Webster community mailbag

23 Feb

mailbag iconOur new friends over at Lala of Webster have let me know about a few fun events coming up, the first one happening this afternoon (Saturday), actually.

It’s a make-your-own Essential Oil Lava Bead Bracelet event, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Cost is $15 per person and Lisa asks interested participants to call ahead at 585-236-1604 so they now how many people to expect.

On Wednesday, March 6, from noon to 3 p.m., Robyn Miller from Green Gorilla CBD Oil & New Chapter Supplements will be on hand for a “Snacks and Mocktails” visit (just pop in anytime), and on Saturday, March 9, Lala will hold a Peace and Pear Journaling Class from 2 to 3 pm. Registration for this is also $15, and you’ll want to register ahead of time because space is limited.

Lala of Webster is located at 38 East Main Street in the village.

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There’s nothing much better than free pancakes.

Get some for yourself and your kids on Tuesday March 5 when St. Martin Lutheran Church holds their free Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. The meal includes sausage and applesauce, and unlimited pancakes of course, served from 5 to 7 p.m. at the church, 813 Bay Road. In honor of Mardis Gras, beads will be provided, and you can even make your own masks. Guests are also invited to wear their best Mardis Gras attire.

While the pancakes are free, guests are asked to bring a free will offering for the Little Free Food Pantry at the church. Call the church at 671-1899 with questions or to reserve seats .

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bowlingDust off those bowling balls and shoes and save the date for an enjoyable afternoon of bowling, all for a great cause!

On Sunday, April 28, Webster’s Special Education Parent-Teacher Association (SEPTA) will hold its annual bowling fundraiser to raise scholarship funds for graduating Webster Schroeder and Webster Thomas High School seniors who are part of the district’s special education family.

Join Webster’s special education faculty and staff, students, parents, and Webster families from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at AMF Empire Lanes in Webster. Your donation of $30 includes two hours of bowling, shoe and equipment rental, a t-shirt, pizza, soft drinks, and even free raffle tickets for prizes.

At this point, organizers are looking for teams to sign up, and businesses who would like to sponsor the event and/or provide raffle prizes. For more information, click here to download a flyer.

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Don’t forget about the Webster United Church of Christ’ Pet Food Pantry’s open house!

The awesome UCC Rebel Beat youth group there took it upon themselves to create a pet food pantry from the ground up, coordinating with Meals on Wheels to deliver pet food to their clients who have dogs and  cats at home.

Since the pantry began last summer, it has continued to support Meals on Wheels with a large monthly delivery so that the family pets of home-bound individuals can get much needed pet food and supplies. In the beginning they served more than 50 clients each month. Since then, that number has increased by about 30%. They hope to eventually cover all Meals on Wheels clients in Monroe County.

The Pantry is holding an open house on Saturday March 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. It’s a great opportunity to meet these incredible young people and take a tour of the pantry. And if you stop by, please bring along a bag or box of dry cat food to add to the collection; they’re trying to collect 2,400 pounds of cat food, which will meet the needs of the Meals on Wheels for Pets program for the rest of 2019.

The United Church of Christ Pet Food Pantry is located at 570 Klem Road.

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Webster’s young ninjas did well!

22 Feb

Megan and GraysonCongratulations to Webster’s young ninjas, Grayson Schoeffler and Megan Stupplebeen, for a fine showing at last weekend’s 2019 World Championships of the National Ninja League.

The kids, who are second-grade classmates at Dewitt Elementary School, joined more than 200 other ninja-wannabes at the four-day competition in Hartford.

While neither one reached the second round, they did quite well. Competing in the 6 to 8-year old division, Grayson placed 43rd out of 142 boys, and Megan placed 44th out of 75 girls.

“This was a grueling course this year,” Grayson’s mom Alison reported. “Only 17 out of 244 kids went on to stage two.” And she added, “We will train again to qualify next year!”

Webster looks forward to hearing about it when they do.

 

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News from the schools

21 Feb
gyus and dolls

The Guys and Dolls, Jr. cast features Aidan Jacobs as Sky Masterson, Madeleine Tischner as Sarah Brown, Sam Nagar as Nathan Detroit, and Analiesse Brown as Miss Adelaide.

The Webster schools’ musical season continues in early March when the students of Spry Middle School present the Broadway classic Guys and Dolls, Jr. 

Three shows are scheduled, Friday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 9 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. in the Spry Middle School auditorium, 119 South Ave.

Spry productions usually sell out, so if you really want to attend, make sure to get your tickets early. They’re available online here beginning Feb. 25 for $7.

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Parents of incoming kindergarteners in the 2019-20 school year are reminded that the Webster CSD Kindergarten Parent Orientation and Registration Night is Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at your student’s school. Please note that this night is for parents only.

After Parent Orientation and Registration Night, kindergarten walk-in registration is available Wednesday-Friday, February 27-March 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., also at your student’s school.

For more information, go to Central Registration’s 2019-20 Kindergarten Registration webpage.

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And here’s another reminder about the upcoming information nights for the school district’s new Wondercare before and after-school childcare program. It’s being introduced next year at each of the district’s seven elementary schools in conjunction with the new start times.

Several information nights have been scheduled, and parents are asked to attend the one associated with their school if at all possible:

• Monday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. for Plank Road North and Plank Road South at Plank North
• Wednesday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Dewitt Road
• Thursday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m. at Klem Road South
• Monday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. at Schlegel Road
• Tuesday, March 5 at 7:00 p.m. at Klem Road North
• Wednesday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m. at State Road

These evenings will be geared for parents only. (Family meet and greet nights will take place in August.) If you cannot attend your home school date, you may attend at another location.

For more information about the program, including pricing, visit the WonderCare webpage at websterschools.org, email wondercare@webstercsd.org or call 216-0017.

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Finally, thank you to Heather Dale for sending along this news and photos from St. Rita:

Throughout Catholic Schools Week St. Rita School participated in the Great Kindness Challenge, a national movement that empowered students to create a culture of kindness. The students did teamwork and cooperative activities with their buddy classes, reading and building structures out of all sort of creative materials.

On the final afternoon, classes came to the gymnasium for a Kindness Pep Rally and partake in a cooperative activity called Powerball, using small balls to move a large ball across the other teams line. Then to show our school love, we made a kindness tunnel leaving the gymnasium where each class got to go through and receive high fives from all the other classes.

In addition, families of St. Rita Schools also donated many cans of soup on soup-er bowl weekend, and there were other “spirit” days that included wearing ties that reminded them they are “tied up in teamwork” every day.

SRS School Great Kindness Challenge 2

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Congratulations to nine St. Rita School alumni, class of 2013, who received the Hands of Christ Award this year.

These seniors are active members of St. Rita, Holy Trinity and St. Stanislaus Kostka Parishes, and have consistently demonstrated a Christian attitude by word and example.

This Hand of Christ Award is a recognition program to assist parishes in affirming their high school seniors who have been the “Hands of Christ” in their church, home, school and community.

SRS Alumni Class of 2013

Standing with Bishop Matano are Julia Spagnola, Lauren Quatela, Hannah Tette and TJ Tytler. Other St. Rita alumni who received the award are Brandon Connor, Taylor Loiacono, Meghan McAliney, Esther Moore and Jacob Russo.

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Get ready to Peep!

20 Feb

peep

Good news for Peeps lovers. The 2019 Greater Rochester Peep Show is right around the corner.

If you’ve never heard about this really fun event, you’re going to want to keep reading, especially if you like eating those yellow (and now pink and purple and whatever other colors) marshmallow chicks and ducks. I’ve never been a big fan. I put them in the same category as those faux-orange circus peanuts. They squeak when you bite into them.

But I LOVE the Peep Show. This is a two-day event at the Webster Recreation Center, where two entire rooms are filled with incredibly creative sculptures, dioramas, and various other works of art created with Peeps. It’s simply the cutest thing ever.  (Click here for a small photo gallery from 2017.)

This year’s show is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday March 30 and 31. More details will come (but it’s free and great family fun). But for now, Peep Show organizers are looking for Peep creators.

Businesses, organizations or individuals are encouraged to enter a display for judging. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the show for the display that gets the most visitor votes.

Not feeling very artistic? You can support the event in other ways as well. You can hang a poster, donate a prize or become a partner in underwriting the show. Several levels of sponsorship are available, and all proceeds will benefit the Webster Community Chest.

Find out more about the show and how you can help by visiting the Rochester Peep Show website here, email peepshow@frontier.com or call 585-671-8738.

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Webster pre-K students celebrate 100 days by giving back

19 Feb
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Chris McNamara (left) and Ann Meers help their Schlegel Elementary School UPK kids show off the cans they collected and their can chain.

Celebrating the first 100 days of school is an elementary school tradition. It’s not only a fun way to recognize the fact that the school year is more than half over, but it’s also a good excuse to practice counting to 100 in different ways and with a variety of items.

Two Webster pre-K teachers — Joanna Sero at Klem Rd. North and Chris McNamara at Schlegel Rd. — came up with a unique way to help their young students mark the occasion, while helping the Webster community at the same time.

On Feb. 4 they began a two-week long can drive, encouraging their students in each of their classes to donate 100 cans of dog food, which they would then donate to Joyful Rescues.

In a letter she sent home to parents, Sero explained the project and how it would be incorporated into the curriculum:

In the past few months we have learned about friendship, kindness and generosity, as well as wants and needs. As we prepare to celebrate love and friendship on Valentine’s Day, we are inviting our Pre-K friends to show kindness to pets in need. … Our goal is to collect 100 cans (so we can work on sorting/counting them in groups of ten)! We will also connect this project to our study of environmental print.

As you can imagine, the students enthusiastically embraced the project. At Schlegel, the students made a canned-food chain, marking each new donation with a new link on the chain. At Klem North, Sero’s class created a pet shelter/vet clinic dramatic play center, and read books about rescued animals.

By the end of the two-week donation period, both classes had reached their goal (although I suspect the teachers might have had a hand in that). Last Saturday, Sero and McNamara — accompanied by many of their pre-K friends — took them all to PetSmart in Webster and handed them over to some very grateful representatives from Joyful Rescues.

This was a great project in so many ways. It was a fun way for the kids to practice counting to 100, and it was a terrific lesson in community involvement. But it touched on so many other skills as well.

Case in point: When Sero told her class that the Schlegel students had collected 96 cans to their 81, several of them said “they’re beating us!” But then one little guy noted, “It’s okay because we are collaborating with them, and the dogs get all of the cans!”

Here are some photos from the can delivery:

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Webster Community Mailbag

15 Feb

barrys-old-schoolWebster’s favorite little Irish pub will be hosting its annual Guinness Toast on Saturday night.

As one of the top Irish pubs in the country (no exaggeration — read this blog here for proof), Guinness representatives return every year on Feb. 16 (one month before St. Patrick’s Day) to raise a pint of Guinness with everybody. The event happens on the same evening across the world, so participants know they’re part of something very big.

The official toast takes place at 10 p.m., when everyone will get a pint on the house. There will also be lots of give-aways and Billy Herring will provide live Irish music from 7:30-10:30.

Barry’s Old School Irish is located at 2 West Main Street in the village of Webster.

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Next, some news from the schools.

With the change to new school start times next school year The Webster Central School District is introducing a new before and after-care childcare program called WonderCare. It will be offered at each of the district’s seven elementary schools and will be available to all WCSD-enrolled kindergarten through sixth grade students.

Several information nights have been scheduled, and parents are asked to attend the one associated with their school if at all possible:

• Monday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. for Plank Road North and Plank Road South at Plank North
• Wednesday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Dewitt Road
• Thursday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m. at Klem Road South
• Monday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. at Schlegel Road
• Tuesday, March 5 at 7:00 p.m. at Klem Road North
• Wednesday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m. at State Road

These evenings will be geared for parents only. (Family meet and greet nights will take place in August.) If you cannot attend your home school date, you may attend at another location.

If you have any questions in the meantime, visit our new WonderCare webpage at websterschools.org for more information about the program, including pricing structure and FAQs. You can also email wondercare@webstercsd.org or call 216-0017.

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Spry Middle School will host a charity basketball game on Friday, March 1, to benefit Habitat for Humanity and Rochester Wheels.

In the week leading up to the game, students and staff will celebrate Spirit Week. Students will play in-house competitions to earn points toward the coveted Spirit Stick. The spirit competition will culminate on March 1 when the houses play in a round robin tournament. That will be followed by the Spry staff taking on the Rochester Wheels basketball team.

The game will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 and will be available at the door. Spry Middle School is located at 119 South Ave.

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This is fun:

The State Road Elementary School Art Clubs are working on murals for the Rochester Ronald McDonald House. Art teacher Kelly Stevens has her Eagles creating a heart-based mural and a hopeful garden mural. Here are a few photos of some fifth graders working on the heart mural.

 

Step right up to the Webster Recreation Center for an indoor carnival, coming on March 9 from 4 to 7 p.m.

The event will include dinner, games, fortune telling, entertainment, and lots more fun for the whole family. Two dinner times will be available, 4:45 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Cost is $10 per person, and it’s recommended you register by March 1 to get your preferred dinner seating time. Visit webtrac.ci.webster.ny.us and use program #100001.

For more information, call 585-872-7103.

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Our high school kids will be learning about healthy peer relationships in school for the next few weeks, thanks to a program recently introduced by the Webster PTSA.

The PTSA has kicked off a Healthy Peer Relationships program at both high schools with a social media campaign highlighting the positive behaviors that promote healthy relationships.

The program focuses on friendships and dating relationships. The campaign will be active through May, and include the following:

○ Social Media Campaign
○ Relationship Spectrum Table Tents for Library and Student Lounge area
○ “Love is Respect” Posters around the school
○ “How to Get Help” Signs for Bathrooms
○ “I’m a good Listener” Teacher & Staff Identification
○ #LoveisRespect printing on Junior/Senior Prom Tickets.
○ Activities during Community Arts Day and One Warrior Week

Ask your kids if they’ve seen any of these messages, and have a real conversation with them.

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Don’t forget about the Webster UCC Pet Food Pantry’s Open House on Saturday March 2 from 6 to 8 p.m.

The evening will be your chance to check out this great new community service, spearheaded by the United Church of Christ’s Rebel Beat youth group. They collect pet food and work hand-in-hand with Meals on Wheels to get the donations to clients in need.

You can get a tour of the pantry, meet the kids, nibble on some kibble, and make and take a kitty toy. It’s also a great chance to get a first-hand look at what a typical monthly order is like and even help pack an order.

The pantry is also collecting donations of dry cat food (they’re hoping for 2,400 pounds), so on your way to the open house, please pick up some Friskies on the way! The church is at 570 Klem Rd.

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Webster students head to national ninja competition

13 Feb

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Two Dewitt Elementary School students will be headed to Hartford, CT this weekend to compete in the 2019 World Championships of the National Ninja League (NNL).

Grayson Schoeffler and Megan Stupplebeen, classmates in Mrs. Krieger’s second grade class, will be competing against kids from all around the world in the 6 to 8-year old division.

Grayson and Megan both train at the Warrior Factory in Henrietta, where they qualified for the national NNL competition with top-three finishes in local competitions.

Both Grayson and Megan have been ninja warriors pretty much their whole lives. Grayson’s mom, Alison, says her son

started his ninja career when he was 10 months and climbing out of his crib. From there he basically has been swinging and climbing off anything in his way….All great ninjas have a ninja name and Grayson is known as the Hardway Ninja, (because he usually does everything the Hard Way).

Megan’s mother Cathy describes her daughter (AKA “MEGatron”) as an “8-year old dynamo.”

She enjoys training with several friends and her brother, Peter (age 11) during open gym at The Warrior Factory…. We have converted the majority of the basement to be ninja central where Megan works on ring toss, cliffhanger, climbing walls, balance obstacles and whatever the newest challenge is. Megan works with her dad and brother on building new obstacles.

The four-day long competition, held Feb. 15-18, is divided into several age categories from the youngest (6-8) through masters (40 and over). Competitors typically tackle up to ten obstacles on every course. If you want to check out the kinds of challenges these kids might face, click here to see a video of a past (very young) first-place competitor. If you ever watch these ninja competitions on TV, I think you’ll recognize some of the elements.

From reading their emails, it’s clear to me how proud both families are of their young ninja warriors. But both moms also emphasized how positive and supportive the young ninja community is.

“One of our favorite aspects of ninja is how all ninjas cheer each other on, it’s such a positive community,” Cathy said. Alison added, “It has been such a positive sport for (Grayson) as everyone is so encouraging of each other.”

Check back here after the weekend for an update on how MEGatron and the Hardway Ninja did!

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Pet lovers, unite for a good cause!

12 Feb

pfpHave you ever heard about the Pet Food Pantry at Webster United Church of Christ? The awesome Rebel Beat youth group there took it upon themselves to create a pet food pantry from the ground up, coordinating with Meals on Wheels to deliver pet food to their clients who have dogs and  cats at home.

Since the pantry began last summer, it has continued to support Meals on Wheels with a large monthly delivery so that the family pets of home-bound individuals can get much needed pet food and supplies. In the beginning they served more than 50 clients each month. Since then, that number has increased by about 30%. They hope to eventually cover all Meals on Wheels clients in Monroe County.

Right now, the pantry is holding a dry cat food drive, and has set an ambitious goal of 2,400 pounds, which will meet the needs of the Meals on Wheels for Pets program for the rest of 2019.

If you can help, please drop off your donation in the PFP collection bench on the west side of the church at 570 Klem Road.

Or better yet, bring it to the Webster UCC Pet Food Pantry open house on Saturday March 2, which is being held from 6 to 8 p.m. It’s a great opportunity to meet these incredible young people and take a tour of the pantry.

More details to come about the open house, but for now, make sure to grab an extra box of cat food next time you go to the grocery store!

For more information about the Pet Food Pantry, visit the PFP’s Facebook page or contact Wendy Lesko at wlesko88@gmail.com or (585)746-1965.

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Webster teachers take the plunge

11 Feb

We got some of the greatest teachers in the world here in Webster.

Sunday at noon, I joined about a dozen of my Webster school district teaching colleagues to participate in the 2019 Polar Plunge at Ontario Beach Park to benefit Special Olympics.

If you consider how bad the weather could have been (think back to our recent cold snap and high winds), it actually was a pretty nice day to go take a dip in a frozen lake. I mean, we had bright sunshine, the temperature was in the mid-20s, and there was barely any wind to speak of.

But let me be clear. It was cold. Teeth-chattering cold. Especially when all you’re wearing is a t-shirt and shorts. And that was before you actually went into the lake. The nice Rochester City Parks folks were kind enough to carve a swimming area out of the ice for all the plungers, but it was still like wading through a Slushie.

This was my first Polar Plunge, as it was for most of my colleagues. I believe I speak for many of us when I say I probably would not have done it alone. But having a supportive group of friends shivering right along with me made the whole experience a lot more bearable — and dare I say it? — enjoyable.

But here’s the best part: thanks to the generosity of our friends and Webster colleagues, our WTA team raised $5,000 for Special Olympics, placing us on the top-10 honor roll for team donations. 

These are your kids’ teachers, folks. We are lucky to live and work in the Webster Central School District.

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Community readers are needed!

9 Feb

booksThe Webster school district is looking for some book-loving adults who’d like to participate in a pilot reading program being led by Webster Schroeder English teacher Eileen Connelly.

The program is called Webster Community Reading. Connelly describes how it will look:

The program pairs adult readers with high school students. Each pair reads and responds to a novel over a period of about four weeks. The kids read the book in class and answer four questions in a notebook; the book and notebook are then delivered to the adult reader who completes the same task and returns it. A district courier drops off books and notebooks at central locations around the district and we have a luncheon at the end where readers get a chance to meet each other.

Readers only have to commit to four weeks of reading. Books will be provided and delivered to a location of your choosing.

Connelly said that the program has been very successful at Brighton High School.  She has chosen to pilot the program here in Webster with one of her sophomore English classes.

But to be successful, Webster Community Reading has to have readers. So far only six people have signed up for 26 open slots. If you’re interested in taking part, click here to fill out the very short registration form. If you have any questions about the program, drop Eileen Connelly an email at eileen_connelly@webstercsd.org.

What a great way to encourage literacy! I’ve already signed up.

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