Board Report – April 2019

Art • The Art Department has had a very busy month. We were notified that Miss Maya McCollum (12th grade) received a Silver Medal Portfolio with Distinction Nationally from Scholastic Art & Writing. Her portfolio was chosen from over 340,000 works of art! She is considered in the top 1% nationally. Maya will receive a check for $1,000.00 and will attend an awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 6th. Her work will be displayed at the prestigious Pratt Institute of Design and then may tour the country for up to two years post show. In preparation of this big event, Maya has had to ship three of her portfolio pieces. Send a digital greeting, record a short Podcast discussing her creative process and upload a photo of herself. Maya will be accompanied by her family to the award ceremony and Mrs. Restuccia will be attending the ceremony, show and special honorary educator’s breakfast. Below is the altered doll violin Maya submitted and used in a performance art piece.

• The IB Art show featuring 19 Senior Artists will be held April 4th from 8 am-6 pm in the Pool Gym at the High School. Students have been working for two years on their collections and we are showing 200 original works of art along with their process journals. Please try to visit and enjoy this one-day event. Biology

• In Anatomy & Physiology we just finished studying the cardiovascular system. During that unit, students did many hands-on labs such as collecting pulse and blood pressure, conducting/interpreting EKGs as well as sheep and deer heart dissections.

• The Biology teachers are continuing to work with other teachers from around the area as part of a Biology PLC at BT BOCES in preparation for the NYSSLS standards that are being implemented. The opportunity to collaborate has proved to be invaluable as we redesign curriculum and move toward a different approach to teaching science.

Chemistry

• The Chemistry Dept. is about to begin construction of a new Permanent Periodic Table of the Elements on the wall of the stairway between the Chemistry area and the School Library. Previously there has been a paper chart, and then a foam tile chart. This one will be made of aluminum metal tiles, mounted with aluminum grid work being constructed by the District’s Maintenance Department.

More than 100 students will each make an element tile, that will be on display next year. At that time, the tiles will be removed, and we will repaint them on the other side, and reinstall them into the 1 grid work. The general plan is that the Periodic Table will be permanent, but it will change annually, a sort of dynamic equilibrium.

Counseling & Guidance • Career Expo was held on Wednesday, March 20th at Binghamton University. Approximately 200 sophomores took part in this educational field trip to hear from Career Speakers from a wide variety of companies. Students could choose 2 career speakers to learn more about their skills and job duties.

• Approximately 40 juniors attended a field trip to Binghamton University to meet with Admissions Staff and take a tour of the campus. A comprehensive morning was planned for students to get information and learn more about what Binghamton can offer students.

• 17 juniors attended a field trip to SUNY Broome to meet with Admissions staff and take a tour of the campus. Students had the opportunity to talk with the tour guide about her experiences and the benefits of attending a community college.

• Counselors have been completing Junior College Planning lessons in all 11th grade English classrooms with an interactive Kahoot game along with the College Admissions handbook.

• A Career Fair was held at VHS on Friday, March 29th in collaboration with GBEOP. Students and staff had the opportunity to meet with representatives from a variety of careers who were offering possible internships, job shadowing, and summer employment in addition to employment after high school.

• Counselors have also been working with students to complete the numerous scholarship opportunities, including the Dollars for Scholars applications. There has been an increase in foot traffic into the Counseling and Guidance Office for students seeking these opportunities.

• The movie, Angst, was shown to students in grades 8-12 this month. We received positive feedback from both students and parents concerning the topic addressed. Counselors were made available to any students who had concerns after the viewing.

• SUNY Broome was on our campus and completed placement tests for 29 students to prepare them for their college transition.

• 15 juniors applications went out for paid apprenticeships/credit bearing (high school/college) through our BOCES – community connections with Lourdes Hospital, Hinman, Howard and Katell, Modern Marketing, Good Shepard Village, Broome County Arts Council.

• 28 10th graders spent half a day at BOCES exploring Career & Technical Programs

• Scholarships are in full bloom

• Up to 15 students have been invited to interview for the very competitive spots through the BOCES New Visions Academies (Health, Education, Law & Govt., Engineering & Business).

2 Earth Science • Some of the students in earth science have been modeling how water moves under the surface. They have also been running scenarios within a model to better understand how point source pollution, like the IBM spill, can have regional impacts.

• Students also modeled a river system, like the Susquehanna, observing the development and locations of floodplains, as well as interpreting where erosion and deposition occur. With an ever-changing climate in which flooding events are growing in frequency and magnitude, the knowledge obtained from these models allows these future citizens of our community to make more informed decisions about the cost associated with developing along floodplains.

English • Students in Mrs. Yajko’s Pre-IB English 9 classes just completed a unit on the Harlem Renaissance, which included student presentations. There were jazz performances by students, poetry explications, and art history studies as collaborative groups arranged to teach topics related to course studies. Also, students recently completed a series of original journals inspired by their reading of A Raisin in the Sun. Students wrote these journal entries from the perspective of a student-selected character as they worked to understand character lexicon, dialect, motif, and motivation. English 9 students completed a vocabulary exercise for the novel The Watcher that included incorporating student-selected vocabulary from the unit while providing context within a creative short story narrative. Students worked together to create art that accompanied their original creative writing pieces. Students shared this work in class with a read aloud and art reveal.

• Pete Malejs and VHS librarian, Patricia Sweeney, presented their recent collaborative work on teaching research skills through the creation of infographics to an audience of educators and college librarians at Broome Tioga BOCES on March 27. Mr. Malejs and Mrs. Sweeney demonstrated how they taught students the important steps of identifying and evaluating informational sources, note taking, citation, and critical analysis. Students were challenged to research a new technology and explain how it could be used to solve a global problem. Students showcased their new knowledge and research through the creation of an infographic. Students were asked to focus on new technologies that are making a difference in the areas of energy, medicine, learning, and the environment. The project required students to look more deeply at global problems and think about both the positive and unintended consequences of modern invention. Malejs and Sweeney were proud of the students’ enthusiasm for the project. Approximately 70% of students polled said they could envision using all the research and infographic production skills they learned in their future endeavors.

• Mr. Dunham’s 12th grade IB English students have been reading & studying four modern plays in preparation for the IB English exam, which is to be given in mid-May. After completing the formal IB oral assessments during this past month, students are learning the elements of drama through a close reading of Miller’s Death of a Salesman, O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Fugard’s Master Harold and the Boys. The written exam, which is given over two days, requires students to use their literary analysis skills by writing a commentary on a poem or prose extract and by writing a comparison/contrast essay on two of the previously-mentioned plays.

• The IB English 11 students of Mrs. Benjamin and Mrs. Drexler-Smith are preparing for the first of two oral assessments in the two-year course, the Individual Oral Presentation. Students will individually 3 prepare a ten to fifteen-minute presentation in which they will focus on the cultural setting of the work, theme, characterization, literary technique/style, and the interpretation of particular elements from different perspectives. Students are encouraged to choose topics that reflect their personal interests.

Health • Students in Health recently completed a project in which they researched and taught their classmates about a current issue in health. We heard excellent student presentations on climate change, vaccinations, hospice care, designer babies, concussions, Lyme disease, prosthetics, and the health risks of cell phones among other interesting topics.

IB News Math Music • The Vestal School District has been named a NAMM Best Community for Music Education for the 3rd consecutive school year. The award recognizes the commitment and dedication of the Vestal School District to music and the arts as innovative learning opportunities for a well-rounded education.

• Vestal Senior Winterguard and Bear Necessities started Superintendent's Conference Day on Thursday, March 14th by performing "Where the Wild Things Are" and "When You Believe", respectively.

• The third and final BCMEA All-County festival took place at Whitney Point High School and Binghamton University on Friday, March 22nd and Saturday, March 23rd. 216 students from the Vestal Central School District took part in BCMEA festivals this year.

• Vestal Voices and Wind Ensemble held their annual joint concert on Tuesday, 3/26. The concert concluded with a combined performance of Baba Yetu from the video game Civilization.

• On Friday, March 29th and Saturday, March 30th, students across the district performed at the NYSSMA Solo and Ensemble Festival hosted by Johnson City High School. 272 students participated in this festival.

• On Monday, April 8th, Vestal Voices is hosting a fundraiser at Denny's.

Physical Education

• The High School Physical Education Department is in full swing as we head into the 4th Quarter and hopefully, start heading outside, to take advantage of nicer weather. Currently, the 9-10th Graders are involved in weight training as well as the popular floor hockey unit. Our 11-12th Graders have started a Badminton Unit, which students really enjoy as well. Both groups are looking forward to some Square Dancing in the next week and then, fingers crossed, we will be heading outside after Spring Recess. Physics Social Studies • During the March Superintendent’s Conference Day, members of the department attended various workshops focusing on topics such as immigration and social studies practices including inquiry-based learning. We also met as a 6-12 Social Studies Department to discuss workshops members have attended recently and upcoming changes to the curriculum/assessments.

4 • Global History & Geography I students recently completed poster projects on important individuals of the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation. Students hung their posters in the hallways and then spent a class period learning from the posters in the “gallery.” Students in other courses, as well as staff, enjoyed learning about painters such as Da Vinci and reformers such as Martin Luther.

Special Education • Lisa Sienkiewicz and Jen Zindle, along with Rosalie Sullivan, Director of Special Education, Dawn Young, Assistant Principal, Amanda Reid, Math Teacher, and Katie Donlin, Science Teacher, attended a two day conference on Co-Teaching held in Troy, NY. Using what they learned, they will be developing an in- house training to be offered to co-teaching teams here in our district this summer. This is an important component of the AIM initiative, which will be using teaching teams composed of a Content Area teacher and a Special Educator to teach 12:1:1 classes at the high school. Thank you to Superintendent Ahearn for enabling us to attend this important training.

• At Superintendent’s Day in March, Lisa Schriver co-presented a workshop on “The Writing Revolution”. A proven approach that can turn weak writers into strong communicators through specific techniques that match their needs. In addition to improving writing skills, these techniques also boost reading comprehension and develop analytical thinking. Our team also met with the Vestal Middle School Special Educators to continue our work with standards based IEP goals, and with the Guidance and Counseling teams from VMS and VHS to continue refining our shared understanding of what students are appropriate for placement in the AIM program.

World Languages • On March 19, the world language clubs got together for the annual “Top Chef” competition. French, Spanish, and German clubs participated in the event that lasted until around 6 pm. Students had to create either an appetizer and an entree or an entree and a dessert with a range of typical ingredients from French, Spanish, and German cultures. They also had to incorporate a secret ingredient, croutons this year. The eight groups of 3-4 participated and were judged by the club advisors on creativity, taste, and presentation.

• Beth AO, Steve White, Kelly Zhang and Sandy Flesher are teaching their respective languages at Vestal Hill Elementary School. The Vestal Hills PTO is offering “Language Club” throughout March to the students in third grade. The student members of the Vestal High School World Language clubs are helping as well.

• Binghamton University is hosting a conference presented by the Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocities Prevention. Kalindi Naslund will be attending the presentation April 5th that is focused on the Dirty War of South America, the genocide that occurred during this time as well as the human rights violations of past and present in Central and South America. This conference directly aligns with the IB curriculum and will support our course content.

• On April 9th Nicole Ewing, Sandy Flesher and Kelly Zhang will be attending the World Language Conference at Binghamton University. The main priority to this conference is to inform World Language teachers about the major shifts in world language education across New York State. We will be creating assessments to align with the new requirements called APAT (Articulated Performance Assessment Tasks) and saving them to a share folder for all districts to use.

5

2 Annual CSE Reviews 2 RtI Period 2-4 Principal’s Conf. Rm. 4 ERT Mtg., Period 4 Principal’s Conf. Rm. 4 Annual CSE Reviews 6 Jr. Class Prom, 8 p.m. – Midnight at Owego Treadway 8 Annual CSE Reviews 9 RtI Period 2-4 Principal’s Conf. Rm. 9 BOE Mtg., 6 p.m. 10 Mentoring Committee Mtg., 7:15 a.m. Rm. 181 10 Dept. Chair Mtg., Rm. 181, 3 p.m. 10 PTO Mtg., Rm. 181, 6 – 8 p.m. 11 Band Boosters Mtg., 6 p.m. 12 Annual CSE Reviews 13 ACT’s (Area Schools) 15-22 No School – Spring Break 23 BOE Mtg., 7 p.m. 24 Mentoring Committee Mtg., 7:15 a.m. Rm. 181 24 Faculty Mtg., Rm. 260 2:50 p.m. CANCELLED 24 IB Teacher Mtg., Rm. 181, 2:50 p.m. 25 Coffee w/ Superintendent, 7 a.m. 25 Paraprofessional Mtg. Rm. 181, 2:45 p.m. 25 Academic Awards Night, 6:30 p.m. 26 Club Council Mtg., 7:15 a.m. Rm. 181 26 Board Reports due from Dept. Chair 29 BPT Mtg., 12:30 -3 Rm. 161 30 RtI Period 2-4 Principal’s Conf. Rm.

6