responsibility and the importance of that attribute in their life on the wrestling team.

The school hoped to show the youngsters that the principles they are learning about now will also be valuable to them as they grow older.

The team demonstrated some wrestling moves for the kids, reminding them that wrestling requires significant practice, training and safety and should not be tried at home.

T-shirts were given to students in the audience who exhibited excellent audience behavior.

Principal Heather Perry presented the Golden Gator Awards for the month of October.

Among others, the Jump Award for the best behavior at recess went to Tom Briggs’ second grade class and Justin Johnson’s fourth grade class.

The Spoon Award for following expectations in the cafeteria went to Dawn Pulverenti’s fourth grade class and Linda DeForest’s second grade class.

The best class with audience behavior at the end of the assembly also got to house the stuffed “Golden Gator” in their classroom until the next assembly.