JUNE 2O21 REGENTS EXAM SCHEDULE
All exams will begin at 8:15 am
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Tuesday, June 22
Living Environment
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Wednesday, June 23
Algebra I
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Thursday, June 24
Earth Science
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SUPERINTENDENT'S MESSAGE
I used to run for exercise...A LOT. I can actually attribute that passion in that phase of my life to one of my students at the time, who convinced me that running was fun, that hills were just speed bumps, and shin splints always felt better after the first three miles. Who knew?!
In all seriousness, running taught me quite a bit about myself. It afforded me the opportunity to clear my head after a long day at work. I learned the importance of staying hydrated. I learned about self-discipline. But one of the biggest things I learned was humbleness. When you are running in a road race, there are people of all ages, running styles, and paces. After entering the first few, you quickly figure out that people like to sprint the last 400 yards toward the finish line. Now, I have never been one for speed - I am more like a Clydesdale. Anyway, I recall one of my first races where I was “speeding” toward the finish as only a Clydesdale can do when an 8-year-old boy came up from behind me and sprinted past.
At that moment, I recognized abilities that make themselves known in all sorts of ways. Some are obvious, like the runners who lead the pack. But some are more subtle and seem to come out of nowhere - like my eight-year-old competitor. Where we think we fall in the pack may not be accurate, and recognizing that within ourselves can be a humbling experience.
I believe here at Groton we have a mission to help students identify their ability… and learn how to run with it. I hope this year has provided at least some semblance of moving students toward their goals. Spring is here! We are on the last 400 yards of the race… let’s push ourselves to the finish line and feel that sense of accomplishment when we have completed the race!
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Mission
Empower all students to reach their fullest potential and thrive in a diverse, ever-changing world.
Vision
Ignite the passion for learning and inspire unique pathways to success.
Core Beliefs
Students are our first priority. No exceptions.
All can learn and grow.
We encourage creative and innovative thinking.
Data informs our decisions.
We act with integrity, professionalism, trust, and fairness.
All deserve a safe, secure, and nurturing environment.
We treat each individual with respect, compassion, and dignity.
We promote family and community involvement.
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THE CARD IS IN THE MAIL
The Summer Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) will be expanded to allocate $375 per child for food expenses over the summer. Groton Central School District is a Community Eligible Program (CEP) therefore ALL students qualify and will receive an EBT card through the mail between now and September - be on the lookout! For more information visit: https://otda.ny.gov/SNAP-COVID-19/
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GOING SOLO... VIRTUALLY
This year NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) Solo Festival went virtual. The festival is a competition where students get evaluated on their single performance of a solo. The adjudication will give them feedback on their performance as well as qualify these students for an honor ensemble at the county and state levels. Despite all the challenges of COVID and limited instruction time, these students persevered and flourished. Groton took on the challenge and had 23 students in grades 5-11 perform a solo for adjudication. These solos ranged from Level One to All-State. Students worked to prepare the solo in their lessons and on their own in order to record for this event. All of the students involved received a rating in the top two categories. They did an excellent job with their solos and it showed in the judge’s comments.
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SUMMER FEED PROGRAM
The summer feed program will run from July 5-August 13. Please check out the June E-Newsletter for more details!
VACCINATION UPDATES
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age. The Health Department is announcing multiple vaccination clinics for individuals 12 years and older.
Tompkins County Health Department, in partnership with Cayuga Health System and local school districts, is offering clinics to this age group. For minors under 18, a parent or guardian is required to identify the minor and provide consent.
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EMT TRAINING
We are excited to be offering an EMT program for the entire Groton community, starting in the fall of 2021. This program, open to both adults and students 17 years of age and older, will provide participants with their Basic EMT certification after one semester (Fall 2021). Those interested in pursuing the second semester of coursework will be eligible to take the Advanced EMT certification course (Spring 2022). In addition, there will be an opportunity to obtain their Wilderness First Aid/Wilderness EMS certification. Classes will be offered in the evenings three days a week (and some weekends for clinicals/ rotations/labs) to allow for community participation. For students who complete the full-year program, there will be the possibility of entering into the Broome Community College, Onondaga Community College, and/or Mohawk Valley Community College's Paramedic AAS and/or Certification Program subsequent to graduation from high school and successful completion of the EMT-Basic course. Note, students are not required to acquire an Advanced EMT certification and/or Wilderness EMS training to participate in the paramedic program; although it is highly encouraged! If you are interested please complete the short survey below. Thank you!
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5th graders learned about Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel "hands on" by creating paintings on papers taped underneath their tables. |
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4th graders learned how to paint all of the beautiful skin tones of the world by mixing different formulas of red, yellow, black and white paint (only) and finished by creating a weaving using their completed paintings. |
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Students in Mrs. Novack Landers' Graphic Design course (in the Communication & Media Arts STEAM program) worked with AMTS on a design initiative to create new logos for the company. Three students were selected as finalists and their designs will be featured on the AMTS website: Lexie Ross, Zach Tagliavento & Kael Eldred. Congratulations! |
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BEST IN BREED
Written by: Brynn Blasz
The Groton FFA students divided into different interest groups to bring certain educational aspects to the school. Brynn Blasz, Emily Cargian, and Grace Short decided to form a rabbit group. They got three Japanese Harlequin rabbits in November, two females (Chardonnay and Millie) and a male (Ludo). The intent for the rabbits was to get them to show quality. Brynn has been showing rabbits for 6 years with her own rabbits.
In December, Brynn and Emily had gotten the handle on the rabbits and planned out when they wanted them to have babies. When they got back from winter vacation, they bred the rabbits and waited patiently for Chardonnay to give birth. She was showing a few of the symptoms of a pregnant rabbit and Brynn and Emily were expecting babies during February break. To their surprise, no babies arrived; Chardonnay was not pregnant.
After Brynn and Emily got back from break, they decided to breed both females to improve the odds of a successful pregnancy or if something happened to one of the mothers, they would have the other to foster the babies. Again, they waited and waited, but Chardonnay and Millie were not showing any signs of pregnancy. They were starting to worry it was another failed attempt.
Brynn took the rabbits and their nesting boxes home over break, just in case! On Easter morning, Brynn went down to feed them and much to her surprise and excitement, she found six little baby bunnies in Millie's cage. Brynn called Emily to share the good news. Then came the worrying phase, would Millie take care of the babies? It was a relief when the bunnies turned a week old.
Brynn took the bunnies back to school the following week, introducing them to Emily for the first time. About a week later, Grace also started helping them with the care for the babies and the other rabbits. They are now seven weeks old and they are planning to keep one and sell the rest.
Recently, Brynn and Emily took Millie and Ludo to competition and Millie placed “Best in Breed” and Ludo placed “Best in Opposite Breed”.
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DIVERSIFYING OUR CULTURE
This June the Groton CSD will be hosting a guest speaker for our entire staff. We are excited to welcome Dr. Sharroky Hollie, who is a national educator who provides professional development to thousands of educators in the area of cultural responsiveness. The purpose of the training is to introduce faculty to Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning (CLR) as a jumpstart to a yearlong program for the 2021-2022 school year. It is our ultimate goal to provide our faculty and staff with the skill sets needed to introduce pedagogy that better meets our students where they are at culturally and linguistically. Throughout the CLR professional development, teachers will be exposed to four broad categories of pedagogy as they progress through the training: Responsive Classroom Management, Responsive Academic Literacy, Responsive Academic Vocabulary, and Responsive Academic Language. It is our goal that as a result of this year-long professional development, teachers will gain greater skills in differentiating their lessons to meet student needs utilizing an approach that goes beyond the lens of academic performance.
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IRONMEN
The Varsity Golf team would like to send a big "thank you" to Dianna and John Gallagher for all of the contributions made to the golf program through the annual "Mickey Gallagher Groton Golf Scholarship." Contributions have included golf bags, apparel, balls, and clubs. Good luck to all the golfers as they finish up their season.
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OTHER REMINDERS & INFO
YEARBOOKS ON SALE
Junior high yearbooks are still on sale... get your order form from Mrs. Bishop in the main office.
INTERNET SERVICE ASSISTANCE REMINDER
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched an Emergency Broadband Benefit Program to help households pay for internet service during the pandemic. This program will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they can contribute toward the purchase price. Funding is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household. Eligible households can enroll through a participating broadband provider or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) using an online or mail-in application. You can learn more about the benefit, including eligibility and enrollment information, by visiting www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or by calling 833-511-0311.
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GROTON CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
WWW.GROTONCS.ORG
400 PERU ROAD, GROTON, NY 13073
(607) 898-5301
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