Oriskany District News Volume Thirty-Six, Issue 4—www.oriskanycsd.org

Kindergarten Screening Kindergarten Screening has been scheduled for Monday, May 19. If you have a child who will be turning 5 by December 1, 2014 and have not registered for kinder-garten, please call Ms. Bielby at 768-2149.

Class of 2014 Honor Students Other Honor Students in alphabetical order: Thomas Ariglio, Adela Astorga, Sara Barton, Carissa Bishop, Breanna Bouska, Caitlin Carlo, Alicia Courtney, Kara Dellers, Elizabeth Deugan, Dustin Dorsino, Lexi Drake, Cassandra Gaglianese, Triston Hamm, Ryan Lockwood, Brandon Morris, Stephanie Noga, Erin O’Connor, Marlena Rieben, Rachel Rogers, Monica Serley, Connor Shamis, Megan Sliski, Douglas Smith, Christopher Suskie, Jason Walter, Craig Whittaker, Kyle Wilson, Megan Worth

Valedictorian The Valedictorian of the Class of 2014 is Danielle Manna. Danielle is the daughter of Jeffrey Manna and Mary Manna of Rome. Danielle’s activities include: Student Council Vice Presi-

dent, Science Club President, Varsity Club Vice President, Language Club Secretary, Mathletics, Rachel’s Challenge, Key Club, National Honor Society Member, Varsity Soccer, Varsity Softball. Danielle plans to attend SUNY-ESF to major in Environmental Biology

Salutatorian The Salutatorian of the Class of 2104 is Sara Murphy. Sara is the daughter of David and Cath-erine Murphy of Oris-kany. Sara’s activities in-clude: Student Coun-

cil Treasurer, Key Club Lieutenant Governor, Science Club Treasurer, Varsity Club Treas-urer, Varsity Soccer Captain, National Honor Society, Mathletics, Skills USA, Class of 2014 Treasurer, Indoor and Outdoor Track. Sara plans to attend Morrisville State College to major in Nursing

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News from Building Principals _______________________________________________

Dear Oriskany families, As this newsletter comes to you, I hope everyone had a wonderful Spring Re-cess and had an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather with friends and family. The month of May is here and it’s an-other very exciting month at N.A. Walbran Elementary School! May 16-17 is our 6th Grade Plant/Bake Sale and Silent Auction. Please come visit us in the cafeteria on those two days to support our 6th Grade Class for their end of the year enrichment opportu-nity! On May 20th, our 4th, 5th and 6th grade students will be performing in our Spring Performance under the direction of Mrs. Marcinkowski. Our kindergarten screening for our 2014-15 kindergarteners will be taking place on May 19th. Also, school will be closed on May 23rd and May 26th for Memorial Day. For the month of June, please remem-ber that we will be having our Elementary PE Day on June 6th and our 6th Grade Mov-ing up Ceremony will be held on June 24th at 7:00 in the High School. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at school at any time. Thank you, Michael Davis Principal NA Walbran Elementary School

Dear Oriskany families, As we enter the home stretch in our academic year and the weather continues to improve, please help us encourage our stu-dents to finish the year strong. I encourage you to contact teachers regularly and work with us to keep our students in school and on track. This is particularly important for our upper classmen as final transcripts are re-ported to colleges after graduation. For our seniors, college plans for next year are coming together. This can be confus-ing and labor intensive, particularly with re-gard to financial aid. If we can be of any as-sistance or help you navigate this process, please do not hesitate to contact me or Mr. Williams in our guidance department. I wanted to thank our families for the overwhelming support shown throughout our 3-8 ELA testing process. With all the vit-riol and misinformation surrounding these exams, please continue to use me as a reliable source of information. I am happy to speak to anyone regarding concerns. Thank you for your faith in the educational program pro-vided at Oriskany. We will continue to do as we have always done and act in the best inter-est of our students. Warm regards, Eric Knuth Principal Oriskany Jr.-Sr. High School

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Spring Clean Up 2014 _______________________________________________________

On April 21st the Oriskany spring sports teams volunteered their time and services to make the 2nd Annual Spring Clean-Up a huge success. 87 students and 5 coaches took up shovels, rakes, and brooms to clean up the grounds throughout the school district. Their efforts not only helped to make our facilities look great, but each student received 3 hours of volunteer service credit which will be used to meet college and scholarship application requirements. Thanks to all who volun-teered!

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The Oriskany Central School District is proud to announce for public consideration a Capital Improvements Project that will be very beneficial to the district facilities and instructional program. After careful collabora-tive planning, this project requires no additional taxes, but does require voter approval on May 20, 2014. The project will be funded completely through state building aid and the district’s reserve funds that have been set aside for capital improvements. This $4,529,000 project will be used to address the top priorities of the 2010 New York State Building Condition Survey: enhance security, improve space utilization, and install energy efficient equipment. The majority of the work will be completed in the summer of 2015. This project is Phase Two in the Districts’ Three-Phase Capital Project Plan to address district-wide facility needs and program enhancements. The table below provides you with an overview of the Phases and the scope of work that has been/will be completed:

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Voter Authorization February 23, 2010 May 20, 2014 Projected-Spring 2016

Project Cost $2,823,000 $4,529,000 To Be Determined

Construction Time-frame 2011-2014 2015-2016 2017-2018

Project Scope

Safety features in the Jr/Sr High School gym

Safety upgrades to both building entranceways

Safety upgrades

Elementary School class-room cabinetry updates

Replace smoke/fire alarm system at the Jr/Sr High School

Replacement of district track to allow for track meets

High School window re-placement

Mechanical replacements at the Jr/Sr High School

Mechanical replace-ments at the Elementary School

Stage lighting Lighting replacements in both buildings

Technology improve-ments

Technology improvements Floor Replacement in Jr/Sr High School

Playground upgrades at Elementary School

Paving at the Elementary School

Relocation/renovation of weight room

Reconfiguration of H.S. par-ent drop-off parking lot (Summer 2014)

Renovation to Davis Gym entranceway/ concession room

Compliance updates and me-chanical replacements in Dis-trict Office (Summer 2014)

Replacement of bleach-ers/press box at football field

Replace hall lockers in Jr/Sr High School (Fall 2014)

Renovate gym lockers at the Jr/Sr High School

Tent

ativ

ely

Prop

osed

:

Proposed Capital Improvements Project _______________________________________

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Fitnessgram Testing _________________________________________________________

School Closed

School will not be in session:

Friday, May 9th Friday, May 23rd

Wednesday, June 25th

In Mr. Meiss and Mrs. Mahoney’s physical education classes the students completed the Fitnessgram testing, a health related physical fitness as-sessment. Each of the tested items assesses important aspects of a stu-dent's health related fitness. Students are compared not to each other, but to health fitness standards, carefully established for each age and gender, that indicates good health. The areas of fitness we focus on are aerobic capacity, and muscular strength and endurance. The students run the Pacer test, a 20 meter pro-gressive, multi-stage shuttle run set to music where they test their ab-dominal strength with the Curl-up test, and upper body strength with a 90 degree Push-up test.

We have recently held a Record Leader board to encourage the highest level of participation. In the fall the Pacer record for boys in grades 9-12 was held by John Pierson with 111 laps. The re-cord for the girls in grades 9-12 was held by Caitlin Carlo at 71 laps. For 7th and 8th grade Jon Domenico held the boys record with 94 laps, and Kristina Marolf led the girls with 66 laps. After the spring assessments, John Pierson still holds the record for the Pacer, but Ethan Juarez came close with 107 laps. Caitlin Carlo broke her previous record and has now set the bar at 75 laps. In grades 7 and 8 we have two new records, Sam Sharlow leads the boys with 107 laps, and Kayla Anderson leads the girls with 70 laps. We had at least 86% of our students reach 75+ on the Curl- Up test! Our Overall leader for Push-Ups was 7th grader Alyssa Smith with 75! Maintaining good physical fitness and a healthy diet will help to shape a happy and healthy lifestyle. We appreciate all the hard work from our students and always congratulate those on their individual efforts!

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Thinking, Eating, and Moving Healthy ________________________________________

The Students in Mrs. Mahoney’s 6th grade Health class have been working on Thinking, Eat-ing, and Moving Healthy! During this unit the students conducted their own experiments to under-stand hydration and to identify healthy beverage choices; this study integrated both health and sci-ence lessons. At the end of the experiments the students learned the percentage of Earth that is made up of water, along with the percentage of their body that is made up of water. It is important that stu-dents understand how much water they need to intake every day to stay hydrated. Drinking water, water in beverages, and water contained in food all contribute to total water intake, but they have learned that some choices are better than others! The students filled up cups with granulated sugar to estimate the amount of sugar that is found in common beverages— most students were very shocked! Health is of vital importance, and what you drink is just as important as what you eat!

School District Budget Notice

Overall Budget Proposal

Budget Adopted for

the 2013-14 School Year

Budget Proposed for

the 2014-15 School Year

Contingency Budget

for the 2014-15 School Year *

Total Budgeted Amount, Not Including Separate Propositions

$13,886,685

$13,886,685

$13,570,160

Increase/Decrease for the 2014-15 School Year

$0

$-316,525

Percentage Increase/Decrease in Proposed Budget

0%

-2.33%

Change in the Consumer Price Index

1.46%

Total Proposed School Year Tax Levy, Including Levy to Support Library Debt, if applicable

$5,340,953

$5,614,950

$5,340,953

Total Permissible Exclusions $303,387

$135,506

A. Proposed School Year Tax Levy, Not Including Levy for Permissible Exclusions or Levy to Support Library Debt

$5,037,566

$5,479,444

B. School Tax Levy Limit, Not Including Levy for Permissible Exclusions

$5,519,167

$5,556,223

Difference: A - B (Positive Value Requires 60.0% Voter Approval - See Note Below Regarding Separate Propositions)

$-481,601

$-76,779

Administrative Component

$1,144,443

$1,209,470

$1,208,670

Program Component

$10,481,633

$10,923,401

$10,815,276

Capital Component

$2,260,609

$1,753,814

$1,546,214

* Provide a statement of assumptions made in projecting a contingency budget for the 2014-15 school year, should the proposed budget be defeated pursuant to Section 2023 of the Education Law. In the event of a budget defeat, the Board of Education would adopt a contingency budget. The contingency budget would fund only those items the Board determines to be “ordinary contingent expenses”. This would require the removal of non-contingent budget items in the amount of $316,525.

List Separate Propositions that are not included in the Total Budgeted Amount: (Tax Levy associated with propositions not eligible for exclusion may affect property tax levy limit and voter approval requirements)

Description Amount

Under the Budget Proposed for the 2014-15 School Year

Estimated Basic STAR Exemption Savings1 $709

The annual budget vote for the fiscal year 2014-2015 by the qualified voters of the Oriskany Central school district, Oneida County, New York,

will be held at the Oriskany High school in said district on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 between the hours of 12:00am and 8:30pm, prevailing time in

the Oriskany Central school, at which time the polls will be opened to vote by voting ballot or machine.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 The basic school tax relief (STAR) exemption is authorized by section 425 of the Real Property Tax Law.

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Budget Notice ______________________________________________________________

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Art Enrichment Classes ______________________________________________________

Art enrichment classes are being offered for students in second through sixth grade. These classes provide opportunities that are not available within regular school hours. Students meet by grade level after school until 5PM.

Projects challenge participants to problem solve, create, and refine skills. The following is a sample of experiences: grade 6—wire sculpture and jewelry, grade 5—printmaking, grade 4—paper, grade 3—fabric, and grade 2—puppets.

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BMI/Weight Status Category _________________________________________________

As part of a required school health examination, a student is weighed and his/her height is measured. These numbers are used to figure out the student’s body mass index or “BMI.” The BMI helps the doctor or nurse know if the student’s weight is in a healthy range or is too high or too low. Recent changes to the NYS Education Law require that BMI and weight status group be in-cluded as part of the student’s school health examination. A sample of school districts will be se-lected to take part in a survey by the NYS Department of Health. If our school is selected to be part of the survey, we will be reporting to NYS Department of Health information about our students’ weight status groups. Only summary information is sent. No names and no information about indi-vidual students are sent. However you may choose to have your child’s information excluded from this survey report. The information sent to the NYS Department of Health will help health officials develop pro-grams that make it easier for children to be healthier. If you do not wish to have your child’s weight status group information included as part of the Health Department’s survey this year, please send a note to the nurse’s office of your child’s school.

A Triumphant Musical Return to Oriskany

This year students at Oriskany Jr.-Sr. High School had the opportunity to put on a musical, some-thing that hasn’t happened in over thirty years. The school chose the classic, Bye Bye Birdie, to bring musical theater back to the community. The talented cast and crew had over forty students from 6th to 12th grade who dedicated an extreme amount of time and hard work to the production. These students were able to see their hard work pay off when the community showed up in over-whelming numbers to the three performances. It was evident by the number of people who at-tended to support the cast and crew that the Oriskany community welcomes musical theater. The production staff would like to extend a sincere thanks to the Oriskany Board of Education, the administration team, and the community for their support in allowing musical theater to flourish in the high school.

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What is Financial Aid/What is FAFSA _________________________________________

You have financial aid questions, we have answers. Here’s how to fill out the FAFSA, where to look for money

What is Financial Aid? Mom and dad don’t have enough. You don’t have enough, either. And that moneybags uncle of your dreams never quite materialized. How are you going to foot your college bills? You’ve probably heard of several forms of it, but ex-actly what is financial aid, and how can you get it? Here are our tips to getting the money you need. Two of the most common questions we get from young people are: what is financial aid and what is FAFSA? Here are a few frequently asked questions and answers. Q: What is FAFSA, and why does it matter? A: The only way you can qualify for federal scholarship, grant or loan money is to fill out the Free Application for Fed-eral Student Aid (FAFSA) first. If you don’t fill out the FAFSA, you can kiss any government-given financial aid good-bye. If you’re a senior, complete the FAFSA as soon after Jan. 1st as you can. It helps to have done your taxes before fill-ing out a FAFSA. But if you’re eager to get the ball rolling sooner than Mom will finish her tax return, you can estimate your family’s income, taxes and investments using last year’s tax data. You’ll get a chance to make changes later on the student aid report (SAR), which will be mailed to you after you turn in the FAFSA. Q: What is FAFSA’s function? A: The FAFSA determines your expected family contribution (EFC). This is the amount that determines how much your family can put towards your education. If your EFC is below a certain amount, you’ll be entitled to federal grants to help cover your school’s cost of attendance (COA). A school’s COA is more than tuition, room and board. It also includes the average you’ll spend on books, supplies, personal expenses and transportation. College financial-aid officers subtract your EFC from the COA to determine your financial need. They try to meet your financial need by offering you grants, scholarships, loans and work-study. Q: What is financial aid and what’s the difference between loans, scholarships, grants and work-study? A: Grants and scholarships are money that you don’t have to pay back! A loan is money that you borrow from the gov-ernment or a bank. You have to pay this money back with interest. Some loans require that you start repaying while you’re still in school, while some loans will start sending you bills only after you leave school. Work-study is a type of financial aid through which your college gives you the go-ahead to find a job on campus. You can earn up to your awarded amount during the year. You’ll get a paycheck, just as if you were working off campus. It’s up to you to put that money towards your school expenses. Q: I have a 4.0 GPA. Should I wait to see what colleges come to me with scholarships before approaching any schools? A: No! You are responsible for letting colleges know you’re interested in them and for getting financial aid. Don’t wait for colleges or scholarships to come to you! Sure, it’s nice to be recruited. But unless you let a college know you exist, it’s likely they won’t know to come find you. Some colleges and universities have merit-based grant money you’ll receive on the basis of your high school grades, SAT or ACT scores. But don’t rely on a college to write you a full ride just because you’re smart. Check with your religious organizations, volunteer groups, music groups, ethnic communities, clubs and schools for private, merit-based scholarships. You may have to write a lot of essays, but top students are strong candi-dates, and you’ll be thankful for the cash.

Here are some more FAFSA tips: You have to be registered with Selective Service to be eligible for federal student aid. If you aren’t yet 18, check the box on the FAFSA and they’ll register you on your birthday. You can complete the FAFSA on the Web at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Don’t freak out when you see the FAFSA. It may look like a monster, but it’s really not that bad. Half the package is in-structions and worksheets. There are only four pages you’ll have to send in. Don’t bother paying someone else to do your FAFSA for you; you can handle it yourself. Print in capital letters. Don’t include cents when writing dollar amounts. Send the originals, but keep a copy of the forms for your files. You’ll have to pick which schools you want to receive your FAFSA info. Find the school codes by calling a financial-aid office, asking your guidance counselor, checking at the public library or searching www.fafsa.ed.gov. Still have questions like what is financial aid and what is FAFSA? Explore all the financial aid articles at NextStepU.

By Laura Jeanne Allen; NextStepU 2014

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Oriskany Central School’s Third Marking Period Honor Roll 2013-2014

Highest Honor Roll: 94.5-100.0

Grade 12: Sara Barton, Carissa Bishop, Alicia Courtney, Dustin Dorsino, Lexi Drake, Danielle Manna, Sara Murphy, Erin O’Connor, Douglas Smith, Megan Worth

Grade 11: Allison Hitchcock, Zara Mirza, Jordan Sahl, Sarah Sampson, Taylor Watson, Madison Zizzi

Grade 10: Alyson Amodio, Camryn Mancuse, Sarah Mirza, Mackenzie Reed

Grade 9: William Bryant, Samuel Corrigan, Kyle Dellers, Ryan Enos, Bryson Josephs, Brittany Lockwood, Carter Lucianatelli, McKenzie Mazor, Matthew Noga, Dante Pereto, Angela Rossi

Grade 8: Joy Armstrong

Grade 7: Courtney Donohue, Matthew Enos, Carl Graziadei, Dylan LaSalle, Kyle Pestar, Morgan Piersma, Brandon Reid, Anthony Rossi, Jenna Schlick, Alyssa Smith, Amber Smith, Caitlyn Szalkowski

High Honor Roll: 89.50-94.49

Grade 12: Thomas Ariglio, Adela Astorga, Breanna Bouska, Cassandra Gaglianese, Triston Hamm, Samuel Hickman, Ryan Lockwood, Stephanie Noga, Marlena Rieben, Briana Scalise, Monica Serley, Connor Shamis, Megan Sliski, Craig Whittaker, Jacob Zegarelli

Grade 11: Austin Cornacchia, Ivan Gergi, Julia Hall, David Kozak, Kirsten Mugford, Michaela Murphy, Caryn Schweinsberg

Grade 10: Hannah Barton, Sarah Bielby, Sydney Broadbent, Erik Buckingham, Lindsay Burnop, Erin Carlo, Jasmine Cole, Kayla Garguilo, Ethan Juarez, Kelly LaClair, Alexis Palmiotto, Christi Phelps, Kaitlyn Rieben, Morgan Wolanin, Keely Wroblewski

Grade 9: Quinlyn Beaver, Julianna Behr, Robert Burroughs, Griffin Donohue, Parker Gauthier, Olivia Jordan, Jennifer Leigh, Cali Leonesio, Kayla McGallian, Emma Rogers

Grade 8: Collin Brown, Johnathan Domenico, Maegan Fish, Brynn Janes, Tina Jasarevic, Hannah Juarez, Jacob Mancuse, Kristina Marolf, Audrianna Silvestri, Sully Walker

Grade 7: Derek Balfe, Taylor Garguilo, Emma Goodspeed, Maddelyn Hoehn, Matteson Hoehn, Devon Lacy, Lydia Rogers, Harry Smith, Jasmine Wilson, Kara Wolanin

Honor Roll: 84.00-89.49

Grade 12: Justin Bernhardt, Derek Brown, Caitlin Carlo, Elizabeth Deugan, Heather Copperwheat, Kara Dellers, Kaylee LaQuay, Jessica Marolf, Jacob Mennecke, Brandon Morris, Rachel Rogers, Merridian Ross, Dominick Silvestri, Tyler Tarkowski, Jason Walter, Kyle Wilson

Grade 11: Savannah Beaver, Nicholas Cooper, Emily Eaton, Brandon Failing, Hannah Hoehn, Morgan Keller, Alexus Koons, Caleigh Koss, Brian McMahon, John Pierson, Joshua Reid, Emily Siegfried, Nicholas Springer, Joshua Tanner

Grade 10: Megan Adkins, Cassidy Gerken, John Lacy III, Kyle Liddy, Brady SanFilippo, Ryan Schmadel, Arianna VanSlyke

Grade 9: Anna Buehler, Emily Burnop, Nicholas Commisso, Abigail Davis, Korina Gergi, Brandon Keller, Madisyn Lee, Dean Mealey, Kayla Shafer, Jessica Wilson, Sienna Wood

Grade 8 Kayla Anderson, Erica Baslow, Kassandra Burkhart, Chrystian Jones, Colin Kraeger, Marissa Palmiotto, Richard Phelps, Erin Sliski, Desirae Wagner, Janine Zegarelli

Grade 7 Wesley Appler, Alyssa Barton, Matthew Combs, Autumn Cornacchia, Abigail Edsall, Jennifer Hall, Noah Hartung, Cierra Schweizer, Krystal Snyder, Damon Stafford, Alex Waterman

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Athletics ___________________________________________________________________

Oriskany Central School started an Indoor Track and Field Team for the first time this winter and it was a great success. Thirty-two student-athletes participated on the team, which practiced in the gyms throughout the district and also util-ized the instant runway mats in the hallway areas to work on jumping, sprinting, and relay events. Sarah Sampson earned NYS Qualifying times/distances in the 55 meter dash and long jump. Michaela Murphy, Sarah Sampson, Monica Serley, and Taylor Watson were members of the 4 x 200 relay team that was crowned Section III Champions. Michaela Murphy, Sarah Murphy, Monica Serley, and Taylor Watson were members of the Section III Champi-ons in the 4 x 400 relay team.

The Varsity Boys and Girls Basketball Teams had outstanding regular season and post-season success as they both advanced to the Section III Class D Championships and played at the Carrier Dome on the campus of Syracuse University. Hannah Hoehn, Jordan Sahl, Ryan Schmadel, and Madison Zizzi were all named Center State Division IV All-Stars. Hannah Hoehn, Madison Zizzi, Ryan Schmadel, and Anthony Warcup were named Section III Tournament All-Stars. Ryan Schmadel was also an Utica Observer Dispatch All-Mohawk Valley Basketball Selection.

The Winter Varsity Cheerleading Team finished second at the Sec-tion III Class D Championships at South Jefferson. The team also played a major role in the Coaches vs. Cancer Basketball Games that were hosted at Oriskany. Approximately $1,000 was collected during the two night event and it is a direct reflection of how hard Coach Jenks and her athletes work to promote sponsorship of this great cause.

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The PARP Workout Plan _____________________________________________________

Our Parents As Reading Partners (PARP) program was a huge success this year! Our theme was “Exercise Your Mind and Read.” PARP, which began at the end of February and concluded at the end of March, was organized by PARP Chairs Heather Haman and John Kowalski.

For the PARP kickoff, we had Utica College hockey players come in to speak to the students about the impor-tance of exercising your mind by reading, and exercising your body by being active. Music teacher Linda Marcinkowski, organized a group of 6th grade students to put on a skit for the rest of the school. Both the skit and the hockey players reinforced the importance of exercising your body and your mind.

Family reading took place during the first three weeks of March. Families were asked to read for at least 15 min-utes, for 5 nights each week. Students that filled out their time sheets and returned them each Tuesday received a certifi-cate and a prize. Each Wednesday, there was a dress up theme. Students who participated in the dress up days earned raffle tickets. The raffle tickets gave students opportunities to win Utica College and Comets jerseys.

A bookmark contest was held during library classes. One winner was chosen from each grade level. All winning bookmarks were published and given to students in the grade level. Each winner received a Barnes and Noble gift card and an Oriskany sports bottle.

On March 13th, there was a Read-in for students. The students stayed after school for an hour of quiet reading. In addition, the students were also provided with a healthy snack. Students who came to the read in were also able to par-ticipate in a book swap.

Other special events for PARP included Oriskany Honor Students and SUNYIT baseball players coming into the classrooms to read to students.

PARP ended with a night celebration and fitness fair. Each student received a book that was supplied from the PTA, certificates, and healthy snacks. In addition, students participated in 3 fitness activities, including Zumba with high school teacher Lauren Valente, Just Dance with elementary teachers Alyssa Duesler and Eric Enos, and a dance work-shop by Studio 365.

Thank you to all of staff for all of their help and support during PARP. We would also like to thank the parents for their generous donations to the PARP program. PARP is made possible because of the hard work and fundraising done by the PTA. We appreciate all of the support that the N.A. Walbran PTA gives each year to make PARP successful.

Keep exercising your mind by reading!

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Odyssey of the Mind ________________________________________________________

Submitted by Mr. Jack Paul

"I knew our team was special from the beginning." A group of seventh grade boys came me and said, "We want to build a car for the Odyssey of the Mind competition." My first reaction was, "Oh no!" be-cause we were starting later and the team and the coach were inexperienced concerning the Odyssey of the Mind competition. However, their enthusiasm won me over. Over the next few months, the boys came for "practice" and worked very hard. We had many setbacks, but I never had to motivate them. Every time there was a problem, they were full of suggestions and alternatives. They never gave up. This kind of dedication to a cause and zeal for their project will help them to be successful. They took junk and made a car that actually worked. Their atti-tude through it all made them special and in my mind they are all winners! The winners are: Carl Graziadei (Team Captain), Wesley Appler, Dylan LaSalle, Kyle Pestar, Gavin Reid, Joshua Smoulcey, and Alex Waterman. I also want to thank The Board of Education, Mr. Kelahan, Mr. Cook, Ms. Smith, Jeff French, and all of the parents, without whom, none of this would have been possible. This competition was a community effort and the boys learned a great deal, as well as had a lot of fun.

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Submitted by Courtney Donohue, Grade 7

On Saturday, March 29, two teams consisting of 7 people on each, ventured to Broadalbin, NY. We thought piling onto the bus at 6 o’clock in the morning was a challenge, but we were well aware that we had greater challenges ahead. All 14 students were ready to compete later that day for the annual Odyssey of the Mind competition.

My team, completing the “How we Rule” problem, was practicing spontaneous problems and still constructing our props, while the team completing “Driver’s Test” were making adjustments to their car during the ride. In the Odyssey competition, there are multiple problems to pick from. My group, consist-ing of Kenny Burtch, Jonah Perez, Jasmine Wilson, Anthony Rossi, Jenn Hall, Jackie Mann and me, Court-ney Donohue, did “How we Rule”. This problem had us acting, playing and making an instrument, and even singing! The “Driver’s Test” team included Wesley Appler, Kyle Pestar, Dylan LaSalle, Alex Water-man, Gavin Reid, Josh Smoulcey, and Carl Graziadei. They had the challenge of constructing a running car that had to navigate through a course. Both teams got to compete in the spontaneous problem, which was an on the spot problem where you never know what they’ll have for you to solve.

I am proud to say that Oriskany was well represented and definitely made a mark. The “Driver’s Test” team put on an excellent show and did great in their spontaneous problem. “How we Rule” kids re-ceived 2nd place, trailing so closely to first, with a performance and a solution to the spontaneous problem which was full of humor and enthusiasm.

I can tell you from my experience that I would love to do this again. I got to meet and bond with multiple people from both our school and others, it gave my brain a nice workout, and I was able to repre-sent Oriskany in a positive way. My favorite part of it was the acting in front of people, since I thoroughly enjoy theatre. Once next year comes, I know lots of my team members will be ready to do it again, and I hope to see a lot of new faces to join in on this super fun odyssey.

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BOCES HONOR ROLL – 3rd Marking Period 2013-14

HIGH HONOR 90-100

Adela Astorga, Carissa Bishop, Martin Blevins, Dustin Dorsino, Emily Eaton,

Brandon Failing, Triston Hamm, Samuel Hickman, Richard Jock, Morgan Keller,

Caleigh Koss, David Kozak, Brian McMahon, Sara Murphy, Erin O’Connor,

Monica Serley, Emily Siegfried, Douglas Smith, Kyle Wilson, Jacob Zegarelli

HONOR 85-89

Brittany Donohue, Justin Jones, Gabriella Pianka, Tyler Tarkowski

HONORABLE MENTION 80-84

Derek Brown, Tyler Ciotti, Jelana Frolova, Aaron Rinaldi, Merridian Ross

Safe Routes to Schools_______________________________________________________

Career Exploration

The 7th graders have been working hard on exploring a career of their choice. This unit began with a career interest inventory and will be followed up with writ-ing a paper, creating a business card and a poster.

The students are excited to share their hard work with parents and community members on June 5th at 6PM in the Auditorium. The setup will be similar to a ca-reer fair, where parents and community members will be able to ask students questions about the career that they have selected to explore.

We hope to see you there!

Oriskany was the recipient of a Safe Routes to Schools grant that allowed us to improve our procedures for having chil-dren arrive at school.

The grant also provided us with the resources to purchase bi-cycles and necessary safety equipment to use as part of our physical education program in the high school. The teachers are instructing children on proper bicycle safety and rules of the road.

Transitioning

As this school year draws to a close, we are preparing the current 6th graders to enter into the Jr.- Sr. High School. To ease this transition, we will be invit-ing each 6th grade student to spend the day with a current 7th grader. This will be an opportunity for students to experi-ence a day in the life of a 7th grader, in-cluding a full academic schedule. The dates designated for this educa-tional event are May 20th, 21st, and 22nd.

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Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Oriskany, NY 13424 Permit No. 2

ORISKANY CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT 1313 Utica Street Oriskany, NY 13424

Superintendent of Schools Gregory Kelahan Board of Education Patrick Hoehn, President Charles Courtney, Vice President Tad Beaver Shirley Burtch Carl Graziadei Donald Rothdiener, II William VanShufflin

Oriskany Postal Patron

Derek, an MVCC student, entertained the kindergartners on Engineer Day using S.T.E.M.--science, technology, engineering, and mathematical concepts.

To the children it seemed to be pure magic, but to Derek it was displaying the wonderful world of science. He used common materials to show the children how they could brainstorm and problem solve, skills necessary for today's world. Magnets became a tool for the magician and legos and play-doh, toys for learning.

Derek encouraged the kindergartners to use their imaginations to create. He challenged them to set no limits, to always keep on thinking!

Magic? - No - S.T.E.M.