There was a big turnout for the Mexican-themed Family Night at Batavia Middle School, which featured a Mexican food feast (until the tacos ran out), crafts around Mexican themes, along with a raffle (prizes donated by local businesses) and community group booths and activities.
It's Ag Literacy Week and farmers from throughout Genesee County are participating by going to their local schools and sharing about their careers and reading from a book picked especially for the occasion.
The book is "Weaving the Rainbow," by George Ella Lyon and Stephanie Anderson. The picture book is the story of a young woman who raises sheep, shears them, cleans, cards, spins and dyes the wool, using it to create works of woven art. The story is aimed at helping students make the connection between agriculture and its many uses and influences.
Above, Sharon Fuerch reads to a group of second-graders at Byron-Bergen Elementary School this morning.
Below, Colleen Primm and her daughter Madelynn introduce a pair of their lambs to Byron-Bergen students.
Robin Zanderwers from the Buffalo Zoo shows off a turtle to students at Jackson School on Thursday evening during an event dubbed "Wild About Reading."
GCC is hosting the annual Tech Wars, an engineering competition for students from schools throughout the GLOW region.
Press release:
Leaders from State University of New York (SUNY) campuses in the Finger Lakes region today called on local elected officials to continue supporting public higher education by creating a new investment fund and extending NYSUNY 2020, including the successful rational tuition policy, in the 2015-16 New York State Budget.
At Monroe Community College today, five SUNY presidents, including Genesee Community College President James Sunser, Ed.D., were joined by students and faculty members to present a unified voice advocating for all 64 SUNY colleges and universities.
The key component of SUNY’s budget request is an investment fund that will enable SUNY to graduate 150,000 students annually by 2020 through the system-wide scale up of evidence-based programs known to support student success, including Finish in Four completion promises, applied learning, Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP), and expanded advisement services.
“Community colleges have become key economic drivers within our local communities,” Sunser said. “The academic programs and workforce training we offer brings competitive salaries and wages to our graduates, and increased productivity and profitability to our business community.
"Community colleges produce a very positive net economic return to our communities, and without question, increased New York state investment in our 30 community colleges goes hand in hand with economic growth.”
SUNY continues to be a huge economic driver for the state, serving 3 million New Yorkers every year — including students, faculty, staff, and others — and an economic powerhouse that generates $21 billion annually for New York.
Since NYSUNY 2020 was first enacted, SUNY campuses have used additional revenue generated by rational tuition to grow and expand student services, including the hiring of 520 instructional staff, 270 of whom are full-time faculty, and the implementation of 100 new degree programs reflecting high-demand areas in New York’s workforce.
Dr. Joe Scanlan, a man with the steady, gentle temperament of a parish priest, is stepping away from a job he loves in a few months.
Appropriately enough, for the past 11 years, Scanlan has been principal of Notre Dame High School, the private Catholic school on Union Street in Batavia.
"It takes a lot of energy to do this job," Scanlan said. "I pretty much do everything here except business. And you wouldn't want me to be the business manager. Tommy Rapone does a nice job. In addition to being principal, you're talking admissions, recruitment, pubic relations, newsletter and all the rest of the stuff. It's time to give somebody else a chance."
Scanlan's tenure at Notre Dame caps a 47-year career in education, which includes 15 at Byron-Bergen as a history teacher, assistant principal and principal, and 11 years as principal at York Central School.
Scanlan has found it particularly rewarding to shepherd area teens through their preparatory education at his own alma mater.
"I love it here, especially the kids," Scanlan said. "It's a great group of kids here. There's great kids in every school, so it's not just Notre Dame, but the students here are special group. They're pretty gritty. They're competitive, but they're respectful."
There are 170 students in grades 9-12 at Notre Dame. When the seniors graduate this spring, it will be Scanlan's final graduation with the school, it will also be the 50th anniversary year of his own class's graduation.
It's tradition for classes to be invited back for the graduation ceremony on their 50th anniversary, so Scanlan is hoping he'll see a lot of his former classmates.
Scanlan said the school board already has a number of qualified candidates who have expressed interest in the job.
There is also a $5 million capital campaign under way at the school, so the next principal will have plenty to do from the first day on the job.
As for Scanlan's own plans he says, "right now the plan is to have no plan."
He has a son and granddaughter living in Cleveland and more time to travel will mean more time with his family.
He plans to continue living in Le Roy.
Jay Lewis might be only 14 years old but he is full of ambition and has many aspirations. Jay, a ninth-grader who attends Batavia High School, was recently selected to attend the National Young Leaders State Conference. This conference will take place in Boston in April.
During this four-day conference, Jay will come together with students from schools located all throughout the Northeastern United States. These students will focus on a curriculum that is specially designed to develop essential leadership, communication, networking, decision-making, conflict resolution and critical thinking skills.
“I’m looking forward to meeting new people and I hope to learn how work with people in order to become a better leader. These are skills that you need throughout your whole life,” Jay explained.
Eric R. Knapp, an eighth-grade school counselor at Batavia Middle School, nominated Jay.
“Jay is a young person with exceptional character and values,” Knapp said. "During his years at the Middle School he was polite, respectful and was a fantastic role model for other students. He had a quiet demeanor about him yet, according to his teachers, in the classroom, he showed great enthusiasm for education and consistently showed outstanding effort. In addition to his exceptional character and leadership potential, his overall average his eighth-grade year was 96.296 percent."
As a freshman, Jay has earned 11 college credits through the Genesee Community College Math Science Preparation Program. He plans to attend college to earn a degree as an electrical or mechanical engineer and hopes to someday own his own business. Jay has many interests in and outside of school. He serves on the Genesee County Youth Court. He’s a member of the Ski Club, Batavia Middle School Modified Tennis Team, is an avid fisherman and hunter and a Greenwing Member of Ducks Unlimited.
Jay lives in Batavia with his parents, Jennifer and Jim Lewis.
Press release:
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today encouraged college students to participate in New York’s annual business plan competition. Hawley praised the competition for allowing bright students across the state to present new ideas consistent with New York’s focus on nanotechnology, entrepreneurship and advanced technology. More than 600 students are expected to participate and compete for a top cash prize of $100,000.
“As the owner and operator of a small business, I know the hard work and ingenuity it takes to succeed as a business owner in New York,” Hawley said. “This competition highlights principles that make our state great – determined and visionary entrepreneurs and businesspeople. I am thrilled that we are allowing the next generation of business- and technology-minded students to fulfill their passions right here in New York State and generate ideas that will allow our economy to grow and thrive. I encourage all college students interested in this competition to participate.”
The competition’s regional semifinals, held at St. John Fisher College in Rochester for students from Hawley’s district, will be held in March and early April with the finals being held on April 24 at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Since the first competition in 2010, more than 1,130 students have competed with cash prizes being awarded in excess of $1,300,000. More information about the competition can be found at http://www.sunycnse.com/NewYorkBusinessPlanCompetition/2015Program.aspx.
Ella, Mrs. Shuknecht’s First Grade
My Snowman
My snowman’s name is Krystal. She is fancy and happy. She likes to wear bows and a hat. Her favorite food is ice cream cake. When it is cold outside she likes to have snowball fights and go snowboarding.
Parris, Mrs. Bigsby’s First Grade
My Grandma’s House
I went to my grandma’s house. It was a special place. First, I ate dinner with my grandpa and grandma. It was good. I had turkey and mashed potatoes with them. Next, I played at the park with my friend, Emma. We played on the monkey bars. Last, I went to feed the ducks. I fed them bread. I had a great time at my grandma’s. I hope I can visit them again soon.
Martha, Mrs. Bigsby’s First Grade
My Papa’s House
I went to my papa’s house and it was a special place. First, I ate dinner with my papa and my grandma. It was delicious. Next, we watched the Croods. It was a funny movie. Last, they took me to the park. I went on the swings. I had fun at the park. I had a great time at my papa’s house. I hope I can visit him again soon.
Jay’lee, Mrs. Mattice’s Kindergarten
Penguins
Penguins can swim.
Penguins have blubber.
They have claws.
They have beaks.
Trey, Mrs. Wolff’s Kindergarten
Seasons
My favorite season is summer because I play baseball with my brother, mom and my dad.
Brandon, Mrs. Colvin’s First Grade
How to Build a Snowman
To make a snowman I would first roll three snowballs. One big, one medium and one small. Then, I would stack them. The biggest on the bottom, then the medium and finally the smallest on the top. I would decorate. My arms would be sticks. My nose would be a carrot. My eyes would be coal. My mouth would be rocks. I would do a scarf with a zigzag design. I would name my snowman Snowy and give him a hug.
More after the jump:
Dominic, Mrs. Torrey’s First Grade
I Went to Our Cottage
I went to our cottage. It is a special place. I jumped in the pool and got all wet. We played ice buckets. We got dried off and went inside and watched T.V. I had a great time at the cottage. I hope I can go again.
Sophie, Mrs. Colvin’s First Grade
How to Build a Snowman
To build a snowman I would first roll three snowballs. One big, one medium and one small. Then, I would stack them. The biggest one on the bottom, then the medium and finally the smallest on top. Then, I would decorate my snowman. My arms are sticks. My nose is a carrot. The eyes are coal, my mouth is a banana, my hat is on him. Finally, I would name him Olaf and play with him.
Payton, Mrs. Radley’s First Grade
How to Train a Dog
First, you give the dog a bath and you play with the dog. Next, you say sit, stay, lay and stay again. Then, you play with the dog and you sit in the house for a little bit. Last, I give the dog to the owner.
Kyleigh, Mrs. Radley’s First Grade Class
How to Babysit
First, you play with the kids and if they cry rock them slowly. Next, you put them to bed. If they are bad you put them in time out. Then, the two kids that did not go to bed can go outside and play in the snow. Last, you have to take their snow clothes off and wake up the baby and give the kids to their mom.
Xaviar, Mrs. Colvin’s First Grade
How to Build a Snowman
To make a snowman I would first roll three snowballs. One big, one medium, one small. Then, I would stack them. The biggest one on the bottom, then the medium and finally the smallest on top. To decorate my snowman, my arms will be sticks. My nose will be rocks. My mouth will be rocks. My eyes will be rocks. A hat with a zigzag pattern. Finally, I would dance with him. His name is Frosty.
Lily, Mrs. Torrey’s First Grade
How to Build a Snowman
To make a snowman I would first, pack three snowballs and stack them up. Then, I would put buttons on her tummy. I would put a pink hat and pink mittens on her. Then, I would put two sticks for her arms. Then, I would give her a broom. Finally, I would give her a carrot for the nose and a watermelon for her mouth. Her name is Rosie. We would play Barbies together.
The Mental Health Association in Genesee County awards two scholarships annually to deserving students who are pursuing their education at an institution of higher learning in the fields of human or social services.
The mission of the MHA is to meet the needs of the community by promoting mental wellness through education, advocacy and support, thereby improving the quality of life and instilling hope.
The two scholarships to be presented at the MHA’s annual meeting in May are:
Applicants must have their primary residence in Genesee County.
A copy of the application is available online at www.gcmha.com
Applications are due to the MHA no later than April 1.
Applicants must provide: Name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, name of college or university accepted at, course of study or program enrolled in; and it asks if you are a relative of a current MHA employee or board member.
These are the requirements:
Applications should be mailed to:
Scholarship Program
Mental Health Association in Genesee County
25 Liberty St., Batavia, NY 14020
Or send e-mail to:
e-mailadmin@mhagenesee.org
Press release:
Although the film "Unbroken" was not nominated for Best Picture for this year's Academy Awards Ceremony scheduled on Feb. 22, the story of an American soldier surviving a World War II Japanese prisoner of war camp resonated with Edward Grabowski. He teaches Introduction to Criminal Justice to students at Genesee Community College.
The Hollywood film captures the extraordinary life and survival of bombardier and world-class runner Louis Zamperini. Like "Louie," Grabowski's father survived the horrors of a Japanese POW camp, and experienced his own hellish encounters with some of the guards. They included the notorious Mutsuhiro Watanabe, the brutal guard known as "The Bird" who tortured and killed many prisoners.
When Grabowski happened to mention this coincidence to his students, they wanted to know more. And when he told them he had a photograph of his father standing behind two Japanese guards, one likely "The Bird" -- his students wanted to see it.
"They found it interesting so I brought in some of the historic materials about my father to share," Grabowski said.
The photograph taken by a French photographer shows Leo Grabowski standing in a doorway unnoticed by the two prison guards who are in the foreground holding their rifles.
"I am 99 percent sure that the guard standing is Watanabe," Grabowski stated. "My father said he would have been brutally beaten by those guards if they had known he was in the photograph."
Sergeant Leo J. Grabowski served in the Army from 1932 through 1945, and was one of the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor as part of the 31st Infantry at Fort Santiago in Manila.
Captured by the Japanese, Grabowski survived the 60-mile Bataan Death March through the Philippine jungles to Camp O'Donnell. From there he was among the thousands transferred in overloaded freight cars, and he was eventually shipped to Mitsushima, a prisoner of war camp northwest of Tokyo where prisoners provided slave labor to construct the Hiraoka Dam.
Like Zamperini in "Unbroken," Grabowski senior made it home bearing the scars of a POW, but he put together a meaningful post-war life with a career and family, including three children. His youngest son, Edward, spent 27 years teaching Criminal Justice at BOCES, and is now adjunct faculty member at GCC.
Upon request, he reflects on his father's military distinctions with quiet pride, sharing a little of that tortured past through books, photos and clippings from decades-old newspapers. In doing so, he is giving his students a sense of world history, not from the Silver Screen or a textbook, but from the connection of family and the bond of father and son.
Jules Hoepting, a student at Oakfield-Alabama, warms up before her graded soloist performance at Batavia Middle School on Saturday.
Vocal soloists from throughout Genesee County converged on the school for a series of performances that could be part of their grade (depending on the school) and used to determine who will be part of an all-county music recital in March.
The program is organized by the Genesee-Wyoming Music Educators Association.
Sarah Wether, from Batavia, warms up with her instructor David Grillo.
The hallways were filled with students waiting their turn to perform, and parents.
School officials in Le Roy have put up these posters in the hallways of the high school.
On Thursday, Principal Tim McArdle sent a message to parents about Yik Yak and said administrators were talking with students about use of the social media network, which is designed for anonymous posts that can only be read by people in the immediate area.
While the apps developers say it was designed for college students, there have been issues nationwide with high school students getting on the app and using it for bullying.
Previously:
Young musicians from throughout Genesee County traveled to Le Roy High School throughout the day Saturday to show off their chops as soloists for area music instructors.
Some schools use the soloist evaluation as part of the students' grades, but the primary purpose is to help select the musicians who will play in the all-county music festival in March (performances at Attica and Batavia middle schools).
The event is organized by the Genesee-Wyoming Music Educators Association.
Above, Ashley Carli, from Pavilion, practices in the Le Roy gym prior to her solo session.
Katelyn Brown, from Pembroke, plays her solo in the gym prior to her audition.
Dylan Fisher warms up in the bleachers while waiting for his turn to play.
The Le Roy gym served as a rehearsal hall.
Taylor Schofield, from Pavilion, in one of the classrooms where students played their solo for a teacher who evaluated the performance.
Yik Yak, the controversial social media app that allows users to share messages in complete anonymity to be read by people near their locations, has prompted Le Roy HS administrators to seek parental help in controlling its spread.
Principal Tim McArdle sent a message to all parents today informing them that Yik Yak use has been reported by students and there have been complaints about it already.
"Based on reports by students, individuals in our school community over the last few days have been using this app to bully others and post very degrading comments about students and staff," McArdle wrote in the message. "We have been in contact with other local districts that are experiencing the same situation this week."
The Batavian reported earlier this week that administrators at Batavia HS were aware of the app and monitoring its impact on campus life.
Yik Yak has garnered a good deal of national news coverage because of complaints of bullying and threats by users.
McArdle said administrators addressed students about Yik Yak during lunches today.
"We let them know the negative impacts that social bullying and harassing have on their fellow students," McArdle wrote. "We also encouraged students who may be negatively impacted to come forward and seek help. Students were invited to sign a pledge to delete the app from their phone. In just the first day alone we had a great turnout of students pledging to do this."
The app has been blocked from the school network, but that won't prevent students with mobile devices and their own online access from using the app.
"We now need your help as parents!," the principal wrote. "Please talk about this with your child and discourage their use of this app."
Press release:
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) announced today that he is sponsoring legislation to end the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA). Assembly Bill 8720 of 2014 seeks to end the education cuts that took place in 2009 and 2010. Hawley, along with many members of the Assembly Minority Conference, has been outspoken about restoring the GEA for several years. “School districts in New York State deserve to have these cuts restored,” Hawley said.
“The legislature has had the financial means to restore this education aid for years now, and the apparent surplus this year should go directly to fund our schools. It is unfortunate to see good teachers being laid off and students being placed at a disadvantage because Albany couldn’t balance its budget. These cuts were never intended to be permanent, but the legislature is hesitant to repay them each budget cycle.”
Hawley’s comments come after members of the legislature made clear their plan to reintroduce Assembly Bill 8720 for the current legislative term. The new bill number is not known yet.
Yik Yak has come to Batavia High School and administrators are monitoring the social media site with a wary eye.
Already the subject of national news stories because of reports of bullying, bomb threats and juvenile chatter, Yik Yak provides posters with complete anonymity and an audience of proximity and immediacy.
Recent posts have included invitations (yes, more than one) for people to list the biggest slut at the school, accusations of sexual crimes, and insults directed at specific students and teachers.
And according to a couple of posters, if you think that's bullying, then that's your problem.
"Cyberbullying not real," wrote one anonymous poster in all caps. "If you dont (sic) wanna be 'cyberbullied' then delete the app or turn ya phone off."
On the other hand, there are messages that decry the immaturity of high school students on Yik Yak and defend some of those insulted.
A few posts seem to even use the app as intended -- to post what's going on around them or make funny observations.
"30 likes and I'll show up to school tomorrow in a tutu and high heels," wrote one poster. The post received more than 50 likes. No reports on anybody showing up at BHS in a tutu and high heels, however.
Yik Yak is a mobile app, for use on smartphones and tablets. Messages are shared only within a 1.5-mile radius of the location of where the post was created.
The terms of service require users to be older than 17 and news reports say the company founders are concerned about use by high school students and are trying to find ways to block access on school campuses and prevent underage users from signing on.
In news reports, founders Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington, who are given credit in some accounts for being responsive to teenage bullying concerns, admit their efforts to limit usage to adults has proven difficult.
So far, Yik Yak has received more than $60 million in venture capital funding.
Asked about the appearance of Yik Yak on the BHS campus, Principal Scott Wilson responded:
Yes, We are aware of Yik Yak. We are monitoring it and it is blocked from the district network. As with all social media sites, we expect students to be responsible. The advice we give students is to not to respond to negative posts. They should report concerns to a responsible, trusted adult. Parents, counselors, teachers and administrators can help by listening to the concerns, investigate and conduct the necessary follow-up. The anonymity of Yik Yak is a challenge for all of us when kids use it irresponsibly.
On the Web:
A kindergartener at Jackson Street School apparently misunderstood instructions from a nurse today and left school grounds instead of waiting for his father to pick him up, according to officials.
The child was missing for only a few minutes, Officer Eric Hill told WBTA.
At about the same time the nurse was calling Batavia PD, a child was located, dressed in hat, gloves and coat, on Washington Avenue.
The school district issued the following statement about the incident:
Today at Jackson Primary School, a kindergarten student who was being dismissed from school early, walked out of a side door as per his normal dismissal procedures and started walking home rather than going to the school office for release. School officials immediately instituted their Emergency Procedures and contacted the police. The child was located shortly thereafter and returned safely to school and his parent.
The District will be reviewing its procedures to determine how today's incident occurred and make changes as necessary. As always, we place the safety of our students first and will take the necessary measures to protect them.
Our news partners WBTA and 13WHAM contributed to this story.
The Byron-Bergen Central School District needs to improve its online banking security, according to a NYS comptroller's audit released this month.
While the district informed the auditors that some of the report's recommendations were already being complied with or will be met, the board rejected one of the recommendations.
Auditors said that while the district has online access to all of its accounts -- including high-balance savings accounts -- such access is unnecessary.
The board countered: Actually, online banking for all district accounts is unavoidably necessary, thanks to the state.
"Due to the remote location of our school district," the district board responded, "and limited district office staff due to the ever-increasing budget constraints caused by the property tax cap, freezing of state aid and the Gap Eliminate Adjustment, we are unable to do banking transactions on a regular basis at our banking institution's branch locations due to distance and time away from other duties district office staff perform. We must be as efficient as possible in the use of our existing office staff. That efficiency is increased with the ability to our banking functions online."
The audit found that two employees were keeping their usernames and passwords on a piece of paper and while one document was locked in a filing cabinet, the other was kept in a cabinet that wasn't always locked.
Online-banking users also do not properly log out of their banking sessions and then delete their browsing history, cache and cookies, according to the audit.
The audit also knocked the district for not having copies on file of its banking agreements, but district officials said they felt the confidential information contained in these documents were best secured at the bank and not in district offices.
The district is not taking full advantage, the report states, of their bank's notification alerts for high-threshold transactions.
The district said it has instituted additional staff training in these area were best practices were not already in place.
Batavia Middle School students took time today to give back to the community that has given all year long to them. They delivered holiday cards, paper snowflakes and snowman soup to local businesses and charitable organizations.
The students spent the first hour or so of the school day preparing the packages for delivery and then a small group of them got on a school bus and drove around the city delivering holiday cheer.
It's the first time the school has taken on such a project said 7th and 8th Grade Assistant Principal Maureen Notaro, who came up with the idea.
"We wanted to give back to some of the community agencies that give so much to us every day," Notaro said.
Student Genevieve Cutro said she hoped the event would spread a little holiday cheer.
"I like helping people very much," she said. "It's good for making people more happy."
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