Cortland Enlarged City Schools

This weeks Weekly News Blast features Unified Bowling. GO TIGERS!

Click on the photo to see the News Blast.

IT WAS A CLOSE ONE! On Saturday, March 4 the Cortland Purple Tigers Girls Basketball team met the Westhill Warriors team for the second round of the Class B Sectional Tourney at OCC. Cortland battled the whole game but didn't have the lead until Claire Turner made her first basket to make the score 37-35 in the 4th. The game went back and forth with several ties with both teams battling for every bucket but in the end the Purple Tigers (20-4 this season) pulled it out 47-41 to become the Section III Class B Champions.

At 2:45 pm Saturday, 3/11, at OCC, the Cortland Purple Tigers girls Basketball Team beat Newark Valley to move on in the State Championships. The game went right down to the last seconds with both teams in foul trouble, Kendall Mack sank a three and then Aubree Larkin sank two free throws that sealed the win for the Purple Tigers 46-41.

The next game is the semi-final game on Friday, March 17th at 10 a.m. The game will be played at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy NY. We have high school students and staff headed to cheer our Purple Tigers on as well as a watch party planned at the high school.

We are so proud of our student athletes and their coaches and wish them the best of luck this weekend! Go Tigers!

Our annual Kiwanis Club PBJ Drive was a huge success! Our Cortland staff and students collected over 560 jars of peanut butter & jelly. Twleve food pantries in Cortland county were stocked including: the Backpack program at CAPCO and BOCES, the Purple Pantry at the high school, The Cortland Cupboard at SUNY Cortland, Helping Hands in the County Office Building, Loaves and Fishes, Harmony Methodist Food Pantry, McGraw United Methodist Food Pantry, Marathon Food Pantry, Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army. GREAT JOB TIGERS! Thank you for your donations!!

In March, a group of Randall Middle School 6th graders took a trip to learn about technical careers at the U.P.A.T. (Union of Painters and Allied Trades) training facility. Students were able to tour the building and meet with trainers Josh, Wes, and Dave. The trip was hands-on in nature including an opportunity to make a Tiger Paw Wall Mount from playdough and paint! Students in 6th grade library classes just finished a career research unit, and students who expressed interest in trades and technical careers were invited to attend the field trip. Thank you so much to Josh and everyone from U.P.A.T. for hosting our Cortland 6th Graders!

Three athletes on the Indoor Track Team won their respective events in this years class B Sectional Championships. Duncan Harbin for the Weight Throw, Lilly Call for the 1000m run and Jack Phelan for the Triple Jump.

All three have been front runners in their events all season, with very close competition at the championships. Duncan had a personal best throw that day and broke the school record, which he would go on to break again at the state qualifier meet the next week. Jack Phelan followed his section 3 win with a school record of his own at state qualifiers! Great job Tigers!

Left to right are: Duncan Harbin, Lilly Call, Jack Phelan

The renovations at Smith Intermediate School are well under way. Pictured below, is the old locker room. The bathroom section has been torn out to make way for a brand new Music room, PE Storage and gender neutral toilets.

Last year as part of a class project Taylor Wilk brought a trailer with several cows and a calf to the high school. The visit was such a hit that this year, Taylor brought in two, two-week-old goats (kids) to visit the JSHS! Students enjoyed learning about the goats throughout the day.

Registration forms are available for the Cortland Schools Universal Pre-K Program (UPK) at the Kaufman Center and in the UPK Centers.

In-person registration will be conducted at the Kaufman Center beginning March 21st. This process will not be by appointment and the UPK spots will go to families on a first-come, first-serve basis. Many years, the spots do fill up, so it is best to come on March 21 or very close afterwards.

To be eligible your child must reside in the Cortland Enlarged City School District and have a birth date between 12/2/18 and 12/1/19. For more information on programs locations and the registration process, call (607) 758-4125.

Please call (607) 758-4106 to register your child by May 12, 2023. Other important dates are listed below.

The All Night Party Parent Committee has put together a delicious fundraising event for you - a spaghetti dinner at the Cortland Elks Lodge on Saturday, March 25. Contact Judie Knapp or Samantha Beams if you have any questions. (jknapp@cortlandschools.org sbeams@cortlandschools.org)

The CECSD Board of Education meeting dates and times are posted on the district website and are open to the public and all are welcome. The March meeting was postponed due to the snow day and will take place on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at Smith School.

Budget Presentations... Kris Williamson, Business Administrator, continues to work with the board of education in the preparation of the budget for the 2023-2024 school year. The budget vote is on May16th and every vote is important. Please consider attending or viewing recordings of board meetings to learn more about the budget process.

School Board Elections …. Community members interested in running for school board can obtain a petition from the Kaufman Center. Candidates need the petition signed by 100 qualified school district voters. Petitions are due back before 5:00pm April 26th. For more information, contact Alicia Zupanicic, Board Clerk, at (607)758-4100 Ext. 2202.