A Few Updates...

-


 I'm not sure that there are words to describe the events of the last month that accurately depict the roller coaster that we have all been on. The most immediate image that comes to my mind is the tornado scene from the original Wizard of Oz movie. At this point, cows flying through the sky would probably not come as a surprise to anyone. We continue to work through the transportation driver shortage and I thank everyone who has already participated in the survey that the district sent out late last week. At this point, we have 60% of the community responding to that survey and a reduction in student riders by 5%. In an effort to reduce riders further, we are going to keep the survey open until Tuesday evening and ask that people encourage each other to complete the survey if they haven't already. Every percentage that we can decrease ridership will assist in reducing the number of buses needed, which in turn can help make sure we don't have an issue in the future and help solve some of the problems we have been facing with driver shortages to begin with. If you have not taken the brief survey, please do so at this link: https://forms.gle/B6vPcrPacbUm5jjz8 and if you have taken it, please encourage others to provide us with their information if they have not. Every response gets us closer to completely accurate information from which to work with. As a reminder, if you have questions or needs while we are in a remote learning environment, the below email addresses will get you to your building-specific technology department to assist with your concern. 

Stokesstudentaccounthelp@romecsd.org 

Finally, username and password info for your student's Chromebook can be obtained by emailing Studentaccounthelp@romecsd.org.  Please include your child's name and the building they attend. If a student has forgotten their username/password for any of the programs the district currently operates, please send an email to the building-specific email addresses below and our staff will work together to help that child regain access. Your classroom teacher may also be able to help with some of these barriers.

Free Family Three Week Challenge

Fall into fall with the YMCA and their three-week challenge, designed to get you and your family engaged in physical and fun activities as the weather starts to change in Central NY. Activities for the specific week will be posted to their website and Facebook page and include Zumba, Archery, Swimming, Boot Camp, Yoga, Interactive Room, Badminton, Jump Rope, Pickle Ball, and Crafts. For more information, please view their flyer at: https://app.peachjar.com/flyers/2137352/districts/32521

Middle School Poster Contest

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA) are sponsoring a poster contest that is open to all middle school students (grades 6th,7th, and 8th).  The theme of the contest is “Create a Watershed Super Hero.” This poster contest is an excellent tool for teaching about various water issues and environmental issues. Each contest participant will receive a certificate of recognition. Fourteen winners have the honor of having their artwork in a calendar which will be distributed across New York State. The winners will also receive their framed poster and an invitation to their local NYWEA chapter event. You can find additional information on NYSDEC’s website at https://www.dec.ny.gov/education/32108.html or NYWEA’s website at www.nywea.org. The deadline for submitting posters is Friday, January 7, 2022. Questions regarding the poster contest should be directed to Cassandra Davis by phone at (518) 402-8086 or by email at cassandra.davis@dec.ny.gov.



NYS COVID Report Card

The Governor's office and the Department of Health have released the New York State School COVID Report Card once again for families to review district/building-specific COVID information. The information found on the website is a collaboration of data that is received by the State from the school district and the Oneida County Department of Health. This link will take you to the website with the information for the Rome City School District: https://schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov/#/districtData;bedsCodeId=411800

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

When One Door Opens, Many More Follow...

-
Image
One of the hardest things to do in life is to deal with change. There is that old saying, "When one door closes, another door opens." I wonder though, why does a door have to close for another to open. Why can't many doors open when someone decides to go through a new door? I am about to embark on a new professional journey in the coming weeks and I refuse to think that the building that I have helped to lead over the past 3 years is going to be a closed door. Instead, I can think of thousands of opportunities that have been opened because of my decision to walk through a new door. I think of all of the people that have touched my life (students, staff, and parents) and I honestly don't see why a door has to close. Instead of that thinking, I choose to think that thousands of doors are opened now with all of the amazing people that I have had the opportunity to lead. The lessons that have been learned, the friendships that have developed, and the opportunities tha...
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