Webster students and staff will be in the pink tomorrow

12 Nov

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.

 

 

 

And now for something completely different…

8 Nov

I don’t often pay much attention to the various jokes or YouTube videos that are forwarded to me from my email contacts.  Most of the time I delete them without even opening them.  So it is VERY unusual for me to not only read one of them, but consider it so on the mark that I want to actually share it with my friends.

In this case, that means all of you. Given the median age of my readers (I don’t actually know what that figure is, but suspect the majority of you will not be shopping for prom dresses this spring), I thought you might enjoy the following, which my brother emailed me a few days ago. If you’re anything like me, as you read along, you’ll be saying, “Yup. Right. Uh huh.”

21 ADULT TRUTHS

1) Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch three consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

2) Nothing feels worse than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

3) I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

4) There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5) How the **** are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6) Was learning cursive really necessary?

7) Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8 ) Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9) I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind-of tired.

10) Bad decisions make good stories.

11) You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12) Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again.

13) I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14) I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15) I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16) I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay.

17) I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

18) How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?

19) I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front.

20) Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

21) Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

And I would like to add just one more, if I may. When you’re over 50 years old, and you type the number 8 followed by a parenthesis, you MEAN to type a number 8 followed by a parenthesis. You do NOT mean to type a smiley face with sunglasses. 8)

 

 


Webster folks doing their part for literacy

8 Nov

Book Festival patrons can take a chance on winning this gorgeous quilt from Altrusa.

Book lovers from all over the state will gather this weekend at MCC for the Rochester Area Children’s Writers and Illustrators Annual Book Festival, and some Webster folks are going to be right in the middle of it.

Those folks are members of the Rochester branch of Altrusa International, a service organization dedicated to promote literacy worldwide.  Webster resident — and Altrusa member — Karen Marquardt has really taken that mission to heart.  Karen has befriended city school librarians and has learned how under-funded they are. To help, she scours public library used book sales, and using Altrusa funds, stocks up on books to donate to city schools. She recently donated more than 800 books to School 42, including 149 which she picked up at the Webster Public Library book sale for just $89.

Altrusa will be hosting a table at Saturday’s book festival, and accepting monetary and book donations to support their city school cause.  They’ll also be raffling off a beautiful quilt; anyone who donates a dollar or a book will receive a raffle ticket.

The Book Festival itself is a book-lover’s wonderland, a full day of author talks, workshops, presentations, activities and story-reading.  Plus there’s all sorts of information and vendor booths. Popular authors including Vivian Vande Velde and Linda Sue Park will be on hand to chat and sign your books.

The Festival runs Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm at Monroe Community College in Brighton. For more information, check out the Rochester Children’s Book Festival website here.

 

I’m gonna miss Election Day.

6 Nov

OK folks, it’s finally here. Election Day. We’ve been looking forward to this day more than Christmas. Our gifts after all this is done: Fewer phone calls. Fewer strangers knocking on our front doors. A LOT less mail.

Come to think about it, that sounds like a very lonely existence. Maybe we should do this again in a few months….

Live theater returns to Webster

4 Nov

Perhaps you were lucky enough to be in the audience last year when the Working Class Theatre Company performed  The Complete Works of William Shakespeare — Abridged at the gazebo.  If so, I’m sure you were as impressed as I was with the talent this little company brings to the stage.

So you’ll be interested in this news: the Working Class Theatre Company has returned with a brand new play, which they’ll present in five shows this coming weekend at the Harmony House.

The production is called What’s the Capital of Bolivia?, and it’s directed by Sander Nagar, who also directed last summer’s hilarious Shakespeare parody.

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about this performance. For starters (and this one’s obvious), it means that live theater is returning to the village. And there’s nothing like a good play to invigorate a town’s night life.

Secondly, this particular play is a world premier. It’s written by local playwright Robert G. Barone and has never been produced anywhere else before.

Jimmy Johnson and Scott Ellsworth play brothers home for their mother’s funeral. Tony Perri plays their father.

The last really neat thing about this performance is the way it’s being performed. The entire set has been plopped down not on the stage, but in the middle of the Harmony House floor. Taped lines outline the acting area, so in some places the actors will be only a few feet from the front row of the audience. It’s kind of like theater-in-the-round (except it’s a square).  Nagar explained that the decision to perform on the floor was a deliberate attempt to deeply engage the audience. “While you’re watching,” he said, “you feel like you’re a fly on the wall.”

The theater company is hoping that this weekend’s production will be just the first of many appearances at the Harmony House, Nagar said. For a while now, he’s been working closely with the Chorus of the Genesee, who own the facility, and is pleased that to have “finally gotten a foot in the door.”

“We’ve always considered Webster our home,” Nagar said. Ultimately, he added, the Working Class Theatre Company would like to set up their own space in Webster, and settle into a three-play season: one show in the fall, one in the spring, and a summer production at the gazebo. Then maybe also sprinkle some staged readings throughout the rest of the year.

This view from the Harmony House stage shows how the performance area is set up on the floor.

It looks to me like they’ve got a real good start.

 

Graffiti art vexes the town

2 Nov

I’ve had a few readers write me in the last several weeks about the mysterious artwork which has appeared on the Route 104 bridge at Phillips Road.  Somebody — or many somebodies — have been decorating the underpinnings of the bridge with graffiti art.

The reviews I’ve heard have been mixed. The first person who brought it to my attention called it “methodical, neat and weird.” Another asked if the “art work” was an “approved and funded project.” Which is not to say that she actually likes it.

The town’s official position on the artwork, however, is clear.

For starters, it is most certainly not an approved art project. “We don’t know who is doing this,” Supervisor Ron Nesbitt wrote in an email, and noted, “It looks terrible.”  He added that the Webster Police are closely watching the area every evening in an attempt to catch the perpetrators. But so far the artists — whoever they may be — have proved slippery.

News from our Webster Trails Friends

2 Nov

I’m playing catch-up again today.

The photo below was taken at an event which I attended last Saturday at the invitation of the Friends of Webster Trails. It was the Friends’ annual Volunteer Recognition gathering and Open House, held at the Whiting Road Nature Preserve. Its purpose was to celebrate and thank all the volunteers and youth groups who contributed about 3000 hours of hard labor to build and maintain the trails this year.

The photo represents only a fraction of the dedicated volunteers who provide thousands of hours of hard labor every summer creating and maintaining the miles upon miles of beautiful trails that wind through our town.  We owe these folks and all the others not pictured a huge debt of thanks.

(L-R) Rich Morrill, Ron Happ, Buzz Weetman, Larry Yost, Craig Pratt, Dennis Kuhn, Sharon Galbraith, Hal Harris and Judy Harris

This year the Friends opened the second phase of the Green Trail in the northern section of Whiting Road Nature Preserve.  They also oversaw the opening of the Hojack Trail extension through the village. And thanks in large part to some invaluable assistance from the Scouts, the Friends also made tremendous strides in creating and extending the brand new trail system at Four Mile Creek Preserve at Phillips and Lake roads.  Not only that, within the next few weeks the Town Highway Department should be creating a new parking lot at Four Mile Creek, with help from several local contractors who will be donating their services.  The lot will allow access to the trail-head for a .8-mile loop trail and for fishing access to Four Mile Creek.

A special shout-out to these Scouts who contributed greatly to this summer’s efforts:

From Troop 262:

Graham Price built a 20′ bridge and did trail work at Four Mile Creek Preserve
Sam Lewis built three benches, two tables and did trail work at Four Mile Creek Preserve
Andrew Fulkerson built a bench and 24-foot boardwalk, and did trail work at Whiting Road Nature Preserve.
Christopher Peffley built a 40-foot boardwalk and did habitat and trail work at John Ungar Nature Trail
Michael Hohl built three benches and a 16-foot boardwalk, and did trail work at Gosnell Park Big Woods

From Troop 108:

Peter Armbruster, built an 8-foot split-rail fence and did trail work at Whiting Road Nature Preserve
Wes Britton built a kiosk at Gosnell Park Big Woods

From Troop 163: David Brunette built a bench and table and did some weed whacking at Four Mile Creek Preserve

From Troop 363: Will Cobb built a table and did some gravel work at Bird Sanctuary Trail

CHECK OUT THE TRAILS FOR YOURSELF

This weekend is the perfect opportunity for you to check out some of this fine trail work for yourself.

The Friends are hosting a Hike Around Webster Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm. And literally, that’s what’s going to happen. The hike will begin at 10 am at Vosburg Hollow Nature Trail parking lot and for the next 4-5 hours will meander through the Friends’ extensive interconnected trail system.

Wear comfortable foot gear and hiking clothes (layers are good). Bring water and a lunch, Homemade cookies will be provided mid-hike at the lunch break. For details about where the hike will go, and to RSVP, click here.

It looks like we might actually see some sun on Sunday, to celebrate with a great autumn  hike!

 

 

Neighbors helping neighbors

1 Nov

I’ve been meaning for a while now to give a Webster Blog shout-out to one of our community’s greatest assets.

The Webster Community Chest is in the middle of its annual fund-raising drive. You probably received a solicitation in the mail not long ago, and I hope you didn’t toss it in the garbage, because this is an organization which really needs and deserves our support.  And that’s because every penny we put into it comes back to our local community, in so many ways.

Last year, for example, the Webster Community Chest provided emergency food 132 times for families in crisis; distributed 221 holiday food baskets to families who would otherwise have had little to eat; provided 60 children with Christmas gifts; sent 32 children to summer camp; assisted families with rent, RG&E bills, medication and car repairs; and more.

It’s hard to imagine how important these services are if you don’t need them yourself. But needless to say, the Webster Community Chest is a critical lifeline for so many families in our community who have fallen on hard times.

There are several ways you can help.  Slip a check into that envelope you received and give a generous monetary donation. Designate the Community Chest (agency #1469) as a recipient for your United Way contribution, donate new clothes or toys for Christmas gifts, or volunteer you time.

If you tossed that envelope, here’s the address:

Webster Community Chest
1000 Ridge Road
Webster, NY 14580

For more information about how you can help, call (585) 671-2060. Neighbors helping neighbors. That’s what community is all about.

 

Halloweening at the schools

31 Oct

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.

Webster withstands Hurricane Sandy

30 Oct

Downed trees block Five Mile Line Road in Penfield. (Screen capture from D&C video by Jamie Germano.)

It could have been much worse. And I dare say, I think we were all expecting Sandy to hit us harder than she did.  But fortunately — as is often the case — the predictions of gloom and doom were not completely fulfilled.

Not to say things aren’t bad out there this morning, for thousands of Webster residents. Especially along the lake shore, there’s water in basements, trees are down, lines are down, and thousands are without power. And since the problem is so widespread, it may take a long time for everyone to get it back again.

But for most of us away from the lake, aside from some extra detritus in the yard and a leaky roof or two, we fared pretty well. After all, I got a day off of school, most of the leaves are down from the trees now, which will allow me to finish up my yard work weeks ahead of time, and the outlet bridge got swung into place a few bonus days ahead of schedule (boy, did THAT little bit of news light up my blog!). We’re also pretty fortunate that this all blew through last night and not Wednesday night.  And thank goodness it wasn’t snow.  Yikes.

Still, take care when you’re out on the roads today, because several of them are closed and more branches may yet come down.  Here’s an update from the D&C of the roads that are closed this morning:

As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, the following roads are closed: Stone Road, between Castleford and Willis in Greece; Latta Road, between Silver Fox Lane and Castle Creek in Greece; 5 Mile Line Road, between Whalen and Route 286 in Penfield; Lake Road, between Pellet and Baker in Webster; Holt Road, between Nestwood and Shoemaker in Webster; East Avenue, between Anita and Sweden Walker Road in Sweden; Roosevelt Highway, between Route 260 and Hamlin Parma Town Line Road in Hamlin; and, True Hickory Drive, off of Hemlock Woods Lane in Greece.

The Webster Recreation Center is also closed to the public today, as it has been designated an emergency shelter. The Webster Lunch 60 Program will also no run today.

How did you and yours survive the storm? Did you have any significant damage to your home?  Feel free to comment and share your stories, and send along some photos for my blog if you’d like.

 

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