Tag Archives: Webster Central Schools

Webster community mailbag

6 Feb

Blood drives coming up

Three local blood drives are coming up in the next two weeks. The first is Monday Feb. 8 from 1 to 7 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church, 1460 Ridge Rd., and the second on Tuesday Feb. 9 from 1 to 6 p.m. at St. Martin Lutheran Church. 813 Bay Rd.

If you can’t make it to either one of those, a third one will be held on Tuesday Feb. 16 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the American Legion, 818 Ridge Rd.

You’ll want to make an appointement so that the Red Cross can keep everyone safe, and so you’ll be in and out quicker. Click here to do that.

Aside from saving up to three lives with your donation, here’s another reason to take the time: The Red Cross is currently testing all blood donations for Covid19 antibodies, providing donors insight into whether they have been exposed to the coronavirus.

Important information from the school district

The Webster Central School District has expanded this year’s parent/teacher conference days, which will now take place over four days, March 11, 12, 18 and 19.

On Thursdays March 11 and 18, AM students will attend school during their regularly scheduled class time, while PM students will not meet for class and that time will be set aside for conferences. And on Fridays March 12 and 19, the PM students will have class, while the AM time will be set aside for conferences. This schedule also applies to remote learners.

Transportation will run as usual when class is in session.

If you have children entering kindergarten this September, you should know that kindergarten orientation and registration are open and have gone remote.

If you have a child who will be 5 years old on or before December 1, 2021, that child is eligible for kindergarten enrollment for the 2021-22 school year. In lieu of traditional in-person orientation, Student Registration has a video for parents/guardians of incoming kindergarteners to watch at their leisure, which explaines the registration and entrance process. You can see it at websterschools.org/registration.

The district is also now accepting completed kindergarten registration packets for the 2021-22 school year. Go to websterschools.org/registration to follow the link enabling parents/guardians to complete a 100% online registration process. If you’d like to print out and fill in the registration packet by hand, you’ll also print off the packet from that site. School registration is based on residency. Webster students attend the school assigned to their home address. Use the School Locater Tool on the Student Registration website for placement information.

The safest method to submit registration paperwork is online, but the district understands this is not possible for all parents/guardians. Packets are available for pick-up and drop-off at the Student Registration Office at Spry Middle School, 119 South Avenue, Webster, Door 2 (next to the main entrance). A secure drop box is located in the vestibule from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please do not drop off any original documentation; only copies will be accepted.

Call or email Carla Watkins with any questions: 585-216-0029 or carla_watkins@webstercsd.org.

February Break magic show

It’s time to start thinking ahead to February Break and how to keep the kids entertained. Here’s a good start.

The Webster Recreation Center will host Rich the Magic Man on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. for a Valentine’s Day Virtual Magic Show. Cost is $10 per family. Visit the Recreation Center website and search for program #101207A.

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Pandemic or not, the show must go on

28 Jan

When you’re in theater and a global pandemic keeps you from packing an auditorium with people who want to see your show, what’s a director to do? Create a show which people don’t actually have to be able to SEE.

That’s exactly what the students at Webster Thomas have done with their production of The Webster Thomas Radio Hour.

As the name implies, the show — which actually runs about two hours — is modeled after a 1940s-era radio show, complete with serials, commercials and a musical guest.

The main program is a collection five short plays, all written and performed by students. They begin with a crime drama (The Case of the Missing Mallets), followed by some science fiction (The Adventures of the Time-Traveling Athenians and The Return of Professor Z to the Planet of the Beyond), a murder mystery (Terror Train) and a ghost story (Francis Fisher — Ghost Hunter). Tucked in between the features are several very creative commercials and short subjects. And, in keeping with the old-time radio variety show format, all of the sound effects and musical cues are performed live.

Even though the the play couldn’t be presented in front of a packed auditorium, director Mark Stoetzel has tried to give his young actors as much of a normal school play experience as possible. It is being presented on the Thomas stage, for example. But all of the actors will wear masks and maintain social distancing as they act out their lines, something that isn’t possible with a traditional production.

Stoetzel wrote,

Our students, especially the seniors, really do miss the regular performances with all that entails (tech week, set building days on weekends, creative concession tables, cast parties, much longer rehearsals, etc.). These things were stressful, but in a good way. Naturally, we cannot do most of these things, but we can recreate some of the trappings.

We’ll put a display in the trophy case outside the auditorium like always, with cast head-shots and bios. We’ve put the show’s poster on the kids’ lockers (thanks to Denise Warren, Tanya Yost, and Brian Phares for that – everyone is pitching in!). And we’ve scheduled the recording sessions at night like a regular show, and have allowed each student to invite their immediate families (spread out throughout the whole auditorium). There won’t be a cast party, but they’ll still keep certain traditions alive, like paper-plate awards.

The ensemble held their final rehearsal on Wednesday afternoon. I was pleased to be invited, mostly because I was a little unsure about how this radio-play-on-a-stage would work.

Basically, the Thomas stage became the “recording studio.” Actors’ chairs, microphones and script stands were scattered around the stage, with a table in back filled with sound effects materials for two Foley artists. Signs announcing each feature were stacked in front of the stage for the benefit of the studio audience. And of course, one dedicated cue-card holder stood at the ready to let audience members know when to laugh, applaud, boo or gasp!

Jenna Dow and Brynn Smith perform as Alex Ramirez instructs the audience.

I enjoyed the production tremendously. Each of the features was very well written and very funny. The actors actually acted out their roles as they read their lines, and they were all quite good. There were some humorous references to Rochester and the commercials poked fun at several of the students’ beloved teachers. And the poor musical guest … well, you just have to see the show yourself to see what happens to her.

And you will be able to see the show. After presenting the play to very small, invitation-only audiences Thursday and Friday, it will be posted on YouTube and other media platforms. I’ll let you know the details as soon as I know them, but in the meantime, you can stay up to date by following the cast on Twitter at @wthsfallplay.

It’s a very family-friendly production, by the way, so everyone will enjoy it.

Director Mark Stoetzel, right, gives some final instructions to his cast before a performance.

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Celebrating our 2021 senior class

25 Jan

You may recall that last year, after the pandemic shuttered the schools in March, our seniors lost out on a lot of the fanfare and celebration normally marking the end of high school. Even though things still aren’t back to normal, everyone is hoping the experience for this year’s seniors will be much more positive.

Our Webster Central PTSA has plans to make sure that’s the case.

Once a month through June, the PTSA will be surprising each senior with a fun gift or special event, planned for on or around the 21st of each month (in honor of 2021 of course). Every student at Webster Thomas and Schroeder high schools, whether remote, hybrid, GOAL or other, will be included.

According to Webster Central PTSA programming co-chair Stacie Peters, the effort is part of a movement happening all around the country, where PTSAs are celebrating the senior class of 2021. She first heard about it from Schroeder parent Amy Peterson. From there, Peters, Schroeder High School PTSA/WTA liaison Linda Law, Thomas PTSA/WTA liaison Denise Warren, and Thomas PTSA Chair Bridget Ziskind organized a team of parents to brainstorm ideas.

Each senior received a baggie like this one (S. Peters)

The PTSA got things rolling last Thursday and Friday, handing out small bags of Hershey’s Kisses, complete with inspirational messages, to almost 360 Schroeder seniors and 335 Thomas seniors. They included in-school and 100% remote students, EMCC students, early senior graduates, early-graduating juniors, and a dozen GOAL students.

The whole undertaking was “more complex than we thought,” Peters wrote.

“Since most every senior has to take a social studies and English class, we used those teachers to pass Kisses out,” she wrote. “We had them bagged up and dropped off to teachers with senior names on them. … The awesome secretaries in both buildings broke lists down for us” to help with the distribution.

“(Schroeder principal) Mr. Benz, (Thomas principal) Mr. Widor, and all the teachers in the buildings have been supportive in helping us with this effort,” Peters added.

The whole idea is to do something special for the class of 2021, and inject some excitement into their final year of schooling. Judging by the smiling eyes you see in these pictures, the effort so far has been a success. (Thank you to Jen Calus for the student photos.)

Stay tuned in the next several weeks to find out what the next senior surprise will be.

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A wonderful sound is spreading through our schools

22 Jan
This Schlegel hallway was quiet before the school day began, but would soon be filled with the sounds of children in nearby classrooms.

It’s noise.

I’m not talking about construction noise or clanging HVAC equipment. I’m talking happy noises, like the sounds of children laughing, chatting, and learning.

Those are sounds I didn’t hear much back in September when we returned to school.

We entered the new school year with much trepidation. Everyone — students, teachers and staff — was delighted to be back after months of working remotely. But we encountered all sorts of new rules and precautions to keep everyone healthy. We tiptoed hesitantly through our days, carefully navigating new protocols and systems, afraid that any misstep would send us back to 100% remote learning.

And what that all sounded like was … silence.

But it struck me the other day as I was walking through the halls of Schlegel Elementary that the school was back to sounding like a school again. I think we’re all relieved and a little surprised that we made it this far without having to go fully remote again, and you can sense that feeling in how comfortable everyone has gotten with the new schedule, distancing and masking requirements.

You can see it especially in the students. They’re smiling (you can tell by their eyes), chatting animatedly with their friends, giggling at knock-knock jokes, and skipping through the halls, tossing a carefree “hello!” as they pass.

In short, kids are being kids again.

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Webster community mailbag

4 Nov

I know, I know, it’s going to feel like summer again for the next few days. BUT, rest assured, Monday’s cold and snow-showery weather will be back again very soon. So now is a good time to stock up on some good reads for the winter months.

The Friends of the Webster Library are ready to help.

Beginning this week, the Friends are hosting their Bundle ‘n Bag Sale. Just like it sounds, bundles and bags of gently used books will be for sale during regular library hours, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be a wide variety of fun and unique Bundles ‘n Bags of fiction and nonfiction books for children and adults, starting at just $1.

The Webster Public Library is located at 980 Ridge Rd. All proceeds from the sale will benefit library programs.

Looks like it’s going to be a nice evening for the Friends of Webster Trails’ autumn Hot Cocoa Hike, this Saturday at Whiting Road Nature Preserve.

This has been an annual tradition for as long as I can remember, and thankfully the pandemic has not cancelled it entirely. There will, however, be a few changes.

As always, the event will be at night and your path will be guided by candle light. But there will be no gathering in the woods at the end of the trail while you enjoy your hot cocoa. Instead, you’ll pick up your hot cocoa packet which you can then enjoy at home with your family.

This year’s event will be Saturday Nov. 7 at Whiting Road Nature Preserve (on Whiting Rd. north of Shoemaker) and will be a loop of approximately two miles. Participants are asked to walk the trail between 7 and 9 p.m. Also, please click here to register so they have enough supplies.

Remember to social distance, bring a mask, dress for the weather and bring a flashlight.

Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Village of Webster will hold a Bring a Can or a Case Food Collection and Hat, Mitten and Scarf Collection on Saturday Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to noon.

One of Immanuel’s biggest social ministries is the Backpack Program, which provides food to more than 50 children in five Webster elementary school buildings. This drive will support the Backpack Program and the church’s Little Free Pantry.

Immanuel Lutheran Church is located at 131 W. Main St., at the corner of Daniel Drive.

Lots of news from the Webster Museum!

The Webster Museum is presently closed to the public, but there has been a buzz of activity within. Volunteers Deb Oakley, Bill Schoff, Carol Yahoodik and Diana Strassman have been inventorying the attic and found a number of duplicate items not related to Webster’s history. In September, a “Vintage Sale” of some of those items was held in the museum parking lot and sales totaled $677.

The annual Barn Sale was held in September on Jan and Andy Naujokas’ historic property, which earned another $2,900.

Now would also be a great time to become a member of the Webster Museum or renew your membership. In honor of Susan B. Anthony’s visit to Webster, the museum will be giving away a limited edition Susan B. Anthony Barbie doll, unopened and in its original box.

To enter, simply join or renew your Webster Museum membership by December 14. On December 15, one entry will be selected at random with the hope of Susan arriving at the winner’s home before Christmas.

Stay tuned for details about the museum’s online Christmas program. If you make your own ornaments, dress up your pets or decorate your yard, they’ll be looking for your photos. More details about that, and about the Susan B. Anthony doll giveaway can be found on the museum’s website.

Do you know a great teacher who deserves to get some extra special recognition? How about nominating him or her for an Oak Tree Award?

Co-Sponsored by the Webster Teachers’ Association (WTA) and the Webster Central PTSA, the Oak Tree Award recognition program is an annual award that is designed to recognize teacher excellence in Webster Central Schools.

Any Webster resident or district employee, current or former student, parent, teacher, or administrative colleague may nominate a teacher for the Elementary or Secondary Teacher of the Year Oak Tree Award.

Award nominees must meet the following criteria:

  • Currently teaching in a full-time position in Webster Central School
  • Have a minimum of 5 years teaching experience in Webster Central Schools
  • Plan to continue to teach the next school year in, or retire from Webster Central Schools
  • Be a member of both the Webster Central PTSA and the Webster Teachers’ Association

Nominations must be submitted by February 1. Click here for the nomination form.

  • Joan Bardanis
    Joan Bardanis
  • Tamara Schell
    Tamara Schell

By the way, congratulations to the 2020 Oak Tree winners, Joan Bardanis in secondary and Tamara Schell in elementary.

Bardanis is a special education teacher at Thomas High School and has been a teacher in Webster for 17 of her 31 year career in education.

Schell is a 2nd grade teacher at Plank South Elememetary, and has spent all of her 23 years in education in the Webster Schools.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

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Things are looking good this COVID school year

3 Oct

So we’ve made it to October.

We’re several weeks into the new school year and things — at least from my perspective — are going pretty well.

I’m sure I’m not the only one pleasantly surprised that we’ve gotten this far before having to shut down again due to the virus. I credit that success to the behaviors I have seen in the two elementary schools I work at.

When classes move through the halls, often times the children have their hands out in front of them to maintain social distancing. They are paying attention to the little spots on the floor which tell them where to stand when they’re waiting in line for the restroom. They don’t seem to mind sitting widely spaced from their friends while they’re in their room.

But I’m particularly impressed by the way young students have come to accept the need to wear masks.

The teachers have done a wonderful job making the need for masks seem normal, incorporating it into their class songs and bulletin boards. I haven’t heard about any pushback from the students about the masks (even though the pre-K and kindergarten kiddoes often have to be reminded to pull it up over their noses). Clearly, putting on a mask for school has become as normal for them as bringing their backpack. (Thank you also to parents for supporting that!)

There have been some rough spots, of course. Elementary school arrival and dismissal procedures were rather inefficient for the first week or so as schools tried to streamline their procedures for the large number of children being dropped off and picked up by parents. But things seem to be running pretty smoothly now, allowing teachers their maximum opportunity to be with their morning and afternoon classes.

I understand that accommodating the large number of remote students at the middle and high school levels has also been a challenge which we’re still trying to work through.

Most definitely this year has dealt some very real difficulties to our Webster CSD families, especially those with very young children. But, given the circumstances, I think everyone is doing the best they can.

We just have to keep doing that for as long as we need to. We will weather this storm together.

Schlegel Elementary School staff members rocking their masks for a group photo on opening day.

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PN kindergarten teacher makes the news

5 Aug

Capture

As the the very uncertain beginning to the school year draws near, our local TV stations are naturally trying to gauge the mood of students, parents, and teachers as well.

When WHEC Channel 10 went looking for a teacher to interview, they came up with the a perfect spokesperson for all teachers everywhere who are missing their students terribly: Plank North kindergarten teacher Peggy Garritano.

Click here to see the piece.

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Webster community mailbag

20 Jul

 

garlic festival

You’ve probably already seen this news, but in case you haven’t: the 2020 Rochester Garlic Festival, scheduled for Sept. 12-13, has been canceled.

The news, which comes on the heels of the cancellation of pretty much everything else this summer, certainly comes as no surprise. But after the festival’s strong return in 2019 after taking a year off, I was looking forward to seeing what it had in store for this year.

But we’ll have to wait until next summer.

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gazeboDid you miss out on attending the terrific, family-friendly comedy act that came to the gazebo a few Fridays ago? (Click here to read the blog I wrote about that show.)  Well, your next chance to enjoy some laughs is coming up on July 31.

Rudolph Valentino will return to the gazebo in Veterans Memorial Park on North Ave. on Friday night July 31. He’ll be joined by his co-host and funny friend Kevin Markman.

There’s no admission, and water and snacks can be purchased, if this show will be anything like the last. And you’ll laugh a lot.

Bring your quad chairs and a cooler if you like, and bring a mask in case you have to sit too close to anyone or want to hit up the vendors. But it’s a spacious area, so there shouldn’t be any problem social distancing. The show is slated to start at 7 p.m. But it started late last time so don’t worry if you’re running late.

webster_banner

Finally, some news from the schools.

Congratulations to my former Webster Thomas teaching colleague Carol Saladzius, who was recently hired as assistant principal at Hilton High School. Carol and I worked together for several years at Thomas — me in the library and she a Spanish teacher — and I am happy for her new adventure.

Congratulations also to the Webster Thomas Best Buddies program, which last week was named the most outstanding high school chapter in New York State for 2020.

Best Buddies is a nationwide program which matches special education students with peer buddies who have similar interests.  The peer buddy makes a commitment to reach out to their buddy once a week outside school via email or telephone, and to get together and do something outside school with their buddy once a month.

The program came to Western New York four years ago and Webster Thomas was one of the first high schools to sign up. To read more about the program here in New York State, click here.

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Have you signed your school-age child up for school yet?

Our students will be going back to school one way or another this September, and the district really needs to know how many students to expect. So if your child isn’t already registered for the 2020-21 school year, please do so ASAP.

The New York State Department of Education requires all school-age students age 5-6 (in the given school year) and older be registered in some sort of education program in the district in which they live. This includes students who will be attending public school, those who will be going to private and parochial schools, those who have moved into a new school district, and those who will be home-schooled. (These can be changed at any time, but prior registration is still required.)

If you have a child who will be 5 years old on or before December 1, that child is eligible for kindergarten enrollment. Families new to Webster CSD with children grades 1-12 may also enroll their children at this time. For more information and to download registration packets, click here.

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Plank North celebrates their fifth graders

7 Jun

Much like our high school seniors, Webster’s fifth graders are losing out on a lot of celebration as they near the end of this school year.

Normally these last few weeks of fifth grade would be filled with awards ceremonies, field days and parties. But of course nothing like that can happen this year thanks to the pandemic. So elementary schools across the district are coming up with creative ways to celebrate our fifth graders’ achievements. On Friday night, Plank North Elementary did that by hosting a fifth grade parade through the bus loop.

Staff members spread out along the entire length of the bus loop with banners, flags and decorated cars, and welcomed students and their families with big waves and cheers as they drove through the bus loop. (Most of the families decorated their cars for the celebration as well.) Upon reaching the front of the building, “graduating” fifth grader received awards and gifts from the school, and wished good luck as they head off to Spry Middle School.

Clearly the teachers enjoyed the evening as much of the kids. Even under all the masks they were wearing, you could tell that the staff members’ grins were a mile wide.

Here are some photos from the evening:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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Check out this Community Arts Day slideshow

3 Jun

penguins

These penguins, created by Melissa Pennington’s students at Klem North, are a great example of the art you’ll see in the slideshow.

I love Community Arts Day.

This all-day event, which is normally held every April at Webster Schroeder High School, is a terrific opportunity to reconnect with old friends and neighbors, and check out what’s new with many of our area non-profit agencies and organizations.

But mostly, Community Arts Day is our school district’s annual show-off day. Students from every one of our elementary, middle and high schools have artwork on display, plus there are music, dance and martial arts performances.

This year’s Community Arts Day had to be canceled, of course. But I’m happy to report that you can STILL check out some of our kids’ incredible artwork, albeit virtually.

Our district’s art teachers have each taken a selection of their students’ work and compiled photos of them in this Community Arts Day 2020 slideshow. Click through, sit back and enjoy hundreds of  stunning works of art, including sketches, paintings, sculptures, pottery and more. Every single one of our elementary and secondary schools is represented.

It’s going to blow you away. And best of all, you don’t even have to get out of your pajamas to appreciate them this year!

Here’s the link again.

drawing one

Sample pieces from students in Kate Zalewski’s Drawing One class at Webster Thomas.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

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