West Genesee School District

Dear West Genesee Families,

I look forward to the E-Newsletter publication each time it is released. It is filled with great evidence of the work of our students across so many different circumstances and their level of success within each. It is a reminder of the importance of comprehensive and extensive experiences and the high level of success from our students. Below is no exception. As you read each section, notice the variety and think of the effort that came well before the article was written and the picture taken.

Recently, I reflected on two separate moments in time and the significance of the connection. We have many on-boarding experiences for employees and orientation sessions to begin their time at West Genesee. For our teachers, a three-day New Teacher Orientation in late August is part of the process and transition to their work at the start of the school year. It is also an opportunity for mentor teachers, administrators, and me to brag about West Genesee history and what brings us to the conclusion that we are in a special place.

In mid-year check-in meetings, it has been a pleasure to engage with our teachers in their first year; some starting their career and others who are experienced professionals that have made the decision to come to West Genesee. I’m struck by their expressions of excitement and agreement with what was shared with them in August; the priority to (wonderful) students, engagement from community, support from colleagues, and their own examples that affirm this is a special place.

It is with that spirit that I am reminded to express my thanks to all of the adults in our organization that are committed to their roles, work together to be more than the sum of our parts, and are fierce advocates for the children of our community. To our Wildcat staff – Bravo!

Thank you,

David C. Bills

Superintendent of Schools

Please notice the Social Media Tips below that I shared in the last e-Newsletter. Let's keep the conversation going with our youth in order to keep everyone safe!

Ways to support our youth with social media:

1) Speak to your children about reporting any concerning posts or suspicious activities on social media to a trusted adult. It is important that children understand they will not be punished for reporting a post and that we will protect their anonymity as we investigate the concern. It is also important for students to refrain from sharing or otherwise passing along inappropriate posts, as it contributes to a violation of the WGCSD Code of Conduct.

2) Explain how TIP411 works to your children. Tip411 is an anonymous communication tool that allows students to report serious concerns to schools. Tip411 will provide an option for those students who may not have a trusted adult to relay their concerns. (Note: At times, there may be follow-up questions. Because of the anonymity, it is important to check back to the original TIP411 report.)

3) Encourage your children to seek the truth regarding information online and reporting questionable posts to trusted adults rather than sharing misinformation that causes more confusion than clarity.

4) Speak with your children about school shootings and other tragic events and the fear we all feel as we navigate this unfortunate reality of online threats. Having an open dialogue about school safety is important, especially when threats occur. Here is a link from Child Mind Institute that can help guide that sometimes difficult conversation: How to Talk to Kids About School Shootings | Child Mind Institute.

5) Please relay any social media threats to school administrators so we can begin our investigation and involve the police, if necessary. We take each threat seriously and have a protocol to address each incident. As information becomes available, the District will provide updates to parents.

Principal Kimpland is proud to announce that Solution Tree recently recognized Split Rock Elementary for its sustained success in raising student achievement! Split Rock Elementary has been officially recognized as a Model Professional Learning Community At Work and is now one of about 600 schools and districts in the United States and Canada and just the seventh elementary school in New York State to receive this honor!

According to the Champions of PLC at Work®, educators in the schools and districts selected for this recognition have shown "a sustained commitment to helping all of their students achieve at high levels. They have been willing to alter the structure and culture of the organization to reflect their commitment. We applaud them and congratulate them for achieving this very significant milestone on the never-ending PLC journey."

Kimpland shared, "We are honored and are on the right track to improvement. I am genuinely grateful for our staff members' hard work, dedication, and commitment. They are the driving force behind our success as an institution, and we look forward to continuing our journey of excellence together. We most certainly cannot exclude the hard work and great minds of our Wildcats, who show up each day and give us their best!"

West Genesee Academic Decathlon team members pictured above are in the front row from left to right, Brady Barrett, Annissa Lee, Annalin Hyatt, Devon Moses, Laila Zamani, Abiggail Field. In the back row, from, left to right, are Michael Hess, Joseph Burgette, Nathan Smith, Lukas Timian, and Evan Powers. Not pictured: Frank Nazarkiewicz.

WGHS hosted the NYAD (New York Academic Decathlon) State competition on March 1, 2024. In attendance were West Genesee, Westhill, Cazenovia and Jamesville-DeWitt. West Genesee placed first, Westhill placed second, and Cazenovia placed third.

West Genesee earned a team total of 36 medals! Here is the breakdown per student:

• Laila Zamani: 9 medals (2 gold: science, overall varsity division; 5 silver: art, economics, literature, music, speech; 2 bronze: essay, mathematics)

• Lukas Timian: 8 medals (3 silver: economics, science, speech; 5 bronze: art, literature, mathematics, social science, overall scholastic division)
• Michael Hess: 7 medals (5 gold: economics, essay, mathematics, social science, overall scholastic division; 1 silver: science; 1 bronze: music)
• Nathan Smith: 4 medals (1 gold: economics; 3 bronze: mathematics, music, overall honor division)
• Frank Nazarkiewicz: 3 medals (2 gold: art, music; 1 silver: essay)
• Brady Barrett: 1 medal (gold: Art)
• Evan Powers: 1 medal (gold: Music)
• Abigail Field: 1 medal (silver: literature)
• Joseph Burgette: 1 medal (bronze: social science)
• Annissa Lee: 1 medal (bronze: speech)
• Devon Moses: team member, no medals
• Annalin Hyatt: team member, no medals

Congratulations and great job to the students and their advisor Kevin Misiano.

The CMS Math League team pictured above are, from left to right, Azdha Mundath (7th grade), Katie Domin (8th grade), Noah Zimmerman (8th grade), Kaleb Moulton (7th grade), and Venkata Harshith Yalavarthi (8th grade).

The CMS Math League placed fifth among twenty one teams from CNY competing in the Math League Competition at Gillette Road Middle School!

Congratulations to Mrs. Duschen our Math League advisor and to Kaleb Moulton who placed second!

The 2024 West Genesee Intermediate School Science Fair took place on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 in the WGIS cafeteria. Eighteen groups composed of 24 students created engaging and exciting science and engineering projects to share with parents, faculty and other students.

• Projects included a bearded dragon, bacteria, fungi, bridge building, water desalination, candy, and electricity.
• First place was won by Richard (RJ) Schubmehl (6th grade) with his project, "Which Bridge is the Strongest?"
• Second place went to the 5th grade team of Evelyn Schonewald and Estella Cava with their project "What Type of Bread Molds the Fastest?"
• Third place was taken by Ryan Champlin (6th grade) with his project "Why So Salty, Solar Powered Water Desalination."

Congratulations again to all of our participants and Mr. Perkins on a successful event! Several participants in the Science Fair will move on to compete in the CNY Regional Science Fair on April 7th at the Museum of Science and Technology.

On March 5, 2024 the West Genesee Science Department hosted instructors from SUNY Oswego, who presented information about the upcoming solar eclipse to all Earth Science classes. Topics covered included the heliophysics of eclipses, solar eclipse safety, and the use of weather balloons to study eclipses. The presenters provided solar eclipse viewing glasses for students to take home.

Thank you to everyone who participated in, donated to, and supported our “Brave the Shave'' event! It was amazing to see so many teachers, staff and families coming down to support our brave students who got their heads shaved. We also had parents, staff, and some friends from Stonehedge brave the shave!

We also want to thank Saving Face Barbershop who graciously donated their time once again to the brave the shave cause. We have raised over $17,220 raised as we continue to set our sights on a goal of $20,000 this year!

Split Rock will host their "Brave the Shave" event today, and CMS is up next as they host their event next Friday! It is not too late to donate as our link will be open for next couple of weeks. Below is a link to donate to West Genesee Schools "Brave the Shave!"

Tomorrow, March 16, 2024 West Genesee High School’s UMOJA and Social Justice Coalition will host the first Annual CNY Youth Unity Summit, “Lifting As we Climb.”

The purpose of the event is to bring together students and clubs from all across Onondaga County to learn, support, and network with each other. Students will have the opportunity to hear from our keynote speaker and engage in breakout sessions to build a community of future leaders.

For more information, check out the flier or check out the dedicated website from the link below.

Clue cast members pictured above kneeling in the front row, from left to right, are Sydney Cantor-Feller, Esme Hougaboom, Elizabeth Dunham, Ryan Popp, Natalia Fiacchi, Olivia Tarolli, and John Panek, In the back row, from left to right, are Jillian Kyle, John Diem, Samantha Bullock, Angelo Procopio, Joseph Panek, Danyella Roper, Jacob Scerbo, Sophia Knowlton, Audra Vine, and Lila Hennessy.

Based on the iconic 1985 Paramount movie which was inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, Clue is a hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery. The tale begins at a remote mansion, where six mysterious guests assemble for an unusual dinner party where murder and blackmail are on the menu. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects.

Led by Wadsworth (John Diem) – the butler, Miss Scarlett (Danyella Roper), Professor Plum (Joseph Panek), Mrs. White (Sophia Knowlton), Mr. Green (Jacob Scerbo), Mrs. Peacock (Samantha Bullock) and Colonel Mustard (Angelo Procopio) race to find the killer as the body count stacks up. Clue is the comedy whodunit that will leave both cult-fans and newcomers in stitches as they try to figure out…WHO did it, WHERE, and with WHAT!

This drama club production is student run under the guidance of Kristyn Sperduti and Anthony Alvaro. Director Cynthia Schlenker leads the team with Ty Harte as the Technical Director, John Panek as Costumer, and Lila Hennessy as prop mistress.

Performances are Thursday, April 4 and Friday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m. in the West Genesee High School Auditorium. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10.

The District Calendar for the 2024-2025 school year was approved by the Board of Education at their meeting on March 6, 2024.

The calendar is now available on the website or directly by clicking on the link below..

The 2024 registration form for the 2025 Summer Music Camps can be found by scanning the QR code on the flier or by clicking here. Below is a list of the different programs being offered.

• Choral Camp
  
• Junior Musical Theater Camp
• Senior Musical Theater Camp
• Concert Band Camp
• Jazz Band Camp
• String Camp
• Jump Start Strings

More info on website by clicking on the link below.

The Athletics Department offers the convenience of online registration for athletic sports sign up and clearance through Family ID.

• Modified 7/8/9 Spring Sports-Starts 4/8/24; Registration Opens 3/8/24
  
• Unified Basketball starts 4/15/24; Registration starts 3/15/24

West Genesee partners with local Community-Based Organizations (CBO) for its Pre-K program.

To be eligible for UPK during the 2024-2025 school year, a child must:

• Have a birthdate between December 2, 2019 and December 1, 2020

• Reside in the West Genesee Central School District

In the event that more registrations are received than can be accommodated, the District will conduct an initial selection process via an open lottery in which children will be selected at random.

Those children who have completed the registration process by May 1, 2024 will be part of the initial selection process.

Families who were part of the initial selection process will be called in order of selection and informed:

• whether their child has been accepted to the program, and

• which site (including hours of the program) is available for their child;

OR

• where their child is on the waiting list.

Families will be contacted by May 2-3, 2024.

If at any point after the initial selection process there are more students registered than seats available, students will be placed on the waiting list in the order that their registration was completed.

Transportation to and from the program is the responsibility of parents/guardians, and students must attend the program five days a week to maintain their seat.

Look for registration information on the Central Registration webpage at: https://www.westgenesee.org/o/wgcsd/page/central-registration or from the link below. If you have any questions, email the Central Registrar at centralregistrar@westgenesee.org, or call Central Registration at (315) 487-4683.

When registering, parents should be prepared to upload the following:

• Two proofs of residency (i.e. mortgage or property statement or signed lease agreement, utility bill

• proof of age

Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-2025 school year opened on December 5, 2023 and will continue until March 31, 2024.

Watch for registration information on the Central Registration webpage. If you have any questions, email the Central Registrar at centralregistrar@westgenesee.org, or call Central Registration at (315) 487-4683.

When registering, parents should be prepared to upload the following:

• Two proofs of residency (i.e. mortgage or property statement or signed lease agreement, utility bill )
• proof of age

A physical examination and proof of immunizations are also required for entry into kindergarten and a dental certificate is requested for entry into kindergarten. These examinations should be done up to one year prior to the first day of school. Children who enter kindergarten this fall must be five years of age on or before December 1, 2024.

Families who have a current UPK student, you will need to register your child for kindergarten for the 2024-2025 school year.

We are looking for a Maintenance Worker I to undertake the responsibility to preserve the good condition and functionality of our premises.

Inquiries can be made to Buildings and Grounds at (315) 487-4630.

West Genesee CSD is hiring full-time custodians on all shifts and substitute custodians for the 2nd shift.

Inquiries can be made to Buildings and Grounds at (315) 487-4630.

West Genesee CSD is hiring substitute teachers. We are accepting applicants that are both certified and non-certified (with a Bachelor's degree).

Inquiries can be made to Human Resources at (315) 487-4555.

WGCSD is hiring substitute LPN nurses.

Inquiries about this position can be sent to Stephanie Skardinski at sskardinski@westgenesee.org.

Please note that the Board of Education voted at their meeting on October 18, 2023 to adjust the West Genesee CSD Calendar to move the Half-Day of School for Students-Superintendent's Conference Half-Day from April 10, 2024 to April 8, 2024.

This change is to accommodate a total Eclipse due to occur on April 8 during student dismissal time at some of our schools.

Click on the link below to view/print the updated 2023-2024 calendar as posted to the website under the Calendar area.

• March 20, 2024 BOE Meeting at West Genesee High School Library-6:00-7:00 p.m.
• March 29, 2024 Good Friday