Harmony Bridge:
The Cortland Junior and Senior High School Bands are embarking this fall on an exciting community outreach program titled Harmony Bridge! According to the Harm ony Bridge website , the program’s mission is for band students to take their musical skills to the community, as well bring joy to the elderly population in senior care centers and other places of need. Through music performances, conversation and interaction, the students will experience the power of caring and sharing, while developing an understanding of their own abilities to make their community and the world a more loving place. Michael Levine, of Dallas Brass and founder of Harmony Bridge, will be in residence with our band students October 18-20 at the high school to kick off the project.
...
|
Lowes Partners With CECSD to Build XC Trail:
Have you ever noticed the shed to the right of the high school visitor parking? That shed is located at the start of a now overgrown series of winding trails through the woods on school grounds. These trails, not currently used, were once the cross country course. The cross country team now hosts their home races off campus at Cortland Water Works due to the inaccessibility of the trails. Not only are the trails not passable at points, but there is a bridge that is underwater and beyond repair which further prohibits anyone from using the trails.
Athletic Director, Tim Wagoner, decided to contact the staff of the Cortland Lowe’s Companies Inc. to see if they would be interested in partnering to build a new bridge and fix the trails. Each year Lowe’s ...
|
National School Lunch Week:
Mark your calendar for National School Lunch Week October 9 - October 13th! The #NSLW17 theme is
“Schoo l Lunch: Recipes for Success,” which was designed to help you tell your school lunch story, including the ‘secret ingredients’ to your success! At Cortland Enlarged City School District we are seeing a large increase of participation in our lunch and breakfast program. At Virgil Elementary School alone, breakfast numbers went from averaging 40 students in 2016-2017 school year to averaging 65 students in 2017. Our “Secret Ingredient” is the Community Eligibility Program which allows students to receive breakfast and lunch for students grades PreK-6. Next year, we will look to expand the program to grades PreK-12.
Wava Bush, Cook Manager ...
|
Baseball Wins Academic Excellence Award:
The Cortland High School Baseball Program has earned high praise for its hard work in the classroom! The American Baseball Coaches Association's Team Academic Excellence Award honors high school and college programs coached by ABCA members that post a grade point average over 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the academic year. The Cortland High School Baseball Program has earned this celebrated distinction for both the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
Cortland Varsity Baseball Head Coach Ben Albright, is proud of the program’s achievements: “Along with competing on the field, we strive for success off the field and in the classroom. As part of our annual team goals, we have incorporated the need to become NYS Scholar Athletes and ABCA Academic ...
|
Attendance Matters:
The Cortland Enlarged City School District is committed to high levels of learning for all students. In order for students to access a guaranteed and viable curriculum, students must be in school as often as possible. In each of our buildings we are ensuring that our students come to school every day. Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Students who miss a lot of school are less likely to be proficient readers. Math suffers, too. Even high school graduation in negatively impacted when you miss school. The stakes are high! Therefore, interventions are immediately put in place to when students are absent beyond the occasional illness.
At Randall Elementary School, Social Worker Lois Creighton and Nurse Ann Mares review ...
|
Best Student Section in All of Section 3!:
During the last week, a series of head-to-head match-ups between different districts in the Central New York area was conducted, not unlike the March Madness bracket. Cortland was declared the winner in a surprise victory over much larger Cicero North Syracuse (CNS). In earlier, semi-final and quarter-final match-ups against Marcellus and CBA, the Cortland Crazies proved that we have a great fan base and a supportive community. The finals against CNS actually ended up in a tie. Round 2 had to be played, and in this case Cortland triumphed 52% to 48%. The use of social media such as the Cortland Enlarged City School Distrtict Facebook page and @ CECSDistrict twitter account help spread the word of the competition to the Cortland community.
The original idea of the "Battle ...
|
We are HIRING!:
We are currently looking to hire Bus Drivers, Substitute Bus Drivers, Substitute Aides, Substitute Cafeteria Helpers, Substitute Cleaners, and more.
On our website, we list all of our current vacancies, just click here or call us at 607-758-4100 option 2 for Transportation or option 6 for personnel.
For those interested in being a Bus Driver or Substitute Bus Driver, we provide paid training! If you currently hold a CDL, you could be certified quickly to drive a bus. If you do not have a CDL, we can still work with you to get paid training.
We are also looking for part time Bus Drivers to fulfill runs in the evenings such as sports trips. If you have availability from 2:30pm on please consider this fun part time job opportunity. You ...
|
CECSD Welcomes New Teachers:
We’re excited about the new staff members we are bringing on to the CECSD team. Some teachers come to us with decades of experience, others are at a newer part of the career. In all cases, they represent the best and brightest! Here are some short bios about each new teacher.
Name: Shane Adams
School: Senior High School, School Counselor
Bio: Shane has been a school counselor for eighteen years. He has worked at DCMO BOCES, Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES, Berkshire Farms, and Vanderheyden. He lives in Cortland with his wife, three children and cat. He enjoys hanging out with his family and attending festivals. He has a desire to help young people figure out what they want to do. He is happy to serve his community ...
|
CECSD Starts the 2017-2018 School Year:
We at CECSD are have been preparing for this time for several months are are excited to see the smiling faces of our staff and students. Special thanks to our building and grounds crew along with the custodial staff for getting our schools clean and ready for our staff and students. Fresh flowers have been planted at the Senior High School main entrance, benches have been moved at Barry School, and a memorial garden was created at Parker School. The Food Service department has been preparing menus for September and getting ready to provide breakfast and lunch to all of our elementary students. Fall sports teams have been practicing and competitions have begun. Homecoming this year is October 13th.
Here is some particularly exciting news for the new school year:
...
|
Fall Sports Kick Off:
The Cortland Enlarged City School District strives to provide engaging and equitable opportunities for all students,
which includes offering a robust athletics program. Starting last week, varsity sports teams convened for the first time this fall and began practicing. The varsity golf team has already played in two competitions, defeating Jamesville Dewitt on August 23 and earning a split with East Syracuse Minoa on August 24.
The varsity football team kicked off its season with a scrimmage against Johnson City on Saturday, August 26. Football’s first prime-time game will be at Cortland on September 1 vs. Westhill at 7pm.
Varsity boys boccer is looking strong this year with several returning players. The team’s first competition will be a scrimmage ...
|
CECSD Goes Social!:
In order to provide better communication to our families, we now will be using social media in addition to our website and newsletters. Our website will still be our primary form of communication and will be updated regularly with news stories and important information throughout the year. You’ll notice a different look to the building and district newsletters, too.
We will also utilize twitter with the common hashtag #WeAreCortland and twitter handles to keep you posted with real time news and pictures:
Please Follow us on Twitter:
@CECSDistrict
@CECSD_SH (and instagram @CECSD_SH)
@CECSD_JH
@CECSD_Barry
@CECSD_Parker
@CECSD_Randall
@CECSD_Athletics
...
|
Belize Master Teacher Trip:
Four Cortland teachers were selected to be part of the New York State Master Teacher Program biodiversity tri p to Belize in July. Abbey Albright, Carol Brafman, Karen Krichbaum, and Jim Ulrich joined 25 other science, math, and technology (STEM) teachers from the Central New York Region. Each teacher had to complete an application process and was selected by the Master Teacher Program to attend.
The main purpose of this trip was to bring STEM teachers to Belize to learn about issues affecting Belize and Central America, and learn about the impact people are having on the our climate. Although an ecologically and culturally diverse country, deforestation from coastal development, and exploitation of crude oil negatively impact the environment and wildlife. ...
|
Fuel for Learning:
The Cortland Enlarged City School District is committed to high levels of learning for all students. We strive to provide engaging and equitable learning environments for everyone. In an effort to ensure that all students are afforded an optimal learning environment, the district will provide breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students in grades Kindergarten through sixth grade. Beginning this September, the District will be participating in the Community Eligibility Provision of the The Healthy and Hungry Free Kids Act which is a federally-funded program. The savings to our families are significant, as each family will save up to $700 a year for each elementary student in the family. Additional information about this program is enclosed.
A la carte options will still ...
|
Summer School Wrap Up:
Cortland’s elementary summer school program wrapped up on July 28th at Randall Elementary School. Students who attended received instruction in reading and writing in a fun and engaging manner. Summer school teacher Dionne DePuy used thematic units based on pirates, mummies and endangered animals to teach reading and writing.
Brooklyn Mudge, a student in summer school said, "My favorite thing about summer school was Mrs. Depuy because she was so nice. I learned about endangered animals and was able to use the internet to find out cool information. For example, I didn't know red pandas were endangered or that two baby pandas were just born at the Binghamton Zoo. We also studied pirates and mummies. We learned that people used to mummify people in Egypt."
“I ...
|
NYSPHSAA Student-Advisory Committee:
Congratulations to Cortland Senior High student Kathleen Starr for being accepted to join the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Student-Advisory Committee (SAAC). Kathleen is the Section 3 female representative to serve on this statewide committee for the 2017-18 academic year. This is Kathleen's second year particpating on the SAAC. Members were chosen based on an academic resume which included grade-point average (GPA), extracurricular activities, and participation in sports. In total, the SAAC is made up of two student-athlete representatives from each of the eleven sections in New York State.
The SAAC was developed to give student-athletes a voice within the NYSPHSAA. Over the course of the school year, the committee will discuss ...
|
Summer Reading at the Park:
This summer on Wednesdays in July from 11:30-12:30pm students can get free books thanks to the Family Reading Partnership’s Summer Reading at the Park project. Volunteers are at the park handing out donated books that students can borrow to read at home. The Randall Elementary School field and playground was busy with parents pushing strollers and school-age children browsing the available books and accessing the Summer Lunch Program.
Each week students are welcome to come back to borrow more books. This is the first year of the project and it’s off to a great start. Young readers took home more than 130 books in the third week of the program, which easily topped the 85 books checked out during the second week of the program.
“I like reading ...
|
Summer Meals Update July 2017:
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) has been going on at Cortland Junior Senior High School, all elementary schools, and three park locations (Suggett, Dexter, and Randall) this year from July 5 and will run through August 17. The SFSP serves up free, healthy meals for kids and teens at favorite summertime places throughout the Cortland community. Anyone ages 18 and under can drop by when breakfast, lunch, or snacks are served – no sign-up or paperwork is needed. All kids and teens are welcome.
Wava Bush, Cook Manager for the Cortland Enlarged City School District said, “the summer meal program has been going well at the high school. Students that are in the BOCES Regional Summer School have benefited greatly by getting free breakfast ...
|
NYSPHSAA School of Excellence:
The Cortland Enlarged City School District is thrilled to announce that the varsity athletic program has been named a designated Schools of Excellence for its classroom achievements.
In order to be named a School of Excellence, a school must have 75 percent of its varsity teams earn scholar-athlete status (earning a grade point average of 90 or above). Cortland is proud to have 20 of its 24 varsity teams qualify for this award.
“I am extremely proud of the commitment the Cortland student-athletes have shown to their academic success,” Athletic Director Tim Wagoner said. “Cortland Athletics encourages student-athletes to emphasize their academics. Achievement off the playing field is just as important as performance on the field. It is our hope that ...
|
SAT Scores Are Top 10 in Upstate NY:
We are proud to announce that Cortland High School has placed seventh in upstate New York for SAT scores. The composite average total of math and reading scores at Cortland High School was 1144, with Cortland students posting an identical average score of 527 for both the math and reading sections of the exam. Both the composite and individual section scores outpaced statewide averages.
In New York State, students posted an average composite math and reading score of 990 during the past testing cycle. The average math score statewide was 477, while reading registered slightly higher at 501. We are committed to getting our students ready for their future and wish the class of 2017 luck as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. Click here for more information regarding the ...
|
"Annie" is Coming to Town:
The classic Broadway musical starring everyone’s favorite red-headed orphan will light up the stage in Homer this July. Produced by Center Players, Annie features a regional cast of thirty-three, led by Lucia Caravella as the title character, John Melvin as the billionaire Oliver Warbucks, Kristy Buchalla as his trusted secretary Grace, and Wellesley Petruzzo as Annie’s canine companion Sandy. Fifteen orphans and a talented adult cast such as Cortland teacher Tony Caravella and Cortland students Kaedyn Murphy and Willa Olshan.
Directed by William Locke as his fifth encore production, Annie is sure to be the show to see this summer. Proceeds from Annie will support the Homer Foundation and The Center for the Arts. Performances for Annie: The Musical are scheduled for ...
|
|
