District Newsletter
January 15, 2020
District Calendar
1/20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day, District Offices Closed
1/21-1/24 NYS Regents Exams at CHS, All Day
1/25 District Music Concert at CHS, 6:00 p.m.
1/27 Staff Work Day, No School for Students
1/28 Board of Education Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
2/11 Board of Education Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Expanding Wi-Fi
Beyond the Classroom
The Cortland Enlarged City School District provides a number of technology resources for its students and staff. In addition to all of our classrooms being outfitted with wireless access points and one to one devices, we now have wireless access points in the exteriors of all of our buildings. 

Information Systems Administrator Denise Fox said, “In early January the cable was pulled and the wireless access points have been installed. We ensured that the stadium at the High School was included so fans, coaches, and athletes can access wifi while at practice or watching a game. Some other benefits include: physical education teachers will be able to take attendance on their devices during classes that take place outside and students that are waiting for the bus can use their own personal device to access Google Classroom to communicate with teachers or submit assignments.” 

The funding for this project came from federal funding called “e-rate.” Business Administrator Kim Vile said, “this is a funding source that we applied for and received for the 2019-2020 school year. We can only use this funding for limited items including infrastructure. Wireless access points outside fit the criteria.”  Read more..
Schools Collect Peanut Butter and Jelly for Kiwanis Club
Peanut butter and jelly, a staple in many pantries, can be in short supply at local food pantries. Knowing that many people are struggling to make ends meet, the Smith Intermediate Student Council and Barry Primary School decided to partner with the Cortland Kiwanis Club to collect new and unopened jars of PB & J. 

Student council adviser Melissa Holl said, “The student council has a long history of service to others. Now that we are learning about the Positivity Project and #OtherPeopleMatter, the peanut butter and jelly drive really blended in well with what the student council wanted to accomplish this year. The Kiwanis Club explained that February break is coming up and they wanted to restock their food pantries in Cortland County since kids will not be able to get their breakfast and lunch at school.” 

Members of the Smith student council, Bree MacHenry and Adeline Morey, both agreed that they wanted to help out because they wanted to give back to their community. Adeline said, “I know that some people are not fortunate enough to have food so I wanted to make sure they were provided for and their life would be a little easier, then they can be happier. When I am helping other people that are in need, it makes me feel happy and like I am helping my neighbors and town.” Read more...
Journalism Class at CHS Prints
First Copy of CHS Voice
 Students in Ms. Sam Gifford’s Journalism class at CHS recently published their first printed edition of the CHS Voice. This school newspaper looks, feels and reads like a real newspaper thanks to our partnership with the Cortland Standard. 

Back in July, Ms. Gifford and colleague Dan Devlen met with Evan Geibel, the publisher of our local daily paper, the Cortland Standard. Evan Geibel explained that the process of getting the paper to look similar to the Cortland Standard would include using a new program, adobe indesign, and formatting the dimensions to be 12.5 inches wide by 22.75 inches long. The Cortland Standard even offered to print the paper for a minimal fee. 

Come September, Brian Bosch, special projects editor at the Cortland Standard and CHS alumnus, came in to speak to the class about the ins and outs of newspaper editing. Students were then broken up into groups and picked what they would want to write about and work on for the paper. Some choices were entertainment, sports, school news, and social media.  Read more...
Auditorium Project Update
Despite the frigid temperatures outside, work has been continuing on the outside and inside of our new auditorium at the high school. Steady progress is being made -- things are proceeding according to schedule. The auditorium is still on track to be finished by May this year!

Director of Facilities Bob Martin has been working as a liaison between the contractors and the school district. Bob noted that the progress is “right on track. The duct work is being completed by the HVAC contractor. Once that is done, the auditorium will have proper heating, ventilation and air conditioning. The auditorium features custom made acoustical “clouds” that were hung the week of January 6th. The clouds can drastically diminish noisy room environments and reverberations.” Read more...
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