3rd Grade Student Practice Gymnastics at Parker School:
Students at Parker Elementary School are learning about the different elements of gymnastics including the balance beam, uneven bars, parallel bars, floor, and vault. All of the students get the chance to explore each station before rotating to the next.
Luke Schweider, physical education teacher at Parker Elementary School, encourages students to push themselves and keep trying. On January 15th Luke said, “the class was focusing on perseverance which was our character strength for this week. If a student could only climb to the first or second knot in the rope, I would challenge them to try to get to the third knot. I am proud to see the kids keep trying! Thanks to the Cortland Public Education Foundation (CPEF) we have a new set of uneven bars for the kids to challenge themselves ...
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Three Cortland Students Advance to Regional Spelling Bee:
On January 12, 175 students from across Central New York took a written spelling test to earn a spot at the Post Standard Spelling Bee.
Thirty five students who scored the highest on the written test will move on to the oral round.
We are proud to announce that three Cortland students: Matthew DeRado, Gabriel Mendiola and Victoria Ramiza will be advancing to the next round.
Some of the words that were used in the written test were: calculus, guava, pronto, barbarous, piedmont, muumuu, alderman, affidavit, courteous, sachet, consonants.
Matthew DeRado said, “This is my second spelling bee. I really enjoy the experience. I have been studying for the next round and hope to have a chance at winning so I can go to Washington D.C.”
The oral round will be ...
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Health Students Explore How Physicians Diagnose Patients:
8th graders in Christine Andrew’s health class at the Junior High have been exploring how physicians diagnose and treat patients. Students are presented with patient folders ranging from rashes on their hands, joint pain, chest pain after activity, and severe fatigue. Each student works with a partner to use websites like mayoclinic.org and webmd.com to research the symptoms and come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan.
Nicole Simpson, an 8th grade student said, “I like this project because it is interesting researching what is wrong with the patient and figuring out a treatment plan.”
“My partner and I get to explore different diagnoses that may match the symptoms in the patient folders. I like this project because it is more interesting trying to ...
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5th Graders at Parker Explore the Cost of Bananas:
Many of us buy bananas regularly at the grocery store for few a cents each and do not think more about where the bananas are
grown or come from. Leigh Vandebogart, fifth grade teacher at Parker Elementary School, wanted her students to dive deeper and think more critically about where our food comes from.
Leigh said, “ For this particular project I used the NYS Social Studies Inquiry Framework where students focused on answering the question, “What is the real cost of bananas?” I wanted students to learn about where bananas come from, how corporations in the banana industry contribute to society, and what fair trade means. Once we conducted our research, students broke into groups and were able to choose how they wanted to showcase their learning. Students had ...
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Student Newspaper at Randall School Releases First Edition:
The first issue of the Randall Informer came out last week. In this student led club advised by Ms. Mitchell and Ms. van der Veur, students are able to work together to create a monthly newspaper for the community members of Randall School.
Ms. Mitchell is in her first year advising the club with the help of co-adviser Ms. van der Veur. Ms. Mitchell said, “I really want to encourage students to write about what is meaningful to them. If students have choice in the topics, students are more meaningfully engaged. The Randall Informer is an after school club, so we want the kids to be writing about what they want to write about. We put relatively little restrictions on the topics.”
Sydney Brewer is a 6th grader at Randall School, and one of the senior members of the ...
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Drones Fly at Randall:
On any Wednesday morning, the library at Randall school is humming and buzzing with robots, drones, and students eager to learn more about coding. Coding is the language we use to communicate with computers and what we use to build and run websites, apps, video games, and more. Learning to code is like learning how to speak and write in a particular language; a computer’s language. This is thanks to the work Library Media Specialist Katy Charles has done to expand her idea of having a club that focuses on coding and robotics.
Over the years, Ms. Charles robotics club has grown substantially, not only in popularity with students, but also with new devices such as drones, and different robots. Students have the ability to use and code devices such as Parrot Mambo mini-drones, ...
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Physics Student Visit Cornell:
December 11, Cortland High School physics students got an up-close look at Cornell's high-tech, cutting edge research facility on a field trip. The students learned in the morning, and then taught younger students in the afternoon. It was a great day of science learning!
Students had a tour of the laboratory led by Cornell Postdoc students. The tour included climbing into the Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR) control room, the synchrotron tunnel, CHESS operations, X-ray hutches, and the Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) prototype. Students enjoyed being immersed in the culture of science in the context of a world-class research facility. Students got a behind-the-scenes look at scientists and their apparati while experiments are underway, literally witnessing science history in the ...
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Junior High General Music Students Learn About Ghanaian Drumming and Dance:
On December 5th, students in the Junior High general music classes had a special guest from Ghana: Sulley Imoro. Sulley began learning African drumming and dance from his father when he was 8 years old. His father, a popular traditional dancer, was known throughout Ghana. Sulley was eager to follow in his father’s footsteps. “Anytime in the village when we didn’t have entertainment, my father would bring the drums out and play,” he said. “Sometimes we didn’t have light in the village, and if the moon was bright, we would come together and play and dance.” Since that time, Sulley has become a renown performer and teacher of traditional Ghanaian drum, dance and song.
While Sulley was here, students learned how to drum and dance traditional Ghanaian ...
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Internship Opportunities Now Available to High School Students:
The Career and Technical Education team has been working hard to bring back our high school internship program. The District’s Program Review Cycle for Career and Technical Education was completed last year and a number of recommendations were presented to the Board of Education. Recommendations included establishing clear career pathways, expanding those pathways, and adding some new courses. Another major recommendation was to reestablish internship opportunities for students at the high school.
Chuck Petit, Coordinator of the Technology and Business Department at CHS, said, “We had internships for years but needed to make a difficult decision to put them on hold due to staffing demands. We know the importance of internships for high school students and are excited ...
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Journalism Class Publishes First CHS Voice:
The journalism class at CHS is off to a great start this year, with some major changes taking place. The class has a new teacher, website, and print edition. Samantha Gifford is in her first year teaching the course, her second year teaching at Cortland High School. Prior to coming to Cortland, Samantha taught at Watertown High School.
Samantha is excited to be leading the journalism class. “Now that December is here and we have been reviewing the basics of writing and journalism, we are excited to have our first print edition finished. When I sat down over the summer to look at how I wanted to structure the class, I knew there was some things we wanted to keep like the @CHSVoice twitter account, and some things we wanted to create from scratch, like the website.”
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Junior High Art Class Transformed to a Art Studio:
Seventh graders are experiencing an art class that feels like a real artist’s studio. That’s because their teacher, Judy Cogan, believes that they ARE artists, and that they should experience the creative process like adult artists do. Her curriculum is based on an idea known in the art education field as TAB, or Teaching for Artistic Behaviors. It is very different than most art curriculums, because it involves a lot of choice, a lot of independence and a lot of responsibility.
Students spent the first half of this semester learning to use many different media or materials and learning specific skills and techniques with them, like contour drawing, shading, color mixing and much more. Judy said, “During the first half of the year assignments were usually short and ...
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Students Compete in Spelling Bee:
On Tuesday, December 4, 2018, the Cortland Enlarged City School District's 2018-19 Elementary Spell Off was held at the Kaufman Center. Each elementary building was represented by one student who had won a spelling competition in his/her building. Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Jeff Craig, dictated fifty words for the local written spell off. The words were chosen randomly from the 2018-2019 Great Words list.
The top three elementary finalists (Gabriel Mendiola, Victoria Ramiza, and Lucas Fetterly) along with three junior high finalists (Jack Phelan, Matthew DeRado, and Mya Romans) will represent the Cortland Enlarged City School District and compete in the 2019 Post-Standard Spelling Bee. Contestants must not have passed beyond eighth grade before ...
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Family Reading Partnership Collects Books for the Holidays:
Cortland Schools Support the Family Reading Partnership of Cortland County for a Holiday Book Drive
Cortland Enlarged City School District is proud to support the Family Reading Partnership of Cortland County for the 2018 Holiday Book Drive. The Family Reading Partnership provides families with NEW books to give children for the holiday season. Collected books will be distributed to Catholic Charities, Salvation Army and Loaves and Fishes so that families may select new books for their children.
Ann Marie Phelps, Coordinator of the Catholic Charities of Cortland County said, “The book drive is important because we like to provide the families we work with, reading material. The books are a way we can give back to the community. Many people struggle this time of year. The ...
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NYSPHSAA Scholar Athlete Teams:
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA), believes that the athletic participation of students enhances their academic performances. To support this belief, the Scholar/Athlete Team Award Program began in 1991. Varsity teams who have 75% of their team earn a 90% or higher GPA during their sport season qualify for the NYSPHSAA award. Individuals can also qualify, if the team does not, with an average of 90% or better.
Nominations from the Cortland High School for the Fall 2018 season are as follows:
Sport ...
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Winter Sports Preview:
The leaves have fallen off and the weather is getting colder, which means that the winter sports season is about to get underway! Cortland student-athletes are in the gym and started practicing over the past few weeks to get prepared for the rapidly approaching year. We sat down with all of our varsity head coaches to discuss the upcoming winter season. The following will give you a preview of what is to come this winter sports season!
Boys Basketball - Jeremy Milligan, Head Coach
The 2018-19 squad is returning seven players from last year. Coach Milligan is optimistic of the senior leadership and returning talent. Coming off a 10-11 record from last year, the Tigers are looking to return to sectional play and hopefully make a deeper incursion into the post-season this year. ...
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Deeper Learning Project Starts Second Cohort:
Learning is going deeper in Cortland, in this case, the second cohort of the Deeper Learning Project. Teachers from around the district have volunteered to be a part of this exciting project. The Deeper Learning Project creates a supportive and collaborative environment for staff to plan a project that has the following essential design elements: addresses learning standards, is cross curricular, answers a question or concern, incorporates student voice and choice, involves community organizations, and finally displays a public product. Project Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge or skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question. https://www.bie.org/about/what_pbl
The teachers that are ...
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5th Graders at Randall Elementary Study Human Rights as a PBL Unit:
The 5th grade curriculum in the Engage NY learning modules includes a deep dive into the ve ry important document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 5th grade teachers, understanding the relevance and importance of this unit, especially in today’s world, wanted to take time this summer to rethink how they were going to address each learning standard.
Many of the 5th grade teachers participated in last school years cohort of the Deeper Learning Project. The Deeper Learning Project created a supportive and collaborative environment for staff to plan a project that has the following essential design elements: addresses learning standards, is cross curricular, answers a question or concern, incorporates student voice and choice, involves community organizations, and finally ...
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Bus Safety Tips:
School bus transportation plays a critical role in the education of our nation’s students. More than 25 million children ride the yellow bus every school day. Here are some tips from the National Association for Pupil Transportation to keep our children safe at the bus stop as well as on the bus.
Getting Ready for School
Have your children put everything they carry in a backpack or school bag so that they won’t drop things along the way.
Encourage them to wear bright, contrasting colors so they will be more easily seen by drivers.
Make sure children leave home on time so they can arrive at the bus stop before it is due, ideally at least five minutes early. Running after or in front of a bus is dangerous.
Walking to the Bus ...
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2018 Fall Sports Wrap Up:
With the days getting shorter and the weather changing, the Cortland student-athletes have wrapped up the fall sports season. We sat down with all of our varsity head coaches to discuss the fall season. The following will give you highlights from the completed fall sports season!
Girls Soccer- Ilona Ryon, Head Coach
The girls soccer team earned the second seed in the Class A tournament and won their first sectional game in 10 years! The team outscored its opponents 61-17 and had the best regular season record in Cortland’s history. The team offensive MVP award was given to Tori Cruz and Lillian Quick. Both were the top two leading scorers this season. Coach Ryan said, “Lillian and Tori were able to turn on defenders and score, something we need in offensive players.” ...
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Two Boys from the Cross Country Team Competed at NYSPHSAA:
When Coach Paul Drexler started the cross country season, he was not sure star runner Andy Ryan’s ankle was going to hold out. “I know Andy was struggling through a repetitive ankle injury early on. Last year, he competed in the State meet and I wanted him to qualify again this year.” Andy Ryan’s ankle, not only held out, but he was able to perform exceptionally well at sectionals and qualify for the State meet. Running with him on Long Island was teammate, Tyler Stevens. “As long as I can remember Cortland has never sent two athletes to represent Section III to the State Meet. I am thrilled we were able to send Andy and Tyler.”
Coach Drexler, Andy and Tyler traveled down to Long Island on November 9 to run the Sunken Meadows 5K course. Sunken Meadow's ...
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