Blue Devils Dispatch

Dear Attica Families,

It's hard to believe we've already completed our first month of school! September was filled with energy, enthusiasm, and a strong sense of community as we welcomed students back to campus. I'm proud of how our students have settled into routines, embraced their learning, and engaged in school life.

We've had many highlights throughout the month. Our sophomores enjoyed a field trip to Breezy Hill Dairy, and several students participated in the GLOW with Your Hands event-an incredible opportunity to engage in hands-on activities with local businesses. We also hosted a college fair featuring Rochester-area colleges, and students took part in a high school game day event sponsored by the Genesee County Economic Development Center. To top it all off, Homecoming Week is currently in full swing, adding extra spirit and excitement to our school community.

From an academic standpoint, you'll find updates from many departments below. New York State is also in the process of changing graduation standards for our students. This will not be fully phased in until 2029. Below there is a parent need to know flyer that speaks to some of the changes. Please also mark your calendars for our Open House on October 9th, from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Five-week progress reports will be available for families to pick up during this time.

Additionally, students are now able to sign up for the PSAT, which will be administered on October 15th. The sign-up deadline is October 7th.

Thank you for being active partners in your child's education. I look forward to all that the coming months will bring.

Warmly,

Mr. Jansma

Attica will be hosting a Watch Group on November 6th in the auditorium from 6-8 pm. All are welcome to attend.

Description of Presentation:

Digital Dangers is a virtual presentation conducted by FBI Buffalo and designed to inform parents, educators, and school communities about today’s most pressing online safety concerns and provide resources for parents and educators to use at home and in the classroom.

FBI Buffalo will focus on the dangers of our youth connecting with people online who they don’t know in-person. For some kids, they’re influenced into sending an inappropriate photo to someone they think is a peer, soon realizing it’s someone threatening them for more photos – or money. For other kids, they’re unknowingly being befriended by violent online groups who are motivated by a desire to cause fear, chaos, and harm.

For this virtual presentation, FBI Buffalo invites schools in Western New York to host in-person Watch Groups where parents and educators from participating schools can view the presentation and be empowered to help prevent the children in their lives from becoming victims. The 17 counties of WNY that FBI Buffalo covers are Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates.

Welcome to the new school year! Here are a few important reminders and helpful tips as we begin the year:

Updated immunization records must be on file to attend school. Reminders have been given

to those still in need

Health Action Plans for asthma, allergies, seizures, diabetes, or any other chronic conditions must be updated yearly. Please send in any medications with a completed provider form.

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

To keep our school community healthy, please keep your child home if they have:

• 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.

If your child has any specific health needs, feel free to reach out to me at 585-591-0400x1110

September Science Club

This month for Science Club Mrs. O’Donnell and Mrs. Winters collected pond water from an algae covered pond at Knox Farm in East Aurora, which led to a discussion about eutrophication. This process occurs when an aquatic ecosystem becomes excessively enriched with nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, often from agricultural runoff or sewer discharge. A period of drought, like seen locally this summer, can intensify this phenomenon, as lower water levels concentrate the nutrients in a smaller volume, thus creating ideal conditions for an explosive population growth of algae, known as an algal bloom. Under the microscope, a drop of this vibrant green water revealed a complex community of single-celled organisms, including various protists that thrive on the abundant algal biomass. The club members found themselves examining a micro-universe of bustling microorganisms, all benefiting from the nutrient surplus that created the pea-soup surface layer of the pond.

(How exciting, a Great Blue Heron was also spotted on the pond!)

This club is again looking forward to their springtime Annual Science Day where the high school students spend the day facilitating a STEM activity within many of the elementary classrooms!

We are working on digital literacy exercises in Participation in Government this month. We are using CORE (Civic-online reasoning education) and NAMLE (National Association of Media Literacy Education ) based exercises to evaluate and navigate digital media. We are developing lateral research skills. In lateral research, you navigate across multiple sources to verify claims and understand context, rather than relying on a single, potentially biased source. We use critical thinking simulations to apply these and other analytical skills in a controlled, problem-based environment to develop strategic decision-making and evaluation skills. We are using the concept of extending the school week by one day so that we can improve educational outcomes in our American education system. This is always a student favored public policy proposal. By integrating both approaches in this digital literacy simulation helps students make informed judgments and think independently.

To kick off the school year, 10th grade students in Mrs. Cusmano’s Careers and Financial Management engaged in an interactive activity designed to help them think critically about financial decision-making. Using beans to represent income, students were challenged to allocate their limited resources across essential expenses such as housing and food, as well as optional categories like entertainment and recreation. Students quickly recognized that financial decisions vary from person to person and that budgeting often involves balancing needs, wants, and unexpected circumstances. The activity sparked meaningful discussion, set the tone for the year, and gave students an engaging first look at how personal values influence financial choices.

The Attica Agriculture Department has been busy providing exciting hands-on learning opportunities for students this fall. Attica Faculty, along with Attica Partners for Agriculture, organized a trip for the entire 10th grade class to visit Breezyhill Farm. Students were able to experience agriculture in action and learn more about career opportunities in the industry.

FFA members also had an active start to the year. The chapter hosted a community chicken BBQ, welcomed state FFA officers for a school visit, and traveled to Camp Oswegatchie for leadership training. These experiences continue to build leadership skills, teamwork, and agricultural knowledge among our students.

In addition, Miss Wright’s classroom had a special guest—Willow, a mini Scottish Highland calf! A big thank you goes to the Meeder family for bringing Willow in and giving students the chance to interact with her up close.

In AP Statistics, students are exploring how to show and interpret real-world data using different types of graphs. Recently, we looked at Barry Bonds’ home run data to see how his career numbers are distributed. Students made histograms, boxplots, stemplots, and dotplots to see how each graph shows patterns, spreads, and outliers in different ways.

This activity gave students hands-on practice with statistical tools while connecting math to something they can see at a baseball game. By looking at the pros and cons of each graph, they got a better sense of how to pick the best way to show data clearly.

Students in Mr. Struzik’s First Year Experience (FYE) class at Attica High School are taking an important step toward their future. The class, offered as a dual enrollment course with Genesee Community College, allows students to earn GCC credit while preparing for life after graduation.

Currently, students are engaged in activities related to the college search process. They are researching schools that match their interests, exploring potential majors, and beginning work on the Common Application. In addition, students are drafting their college essays—a key component of the application process that allows them to share their personal stories and goals with admissions committees.

Through these activities, FYE students are gaining valuable skills and confidence as they prepare for the transition to college and beyond.

Earlier this month, students set out on a memorable fishing trip with the Excalibur Leisure Skills Center in Buffalo. The day was more than just casting lines—it was a hands-on lesson in preparation, safety, and local exploration.

Before the trip, students practiced their planning skills by checking the weather forecast and deciding what clothing and gear they would need for a successful day on the water. Once aboard the boat, they learned about important safety procedures, including the proper use of life jackets. They also explored the different parts of the boat and discovered how various devices are used to navigate and drive it.

The highlight of the trip was fishing on the open water. Students had the opportunity to try their hand at catching fish while also taking in the view of the Canadian skyline. Along the way, they gained a deeper understanding of local waterways and the natural environment that surrounds them.

The excursion was both educational and enjoyable, providing students with practical skills and memorable experiences that extended learning beyond the classroom.

Seniors:Transcript review will begin in October, please call or email Ms Frongetta if you would like to be a part of the conversation. We will go over graduation status, diploma options, and post grad plans.

The WNY College Fair is October 14 at 12:20 in the HS Aux gym-great opportunity to speak with college admissions counselors before starting the application process.

Start your FAFSA today-here is a link for more FAFSA information.

Juniors: The PSAT is scheduled for October 15th. The cost is $18. Signups are in the Counseling Office. The next SAT exams are October 4th and November 8th. If you are interested in taking the assessment, head to The College Board website and sign up. It's never too early to start thinking about what's next after graduation. Now is the time for college tours, site visits, etc. Schedule a meeting with Mr. Gardner if you'd like to sit down and talk about what's next. The next college tour is on October 14th. It will feature schools like University at Buffalo, Canisius, Buffalo State, SUNY Fredonia, and more! Healthy Academy and Justice Academy Tours at BOCES will be January and February.

Sophomores: Breezy Hill field trip was a huge success! Beautiful weather, with so much to learn- Thank you again to the Almeter family for hosting us and coordinating such an amazing event! Next up for sophomores....PSAT on October 15, cost is $18, BOCES Open House is October 9 at Batavia BOCES 5-7 pm, and tours to BOCES are 11/5.

Freshmen: Freshmen students have been doing a great job at getting acclimated to high school. There was a Club Fair during lunch where students had the opportunity to join different extracurricular clubs. Joining clubs and/or teams is a great way to make new connections and build your resume. Mr. Gardner will be coming into freshman English classes within the next few weeks to present on the top things that freshmen students should know (credits, transcripts, getting help with classes, etc.).