My name is Cameron Coles, I go to Pembroke High School, and I am in 11th grade. The other day (October 28th) I was eating lunch and I found a peice of plastic wrap in my soup. It was about half an inch wide, and 2 to 3 inches long. I believe this poses a choking hazard and could have also had countless bad bacteria on it, some of which may have caused someone to get H1N1. I think this issue needs to be adressed, and I really want to know what people think about it. My friend has a picture of it on his cell phone and I will try to get it to post it tomorrow. I did not however save the peice of plastic wrap, which I probably should have done maybe. Feedback would be wonderful.

Why is it that in the land of freedom and opportunity we are forced to pay school taxes?

This is not a rant on the taxes themselves but more on the lack of choice in where students can recieve an education.  I understand that an educated society is a benefit to society itself.  But when all we hear about is how government schools need more money and are failing our kids to the tune of over $10,000 a student per year, how can we keep funneling them money?

Institution a tax voucher program is the only way to break the control of teachers unions and the government in general.

People often complain about their children not being taught their values such as Intelligent design and abstinence only.  With a voucher program that give parents back say 70% of the money that would have been spent on the child at a government school, educational freedom can be more readily exercised.  The reason I say 70% is to cover overhead costs at the school that were necesarily spent to the individual students benefit.

Today that freedom is only open to those who have the economic means to pay both thier school taxes and tuition at a private school.  Parents will literally get to choose what kind of education their children receive.

It will also break the hold of teachers unions by forcing public school to improve in order to keep the cash flow coming.

Home schooling should also be an option to voucher users.  Home schooling has proven to provide quality educations at cheaper costs.  Some worry about social interactions but that can handled by either joining with other home schooling parents in the area or ensuring your children have many after school activities.

This is a win-win solution to he debates about the problems are public schools, lets hope those in charge see this as well.

MAMMOTH Indoor Garage Sale

Saturday, April 18th 9AM-4PM

St. Joseph School
corner of Main (Route 5) & Summit
Batavia

*  "It's a widely-acclaimed, super-enormous, ultra-gigantic quality sale!"

*  Everything from A-to-Z (clothing excluded)

*  New this year: a wide variety of quality, used furniture

Please call Kathy Stefani at 585-344-2701 with any questions.
Hope to see you there!

St. Joseph School Penny Carnival!

Please join us for our 20th Annual St. Joseph School Penny Carnival. March 28th 11-4.  Corner of Main and Summit in Batavia.
The fun includes: games and prizes; our famous "Cake Walk"; food and refreshments; baked goods sale; numerous raffles including:  $1000 cash giveaway; $250 Toy-R-Us Shopping Spree, $100+ lottery-ticket basket, 13 different theme baskets. Please call the school at 343-6154 with any questions.
Hope to see you there!

A story in the Democrat & Chronicle yesterday features Batavia Notre Dame graduate Tim Sullivan, now one of the country's best basketball shooting coaches. Sullivan, who graduated in 1978, then "walked onto the team at Canisius College in Buffalo," now puts on some 400 shooting clinics across the country each year.

This article, by John Boccacino, is a fun read, and there are more than a few great tips for any amateur basketball enthusiast looking to beef up his or her shot. It's clear that Sullivan knows his stuff.

After every shot attempt Sullivan preached that, as part of their follow through, the participants kiss the shoulder of their shooting side to guarantee a complete, accurate shot.

His wise words were met with confusion. "When he started talking about that, my friend Matt Noto and I looked at each other and said, 'OK, that won't work,'" said Steven Ciotti, 13, a seventh-grader at Greece Athena Middle School who plays for Greece Basketball Association's seventh-grade house team. "But then he started shooting and he just wasn't missing. I think he made almost 95 percent of his 200 shots and we were all amazed."

This is more of a public service annoucement or a FYI instead of a news story, but isn't any more or less important.

Two Rochester news stations, Channel 13 (WHAM) and Channel 10 (WHEC) offer a free (depending on your texting plan) service to send text messages to your cellphone, notifying you in the event of a school closing.

I'm not going to preach which service to use (or what cellphone carrier you should be using). I present the facts and let people decide for themselves, with the occasional two cents.

Off the bat, most schools/companies/churches/etc will notify Channel 13 first in the event of a closing and then Channel 10. Some organizations don't notify Channel 10 at all, and vice versa. However, both stations end up with the same closings. It's really just a matter of time.

To use Channel 13's service, you have to register an account which takes about five minutes. Then you have the option to subscribe to a maximum of five organizations, for lack of a bettter word. You can also choose times throughout the day when to receive or not to receive notifications.

With Channel 10's service, it's less customisable and more straightforward. You type in your device e-mail address, and your sent a confirmation code via text message. Type in the confirmation code, click submit and you have a list of all of the organizations you can choose from. There's no limit either.

Personally, I use Channel 10's service. I keep track of several different schools and hate the limit that Channel 13 has on their service.

The links are below. Take your pick.

Channel 10 - WHEC

Channel 13 - WHAM

Stephanie Lapple ’10, daughter of Dr. William and Angela Lapple of Le Roy did it again!

Class of 2009
                                               
 Taylor Alexander                                           
 Christopher Bogan                                          
 Valerie DiSalvo                                            
 Kevin Francis                                              
 Kristen Francis                                            
 Michael Geer                                               
 Angela Jazwiecki                                           
 Christopher Kroh                                           
 Richard Lair                                               
 Amy Miller                                                 
 Katie Spadaccia                                            
 Stacy Squire                                               
 Brianna Way 

Class of 2010      
 
 Woodams Clark                                              
 Ashley Fix                                                 
 Lyndie Gallo                                               
 Megan Hanley                                               
 Zackary Klein                                              
 Erik Miller                                                
 Thomas Rapone                                              
 Hannah Scott-McGrail     

Class of 2011

 Tia Arnold                                                 
 Alexander Berardini                                        
 Rick Conklin                                               
 Jordan DiFilippo                                           
 Elizabeth Geandreau                                        
 Sean Kota                                                  
 Johnathan Maye                                             
 Tyler Pingrey                                              
 Emily Pringle                                              
 Walter Richardson                                          
 Devin Sherman        

Class of 2012      
 
 Patrick Aina                                               
 Brendan Brown                                              
 Luke Calla                                                 
 Danielle Constantino                                       
 Jenna DiFilippo                                            
 Jared Midwick                                              
 Jack Nenni       

Class of 2009                                         
 
 James Barcomb                                              
 Gregory Barr                                               
 Henri Burdett                                              
 Ashley Calarco                                           
 Brad Cohen                                                 
 Maura Cupicha                                              
 Elizabeth Fischer                                          
 Craig Houseknecht                                          
 Eric Houseknecht                                           
 Matthew Jackson                                            
 Jill Marshall                                              
 Brittany Morelli                                           
 Shea O'Connor                                              
 Emili Ripley                                               
 Kevin Schildwaster                                         
 Paige Scofield                                             
 Eric Shormann                                              
 Melissa Smith                                              
 Joy Snyder                                                 
 Lee Ann Tindell                                            
 Nicholas Wetherwax                                         
 Sean Zawicki      

Class of 2010   
 
 Michael Aina                                               
 Haley Alexander                                            
 Rachel Berggren                                            
 Nicholas Bochicchio                                        
 Katherine E. Cochrane                                      
 Jonathan Corona                                            
 Nathan Flumerfeldt                                         
 Daniel Follett                                             
 Jacob Griffin                                              
 Tawney Gustison                                            
 Nichole Hart                                               
 Erin Kruppner                                              
 Stephanie Lapple                                           
 Alex Sandra Morgan                                         
 Kevin Pawlak                                               
 Trisha Pike                                                
 Elizabeth Skalny                                           
 Elise Smith                                                
 Katherine Stewart                                          
 Matthew Thompson                                           
 David Wolcott                                              
 Gianni Zambito  

Class of 2011
 
 Kristen Antolos                                            
 Larry Bartlett                                             
 Anthony Bochicchio                                         
 Kaitlyn Coleman                                            
 Megan Condidorio                                           
 Tamara DePalmo                                             
 Douglas Decker                                             
 Sophia DelPlato                                           
 Conlan Edwards                                             
 Kyle Fancher                                               
 Nicholas Flumerfeldt                                       
 J. Mitchell Francis                                        
 Nicole Guilds                                              
 Katherine Hilburger                                        
 Allyson Kehl                                               
 Eric LoMonaco                                              
 Russell Marchese                                           
 Morgan Midwick                                             
 Syndey Moag                                                
 Lucy Norton                                                
 Akash Patel                                                
 Michael Pontillo                                           
 Justine Saraceni                                           
 Joshua Shenck                                              
 Vinzenz Stadler                                            
 Thomas Whelehan                                            
 Dalton Worgo      

 Class of 2012  
 
 Marshall Argenta                                           
 Natalie Brown                                              
 Steven Cochrane                                            
 Qurratul-Ain Dar                                           
 Mackenzie DeCarlo                                          
 Elaina Dickinson                                           
 Andrew Fischer                                             
 Benjamin Flumerfeldt                                       
 Beau Hassett                                               
 Teresa Jackson                                             
 Tyler Kessler                                              
 Kiarra King                                                
 Rosalie Mortellaro                                         
 Daniel Motz                                                
 Quincy O'Connor                                            
 Brett Perfitt                                              
 Brittany Perzia                                            
 Carly Pike                                                 
 Emily Reese                                                
 Matthew Sausner                                            
 Lauren Stansberry                                          
 Kendra Wall                                                
 Meghan Zickl          

ND Faculty and Staff members spent their November 10, 2008 Staff Day doing exactly what we expect all of our students to do - expanding their comfort zones and participating in service activities in the City of Batavia.

It would have been very easy for our December “Senior in the Spotlight” to “throw in the towel” and point to his athletic injuries as a reason for feeling sorry for himself. Not so for this month’s spotlighted senior.  A talented runner and swimmer, Sean Zawicki, son of Dr. Joseph and Mrs. Ann Zawicki of Elba injured his ACL during his Sophomore year track season causing him to miss his entire Junior year Cross Country season. After following a rigorous off season rehab schedule, Sean was poised to rejoin our champion Boys Cross Country team for his senior season only to be sidelined once again, this time for stress fractures to both legs! As he had done as a Junior, Sean continued to attend all practices and meets even though he could not participate. It was only fitting that he was finally cleared to run in the final two meets of his senior year –Genesee Region Counties and the Section V Class D meet at Marcus Whitman High School. It was also only poetic justice that Sean’s performance at Sectionals helped us secure our 3^rd consecutive Class D Boys Championship and an opportunity to represent Section V in this year’s NYSPHSAA meet in Long Island where we finished one point short of 2^nd place!

A member in good standing of the Notre Dame Chapter of the National Honor Society since his Sophomore year at ND, Sean has been a four year member of our Fighting Irish Cross Country and Swim teams and served as captain of each squad since his Sophomore year! He has also participated in Track and Golf, as well as being an active member of our Mission Club, Mock Trial Team and Science Club during his career at ND.

Sean received the highest recognition possible for a Notre Dame student to achieve when he was selected to receive Anima Christi recognition in May of his Sophomore year. Anima Christi [Spirit of Christ] recognition is reserved for students who demonstrate unusual acts of kindness, faith, healing, charity, humility, selflessness or service. Sean has been active in his parish at Our Lady of Fatima in Elba as an Altar Server and Eucharistic Minister and in Youth Ministry [Young Christians at Work] in the Diocese of Buffalo where he has volunteered at St. Martin DePorres refuge house painting hallways, St. Vincent DePaul serving as a soup kitchen waiter and at Bissonette House cleaning a halfway house for ex-convicts in Buffalo.

Sean has been a High Honor Roll recipient throughout his high school experience at Notre Dame, as well as having attained New York State Scholar-Athlete recognition [minimum 90% average] during each of the ten Varsity sports seasons in which  he has competed at ND. Additional honors received include the Buffalo Diocesan Spirit Award [2008], the Donna Jean Mooney Memorial Sportsmanship award for Boys Swimming [2008] and induction into the Order of the Arrow Boy Scout Honor Society.

Sean is interested in pursuing a dual major in Mechanical Engineering and Physics and is currently considering the University of Rochester, Clarkson University and Alfred University as possible college choices for next year.

Msgr. Kirby Council #325 members Jerry Grasso, Richard Canale, and Deacon John Stone lead all members present in the recitation of the rosary in a special ceremony honoring the 10^th anniversary of the Grotto at ND.  The ceremony was held on a cold October 16^thevening at 7 p.m.

Genesee Region All Stars: L to R: Volleyball – Liz Geandreau ’11 and Brittany Morelli ’09; Cross Country – Ashley Calarco ’09 [4^th straight year!] and Jill Marshall ’09. Jill also earned a Sectional patch for a 7^th place finish in this year’s Section V Class D meet in this her first year of Cross Country competition!

Nicole Mickey ’09 represented ND on the Genesee Region team vs. the Livingston County II team at Cal-Mum on Sunday, 11-9-08 in the Exceptional Senior Soccer game.

2008 GR League All Star selections from ND - L to R: Rick Lair ’09 [Lineman], Matt Thompson ‘10 [Kicker], Kevin Francis ’09 [Receiver] Craig Houseknecht ’09 [Lineman].

2008 Section V Class D Individual Awards earned during the 11-1-08 Class D Final Football game vs. Dundee – L to R: Justin Shenck ’09 [Sportsmanship Award], Rick Lair ’09 [Outstanding Offensive Lineman] and Craig Houseknecht ’09 [Outstanding Defensive Lineman].

ND Senior in the Spotlight

Ashley Calarco ‘09

Ashley Calarco ’09, daughter of Joseph and Michelle Calarco, is a very well-rounded individual and exceptional student-athlete at ND!

Assuming the role of a leader is nothing new for Ashley. The Vice President of the ND Chapter of the National Honor Society and a member in good standing of NHS since her Junior year, Ashley has also served as her Class of 2009 Vice-President for the past two years and Captain of our Varsity Girls Fighting Irish Cross Country team since her Sophomore year. She has worked as a volunteer at All Babies Cherished for the past four years and was recently commissioned as a Eucharistic Minister at ND during our opening day mass on September 5, 2008.

Ashley has earned high honor role status each marking period during her ND career, as well as perfect attendance recognition during her 9^th and 10^th grade years! She has received numerous academic awards during her four years at ND including overall highest average recognition for Mathematics, AP English , Theology and Drawing and Painting, as well as recognition by the American Chemical Society for achievement in the field of Chemistry.

An outstanding Cross Country runner, Ashley entered our recently-concluded season as the three time Section V Class D Defending Girls Cross Country Champion, each time qualifying to represent Section V in the NYSPHSAA state meet. She has received Genesee Region League All Star status and earned Track/Cross Country NYS Scholar-Athlete recognition during all four years at ND! Ashley’s bid for a 4^th straight Class D championship and trip to the NYSPHSAA meet came to an end a week prior to this year’s meet when she was sidelined with a fractured foot. In true leadership form, she made the trip to Marcus Whitman Central and vocally supported her teammates while on crutches at the recent Sectional meet.

Ashley is interested in pursuing a degree in graphic design after her June 2009 graduation from ND and is currently pursuing early admission to Syracuse University as her number one college choice.

We are all proud to call Ashley one of our own and wish her the best of luck during the remainder of her senior year and next year at college!

As an Oakfield Youth Group leader, I invite anyone that is interested in joining us for a morning of prayer on September 24th at 7:00 am at the flagpole at OACS.  We have a time of quiet prayer for our school, our teachers, administrators and our kids in a circle around our flagpole at the high school.  You dont have to be a Oakfield person to come and encourage our kids.  It is very powerful to see teenagers in prayer together for all their friends to see.  If you can't come to OACS, I encourage you to check at your local school and see if they are participating in the morning activity. 

It is awesome to think that kids all over the nation gather at that time on that day to stand together in their faith.