webster on the web

It’s funny, but I can still remember how excited I got every year when it was time to buy a Christmas gift for my grade school teacher. I always took the task very seriously, and chose very carefully, knowing full well that my gift would be her favorite by far.  One year in particular stands out in my memory, because I had found the the most perfect gift ever: a plastic statue with the inscription “World’s Best Teacher.”

Of course, now that I am older and wiser, and three times a mother myself, I recognize how silly that gift was. I’m certain my teacher accepted it graciously and made me feel like it was, indeed, the best gift she had ever received … and then tossed it in the trash that night.

Because, let’s face it.  You can only have so many “#1 Teacher” nick-knacks, hand-made photo frames and “World’s Best Teacher” coffee mugs. (Frankly, most of the teachers I know would rather get a pint glass or wine glass, but that’s beside the point.)  And from a parent’s perspective, it’s kind of hard to figure out what a teacher would really want for Christmas, let alone convince a young child that a practical gift is a viable option.

Which is why I think the Teachers’ Christmas Wish List at Klem North Elementary is an inspired idea. The idea was hatched by the Klem North PTSA, and I found out about it from the Klem North Star blog.  Most of the items the teachers have included on their lists are things they need for their classrooms which they normally have to purchase themselves (you know how school budgets are these days). Many of the requests, therefore (like hand sanitizer and ziplock bags), might not be as much fun as a coffee mug, but will surely be a heck of a lot more useful.

Klem North families can check out the bulletin board in the cafeteria to see if their favorite teacher has posted a wish list, or you can click here to see the list online. But even if you’re not a Klem North family, you might want to look at the lists anyway, because they’re chock full of great gift ideas that teachers will really appreciate.

The Willink Middle School “Simply Select” and “Stuck in the Middle” choruses, directed by Michael Roller and Tiffany Polino, will be the featured guest performers Friday morning on WBEE radio, 92.5 FM.

The choruses – comprised of about 55 students from grades 6 through 8 – will visit the WBEE studios Friday morning, where they’ll get a tour of the station and perform two holiday songs. Their performance will be aired live between 9:45 and 10 am, and recorded for later use during the holiday season.

Not only that…

While they’re in the studio, the kids will also perform and record their rendition of the National Anthem. They received a special invitation to do so after one of the station employees heard them perform it at an Amerks game last year, and thought it would be perfect for the station’s daily recognition of veterans and troops serving our country, which airs at noon. What an honor that is.

So tune in to WBEE 92.5 FM Friday between 9:45 and 10 am to hear the kids live, then listen for their performances to be aired regularly over the next few weeks. You can also listen live on your computer by visiting the WBEE website, but I had a hard time getting that to work.   (Hint: It seemed to work better on Internet Explorer than Mozilla, and I had to re-load it several times.)

Do you know an awesome teacher? There’s still time to nominate outstanding educators for the 2013 Oak Tree Award.

The annual Oak Tree Award is sponsored by the Webster Teacher Association and Webster Central PTSA, and recognizes teacher excellence at both elementary and secondary levels. Any Webster Central School District resident or district employee (including teachers and administrators), student or parents may nominate teachers. Two winners are chosen every year.

Click here to see the nomination criteria and download a form.  But do it soon; nominations are due by this Friday, Dec. 14.

Webster residents have spoken, and they overwhelmingly support full-day kindergarten.

That fact among all others stands out most clearly from the Full Day Kindergarten Final Report which was presented to the Webster Board of Education earlier this month. The committee which compiled the report — comprised of more than 60 people including administrators, teachers, parents and other community members — met monthly from March through November, researched the subject, went on site visits, and distributed an opinion survey. They presented their findings to the Board of Education on November 8 in an 80-page report buoyed by more than 200 pages of supporting materials.

Basically it all boiled down to one decisive statement, presented right off the bat:

It is the recommendation of the Full Day Kindergarten District Advisory Committee that the Board of Education pursue the implementation of a Full Day Kindergarten Program for Webster students, beginning in the 2013‐2014 school year.

Click here if you’d like to read the entire report for yourself.  There are a lot of charts and graphs and talk about core standards and curriculum requirements, if you really want to slog through all that. But what I found most interesting were the results of the opinion survey.

More than 1200 people completed the online survey, including a lot of people who don’t have children in the schools, and even some non-Webster residents. On the question of whether Webster should institute full-day kindergarten, the results were clear: 78% said yes, 22% said no.

The comments were also quite interesting. The two main reasons people gave in support of full-day kindergarten were to 1) allow more time for instruction and social/emotional development, and 2) offer a more manageable schedule and lower daycare costs for or parents who work full-time.

Typical comments in this section read:

Hopefully a longer day will not only encourage academic growth but also allow time for children to ‘think outside the box’ and be creative and learn through play!

Webster cannot continue as an academic power house without full-day kindergarten. We have to get on board, as the stakes are too high with all these new standards.

and of course,

For children who need care outside of the half day hours. It is too much shuffling around to bus to school then day care then home.

On the other side of the argument were diametrically opposite comments:

Let our kids enjoy their youth. They have plenty of years to spend all day in the classroom. 6+ hours is too long of a day for 5 and 6 year olds.

I am primarily concerned with what’s best for the children developmentally at this age, not just the cost or the convenience for working parents currently needing daycare for their children.

Judging from the response to the survey and to the initial call for community participation on the committee (80 people showed up), it’s clear that community interest in this topic is strong. And even though the committee has recommended that the district adopt full-day kindergarten next year, they don’t have the last word.

You do.

District administrators are now asking for community feedback about the proposal. They’re hosting an informal conversation with members of the Board of Education on Thursday, November 29 beginning at 7 pm at Spry Middle School, 119 South Avenue.

So if you haven’t had a chance to express your opinion, or would like to do so again, take a look at the committee’s report, attend the meeting and join the conversation.

Click here to see the whole report.

Today was Pink Day at Webster Thomas High School.  The event was part of a coordinated effort in all the district’s secondary schools, where students and staff rally against bullying by wearing pink. (To read more about the Pink initiative, scroll down to the previous blog I wrote.)

When students came through the front doors this morning, they were greeted with pink streamers lining the hallway, pink ribbons hanging from the ceiling, and a long pink chain snaking along the cafeteria corridor.

And lots and lots of people wearing pink.  It was a beautiful sight to see.

Cadets (in red) present the Cadet Award to Webster Marching Band members Tess Storace, Emily Dorsey, Jake Cobb, Katie Hackett and Samantha Toms.

Congratulations go out to the Webster Marching Band on several accounts this morning. The kids just returned from a the US Bands National Open Class 3 Championship competition at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey, where they placed 7^th out of 24 bands. That alone was a great accomplishment. But on top of that, the band also won the Cadet Award for Achievement in Effect, Creativity and Excellence.

And not only THAT.  Since they were heading down to the New York area, the band families decided to take the opportunity to do something great for the folks down there who are still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy. They got together and filled a van with donations, which they handed over to the Salvation Army collection point at the stadium.

What is particularly neat about this effort is how quickly the word spread and how quickly the band family came together to help out.  Band mom Janet Sander sent out the original message last Sunday morning, and by practice Monday evening, donations were already beginning to pile up. Band families passed the word on their Facebook pages and told their extended families, friends and co-workers. Offers to stuff their own personal vehicles started coming in from parents who were planning to drive down on their own.  The result was a van — and more — filled to capacity with food, coats, batteries, diapers, toiletries and cleaning supplies.

Yet another reason this band makes Webster proud.

The Sander van stuffed full, ready to head to New Jersey.

Senior band members present a $500 check to the Salvation Army.

The halls of Webster Thomas High School will be flowing with pink tomorrow as every Thomas staff member — and hopefully every student — will be wearing pink.

It’s all part of the international “Stand Up to Bullying Day” initiative. It began last week when students were all shown a video about two high school students in Nova Scotia who stood up for a younger student who was being harassed by classmates because he wore a pink shirt.  The students decided to make a statement by wearing pink shirts themselves.  Before long, other students joined them, and the “Pink Day” cause spread around the world.  (You can see the video here).

Thomas seniors pledge to be “upstanders” by signing staff shirts in the Thomas library: (L-R) Emily Simons, Caitlin Francz, Ally Lovgren, Amanda Vallone, Molly DeBacco, Lexi Sciarrone, Josh Caccamise, Joe Mikiciuk

The basic idea behind “Pink Day” is that all students have the power to make school a safer place through their actions and by becoming “upstanders,” someone who acts or says something when they see someone being mistreated.

Thomas’ Pink Day effort began last week, when students could pledge to not harass others by signing their names to staff members’ pink shirts. Tomorrow, staff members will wear those shirts to school, filled with student signatures. Students have also been asked to wear pink, and show their support as upstanders, dedicated to keeping the schools safe for everyone.

The Pink Activity is happening in all four secondary buildings in early November in collaboration with the PTSA.

I truly hope this becomes an annual event. Bullying in our schools has gotten out of hand. Like a virus, it has been very difficult to eradicate.  Trying to deal with it from the top down has clearly not worked.  I commend the school district for jumping on the “Pink” bandwagon and getting the students themselves more involved.  Bullies don’t care what the administrators will do. They will care about what their peers say.

Maybe by the time my grandchildren attend school, we’ll have seen the end to bullying once and for all.

You know it’s a pretty cool high school when the staff members there are encouraged to dress up for Halloween.

Webster Thomas principal Glenn Widor not only encouraged staff participation, he suggested a theme — zombies — which is why the Thomas hallways were filled with the walking dead today.  The administrators in particular really got into it, so much so it was disturbing having to talk with them face-to-face.

Believe it or not, these zombies are Assistant Principal Mike Smith, AP Mary Kidd, Principal Glenn Widor, AP Sue Clark and AP Brian Weller.

But Thomas was certainly not the only school where the staff got into the act. My friend Sarah King at Plank North sent me these photos of some of the teachers over there:

Mr. Heveron is a tall penguin.

Mrs. Weinmann the pirate.

Principal Dave Peter was the game “Operation,” complete with a pair of tongs.

Mr. Schoff is … one scary dude.

Mrs. Fuss is “Smarty Pants.” Clever.

Mrs. Pawluk as candy corn.

Ms. King the witch.