REMINDER: CAPITAL PROJECT VOTE - DEC. 7, 12-9pm @ District Office |
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SUPERINTENDENT'S NOTE
INFRASTRUCTURE. EXPANSION of ACADEMIC STEAM to GES. UPGRADES to ATHLETIC FACILITIES.
On December 7th, from noon to 9 pm the community will have an opportunity to vote on a proposed $10.89 million dollar capital project that would be completed in two phases over the next two summers (Summer 2022 and 2023). The BOE has been engaged in strategic, long-term planning in anticipation of bringing this work forth for a public referendum. As such, the project will come at a ZERO percent tax levy impact to the taxpayer.
In 2018, the District established a Vision, Mission, and set of Core Beliefs that we firmly believe represents why we are here for our community. We see this project as an opportunity to meet our mission of “empowering all students to reach their fullest potential” through our vision of “igniting the passion for learning.” Finally, the scope of work clearly meets our core beliefs, as it makes students our first priority by providing opportunities for creative and innovative thinking in a safe, secure, and nurturing environment.
Please exercise your right to vote on the 7th! Reminder: Any Groton CSD resident who has lived in the district for the past 30 days and is eighteen years of age or older is eligible to vote!
~Margo Martin
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In education, we often look at the choice patterns a student exhibits during their time at school to determine if there are areas within the student’s experiences here that can be improved to ensure their academic success and enjoy their time at GES. We often say, “Let’s get them having fun and trick them into learning”. As parent-teacher conferences arrive, please be certain to share with your child’s teacher any patterns that you have observed that may be positively or negatively affecting your son or daughter. With the unpredictable nature of viruses, quarantines and the pandemic impact on student learning, we are committed to addressing any issue and supporting students in their efforts to meet our expectations and reach their potential. How students feel about learning is as important as what they are being taught. Thank you for all that you have done to keep your sons and daughters moving and learning.
~ Kent Maslin, GES Principal
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Moving into the second marking period means different things to students in different grades. For our students in the Jr. high grades (6-8) this marking period is an opportunity for them to either make improvements to grades that were earned in the previous marking period or to keep up the good work. For our 9th and 10th grade students, it is vital to stay on track with acquiring all of the credits you will need for graduation. Our 11th graders are, mostly, taking at least two courses that end in Regents exams that have to be passed in order to earn their diploma. They need to put themselves in the best position to attain the grades they want on those exams. Our 12th graders are in a similar situation. The first half of Participation in Government is over. This is a required class that needs to be passed for graduation. Passing English 12 is also a requirement for graduation and staying current in this class is always a good idea! The one common theme though is having parents helping and supporting their student's efforts. Parents, please don’t hesitate to contact your student’s teachers if you have questions and concerns or if you just want to share strategies with teachers that you know work best with your students. You can always follow your student's progress in School Tool. We love hearing from you and always welcome your input and help!
~ Brian Kavanagh, Jr-Sr High Principal
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INSPIRING EVERY"BUDDY"
Lisa Sharpe, 4th-grade teacher, and Emma Cyphert, 1st-grade teacher have teamed up to connect kids and create a community of readers. Ms. Sharpe and Ms. Cyphert are witnessing the power of positive peer influence on their students. Having older students pair up with younger "buddies" as reading partners has built confidence in readers of ALL abilities. Not only are kids motivated and having fun reading with their buddies, but they are also improving their reading fluency, rate, and expression with peer feedback. Ms. Sharpe says, "So far this has been a powerful experience for both the first and fourth-graders. We have noticed students' mindset about reading change from a negative outlook to a positive and excited one!"
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Jr-High Dance '21
“There are shortcuts to happiness,
and dancing is
one of them.”
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THE INTERNSHIP
Junior, Mathias Brehm, and sophomore, Drew Bush are interning with the IT department this year. They are working mostly on software updates and reimaging Chromebooks, but they are also diagnosing and troubleshooting technology problems. "The hands-on stuff like fixing things," Drew says is his favorite part of the job. He is his "family's go-to tech guy, so learning new things always helps me to better help people," says Drew. Mathias has enjoyed learning about system properties and things like Clonezilla, FOG, and Ubuntu. Both Drew and Mathias plan to go to college for IT and then pursue a career in the IT field. This internship is giving them a step-up on their competition and building confidence in theirs skills and knowledge in the IT industry.
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Annual
6th Grade
Turkey Mummification
Project
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Groton High School students interested in health services visited IC's Health Expo to learn more. |
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Ithaca College
Health Expo 2021
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ART STUDENTS OF THE MONTH |
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Magnus Kitchin & Piper Park, UPK 4
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Erica Gustafson, 7th grade
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MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS
Congratulations to all the cast and crew of the Jr-High Drama Club who performed Todd Wallinger's Enchanted Bookshop on Nov. 20. This was the first live performance put on by the Jr-High in two years! The students were really excited to perform for the community and learned a lot about teamwork and theatre!
We are pleased to announce that concerts are back! Students have been working so hard and are excited to share their progress with everyone. Come listen to some new and classic tunes to get you in the holiday spirit.
Senior High - December 8 @ 7pm
Junior High - December 15 @ 7pm
Elementary- December 21 @ 7pm
Back by popular demand: On Thursday, December 16 from 6-7:30pm the Drama, Music and Art clubs will host “A Dickens Drive-Thru” inspired by Charles Dickens' novel and movie, A Christmas Carol! Watch last year's video courtesy of John Brehm: A Dickens Drive-Thru: The Story of Scrooge
SNEAK PEAK: This year the HS Drama Club will present its spring musical, Les Misérables. Stay tuned for more details!
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SPORTS BROADCASTING
Groton hosted Cornell's Big Red Sports Network for a Sports Broadcasting workshop on Nov. 21. Students learned the difference between play-by-play vs. color commentary, conducted game prep research to record their own commentary for a professional sporting event, interviewed athletes during a post-game press conference, hosted their own sports talk show, and created a Top 10 highlight reel. Students had a blast learning the ins and outs of the sports broadcasting industry... who knew reading, writing, listening and public speaking could be so much fun?
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Congratulations to all of our
fall athletes!
Photo Credit: Isaf Merkur
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ATHLETICS GUIDANCE: WINTER SPORTS
The Section IV Athletic Executive committee has come out with standard COVID protocols for all schools to abide by for the winter sports season. All spectators, officials, score table help, and student-athletes will be required to wear masks at all times. Each district will be live streaming the sporting event and will be responsible for posting the live feed for the public to access prior to the game. Each district will also be allowed to determine the number of spectators they will permit for their events. The Section has collected most of that information by district and this is available on the athletics page of our website (subject to change): Winter Sports 21-22 - Spectator Guidelines
In accordance with the above guidelines, the Groton CSD will be requiring face coverings of all attendees to the indoor athletic events. We will NOT be limiting the number of spectators who may attend. We will be live streaming each event held in the high school gymnasium - these can be found on the athletics webpage. In addition, we will not be charging admission to these events. We thank everyone ahead of time for their cooperation with these protocols. We know it is not ideal, but are grateful our athletes can participate in front of their families this winter season!
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COUNSELOR'S CORNER:
THE STRUGGLE IS REAL
Sometimes we all need a little help managing our emotions but adolescence is a particularly challenging time, and even more so amidst the pandemic. Helping our students learn how to self-regulate is critical. Learning how to resist emotional outbursts, calm oneself down, adjust to unexpected change and manage frustration are all valuable skills. We can't control the unpredictability of life, but we can learn to control how we respond to it.
We, as parents and teachers, can help improve self-regulation skills by encouraging our children to slow down and choose more effective responses. Recognize the emotion, but be mindful of the reaction. This is a skill that needs to be taught just like any other academic or social skill. "Bad behavior" provides teachable moments to coach kids through making better choices by exploring what more appropriate and effective responses might look and sound like.
A common example many can relate to... math homework. Children can often become frustrated by a challenging math problem while completing their homework. As parents, if we hover or help too much WE become their regulators. Or if we dismiss their frustration altogether we are not acknowledging the emotion and they may shut down completely. Validate the emotion - feelings are OK! Just because it might not be how we would feel about the situation doesn’t mean the feeling isn’t real for the child. Focus on the behavior or be solution-oriented. Modeling in this situation may be helpful. For example, help with one math problem and then have them try to do the next on their own. If frustration is still high, take a quick break and come back to it. Remain calm and try to provide feedback that is non-judgmental and non-emotional. If you, like many parents, do not know how to do the math problem, direct them to utilize their resources - notes, previous math worksheets, Google classroom videos, or jot down specific questions to ask their teacher the next day to help them better understand. The struggle is real, but the struggle is also what pushes us to grow! If we encourage our children to embrace the struggle, they will continue to build their resilience and grow into the amazing versions of themselves they are meant to be!
Here are a few more resources to help you help your child with Self-Regulation:
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NURSE'S NOTE
Reminder: Please do not send your children to school if they are displaying COVID-19 symptoms (fever of 100.4 or higher, cough, headache, sore throat, running nose, etc.). Regardless of vaccination status, students with COVID-19 symptoms cannot return to school unless they have a negative test result (or note from the doctor stating their test result was negative) AND have been symptom-free for 24 hours. Otherwise, they are out of school for 10 days from when symptoms began.
REMINDER: Tompkins County Dept. of Health
Regardless of vaccination status, siblings of 'symptomatic students who are sent home from school' do NOT need to be sent home with the symptomatic sibling UNLESS they too are showing symptoms. If a family member does test positive, unvaccinated family members will be required to quarantine.
Recommendation: For those who are vaccinated and exposed, although you do not have to quarantine, it is recommended to get tested 3-5 days after the exposure
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GROTON CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
WWW.GROTONCS.ORG
400 PERU ROAD, GROTON, NY 13073
(607) 898-5301
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