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Here’s an inspiring story from Webster Schroeder High School about a clever charitable event which brought the school community together to benefit local food cupboards.

It was called a “shopping cart parade,” and even though it happened last March, I thought that since the new school year is rapidly approaching, it would be timely reminder of the great things our students are doing for the Webster community.

As part of the Schroeder’s “One Warrior Week,” members of the school’s National Honor Society wanted to come up with some kind of donation event. But just putting collection boxes all around the school, or even something like making a canned food pyramid didn’t make the cut. They wanted to do something different, to really get their fellow students excited and involved.

What they came up with was a decorated shopping cart parade.

The first step was to secure 20 shopping carts, and Wegmans was more than happy to help. Then they spread the word through social media and encouraged the school’s clubs and athletic teams to decorate the carts as creatively as they could. The results were whimsical, original, artistic, and definitely fun.

Then, of course, they were all paraded down the hall to the cheers of their fellow students, who stepped up to the challenge and filled them with donations for Webster NY Hope and the Warrior Care Cupboard.

WROC Channel 8 posted a story about the event (the photos here are from that video). Click here or on any of the photos to see it.

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 8/25/2025)

Tags: Missy Rosenberry, Webster Central Schools, Webster NY, Webster Schroeder

I get a lot of press releases from the school district. For various reasons, I don’t always use them for my blog, but this most recent one that came across my email just made me giggle, in large part because of the photos which accompanied it.

Earlier this week, Webster Schroeder High School students put their physics and calculus knowledge to the test in a unique, fun and entertaining challenge: building and racing boats made entirely of cardboard. 

Teams of two to four students spent a week designing and constructing their vessels, aiming to create a boat sturdy enough to carry at least one person across the width of the pool.

On Tuesday June 3, four innovative cardboard creations hit the water at the Webster Aquatics Center, each vying for the fastest time. While one boat quickly succumbed to the water, sinking before leaving the edge, the remaining three showcased impressive engineering. One canoe-shaped vessel successfully transported its Warrior captain across the pool and back. Another, designed like a stand-up paddleboard with internal reinforcements, saw its sailor swiftly glide across the water using homemade cardboard hand fins. The fourth boat, resembling a small outrigger canoe, also demonstrated remarkable speed.

Ultimately, the stand-up paddleboard-style boat, with its innovative hand-fin propulsion, was declared the winner for its impressive speed at 20.24 seconds. Second place was the outrigger canoe with two rowers at 29.02, and the canoe took third with a time of 39.85. 

After the official contest, other classmates eagerly took the opportunity to try out the cardboard crafts, though one boat eventually sank under the weight of two occupants. It must have been so much fun to watch.

What a terrific way to have students apply their classroom learning to a real-life problem, and have a lot of fun doing it.

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/6/2025)

Tags: Missy Rosenberry, Webster Central Schools, Webster NY, Webster Schroeder

I’ve written many a time about the graduate parades that happen every June at the end of the school year. It’s a day when our Webster Thomas and Schroeder seniors hop on buses and return to the halls of the elementary schools where they began their Webster school careers. This year the parade took place on Thursday, June 13.

This is always a highly anticipated event, a meaningful way to celebrate our seniors and remind them how far they’ve come. There are always lots of hugs, and more than a few tears shed from teachers when they recognize their former elementary students, now adults.

But this year’s parade at State Rd. Elementary School was especially poignant.

Now-retired State Rd. Elementary first grade teacher AnnMarie Johansson brought this story to my attention. Among this year’s seniors are the first graders she had back in 2013. That year, Johansson also had a 20-year old student teacher, Joanne Krutchen, whom the students affectionately called “Miss K.”

That summer of 2013, Miss K was in a terrible accident. She and four of her friends — now known as the “Cal-Mum 5” — were driving along North Rd. in Wheatland when their car was broadsided by a tractor trailer. Joanne survived, but three of the young people died.

Johansson wrote,

I remember watching the news and seeing the report of the accident. I saw Joanne’s name and my heart sank. I immediately messaged the parents of my students in case word got back to them. All of our hearts were broken, but we were going to support Miss K. 

In the ensuing months, the students and their families came together to show that support. In September the kids held a lemonade stand at the Joe Obbie’s Farm Market and raised more than $2600 to help pay Miss K’s medical bills. (Complete with hand-made t-shirts and posters — check out the photo slideshow below.) And that Christmas, they devised a 12-days of Christmas theme gift for her, featuring a different hand-crafted gift for each day.

It’s been 11 years since Joanne Krutchen was the student teacher in Johansson’s classroom. But Miss K never forgot those students who were so kind to her. And on Thursday, she was one of the honored guests as those first graders, now Webster Schroeder High School seniors, returned to State Rd. Elementary.

Krutchen staked out a spot right by the school’s main office to greet the graduates as they filed by. There were a lot of hugs and, yes, some tears.

“These kids did a lot,” she said. “They made a huge impact on my life. And at that age to go above and beyond … It reminds me there’s still good in the world after such tragedy.”

By the way, Miss K is now Mrs. Hammond. She’s a special education teacher in the Le Roy Central School District. Less than a year and a half after her accident, she ran a half marathon. (Read the D&C story about that here.) She married her high school sweetheart, and has two little girls.

And she still tells people about when her former students gifted her with the 12 Days of Christmas so many years ago, when she really needed their love and support.

Here’s a slideshow of photos from the lemonade stand, and the class photo from 2013 (courtesy AnnMarie Johansson):

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 6/14/2024)

Tags: Missy Rosenberry, Webster Central Schools, Webster NY, Webster Schroeder

Congratulations to Webster Schroeder music teacher Kim Derse, who was recently recognized by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) with its 2024 Outstanding Music Educator Award in the category of Instrumental Music ( Strings).

Derse has been with Webster School Distrtct since 1994, having previously served schools in Connecticut, and West Genesee and Baldwinsville, NY. She has a legacy of positively impacting generations of students, having taught every level of strings in the district, including working at four elementary schools and Spry Middle School before enjoying a long tenure at Webster Schroeder High School.

Outside of school, Derse has shared her love of music with the Webster Methodist Church as its Handbell Choir director for more than 15 years, and has performed with the Women’s Philharmonic Orchestra and numerous pit orchestras for theatrical productions. During her years teaching elementary strings, she also started a Suzuki program for early grades and taught summer lessons.

Each year, RPO opens nominations for outstanding music educators and professional musicians in the Rochester area to honor those who inspire. Derse was nominated for the award by Michael Roller, Webster’s Director of Fine Arts, and Webster Schroeder and Thomas music teacher Laura D’Angelo.

Derse will be honored at an awards ceremony on May 9 and join RPO Conductor Andreas Delfs on stage at the beginning of the Philharmonic’s concert that evening. (The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.; click here for tickets). She and Matthew Sherrill — from Fairport’s Minerva Deland School, who won in the category of Instrumental Music (Band) — will receive further accolades at the RPO Centennial Gala at the Riverside Convention Center on May 18.

This is not the first year, by the way, in which a Webster music teacher has been recognized by the RPO. Most recently, n 2017, Jeanne Coonan (then working at Spry Middle School) won the Instrumental Music Award for K-12 Band, and Al Heary (then working at Dewitt Elementary) won the Classroom Music Specialist Award.

That history is a testament to the quality of the Webster CSD music department, which, BY THE WAY, was once again this year named honored by the NAMM Foundation with the Best Communities for Music Education designation for its outstanding commitment to music education. This is the 19th time out of the 25-year award’s existence that Webster has received the honor.

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 4/22/2024)

Tags: Missy Rosenberry, Webster Central Schools, Webster NY, Webster Schroeder