Volume 2, Issue 7Volume 2, Issue 7
March 2013March 2013
North Colonie Central School District
Take a look around your work space. Is there furniture that you don’t use or don’t want anymore? How about the supply cabinet? Is it bursting with more supplies than you will ever use? North Colonie, in an effort to reduce expenses, has developed our own system to recycle items that are still in good condition but are no longer serving a purpose in their current location. After months of hard work, we are excited to announce the launching of REPURPOSE NC! The goal behind Repurpose NC is to provide a forum for resources to be redistributed within the District from departments that no longer need them, to places that could use them. In essence, it is a “Craig’s List” TM just for North Colonie. Found on the web, at https://repurposenc.pbworks.com/w/page/50268115/FrontPage , this site is designed to allow all staff members to view the items currently available for repurposing and request the item for use in their job. The categories of items include:
Furniture
Storage Units
Supplies (Desk and Paper)
Equipment
Décor
Requesting To request an item is simple. Just visit the website and review the available items. When you find what you need, click on the link to request the item, and fill out the form. If you have items that you would “like to give new purpose to”, complete the form on the website with all the pertinent information, attach a photo and send it in.
For everything other than desk and paper supplies, the item must be approved by the administrator/building principal prior to the item being repurposed. There is even a page for items wanted and for items that you don’t want to give away, but are willing to loan out. We ask that you look around your work area and do some “spring cleaning”. The more we can repurpose supplies and equipment that we already own, the less we have to buy, which saves the District money! Any unneeded office supplies can be boxed up and sent directly to Pam Duffney at Central Office for immediate repurposing. For equipment and furniture, please complete the form on the website and email it in (don’t forget to get prior approval). The item will not be moved until it has been selected by another employee for repurposing. Please note that this site is not for personal items that you wish to get rid of, it is only for District business. Also, computers, printers and other electronics cannot be repurposed through this site, please contact Information Technology for these items. Special recognition goes out to Angel White, Central Office Keyboard Specialist, who designed the site and will manage it. She took responsibility for this huge project and ran with it!
March
April
UPCOMING EVENTS
Have something old?
List it on Repurpose for
someone who may consider it
gold.
Need something new?
We may have a link for you.
Consider borrowing, loaning or
sharing?
Please do! Salvaging is caring
Page 2 The Ins ide Resou rce Volume 2, I ssue 7
GOT QUESTIONS??? Do you have questions about getting your
professional certification? What constitutes
professional development hours? How to obtain
additional certificates? How to navigate the
muddy waters of the State Education
Department???
Never Fear!
We will be holding an informational session with
Ken Ziegler, Regional Certification Officer from
Capital Region BOCES on Friday, March 22nd at
3:30 pm at Forts Ferry.
Come to the seminar and have all your
certification questions answered!
Our annual Employee Recognition Celebration (formerly Staff Recognition Tea) will take place on March 26th in the
Junior High auditorium. Celebration starts at 3:15 pm, with the formal presentation at 3:45 pm. We are
recognizing those employees who have achieved the milestones of 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service!
We hope that you will be able to attend the celebration!
”
Our semi-annual
presentation for
all interested
NCTA members
and partners will
be held on March
22nd at 3:30 PM at the Junior High
School. Specific topics covered
include: maternity, child care, and
unpaid leaves; FMLA; payroll;
seniority; and more.
Here’s an interesting piece of
Shaker High School trivia!
When Shaker High School first
opened in 1958, it was the first high
school in the nation that had wall-to-
wall carpeting!
The American Carpet Institute chose
Shaker as an experiment to see if the
educational experience for the
students was improved with
carpeted floors. They also wanted to
look at the wear/tear on the carpet
compared to tiled floors.
At the time, one wing of the new
building was the high school and the
other wing was the Junior High.
They covered the HS wing in carpet
and the JHS wing in conventional
asphalt tile.
After two years of use, students and
teachers reported the carpet had a
positive impact. Also, only six square
feet of carpet had to be replaced.
403(b) Online Information
Looking for online access to the 403(b)?
https://www.ebenefitsresource.com
User name: NCGUEST
Password: NCGUEST (case sensitive)
Volume 2, I ssue 7
North Colonie Inspiration Stories
Page 3 The Ins ide Resou rce
New Hires & Job Changes
The staff at Blue Creek gathered afterschool and used their creativity to decorate
river rocks for Jean Bassett. The rocks depict images which reflect their thoughts of
Jean or have inspirational messages on them. The idea to create the rocks came from
the building wellness committee as a way to give Jean a truly tangible form of
support. The hope is that Jean will take one or two with her on her trips to the
doctor or keep one in her pocket for an inspiration pick me up. The rocks
represent a great big hug for a staff member who is dearly missed.
Blue Creek Supports Jean Bassett In a Very Creative Way
Karen Marsh, Maryann DeSacia & Maya Trawinski
Barbara Phelps
Have news that you want to share? email: [email protected]
Page 4 Volume 2, I ssue 7
Retirements
Terri Bernarde, Teacher Aide, LR
In Memoriam
Eleanor McCauley
Eleanor “Ellie” McCauley passed away on January 30th, at the age of 101. Miss McCauley was a kindergarten teacher at Loudonville Elementary for thirty-five years. On the occasion of her 100th birthday, a celebration in her honor was held where many of the guests were former students, some dating back to 1954. What’s even more remarkable is she knew many of them by name! In lieu of flowers, donations were made to the Loudonville Elementary School library, in her memory.
Tenure Appointments
The District is proud to announce the
following tenure appointments recently
approved by the Board of Education:
Sheri Popkoski, Mathematics Teacher, SHS
CONGRATULATIONS!
New Arrivals It’s not often that North Colonie has new arrivals,
where both mom and dad work for the District.
Even more rare is when new arrivals happen at the
same hospital, at the same time! We are pleased to
announce the following additions to the North
Colonie family!
Jim Gorman, Teaching Assistant at SHS (currently
filling a LT leave as a Special Education teacher at
SHS) and Heather Gorman, Teacher Aide at SHS,
with their daughter Isabella Vera, born January
30th. Congratulations also go out to Belle Gorman,
Account Clerk at SHS, who is Isabella’s grandma!
Garrett Couture, PE teacher at SHS, with his wife
Erin Couture, Teacher Aide at the JHS welcomed
their new son, Jackson Brady, born February 6th.
Keith Weiss, SHS Science teacher and his wife
Deanna welcomed their new baby girl Evelyn Ann,
born February 8th.
Garrett and Erin Couture with baby Jackson (left) shared a
hospital stay with Keith, Deanna and baby Evelyn Weiss Jim and Heather Gorman with baby Isabella
The Ins ide Resou rce
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