Month for Music...

-


 As you may know, the month of March each year is designated Music in Our Schools Month. In Rome, we are fortunate to have a stellar fine arts program, which includes our music instruction of students in all grade levels and across all mediums. There is no shortage of opportunities for a student who desires to strengthen or learn skills associated with being a musician. Year in and year out, our music teachers are helping our students grow into amazing talents and producing some of the finest performances in our region. This is not only recognized by the vast number of students who continue to participate in music, but also by being named a NAMM Best Community for Music Education several years in a row. We know that the efforts of our teachers cannot be matched and that all of our elementary teachers are going above and beyond this year specifically due to the closure of Staley. However, our music teachers (along with our art teachers) have perhaps been hit the hardest with the loss of their classrooms throughout our schools and the need to adapt to environments that are not ideal in any way. Improvisation, as they say, is one of the great elements of music performance and while not always a comfortable mode to work with, our music teachers have shown exemplary professionalism, character, and leadership in the way in which they instruct our students and approach their jobs on a daily basis. Despite any challenge thrown their way, they continue to strengthen our music programs and instill a love for music into the hearts and minds of our students. So, during this Music in Our Schools Month, please join me in thanking them for all that they do for not only furthering the art form of music but also for the dedication they bring to our students. Thank you Rome City School District music faculty, you are second to none!! 

2022-2023 School Calendar

The 2022-2023 school calendar was approved last week by the Board of Education. To see the calendar for next year, please visit our website at: https://p12cdn4static.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_695381/Image/2022-23%20School%20Calendar.pdf.

Kidney Awareness Walk

On Saturday, March 19, Rome Free Academy will be hosting the first-ever Sin Bin Kidneys - Raising Awareness for Kidney Disease walk. Proceeds will benefit the Nephrotic Syndrome Foundation. For more information, including registration information, please visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/romecsdny/photos/a.112334217153539/516754760044814/.

Camp Turk

Attention students in grades 3-6, Camp Turk is looking for you. Located in Woodgate, NY, they offer a variety of options for students to attend summer camps in week-long increments. If you are interested and/or for more information, please visit their website at: www.campturk.org.

Referendum Meeting

On Tuesday, March 15, there will be an informational meeting to provide the community with more information regarding the March 22 referendum vote. During the meeting, there will be a brief presentation regarding the proposed project and an opportunity for Q&A. Finally, additional information is available on our website at: https://www.romecsd.org/news_page/r_c_s_d_2022_capital_improvement_project.

Upcoming Half Day

As a reminder, this coming Friday, March 18, will be a half-day for all students. For more information, please check with your student's school.



Popular posts from this blog

It Takes A Village...

-
Image
 We all know the old phrase, "it takes a village to raise a child." One can reflect on the phrase and find a few different ways to interpret its meaning, however, it cannot be argued that when groups of people work together to help their children grow, success is more likely. To me, I view this phrase as referencing that there is someone within every community that a child can connect with to help them feel a part of their school and/or community. It may not be their classroom teacher or their principal. It may be a bus driver, a coach, a teaching assistant, secretary, custodian, food service worker, music teacher, art teacher, computer specialist, monitor, etc. The list can go on and on. Why mention this? Well, currently, one of the largest and most important educational research projects in our nation's history is occurring with some of the leading educational experts researching what education needs to be by the year 2025. Education 2025 is producing information that m
Read more

Finish Strong...

-
Image
It is that time of year where many schools, teachers, and students want to "coast" to the finish line. A lot like that NFL team that has their playoff birth locked up weeks before the end of the season so they start resting players to avoid potential injury as the regular season comes to an end; some schools have traditionally modeled this mentality. Difference being is that we are in a race, not a season. In a race, if you let up at the end, your final outcome/product will suffer. Even if you are in first place in the race, you don't slow down as you approach the finish line do you? You don't see the jockey on the thoroughbred pulling on the reins so that the team doesn't set a time record. Those thoughts would be unthinkable. So why do we pull up the flaps at the end of the school year on our kids' learning opportunities. Yes, the weather is nice. Yes, it's been a long year. Yes, we've just made it through State testing and AP testing. But, we only
Read more

I Had A Dream...

-
Image
Once upon a time, when we all began our careers or started a new position/school, we had dreams. Dreams of what we wanted to accomplish, dreams we wanted to see our students accomplish, dreams we wanted to see our school communities achieve. Throughout my travels though, I have seen more adults tell students that should lower their expectations and downsize their dreams. Unfortunately, I would say that the ratio of adults encouraging students and adults discouraging students is close to 1:1 in my career. I ask, would you be where you are today without someone throughout your educational life encouraging you to pursue your dreams? As with many things in our schools, we need to focus on the positives that are happening and capitalize on them. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream for our country, and while his dream was related to equal rights and oppression, his intended message of having a dream and working tirelessly to achieve it can be applied universally in society. Recently,
Read more