NEWS
"Theseus and the Minotaur" May 17 & 18
The MED 4th & 5th Grade Drama Club presents "Theseus and the Minotaur" Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in the Chatham High School auditorium. This musical performance is based on the ancient Greek myth about a young hero who must defeat a man-eating mythical beast that lives in a labyrinth. Students adapted the story into a script, wrote their own scenes, and painted many of the sets themselves. The play is directed by Emilia Teasdale, with assistant director Kristen Clark and choreography by Brianne Collins. Admission is free.
Internet Awareness and Cyber Safety Night at MED June 3
MED is hosting an Internet Awareness and Cyber Safety Night for parents of elementary aged children. Investigator Anthony Brahm of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, who is a member of the FBI’s Capital Region Cyber Predator Task Force, will give parents tips on how to keep their children safe online and provide ways for parents to effectively monitor their child’s social networking and other internet usage. This free program is for adults only, so please make childcare arrangements and join us in the MED cafeteria at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 3rd.
Panthers Baseball, Softball Teams Patroon Conference Champs
Chatham’s varsity baseball and softball teams each took the Patroon Conference title in separate wins over over Taconic Hills May 15. This marks the third straight year that both the boys and the girls have won the conference title.
The boys play Catskill on Friday at 1:30 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. Front row - Kody Skype, 
Brayden Steltz; Middle Row – bat boy Hunter Scheriff, Devyn Lockenwitz, Caleb Gregg, Steve Munson, Joe Williams, Gunnar Himmel, Flynn O’Connell and Scorekeeper Mackenzy Morgan; Back Row – assistant coach Kevin Skype, team manager Tim Wheeler, Cody Hall, Brandon Tessitore, Cody Coons, Garrett Jornov, Nick Shaw, Kevin LeClair, Dylan Cox, Aaron Jackson, head coach Scott Steltz, Cooper Steltz.
The girls play Bishop Gibbons on Friday before Sectional play begins next week. Front row - Michaela Smith, Lindsey Skype, Allison Mesick, Kaitlin Pearson, team manager Jenna Skype; back row - assistant coach Dan Gregg, Caitlin Gilligan, Leah Layton, Karey Jornov, Kayla Doty, Erica French, Samantha Zucco, Karlee Shields, Hannah Gregg, and head coach John Brantley.
Wightman Headed to Iona
On May 10th, Chatham Cross Country and Track & Field standout Ross Wightman signed his National Letter of Intent to attend Iona College. Wightman made his commitment to the school and its cross country team official at a letter signing ceremony held in the Chatham High School lobby. The event was attended by Ross's family, friends, coaches, school staff and the media, and included a reception with refreshments. Read more...
MED STEM Club Gets Technical
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math, and at MED this spring, students who joined their school's STEM Club enjoyed problem solving activities that incorporated these areas of learning. One area the STEM club explored was robotics. Students worked in teams to build LEGO robots, then used a computer to program them to do simple tasks. STEM Club is an after school program for select students in grades 3-5 and is advised by 4th grade teacher Michael Stead. Purchase of the robots was made possible by a grant from the Chatham Education Foundation.
String Quartet in Resident at CHS
The Amphion String Quartet took up residence for a day with the Chatham High School orchestra. This young professional ensemble consists of world class violinists Katie Hyun and David Southorn, violist Wei-Yang Andy Lin, and cellist Mihai Marica.
Together, the four held a performance and discussion session for Chatham string students, and sat in with the orchestra to work with them on their ensemble playing. Read more...
NYS Releases School Report Cards
The New York State Department of Education has released report card data on local schools for the 2011-12 school year. The report cards include information on district and individual school profile data, schools' standardized test scores and graduation rates, and more. See Chatham CSD's NYS School Report Card...
Board Adopts 2013-2014 Budget
The Chatham Board of Education adopted the proposed budget for the 2013-2014 school year on April 16th. The budget totals $29,175,016 and carries a tax levy increase of 3.6%, which is less than the District’s NYS property tax cap threshold of 4.34%. Because the tax levy increase is below the state cap, a simple majority (50% + 1) of voter support will be needed for the budget to pass when residents go to the polls on May 21st. Board members also approved a proposition that, if passed, would allow a student representative to sit on the Board as a nonvoting member. Read more...
X Games Bike Legend Speaks at CMS
BMX star Kevin “K-Rob” Robinson visited CMS March 28 to speak to the students about bullying and cyberbullying, treating others with respect, and living positive lifestyles. Robinson often called upon students to help him share his real-life lessons learned from 20 years of professional competition, and incorporated flatland BMX tricks into his presentation to help demonstrate themes like overcoming fear, the payoff of hard work, and the power of perseverance. Read more...
Chatham CSD Recognized Nationally as a "Best Community" for Music
The NAMM Foundation has recognized Chatham CSD for its outstanding commitment to music education with a 2013 Best Communities for Music Education designation. Out of over 2,000 school districts across the country in the running, Chatham joins 307 in receiving the prestigious distinction this year. The Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) highlights school districts that have demonstrated exceptional efforts toward maintaining a strong and vibrant music education curriculum. Read more...
Education Commissioner Tours Chatham CSD
On March 22, NYS Department of Education
Commissioner, Dr. John King, visited Chatham to tour our schools and see first-hand how the District has implemented the Regents Reform Agenda. He spent much of his time talking with students and teachers to learn about their educational experiences, and at the end of his visit, he made positive note of the collaborative culture, unified instructional vision, high quality professional development, and Common Core based instruction he observed while in Chatham. Read more...
District Earns Safety Excellence Award
Chatham CSD has received the “2013 School Safety Excellence Award” from the Utica National Insurance Group. The award includes three levels in which schools can earn a meritorious distinction by meeting specific safety criteria, and Chatham was awarded the highest with a Titanium level distinction. Chatham received a certificate commemorating the District’s safety efforts and a $500 award for use in furthering school safety efforts. Utica National insures more than 300 schools in NY and presented the award at its 33rd annual school safety seminar in March. Read more...
