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Photos from Community Arts Day 2017

9 Apr

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What can I say about Community Arts Day that I haven’t already said?

It was another successful event put on by a wonderful group of volunteers who worked hard all day to welcome people with a smile, serve them great food, and basically provide a whole day of great family fun.

I tried to get a lot of photos, of course. But I’m sure I missed a lot, because so much was happening every minute of the day. And there was SO MUCH artwork to see!

Still, click here to see my gallery.

And thank you again, CAD volunteers, for another terrific event.

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Busy weekend ahead

5 Apr

I’ll be bopping around Webster all day Saturday, camera in hand, taking photos of two

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Student artwork from all of Webster’s schools will be on display at Community Arts Day. 

great community events you and the family will not want to  miss.

 

For starters, the Webster Central School District’s annual celebration of our students’ artistic talents, Community Arts Day, returns this Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm at Webster Schroeder High School, 875 Ridge Road.

This is a super family-friendly event, which features artwork from students representing all of our Webster schools, elementary through high school. There are free music performances, dance, community displays, food and baked goods for sale, and plenty of things for kids to do. And just about everything is free of charge.

It’s a great entertaining, low-cost way for the family to spend a morning or afternoon. You can check out the whole schedule here.

And while you’re out and about…

The Greater Rochester Peep Show is also Saturday (and Sunday) at the Webster Recreation Center.

This fun fund-raiser sponsored by the Webster Community Chest invites community groups and agencies to create sculptures or dioramas completely out of — or utilizing — marshmallow Peeps candies. This is the second year the Community Chest has hosted the show, and they expect it be even bigger and more spectacular than the last.

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One of the fanciful creations from the first Greater Rochester Peep Show in 2015.

You can vote for you favorite Peeps creation with tokens which you can buy at show, or just wander around the display rooms and admire the artwork. In either case it should be lots of fun and I am looking forward to seeing this year’s displays. There’s also free face painting for the kids.

 

The show will run from from 11 am to 6 pm Saturday and noon to 4 pm Sunday. You can read more about it here.

The Webster Recreation Center is located at 1350 Chiyoda Drive, just north of the village of Webster.

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Tuesday Webster Mailbag

4 Apr

 

As is often the case, some news from the schools to lead off today’s mailbag.

Webster Thomas presents Aida

Don’t forget about next weekend’s production of Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, presented by the Webster Thomas Players.

Here’s the synopsis:

At the Nile’s edge, the enslaved Nubian princess, Aida becomes romantically entangled with shirt expandedthe Egyptian captain, Radames, who is betrothed to the Pharaoh’s daughter, Amneris. As their forbidden love grows deeper, Aida is forced to find balance between her heart’s yearning for Radames, and her responsibility to lead her people.

Based on the opera by Giuseppe Verdi, Elton John and Time Rice’s Aida is a timeless love story, featuring an award-winning pop/rock score from the seasoned pop duo who brought musical life to Disney’s The Lion King. Rousing rock numbers and heart-wrenching ballads bring the ill-fated lovers into a new era.

The show will be presented in four performances, at 7:30 p.m. April 6, 7 and 8, and a 2 p.m. matinee on April 8.

Tickets are $12, available at Hegedorn’s Market, 964 Ridge Road and online at websterthomasplayers.com.

Meet the Easter Bunny at the pool!

Here’s some great fun for the kids at the Aquatic Center as Easter approaches:

The Easter Bunny will be stopping by the Aquatic Center on Friday April 7 from 6 to 8 pm to visit during the center’s annual floating Easter egg hunt. Weighted and floating eggs will be scattered throughout the shallow end of the pool. Kids can swim, waddle or walk to gather eggs and then trade them for prizes.

Of course, children will also get a chance to visit with the Easter Bunny.

There’s no charge for WAC members. WCSD staff members pay $3 per child, and nonmembers pay $6 per child, with a family maximum of $12. Children must be accompanied by an adult, and can arrive anytime between 6 and 7 pm.

Register online at: webstercentral.revtrak.net, with the course #: SPE-A-WACK.EGG.1-W

The Webster Aquatic Center is located at 875 Ridge Road.

College Night returns April 26

Have a student headed off to college in a few years? You might want to check out this upcoming program.

Webster Thomas and Webster Schroeder high school counselors will host College Night for families of sophomores and juniors on Wednesday, April 26, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the Webster Schroeder Auditorium.

The speakers will be David Roberts, associate director of freshman admissions at Saint John Fisher College, and Angela Wesley, admissions adviser at State University of New York at Brockport. Both bring tremendous experience and insight into topics of concern as you navigate the college admissions process. Topics to be discussed include:

  • Getting in and staying in college: SUNY vs private colleges; letters of recommendation; the common application; essays, the new SAT and ACT, and other admissions criteria.
  • Essential skills needed for moving on after high school graduation: resilience, perseverance, collaboration, integrity, time-management, self-management, and communication.

There will be plenty of time for questions and answers throughout.

Students are welcome to attend with their parents. Webster Schroeder High School is located at 875 Ridge Road.

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Community Arts Day seeks talent

26 Mar
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Webster’s Community Arts Day is a celebration of our district’s talented students.

Your kids got talent? Encourage them to strut their stuff at the next Community Arts Day, Saturday April 8 at Webster Schroeder High School.

More to come about Community Arts Day itself, but for now let’s talk about the “Webster’s Got Talent” talent show, which is always a big draw.

It’s scheduled for 2 to 3 p.m. on Community Arts Day, and singers, dancers and musicians are all encouraged to participate. All you have to do is register by visiting  www.websterptsa.org/talentshow, then start getting your act ready. Plan to arrive by 1:45 p.m. to review the performance line-up schedule.

If you’ve never been to Community Arts Day, make sure to put this annual family-friendly event on your calendar right now.

The event celebrates the many artistic and musically talented students in our schools. Samples of artwork from every school in the district will be on display, and entertainment by dance troupes, martial arts schools, music groups and more are scheduled throughout the day. The entire first floor of the school is packed with performers, artwork, and community displays. There’s a children’s area with crafts, baked goods and refreshments, and plenty more for kids to do.

Admission to Community Arts Day is free. Proceeds from food, craft, and kids’ activities will benefit cultural arts programs within the Webster Central School District.  For more information, visit the Community Arts Day website.

Community Arts Day will be held Saturday April 8 at Webster Schroeder high School, 875 Ridge Road, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Middle schools give back to our community

24 Mar
Spry Student Council

Principal James Baehr and members of the Spry Middle School Student Council present a check to AutismUp. (Provided photo)

As you all know, I love using this blog to highlight the great things our kids do for our community. Here is another excellent example.

Willink and Spry middle schools host an annual charity basketball game each spring, at which student and staff teams challenge each other in several friendly — if not exactly competitive — games. The event always benefits two local charities, one chosen by each school’s student council.

This year’s event was held on March 3, and once again it was spectacularly successful. A few days ago, representatives from Willink and Spry presented checks totaling about $2900 each to their chosen charities: the Veterans Outreach Center and AutismUp.

On March 20, Willink Student Council officers Daniel Card, Ben Welch, Megan VanWie, and Greyson McDonnell visited the Veterans Outreach Center to present their share of the money raised from the charity game. The Veterans Outreach Center provides comprehensive resources to current and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families through direct service, community collaboration, and advocacy.

Two days later, Spry Middle School Student Council officers Miles Curry, Hannah Tischner, Haley Bolton, Antonia Ciccarelli, Sophia Veltri, Sierra Doody, and Jillian Alexander welcomed a representative from AutsimUp to present her with a check. AutismUp supports individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and their families, by expanding and enhancing opportunities to improve quality of life.

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Willink Student Council

Representatives from the Willink Middle School Student Council present a check to the Veterans Outreach Center. (Provided photo) Enter a caption

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News from the schools

18 Mar

I received a few important announcements from the schools in the last few days.

The first is of interest to anyone who’s planning to enter this year’s Reflections Contest as part of Community Arts Day. Due to the wicked weather we had this week, the deadline for entries has been extended one week. All art work is now due by Wednesday March 22.

Click here to review the rules and instructions for entering, and good luck!

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Next is news about a very important and thought-provoking presentation coming up next Tuesday.

Community members, staff, parents, and high school students are invited to a Webster screening of the documentary, “I’m Not Racist… Am I?,” on Tuesday, March 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Willink Middle School cafetorium, 900 Publishers Parkway. Light refreshments will be served from 5:50 to 6 p.m.

Here is how the “I’m Not Racist… Am I?” website describes the movie:

“I’m Not Racist… Am I? is a feature documentary about how this next generation is going to confront racism. We asked 12 teenagers from New York City to come together for one school year to talk about race and privilege in a series of workshops and in conversations with friends and family members. We hope that by documenting their experience, the film will inspire others to recognize and interrupt racism in their own lives.
None of these teens think that the racial rules of their parents’ generation apply to them today. They know the US is not post-racial – and they don’t want it to be. They know there is no such thing as being colorblind – and they don’t want to be. But they’re also very clear that the most sought-after schools in New York have mostly white and Asian students and the neighborhoods they want to get out of are black and Hispanic. They know. They just don’t know why.

Join them as they plunge into a year-long journey to get at the heart of racism. What unfolds over the course of the year will challenge their relationships with their friends, within their own families and, most of all, within themselves. We’ll watch as they have the conversations most of us are too afraid to have and we’ll struggle right along with them as they try to make sense of it all in their daily lives. As they push through naiveté, guilt and some tears, we’ll see these remarkable young people develop deeper bonds, a stronger resolve and a bigger, more significant definition of racism than any of us ever imagined.”

There will be opportunity for small group discussion during and immediately following the movie. The documentary is NOT recommended or students in middle school or younger.

Please RSVP by clicking here.  Community members may also access this link by visiting the district website news story on the screening at websterschools.org.

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High school musicals just around the corner

16 Mar

It’s high school musical time in Webster, and our schools have two blockbusters on tap.

Program Ad Mary PoppinsWebster Schroeder will present the supercalifragilistic musical Mary Poppins at 7:30 p.m. March 30 and 31, and at 2 pm. and 7:30 p.m. on April 1. The drama club actually hired a company from Las Vegas to help the actors playing Mary Poppins and Bert fly through the air.

If you’re not familiar with the plot (really?), here’s a synopsis:

The jack-of-all trades, Bert, introduces us to England in 1910 and the troubled Banks family. Young Jane and Michael have sent many a nanny packing before Mary Poppins arrives on their doorstep. Using a combination of magic and common sense, she must teach the family members how to value each other again. Mary Poppins takes the children on many magical and memorable adventures, but Jane and Michael aren’t the only ones upon whom she has a profound effect. Even grown-ups can learn a lesson or two from the nanny who advises that “Anything can happen if you let it.”

Tickets are $12, available at websterschroedermusicals.com and at Wegmans.

shirt expandedThe following weekend, Webster Thomas will present Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida at 7:30 p.m. April 6 and 7 and 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 8.

Here’s the synopsis:

At the Nile’s edge, the enslaved Nubian princess, Aida becomes romantically entangled with the Egyptian captain, Radames, who is betrothed to the Pharaoh’s daughter, Amneris. As their forbidden love grows deeper, Aida is forced to find balance between her heart’s yearning for Radames, and her responsibility to lead her people.

Based on the opera by Giuseppe Verdi, Elton John and Time Rice’s Aida is a timeless love story, featuring an award-winning pop/rock score from the seasoned pop duo who brought musical life to Disney’s The Lion King. Rousing rock numbers and heart-wrenching ballads bring the ill-fated lovers into a new era.

Tickets are $12, available at Hegedorn’s Market, 964 Ridge Road and online at websterthomasplayers.com.

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A little windstorm couldn’t stop the Wizard of Oz

14 Mar
ambler

Wizard of Oz Artistic Director Bill Ambler had to do some fancy footwork to make sure the show went on last weekend. (Provided photo)

We’ve been reading a lot of stories on Facebook and whatnot about how neighbors have been helping neighbors during this worst-ever stretch of March weather we’ve been having. Generators are being loaned out, hot meals made and warm beds turned down for those without power for days.

But I heard a story Monday which you won’t see on Facebook, but I think needs to be told.

Thanks to last Wednesday’s windstorm, it looked like Spry Middle School’s sold-out performances of The Wizard of Oz were going to have to be postponed. Wednesday night’s dress rehearsal had to be moved to Thursday night when all after-school activities were cancelled. Then, of course, there was no school Thursday so it couldn’t be held then, either. Nor could the whole event be moved to the following weekend, since so many of the cast members had conflicts.

When school was closed again on Friday, Artistic Director Bill Ambler had a real problem. So he turned to WCSD Superintendent Carmen Gumina for help.

Carm let Bill and his cast members into Spry early in the day on Friday, and the kids ran through their dress rehearsal. The curtain went up as scheduled Friday night, and for two shows on Saturday, playing to packed houses.

And I’m told it was amazing.

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Penfield fifth grader wins essay contest

11 Mar
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Lawson Drabik reacts when he hears he has won first place in the Monroe County Fire Prevention Essay Contest. Standing behind Lawson is Harris Hill fifth grader Jordan Dawson, who won sixth place, $25 and a trophy. (Provided photo)

Congratulations go out today to Lawson Drabik, a fifth grader at Harris Hill Elementary School in Penfield, who recently won first place in the Monroe County Volunteer Firemen’s Association Fire Prevention Essay Contest.

This year’s challenge was to write an essay explaining why people should change their smoke detectors every ten years. For his first-place essay, Lawson received $100, a plaque for his school and a traveling trophy which will be kept at the school for the next year.

Lawson learned of the award last Monday, when representatives from the Penfield Volunteer Fire Department came to his school for a surprise presentation. His reaction, which you can see in the photo, was priceless.

In addition to his other prizes, next year at the beginning of Fire Prevention Week, Lawson will get a ride home from Bay Trail Middle School on a fire truck.

Amanda Notareschi, Lawson’s teacher, believes that while Harris Hill has had finalists before, she doesn’t think the school has ever had a first-place winner.

If you’d like to read the essay for yourself, a photo of it is below.

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2016 Reflections Contest winners advance to state level

7 Mar

HERO-Reflections

The PTSA Reflections contest is in full swing in anticipation of this year’s Community Arts Day celebration on April 8 at Webster Schroeder High School. Hopefully  there are a lot of students out there working diligently to prepare their creative entries, based on this year’s theme, “Within Reach.”   (Learn more about Community Arts Day and the Reflections competition by clicking here.) Entries are being accepted through March 15.

But coincidentally (or perhaps not), I just receive notification about some of LAST year’s Reflections winners, 13 of whom who have advanced to the state level for judging.

The press release goes on to say,

The theme for the 2016-17 Reflections program was “What is Your Story?” WCSD students had their artwork recognized as the Best of Show in their categories and age divisions at the district level. Their artwork progressed to the Genesee Valley Region PTSA level of the competition and was judged against entries from other schools in the region. Before Christmas GVRPTSA held a ceremony to announce the winners, whose artwork now moves on to the New York State level for judging.

Representing WCSD are: Taisia Badulescu, Katherine Kovacs, Olivia Rye, Riley Dieter, Anthony Randazzo, Amanda Longhenry, Sydney DeZutter, Annabelle Sero, Rachael Dioguardi, Jane Bradstreet, Kaitlyn Dushuk, Sean Devlin, and Emily Hansen. Their entries range from literature to visual arts and photography to music composition and film production. The students themselves range from prekindergarten to high school.

The Reflections Committee expects to hear the results of this stage of the competition sometime in April.

Congratulations to these students, and good luck! You make Webster proud.

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