Superintendent DeBarbieri's announcements for December 1, 2023
December 1, 2023
Dear Parents, Guardians, and Staff,
Happy first day of December. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun! Our winter athletics are underway, and our calendar is packed with holiday concerts, festive spirit weeks and fun winter activities!
We saw the return of snow this week and I wanted to remind parents of the important information that was sent out earlier this week about receiving notifications regarding emergency closings and cancellations. Check out our website for details.
I have a few announcements to share with you today:
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Our next Community Café will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 6th at C.W. Baker High School in the cafeteria. The topic discussed will be Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The district is hosting the Community Café this year to bring together students, staff, parents and community members to discuss important topics impacting the school district. Guests will gather in small groups as we share ideas, perspectives and light refreshments. Registration is required. We hope you can join us as we explore questions that matter, build relationships and share our knowledge and ideas to help build, educate and empower our students! Visit our website for more information.
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Our seventh grade band from Ray Middle School will perform at the NYSSMA All-State Conference in Rochester on Saturday under the direction of Tim Moshier. They are the only middle school band from all of New York State to be invited to perform. The band worked with world-renowned composer Sean O'Loughlin. O'Loughlin flew in from Los Angeles to work with the student musicians on a piece commissioned to premiere on Saturday. We also have three C.W. Baker High School performing at the conference. Congratulations to Ethan Haahr, Lundy Langstaff and Chase McElyea. Go Bees!
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On the day before Thanksgiving break, we held our Paige’s Pajamarama to raise money for Paige’s Butterfly Run. The organization supports efforts in Central New York to fight cancer and blood disorders in children. Paige Yeomans Arnold was a Palmer Elementary School student when she was diagnosed with leukemia. She died in 1994. Learn more about her story and the organization on our website. During our district-wide pajamarama, we raised $7,196. Great job, Bees! We joined our neighboring school districts on Wednesday to present checks to Paige’s Butterfly Run. Nearly $41,000 was raised to help children and families battling cancer at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital.
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C.W. Baker High School students Kairi Rodriguez, Sofia Beck, KeiraAnn Remington and Isabella Clark were selected as delegates of the 2024 Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute (PRHYLI) - Syracuse Delegation. This program encourages the participation of Hispanic students in public policy issues by learning about the legislative process. Delegates show great leadership potential. This institute will be held in March in Albany.
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Thank you to everyone who participated and voted in our 2023 Holiday Greeting Card Contest. Congratulations to Dorothy Nimeh, a fifth grader at McNamara Elementary School, for winning the contest. You check out the top ten finalists on our website. Great job, Bees!
Please continue to check ParentSquare, your email and our website, for important updates. As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Dr. Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Superintendent of Schools
