Blue Devils Dispatch

Dear Attica Families,

As we move into November, it is hard to believe how quickly the school year is progressing! October was another busy and exciting month at Attica High School, filled with engaging classroom experiences, student accomplishments, and opportunities for our students to grow both inside and outside of the classroom.

Throughout this month's newsletter, you will see many examples of the great things happening across our building. From hands-on learning in Science, Agriculture, Technology, and Mathematics to meaningful discussions in English and opportunities to earn college credit through our new SUPA Statistics course, our teachers continue to provide students with valuable and engaging learning experiences. Beyond the classroom, our FFA students represented Attica at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, our Clay Dusters wrapped up their fall season, and our many clubs and organizations continue to provide opportunities for students to develop leadership skills, build relationships, and give back to our community.

As we look ahead to November, there are several exciting opportunities and important events on the horizon, including BOCES tours for our sophomores, college and career planning opportunities, our ConnectLife Blood Drive, and additional student activities. I encourage families to take some time to review the information throughout this newsletter and stay connected with the many opportunities available to our students.

As always, I want to thank our dedicated faculty and staff for their continued commitment to our students, as well as our families for their ongoing support. We have much to be proud of at Attica High School, and I look forward to seeing all that our students will accomplish as we continue through the school year.

Warmly,

Mr. Jansma

Weather Changes & Appropriate Clothing

Temperatures can vary significantly in October and November.. Please remind students to:

Dress in layers
Bring a jacket or sweatshirt
Wear appropriate footwear on cold or wet days
Being properly dressed helps reduce the risk of illness and ensures students are comfortable throughout the school day.

Winter sports registrations are open! Students must be registered through Arbiter Sports (previously Family ID) and a current physical must be on file in the nurse’s office. Students are not eligible to participate until approved. Don’t wait until the last minute, get registered early!

***Students must be present in school for a FULL day to be eligible to participate in extracurricular school activities. (sports, clubs, etc..)

A medical note from your child’s doctor verifying an appointment is needed for participation.

ALL medications require a doctor’s order to be on file (including Tylenol/ibuprofen).

Students are not allowed to carry medication unless approved by their

physician and school nurse.

When to Keep Your Child Home: continued reminders

• A fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher

• Vomiting or diarrhea in the past 24 hours

• A persistent cough or difficulty breathing

• An unexplained rash

• Eye drainage or redness that may suggest conjunctivitis (pink eye)

• Children should be symptom-free for 24 hours without medication before returning.

November News from the Blue Devils Cafe!

November is bringing some delicious excitement to our school cafeterias! We're looking forward to sharing new flavors and celebrating the season with our students!

Upcoming Taste Tests

• November 6: Grilled Cheese Bites

• November 20: Pumpkin Fluff

Students will have the opportunity to sample these tasty treats and share their feedback! We love encouraging students to try new foods and discover new favorites.

Thanksgiving Holiday Meal – November 19

We're serving up a special holiday meal featuring turkey and gravy with all the fixings! We look forward to celebrating the season of gratitude with our students over a delicious, comforting meal.

Important Reminder for Families

Please remember to complete and return your Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application to the Food Service Office if you have not already done so. These applications help our district to secure grant funding in various areas. For questions or concerns, please contact the Food Service Manager.

From all of us at the Blue Devils Cafe, we wish your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Math 10 students recently put their skills to the test during a fun and interactive Plinko Review Activity as they prepared for their first unit test of the school year! Working with partners, students reviewed key concepts from the unit, including types of numbers and number properties, simplifying polynomial expressions, solving equations, and graphing inequalities.

Students earned a Plinko token for each correctly answered question and then had the opportunity to see where their tokens landed on the Plinko board. The activity provided students with an engaging way to review important skills, collaborate with classmates, and build confidence before their upcoming assessment.

A special shout-out to Mrs. Gersitz for keeping score and helping make the activity a success!

Sophomore students in the AP World History Modern course completed a visual project to illustrate their understanding of the 5 Themes of AP World History known as P.I.E.C.E.S.: Politics, Innovation, Environment, Cultural Developments, Econmic Systems, and Social Organizations.The above puzzle pieces were completed by students Stasia Struzik and Quinn Jerge and reflect their knowledge of the themes and the questions answered by each. Themes are a major backdrop for linking the comprehensive and challenging curriculum in this course. Great job ladies!

Are energy drinks as healthy as they seem? Students in Mrs. Winters’ Biology classes set out to answer this question through a hands-on research lab that put their investigative skills to the test!

Before beginning their research, each student formulated a hypothesis predicting which energy drink would be the MOST healthy and LEAST healthy to consume. Students then used an app called Yuka to scan the barcodes of 13 different energy drinks. The app assigned each product an overall rating of Excellent, Good, Poor, or Bad, along with a numerical score out of 100.

The results were eye-opening! Only TWO of the 13 energy drinks received a rating of Good or Excellent! For drinks rated Poor or Bad, students investigated the negative characteristics and identified high-risk ingredients. They also explored why these ingredients may be unhealthy to consume, giving them a closer look at what goes into some of their favorite beverages.

The learning did not stop in the classroom! As an extension activity, students were encouraged to use Yuka at home to scan everyday products, including food, lotions, shampoos, and cosmetics. This gave them an opportunity to apply their research skills to the products they and their families use regularly.

Students were highly engaged throughout the investigation, and many continue to scan products in their everyday lives. This activity encouraged students to think critically about the products they consume and use, ask questions about their ingredients, and make more informed decisions as consumers.

This month in Physical Education, students have primarily been participating in NitroBall, an activity that encourages teamwork, communication, coordination, and quick decision-making. This game is very similar to volleyball EXCEPT players MUST let the ball bounce after every hit. Also, the game is played on a net the height of a tennis net. In fact, we did our best (as long as the weather cooperated) to play outside and utilize the tennis courts. Through gameplay, students have opportunities to stay active while developing their ability to work together, adapt to changing situations, and demonstrate sportsmanship.

We also welcomed representatives from ConnectLife, who spoke with our students about blood, tissue, and organ donation. Students learned how donation works, why it is important, and how it can make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. One of the highlights of the presentation was hearing a personal story from a representative who had donated part of his liver. His experience helped bring the topic to life and gave students a powerful example of how one person's decision can positively affect another person's life.

Experiences like this remind us that wellness extends beyond physical activity. Understanding health, making informed decisions, and recognizing the ways we can support others are all important parts of developing healthy, engaged members of our community.

Family Wellness Tip: Get Moving Together!

Try adding a little friendly competition to your family's routine. Set up a simple challenge, such as seeing how many consecutive balloon taps you can complete, how long you can keep a beach ball in the air, or how many passes you can make without dropping a ball. These activities require minimal equipment, encourage everyone to participate, and make movement fun for the whole family.

Thank you for your continued support of our Physical Education program as we help students build healthy habits, develop important life skills, and learn about ways they can make a positive difference in their community.

In Career and Financial Management, students have been exploring career options and learning how to plan for their future. They have examined career clusters and researched different careers while completing self-assessments to identify occupations that align with their interests, skills, strengths, and personalities.

Students have also been learning about ways to pay for education and training after high school, including the differences between scholarships, grants, and student loans. They have discussed the differences between federal and private student loans and explored what the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is and why completing it is an important step in accessing financial aid.

Most recently, students have been learning how to search for employment opportunities using online job boards, such as Indeed and Monster. They are practicing how to read and interpret job postings, identify qualifications and responsibilities, and understand the importance of networking when searching for a job. These activities are helping students develop the knowledge and skills needed to make informed decisions about their education, career paths, and future employment.

Students in Intro to Agriculture have been exploring forestry and learning how to calculate the age of trees by taking measurements and observing trees along the nature trail at school. In Animal Science, students have been studying skeletal anatomy and putting their knowledge to the test by building models of livestock skeletons. Meanwhile, our Small Animal Management students have been learning about animal nutrition, proper feeding practices, and the growing concern of pet obesity. From exploring the outdoors to building models and learning how to keep animals healthy, our students are gaining valuable knowledge and practical skills that connect directly to the world of agriculture!

Mr. Versage’s Introduction to Technology class just completed building their cutting boards.

10th Grade English—Finished writing essays that explore the positive and negative effects of ambition. We also started the Shakespearean tragedy Julius Caesar.

11th Grade English—We're halfway through the play The Crucible. In this unit we will explore the negative effects of the invasion of privacy and its link to the digital world and Ai.

Our Brockport University student teacher Mr. Brinkman is doing a stellar job leading the class through these units.

AP Statistics is now SUPA Statistics!

After a week of training at Syracuse University this past July, our statistics program has officially become SUPA (Syracuse University Project Advance) Statistics. Students in the course are now enrolled in official Syracuse University courses, MAT 221 and MAT 222, and have the opportunity to earn 7 widely transferable college credits without ever leaving our classrooms.

College-level statistics doesn’t mean sitting quietly through endless lectures, though. Our SUPA Stats students are already putting theory into practice. In the photo below, they’ve taken data collection to the hallway, racing RC cars to measure distance and speed and build real-world scatterplots! We can’t wait to see the analytical thinking our students bring to the rest of the school year.

Sophomores-BOCES tours will be November 19 in the afternoon. This is a great opportunity for students to see all of the programs available at the Career and Tech Center in Batavia.

-If your student was not successful on a regents exam last year, they will be expected to retake the exam in January, 26-29. Please reach out with questions.

-Applications for HOBY are underway. ANy student looking for an amazing opportunity to accelerate their leadership skills and stand out on college applications, see Ms Frongetta. Deadline is November 23.

Juniors-Please check schooltool for your current grades, learning labs are available for most periods.

-Any students interested in a Career in Business should sign up for the Golisano Business Career workshop at the Center in Buffalo, November 20. Space is limited, so don't miss out.

-Regents retakes are January 26-29, please see Ms Frongetta with questions.

Seniors:College, career, resume, and applications.....it's all happening for our dedicated seniors. Please reach out if you would like to be a part of the transcript review with your child.

-Geneseo Financial Aid Dept is hosting a free FAFSA night on November 10th from 5-7 at Geneseo State college, link to register is here: you do not need to be interested in attending Geneseo to participate

This year, the Mental Health Team is focussing on improving peer relationships. Here are some tips on helping navigate that tricky subject at home.

October has been an exciting month for Attica FFA! We kicked off our annual Cuba Cheese Fundraiser, giving members an opportunity to support our chapter and its activities. We also hit the road and headed to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 99th Annual FFA National Convention! Our members had the opportunity to connect with FFA students from across the country, explore agricultural careers, participate in leadership experiences, and celebrate everything that makes FFA such a special organization. We are excited to bring these experiences and new ideas back to Attica as we continue to grow our chapter!

Picture of Attica & Warsaw FFA amongst 70,000 FFA members from the United States & U.S. Territories.

The Science Club is excited to launch their first experiment next week! Students will explore how temperature affects glow stick activity by placing glow sticks in water at different temperatures and observing changes in their brightness. This hands-on investigation will help students understand the relationship between heat and chemical reactions in an engaging, visual way.

Attica Senior High Book Club Members are planning out an exciting year. The members are planning another Community Movie Night for December. More details coming soon! We are also focusing on reading a few mysterious and scary short stories. Join in on the fun if you would like! The Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl and The Monkey's Paw by WW Jacobs. More are welcome to join us at our next meeting in school!!

ConnectLife will be hosting their first blood drive, November 3rd. All donors will receive a free Sabres winter hat and a chance to win tickets to a game! You will also receive a goodie bag from the ConnectLife club and a chance to win a $25 gift card! Spots are still available, see Ms. Pierce if you are interested. You must be 16 years (with parent permission) or older to donate.

Scholastic Bowl will begin their season after Thanksgiving recess. Everyone is welcome to join. See Ms. Pierce if interested. Practices will take place during 6th period. Matches are once a week in January and February after school.

The Best Buddies club is planning a fall event at the elementary school for November. Our club membership has grown significantly, and we're organizing visits to elementary classrooms where our members will read with students, complete a craft activity, and play games together. We look forward to connecting with the younger students in our school community.

Student Government is looking to host our first ever NitroBall Tournament. It is tentatively scheduled for November 13th from 4:00 - 6:00. Teams of 5 will compete in a round robin tournament. The entry fee is $10 per team. Student government will provide pizza and pop for all those participating. More information to follow!

Attention Juniors - we are extending the Krispy Kreme fundraiser by one week! All orders are now due November 2nd.

Due to delivery issues, the donuts will now be available for pickup on December 1st. If your child sells more donuts than they can take home independently, please make arrangements to pick up the donuts at the high school between 2:30 and 3:30 on December 1st.

The Attica Clay Dusters completed their fall season on October 22nd. The team placed 6th in our conference. Shawn Piorun tied for 86th place out of the top 100 athletes in the state with an average of 22.10. Top 25 males in conference 12 Shawn Piorun tied for 3rd and Blaine Datzler placed 13th. Top 25 females in conference 12 Kendra Meyer placed 4th, Claira Deuel tied for 6th, Matilda Nevinger tied for 8th, Ellie Meyer placed 10th, Kayla Copeland placed 17th and Madelyn Meyer placed 18th.

For the team Shawn Piorun had the highest varsity average with an average of 22.10. Bradley Datzler had the highest junior varsity average with an average of 18.50. Kanon Meyers had the highest novice average with an average of 14.50. Our top three athletes on the team were Shawn Piorun with an average of 22.10, Blaine Datzler with an average of 20.60 and Kendra Meyer with an average of 19.10. Finnian Countermine had the most improved average with an increase of 5.4. The team will wrap up their fall season with end of year awards and continue fundraising for the spring season.

Registration for the spring season opens on February 2nd, 2027. Anyone interested in joining the team should reach out to head coach Andrea Barrett at 585-591-0400 ext. 2235 or abarrett@atticacsd.org before registration opens.