Weekly Update from the Office of the Superintendent
Volume 2, Issue 9 (October 1, 2021)
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Focusing on the Culture
of Our Community
In the coming months, the Ken-Ton School District will be partnering with different community organizations to host a series of parent/family sessions on important topics related to student safety and social-emotional development. We firmly believe collaboration between families and schools is critical in providing support and building the confidence of our children. This parent information series is designed to educate and empower our families, while building a resilient school community that leads to the success of our students.
The first of these sessions, in partnership with Kids Escaping Drugs, will take place from 6-7 p.m. this Tuesday, October 5th in the Kenmore West High School Auditorium. Guests must enter Door #1 (off the Delaware Road parking lot) and wear a mask. The purpose of this session is to educate families and community members about the prevalence and harmful effects of alcohol and drug experimentation, use, and dependence among adolescents and to provide resources for substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery. You can find more information here. Guests are asked to please RSVP for the event.
Future sessions include Tuesday, November 2nd at 6:30 p.m. (virtual session). The Office of School Culture will host a virtual session in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help families learn ways they can protect children online. Then, on Tuesday, December 7th at 6:30 p.m., the Office of School Culture will partner with UB's Institute of Trauma and Trauma Informed Care to host a virtual session on managing stress. Zoom links for both virtual sessions will be posted to the District website in the days leading up to the event.
Community engagement and social-emotional health and wellness are major components of the Ken-Ton Forward, which as we discussed last week is at the center of all District decision making. These parent sessions are just one example of how the District will put the Ken-Ton Forward in action to best support our students and families.
Mask Reminder
As you know, masks are mandatory at all times inside school buildings. This is a New York State requirement which applies to all schools in the state. On September 2nd, the NYS Department of Health issued the indoor mask requirement and adopted the CDC's recommendations for masking. According to the CDC, acceptable masks must include two or more layers, completely cover the nose and mouth, and may not have any openings (e.g. mesh masks). All students, staff and visitors must adhere to these requirements at all times inside school buildings.
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NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH |
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Today, we focus on another, lesser-known Hispanic-American trailblazer: Octaviano Larrazolo, the first Hispanic-American elected to the U.S. Senate. Although his name may not be widely recognized, he played a major role in advocating for Hispanic-American rights and was one of the most vocal and influential leaders of his generation.
Mr. Larrazolo was born in Mexico in 1859 and emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 11 after his family fell into bankruptcy. He settled in New Mexico Territory, which was eligible for statehood but would not be admitted into the United States for another 42 years because so much of its population was foreign-born. Mr. Larrazolo initially worked as a school teacher and principal but he studied law at night and later became an attorney. He was extremely passionate about defending the civil rights of the territory’s Hispanic-American population. He was fearful that elected officials would impose the same kind of restrictions on them as Southern states had implemented on African Americans during the Jim Crow era. Mr. Larrazolo became actively involved in politics but was continuously stymied by the powerful elites who influenced territorial politics at the time. He did manage to get elected as a delegate to the New Mexico Constitutional Convention in 1911 and fought for pro-Latino measures to be included in the future state’s constitution.
New Mexico finally achieved statehood the following year and Mr. Larrazolo continued to gain a significant political following. He lost numerous elections but never gave up and was elected New Mexico's fourth Governor in 1918. In 1928, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the very first Mexican-born U.S. Senator. His arrival in Washington gained little national attention and he died of illness while in office, able to attend only a single session of Congress. During his short time in the Senate, the one piece of legislation he introduced was to expand access to education for the Spanish-speaking population of New Mexico in order to promote equal opportunity.
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RECOGNITION: KEN-EAST & KEN-WEST ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES |
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Congratulations to the 16 members of the Kenmore East High School and Kenmore West High School Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Classes of 2021! All inductees were honored at a banquet on September 23, as well as at the Kenmore East Varsity Football Homecoming Game on September 24 and the Kenmore West Varsity Football game on September 25. This is the 16th induction class for each school since the Athletic Hall of Fame was first founded by Athletic Director Brett Banker, bringing the total number of Hall of Fame inductees to 142 for Kenmore West and 146 for Kenmore East.
The Kenmore East Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2021 includes Donnie Battista (‘12), Gabrianna Boldinski (‘12), Liz Borawski (‘01), Paul DeSantis (‘06), Mary Beth Eldridge (‘79), Phil LaMancusa (‘99), Kacie Mills (‘07), Scot Wilcox (‘98) and coach David Coates.
The Kenmore West Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2021 includes Kathleen Brown (’78), Dylan Caruana (’12), Dr. Robert Duthie (’60), Jim Kenny (’61), Norm Mineo (’66), and coaches Matt Chimera and George Stock.
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Thank you for reviewing this information. As always, we remain Ken-Ton Proud, Ken-Ton Strong, and Ken-Ton Moving Forward!
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