Want a free rain barrel?

5 Jun

This is cool.

I received word from the Webster school district a few days ago about a neat project which students at Klem Road South Elementary School have undertaken.  As part of a lesson about local water resources, the kids are making rain barrels.

Here’s the letter that the project organizers sent out explaining more about it:

Students show off two of the completed rain barrels

The fourth grade science classes of Mrs. Wendy Smith, Mrs. Eva Burns and Mrs. Elizabeth Coene at Klem South Elementary will soon be making 20 rain barrels! Paul Sawyko from the Storm Water Coalition of Monroe County will be helping students with the creation of the rain barrels.

A rain barrel is something that you put beneath the gutter and the clean rainwater is held in the barrel. Rainwater is a source of unchlorinated water for your plants. Rain barrels conserve water and can provide approximately 1,300 gallons of water during the summer months.

This project is part of an educational grant from Target to enrich our study of water and the environment. We have been working with water in science since the beginning of the year. The fourth graders also have been to the Waste Water Treatment Plant and the Monroe County Water Authority to learn about our local water resources.

Once the students are done with the barrels, they’re all going to need good homes.  So if you would like a rain barrel of your own, free of charge, email Wendy Smith at wendy_smith@ websterschools.org.  She’ll contact you to make arrangements for the pick up of your rain barrel before June 15.

But you better do it soon, because I’ll bet they go pretty fast.

More Webster schools join school supply recycling effort

4 Jun

It’s the last full week of school for the high schools, and at Thomas that means big blue trash bins are popping up in the hallways, awaiting the tons of detritus have students have collected in their lockers throughout the year. But this year I’ve made it my goal to make sure there’s a cardboard box next to each bin, with a huge recycle symbol taped to each side.

Hopefully students will use the box and not the trash bin for good supplies when they clean their lockers.

Anyone who’s been a regular reader of my blog for the last few years knows what that’s all about.  For the last four years Webster Thomas (and Spry and Willink middle schools) have participated in a school supply recycling effort in conjunction with a terrific organization called Greenseed Educational Supplies.  For the past seven years, the volunteers at Greenseed, led by Eastridge High School science teacher Mitch Nellis, have worked with schools all over the county to collect thousands of dollars of  perfectly good school supplies at the end of every school year, saving them from the trash bins, and re-distributing them to city schools, community organizations, and even schools in Africa.

I won’t get into too many details about this amazing effort and the huge undertaking it is for Mitch every year.  You can log onto Greenseed’s website if you’d like more information about how to participate, and check out some photos I have at the end of this blog.

Some of last year’s haul, most of which was plucked from the garbage cans.

But I DID want to let you know that thanks to the strong show of support from the Spry, Willink and Thomas school communities, Webster is one of the top contributors to the recycling drive every year.  But this year we’re going to do even better. This year, the PTSAs at Plank Road North and Klem South elementary schools have decided to join the effort as well. The PTSA leaders at both these schools responded enthusiastically to my email requesting elementary school participation.

And their help couldn’t have come at a better time.   I got an email from Mitch a few days ago in which he said requests for school supplies are at an all-time high due to budget cutbacks, and at the same time some of the donating schools have dropped out this year.  He specifically asked if we knew of any elementary schools who wanted to get involved. He was thrilled to hear that Plank North and Klem South are now on board.

So if you have a student at one of these schools, watch for a flyer to come home requesting any donations you might have lying around the house.  Even partly-used spiral binders or scribbled-on binders will be appreciated come September by students who might not otherwise get any school supplies.

If your school or business would like to get involved, please email me at missyblog@gmail.com.

City school teachers are invited to select the supplies they need.

Some of the supplies go to Africa. These kids are students at the Tumaini English Language Primary School in Karatu, Tanzania.

The school is in a small mountain community called Ocotal. There are about 25 students in a one room open air classroom.

 

Letter carriers help to Stamp Out Hunger

3 Jun

You neighborhood letter carriers are teaming up with the Webster Food Cupboard this week for their annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

You probably got one of the little postcards in your mailbox late last week, and I hope you stuck it on your fridge as a reminder, because this annual collection is a boon for our local food cupboard, and a super easy way for you to help your local Webster community.

The drive is particularly important at this time of year. Kids are beginning to get out of school for the summer, and — unlike during the holiday season — people aren’t as likely to be in the “donation” frame of mind.

Simply place some non-perishable food in or next to your mailbox any day (or every day) this week and your letter carrier will pick it up. Or drop off your items at any post office. Last year more than 560,000 pounds of food was collected, and distributed directly to needy families.

The Stamp Out Hunger drive runs through Saturday June 9.

Who were those kids marching up my driveway?

3 Jun

My daughter looked out the living room window yesterday afternoon and said, “Mom, there are some strange kids coming up the driveway.”

Click on the flyer to make it larger.

Fortunately, I was able to calm any doubts in her mind about their intentions.  A few days ago I received an email from AJ Cobb, my source inside the Webster Marching Band, who told me the band’s semi-annual bottle and can drive is coming up next weekend.  So I hypothesized that these kids were going house-to-house delivering notices about that.

Sure enough, this morning I found a neatly rolled and rubber-banded flyer tucked in my screen door. If you didn’t happen to get one, you can check out the image on the left for details about next weekend’s collection drive (click on it to make it larger).  There was also an envelope wrapped up in there, which residents are encouraged to use to make a cash donation instead (or in addition to) their bottle and can donations. Unfortunately, the envelope in my packet did not survive the overnight rainstorms, and is completely sealed shut.  But I probably can find another one to use in its place.

So start putting aside those bottles and cans for next weekend. And don’t worry too much if strange kids come up YOUR driveway today.

 

 

Hey NYSDOT: Huh?

2 Jun

So the DOT is tweeting its Bay Bridge construction schedule. But this is the tweet from yesterday, and I’m having trouble making sense of it:

FRI 06/01: No Work Today. SAT 06/02: WBound down to 1 Lane 6:00AM-2:00PM; then 2 Lanes 2 PM- 4 PM; EBound only to 2 lanes 7:00AM-4:00PM

I’m not sure if that means two lanes will be closed or two lanes will be open from 7 am to 4 pm.  All I DO know is that Ridge Road traffic is unbearable today, and when I left the YMCA this morning, Bay Road was backed up father than I could see.  So something is happening up there at the bridge.

So try to avoid Ridge Road AND the Bay Bridge today.  And DOT, give some more thought to how to use your 140 characters (for example, how about “6am-2pm,” “2-4pm” and “7am-4pm”) and put some verbs in there.

 

St. Rita Fiesta returns this weekend

31 May

There are lots of kids’ games and friendly helpers.

St. Rita’s 58th Annual Fiesta returns to West Webster this weekend, beginning Friday evening.  Festivities start at 5 pm, including food, kids’ activities, carnival games,  and country & Western entertainment by Goodness from 6-10 pm. Saturday there’ll be a 4 pm Mass in the church, after which the oldies band Ruby Shooz takes the stage from 5-8 pm. Later in the evening, the classic rock band Main Street East plays from 8-11 pm.

Bake sale volunteers present a sampling of some of the items for sale.

This is always a terrific family event, which also features a book sale, plant sale and baked food sale that’s out of this world.  All of the food and entertainment happens under a huge tent, with plenty of room for eating and dancing.

I understand they’ve added a zip line and a mechanical bull this year for the more adventurous among us.  I’ve always wanted to try a mechanical bull, so you might just find me whoopin’ it up there on Saturday afternoon.

Click here for more details about the Fiesta

Final concert marks the end of an era

30 May

I had another one of those moments last night. One of those “This-is-the-last-time-I’m-going-to-do-this” moments. I find they’re happening pretty frequently now that the youngest of my three kids is close to graduating from Webster Schroeder.

Last night I attended what probably was my last high school concert ever (that is, of course, unless I have some musically talented grandchildren some day). My daughter is a member of the Webster Schroeder Chorale which, along with the school’s wind ensemble and orchestra, performed their final concert of the year last night.  For many of the seniors — like my daughter — that also meant it was the last time they would take to the Schroeder stage.

The Last Concert. My daughter is third from the left, reddish hair and pigtails.

Rosenberry kids have been involved in the Webster schools music scene for more than 13 years, starting at Plank Road North, where my daughter joined her first chorus and my son started to learn the violin. Of course there were concerts and of course we were the proud parents.

As the kids progressed through Spry Middle School and finally to Schroeder, their musical involvement (and the number of concerts) increased. There were select vocal ensembles, a cappella groups, fiddle club, and of course the spring musicals.  We found ourselves in the Schroeder auditorium so often it felt like we had season tickets.

Last night, though, it all finally came to an end. Part of me is happy I’m not going to have to sit through any more concerts (frankly, I love choral pieces but classical strings and jazz aren’t my thing).  But I know that when school starts up again this fall, and I hear the Thomas chorus rehearsing down the hall, I’m going to miss the good ol’ days when my kids were up on those risers.

Readers’ photos from Webster’s Memorial Day parade

29 May

Many thanks to Patty Homeier and Joyce Annis for answering my call for photos of Webster’s Memorial Day parade and ceremony. Whether they knew it or not, the two ladies acted as a team; Joyce sent photos from the parade, and Patty, who marched in the parade with the Girl Scouts, sent some of the ensuing ceremony. So the whole event was covered.

I am pleased to post their photos here, beginning with my favorite. (Actually, this one could be an award winner in a photography contest.) 

The young ladies in the photo are Alexa Swift and Theresa Homeier, of Girl Scout Troop 60851.  Patty explained how she got this shot:

“I am one of the Girl Scout leaders and happened to peek up during a prayer to see if the girls were behaving or goofing.  That’s what I saw when I looked up.  AND my camera happened to be on.  I got lucky.”

She also took this photo of Alexa, Theresa and their friend Millie Kearns, who was visiting from Gates:

Here are a few more of Patty’s photos from the ceremony:

Joyce provided these photos from the parade itself:

Thanks again, Patty and Joyce!

Memorial Day a la Greene, NY

28 May

Yesterday, like towns large and small all across America, Webster celebrated Memorial Day with a parade and a beautiful ceremony at Webster Rural Cemetery. The weather was gorgeous, there were tons of people lining the streets with their folding chairs and blankets, there were lots and lots of flags and patriotic shirts, and the parade sported sharp marching units, the always impressive Webster Marching Band, fire trucks, Boy Scouts and Brownies, and lots more.  The ceremony following the parade was moving and Taps made people cry.

At least I ASSUME that all happened yesterday, because for the first time in a long time I was not able to attend the day’s festivities. I was out of town with my daughter, visiting my father in Greene, NY, a little town north of Binghamton.   But I dare say, if I couldn’t be in Webster for the parade, being in Greene was a pretty good second.

If you’ve never been in Greene, picture Webster, but smaller. It’s a quiet little village of about 2,000 people, tucked in a valley along the Chenango River. Its downtown about 2 blocks long, and cars park in the middle of the street.  They’ve got tree-lined sidewalks, an old five-and-dime shop, a couple of diner-type restaurants, and historical markers on pretty much every corner.

And they have a Memorial Day parade.

I was very excited to find out that I could see a parade, since I was missing the one at home.  So yesterday morning at 10 am, when Webster’s parade was just ending, my father, daughter and I were standing on Main Street in Greene, watching for their town’s parade to begin. We had gotten there a few minutes early to find a spot, but we needn’t have worried. Even though the parade would stretch for only about half a mile, there were plenty of empty places to stand. And we didn’t worry about setting up chairs, either, since we’d heard from several people that the parade wasn’t very substantial. I believe the way my brother-in-law put it was “Don’t blink.”

But they had nothing to be embarrassed about. It was a nice little parade that oozed small-town charm. Sure, there were only seven or eight  units, and it lasted all of 12 minutes (including five minutes when the whole parade paused for a wreath-placing ceremony). But the fact it wasn’t an hour-long spectacular didn’t seem to matter to the veterans who marched with fierce pride, the high school band members who played their hearts out, and the Scouts who waved and grinned broadly, clearly enjoying their brief time in the spotlight.

I took a lot of photos (of course), so if you’re at all interested in seeing what another small-town parade looks like, click HERE or on any of the images to go to a gallery.

Plank North community plants tree to remember a young Pioneer

27 May

The spirit of a young Webster boy who succumbed to cancer last autumn will live on for years at Plank Road North Elementary School.

Simon with his good friend Lily in February 2011.

Almost a hundred people gathered in Plank North’s front courtyard Friday afternoon to take part in the dedication of a Bartlett pear tree in memory of Simon Harris, who passed away last October at 11 years of age, after a courageous battle with neuroblastoma. The crowd was filled with family members, neighbors, school friends, karate family friends, and staff members from both Plank North and Spry Middle School.

The sign which now hangs on the tree sums up Simon’s spirit.

Several speakers, led by Simon’s dad Andrew Harris, spoke of Simon’s courage and the difference he made in the lives of everyone around him. Patti Pawluk, whom Simon had as a teacher in second and third grade, remembered Simon’s irrepressible spirit. “Simon always had a huge smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye,” she said. “When I think of Simon, I think of sunshine.” The tree is located immediately outside Pawluk’s classroom window, where she and her students will be able to see its white flowers bloom every spring.

Simon’s dad Andrew Harris speaks at the dedication ceremony.

In a particularly moving part of the ceremony, Andrew invited Simon’s little brother Manny up to be the first to shovel soil onto the base of the new tree. Manny, Andrew explained, never complained throughout the entire ordeal of Simon’s illness, no matter what happened or what needed to be done. After that, family members and friends were invited to also pick up a shovel and help “plant” the tree.

Finally, after a rousing cheer of “Simon! Simon! Simon!” led by Andrew and enthusiastically joined by the entire crowd, dozens of multicolored balloons were released and raced toward the sky.

Abby and Ryan Smith show the special balloons which were released.

As he watched the balloons disappear into the distance, Andrew said, “I’m sure Simon’s smiling from heaven.”

Click on any of the photos to see a gallery of several more.

And they’re off!

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