December RACHS News

Greetings everyone! Hoping you all had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends. Winter is definitely settling in with the weather, winter sports teams beginning their first games, and our holiday concerts coming up soon! December is definitely a busy month. Please be sure to check out what we have coming up below, especially for this Monday’s guest speaker coming in, who will also be hosting a parent academy Monday at 6pm at Marion Jr/Sr HS (more info below!) Hope to see you there!

Wishing you all a happy holiday season!

-Dr. Christopher Whipple

On Monday, December 8, national speaker Michael DeLeon will be visiting Marion and Gananda to speak with our students about the dangers of vaping and addiction, and making positive choices. He will present to Grades 8-12 at our HS Auditorium in an assembly from 9:00am-10:30am. This is the alternate schedule we will be following on Monday.

There will also be a parent academy with Michael at Marion Jr. Sr. High School’s Auditorium from 6:00-7:00pm that evening. There will be a lot of great information, resources and strategies shared for helping to navigate addiction topics with your children. We hope to see parents and guardians there!

Linked here is a flyer with more information. We are appreciative of our neighbors, Marion CSD, whose partnership is allowing us to bring Michael to Wayne County!

As we head into the winter weather season, please be sure to build in some extra time for the morning drives to make sure students are able to be in their first block classes on time at 7:30am. We appreciate your support in helping to reinforce the importance of punctuality! Please note that after four unexcused tardies in a marking period, contact home will be made, and students will be assigned consequences starting with lunch detention and/or after school detention.

Also, with the increased darkness during morning drop off please be extra cautious when dropping students off and paying attention to student drivers and walkers crossing to get to the sidewalk. We will continue to reinforce with students to use the designated crosswalks as well.

Friday, December 12th marks fifteen weeks of school and the midpoint of Marking Period 2.

Eligibility Procedures are detailed in the Student Handbook.

Students who are failing one or more subjects at the marking period interim will be considered ineligible to participate in athletics, drama and school clubs for a minimum of one week after report cards or progress reports are published. During this period in which a student is ineligible, students may practice but are ineligible for games, performances, planned activities or competitions. Once report cards or progress reports are published, students have a minimum one-week of ineligibility to make-up all work and get their average to a passing grade before the first opportunity to be reinstated. After the initial one-week ineligibility, students who are then passing may be signed off on Fridays.

Students are responsible for restoring their eligibility status.They must request an “Ineligibility Sign-Off Google Form” from the Counseling Office Secretary to share with the teacher(s) of any courses they are failing, and after making up any necessary work and assignments and maintaining passing grades, they may be reinstated as eligible.

The Counseling Office Secretary will issue an updated Ineligibility List each Friday. Completed Sign Off forms must be received by the Counseling Office NO LATER than NOON on Fridays. If a student has regained eligibility that week, they can try again each week until they are successfully removed from the Ineligible list.

Both students (via their school email address) and parents/guardians (via ParentSquare) are notified if they are ineligible at the time interim or marking period grades are published. Details of courses and grades are always viewable in Schoology.

Specific questions about course grades should be directed to the classroom teacher. Any questions about the eligibility process itself may be directed to the High School Counseling Office x3172.

The 2025 Ruben A. Cirillo High School yearbook is now on sale. Our students and staff are working hard to capture the events, activities and memories of this school year. Place your order for the yearbook at jostensyearbooks.com or by calling 1-877-767-5217. This is one you won’t want to miss!

We hope your December is off to a wonderful start. Our music department is thrilled to invite you to this year’s 7th–12th grade Winter Concerts. These performances will showcase the hard work and talent of our instrumental and vocal students, bringing you a wide variety of seasonal music to celebrate the season.

Thursday, December 11 at 7 PM – 7th–12th Grade Instrumental Concert (Susan H. Alexander Performing Arts Center, Ruben A. Cirillo High School)

The Instrumental Concert on December 11th will feature our percussion ensemble, middle school and high school jazz bands, and both the 7th and 8th grade and high school concert bands. We are also excited to continue our tradition of inviting alumni, parents, faculty, and community members to bring their instruments and join us on stage for the grand finale performance of Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride.” If you would like to participate, please fill out the following form and we will make sure you receive the music: https://forms.gle/T4uuE4pqE1wfKTH39

Tuesday, December 16 at 7 PM – 7th–12th Grade Vocal Concert (Susan H. Alexander Performing Arts Center, Ruben A. Cirillo High School)

The Vocal Concert on December 16th will feature the 7th and 8th grade choruses, high school chorus, and the AcaPanthers. As part of this special evening, we are delighted to welcome alumni singers back to perform “Carol of the Bells” and “O Holy Night” with the high school chorus.

Wednesday, December 17 at 10 AM – Eastview Mall Performance for High School Band and Chorus (near the food court)

The high school band and chorus will also perform at Eastview Mall for a festive day of holiday music.

If you are unable to attend in person, both concerts will be livestreamed on the district Facebook page. We hope you will join us for these joyful musical celebrations and support our outstanding Gananda musicians.

We look forward to seeing you at the concerts and at Eastview Mall for a joyful season of music.

Our HS therapy dogs Piper, Sadie and Bear are working with Citizens of the World Club to collect items for two local animal shelters. They are collecting items that will be donated to Verona Animal Shelter and Cracker Box Palace. Donated items can be dropped off at the HS office or in the boxes outside the cafeteria. Items can also be purchased from our Amazon Holiday pet drive wish list which will be delivered to the HS. Donations will be collected December 8-19th and we will be delivering before Christmas.

On November 5th, Gananda HS hosted their Fall blood drive. Due to the generosity of our students, staff and community, we were able to collect 27 units of blood. This will help save the lives of 81 individuals in our local community! Mark your calendars for the Spring blood drive which will be held the same day as the budget vote on May 20th.

At their November meeting, Citizens of the World Club participated in a blanket making project. The five blankets completed will be donated to Webster HOPE which provides all types of assistance to our local community members in need.

On November 12th, members of the Project Lead the Way Principles of Biomedical Science class spent the day at Strong Hospital exploring the careers in imaging. They were able to tour the hospital and observe medical professionals working in X-ray, MRI, CT scans, nuclear imaging and interventional radiology.

Our December Students of the Month:

Madison for 9th Grade:

Maddy has many wonderful qualities, and her respectfulness and drive certainly stand out. She is attentive to her responsibilities while treating everyone with kindness—a defining characteristic of hers. That’s why Team 9 is proud to choose her as Student of the Month.

Jesse for 10th Grade:

Jesse is a Driven student who always Practices Self Control. Jesse is a Respectful student who is polite and advocates for himself well. Jesse was unanimously agreed upon as this month's selection. CONGRATS Jesse! Well deserved.

Allison for 11th Grade:

Allison is a hard working student who always pays attention. She is diligent in her studies. She produces high quality work, and is a good role model for others around her due to her drive and attention to her studies.

Manny for 12th grade:

Manny consistently demonstrates a strong work ethic in and out of the classroom. He is supportive of his peers, enthusiastically participates in extracurricular activities, and has strong initiative and follow-through.

Eric for Gananda Rotary Citizen of the Month:

The Rotary was proud to have Eric volunteer in the Haunted House this year. He was exceptionally helpful and beyond what they expected of all the volunteers. He provided ideas and thought outside the box. When asked to help others he was first to step up.

Students in need of Gananda Dollars for Scholars hours, please review the attached list of upcoming events. Remember, by senior year you must complete 20 total volunteer hours, and at least five of those hours must be from GDFS-specific events in order to be eligible to apply for scholarships.

See attached flyer for a list of Volunteer events.

Thank you to everyone who has already submitted letters to our politicians to help us advocate for increased state and federal aid for our school district.

If you haven't done so, please take five minutes to go to our "Advocacy Campaign 2025" page on the Gananda website to review the Forum presentation (from 11/17), watch a brief explanatory video, and make a difference by clicking on the link to our ActionNetwork.org page to send correspondence to our political leaders.

It only takes a few minutes but can have a lasting impact on our students' education.

Thank you for your support and partnership in ensuring the future of our district!

The 2025-2026 District Calendar and Building Events Calendar are posted to the Gananda Central School District Website. In addition, the Instructional Color Day Calendar and Block Schedule for our building can be found on the RACHS website under Our School/HS Information HUB.

You can also click on the buttons below that will take you directly to the Instructional Calendar and Daily Schedules.

Please note that school is NOT in session December 22-January 2. Enjoy your holiday break!

Please note that regular classes will not be in session from 1/20-1/23 for January Regents exams and Midterms. Students will only attend for exams they need to take. We are finalizing the exam schedule and it will be released by January along with transportation information as well.

The district uses ParentSquare as its main communication tool for getting information to parents. District newsletters, emergency communication, and Gananda Central School District event news, as well as classroom news and updates will be communicated through ParentSquare. Families can download the ParentSquare app to their smartphone for ease of use.

If you have not received an invitation to join ParentSquare from your students school, please contact the main office of their building.

Absences need to be reported to the school health office by the parent/guardian of the student. This may be done so online by completing this form.

Respectfully,

Dr. Christopher J. Whipple, Principal

cwhipple@gananda.org

Mrs. Nickie Mereness, Assistant Principal

nmereness@gananda.org

(315) 986-3521, 8, 3154