WHAT'S NEW IN CHATHAM
Fundraiser for Chatham High School Student
Chatham High School Soccer player Tyler Mashaw will serve as a People to People sports ambassador in Brazil for two weeks in July. To help defray the cost of his trip, there is a fundraiser/bake sale planned on July 4th at Carolyn's Village Restaurant - Main Street, Chatham. The time is 8:00 AM - ?. Thank you in advance for your support! Click here for more information about Tyler and his trip.
Chatham Central Schools One Bell Loading Practice Was a Success!
Chatham High School Class of 2009 Honor Students
Mr. Ron Davis, Chatham High School Principal, is pleased to release the names of the Honor Students for the graduating Class of 2009.
Summer Reading Suggestions From MED Librarian
Ann Gainer
Parents looking for summer reading suggestions for their children should go to:
It has really good suggestions for all levels of readers, is well organized and includes reviews, too.
Happy Reading!
Ann Gainer,
MED Librarian
Chatham Middle School Celebrates Arbor Day
Chatham Middle School celebrated Arbor Day, June 9th. A history of Arbor Day and Tree Dedication was presented by Student Council President, Tim Magner.
The CMS Character P.E.A.C.E. Club (Promoters, Educators, and Advocates for Character Education) created a paper Arbor Day tree in the hallway in front of the office with a paper leaf from each student, stating what they did for community service this year. One outstanding student and one outstanding staff member were honored by the club members during the Arbor Day ceremony. Eighth grader, Gavin Shelow was recognized for being honored with the “Family of Rotary Award” for his commitment as a volunteer. He has supported the Rotary Harvest sale, he has volunteered to ring the bell for the Salvation Army, volunteered at the COARC/Salvation Army party, collected Christmas gifts for Adopt-a-Family, worked at the 8th grade Vendor Fair, is a member of the Skate Park Committee and volunteers for road side clean up. Click here for more.
Chatham Staff and Students Build for Habitat for Humanity
On June 6th Habitat for Humanity began another house in Hudson. Industrious members of the high school football team along with their coaches and middle school faculty helped build and raise the walls of the most recent house being built by Columbia County Habitat for Humanity. Middle school faculty members Jason Kahn, Celia Hetterich, Barb fuss, Kristine Mackowski, Laura Grill, Debby Roth, retired teacher Sandi Asmussen and Mr. Will Van Alystne joined forces with high school football team members and coaches, Will Van Alstyne, Ted Himmel, Mark Dwyer (coach), Shawn Caldwell (assistant coach), Tyler McCagg, Brandon Howard, and Stephen Jennings. While having a great time, the participants had a chance to hone and learn new construction skills while helping a family of five build their own home. As is the case with local Habitat houses, this one will be constructed by the partner family and volunteers in twenty days over the course of the summer. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old to participate. For more information on Columbia County Habitat for Humanity go to columbiacountyhabitat.org or call 392-9286.
Chatham Middle School June Students of the Month
Students are selected from each team for their character and improvement.
McKenna Jackson-Team 5, Taylor Mulligan-Team 5
Madeline Jackson-Team 6, Emily Simmons-Team 6
Kaylee Diskin-Team 7, Kris Leonard-Team 7/8
CJ Elmendorf-Team 8
Owl Pellets
By: Ashley Welch, Student
We just got done reading Owl In The Shower by Jean Craighead George. We learned about how the spotted owl is an endangered species and what the government is doing to save the spotted owl. Mrs. Rossi and Miss Gambino also taught us all about spotted owls. We learned about what they eat, and that when they are young their mothers break apart their food for them. Also, we learned about their habitat, how they imprint, and many other things.
Yesterday, we were able to explore owl pellets. There were 3 kids in a group. First we had to tear the pellet apart. Fur and feathers and bones fell out onto the paper. We used tweezers to pull it apart even more and pick the bones we found. We found a lot of bones like skulls, legs, ribs, and jaws of the animals that were eaten by owls. Our groups sorted the bones on a chart so that we could tell what kind of animals they were.
I think this was a fun activity to do with our classmates.
Chatham High School Regents and Final Exam Schedules
MED Fourth Grade Student is a Finalist in the Invention Convention!
MED’s fourth grade student Chloe Erickson has done it again! Chloe was chosen to be one of the 25 Regional Finalists in the Invention Convention 2009. She will be invited to a regional ceremony in Binghamton, NY in June. Last month, Chloe was one of 100 semifinalists chosen out of 1,100 entries. All 100 students were asked to construct a model of their invention in order to be considered for the Top 25. Chloe made a model of her " Scald Free Coffee Strip" which was on display in the Invention Convention Exhibit for the month of May. On May 28, 2009, there was a reception and awards ceremony at the Schenectady Museum honoring the semifinalists. Miss Gambino and Mrs. Goodwin are proud of Chloe and look forward to seeing her invention in the supermarket someday!
Chatham Middle School Visits Little Brook Horse Rescue Farm
Chatham Middle School Students visited Little Brook Horse Rescue Farm, May 22nd as a service learning experience. Each of the fourteen, seventh and eighth grade students was paired with one of the rescued horses to research their backgrounds and how they came to Little Brook Farm for a home and rehabilitation. Little Brook Farm owner and operator, Lynn Cross visited the middle school and spoke with the students about her farm that was established in 1977 and the B.I.T.S. Program (Balanced Innovative Teaching Strategies, Inc.) which combines a multi-faceted educational approach with both traditional and therapeutic riding instruction, providing services to more than 80 schools, organizations, and agencies. Click here for more.
First Year Teachers Complete 15 Hours of Inservice Training
The following first year teachers completed 15hours of Inservice and were celebrating their last class: Barbara Czolowski, Paul Vachiraprapun, Chelsea Donovan, Frank DeCrescenzo, Jodie Sullivan, Dan Kohler, and Ashley Gerace. Congratulations!
A Great Assembly!
Written by: Nick Avenia and Kenny Sperl
Grade 4, Mrs. Kathy Cioffi
On May 26, 2009, a man named Bill Robinson come to our school, M.E.D., for an assembly. The man worked with animals. He brought an owl, an alligator, a lizard, a snake, a hawk, a vulture, and a falcon. He raised many of the animals from babies. He rescued some of the others.
Here are some of the things we learned. The first animal he brought out was a hawk. We learned that hawks like high places. He let him fly and he fed him a frozen mouse. Next he brought out a vulture. When a vulture is scared he may throw up on an animal that is trying to attack him!
We were surprised when he brought out a beautiful barred owl. Owls sneak up on their prey by their special feathers that help them to fly quietly. Another animal Mr. Robinson showed us was a small alligator. Alligators help keep their eyes safe by withdrawing them into their skull.
Those were some of the highlights of this great assembly!
Chatham Middle School Students Visit Highpointe
Recently, ten Chatham Middle School students belonging to Mrs. Tanaka’s classroom meeting group visited Highpointe as a service learning experience. They began by writing letters to the residents to learn about them and share information about their school experiences. The students baked food for their visit and on the day of their visit they engaged residents in a patriotic sing along, worked on arts and crafts with them and played bingo. Every one had a great time learning more about each other and students will be sharing their learning experience with their peers in the Middle School.
Parents as Reading Partners
The M.E.D. PTA is sponsoring a program called Parents as Reading Partners. This program encourages parents to read daily with their children. At M.E.D. all parents are asked to read 15 minutes every day and to have their child return the green slip. The program will run for 2 weeks and the responses are being tracked. A graph by grade level is on the PTA bulletin board and the class with the highest response will be read over the announcements.
M.E.D. Welcomes New Principal
Please welcome Mrs. Kristen Reno who was appointed Principal of the Mary E. Dardess Elementary School at the special Board of Education meeting on Tuesday June 2.
Mrs. Reno has a 17-year career in education, serving the last five years as principal of Durham Elementary School. She was highly recommended by the interview committee comprised of parents, instructional and non-instructional staff, and a representative of administration. Mrs. Reno stated "I am honored and excited to be working with the staff, students and parents at MED elementary school."
Earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in English from SUNY-Cortland, and a Master of Science degree in Reading, Mrs. Reno holds a School Administrator/Supervisor certificate from the College of St. Rose. She resides with her family in Voorheesville. Mrs. Reno will join the Chatham Central School District on July 1.
Please extend a warm M.E.D. welcome to her!
Chatham High School Envirothon Team Competes
CHS Envirothon team recently competed at the NYS Envirothon competition at Keuka College. The team had won the Columbia County spot at the Hudson Valley Regional Envirothon held on April 30th at the Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill. The Envirothon tests knowledge of soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, and a current environmental issue (this year’s topic was Biodiversity in a Changing World).Thank you toTeam advisors: Mark Pearson and Sandy Fischer.
Team members include: Kailey Schillinger-Brokaw, Adrienne Antonson, Wade Okawa-Scannell, Aiko Okawa-Scannell, Madeleine Klingler. Great job team!
National Honor Society Inducts New Members
Congratulations to the new members of the National Honor Society. Click here for a complete listing of new honorees.
Chatham Middle School May Students of the Month
Students are selected from each team for their character and improvement.
Left to Right: Emily Ooms-Team 5, Blaine Winter-Team 5, Bradley Oram-Team 6, Max Wordon-Team 6
Left to Right: Dan Leavenworth-Team 7, Ryan Haner-Team 7/8, Gavin Shelow-Team 8
Flu Advisory Letter for Parents
Please Click Here for the Advisory notice regarding the Flu.
Chatham Central School District Budget Vote Results
The 2009-2010 School Budget was approved by voters by a vote of 542 to 301. A proposition regarding the student ex-officio for the Board of Education also was approved by a vote of 608 to 201. For the Board of Education seats, John Wapner received 516 votes and Jeannean Cheney received 475 votes. John Wapner will serve for the full 3-year term. Jeannean Cheney will serve the remaining unexpired 1-year term of Ric Campbell. Thank you to all the district residents who came out to vote.
Chatham High School Student to Run in 2009 Down Under Games
CHS Junior Philip Mastrosimone has been invited to compete in cross country in the 2009 Down Under Games in Australia. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him. Good luck Philip! For more information and to find out how to support Philip, click here.
Electricity Fair Shocks MED!
By Kate Schassler, Fourth Grader
On Friday, April 24, Mr. Stead’s fourth grade class held its second annual Electricity Fair at Mary E. Dardess Elementary School.
This “mini-fair” had a total of 19 projects, all handmade by the students in Mr. Stead’s class. These projects included a homemade radio, an electromagnet, electric motors, working lighthouses and a 10,000 volt Jacob’s Ladder. This fair served as a finale to several weeks of study based on the topic of electricity.
“I wanted to give each student the chance to become a teacher for a day," said Stead. "They all did really well!"
Mr. Stead and Mr. Schassler, a father that came to the fair, both agree that it wasn’t the projects that wowed them, but it was the explanation of the projects that amazed them.
"By just listening to them for five minutes each," says Mr. Schassler, "it was like taking a whole college course!"
Rachel Freedman, far right, answers questions about her science project at the electricity fair.
Shawn Moore, fourth grader, demonstrates his homemade electric motor for onlookers.
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Chatham Central Schools