High School Message May 2019

Cortland High School

April 30, 2019

Upcoming Events

5/01 Mental Health Awareness Day

5/01 Section 3 Leadership Meeting at CHS

5/03 K-12 Selected Art Show at Cortland Free Library

5/04 SAT Exam, 8:00 a.m.

5/10 Prom, 6:00 p.m.

5/21 Choir Concert and Title I Information Night, 7:30 p.m.

5/27 Building Closed, Memorial Day

5/30 Grades 9-11 Awards Ceremony. 6:00 p.m.

5/31 Senior Banquet and Awards Ceremony, 6:00 p.m.

6/03 High School Instrumental Concert, 7:00 p.m.

School Calendar

Music Update

The High School Instrumental Concert has been moved from May 30th to Monday, June 3rd at 7:00PM. Please mark your calendars!

Tri-M Inductions will be held Monday, June 3rd at 6:00PM.

Congratulations to all of the Cortland students who participated in NYSSMA on April 6th! Every string player who participated received either an Excellent (A) or an Outstanding (A+) rating. All band students received either and Excellent or Outstanding as well. Overall, the festival was very successful for all students involved!

Band students also just participated in an All-County Workshop hosted by Dr. Michael Schaff, retired music professor at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam.

Students on Track to Graduate with Associates Degree

Congratulations to the following students for being on track to graduate with both a high school diploma and Associate’s degree at the same time – quite an accomplishment! These students will be participating in the College’s Commencement on May 23rd. If you would like to attend the ceremony it begins at 6pm in the TC3 Athletic Facility.

Meredith Brafman, Tess Engst-Mansilla, Aaron Hughes, Kelley Morgan, Kara Perkins, Daniel Ruggiero, Alexander Ryan, Andrew Ryan, Merrill Storch, Christopher Tanner, Kristen Tasselmyer, Rhen Waldbauer, Ella Wilson, Elyssa Yonta

Vaccination Requirements

Get a jump start on next year. All seniors will be required to have the Meningitis Vaccine prior to the start of school. Students in grades 7, 9, and 11 are also required to have a physical, which may be done at their own provider or at school. Vision and hearing screenings will also be done on grades 7 and 11. For those students who are planning on participating in a fall sport, a current physical (within 12 months) must be on file in the nurse’s office. You may register with Family ID one month prior to the start of the sport. Please check the Athletic Website for the summer physical schedule.

Career Essentials Interviews Held

Career Essentials students recently participated in Mock Interviews during which they interviewed with a teacher for a specific job position. Leading up to their interviews, students wrote cover letters, created resumes, learned about etiquette and appropriate dress in the workplace, and also learned how to tie a tie and give a proper handshake. After the interview, students received evaluations and recommendations by their interviewers on various aspects of the interview.

TC3 Film Festival

5 Students (Julia Guest, Kellen Vollers, Aiden Mead, Zach Brafman, Daniel Lemon) placed 3rd in the TC3 24-hour film festival held on April 6-7th. The festival started at Noon on Saturday and students had to plan, shoot and edit a short film by Noon Sunday. They competed against other central NY schools including 2 BOCES programs.

Students Work on PBL Unit

As part of the Deeper Learning Project, Mr. Palm and his students are studying how to interview and apply for a job in Spanish! This is part of a PBL project that Mr. Palm developed along with Ms. Chapman in the fall. The driving question that students are trying to answer is, " How can we present ourselves as global ambassadors to help English Language Learners fulfill their American Dream?" Stay tuned for how this project develops!

Modern Band Works on Album, "Songwriting for Social Change"

Writing music to bring awareness on social issues is not a new idea, but the students in the Modern Band class are taking the idea to the next level and writing an entire album. Students have selected topics such as depression, LGBTQ rights, and drug abuse to focus their music on. The album release party is scheduled for June 6 at the Homer Center for the Arts.

Math Exploration Day

15 Cortland High School students attended Ithaca College’s Math Exploration Day on April 10 to experience a day of mathematical fun, exploration and discovery. The sophomores and juniors arrived for the welcome and then took part in a team mathematical competition. During this time, teachers Mrs. Brafman, Mr. Drexler and Mr. Reif took part in a mathematical professional development. After the competition, teachers and students explored mathematical ideas in a variety of areas. This was followed by lunch and the announcement of the competition winners. Students who attended included Rachel Kline, Dan Lemon, Samantha Engst-Mansilla, Jennifer Baker, Jennifer Newman, Kylie Davie, Zach Brafman, Julia Kostiv, Logan Anjeski, Seamus Gailor, Lark Stevens, Josh Anacelle, Lindsey Bush, Grace Call and Nick Djafari.

Title I Information Night

Title I (pronounced “Title One”) is the largest federal aid program for elementary, middle, and high schools. We are having an information night on Title I on May 21st at 7:30 p.m.

Through Title I, the Federal government provides funding to school districts around the country based on the number of low-income families in each district. Each district uses its Title I money for extra educational services for children who are behind in school. Schools where more than half of all students are low-income can operate a school-wide Title I project. This includes all Cortland schools.

Local districts, schools, and parents know best what their students need to succeed. Title I allows them to decide how to use Title I money to help students who are behind. In Cortland, Title I funds are being spent in these ways:

Reading specialists who help students to read and write;
Math specialists who help students with their numeracy;
A teacher who works with students for whom English is a new language;
Professional development and training for teachers; and
Literacy supplies and materials.

Title I money can also be used for different types of parent involvement activities, such as:

Family literacy activities;
Parent meeting, training activities, and; resource centers
Transportation and child care so parents can come to school activities or volunteer; and
Materials that parents can use to work with their children at home.

Title I Presentation