Superintendent DeBarbieri's announcements for February 16, 2024
February 16, 2024
Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff,
I hope everyone has a great February Break and finds some time to relax and recharge. There is no school for students from Monday, February 19th to Friday, February 23rd. District offices will be closed on Monday, February 19th for President’s Day.
I have a few announcements to share with you today:
Historic Win:
Congratulations to our Boys Swimming & Diving Team for winning the Section III Class A Championship for the first time in school history! This team has had an amazing, undefeated season, which included having the first diver – Nicholas Pompo – in 15 years. Last Saturday, Nick placed second in the Section III Class A Dive Championships and was named “Diver of the Meet.” At the swimming championships, which were held on Wednesday, the Bees had an amazing showing with 15 podium appearances, including four first place finishes. You can check out all the winners on our website. Swimmer Lucas Clay was named “Co-swimmer of the Meet” and Coach Chris Ludden received the Section III Boys Swimming Mike Farrell Award - Class A Coach of the Year! Congratulations to all on an incredible season. Good luck to the swimmers who are taking part in the Boys Swim State Quals today at Nottingham High School. Go Bees!
2024-2025 Annual School Calendar:
The Board of Education approved the annual school calendar for the 2024-2025 school year at the special board meeting held this morning. The PDF of the calendar can be found HERE.
Thank you:
I want to take this opportunity to thank our families for helping with transportation yesterday and today due to our bus driver shortage. Your patience, flexibility and willingness to help are extremely appreciated.
I also want to thank our bus drivers and transportation staff for making sure that everything ran smoothly despite being short staffed. Thursday, February 22nd is School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. Thank you to all of our wonderful drivers who safely transport our students to and from school. When we return from break, please join us in recognizing the outstanding work our bus drivers and the whole transportation staff does each and every school day! Thank you!
I would also like to send out a special thank you to our team of nine school resource officers and special patrol officers. Thursday was National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day. We are so grateful to have officers at each of our school buildings and our newest addition – Officer Michael Johnson – on our main campus. Thank you to the law enforcement officers who keep our students, staff and schools safe. School resource officers also serve as an important bridge between youth and law enforcement. Thank you for being a valuable and essential part of our education system!
Spelling Bee:
Congratulations to Samuel Meriwether, a 6th grader at Ray Middle School, and Salvatore “Sam” Massa, a 5th grader at Palmer Elementary School for earning a spot to compete in the final oral round of the Syracuse.com | Post-Standard Spelling Bee. They will join 22 students from across the county to compete in the Syracuse.com | Post-Standard regional spelling bee on March 23rd at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. The winner of that competition will represent Central New York in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May.
Athletic Update:
Congratulations to Lizzie Hildreth who won the Girls Bowling Shootout on Wednesday. Lizzie and Samantha Hass have qualified to bowl in the Girls Bowling State Tournament on March 9th. Coach Gary Peterson has been asked to coach the Section III team at States, which is a huge honor! Congratulations, Coach Peterson and go Bees!
The Boys and Girls Indoor Track and Field State Quals were held on Wednesday. The following athletes qualified to run at the State Meet on Saturday, March 2nd at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island:
- Boys 4x800 Relay: Noah Covert, Paul Clark, Zac Arria, & Ryan Wilson - 1st place (8:13.96)
- Girls Pole Vault: Kelsey Dwyer - 2nd place (10'0")
- Boys 1000 meters: Noah Covert - 2nd place (2:37.73)
- Girls 600 meters: Kamryn Barton - 3rd place (1:41.42)
Cheer Sectionals will take place on Saturday at the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College. Electronic ticketing is in effect. Seeding for the Boys and Girls Basketball playoff games will take place on Saturday and games start next week. The Boys Wrestling State Championship will take place next weekend at Time Union Arena in Albany. Good luck to senior Judson Ferris!
Micron Event:
Five of our 8th graders will be attending the Careers in a High Tech World: Micron Event on Thursday, February 22nd. Good luck and have fun: Fallon Quigley, Everett Addario, Liam Jenne, Aedan Jones and Liam Weber.
Scholarship Fundraiser:
Our five elementary schools held a fundraiser last Friday to raise money for the Reese Fadden Memorial Scholarship. Students could wear pajamas for a $1 donation. Durgee Junior High School also held a fundraiser at its school store. Students raised $5,136 for the scholarship fund. Great job!
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.
Have a wonderful break. See you on Monday, February 26th!
Sincerely,
Dr. Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Superintendent of Schools
