Superintendent's Weekly News Brief
For the week ending March 17th, 2023
Superintendent's Conference Day
Superintendent’s Conference Days are a day off for students, but for teachers and staff, it's a day to dig into some important work. All over the District, in groups large and small, WSCSD employees engaged in various forms of training, professional development, data review, planning - you name it! It is a day of checks and balances that allow us to finish the year strong - to the benefit of our students and families. I am so proud of our staff and their level of attention to the duties at hand. Here, you see SRO Mike Rybak conducting a first aid and a CPR familiarization class with our food service and custodial staff.
"Wake Up West Middle": A student Initiative
A look at Jadyn's transcript turns up a lot of 100's, and if there were a grade for personality, she would ace that too - with bonus points on top. Jadyn has enlisted the help of fellow 8th-grader and friend Bella Rose Milligan for the new weekly show. Together, they interview students and teachers about relevant topics.
Before spring break, they went around the school and asked what everyone was doing with their time off. There is a Bad Dad joke segment with the participation of teacher Michael Kanick. They interviewed Music Director Trevor Jelowski and teacher Jessica Hunter about staging the school musical, Frozen. They also touted the March Into Literacy reading initiative, and post clips from the ski club's trips to Holiday Valley. Quite famously, they interviewed and did a video tour with construction manager Alan Zawisy of Young & Wright Architects. The video effects are priceless.
Jadyn, who is a stellar (and tall) Varsity Volleyball player, is also someone looked up to by the students and staff at West Middle. Principal Kean says the sixth-graders recognize her in the cafeteria as a veritable celebrity. She recognizes and relishes her new role, and couldn't be a better role model--straight-A student, varsity athlete, and social documentarian that she is.
When asked how this all started, what her pitch was for the program, Jadyn simply says, "I thought it would brighten Friday. Finish the week on a good note." Jadyn, who was already doing morning announcements, works from ideas of her own, asks faculty and administration for ideas, and of course, takes a lot of suggestions from schoolmates. Right now, Jadyn and Bella are in the process of pulling 7th graders in so that someone will carry on the Jadyn Dains legacy. Has she pondered a career in the media? Jadyn answers, "I've thought about broadcasting. Sports interviews. Maybe sports." We will be watching and waiting, Jadyn! You are truly a young woman for whom the possibilities are limitless!
Bad Dad Joke as follows:
Jadyn: What rhymes with orange?
Mr. Kanick: No it doesn't.
Bella and Jadyn
Student Kelly Cosgrove: Building Trades
Kelly says she likes framing best and that, "No one likes doing drywall." All in all, this senior who plans to attend Alfred State next year for Building Trades: Building Construction says she's probably done more carpentry than anything.
Kelly's counselor let her know about the BOCES program when she was in 10th grade. Though the wait list is long for this particular field of study, Kelly made it in and never looked back. As a child, Kelly spent time helping her father with odd-jobs around the house. Her grandfather was an electrician, and her father also helped an uncle who built his own house, so she comes by her interest and skills by observation and practice from an early age. Always a straight-A student in math, measuring, cutting, and constructing fits nicely into her chief abilities.
Kelly hopes to be employed in the trades after college, and was further inspired by a recent "Girls in the Trades" field trip through BOCES, in honor of International Women's Month. Kelly and her classmates learned that, more and more, job sites are run by women. They visited Danforth Construction and were able to tour through the new structure going up at the Albright Knox Art Gallery.
Looking forward to an internship in May, Kelly doesn't know who will take her on, but she hopes there are plenty of observational and hands-on experiences that will put her that much closer to a construction career.
Kelly has also learned lessons about working in the elements, supply chain issues and budgeting. The house, which is being constructed outside, is about 5 weeks behind schedule due to the lack of availability of lumber, the cost of the materials that were available, and of course, the recent weather we've had. These are valuable lessons for those in the trades as well as construction business owners.
We're guessing that some day, when Kelly owns her own construction company, she can hire someone else to handle the drywall.
East & West Senior National College Fair Field Trip
Representatives from four-year, two-year colleges, technical and business schools, the service academies, as well as the various branches of the military were on hand to answer questions and offer information.
East Middle: History Day Contest
- Aiden O'Neil, Ethan Danner, and Joe Nipcon won a special award for Best Military Themes Entry for their project on the M1 Garand.
- Mark Zullawski and William Bajer placed 3rd and earned a special award for Best Science Themed Entry for their Project of Galileo and the Telescope.
- Nick Blasak placed 3rd for his project on Milton Hershey (the chocolatier), while Andrew Karr, Travis Hupkowicz and Dominic Frost placed in their respective group for Hydropower.
These students along with the rest of Mr. Papke's honors class plans to show off their projects at the District Showcase on March 29th at WSW Senior High School.
East Senior State Champs: Bowling
Congratulations to the West Seneca East Senior Boys Bowling team for winning the 2023 NYSPHSAA Boys Bowling State Championship!
The boys traveled to Strikes N Spare lanes in Syracuse this past weekend to take on the top teams in NYS. East crushed it all day, finishing with a 6 game total of 6,329 pins, beating their closest opponent by 183 pins.
Great Job, West Seneca East!
Coach Kevin Stablewski, Nick Biondolillo (11th), Jacob Ouellette (10th), Jacob Zajac (8th), Michael Morrone (12th), Zach Spengler (11th), Josh Zajac (9th), Jacob Racsumberger (11th)
World Languages Week at West
The World Languages Department at West Senior makes it their ongoing quest to bring the world to West's students. During World Language Week, that took the form of bringing in guest speakers for Journey's End Refugee Services (JERS), a resettlement agency in the Tri-Main building on Main Street. Better still, West grad and new JERS employee, Rose Lukasiewicz, was among the presenters!
In a week when West exchange students said the pledge each morning in their first languages - Italian, Spanish, French, Swedish, and German, International Relations and French Clubs took a field trip to see the BPO perform "Our Musical Heritage," and enjoyed tables full of international delicacies during the International Food Frenzy, there was a blurred line between West Seneca and the world at large.
Zubair Anwari, now a program assistant with JERS, was welcomed by the World Language teachers and students as our guest speaker. He was accompanied by JERS Director of Outreach and Volunteers, Andy Cammarata, and West Class of 2017 graduate Rose Lukasiewicz . After graduating high school, Rose attended RIT and then Trinity College in Ireland. Rose is a translation program assistant in the JERS interpretation department that supports 50 languages and has 70 part time per diem interpreters. She helps with scheduling necessary services JERS's clients need, from financial institutions, to legal and housing concerns, as well as medical and mental health care. She has also been instrumental in setting up 3 apartments for resettlement, a common service JERS provides.
Zubair told of his life in Afghanistan, and how JERS helped him, along with refugees who have fled from their war-torn countries with the hope of resettlement in a safer and peaceful place. He told the students there are over 100 million people displaced currently from Syria, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. Once in need himself, now, Zubair helps other refugees coming to Buffalo. Formerly an interpreter in Afghanistan with the US Military, Zubair describes how some people spend their entire lives in refugee camps.
The military was Zubair's way out. His parents were initially fearful of Zubair joining US forces because he had a cousin who was lost in battle within 6 months of signing on. As Zubair says, "The interpreters stay with the troops." Zubair explained to his parents that if he was successful in staying alive, he would move to America after 2 years with a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and send money back home to his parents. "And if I was killed," he said, "they would get fifty or sixty-thousand dollars that the US government pays to families of slain soldiers." While understanding the possible consequences, his thought was to provide for his family at any cost.
On his first attempt to come to America, Zubair was at the airport, only to have it occupied and shut down by the Taliban. He made it back to his parents' home and laid low for a week before his connections were able to help him get on a plane for the US.
Zubair loves Buffalo. Besides JERS, he is working as an Uber and Lyft driver, which helps him to send money home. He is living in and paying for an apartment, has married, and has bought a car, which he then traded up for a new Subaru. He said he is happy to pay US taxes because they afford you nice surroundings - roads and light and heat - and most importantly peace and freedom. "You are lucky to have good schools," he told the students. In Afghanistan, there are no schools like this. No computer science, no playgrounds. Sometimes school is one room without chairs."
His advice to students was to "respect each other. Make a nice community with respect. And help people. They will help you back."
We're glad your journey brought you to us, Zubair. You taught us and our students so much in one short visit.
Recorder Performance at Allendale
Last but not least, Happy St. Patrick's Day from Winchester Potters
Enjoy your weekend!
Superintendent