Parent Updates

Greetings,

As we wrap up the first month of the 2025–26 school year, I want to thank everyone for your continued support and partnership.

To our families who drop off and pick up on the Coxsackie campus—thank you for your patience as we’ve transitioned to a new procedure. The traffic flow has become much smoother and safer, and dismissal is running efficiently. As a reminder, if you need to exit your car, please park in one of the available spaces in the loop and walk to the school to escort your child to your vehicle. Your cooperation helps us keep everyone safe.

On Tuesday, we will hold our Capital Project Vote from 2:30–9:00 p.m. We encourage all eligible residents to participate. Completing renovations through a capital project is the most fiscally responsible approach, as it maximizes state aid—meaning the state will cover approximately 71% of the total cost.

There have already been so many wonderful things happening across our schools this fall. A few of them are highlighted in this update. I encourage you to download the district app to stay informed and connected to all that’s happening at C-A.

A Note on Social Media

From elementary through high school, we teach our students about digital citizenship as part of our information literacy curriculum—that what they post online never truly disappears, no matter how many times they hit “delete.” We ask them to pause before posting and consider, “Would I be okay if my parents or grandparents saw this?”

As adults, we can model the same thoughtful approach. Before we post, let’s ask ourselves, “Is this what I want my children to see me doing or saying?” Social media can too often be filled with negativity, but together, we can help make it a more positive space. Let’s show our children how to use it responsibly—or better yet, how to step away from it.

Sometimes the best example we can set is by putting the screens down. Take your child outside, read a book together, have a conversation, or simply spend time connecting face-to-face. Our students have adapted beautifully to our no-cell-phone policy—if you walk into our cafeterias, you’ll see them talking, laughing, and truly engaging with one another. We can do the same.

Thank you for your continued partnership and for helping us create a safe, caring, and connected community for all of our students.

Take it Easy,

Randy

The web page contains:

• Itemized list for each proposal.
• Tax Impact examples of several homes in our district.
• Videos, podcast and visual about the scope of the project.
• Other information to help you make an informed decision about both proposals.

The National Honor Society hosted a Blood Drive on 9/25 and ended up collecting 32 units of blood to donate! We had a lot of first time donors. We are hoping to host at least 3 more blood drives this year at the High School. Be on the lookout in the future!

I'm proud to share that New York State is being recognized and awarded at the NAEA (National Art Education Association) Convention. Our Youth Art Month activities and social media outreach were featured in the state’s report, contributing to this exciting honor. A huge thank you to Elisa LaFay and everyone who helped showcase our participation.

This year marks The Erie Canal bicentenntial. On the morning of Wednesday, September 24, 2025, Buffalo Maritime Center’s replica of the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief will embark on its Bicentennial Voyage, commemorating Governor DeWitt Clinton’s historic 1825 journey from Buffalo to New York Harbor.

A Buffalo Maritime Center crew, comprised of staff and volunteers, will navigate the 33-day voyage, departing from Buffalo’s Commercial Slip - the western terminus of the Erie Canal - and traveling to Pier 26 in New York City.

Along the way, the boat will dock at 28 ports along the Erie Canal and Hudson River before reaching New York City for the official commemoration of the canal’s opening - 200 years after Governor Clinton’s inaugural trip.

The map below shows the routes currently being taken by the Seneca Chief. More information and a schedule of events can be found HERE

After reading “Sincerely Emerson,” a story about a girl that wrote a letter to her mail carrier, students in Mrs. Sunkes’ 5th grade class wrote letters to show appreciation to their mail carriers. To their surprise, many of our students received thank you notes and/or gifts back from their mail carriers. Here are a few photos to celebrate our kindness!

This year's CAFE Gala will be NOVEMBER 8. Join us in celebrating our 7 honorees. This year we are inducting: Jean Cardany, Leslie Copleston, Raymond Magee, Darlene Mergendahl, Michael Rausch, Lewis Swyer, and James Warren. Tickets go on sale Sept 15th- Please reach out to Julie in the District Office to purchase tickets.

Betting on Brighter Futures on Nov 8th at 5pm down at the Wire Event Center. Food, drinks and dancing and help us to raise money for future grants at C-A.

At the July 2025 Board of Regents meeting, the Board formally adopted the New York State Portrait of a Graduate, a critical milestone in NY Inspires, the Department’s implementation plan for transformative education. The Portrait offers a unifying vision of what it means to be a graduate in New York State, describing the essential skills and dispositions that all students should develop to succeed in college, careers, and civic life.

To ensure clarity and support stakeholders’ shared understanding of the Portrait, the Department developed “Need-to-Know” documents for students, and parents,

These documents provide role-specific guidance on the Portrait and serve as foundational tools for stakeholder engagement, professional learning, and strategic planning.

Oct 7: MS Fall Picture Day

Oct 7: Capital Project Vote

Oct 8: 8th Grade Career Jam @HVCC

Oct 8: EJA Fall Picture

Oct 9: EJA Fire Prevention Day 1 of 2

10/13: School Closed

10/25: Big Apple Crunch

11/10: No Classes - Conference Day

11/11: No School- Veterans Day

-Fred Rogers

We all learn in a variety of ways. Students should be able to demonstrate readiness in a variety of ways.

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Below are several resources that highlight the opportunities we offer ALL students. WE truly are a small school with BIG Opportunities!

1. Did you know that every student at C-A HS can have one early college course paid for in full by the district? The reduced tuition rates for all college courses allows many students to graduate with over 20 credits. Many of our alum are able to enter college as sophomores or graduate from a college a semester early saving thousands of dollars.
2. Our parternship with Questar III BOCES provides 23 offerings in career technical education pathways. Our students who complete these programs are ready to enter the workforce in a varirty of occupations and fields.

We believe ALL students CAn be life, career and college ready when they graduate from C-A. I very muhc apprecait the collaborative work taking place in all classrooms to ensure ALL students are self-directed and prepared to succeed in our global society.

• COMMENCEMENT READINESS INDICATORS DASHBOARD
• READINESS INDICATORS K-12 BOOKLET 2020 :
• EARLY COLLEGE PAMPHLET
• COLLEGE IN THE H.S. OFFERINGS
• CAREER TECH ED OFFERINGS

Like planning a road trip our 2030 DESTINATION, TIMELINE may change as detours pop up or new adventures present themselves.

Take a look. Our road trip will have some exciting mile markers that sustains and enhances the work we have started and will lead us to our 2030 Destination.

• Professional Learning Communities
• Growth Mindset
• Student Centered/Directed Learning
• Digital Conversion
• Pathways to Success

It is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are learning, speaking and gathering on the ancestral homelands of the Muhheaconneok (Muhhekunneuw) or Mohican people and the Munsee Lenape people, who are the indigenous peoples of this land. Despite tremendous hardship in being forced from here, they now reside in Wisconsin and are known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to building a more inclusive and equitable space for all.

Email: squierr@cacsd.org
Website: www.cacsd.org
Location: 24 Sunset Boulevard, Coxsackie, NY, USA
Phone: 518-731-1700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100043677108930&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Twitter: @coxathschools

Our new app is now available for download from the Apple Store and the Google Play Store. Keep up to date on all things C-A, right from your device. This app is designed to create easy access to Sports Schedules, Live Feed, Alerts, our Staff Directory and more!