Superintendent Newsletter
Panther Strong: September 2022
Dear Spencer-Van Etten Community,
I officially assumed responsibilities as the Superintendent of Schools for the Spencer-Van Etten Central School District on August 1, 2022, and it has been a busy summer across the district! I’m sure you’ve noticed the progression of capital project changes at each of the school buildings and bus garage. As the contractors steadily work towards substantial completion, we are preparing for the return of students and employees. Work will continue into the fall, but it will be scheduled at times that will limit disruptions to instruction, like work that was completed in the spring prior to school ending. Most noticeable will be the new vestibule entrances at the elementary and high schools. These new secured entrances will limit access, thereby, increasing the safety of our students and employees while in the buildings. The elementary school has a new Main Office, Nurse’s Office, and bathroom, and the High School has a new clock system, along with other improvements, such as new water lines, ceiling and lighting fixtures, new pavement, and the creation of a bus loop. The Middle School has undergone significant water mitigation strategies in the basement, as well as around various locations on the exterior of the building, and improvements are underway at the Bus Garage and parking areas for buses. The work will continue to progress, and I appreciate the patience of our school community as most of the buildings were inaccessible at various times throughout the summer.
The district is pleased to announce that we will begin using the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools in an effort to strengthen campus safety for students and employees. This system will allow the district to know who is always in the buildings during school hours, and we will use it to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools. Upon entering one of the school buildings, visitors will be asked to present a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license. The ID will be scanned or manually entered into the system. If an individual does not have a government-issued ID, the school staff can use any form of identification and manually enter it into the system. The Raptor Visitor Management System checks the visitor’s name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. No other data is gathered or recorded, and the visitor’s personal information is not shared with outside vendors. Raptor will generate a visitors’ badges, similar to those being used in hospitals, so that employees can easily identify visitors and verify the purpose for school visits. We recognize this may cause some delays and minor inconveniences during an individual’s first visit, but we feel such measures increase safety for all in the buildings.
I am proud to announce that the Spencer-Van Etten School District has been approved for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs, which means that the district will continue to offer one free, healthy breakfast and one free, healthy lunch to every student regardless of income, similar to what was offered throughout the pandemic. We do request that families consider completing and submitting to the district the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)/Provision 2 non-base year Household Income Eligibility Form, which can be found on the school website and linked here. This will allow us to continue to gather data that might affect other federal and state grant-funded opportunities. Completing this form is not required for students to receive free meals, but your support would be appreciated.
Barbara J. Case
Superintendent of Schools
ACADEMICS
Middle School Information
The staff at S-VE middle school is anxiously awaiting the arrival of our students. The middle school theme for 2022/2023 school year is “Celebrate”. We are celebrating students and staff through the entire school year. Each marking period the MS Panthers will be working to earn incentives for our end of year celebration by “PROWL-ing” through the school year. PROWL stands for:
P – Pride, R – Respect, O – Ownership, W – Willingness, L – Leadership
Each trait will be taught and modeled for our students daily.
Below are important reminders and dates and information to help with a successful start to middle school.
Wednesday, September 7th First day of school for 5th Grade
Thursday, September 8th First day of school for 6th, 7th & 8th grade students. All students will attend school on this day.
Doors open at 7:45am. Specific grade levels report to the following areas until the 8am bell:
5th Grade – Cafeteria
6th Grade – Library
7th Grade – Gym Lobby
8th Grade – Gym
Any student who would like to eat breakfast during this time may go to the cafeteria and eat. No food should be taken out of the cafeteria.
Emergency Contact Information: “New Year Student Checklist”. Please review it and make any necessary changes. Sign the form and return it to the main office as soon as possible. If no changes need to be made, please check the box in the top right corner and still sign and return the form. If any information should change throughout the school year, please remember to contact our main office to update the information. It is extremely important that we have accurate contact information in case of an emergency. This is the form that was sent to your home.
Student Schedules: Your child’s homeroom number is located on the top of the New Year Student Checklist. This is the room that your child will report to when the 8am bell rings on the first day of school. Once in homeroom, your child will receive the most up to date schedule and will have a chance to review the schedule prior to attending classes. Homeroom teacher names are not listed due to sudden changes that may occur with staffing prior to the start of school.
Student Handbook: The Pathway to PROWL is our Student Handbook and is posted on the S-VE website. There is important information in this handbook regarding events, procedures, and expectations at our middle school. Please read this document with your child to help promote a successful year.
Transportation: The Transportation Department will have the transportation form available electronically on the school district’s website for this year, please fill that form out as accurately as possible with the information that is available at the time.
Food Services: Breakfast and lunch will be free to students during the 2022/2023 school year.
Arrival & Dismissal: Anyone not riding a bus to and from school will need to be dropped off or picked up at the main entrance on Academy Street, (tennis court side). Bus Riders are the only students permitted to use the bus loop entrance and exit at the opposite end of the middle school on Center St. Signage will be up to guide drivers during this process. Students who are dropped off by a bus to walk home or get picked up at the middle school will be guided through the school to exit through the main office door, not the bus loop parking lot.
Please call the middle school's main office if you have questions. We are excited for a great start to the school year. We hope to see you at the Open House on September 28th from 6-7:30pm.
Sincerely,
Angela Holmes
S-VE MS Principal
(607) 589-7120
MS Summer Highlights
Thank you Megan Friscia for taking FFA camping! The kids had an absolute BLAST at Camp Oswegatchie ! Activities included low ropes and team building, leadership, kayaking, hiking, biking and lots of GaGa Ball!
Elementary School Information
Summer School Highlights
Support Our Athletes
Athletic schedules are posted on Schedule Galaxy. Please keep in mind that the fall season comes with changes due to weather. You may want to check the schedule before heading out to a game to make sure it hasn't been changed.
We look forward to our community supporting our athletes!
Electronic Newsletters = Environmentally Friendly
Please help us continue to grow our electronic newsletter listserv so we can achieve our goals of increasing community communication and transitioning to a more environmentally sustainable form of communication.Encourage those you know to submit their name and email address to sveinfo@svecsd.org to get on this electronic mailing list for our monthly electronic newsletters!
All newsletters, both printed and electronic, are available here and on our website.
If you didn't get an opportunity to read the July e-newsletter, click here.
S-VE has a new website that is mobile friendly!
Current Positions Available
Please check our website for a current list of available positions, pictured below and linked here.
Anyone interested also may go directly to OLAS to apply or read further about the positions!
Updated Photos from the Capital Project
High School Exterior
High School Interior: Secure vestibule and main office
Infrastructure
Library, lobby and office space
Elementary School
Secure vestibule and main office
Nurse's office
At the August 11, 2022 Board of Education Meeting, Debra Eichholtz, School Business Administrator presented on the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) which is a program supported by the National School Lunch Program and the NYSED Child Nutrition Department. CEP will provide all students with one free breakfast and lunch in the district regardless of income.
Superintendent Case and the Board of Education were excited about being able to continue providing free meals to all students. Free meals were due to expire in the fall of 2022 due to the waivers providing free meals no longer being available. In anticipation of those waivers expiring the district applied for the CEP program in June and our applicationwas approved on August 22, 2022.
Several members of the community and the High School Student Council were present to share their excitement that meals will continue to be free should the district transition to CEP. The CEP Program is a benefit to the entire school community as it is one less expense that everyone has to worry about as the new school year begins. Watch for a letter from Superintendent, Barbara Case annoucing the program availalbity to all students for 1 free breakfast and lunch daily. Students will still need to go through the line as we are required to count the meals served daily.
Some benefits of CEP
- CEP benefits schools by improving access to school meals and increasing efficiency.
- With CEP all students can access breakfast and lunch at no charge.
- The stigma associated with free/reduced-price meals is mitigated.
- No more collecting unpaid meal account balances.
- More students are served through innovative programs like Classroom Breakfast that operate best when all students can be served at no charge.
- Struggling families face fewer unnecessary barriers to accessing the support they need.
- Schools and school districts increase efficiency and decrease administrative burden.
Capital Project continued throughout the summer and the district processed nearly $3.2 million in pay applications for completed work between July 1 and of August 25.
Summer is a very busy time for the Business Office, not only do we open our books for the 2022-2023 school year, but we also closed our books for the 2021-2022 school year. Auditors were in the distict the week of August 8, and will present on our business office budget management operations at the September 22, 2022 Audit Committee Meeting and at the Board of Education Meeting that same evening.
School Business Administrator
16 Dartts Crossroads
Spencer, NY 14883607-589-7105
Our district is the recipient of a Student Mental Health Grant titled “Peace of Mind”, funded in partnership with the NYS Office of Mental Health. We will be receiving $927,811 over the course of the next 5 years, with the grant ending on June 30, 2027, to enhance mental health services and supports. This grant will improve student access to mental health resources, support students who have experienced stress, anxiety and/or trauma, and provide resources to the adults that surround them.
Our district is expanding our partnership with Tioga County Department of Mental Hygiene to include tele-therapy services for students in the middle and high schools. Grant funds will also support an elementary school counselor to serve our students in grades Prek – 4. In addition, resources for families will be provided for students in crisis who may need emergency inpatient treatment. Professional development for faculty and staff will be available to support student mental health in classrooms as well.
The program is administered by the Office of Mental Health and developed in consultation with the State Education Department.