From the Superintendent:
The first marking period has
ended and by the time you receive this newsletter parent conferences will also
have been held. Keeping the lines
of communication open is the most important piece in the parent to school relationship.
Just because scheduled parent – teacher conferences are over please do
not feel that any one of us can not be contacted at any time. If you have any
questions regarding your child’s program or any part of the school operation,
please do not hesitate to contact us directly.
I am pleased to announce we were
able to field our own basketball
teams for boys varsity, girls varsity and boys modified.
We thank our neighbors at
Fund raising has been a hot topic
of discussion lately here at Long Lake CSD as well as in schools across the
state. Fund raising is governed
by NYS education law and subject to audit.
Recently a group comprised of board members, students, staff and myself met to discuss our fund raising efforts and to bring
forward a sound policy that we can all work with and be within mandated guidelines.
Our goal is to have each class that does fund raising assigned to one
specific event per school year and have all profits managed through student
council. Please take a moment to fill out and return
our fund raising survey found on the back page of this newsletter.
The outing club is hoping to
go to St. Lawrence for rock climbing the first Saturday in February, along with
providing other activities for our community. Stay tuned for coming events.
On behalf of the faculty and
staff , I would like to wish you all the best this
holiday season.
Sincerely,
Kevin O. Crampton
Superintendent
And now a few
words from the Speech-Language Department
A few years ago when my
children were barely into their toddling stage, I found this poem on-line by
Chilean poet, Gabriela Mistral. These few but powerful words struck me with the
intensity and urgency of their message. I jotted the poem on a small piece of
scrap paper and taped it to my bathroom wall next to the mirror. It still hangs there, curling up around
the edges, serving as a visual reminder to me of just how important and how
fleeting childhood is and of the need to pay attention to and focus on my
children. It is easy as a parent to become distracted by the daily events life
hands us… mountains of laundry, throwing together meals, mopping floors…etc. but
everytime I see this poem, it jolts me back to this
reality.
"Many things we need can wait.
The child cannot.
Now
is the time her bones are being formed,
Her blood is being made,
Her mind is being developed.
To her, we cannot say Tomorrow,
Her name is Today."
This poem lends itself well
into a discussion about how we as a community of "teaching partners" (includes
teachers, parents, siblings, relatives, school and public libraries etc.) are
essential in promoting reading and writing skills. Parents however, are the
child's FIRST TEACHERS. Research
over the past several years has proven that the child who has experienced many
hours of being read to on a daily basis since infancy right up to kindergarten
by a parent or caregiver will be ready to advance to the actual process of
learning how to read and write.
How can parents help their
youngsters before they enter pre-school or kindergarten to achieve the readiness
skills necessary for developing reading? The answer is simple and one that Mrs.
Wagner, our school librarian, and your child's classroom teacher have already
mentioned numerous times over the years.
1.
Read aloud daily to
your child (several books) from infancy on (it is important for the baby to
experience hearing the rhythm and fluency of the sounds of our language, use
inflections in your voice, point out simple pictures and name them, as he gets
older, read the title and talk about the writer and illustrator, talk about the
book etc. Ask him/her to guess what might happen next in the story. Your child
will also boost his vocabulary skills. Reading helps your child to enjoy
spending close time with you, the most important person in his life… it's a
special time and can create a wonderful life time memory. Don't worry if your
baby drools and chews on board books, they are made to be explored by little
hands and mouths as well as for reading!
2.
Help your child
obtain his/her public library card, (it's FREE but look at it as a TICKET or Key
to unlock the wonders of books, make it an important event (try it on your
child's first birthday) and go together as a family to the library on a
consistent basis. Your child needs to see how much you value reading too! You
are sending him an important message for life…about reading. Parents who do not
like reading can still visit the library with their child and do much to
influence their child in a positive way. There are computer stations and
magazines to enjoy and there is a book area just for children. Although my
mother left school after 8Th grade, she was never intimidated by our town's
public library. We visited the library every 2 weeks. We would bring home bags
of books and she always looked at our books and commented about the artwork or
the story itself. She instilled in us at a very early age just how important
reading was in our daily lives and what a treasure it turned out to
be!
3.
Your school or
public librarian or child's teacher can help you or your child select age
appropriate books.
4.
Play with
words…rhyming games, play with sounds of language (with babies babble back to them, imitate their sound patterns. You are
not teaching a child how to baby talk if you babble back to them, you are
repeating the baby's sounds and setting the stage for communicative
interactions.
5.
In the books you
read together, point out the beginning sounds in words and help your child to
find these sounds in other words. Use the sounds the letters make and not the
letter names. Point out words on cereal and milk cartons, on road signs, names
of restaurants on signs, names of food items on signs in stores
etc.
6.
Encourage your
child to write up notes, grocery lists, invitations etc. even if he is not in
school yet. Those scribbles will eventually with time and practice turn into
real words! Although my children are able to print their names and a few simple
words, they love pretending to write cursive like mommy and will scribble off a
list or letter and "read" it to me!
7.
Our public library
has an on-going used book-sale for children and adults and also in the summer
there is always an annual booksale where parents can stock up with bags of
wonderful children's books.
8.
Consider giving
some books every year as part of your traditional gift
giving.
If
you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to call me at
624-2221, ext. 201. Wishing you all a peaceful holiday
season.
"Season's
Worksheets for the Federal
Application for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA) were mailed home recently. These will help senior parents start
getting their materials together.
Seniors planning on attending
college need to remember to file the FAFSA online or by paper form as soon after
January 1st as possible.
Juniors
have received test scores for the ASVAB exam. PSAT scores should be arriving
soon. The ASVAB exam is an aptitude
test given to schools for free by the military. It is a requirement for students
interested in joining the military, but it can also be useful to other students
in giving them information about their strengths and weaknesses with regard to
career planning. The PSAT is a
practice exam for the SAT I (a required college entrance exam for most
colleges.) I have encouraged all
juniors to register for either the SAT I or ACT for the Spring. They
were given the registration forms earlier in October. Juniors need
to continue working on college research. They will need to narrow their list of
colleges this year to 5 or less and complete their college visits in the
spring. The Discover program can be
very useful in helping students with researching careers, majors and colleges
that fit their needs. All juniors
have received user ids and directions on using our online Discover program. If students need help and direction in
using the program effectively, I can meet with them individually to do
this.
Each year, the
Veterans who
served in the armed forces during the
Present: Lorrie Hosley, Jim Pine, Tina Pine, Fred
Short, Julie Helms, Kevin Crampton, Alex Holton, Heather Black, Karin Cook,
Cindy Austin, Hillarie Dechene, Hallie Bond, Tisha White
Minutes:
Reviewed and approved the
Old Business:
New Business:
Per Hillary’s request, Karl
Geiger joined us to discuss nutritional choices for the school lunch and
breakfast program.
Karl explained in detail
efforts that have been made in the last few years to increase the nutritional
value of the food program. The
health and wellness committee has been involved in planning for the program
also. Karl would like to see
increased assistance with parents and classroom teachers in educating students
in making appropriate choices.
Hillarie expressed concern
about the quality of government surplus foods, fried foods, soda and the rising
obesity rate for kids in this country.
She would like to see more whole grains and legumes included in the
program and a decrease in processed sugars, carbs and transfats as much as
possible.
Lorrie expressed concern that
many students are eating a second breakfast. Karl does ask students if they’ve
already eaten breakfast and tries to direct them to appropriate choices as much
as possible. Karl is more concerned
with the current portion sizes and frequency of students requesting
seconds. He would like to charge
students for second helpings. Our
current policy is that kids can have second helpings for free. Karl believes he tries to provide
several healthy choices each day for students, but knows that he can’t control
what the kids choose. Hillarie
agreed that there is a shared responsibility for what the kids choose and
parents should be talking to their kids about making appropriate food choices at
school. Hillarie suggested that if
kids won’t make healthy choices, maybe we have too many
choices.
Hallie mentioned the importance
of additional emphasis on exercise and noted that our high participation rate
for school sports helps these issues.
There was discussion about the
length of the lunch periods. Eating
faster is another factor in the tendency to ask for second helpings. The kids have 20 minute lunch periods
decreased by time waiting in line and many rush to eat and get seconds before
they may realize they are full.
When asked for the student
viewpoint, Heather feels that portion sizes and choices are controlled
enough. She believes the menu has
changed a lot since she was in elementary school and is healthier. Both Heather and Alex indicated that if
choices and portions are limited further, they believe there will be more kids
bringing their lunches from home.
They want to continue having more choices for days that kids may not like
the main lunch. They would like a
longer lunch period.
Tina mentioned that on short
Tuesdays her class eats lunch 20 minutes later than normal and the kids are very
hungry by that point and more likely to ask for seconds. She does let them get a snack from the
cafeteria earlier in the day. Karl
believes that close to 80% of the kids come to the cafeteria for a snack
(typically fruit) at some point during the day.
Agenda – Resolution of
nutrition issues, revisit distance learning at Hallie’s
request
The Class of 2006 would like to
thank everyone who supported our candle sale last month. The orders should be
arriving soon and will be delivered shortly thereafter. Next on our agenda is
the Christmas Craft Fair. This is going to be held in the school gym on December
10th from
The class is going to have
Christmas trees/wreaths and poinsettias for sale at the craft fair. If you would
like to reserve your tree, wreath or poinsettias for pick up that day please
call school at 624-2221 ext. 203. These items will be sold on a first-come
first-served basis that day so reserve yours today. You can call Tina Burnett or
Mary Hall for details on how to order. Thanks for your continued support and we
look forward to seeing you at the craft fair!
The First Grade is proud to
announce that we have a winner in the great reading train game. The students have been challenged to
read 25 books by the end of the year and we already have two students who have
met their challenge. First to
finish all 25 outside reading books was Austin Pierce. Second to finish was
Ethan Bush. The other students aren’t far behind.
As of November 10th
the first and second graders lead the whole school having read a total of 83
books…quite an accomplishment for beginning readers. Congratulations and keep up
the good work. Let’s see how many we can read by the end of the year!
The First and Second Graders
have been learning about voting.
They accompanied Mrs. Hall when she went to participate in the school
voting on Tuesday. They watched as the high school students registered her to
vote. They were able to see what the ballot looked like and the voting process
as described to them by the senior “ Participation in
Government” class.
Following this they returned to
their own classroom and voted on their own class officers and three
“referendums”. Elected officers for the next few weeks
are:
President- Ethan Bush
Vice President- Austin
Pierce
Secretary- Mynga Santos
Treasurer- Joao
Santos
Classroom checker- Jessica
Pitcher
Referendums were as
follows:
1.
Should we have a free activity day once a month if all students have completed
and turned in their homework all month… 6 yes…0
no
2.
Would you like to have a Christmas party the day before Christmas vacation? 5 yes...0 no and 1
abstention
3.
Would you like to have homework everyday including weekends so that you don’t
forget what we are working on in class? 0 yes...6
no
Students were
then encouraged to try and go with their parents when they went to vote in the
town elections so we could compare the similarities and
differences in the way that voting
takes place.
LIBRARY
NEWS
By Sharon Waagner
Christmas is coming, can winter
be far behind? We are so fortunate
to live in
Christmas is a good time to
make some of your gifts be the gift of a good book. I
am including a list of some special titles for varied ages as well as some
recommendations for gifts for the home bookshelves. Have fun shopping and have a
safe and happy holiday season!
Toddler –
Baby danced the polka – Karen Beaumont
Lemons are not red – Laura Seeger
PreK-2 -
If you give a pig a party – Laura Numeroff
The
turn-around, upside-down alphabet book – Lisa Ernst
Kitten’s first full moon – Kevin Henkes
Wow! City! – Robert Neubecker
Wild about books – Judy Sierra
Gr. 3 – 4
–
Magic Tree House series – Mary Pope Osborne
Animal ark series – Ben Baglio
A to Z mysteries series – Ron roy
Marvin Redpost series – Louis Sachar
Gr. 5 –
7/8
Harry Potter series – J. K. Rowling
Merlin and the making of the king – Margaret
Hodges
Mighty Jackie: the strikeout queen – Marissa
Moss
Coming on home soon – Jacqueline
Woodson
Al
Capone does my shirts – Gennifer Choldenko
The
teacher’s funeral: a comedy in three parts – Richard Peck
Joey Pigza swallowed the key – Jack Gantos
Millicent Min: girl genius – Lisa Yee
Hoot – Carl Hiaasen
Messenger – Lois Lowry
Follow-up books for Harry
Potter fans:
Chronicles of Prydain series – Lloyd
Alexander
The Spiderwick chronicles – Holly Black
Artemis Fowl – Eoin Colfer
Inkheart – Cornelia Funke
Charlie Bone series – Jenny Nimmo
Series of unfortunate events – Lemony
Snicket
Home bookshelves
–
World Almanac and Book of Facts
World atlas,
Good dictionary
Thesaurus
Poetry
Short stories
New this year, we have
implemented a monthly reading incentive drawing for students in grades 1 through
6. As an added incentive, the
library will conduct a drawing each month for a unique prize. Each time a student turns in a book
report, his or her name will be entered into that
month’s drawing. Students will not
only be adding titles to their goal of reading 25 books before June, but will
have a chance to win a prize.
For November we had two Harry
Potter baseball caps. As of this
writing, the drawing was yet to be conducted but students were eager to turn in
book reports.
Our annual Champion Readers
event has already had winners in the 10 and 18 book categories. Students reading ten books are invited
to select a prize from the treasure chest while students who achieve 18 books
are given a new book. More prizes
and rewards await those who achieve 25 books. In addition, a power point presentation
is showing continuously in the Elementary Library. Students have their pictures
taken as soon as they achieve ten books and the pictures are entered into the
computer. Currently, as of this
writing, we have 8 students at the ten or more level and 2 at 18 or more. The following students may be seen in
the presentation:
10 level – Mynga Santos, Joao Santos, Jessica Pitcher, Ben Geiger, Curtis Seaman, Leah Foster, Meg Smith, and Melissa Clark. Achieving 18 or more are Ethan Bush and Austin Pierce. Ethan and Austin may already be at 25 by the time you read this!
Our next Book Fair has been
scheduled for March 10 through 13.
Please note it on your calendar. It has been booked to coincide with
Parents as Reading Partners month. PARP material will be handed out in February
with information for parents as well as booklets for recording reading
times.
·
Approval of
·
Next meeting is
· Mr. Larry Reece presented the 2004-2005 school year audit.
· Approval of the 2004-2005 school year audit was tabled until the next meeting so the Board has time to review the audit.
· Warrants #8 and #9 were approved.
· Approval of the bid of $33,000 from B&D Enterprises of NNY, Inc. and permission for the Board President to sign the contracts upon our attorney’s review and approval.
·
Approval of Reece & Associates of
· Approval of an Audit Committee, consisting of the Board as a whole, per NYS Education Department regulations.
· The Semi-Annual Asbestos Surveillance report was presented.
· Initial Preliminary Budget Assumptions were presented.
· Approval of keeping the current school van instead of trading it as budgeted. A new school van will still be purchased as originally budgeted.
· Mr. Crampton reviewed Superintendent’s Conference Day, Field Trips, Conferences, and Adult Ed. Classes.
· The following Appointments have been approved:
For Basketball- Varsity Coach-Mr. Thomas Helms, Modified Coach-Mr. David Olbert, and unpaid coaching assistants-Mr. Kevin Austin and Mr. Charles H. Farr
Outing Club Co-Advisors-Mrs. V. Lynn Malerba and Ms. Shannon Germain.
CSE/CPSE Parent Reps.- Mrs. Karen Seaman and Ms. Julie LaScala
Tutor-Ms. Deirdre Dunham pending fingerprint clearance.
· Approval of a cross contract with Erie BOCES for a Board Policy manual.
· Approval of the Non-Resident Tuition Policy as presented.
· Pending a letter from Town Supervisor Greg Wallace re: upcoming expenses the Geiger Area Ice Rink Joint after School Project is still underway.
· The current seniors are being asked by the Board to research transportation costs for their senior trip.
· Approval of the following Procedure:
-All fund-raising money earned by a class becomes the property of the class as an entity and no one individual has a claim to any portion of it.
· Mr. Jules Comeau attended the 2005 NYSSBA Convention.
· The Newcomb/Deerland bus route change was discussed.
· The 2005 Yearbooks will still be a month or so before they are received. Mr. Crampton is researching the problems.
· Items discussed in Executive session, personnel issues, faculty contract negotiations, and unpaid lunch fund bills.
· Bryan Geiger sent thanks to the Board for defraying the costs of his attendance at the Junior National Young Leaders Conference.
By Coach Dave Olbert
This
is the best season a LLCS boy’s varsity soccer team has had since the Fall of 1999. Then, the team composed of 7 seniors came in
second place to NSA and gave Chazy the scare of its life in the Section 7
Championship game.
This
year the team finished in second place, behind Wells by half a game with a 7 and
3 divisional record.
Our overall record was 10 wins 8 losses and 1 tie. These results were achieved
with only a 12-player roster and we played several games with 11 and one game
with only 10 on the field. We had a team of very athletic players this season,
which also contributed, to our success, and I see this trend to
continue.
Although
we will lose 5 seniors to graduation
I expect the team to remain competitive next season. The modified team went 11
and 1 this year and the players that will move to the varsity along with the
7-returning players should produce positive results.
Another
highlight to the season was our effort against Seton Catholic in a night game at
Special
congratulations to Noah Beardsley, Tim Helms, Nicole Andrews, Nick Luxford, and
Caleb Austin for the effort and dedication throughout the season. I sincerely
hope that all of you attend college and get to play at the next
level.
Alex Smith, the only freshman on the team has excellent
athleticism, leaping ability, and is somewhat fearless or crazy, a
characteristic that is required to be a successful net minder. His best save of
the season came when he ventured outside the 18 and failed to clear the ball
effectively. Jeffery Reynolds got control and took a shot destine for the upper
right hand corner of the net. Alex realized what was about to transpire, ran 30
yards and flew for another 10 to bat a shot out of
bounds. The league recognized Alex with honorable mention for All League
this season.
Andrew Snide, sophomore, played fullback and had an excellent
aptitude for stopping the opponents attack at midfield whenever the ball was
played to his side. Andrew was hard working in practices and games, seldom
complained, and just a real pleasure to be around. This was Andrews’ first year
on the varsity and he was selected to all league honorable
mention.
Joel Hart, a sophomore finished his second year on the varsity.
Joel was indispensable to the team because of his willingness to play as well as
his talent in two positions. Joel was frequently asked to play fullback instead
of his normal spot as wing. By virtue of his natural quickness and aptitude he
excelled at both spots on the field.
Dave Andrews, a sophomore, in his first year on the varsity played
stoppers and was the aerobic animal of the team. He seldom stopped running and
usually had one of the most difficult opponents to mark. Dave made second team
all league for his efforts this fall.
Taylor
Merrihew, a sophomore, is one of the
most skilled members of the team. His fine foot skills, ability to see the field
and distribute the ball earned him 7 goals and 7 assist. This was
Gary Adams, a junior, in his third season at the varsity level,
was one of our best defenders all season. He has great speed and tackling
skills.
Kodee Olbert a junior,
in his second season on the varsity played midfield. Kodee has a strong foot and
can score from outside the 18 when he gets it on net. In a home game against Johnsburg his
goal helped take the wind out of the Jaguars and was a significant turning point
in the
Nicole
Andrews, a senior, played midfield and
should be an inspiration to every female at
Nick Luxford, a senior, in his fourth varsity season, played sweeper
for the third consecutive year, Nick has excellent aptitude for the last
defender position and has been a real pleasure to be around. He brings humor to
the practice, works hard and never complains, even when he gets hurt and we need
to call the ambulance. Nick made All League Honorable
Mention.
Caleb Austin, a senior, plays wherever I asked him to and never
complained even though he wanted to be on the attack all the time. Caleb has
excellent endurance for the midfield, good tackling skills at fullback and an
uncanny ability to finish on attack. Caleb has two years on the varsity and had
7 goals and 5 assist this season. He was selected to second team all league.
Tim Helms, a senior in
his fourth year at the varsity level was another versatile player for the team.
Tim started out at midfield the finished the team on the attack. He was the
greatest physical presence we had on the team as well as a quality team player.
Tim had 7 goals and 5 assist and was selected to first team all league.
Noah
Beardsley, a senior, played attack
throughout the season. Noah is our best natural athlete with an excellent
ability to read the trajectory of the ball and score with his head in
traffic. Noah was second in the
south in scoring behind Matt Begal with 19 goals and 10 assist. Noah was
selected to first team all league.
On Wednesday December
28th the PE department in cooperation with the PTSA plans to run an
annual holiday dodgeball tournament. We intend to invite area schools to
participate and there will be three brackets: high school, middle school, and an
adult bracket. The entry fee will insure each team a minimum of two games. Each
winning team will get a T-shirt and a trophy that will travel to the winning
school / community until the following year kind of like the Stanley Cup. Each
school / community will be limited to one team per bracket. The team entry fee
is $50.00 and food and beverage will be sold at the event. If interested contact
Dave Olbert for game rules and entry forms.
On Thursday December
23rd the PE department will sponsor a school / community volleyball
tournament. The tourney will begin at
Outing Club (A.K.A.
GPS Challenges & Geocaching
Skiing & Tubing at
Skating on the Olympic Oval in
Broomball Potluck at
Playday at St. Lawrence University
Bowling in
Overnight camping experience
Snowshoe, X-c ski, hike, bike, paddling possibilities
Do These activities sound like something you would be interested in? The Outing Club is a great way to get out and explore new areas, try new things or just spend time with your friends and family. We are gearing up for another great year. The first outing of the year will be on December 17th. It will be a treasure hunt using GPS. More information will be available on the walls of school and via e-mail shortly. If you would like to be added to our e-mail list for future information send your information to school attention: Mary Hall. Happy Trekking!
Long
Santa’s
Shop
Is Coming to
School!
Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday
December 20,
21 and 22
LLCS Stage
Santa’s Shop offers reasonably priced gift items for
students to buy for family, friends, teachers and other special people. Most gifts are $1 - $2, all are under
$5. The PTSA sells the items at our
cost (sometimes below cost). This
is not a fundraiser - it is a
service to our students!
If
you would like your child to make gift purchases at Santa’s Shop, please send
money to school with him or her on December 20-22. If you have questions, please call
Camille at 624-5351.
~Happy
Holidays to All from the Long
Help Wanted:
Elves needed to assist in Santa’s Shop.
Must enjoy helping children select gifts for loved
ones. Must
be able to keep a secret.
Hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and/or Thursday, December 20, 21 and/or 22,
anytime between
Please take a moment to fill out the following survey pertaining to the Student Body fundraising efforts. The purpose is to select 4 of your favorite fundraisers that you would like to see continued.
We appreciate your participation. Please return to the Main office @ P.O. Box 217 LLNY, 12847 attn: Kristie Lance or drop your completed survey off by December 15th.
__ Christmas Trees/Wreaths/Poinsettias
(Circle one -with/without Christmas craft fair)
__ Pumpkins/Cider/Apples (circle one-with/without Harvest Festival)
__ Halloween Carnival
__ Candles (Yankee)
__ Flowers/Plants-hanging baskets, potted, bulbs
__ Pizza/Cookie Dough kits (Joe Corbi)
__ Catalog Sales i.e. Cadet Stationary
please specify_____________________________________
__ Snowmobile Races- Concession Stand, suggestions__________________________________
__ Basketball Game Concession
Please use this space to suggest any new ideas for fundraisers that you’d like to see, or for your comments.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
THANK YOU