Tag Archives: Webster schools

WCSD community comes together to support State Road Elementary

14 Apr

Even in the most difficult of situations, a ray of light often shines through.

I’ve seen that occur repeatedly in Webster. When bad things happen and threaten to overwhelm our friends and neighbors with negativity, we come together as a community to support each other and bring a bit of sunshine to a dismal situation.

An excellent example happened recently when a disturbing incident took place at State Road Elementary School. The details of that event don’t need to be rehashed here, but I would like to bring attention to what happened afterwards.

Realizing that their colleagues were going through a tough time, teachers and staff members at Klem Road South and Plank Road North elementary schools decided to show State Road some love.

On Tuesday April 4, Klem South provided cookies and milk for their State Road colleagues — the ultimate “I love you” snack.

The previous day, Plank North went all out, setting up an entire breakfast buffet in the staff’s lunchroom, including bagels, muffins, yogurt and crock pots filled with oatmeal. Inspirational and humorous quotes sprinkled throughout the room reaffirmed the message of love and support.

The thank-you messages which came flowing into Plank North later that day showed how much State Road appreciated the effort. Here are a few of them:

Just wanted to say “thank you” to our PN friends for treating us with breakfast on Monday! It’s been a tough month, but it has also been awesome to see our One Webster comes together to support each other! — Keary Pender

I am so honored to be part of both of these amazing schools. Thank you Plank North family for supporting my other State Road family! I have already heard from many people over there about how much they appreciated the thought and kindness!! — Lindsay MacKenzie

Your school is so thoughtful! The breakfast & inspirational quotes are wonderful & beautiful. Thank you so much for your generous hearts! — Stephanie Jones

No words can express the gratitude I, and many others, have towards all of you. The spread was amazingly delicious but the posters and sayings were all so appropriate and really hit the mark on how we are feeling. Everything really touched our hearts. We are a community, you celebrate together and grieve together. I am grateful to be part of Webster. — AnnMarie Johansson

State Road principal Christine Noeth-Abele said the support did not stop there.

Our parent community and the PTSA (have) been providing us with love and food (cookie trays, fruit, breakfast, kind words, inspirational posters and flowers). We have had an incredible amount of support from everyone, including district office and our superintendent.

The kindness, compassion and support of the Webster community will never cease to amaze me. We can’t make unfortunate and uncomfortable situations go away but we can help each other through.

I am fortunate to work in such a caring and supportive environment. State Road is truly a family.

THIS is the wonderful school district in which I work, and the wonderful people with whom I spend my days. These are the people who teach and care for your children all day long.

We could not ask for a more caring school community.

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Oak Tree Award winners announced

13 Apr

The 2017 Oak Tree Awards for teaching excellence have been announced, and the winners are …..

Stacy Russotti, a fifth grade teacher at Plank South Elementary School, and Dave Stacy RussottiKowalski, a seventh grade science teacher at Willink Middle School.

Stacy was nominated by parent Patty Kaptein and received letters of recommendation from Plank South Principal Scott Wilcox and fellow fifth grade teacher Ronnette West, herself a previous Oak Tree recipient.

In the nomination letter, Kaptein wrote,

One special communication that really struck me at the beginning of the school year was in September (Russotti) personally called every student’s family member to check in on how the students where adjusting to her fifth grade classroom and to address any issues happening in her classroom early on. My daughter’s fifth grade class (was introduced) to the Honor Flight Rochester program…(with) students from the fifth grade attending the Honor Flight Rochester welcome home ceremony at the Rochester International Airport.

Dave Kowalski

Dave Kowalski was nominated by Bill Ottman, WCSD director of science and technology, and Brian Zimmer, WCSD director of educational technology and information. He also received letters of recommendation from Principal Gindling and Willink seventh grade English teacher Todd Putnam, who is also a previous Oak Tree recipient.

In nominating him, Ottman said that Kowalski is a

true collaborator… with a deep understanding of the concepts and skills you teach, a love of children, and a willingness and desire to continually challenge yourself to stay current and relevant to your students.

 

Congratulations to both recipients.

SparX wins top honors

Sparx Innovation in Control award

And while we’re at it, congratulations also go out to our Webster schools SparX robotics team, which recently won the Innovation in Control Award at the F.I.R.S.T. Buckeye Regional held in Cleveland, OH, the first weekend in April.

The award is presented to the team in which their spokesperson can identify and describe the controls innovation and can trace its conception, design, manufacturing/ assembly, or deployment. The control system must be innovative and unique and integrated with the machine, human players, strategy, etc., in concept and execution. The innovation must be practical, addressing the game’s challenge (not just a cute idea), and reliable under the stress of competition.

SparX received a trophy and plaque for the honor.

I got a chance to see this group of young people demonstrating their robotic handiwork at Community Arts Day. Their accomplishments are always impressive.

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Photos from Community Arts Day 2017

9 Apr

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What can I say about Community Arts Day that I haven’t already said?

It was another successful event put on by a wonderful group of volunteers who worked hard all day to welcome people with a smile, serve them great food, and basically provide a whole day of great family fun.

I tried to get a lot of photos, of course. But I’m sure I missed a lot, because so much was happening every minute of the day. And there was SO MUCH artwork to see!

Still, click here to see my gallery.

And thank you again, CAD volunteers, for another terrific event.

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Busy weekend ahead

5 Apr

I’ll be bopping around Webster all day Saturday, camera in hand, taking photos of two

images (1)

Student artwork from all of Webster’s schools will be on display at Community Arts Day. 

great community events you and the family will not want to  miss.

 

For starters, the Webster Central School District’s annual celebration of our students’ artistic talents, Community Arts Day, returns this Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm at Webster Schroeder High School, 875 Ridge Road.

This is a super family-friendly event, which features artwork from students representing all of our Webster schools, elementary through high school. There are free music performances, dance, community displays, food and baked goods for sale, and plenty of things for kids to do. And just about everything is free of charge.

It’s a great entertaining, low-cost way for the family to spend a morning or afternoon. You can check out the whole schedule here.

And while you’re out and about…

The Greater Rochester Peep Show is also Saturday (and Sunday) at the Webster Recreation Center.

This fun fund-raiser sponsored by the Webster Community Chest invites community groups and agencies to create sculptures or dioramas completely out of — or utilizing — marshmallow Peeps candies. This is the second year the Community Chest has hosted the show, and they expect it be even bigger and more spectacular than the last.

balloon

One of the fanciful creations from the first Greater Rochester Peep Show in 2015.

You can vote for you favorite Peeps creation with tokens which you can buy at show, or just wander around the display rooms and admire the artwork. In either case it should be lots of fun and I am looking forward to seeing this year’s displays. There’s also free face painting for the kids.

 

The show will run from from 11 am to 6 pm Saturday and noon to 4 pm Sunday. You can read more about it here.

The Webster Recreation Center is located at 1350 Chiyoda Drive, just north of the village of Webster.

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

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News from the schools

18 Mar

I received a few important announcements from the schools in the last few days.

The first is of interest to anyone who’s planning to enter this year’s Reflections Contest as part of Community Arts Day. Due to the wicked weather we had this week, the deadline for entries has been extended one week. All art work is now due by Wednesday March 22.

Click here to review the rules and instructions for entering, and good luck!

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Next is news about a very important and thought-provoking presentation coming up next Tuesday.

Community members, staff, parents, and high school students are invited to a Webster screening of the documentary, “I’m Not Racist… Am I?,” on Tuesday, March 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Willink Middle School cafetorium, 900 Publishers Parkway. Light refreshments will be served from 5:50 to 6 p.m.

Here is how the “I’m Not Racist… Am I?” website describes the movie:

“I’m Not Racist… Am I? is a feature documentary about how this next generation is going to confront racism. We asked 12 teenagers from New York City to come together for one school year to talk about race and privilege in a series of workshops and in conversations with friends and family members. We hope that by documenting their experience, the film will inspire others to recognize and interrupt racism in their own lives.
None of these teens think that the racial rules of their parents’ generation apply to them today. They know the US is not post-racial – and they don’t want it to be. They know there is no such thing as being colorblind – and they don’t want to be. But they’re also very clear that the most sought-after schools in New York have mostly white and Asian students and the neighborhoods they want to get out of are black and Hispanic. They know. They just don’t know why.

Join them as they plunge into a year-long journey to get at the heart of racism. What unfolds over the course of the year will challenge their relationships with their friends, within their own families and, most of all, within themselves. We’ll watch as they have the conversations most of us are too afraid to have and we’ll struggle right along with them as they try to make sense of it all in their daily lives. As they push through naiveté, guilt and some tears, we’ll see these remarkable young people develop deeper bonds, a stronger resolve and a bigger, more significant definition of racism than any of us ever imagined.”

There will be opportunity for small group discussion during and immediately following the movie. The documentary is NOT recommended or students in middle school or younger.

Please RSVP by clicking here.  Community members may also access this link by visiting the district website news story on the screening at websterschools.org.

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High school musicals just around the corner

16 Mar

It’s high school musical time in Webster, and our schools have two blockbusters on tap.

Program Ad Mary PoppinsWebster Schroeder will present the supercalifragilistic musical Mary Poppins at 7:30 p.m. March 30 and 31, and at 2 pm. and 7:30 p.m. on April 1. The drama club actually hired a company from Las Vegas to help the actors playing Mary Poppins and Bert fly through the air.

If you’re not familiar with the plot (really?), here’s a synopsis:

The jack-of-all trades, Bert, introduces us to England in 1910 and the troubled Banks family. Young Jane and Michael have sent many a nanny packing before Mary Poppins arrives on their doorstep. Using a combination of magic and common sense, she must teach the family members how to value each other again. Mary Poppins takes the children on many magical and memorable adventures, but Jane and Michael aren’t the only ones upon whom she has a profound effect. Even grown-ups can learn a lesson or two from the nanny who advises that “Anything can happen if you let it.”

Tickets are $12, available at websterschroedermusicals.com and at Wegmans.

shirt expandedThe following weekend, Webster Thomas will present Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida at 7:30 p.m. April 6 and 7 and 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 8.

Here’s the synopsis:

At the Nile’s edge, the enslaved Nubian princess, Aida becomes romantically entangled with the Egyptian captain, Radames, who is betrothed to the Pharaoh’s daughter, Amneris. As their forbidden love grows deeper, Aida is forced to find balance between her heart’s yearning for Radames, and her responsibility to lead her people.

Based on the opera by Giuseppe Verdi, Elton John and Time Rice’s Aida is a timeless love story, featuring an award-winning pop/rock score from the seasoned pop duo who brought musical life to Disney’s The Lion King. Rousing rock numbers and heart-wrenching ballads bring the ill-fated lovers into a new era.

Tickets are $12, available at Hegedorn’s Market, 964 Ridge Road and online at websterthomasplayers.com.

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A little windstorm couldn’t stop the Wizard of Oz

14 Mar
ambler

Wizard of Oz Artistic Director Bill Ambler had to do some fancy footwork to make sure the show went on last weekend. (Provided photo)

We’ve been reading a lot of stories on Facebook and whatnot about how neighbors have been helping neighbors during this worst-ever stretch of March weather we’ve been having. Generators are being loaned out, hot meals made and warm beds turned down for those without power for days.

But I heard a story Monday which you won’t see on Facebook, but I think needs to be told.

Thanks to last Wednesday’s windstorm, it looked like Spry Middle School’s sold-out performances of The Wizard of Oz were going to have to be postponed. Wednesday night’s dress rehearsal had to be moved to Thursday night when all after-school activities were cancelled. Then, of course, there was no school Thursday so it couldn’t be held then, either. Nor could the whole event be moved to the following weekend, since so many of the cast members had conflicts.

When school was closed again on Friday, Artistic Director Bill Ambler had a real problem. So he turned to WCSD Superintendent Carmen Gumina for help.

Carm let Bill and his cast members into Spry early in the day on Friday, and the kids ran through their dress rehearsal. The curtain went up as scheduled Friday night, and for two shows on Saturday, playing to packed houses.

And I’m told it was amazing.

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Pledge not to use the “R-word”

2 Mar

rword

I missed an important day yesterday. March 1 was officially the day to pledge to Spread the Word, to End the Word.

The “word” is the “R-word,” offensive enough that we don’t even like to write it, let alone say it out loud.  And a few days ago I received an email inviting me to log onto the R-Word.org website  and sign a pledge to stop using the word.

As the website explains,

The R-word is the word ‘retard(ed)’. Why does it hurt? The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It’s offensive. It’s derogatory.

Our campaign asks people to pledge to stop saying the R-word as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people. Language affects attitudes and attitudes affect actions. Pledge today to use respectful, people-first language.

I don’t use the word, and I can also say that I haven’t recently heard anyone else use that word. But I do remember hearing it at least once within the last year, and I recall saying something about it. But I also remember I didn’t do so with as much conviction as I should, because I don’t like personal confrontation.

But I’ve found myself this year working in a school with a large population of children with challenges, and I love them to pieces.  So if I ever hear someone use the R-word again, I will definitely speak up and defend their dignity.

Today more than ever, we need to  stand up for our differently-abled adults and children, and help work toward inclusion instead of division.

You can still sign the pledge here, and visit the website for more information. Plus, check out this great student-made video if you want to get inspired and perhaps even shed a tear.

Thank you to the Edison Best Buddies, Thomas LINK Crew and the YAC and Unified members and players for helping to spread the word.

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The Yellow Brick Road leads to Spry Middle School this spring

14 Feb

wizard-of-oz

The spring musical season continues in just a few weeks when Spry Middle School presents The Wizard of Oz on March 10 and 11.

Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion will all be there, searching for the Wizard and the glowing Emerald City. Adapted from the famous movie starring Judy Garland, the stage version incorporates all of your favorite songs, like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “If I Only Had a Brain,” and “King of the Forest.” Plus, you’ll also enjoy a rarely-seen dance number, “The Jitterbug,” which was cut from the original movie.

The production is based on the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, with a book adapted by L. Frank Baum. The story is a familiar one: When a tornado rips through Kansas, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are whisked away in their house to the magical land of Oz. They follow the Yellow Brick Road toward the Emerald City to meet the Wizard, and en route they meet a Scarecrow who needs a brain, a Tin Man missing a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who wants courage. The Wizard asks the group to bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West to earn his help.

The Wizard of Oz will be presented in three shows, Friday March 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday March 11 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., in the Spry Middle School auditorium, 119 South Ave. Tickets are $7, and these shows often sell out, so it’s a good idea to get your tickets early. They’ll be available beginning Feb. 24 at  http://www.ShowTix4U.com. If any tickets remain, they will be sold at the door.

Bringing The Wizard of Oz to the Spry stage would not be possible without the hard work of Artistic Director Bill Ambler, Production Manager Tricia Mungo, Choreographer Jackie Collins, and Music Director Ron Strong.

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