NorthStar Lights
North Syracuse Central School District's Electronic News
Nurses Jody Barnes and Amanda Kelly along with School Resource Officer Elizabeth Lehmann responded immediately. Nurse Barnes connected the AED, Nurse Kelly began chest compressions and Officer Lehmann administered rescue breaths. Their efforts went on until emergency medical personnel arrived and transported Ms. Schlie to the hospital. Doctors confirmed that without these heroic efforts, the outcome could have been tragically different.
At the meeting, the NSCSD staff were presented with certificates of appreciation and were enthusiastically thanked by Ann Marie's family, who had requested the opportunity to publicly thank them. Dr. Ward shared his appreciation saying, "We are honored to recognize these individuals whose training, teamwork and care made all the difference. Their immediate, thoughtful and courageous responses saved a life."
The numbers have been tallied for the 2025 campaign and are truly impressive. 54 schools from districts across Central New York came together and were able to raise more than $59,000 for the cause. This year, participating NSCSD schools were Cicero and Smith Road Elementary schools and Gillette Road Middle School.
Since the inception of the Change for Hope campaign, North Syracuse Central School District Schools have raised a grand total of $36,352.15 for Griffin's Guardians. The organization is named for Griffin Engle, who died of cancer when he was just seven years old and a student at Cicero Elementary School.
Recently, a group of French students from grades 10-12 went on an unforgettable field trip to Montreal, Canada. It was a chance to dive into the city’s culture, history and vibrant energy, all while having a blast with friends. Here’s a peek at what they got up to during this exciting adventure!
To be eligible for the NTHS, students must maintain a minimum grade average of 85, have strong attendance, receive a teacher recommendation and demonstrate values like respect, responsibility, honesty, leadership, citizenship, skill and service.
In all, OCM BOCES inducted 154 students from across Central New York during a ceremony held at SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College. During the event, students lit candles symbolizing the seven core attributes of NTHS and received honor cords and tassels to wear at their home district graduations.
Hailey Morey, a fifth grade student in Molly Gwynn’s class at Gillette Road Middle School, has earned top honors in the New York State Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest. Competing against more than 300 entries submitted by fifth graders across the state, Hailey’s poster was selected as the first-place winner and will now represent New York in the National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest.
Hailey will be recognized at a special ceremony in Albany on May 14, where her artwork will be celebrated by state officials. Her design will also move on to the national level, where it will compete with entries from across the country.
Hailey’s poster features strong arms hugging a teddy bear, with a symbolic map in the background. Eliciting feelings of hope and unity, Hailey shared that her inspiration came from personal stories told by her mom, Amanda Menikheim-Morey, a special education teacher at Smith Road Elementary.
“My poster shows strong arms hugging a teddy bear and waiting for a missing child to return home,” Hailey wrote. “I drew a ‘map’ in the background of my poster to show we are all connected and our goal is to help children. This is a symbol to never lose hope. My design was created from thinking about the stories my mom tells me. Her students have a hard time expressing themselves with words. I used the American Sign Language symbol for the word hug.”
Cicero Elementary School Teacher Holly Langendorfer sent this picture of three of her 2nd grade students who qualified for the First in Math state math competition. The trophies are for being the regional winners. They go to Albany on May 31st to try for the state championship. Congratulations and best of luck to James Trionfero, Victor Oliver and Zoey Butler!
Roxboro Road Elementary School holds Family Fun Night
Roxboro Road Elementary School Teacher Traci Buffa recently shared the following writeup and some amazing pictures from an event that took place before spring break. The pictures were taken by Jacob Lax. Jacob is a graduate of the CNS Class of 2018. He credits his high school teachers and the education he received through the NSCSD for helping him develop his photography and videography skills. Jacob is a very talented photo/video journalist who often contributes to CNS Athletics and district-wide projects. Some of Jacob’s pictures will be featured in the upcoming budget edition of the "District Dispatch".
Traci said: Our recent Family Fun Night at Roxboro Road Elementary was a fantastic success, bringing together students, families, and staff for an evening full of learning, laughter, and community connection. The event was designed to celebrate the joy of reading and math through interactive games and activities that got everyone involved. Families moved from session to session playing engaging reading and math games that challenged students and gave parents a fun way to connect with their child's learning. One of the biggest highlights of the night was the visit from Book Van-Go, a mobile book van that gave students the opportunity to select free books to take home. Watching students’ faces light up as they chose new stories to explore was a wonderful reminder of the power of reading. Family Fun Night was not only a celebration of learning but also a beautiful reminder of the strong, supportive community we have at our school. A big thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the night a success!
District Reminders!
MAY 5: Board of Education meeting at 6 PM at the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building (5355 West Taft Rd.) in North Syracuse
MAY 6: Teacher Appreciation Day
MAY 6: Virtual Community Budget Meeting (Click to join or go to www.nscsd.org/meet1)
MAY 7: School Nurse Appreciation Day
MAY 7: Community Budget Meeting at 7 PM at Cicero Elementary School (5979 Route 31) in Cicero
MAY 8: Transportation Appreciation Day
MAY 9: Speech Therapist Appreciation Day
MAY 9: City of Stars Talent Show (Combined CNS/NSJHS) at 7 PM at North Syracuse Junior High School (5353 West Taft Rd.) in North Syracuse
MAY 12: Board of Education meeting at 6 PM at the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building (5355 West Taft Rd.) in North Syracuse
MAY 13: Teaching Assistant Appreciation Day
MAY 16: Staff Workshops - Shortened School Day for students in grades PreK-12
MAY 20: Teacher Aide Appreciation Day
MAY 20: Annual School Budget Vote and Board of Education Member Election 6 AM to 9 PM
MAY 23: No School for Students/Staff due to unused snow days
MAY 26: Memorial Day - No School for Students/Staff
MAY 30: Staff Workshops - Shortened School Day for students in grades PreK-12
North Syracuse Central School District
Website: www.nscsd.org
Location: 5355 West Taft Road, Syracuse, NY, USA
Phone: (315) 218-2100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NSyracuseCSD/