GCS Leadership Team Participates in Third Annual Leadership Institute
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In times of change, learners inherit the Earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
Eric Hoffer, American Social Writer
This was the theme of the Third Annual Questar III Leadership Institute which was held at the Rensselaerville Institute during the week of July 14. The Leadership Team at GCS participated in a variety of workshops with topics including Legal Issues in Education, presented by Jeffrey D. Honeywell, Managing Partner, Girvin and Ferlazzo P.C., Communication for Administrators, presented by Dayle Zatlin, Senior Vice President/General Manager, Sawchuck, Brown Assoc., Classified and Unclassified Personnel Issues, presented by Dennis Jones, Retired Deputy Superintendent, Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES and Future Trends and Challenges in Education, presented by Dr. Raymond McNulty, International Center for Leadership in Education. Participants at the Institute discussed 21st Century Learning Skills and their impact on student instruction as we prepare students for a Globalized World.
Posted: 25 Aug 2008
Greenville Offers Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program
Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) is a program that provides free pre-kindergarten classes for families who live in the Greenville school district. The UPK program is available to children who are 4 years old by December 1, 2008. UPK classes are held five half-days a week during the school year. However, no transportation is provided by the school district. The UPK providers in our district are Nature's Way in Rensselaerville and the United Methodist Church Day Care in Norton Hill.
Due to newly acquired funding, Greenville now has 20 available openings in our UPK program for the 2008-09 school year. All are welcome. Applications will be granted and acceptance will be via a lottery after all applications are received. Acceptance is not based on income.
For more information and to apply for UPK please contact Mr. Mahan at the Elementary Office at 966-5160 (ext. 301 or 302). Applications and program information are available now. The deadline for returning applications is September 19th. Families will be notified by September 26th of UPK acceptance.
Summer Writing Camp
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Poetry and Realistic Fiction were the topics of two Summer Writing Camps offered to students entering grades four and five. Twenty-five students were selected by their classroom teachers as exhibiting high ability in and a strong interest and enthusiasm for writing. Bonnie Persico, 5th Grade teacher at Scott M. Ellis designed the Camps to "strengthen kid's writing skills and push them beyond what they have experienced in the previous school year." Students maintained a writer's notebook to nurture their writing ideas, maintained a daily journal, and focused on revision and editing of their work through frequent conferences with Mrs. Persico. Both six-day workshops culminated with students sharing their work with each other.
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Posted: 25 Aug 2008
Summer Lego® Robotics
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A demolition derby was the culminating activity for students entering 6th Grade at GCS Middle School. Summer Lego Robotics was a three week program sponsored by Questar III for students entering 6th grade. Students were selected by their classroom teachers based on advanced skills and performance in the area of mathematics. Activities for the class included designing programs for their robots, de-bugging their programs, utilizing problem-solving skills and creating their robots in teams of two. Mike Knichel, instructor for the class, explained that the use of logic to solve problems was greatest skill students gained from experiencing this course. Mr. Knichel added that Lego Robotics could be used in any mathematics course and that Robotics is typically part of a pre-engineering program at the University level. Various designs were made based on several problems created by Mr. Knichel. Students truly enjoyed the hands-on approach to the class and the demolition derby was a huge hit with everyone.
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Posted: 25 Aug 2008
GCSD Plans for the Future
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Goal-setting has become a critical feature of shared decision making at Greenville Central School District. On July 10th and 11th the Building Level Teams (BLT's) from the Elementary, Middle and High Schools met for training on shared decision making, data analysis, communication skills, English Language Arts and Math analysis. Following the initial training, the three BLT's crafted goals based on student performance data, and the More Effective Schools Surveys from the 2007-2008 school year. The three BLT's identified a continued need for Character Education and professional development for teachers in the area of data analysis to identify areas for instructional improvement. Increased communications was also an identified area of need and as a result the three teams will meet throughout the school year to plan and support each other as they strive to reach their individual building goals.
Posted: 25 Aug 2008
Greenville's Graduation Results Released
On August 11th the New York State Education Department released graduation results for students who started 9th grade in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The four-year statewide graduation rate is 71% through August 2007 with 15% still enrolled. State Education Commissioner Richard Mills stated "Too many do not graduate, yet the three year trends are encouraging." Mills continued, "Each cohort did better than the one before, and within cohorts, the fifth and sixth year results show a still greater proportion of the class graduating."
85% of Greenville students from the 2003 cohort graduated with Regents or Local Diplomas. This represents an increase of 9% over the 2002 cohort group. The results for Greenville also indicated that 10% of the 2003 total cohort continue to be enrolled as of June 2007. Many of these students attend summer school or continue into a fifth year. Students at Greenville are monitored very closely and are provided a variety of supports to help them reach the goal of graduation. These efforts are evident in the drop-out rate of 3%.
Michael Laster, Greenville Central School District High School Principal, stated "we are happy to see that the efforts of our students, faculty and staff have resulted in increased numbers of students graduating with a Regents Diploma. We would like to thank the many parents, teachers and staff who have contributed to the success of our students."
Sixth Grade Orientation Day at GCS Middle School
Sixth Grade Orientation Day at Greenville Middle School has been scheduled for Tuesday, August 26th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. This Orientation is designed to help students become familiar with their lockers, their classrooms and schedules for the 2008-2009 school year. Seventh and Eighth grade students will be available to provide tours of the Middle School and students may bring their school supplies to organize their lockers. Pre-sale supply orders will also be available for pick-up on August 26th and 27th from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
GCS and Greenfiber Work to Go Green
Since February 2008 Greenville Central School District has created a partnership with Greenfiber to reduce waste and conserve natural resources by recycling paper products. Greenfiber was established in 2000 as a 50/50 joint venture of Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) and Casella Waste Systems, Inc. The recycled paper is made into cellulose insulation for residential and commercial buildings. 85% of the product is recycled paper with the remaining 15% consisting of fire retardants and stabilizing materials.
For every ton of newspapers, phonebooks, office paper, cardboard, magazines, brown paper bags and construction paper removed by Greenfiber, we save 17 trees, 3 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,000 kilowatts of energy. Forty-five public schools participate in this program, and the tonnage below reflects what is being saved by their use of this program.
For the month of June 128 tons were collected from 45 participating schools, which equals:
- 2,159 trees saved
- 419.1 cubic yards of landfill space not used
- 46,080 gallons of water saved
- 12,700 gallons of gasoline not used
- 7620 pounds of air pollutants not released
- 1,320 megawatts of electricity not used in processing
In July, the 85 tons collected from 45 participating schools equals:
- 1,445 trees saved
- 280.5 cubic yards of landfill space not used
- 30,600 gallons of water saved
- 8,500 gallons of gasoline not used
- 5,100 pounds of air pollutants not released
- 884,085 kilowatts of electricity not used in processing
As a result of the combined efforts of the Robert Schrader, Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds and Robert Gray, High School Social Studies Teacher the program at Greenville has involved High School and Elementary students. Students in the High School Science Club, the High School Participation in Government Class, and the Elementary School Student Council collect papers from containers held in classrooms and offices throughout the District. The paper products are weighed and removed from campus once a month. Greenville Central Schools receives $25 per ton of removed paper which is divided between the Elementary and High School Student Councils. As of June 30th, GCS has received $383 and has saved approximately $118 per month in recycling and labor costs for removal of paper products. This combined effort of students and staff is truly helping the environment and reducing costs for the Greenville Central School District.
GCS Board of Education Members Sworn In
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| Wilton Bear | Gregory Lampman |
During the July 14th GCS Board of Education meeting Gregory Lampman took the Oath of Office as a Board Member for a three year term commencing July 1, 2008. Rosanne Moore was also elected to a three year term and will be sworn in during the August Board of Education meeting. Officers elected during this meeting include Wilton Bear, Jr. as President and Anne Mitchell as Vice President for the 2008-2009 school year.
Greenville Central School District
Celebrates the Commencement of the Class of 2008
On Saturday June 28, 2008 Greenville Central School District celebrated the commencement of 121 students. Salutatorian, Erin Ricci and Valedictorian, Corrine Smith gave a combined speech thanking their families, friends and teachers for supporting them throughout their K-12 experience at GCS. The President of the class, Dylan Ventura, spoke and presented the Class of 2008 for their diplomas. Mr. Paul Ventura, Sr., the class advisor for the past five years, was the guest speaker. Mr. Ventura asked the class to go into the world and “do good”. Mr. Ventura also spoke of how the students had touched his life and encouraged the audience to become involved with children. Music was performed by the High School Band under the direction of Mr. Michael Benedict and by several graduating vocalists under the directions of Mr. Jonathan Meredith.
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GCS Honors Retirees and Grants Tenure
At the June meeting, the Greenville Central School Board of Education recognized three teachers who are retiring at the end of this school year for their years of dedicated service to the children of the Greenville Central School District: Elementary School teachers Mary Dively, Kathleen Mikulka and Carole Smith. |
The Greenville Central School Board of Education also granted tenure to four teachers at the June Meeting: Casey Gannon, Mathematics; Jonathan Meredith, Music; Julia Hamilton, English; and (not pictured) Gordon Conrow, Physical Education. |
Greenville Central School District - A New York State “High Performing” District
Greenville Central School District has been named as a “High Performing/Gap Closing School District” by the New York State Education Department, Regents Chancellor Robert M. Bennett and State Education Commissioner Richard Mills. Greenville Central School District received this designation under the No Child Left Behind Act and Scott M. Ellis Elementary School and Greenville Middle School each received an award as “high performing/gap closing” schools.
“High Performing/Gap Closing” schools and districts are recognized because they met all applicable State standards for English Language Arts (ELA) and math during the 2006-2007 school years and also made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in ELA and math for two consecutive years.
This is the second consecutive year the District has received this designation. This recognition acknowledges the quality of instruction and learning accomplished by the Greenville faculty and students along with support from parents and the community.
Eastern Regional Automotive Technology Championships
Ron Case and Jacob Church left Monday, March 24 for the Eastern Regional Automotive Technology championships in New York City to compete against forty other teams. This is the first time in Greenville Central School District history that two Greenville students have made it to the national competition. Both students are currently enrolled in the Questar III Career and Technical Educational auto program. Recently they both competed in the Eastern New York Coalition of Automotive retailers’ competition. Both students were given 90 minutes to diagnose and solve ten different automotive electrical problems. These students came in first place in this regional competition which qualified them for the New York International car show this March. They have already obtained scholarships and cash awards for their participation. We will be following their progress and wish them good luck in March!
Robert D'Agostino recognized after 34 plus years of teaching
Greenville Central School Board of Education recognized Robert D'Agostino at their February Business Meeting. Mr. D'Agostino is retiring effective February 25th after more than 34 years teaching at Greenville High School. Mr. D'Agostino taught English and started the Whole Student Center together with his colleague Vincent Seeley. Pictured left to right are: Michael Laster, Greenville High School Principal; Cheryl Dudley, Greenville Superintendent of Schools; Robert D'Agostino and Wilton Bear, Jr., Board of Education President.
