What's Happening in Scotia-Glenville Schools?

Five Scotia-Glenville High School students and their teacher attended the NanoDay activities in New York City on Oct. 17 to learn about nanoscience and hear from some of the leaders in the science world.

The students, Travis Bailer, Anthony Phillips, Emilio Pagan-Yourno, Will Rudolph, and Stephen Samela – joined teacher Theresa Carr and hundreds of other high school students at the program.

They are in the CISCO program’s CCNA Discovery class in the business department.

Carr said that her students, through the class studies, have become “excited about what nanotechnology is and how they can get involved (career pathways, academics, nanobots, bio-nanobots, etc).”

NanoDay was an all-day, New York City-wide program designed to introduce pre-college students to the new interdisciplinary fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

The students heard from several college science professors, who are on the cutting edge of nanoscience, as well as Bill Nye, known as the Science Guy.

The event was sponsored by the Columbia University Nanocenter in collaboration with City College of New York, Columbia University, Barnard College and Rowan University.

The activities of NanoDay were designed to stimulate student interest in the pursuit of science or engineering as a major in a college or university setting, and to increase awareness of the important roles that nanoscience will assume within our global society.

The program included discussions of nanoscience and nanotechnology by several highly distinguished scientists. In addition, the students had the chance to observe a wide variety of exhibits and demonstrations covering many aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology and related scientific fields.

Here's a PDF of the program from NanoDay.

 

Scotia-Glenville grade 4 Scotia Scholars students visit Five Rivers Environmental Center in Delmar

Thirteen grade 4 students from the four elementary schools at Scotia-Glenville probed the ponds and environment at the Five Rivers Environmental Center in Delmar as part of their first lesson of the school year.

Maria Maynard is teaching environmental science in the Scotia Scholars enrichment program for grade 4 students whiel Cily Rueda is teaching forensics in the Scotia Scholars program to grade 5 students.

Maynard said the Scotia Scholars program is using Problem Based Learning techniques: a problem of science content is given and, through trial and error, questions, experiments and relation to real world, the problems are solved.

The first environmental unit will be a pond problem relating to why the organisms/life are dying in a particular pond on a farm. Students will create an aquarium pond in the classroom and conduct experiements with pond water. Other topics throughout the year will study various impacts on the environment.

Below are a few pictures of the trip to Five Rivers:


A REQUEST FROM THE OPAL COMMITTEE

The Scotia Glenville District OPAL committee has two parent seats open for the 2009-2010 school year.  We are looking for individuals who meet the following criteria:

  • A parent of a child who participates in gifted programming at any level 1 - 12.

  • Has high interest in the needs of advanced learners

  • Willing to sit on this oversight OPAL committee five times per school year for a three-year term

If any parents are interested in serving on the district-wide OPAL committee, please send a letter of interest to:
Sarah Cioffi at scioffi@sgcsd.net by October 8, 2009.

Mark your Calendar

Next SPACE Meeting
Thursday, December 3rd 
 
at 6:30 
 
In the Sacandaga Library Media Center 

 Gearing up for another great school year. Looking forward to some exciting programs and working with the schools to challenge our children.

Childcare will be provided.
Bring a friend!

 


 

    Come to our first forum!

 

Guest Speaker:

Ms. Lee Ann Napolitano, Academic Head of the English Department at Scotia-Glenville

 

    Thursday, October 8, 2009

    7:00 p.m.

    Sacandaga Elementary LMC

 

Ms. Napolitano will be joining us to give an overview of the Pearson Reading Street K-5 ELA program that started this September and the efficacy of this series to address the needs of students with differing abilities through it’s leveled reading program.  Also, she will discuss the Pearson AMP ELA 6 reading program started last year that involves direct instruction of reading comprehension strategies, and will be sharing information about the Pearson technology that’s available for parents.

 

Child care will be provided for parents attending the forum.

 

 

Future Meeting dates:

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Thursday, December 3, 2009                      Tuesday, April 13, 2010 (SAC Cafeteria)

Thursday, February 4, 2010                        Tuesday, May 18, 2010

 

                                 

Monday, November 16th @ 7pm

 

Scotia-GlenvilleHigh School

Room A-30

Your Child’s Digital Footprint –

It Can Grow Like a Weed

 

Identity management in a digital world

 

Please join us for a

Presentation by Robert Frederick,

 

- Coordinator of Career and Employment Services at

SchenectadyCountyCommunity College.

 

Mr. Frederick will discuss how a person’s digital footprint can affect their future prospects related to:

  • College
  • Employment
  • Other quality of life issues

 

He will outline how and why employers, colleges and business services are gathering information regarding people’s personal history and will concentrate his discussion on how they can establish stronger profiles or repair weaker digital profiles using the technology and resources available.
 

PTSA meeting @ 6:15pm (prior to program) in Room B-2

 

Join us and bring a friend!

 

Questions?  Please call:

Kim Koza  393-8501    or    Robert Frederick  381-1368
 
 
SPACE in now on FACEBOOK!!

Check it out!

Search for
"Scotia-Glenville Parents Advocating for Challenging Education"
or

 Click here to join our group.

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A direct link is also available on our "Links" page

***"What's Happening in Scotia-Glenville Schools"***

showcases exciting events and topics of interest
that are occurring in our district.



Are you curious to learn more about S.P.A.C.E.?

Come join us and discover how SPACE supports Scotia-Glenville's gifted
learners and their
families.


If this is your first time visiting our website click on the link located
above "What is SPACE?"


May 19, 2009

Thank You Scotia-Glenville!

The four proposals on the May 19 ballot were approved:

2009-10 budget, 1,253 to 785
(61.5% to 38.5%)

Bus purchases, 1,227 to 787
(60.9% to 39.1%)

Bldg. proposal #3 (renovations, track),
1,119 to 902
(55.4% to 44.6%)

Bldg. proposal #4 (MS library improvements), 1,037 to 960
(51.9% to 48.1%)

John Yagielski received
1,410 votes

Gary Normington received
1,426 votes

March 30, 2009

Superintendent Susan Swartz presented a third draft budget that totaled $46,639,381. The Board of Education added back $12,000 in funding to send one more student to the Tech Valley High School.

Over the past several weeks, the administration and Board of Education sliced about $1.3 million from the superintendent's February 23 proposal. Among the reductions:

  • 5.2 full-time teaching positions: 2.0 positions at elementary (through retirements), 1.0 positions at the middle school (English, science and art); and 2.2 positions at the high school (mathematics, social studies and foreign language);
  • One full-time cleaner position will not be filled;
  • Young Scholars in grades 4 and 5 will add a math and science component and be taught by S-G's in-house gifted and talented teachers for a $25,000 savings. Grades 4 and 5 students will continued to be taught humanities by the Young Scholars program through the Warren-Washington BOCES. Both the humanities and math/science program, to be called Scotia Scholars as it is in grade 6, will be half days each and taught at Sacandaga Elementary School on Wednesdays.
  • Supplies will be reduced by 15% and professional development will be reduced by 10%;
  • Athletics will be reduced by $30,000 and field trips will be reduced by $20,000;
  • The director of curriculum and instruction's position will not be replaced until Nov. 1. Current director Joseph Kavanaugh is retiring as of Aug. 14;
  • The BOE contractual line for NYSSBA Convention will be reduced by $2,500;
  • BOCES special education costs will be reduced by $174,000 - which means current students will receive services, but the additional funding in the budget for anticipated students who may need out-of-district programs was reduced;
  • The Career and Technical School at BOCES budget allocation will be reduced. The district has historically budgeted for 72 students to attend the program; the 2009-10 budget allocates for 63 to attend. This year, 59 students attended.
  • $75,000 less was allocated for the technology replacement plan;
  • Worker's compensation costs were reduced by $16,000;
  • Academic contest entry fees were reduced by $2,500, leaving $5,000;
  • The Capital Region BOCES school district assessment dropped by $10,000;
  • Driver Education students will be charged a $150 tuition charge, up from the current $3 charge. The program will be self-supporting.
  • $350,000 was cut from the Teacher Retirement System budget line because of lower rates this year;
  • 2.0 FTE special education positions will be transferred from the general fund to special aid fund based on federal stimulus funding: $120,000 savings
  • 1.0 FTE remedial teacher position will be transferred from general fund to special aid fund based on federal stimulus funding: $60,000 savings
  • A new summer program for students with Autism will be paid from federal stimulus funding: $22,000 savings
Full details of the latest budget news can be seen here

Pulling DNA from onions and peas

Students in Cily Rueda's OPAL enrichment class extracted Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from an onion and peas during an experiment today.

The students ground the vegetables up in a blender to break apart the cells, mixed the concoction with soap and salt solution to draw DNA out of cells and then mixed it with isopropyl alcohol to get DNA to clump and 'precipitate' out of the solution. Each students took a small sample of the DNA home.

Academic Head for Science Randy Jenkins also joined the students for this experiement.

Last week, they extracted DNA from bananas.

Students at Glendaal, Glen-Worden and Sacandaga in the enrichment program have or will do the same experiment in the coming weeks.

 

Students in Maria Maynard's OPAL grade 5 enrichment class studied DNA on Monday, March 9, by creating an "edible" version made up different-colored marshmallows, toothpicks and licorice to kick off a unit of study about DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) at Glen-Worden Elementary.

Each student completed their own strand of DNA in a particular sequence/pattern, then combined them into a long double helix of molecules that resembles a hydrogen molecule.

Students in Maynard's classes at Sacandaga Elementary also completed this project. Enrichment teacher Cily Rueda classes at Lincoln and Glendaal elementary schools also studied DNA.

Below are some pictures of their "edible" scientific creation at Glen-Worden:

 

At the meeting of the

Scotia-Glenville Board of Education

on Monday, February 23, 2009- Curriculum Report:

OPAL (Opportunities & Programs for Advanced Learners) Update –

Joseph Kavanaugh (Director of Curriculum & Instruction),

Maria Maynard and Cily Rueda (OPAL Enrichment Specialists)

The recommendation made to the Board of Education during the presentation was-

Recommendations: Our primary recommendation this year for OPAL is not a new one. The Young Scholars program could be absorbed in our S-G program and taught by both our OPAL teachers. We envision half-day programs for grades 4 and 5 in the humanities and science/ math where students qualify for one program or the other (or both) using targeted criteria to that program. One teacher would teach humanities to grade 4 (am) and then grade 5 students (pm) and our other OPAL teacher would mirror that by teaching science and math to grade 5 (am) and then grade 4 students (pm). These programs would occur on Wednesdays and be held at Sacandaga. There would need to be a mid-day bus run on that day. We estimate no change in other opportunities for our students at the building level and would absorb this by restructuring planning time for our OPAL teachers and by having the 10 week science unit on Simple Machines in grade 3 at the beginning of the year taught by classroom teachers instead. OPAL teachers would still screen students by going into grade 3 classrooms and administering activities that would call for creativity, task commitment, above average abilities and extensions/connections to the general curriculum. The OPAL teachers and I look forward to any questions that the Board of Education may have about our OPAL program or this report. I especially want to thank the Board for their openness to new ideas and for their on-going investment in our most talented academic students.

A complete copy of the OPAL curriculum Report handout is available here

If you have any comments or questions regarding this recommendation

Board of Education members can be contacted here

Hearing/Privilege of the Floor is available in the beginning of every board meeting and individuals

may comment at this time

List of upcoming Board meetings

Glen-Worden 'Thinkin' Like Lincoln' and celebrates Abraham Lincoln

The 250 students at the Glen-Worden Elementary School celebrated everything Lincoln - from his public life and statements to his dog, Fido - during the Morning Program on Feb. 9.

Coordinated by enrichment teacher Maria Maynard each class presented information, videos and other items about the nation's 16th president in recognition of his 200th birthday on Thursday, Feb. 12. The entire school sang happy birthday to the former president.

The school also saw information about the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois as well as a YouTube video about Lincoln.

Library Media Specialist Liz Ryan and all teachers at the school were involved in the program.

Capital New 9 was also at the assembly. Here the link to the station's report - http://capitalnews9.com/Default.aspx?ArID=133428

Below are some pictures from the event:

Scotia-Glenville students compete in district-wide Spelling Bee

Fifteen students from the four elementary schools and middle school took turns spelling words during the annual Spelling Bee at the Middle School on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

Two students - grade 5 student Aubrey Gallop from Glendaal and grade 6 student Avery Maycock from the Middle School - will represent Scotia-Glenville at the 27th annual Regional Spelling Bee on Monday, March 16, at Proctor's Theater in Schenectady.

The winner of the regional bee receives an all-expense paid trip to the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee in Washington, DC May 24-29. The regional champion will also receive a computer as well as other prizes for the area's top spellers.

These students were the building champions who competed in the school-wide Spelling Bee:

  • Glendaal School: Graciana Cox, grade 4; Aubrey Gallop, grade 5; and Joie Prentice, grade 5
  • Glen-Worden School: Erin Zeman, grade 4; Zachary Ladouceur, grade 5; and Liam Rooney, grade 5
  • Lincoln School: Stratton Yerman, grade 4; Maggie Holley, grade 5; and John Pierce, grade 5
  • Sacandaga School: Dylan Van Patten, grade 4; Carter Gibbons, grade 5; and Natalie Straut, grade 5
  • Middle School: Avery Maycock, grade 6; Teddy Meiners, grade 6; and Jenna Greene, grade 7

Lincoln Princpal Ann Comley pronounced the words while Glen-Worden Principal James Dunham, Glendaal Principal Tom Eagan and Sacandaga Principal John Tobiassen were the judges.

Superintendent Susan Swartz opened the ceremony by discussing the importance of correct spelling in writing and telling the students that "you are already way ahead of a lot of other students - even college students - that I have known."

Comley assured the students that they are all champions just for making it through the process in each individual school. She also mentioned a truism of spelling bees - "you may end up being able to spell every other word you hear today - except for the one that you are given. That is how it is."

She went on to challenge them with words such as "reckless," "thermal," "tutu," "finale," "feudal," "tendency," "legible" and "mahogany."

Among the top two spellers, Avery correctly spelled "occupancy" and Aubrey correctly spelled "vocable" to become the two SG representatives to the Regional Spelling Bee.

Below are some photos from today's Spelling Bee: