Achieve and Thrive . . . in a Changing World.

f o cu sfW in t e r 2018

New s let t e r f o r t he Re s iden t s o f Li vo nia Cen t r a l Sc h o o l Di s t r i c t

Overcoming Challenges to Move Forward Each Day If you were asked to come up with a list of challenges facing students, families, and our schools in today’s world, it likely wouldn’t take you very long to ask for a second sheet of paper. From the concerns we face when contemplating the tragic news of school shootings, to unfortunate and unrelenting social pressures that pervade many of our students’ thinking as a result of growing up in a digitally connected world, the challenges are indeed numerous and significant. As I grow older and think about the world from a parent’s perspective, I often wonder, are the challenges greater than when I grew up? Perhaps they are just so different and any comparison is apple to oranges. Frankly, I’m not sure whether there is an answer or if this is just the mental exercise that all generations partake in as a right of passage.

I do, however, strongly believe that the responses to today’s challenges facing our students is not different than the responses shared by caring adults in my life growing up or, for that matter, shared by caring adults from any generation. The response is simple—loving support and challenge. Human development research clarifies that resiliency to life’s challenges is fostered in children by at least one caring adult who does not take the problems of life away, but supports and encourages the child to persevere through adversity. A student named Tito, from our Tribes Learning Communities training, explains resiliency theory as having someone to walk beside you through the problems of life. I think that for most of us, we can think of at least one person who helped us make our own way through challenges, problems, and adversity. In doing so, they helped us figure out how to stand tall in turmoil, face forward during hardships, and keep putting one foot in front of the other during hard times. This support and challenge builds the performance character and moral character dispositions and competencies we all need throughout life—for during no time period has life ever been easy for anyone all the time.

As you review this issue of the FOCUS, my hope is that you’ll see many caring adults standing beside students as they support and challenge them to be their best selves and do their best work in all that they do in academics, the arts, and athletics. We remain committed to our touchstone, cultivating a learning community where everyone moves forward each day. There are, indeed, many challenges facing our students, families, and our school in today’s complex, complicated, and, at times, crazy world. Our collective efforts, as caring adults with the privilege of serving students and partnering with families, remain focused on redesigning learning, fostering student growth and development, and connecting and engaging with our community.

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to encouraging and challenging our school community to be its best and do its best in all that we do. As a community, we have a long history of not only expecting the best, but walking beside one another to overcome challenges in our schools, community, and world. We all know that when we work together, our community can support and challenge students to reach their fullest potential and achieve great things in academics, the arts, and athletics. Again, thank you for your important role in building resiliency to overcome—together we are sustaining and strengthening a wonderful, safe, and supportive learning environment for our students to learn, grow, and succeed.As you will see throughout this issue, we

are working harder than ever to support and challenge our students, faculty, and community to move forward each day.

In this issue:Overcoming Challenges to Move Forward Each

Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Elementary School

From the Principal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2“Don’t Pick Me” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Refugee Coat Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3“The Mitten” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Middle SchoolFrom the Principal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4M.S. Geography Bee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5“Interpolated” for the Win . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

High SchoolFrom the Principal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Hang Up & Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6The Kindness Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7VEX Robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The Arts in Livonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9Expanding & Enriching Learning

Encouraging Movement Forward . . . . . . . . 10GVEP “Ready-For” Program . . . . . . . . . . . 10SafeTALK Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Dignity for All Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2018-19 Budget ConsiderationsBudget Development 2018-19 Preview . . . 12Cutting-Edge Technology Initiative . . . . . . 12

Capital Project Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Livonia YouTube Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Get Connected with Livonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Athletics — Winter Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15

Looking for Sports Schedules? . . . . . . . . . . . 15Get Connected to Livonia Athletics . . . . . . 15

H.S. Musical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Pesticide Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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“Don’t Pick Me”

Mrs. Piraino has a room full of proud authors! Students in Mrs. Piraino’s class wrote essays from the perspective of turkeys explaining why they should perhaps be the guest of honor at Thanksgiving dinner. The collection of their “Don’t Pick Me” turkey stories were then published into a hardcover classroom book that will be available at the Elementary School library for their friends to borrow! The student authors celebrated their new book with a public reading in front of family and friends, along with a book signing event for their families! This is just one example of how our teachers implement meaningful activities to engage students in the love of writing all across the Elementary School building.

Refugee Coat Drive

Rochester refugees will be a bit warmer this winter. Mrs. Makepeace organized this 8th year collection from her Spanish classroom at the ES. This year was the most successful collection yet with over 200 articles of clothing. Clothes are being donated to Saint’s Place in Pittsford, which is affiliated with Catholic Charities. Elementary Student Advisory students and Serendipity Club helped to make the collection boxes and organize the clothing. A big thank you to the Livonia community for donating coats, boots and sweatshirts.

“The Mitten”

Students in Mrs. Sessler’s class recently made a fun connection with one of the District’s substitute teachers. Ms. Maggie Horan visited their classroom to watch and participate in a dramatic play of the story “The Mitten” by Jan Brett. In 1998, Ms. Horan was a student in Mrs. Sessler’s class at St. Joseph’s Preschool where she and her Pre-K classmates crawled into the exact SAME mitten 20 years ago so they could act out this wonderful story.

Enriching Our Students’ EducationCasey Whittel, Elementary School Principal

It has been a great year at the elementary school so far and we are looking forward to the excitement of Spring. We are carrying on with efforts to align our literacy program through the on-going implementation of the IRLA reading assessment and have renewed our focus on writing, while clarifying the expectations K through 5, to create a continuous path of writing

development for our students. We continue to work with each grade level to modify and adjust our math program to best reflect engaging activities that challenge students to develop not only a fluency with math, but also a deeper understanding of math patterns. Our goal is to help our students understand how math works so they can solve problems in multiple ways.

We also continue to look for other new ways to enrich our students’ educational experience. The addition of our Spanish program has been a huge success and the students love the exposure to language and culture. Also, “Ready For” enrichment programs are challenging students through technology, science, and computer programming. Our students are fortunate to attend a school with so many opportunities and we truly thank this community for their constant support as we prepare our students for a dynamic world.

The building is alive and reinvigorated with the love of writing. Our new writing focus has helped us shift our expectations of students to, first and foremost, instill a love of writing and an understanding of the importance of the power of effectively communicating one’s thoughts and opinions. Students have worked in various age-level appropriate ways to view writing as a continuous process with a goal of communication. Some grade levels have created writing notebooks that include sections for ideas, rough drafts, works in progress, and work moving toward public presentation.

Our Spanish program is in its second year and it is wonderful to see and hear our students making language and cultural connections. One class, for example, made the connection between the Spanish language differences in plural and singular and connected that back to English language grammar rules. Another class was learning about people from Peru and realized that it connected to their social studies lesson and schools around the world. Research shows that students who study a second language usually perform better in English due to these connections. As Geoffrey Willans once said, “You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.” It takes years of study to become proficient in a second language, but we are already seeing the benefits of expanding our students’ connections to the larger world.

Our “Ready For” enrichment programs are challenging students through technology and science, connecting students to the world of computer programming through hands-on activities. Students use robotics, video game design, and old fashioned tools to build worlds for video games, create the programming to run robotics, and create homemade functioning electric guitars. These activities are created to focus on the “iterative” process of science, math and technological learning, encouraging students to try multiple ways to accomplish their goal and learn through trial and error until they meet success. These activities build the concept for our students that growth in the scientific process takes resilience and overcoming failure through perseverance to accomplish their long-term goal.

Livonia Elementary continues to be an outstanding, caring, and supportive place for students to grow both academically and personally. Our students learn both the skills it takes to succeed in the middle and high school and, perhaps more importantly, what it means to be a good person in an increasingly complex world. I am reminded often of how blessed I am to work in a community that places the needs of its children first. Our families and staff work together to help students grow into successful young adults.

Elementary School Happenings

Congratulations to the Livonia Elementary Page Turners Team who won first place on November 30th at Dansville High School.

The Elementary School’s Student Advisory Council got everyone into the bulldog spirit during the week of February 12-16th. Students wore outfits that were a blast from the past on Decades Day!

During an assembly in celebration of Black History Month, 4th and 5th graders took a journey from the slave plantations through the civil rights movement. They ventured down the underground railroad as they sang “Follow the Drinking Gourd” and helped write a verse of their own for the song, “Change Begins With Me,” adding their own heroes who changed our world.

Our Elementary School students are often able to enjoy time outside on the playground during their school day. They especially love to be able to play in the snow with their friends! Thus parents are encouraged to have their children dress warmly for school at this time of year—hats, gloves, boots, and even snow pants are suggested.

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M.S. Geography Bee

Who knew that El Yunque National Forest was in Puerto Rico or that Jackson Lake is located in Wyoming? Well, Katelyn DeWater, an 8th grader in the Livonia Middle School, did.

Katelyn, along with several other students, competed in the school portion of the 2017-18 National Geographic Bee in December. Jackson McEnerney, a seventh grader, came in a close second place. Katelyn, daughter of Michael and Cherie DeWater of Livonia, and her peers in grades 7 and 8 have been preparing for the National Geographic Bee since late September. The National Geographic Bee is a contest that is designed to inspire students’ curiosity about geographic features and cultures in the United States and around the world.

Katelyn will continue to study and take an online test in hopes of being one of the 100 students from across New York State to qualify to advance on to the state level of the competition in Albany. The Livonia School District has a history of sending hard-working champions on to the State Competition in Albany, including Daniel Linsner, Gregory Mayo, and most recently, Garan Renner. Additionally, Katelyn’s sister, Madison, is a former school level Geography Bee Champion.

Middle School Happenings

“Interpolated” for the Win

Reagan Sykes, a seventh-grader, beat 23 other spellers to win the Livonia Middle School Spelling Bee for the second year in a row. Now, for the first time she has the chance to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee near Washington, D.C.

Reagan and runner-up Luke Fasso, also a seventh-grader, went back and forth for a few rounds before Reagan correctly spelled “interpolated,” which means to insert something of a different nature into something else.

Livonia’s annual spelling bee featured contestants from grades 6 through 8, including sixth-graders Thomas Countryman, Alex Crilly, Grace Denny, Jessica Freese, Kathleen Lawrence, Skylar Meyer, Morgan Meys, Kieran Nichols, Shaine Snyder, Izaya Tanksley, Brian Travis, and Gavin Woolston; seventh-graders Kate Austin, Emma Calkins, Chris Coyle, Ivy Dudley, Luke Fasso, Mike Neckers, and Reagan Sykes; and eighth-graders Katelyn DeWater, Holly Gates, Garan Renner, Angela Tewksbury, and Leah Waterstraat.

Last year, the Bee had no sponsor so Reagan couldn’t advance to any further levels of competition. This year the regional spelling bee is being sponsored by the The Daily News of Batavia and The Livingston County News. Reagan must next survive a written test and a regional qualifier. The top 25 registered spellers after the written test and two rounds of oral spelling will then take part in the Western New York Regional Spelling Final with the regional champion traveling on to the National Spelling Bee at the end of May.

Engaging Our Students Every DayChuck D’Imperio, Middle School Principal

Hopefully this letter finds you warm and healthy as we are in the middle of snow and flu seasons. The District administrators have talked about the theme of this newsletter and decided to highlight the many activities, programs and happenings around each of our buildings. We are so very lucky to have Amy Evans, our communications specialist, working hard each day on communication with families and community members via social media. Her work is key to making the pictures and stories in this edition of the Focus come to life.

Your on-going support of the daily program at the Livonia Middle School is very much appreciated. If we were to use pictures to highlight everything we do at the Middle School, we could publish a small magazine! It is important to me that you know all students have access to the programs and learning we provide each year. The goal at the middle level is to allow all students to sample the clubs, activities, athletics, art programs and academic competitions available. The timing of this sampling can help our students hone in on what their interests are so they can choose to continue with them as they move through high school.

Please enjoy the pictures below and on the next page. Notice the engagement, the number of different students involved, the looks on their faces, and the activities they are performing. Please know that your support of our K-12 program allows our children to experience things that many other schools in our area do not participate in. We want our students to be safe and we want them able to experience what they learn. As I have told you many times over the past 17 years, we have the same issues that every school

in our nation faces each day. Believe me, we have our hills and valleys, but there is no school around that I would want my own children to experience more than the Middle School. You make that possible. Again, thank you! As usual, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me personally. You are part of the Livonia Middle School family and you matter to us!

Students in Mrs. Faulkenberry and Ms. Wolgast’s classes recently made fleece tie blankets, pet beds, pet toys, and homemade dog treats as part of a special project to donate to the SuzieQ Dog ResQ.

Mrs. Carter increased student engagement using Socratic seminar . . . emoji style! The students’ digital literacy was first applied to the literature they were covering in class. Then, they participated in a Socratic seminar with the students leading the discussion revolving around the assigned reading— citing the text, addressing literacy devices, and expressing their opinions.

It’s official! Despite trailing early on, the Academic Challenge Bowl team pulled ahead by halftime and finished strong to defeat York (210-110) and win the Academic Challenge Bowl Championship. Congratulations on the win!

Congratulations to our MS artists Katelyn DeWater and Angela Tewksbury, whose artwork was displayed at Start Here, an annual art exhibit at the RIT Bevier Gallery.

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High School Happenings

VEX Robotics

On February 3rd, Livonia’s VEX Robotics teams competed again in the 2nd Annual Elmira Express VEX Challenge, hosted by the Express Robotics club of Elmira High School. The object of this year’s VEX Robotics Competition game is to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance by stacking cones on goals, scoring mobile goals in goal zones, having the highest stacks, and parking robots.

The three teams each entered robots in the competition with “Livonia DANKTRONICS” placing 2nd, “Livonia VEXY & I know it” placing 9th, and “Livonia X3V” placing 25th out of 32 teams. Additionally, the Livonia DANKTRONICS team won the Design Award, which qualifies them for the State tournament in Syracuse on March 11th.

Students who participate in VEX Robotics include: Emily Carr, Zach Davis, Jason Dutra, Jenna Fazio, Alex Flanagan, Tom Gifford, Tanner Hoppough, Taylor Licata, Garrett Morphy, Mya Morphy, Lauren TeBeau, Alberto Tewksbury, Christian Tewksbury, Cody Van Nostrand, and Cam Villone.

The Kindness Initiative

Students have heard the “anti-bullying” campaign for years. To the point that they aren’t even listening to it anymore. The moment a student hears the words, anti-bullying,” they tune it out because it’s the same information they’ve heard a million times before.

The Kindness Initiative is a program developed to combat bullying and unkind behavior of peers, but with a different approach. Instead of accentuating the negative by telling students to stop bullying, we are focusing on the positive by showing them how to be kind, with the hopes of ultimately achieving the same results but even better.

Based largely on the curriculum developed by the Random Act of Kindness Foundation, teachers follow guided instruction to teach their students various ways to be kind to one another and to be more aware of the behavior of those around them. One of the many great things about this initiative is that it takes a hands on approach. Through a series of activities, students learn what kindness is, and that when you are kind to another person, it not only makes that person feel good but that it makes you feel good as well.

Another great thing about this initiative is that it’s been developed to get the students directly involved with the planning of how it’s implemented within the school. Teachers are welcome to follow a specific curriculum but are also encouraged to develop ideas along with their students that best fit the needs of the student body they are currently working with.

Phenomenal Students Doing Phenomenal WorkAudra Schmitt, High School Principal

Welcome to the second semester! We are so proud of the work the students are engaging in and with spring right around the corner, the energy in the high school is building toward graduation. Every week there is an update regarding the phenomenal work our students are doing to connect classroom learning with real world opportunities.

Take A Stand theme days are taking an exciting new turn as our Link Crew/Leadership students in the high school are supporting a sustained effort to embed a Kindness Initiative. They have been working to lead students with practical and visible acts of kindness toward others. The Link Crew/Leadership students have been presenting to their peers and gaining momentum through our monthly class meetings. The music program proudly sent almost 40 students who qualified to attend the All-County event in early February. We eagerly await the upcoming musical, Spamalot; opening night is March 15th. Between the large cast and backstage crew, we have an inclusive and robust musical theater program that is the envy across western New York. The Art Department is partnering with the Community Bank in Livonia to display exemplar pieces of artwork inside the bank representing grades K-12. The works of art are an amazing preview of what is to come at the Art Show on June 3rd! Nina Monteleone is our Hugh O’Brien Leadership Award winner through the University of Rochester. The HOBY Award provides students, selected by their schools, to participate in unique leadership training, service-learning, and motivation-building experiences beginning a lifelong dedication to improving the lives of others.

The Science National Honor Society is planning a community-wide electronics clean-out in the spring. We are so pleased when our programs connect with the community. Please be on the lookout for information coming soon for participation in this event.

The Math Team took first place overall for the 4th consecutive year with 8 mathletes qualifying for the county and state team, where they will represent GVEP at the Monroe County Math Meet and the NYS Math Meet. Christian Tewksbury was the top scoring 9th grader for the year and Alberto Tewksbury was not only the top scoring 12th grader for the year, but he was also the top scoring mathlete overall for the year. Good luck to Alberto Tewksbury, Alex Livingston, Zach David, Logan Swaisgood, Kiki Fasce, Alex Flanagan, Tanner Hoppoush, and Christian Tewksbury. Our Engineering Design and Development students participate in a capstone project that is designed to have a lasting legacy impact. Our students lead real world design projects for innovation. This year, projects include design ideas for campus beautification and a consumer needs group whose goal is to improve logistical organization and storage potential on campus. We can’t wait to see what they develop and present to the staff in the spring! At the Program of Studies Night on January 11th, I enthusiastically shared how the high school experience is about finding out who you are and how you want to get there. Regardless of student interest or passion, there is an opportunity for students to dial in through our programs; each experience helps to lift our students to the next level and find their path!

Even with a young roster, including four freshmen, the H.S. Science Olympiad team competed against 29 teams to win 8 medals at Mid-Western Division C Regionals. The team is looking forward to next year!

Congratulations to our HS and MS artists, including Mikayla Fletcher, Gabby Travaglini, Morgan Hyde, Jayde Wikin-Smith, Zeke Dawson, and Tyler Norris, whose artwork was displayed at Start Here, an annual art exhibit at the RIT Bevier Gallery.

Five Livonia seniors were awarded the 2018 NYS Scholarship for Academic Excellence based on their outstanding regents exam scores. Congratulations to Zach Davis, Rachael Hoh, Bridget Norton, Logan Swaisgood, and Alberto Tewksbury.This scholarship is designated for those students attending university in New York State.

Hang Up & Drive

Recently, Jacy Good and her husband Steve Johnson, nationally recognized public speakers and advocates for cell-free roads, addressed the junior and senior classes with a powerful presentation about distracted driving in hopes of influencing teen drivers to follow her urging: “Hang up and drive.” Jacy shared the story of how after graduating from college in 2008, she survived a horrific car crash when a tractor-trailer struck her vehicle head-on after swerving to avoid a minivan whose driver was talking on his phone and didn’t see a red light. The crash claimed the lives of both Jacy’s parents and left her partially paralyzed.

Learn more about Jacy’s story at www.hangupanddrive.com.

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What each student decides to make and how he or she decides to express himself or herself is an individual choice.

Sr. High Chorus Aleeya Bourcy, Lexxie Chichester, Mady DeWater, Alli Evans, Anna Evans, Kennedy Garger, Mackenzie Garger, Shawn Hawkins, Rachael Hoh, Sarah Hoh, Jeremy Johnson, Anna Krebbeks, Gracie Krebbeks, Alex Livingston, Anthony Maggio, Lexi Mills, Betsy Mohnkern, Owen Stevens, Hayley Stewart, Logan Swaisgood,Gina Tette, Seth Waldron, Adrienne Weber, Jayde Wilken-Smith, Lexi Woodruff

Color pencils are best when the artist makes their own colors. Students in Studio Art created and applied their own color plans to their drawings from the color charts they created by mixing colors.

Music & Arts

Elementary BandColin Casson, Ava Cook, Kierstin Einhiple, Logan Longbine, Pierce Mahnke, Kallen Miller, Brady O’Keefe, Catherine Rosser, Daisy Sheldon, Izaya Tanksley

Jr. High Band Christopher Coyle, Isabelle Dennis, Katelyn DeWater, Ivy Dudley, Maryn Gammon, Gabe Gammon, Owen Hensler, Lillian Jarzabek, Luke Lawton, Lila Meyers, Brendan Meyers, Maura Miller, Kennedy Neckers, Courtney Rhodes, Reagan Sykes, Angela Tewksbury, Nicholas Truethart, Josh VanNostrand, Leah Waterstraat, Nathan Woolston

Sr. High Band Katie Allen, Anna Evans, Mady DeWater, Kiki Fasce, Hannah Field, Jordan Freese, Mackenzie Garger, Rachael Hoh, Sarah Hoh, Brandon Horcsog, Morgan Hyde, Anthony Maggio, Colby Marshall, Joie Mentry, Mary Noragong, Marinna Raqueno, Jayde Wilkin Smith, Hayley Stewart, Logan Swaisgood, Gina Tette, Alberto Tewksbury, Seth Waldron, Ian Ward

Sr. High Jazz Band Kiki Fasce, Sarah Hoh, Morgan Hyde, Matt Law, Shawn Lucey, Caitlynne Marczyk, Colby Marshall, Jackson Marshall, Alberto Tewksbury, Ian Ward

Art is a personal journey for each student in Livonia Elementary School. Our young artists are introduced to a variety of media, techniques, and concepts. Students also look at a variety of examples from “experts” in the field.

Recently our 6th graders learned about the history and style of graffiti art. Each student wrote their name or tag name in the style of graffiti and then colored and blended them with oil pastels.

A work of pure imagination! Eighth grade students used straws to blow watercolor paint around and then created a monster based on the shape their paint made using a marker.

Students in the Adaptive Art class created salt paintings. They drew an image on black paper with a white colored pencil followed by glue topped with salt. Next, they touched watercolor paint to the line and watched the color travel through the salt.

Students in the High School’s Drawing and

Painting class learned how to paint in the

wet-into-wet style using acrylic paint.

Time to create three-dimensional art! Using their hands to help control, shape, mold, and smooth the clay as it spins, High School seniors practice throwing vessels on the potter’s wheel in Ceramics class.

Elementary ChorusAvery Bernard, Caitlynn Haugh, Ella Hughes, Ethan Mack, Eva Millen, Eliza Parker, Lucas Ray, Lucy Sexton, Shaine Snyder, Keira Wilson

Jr. High Chorus Steven Charlebois, Rayne Ebersold, Gabe Gammon, Olivia Krebbeks, Brendan Mayo, Maura Miller, Mya Morphy, Aidan Nichols, Evan Olsheski, Christian Tewksbury

Talented Student-Musicians

Many of our talented student-musicians were chosen to participate in All-County this winter. Congratulations to the following students who were selected for Festivals 1 & 2:

These members of the Sr. High Jazz Band are just a few of our talented student-musicians who were chosen to participate in All-County.

Jazz Band starts in 6th grade and continues

through High School. Jazz Band allows

students to develop improvisation in a

small setting, and also gives students an

opportunity to try a second instrument.

There is something special about participating

in the arts. Getting up on a stage and singing

gives students a chance to step outside

their comfort zone. As they improve and see

their own progress, their self-confidence will

continue to grow.

In music class, 5th graders work on their compositions in small groups. During the course of the year they will be split up into many different small groups and have the opportunity to practice and compose using different instruments.

Even when performing without sheet music, student musicians are constantly using their memory to perform. The skill of memorization serves students well in education and beyond.

King Arthur and his knights of the round

table and the Lady of the Lake and her Laker

Girls are ready to entertain in this year’s

production of Spamalot.

The lessons our students learn in art class—looking, listening, making, organizing, helping, creating, thinking, reflecting, ect.—carry over to all subjects and truly last a lifetime.

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Expanding & Enriching Learning

Encouraging Movement Forward Ensuring that everyone moves forward each day comes in many forms and requires each of us to learn and grow. Whether it be through expanding enrichment opportunities for students or investing in our staff’s preparation to support our students’ mental health, our efforts require us to examine what we’re currently doing, identify ways to continue improving, and make plans to change our approaches and practices.

Our staff consistently looks for ways to redesign learning opportunities in order to capitalize on changing student interests, integrate emerging technologies, and foster positive collaborations that promote student growth and development. Among these efforts is our partnership with our regional BOCES to secure high quality, engaging enrichment opportunities, which are supported with expense-based aid from New York State (NYS). The “Ready-For” Program represents an example of how we continually seek to enrich student learning in the most cost-effective means. As you can see from the article to the left, our students are engaged in Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) learning as they engage. What you can’t see from those pictures of student learning, is that for every $1 spent to bring excellent opportunities to our students, the District receive approximately $0.70 back from NYS in expense-based aid. Not only is it an awesome opportunity for our students, it also makes financial sense!

We’ve also invested in additional staff training to increase our ability to support students’ mental health. This partnership with NYS Office of Mental Health provided free training from a certified mental health professional to assist our staff in understanding and strengthening our ability to support students expressing thoughts about suicide. Noted on a feedback form from one of the safeTALK training sessions, a staff member shared “it was helpful…I have many students who come to meet to talk…thank you for giving me some needed tools.” This type of feedback is a testament to our many dedicated staff members, as well as evidence of our continued efforts to support and challenge ourselves to find ways to improve to meet the changing nature of the realities and pressures facing our students.

These are only a few of the many examples throughout our District of our commitment to continually improve, enrich, and strengthen our approaches and practices. Ensuring that everyone moves forward each day pervades our thinking, our preparing, and our daily work with students.

SafeTalk Training

Suicide is a significant public health problem in the United States and New York State. In 2014, suicide was the cause of death for 42,773 people in this country. Over the last decade, the nation witnessed the number of annual suicide deaths surpassing deaths by motor vehicle accidents, homicides, and cancer. Since 1999, rates of leading causes of death such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer, have been decreasing, but according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the suicide rate in the US increased by 24%.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death among all age groups in this country—with devastating consequences for individuals, families, communities, and society at large.

Everyone can play a role in preventing suicide by being aware of the warning signs of suicidal behaviors:

• Talking about wanting to die; feeling hopeless, trapped, or in unbearable pain; being a burden to others;

• Looking for a way to kill oneself;• Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs;• Acting anxious, agitated, or reckless;• Sleeping too little or too much;• Withdrawing or feeling isolated;• Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge; and • Displaying extreme mood swings

What You Can DoIf you believe someone is at risk of suicide:

• Ask them if they are thinking about killing themselves (This will not put the idea into their heads, or make it more likely that they will attempt suicide);

• Call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273- TALK (8255);

• Take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional;

• Remove any objects that could be used in suicide attempts; and • If possible, do not leave the person alone.

“SafeTALK: Suicide Alertness for Everyone” Training at LCSDAt Livonia, we are working to further educate our professional staff to be more proactive in identifying and supporting individuals who may be on the path to suicide. Our primary mission is to keep our students safe, and this is one way we continue to move forward in our district.

This year we have been working with the NYS Office of Mental Health to provide a professional development workshop to administrators, teachers, teaching assistants, and teacher aides. Training for bus

Dignity for All Students (DASA)

The Livonia School District seeks to create an environment free of harassment, bullying, and discrimination, to foster civility in its schools, and to prevent conduct which is inconsistent with its educational mission. The District, therefore, prohibits all forms of harassment and bullying of students by employees or other students on school property and at school functions. Livonia further prohibits discrimination against students, including but not limited to those acts based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or sex by school employees or other students on school property and at school sponsored activities and events that take place at locations off school property. In addition, other acts of harassment, bullying, and/or discrimination which can reasonably be expected to materially and substantially disrupt the education process may be subject to discipline or other corrective action.

If you or someone you know has been bullied or discriminated against, please contact John Gammon, H.S. Asst. Principal at 346-4000, ext. 1058 or Casey Whittel, E.S. Principal, at 346-4000, ext. 5001.

You may also contact the District electronically by using the online complaint form at www.livoniacsd.org/tipline. This tip line allows students, staff, and parents to submit safety concerns to the administration 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All personal information is optional and confidential.

Together, we can make our district a safer place to work and learn.

GVEP “Ready-For” Program

The District has been fortunate to collaborate with the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership (GVEP) once again this year and bring back their “Ready-For” enrichment program. Teachers from GVEP engaged students in robotics, coding, and game design experiences across the district, providing real world experiences in preparation for college and career.

At the beginning of the second semester, 8th grade students participated in the EV3 Space Challenge Missions, which integrated science and mathematics concepts. Designed as an engaging and easy introduction to robotics, students worked with a very current and real-world theme—travelling to and living on Mars. Students took on the role of scientists and engineers and progressed through different missions that put their creative problem-solving skills to the test. These challenges were co-developed with space experts and address fundamental challenges that engineers and scientists are working to solve today.

Throughout the year we will continue to bring these “Ready-For” and other similar experiences to the Elementary, Middle, and High Schools in order to provide a multitude of enrichment opportunities for all of our students. These experiences designed to connect with current curriculum, model great teaching practices, and push students to communicate and collaborate with each other—also, they are a lot of fun!

drivers and other support staff will also be coming in the near future. This workshop, titled “SafeTALK: Suicide Alertness for Everyone,” is a three-hour training intended to help identify individuals with thoughts of suicide and connect them to suicide first-aid resources. Most people with thoughts of suicide invite help to stay safe, and knowing this opens opportunities to support that desire for safety. As SafeTALK-trained suicide alert helpers, we are better able to move beyond common tendencies to miss, dismiss, or avoid suicide.

Implementing this training is just a first step in increasing suicide awareness at Livonia. We will continue to work to provide additional professional development opportunities to all staff members in the District and anticipate engaging the community with similar learning opportunities in the near future. Again, safety is an utmost priority at Livonia Central School District and we continue to work to keep all of our students safe and moving forward to prepare for their next steps in life.

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Implementing Preventative Safety Measures

Since securing voter approval for Capital Project 2019 this past December, we’ve been working with our partners at Hunt Architects & Engineers and Campus Construction Managers to refine our plans. As you may have seen in recent news reports on Channel 13 WHAM of Rochester, we are working to increase our security and strengthen safety for students, staff, and our community.

As the pictures to the right depict, we will be redesigning the Elementary School Main Entrance to structure the physical space in a way that limits initial access to the building. We are also redesigning the exit/entrance to the Franklin Auditorium at our High School to allow for safer and quicker exiting, if necessary, in the case of an emergency. The truth is that when these two areas were last updated in the 1990s, the realities of our world were very different from those of today. The current day concerns around securing the building and implementing preventative safety measures quickly led to a reassessment of each of these physical spaces.

In the next few months, the District’s Capital Project 2019 team will continue working with staff and the Board of Education to refine plans for submission to New York State Education Department (NYSED) for final approval on May 4, 2018. Then, we will await NYSED approval, which typically takes 8 to 10 months. We are anticipating construction to begin in late Spring 2019, with the majority of work to be completed during Summer 2019.

The Channel 13 WHAM news story can be viewed at http://13wham.com/news/local/livonia-csd-to-undergo-major-renovation-to-revamp-entrance-ways-in-schools.

Capital Project Update

Get Connected with Livonia

Community Messages — The District invites its community residents to sign up to receive electronic communications from Livonia Central School District. To subscribe:• Visit http://www.livoniacsd.org/GetConnected; or• Call 346-4000, ext. 4019

Please note this system will subscribe users to receive District-wide communications. If you wish to unsubscribe, please contact the District Office at (585) 346-4000, ext. 4019. Parents of children enrolled in the District are automatically subscribed.

Facebook — Find and like us on Facebook: District — Livonia Central School (@LivoniaCSD) High School — Livonia High School (@LivoniaHS) Middle School — Livonia Middle School (@LivoniaMS) Elementary School — Livonia Elementary School (@LivoniaES) Athletics — LCS Athletics (@LCSDAthletics)Twitter — Find and follow us on Twitter: District — @LivoniaCSD High School — @LivoniaHS Middle School — @LivoniaMS Elementary School — @LivoniaES Athletics — @AthleticsLCS

Livonia YouTube Channels

Livonia has three YouTube Channels! They are on and content is being added. Subscribing to a channel is easy. Log into your YouTube account and then simply click the subscribe button anywhere you see it. It is generally found under the video and to the left, near the video’s author. Once you subscribe, any videos that are published by that channel will show up in your Subscriptions feed. This makes it simple and easy to keep up with new content.

You can find the channels by searching:• @LivoniaHS• @Livonia MS• @LivoniaES

Please note that when you search, YouTube will show you the results for Livonia, be sure to click on search instead for LivoniaES, Livonia MS, or LivoniaHS to narrow down the results.

2018-19 Budget Considerations

Budget Development 2018-19 Preview We continue to face similar fiscal challenges resulting from an inequitable distribution of school funding from New York State. Each year we begin our budget development process knowing that State’s fiscal policies continue shifting the responsibility for funding our schools to our local community. As the graph below depicts, over the last decade, we’ve seen the funding responsibility flip from a time when the state funded a majority of our annual budget to this current year where the majority of funding now comes from our local community.

While this seems like a minor adjustment in the percentages, it results in hundreds of thousands of dollars difference each year. What may seem like small changes to some in other parts of the state, are actually much more problematic within our local household budgets.

In our advocacy in Albany, we provide the analogy that as a school district we are a stereotypical working middle class family doing everything we can to provide the very best opportunities for our family, but just barely making ends meet at the end of the day. We certainly haven’t been able to save for retirement, as current needs are greater than what allows for us to plan for future needs. And from time to time, we still use one credit card to pay off another to make ends meet. All in all, it may seem like it’s working, but it’s just by the skin of our teeth! Any disruption to our financial picture would throw us into a tail spin.

With that being said, as families throughout our community do each and every day, we will overcome our challenges and make things work to benefit our students, families, and community. As we enter into another budget cycle, we know that the inequitable policies from the State will be significantly deficient to meet the needs of supporting and challenging our students with the learning opportunities they deserve. Livonia’s Board of Education, however, will rise to the challenge to meet our responsibilities to provide the constitutionally mandated education that our students require to meet the changing demands of college and career.

Our State’s education funding system remains broken. The financial challenges we face each and every year stem from state fiscal policy, not local decisions. Something needs to change in Albany. Unfortunately, the forecast for change in our state capital doesn’t look promising. So, we’ll keep persevering—just as so many of our families do on a regular basis.

Cutting-Edge Technology Initiative

The District, with the assistance of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership (GVEP), has invested in technology to provide a healthier environment for students and staff through a partnership with Hillyard, a cleaning supply company, and Novaerus, an indoor air quality company, to install cutting-edge technology to improve the quality of the air within its buildings.

The importance of good indoor air quality has been highlighted by the EPA and in numerous studies, including a recent report out of Harvard’s School of Public Health. Good indoor air quality contributes to improving cognitive function outcomes, such as decision-making, attention, concentration, and memory. The U.S. Department of Education report on chronic absenteeism also stated, “A healthier environment, complete with good indoor air quality, can help reduce the number of school days missed by both students and staff.”

Common indoor air pollutants in schools, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), can be found two to five times higher than outdoor concentrations. These air pollutants have been associated with acute chronic health effects including asthma, allergies, mucous membrane irritation, and impacts on the central nervous system functioning.

The Novaerus technology, which uses low energy plasma that is highly destructive to microorganisms entering the air thus reducing viruses, bacteria, molds, and VOCs, was installed within each air exchange unit within the District. This technology was evaluated by the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley and has been tested globally in laboratories and implemented in healthcare facilities worldwide. The Novaerus plasma units are similar to bug-zappers for bacteria and other microorganisms, killing them before they enter the learning environments. Livonia is committed to providing healthy environments for its students and staff, and this technology supports that mission.

Two pieces of bread were placed in air chambers, each fed with the same outside air. The chamber on the left had a Novaerus plasma unit installed at the air intake. After six days, the chamber without the Novaerus plasma unit had mold growth visible on the slice of bread.

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SkiingThe Varsity Apline Ski team is very family-oriented with a great bunch of student-athletes who had a wonderful season. This year’s team was young, but has a bright future ahead of them. Members of the team include junior Morgan Blake; sophomores Trevor Fitzsimmons, Lexi Mills, and Cara Monteleone; 8th graders Emma Pribanich and Lindsey Johnson; and 7th graders(Jackson McEnerney, Aidan O’Keefe, and Mike Neckers. Sophomore Cara Monteleone placed 5th overall in the Southern Tier Race League.

Boys Indoor Track & FieldThe Livonia Varsity Boys Indoor Track team had another successful season on the track. Leading the way for the Bulldogs were seniors James Hapke, Tim Redman, Phil Redman, and Sam Warner. Tim Redman captured LCAA titles in both the 1000m and 1600m, as well as a Class C Sectional title in the 1000m. Also taking home LCAA titles were junior Parker Canarvis in the 300m, the 4x800 relay team (Tim Redman, Phil Redman, Aidan Sauter, Eron Schulte). During the season both Eron Schulte (1600m) and Josh Keiffer (weight throw) broke school records. Tommy Ryan, Andy Frisbie, Eli Hopkins, Alex Bogue, Owen Hensler, Ewan Maxwell, and Jake Smith also competed in meets throughout the year, with all members of the team showing great work ethic and commitment during practices and competitions.

Boys Swimming & DivingThe Varsity Boys Swimming and Diving team finished their season with a league record of 7-0-1, captured the Division 1 Championship, and won the LCAA Championship meet. Senior Tyler Norris won the 200 freestyle and freshman Carl LaRue won the 100 backstroke, qualifying for States and setting a school record. The 400 freestyle relay team (Carl LaRue, Tyler Norris, Logan Bronecki, Robbie Stewart) also placed 1st. The Bulldogs went on to win the Class C Sectionals, where Carl LaRue placed 1st in the 100 backstroke, the medley relay team (Carl LaRue, Fynn Vossler, Robbie Stewart, Logan Bronecki) set yet another school record, and Coach Steve Dzina was named the Class C Coach of the Year. Coach Dzina was also named LCAA Coach of the Year. The team graduates seniors James Davis, Alex Livingston, Ryan Mattice, Garrett Morphy, Tyler Norris, Alberto Tewksbury, and Fynn Vossler.

Girls Indoor Track & FieldThe Livonia Varsity Girls Indoor Track team also had another successful season on the track. Leading the way for the Bulldogs were seniors Liz Daugherty, Madison Forbes, and Hayleigh Palotti. Hayleigh Palotti captured a LCAA title in 1500m, as well as Class C Sectional titles in the 600m, 1000m, and 1500m. Liz Daugherty defended her Class C Sectional title in pole vault, as well as winning a LCAA title. During the season Hayleigh Palotti broke school records in both the 600m and 1500m, and Jenna Fazio set a new mark in the weight throw. Britney Baylor, Alyssa Plane-Albany, Max Tuntemeke, and Marisa Wilson also competed in meets throughout the year, with all members of the team showing great work ethic and commitment during practices and competitions.

Get Connected to Livonia Athletics

Livonia CSD Athletics is on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to follow and like us!

• Facebook — LCS Athletics• Twitter — @AthleticsLCS

Looking for Sports Schedules?

Go to http://www.livingstoncountyaa.org/, and click on Livonia to view practice and game schedules. Be sure to click on “Notify Me!” in the top right corner of the webpage to sign up to receive customized automatic text or email schedule reminder notifications, as well as any schedule changes!

WrestlingThis year Livonia’s Varsity Wrestling team combined with Wayland-Cohocton, which turned out to be a win-win for both schools. The Bulldogs and Eagles had a strong regular season, finishing with a 16-8 record, which included finishing 1st in the Geneseo Duals and tying for 3rd in the LCAA Tournament. The team finished 3rd in the Class BBB Sectional Tournament—the best finish that a Livonia team has ever had. Senior Tylor Barnhart who has a 139-44 career record finished 2nd at Sectionals and claimed 1st place in the Section V State Qualifier Tournament 220lbs weight class. Senior Matt Martusciello finished 2nd at Sectionals and Qualifiers with a career record of 150-39. Both wrestlers qualified to advance on to the State Tournament. Additional senior standout wrestlers include Caleb Maier and Andrew Smith.

Ice HockeyThe Varsity Lakers Hockey team was made up of a hard working group of players who battled through injury and illness this season, which required lineup adjustments and players switching positions. Even with a young roster, the Lakers had a very competitive season finishing with a 7-15 record, many of those losses coming by just one goal. The team improved all season long and played their best hockey as the season came to a close. With all the experience gained by the underclassmen this season, next year should provide plenty of excitement. The team was led by senior captain Kyle Huber, who was named 2nd Team League All-Star and Patrick Pugliese Individual Sportsmanship winner, and junior goaltender Issac Sweet, who was named 2nd Team League All-Star.

Boys BasketballThe Varsity Boys Basketball team finished their season with an overall record of 15-5 and a league record of 7-1, earning the Livingston County Division 1 League Champion title for the third year in a row and the #3 seed in the Section V Class B Sectional tournament. The Bulldogs enjoyed a 10 game winning streak and won 11 of their last 14 games. Coach Matt Young reached 200 career wins this season. Members of the team include tri-captains and seniors Barrett Lowe, Cody Ullock, Devante Gwyn; seniors Andrew Crossway, Chris Taylor, John Futter, Da’vieque Naulls and Owen Stevens; juniors Nathan Genthner, Nate Cole, Jalen Marshall; and freshman Alex Minnehan.

Girls BasketballThis year’s young Varsity Girls Basketball team faced a challenging season with a great work ethic and attitude. Early in the season Hornell defeated Livonia by 14 points, but the Lady Bulldogs made tremendous gains during their season and defeated Hornell 66-42 in their second match-up. Sydney Lockwood was named to the Great Livonia Shootout All Tournament Team, Section V Player of the Week, and Livonia Central School District Athlete of the Week. Morgan Hyde was honored as an LCAA All-Star and named to the Senior Exceptional All-Star Team. Coach Karen Schuster reached 400 career wins. Best of luck to seniors Morgan Hyde, Ellen O’Neil, Kara Waddell, and Lexi Woodruff.

Athletics — Winter Sports

*Team photos from Thinking of You Photography

Good luck at States Carl, Liz, and Hayleigh!

Board of Education Livonia Central School DistrictPO Box ELivonia, NY 14487-0489

(585) 346-4000www.livoniacsd.org

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDLivonia, NY 14487

Permit No. 2

J. David Woodruff, PresidentAndrew Mattle, Vice-PresidentMark ConnorAndrew MayoJoshua MonsterAmy StahlRichard Wilkins II

Postal CustomerSuperintendent of Schools

Matthew Cole

District Clerk

Diane Tusch

The most up-to-date calendar of Livonia Central School Board of Education meetings dates can be found on the Board of Education section of the website under the District tab.

Pesticide Notice: No EPA Registered pesticides/insecticides were applied to any area of the Livonia Central School property between Nov. 1, 2017 - Feb. 28, 2018.

Coming Soon to Livonia — Spamalot

We are excited to announce this year’s High School musical production of Spamalot: School Edition on March 15, 16, and 18 at 7 p.m. with a cast of 50 students.

Spamalot: School Edition, a musical comedy “lovingly ripped off from the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Spamalot, a parody of King Arthur and the knights of the round table, opened on Broadway in 2005, receiving 14 Tony award nominations and 3 wins —including Best Musical. We guarantee you will laugh out loud for a solid 2 hours!

Tickets are $10 for students/seniors and $12 for general admission. They will be on sale in the main offices of each school building, at West’s Shurfine, and at the Livonia Pharmacy during the weeks leading up to the show.

Dennis Galahad – Dylan RodeBedevere – Gabe GammonLady of the Lake – Alli Evans Herbert – Anthony Maggio

MAIN CHARACTERS

Arthur – Seth WaldronPatsy – Shawn HawkinsRobin – Logan SwaisgoodLancelot – Alberto TewksburyAngels of the Lake/Laker Girls – Anna Krebbeks, Adrienne WeberLaker Girls – Rayne Ebersold, Gracie Krebbeks, Mackenzie Garger, Kennedy Garger, Lizzie Dustman, Anna Evans, Mady DeWater, Katie Allen, Marinna Raqueno, Olivia Krebbeks

SPAMALOT