NorthStar Lights

Hello North Syracuse Central School District Parents, Guardians, Teachers and Staff!

First and foremost, I want to offer my sincere thanks to all NSCSD voters for the tremendous level of support in passing this year's school budget. This year’s proposal passed with 72% of voter support. After going through such a difficult year together this shows how we’ve come together as a District and a community. I cannot thank you enough for your support and the opportunities our students will have because of that.

Please remember that next week will be a short week with no school on Friday, May 28 due to the revised District calendar. We will be sending our newsletter early next week. Until then, please stay well and enjoy your weekend.

Sincerely,

Daniel D. Bowles, Superintendent of Schools

This week, the North Syracuse Central School District celebrated Teacher Aide Appreciation Day. A big "THANK YOU" to all of the aides who support our teachers and students every day!

As we rapidly approach the end of the school year, we’ll be taking time to feature multiple Shining Stars each week.

For the week ending May 21, we are featuring Nancy Kadlecik and a team of Gillette Road Middle School Staff as Shining Star #1.

We recently received some heartfelt praise for a group of staff that has gone above and beyond for a student at Gillette Road Middle School. The group includes Nancy Kadlecik, Lee Bertone, Tracy Coon, and Kelly Colabello as Shining Stars. As a group, they are being recognized for their teamwork and supporting their students and each other.

Click here to read more about Nancy Kadlecik.

For the week ending May 21, we are featuring Kelly Hahn, a first-grade teacher at KWS Bear Road Elementary School, as Shining Star #2.

One of our two Shining Stars this week is Kelly Hahn, a first grade teacher at KWS Bear Road Elementary School. Kelly not only works for the North Syracuse Central School District, she grew up in the community and is a graduate. Kelly considers herself a “proud Northman,” having graduated from North Syracuse High School in 1981 before the District was centralized. She also attended Allen Road Elementary School and Roxboro Road Middle School.

Click here to read more about Kelly Hahn.

The 2021 C-NS Talent Show will premiere on YouTube on Thursday, May 27 at 7pm. Tune in for free by going to www.4dproductions.org. Come watch all 17 acts that were safely filmed all over Syracuse and edited together for all to enjoy!

This year's student performers are: Madison Alcock (junior), Hannah Bach (sophomore), Evan Breitbeck (senior), Kaley Bristow (junior), Shannon Brown (sophomore), Abigail Calabria (sophomore), Samuel Cusimano (junior), Zacari Dickerson (junior), Zuriel Dickerson (8th grade), John Doherty (senior), Julia Kulakowski (sophomore), Sam Nessel (senior), Aaron Nguyen (sophomore), Emma Peters (junior), Riley Reitz, (sophomore), Jessica Ricciardi (sophomore), Jacob Schmid (senior), Cheyenne Scott (sophomore), Jacob Seitz (sophomore), Sara Szuba (senior) and Katie Wilhite (junior).

As part of their regular Board of Education meeting on May 17, 2021, the North Syracuse Central School District held its first public student recognition presentation in more than a year. The occasion proudly honored the 17 Cicero-North Syracuse High School students who met the rigorous requirements necessary to earn Seals of Biliteracy on their 2021 high school diplomas.

The New York State Seal of Biliteracy recognizes high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in one or more languages, in addition to English. To qualify for the designation, students must meet rigorous requirements and this year, because of the pandemic, the process added an additional level of challenge.

Click here to read the complete article online.

Lakeshore Road Elementary School (LRE) has been a part of the Positivity Project for the past few years. Each week, students learn about positive character traits. With so many demands being placed on students, staff and and families over the past year, LRE Principal Tina Chmielewski wanted to take time to celebrate the great things at Lakeshore.

Ms. Chmielewski said, "So many students come to school eager and excited to learn. We constantly talk about spreading our

positivity out into the world and how easy it is for 1 person to make a difference in someone’s day just by saying good morning, or even offering a smile."

For the remainder of the school year, Ms. Chmielewski will be watching the students at Lakeshore Road and recognizing the "Beacons of Positivity." Chmielewski said, "These students come to school with a positive outlook and are often caught doing random acts of kindness across our building."

Lakeshore Road Elementary School will be publishing their "Beacons of Positivity" students in their Lakewinds newsletter and sharing the photos with us for NorthStar Lights.

Pictured above is 4th Grade Beacon of Positivity, Sophie Walsh

Pictured below from left to right: LRE Principal Mrs. Chmielewski, 3rd Grade Beacon of Positivity Dorian Armstrong , 1st Grade Beacon of Positivity Zoe Gardner, 4th Grade Beacon of Positivity Carter Bambino and 4th Grade Beacon of Positivity Vivianna DeBenedictus.

On Saturday, May 15, the North Syracuse Early Education Program (NSEEP) celebrated a vision realized with a grand opening ceremony for the school’s new inclusive playground. The celebration was the result of many years of fundraising, hard work and community support.

The North Syracuse Early Education Program serves disabled and non-disabled students in an inclusive setting. Many disabled students receive special therapies through multi-disciplinary teams. The addition of an inclusive playground, with features such as wide wheelchair-accessible ramps, a poured smooth rubber surface and a communication board, allows more students to participate in learning opportunities through play.

Click here to read the complete story online.

On Sunday, May 16, student members of the W3B C-NS Vocal Jazz Ensemble, made a return to the stage (after a hiatus of 15 months due to COVID) at a beautiful outdoor concert. The group was invited to perform at Immanuel Lutheran Church for a celebration of their Pastor’s retirement. In the past, the Vocal Jazz has performed many times for their senior citizen luncheon and was honored to be asked to return. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor concert!

Click here to read the complete article online or see the event photos courtesy of Mark V. Photography.

This past week, the Universal Service Administrative Company launched an emergency broadband benefit program, which provides a temporary discount on monthly broadband for qualifying low-income households. The program, which is overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), began accepting applications on May 12. Click here to learn more and see if you may qualify.

Cicero–North Syracuse junior prom: See 100 photos of the gowns, tuxedos and masks from Syracuse.com - May 15, 2021 - Click here to read the article and see the photos

North Syracuse Central School District voters approve proposed budget - Eagle News Online, May 18, 2021

New York State recently announced a new investment in state-administered Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) programs. UPK refers to state government-funded preschool programs that are free for those who attend them. The UPK expansion funding is limited to full-day slots for four year old students. School districts will be required to submit an application and proposed budget to NYS shortly to qualify for expanded funding.

To help the North Syracuse Central School District submit a realistic application and budget, we need to determine the interest of our residents for full-day UPK. If you, or someone you know living within the North Syracuse Central School District limits, is interested in UPK, please click here to complete a brief survey. The survey will be open through May 24, 2021. Families are asked to complete the survey even if they have already registered for PreK.

The North Syracuse Central School District is currently accepting registrations for its North Syracuse Early Education Program (at Main Street) for the summer of 2021 and 2021-2022 school year. Registration for the state-funded Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program

Did you know that the North Syracuse Central School District's Athletics Department has a weekly email newsletter? If you'd like to subscribe to the newsletter, click here to fill out the necessary form. To view this week's athletic newsletter, click the download link below.

The North Syracuse Central School District produces a weekly digital newsletter, "NorthStar Lights," to share important information and good news with NSCSD families and staff. Parents and staff members automatically receive the newsletter through SchoolMessenger.

Grandparents, community members and all friends of the NSCSD are welcome to subscribe by providing an email address by clicking here. Newsletters are emailed each Friday when school is in session. Help us share the good news and the great things happening in the NSCSD!

Because this school year has been so different, it has been challenging to get new photos for our District website at www.nscsd.org and other publications. So...we need your help! We would love to share your photos of at home school environments. If you're willing to share, please send your high quality images using the link below. We'll be using your photos in this newsletter and other publications throughout the school year. Additionally, high resolution, horizontal photos will be considered for the District website. If you'd like to share pictures, please email them to our Communications Officer, Laurie Cook at lcook@nscsd.org or click here to upload them.

C-NS Junior Prom Photos: Thank you to the families who submitted their photos of C-NS students attending the Junior Prom last Friday, May 14. Students had a beautiful night for the event with lots of sunshine and warm weather. More pictures are available on Syracuse.com.

Email: webmaster@nscsd.org
Website: www.nscsd.org
Location: 5355 West Taft Road, Syracuse, NY, USA
Phone: (315) 218-2100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NSyracuseCSD/
Twitter: @NSyracuseCSD