Capital Project Update

Hall of Fame Inductees announced!

See page 3 for the complete article...

Published for the students, parents, staff and community members of the Vestal Central School District

Continued on special insert attached to the middle of this newsletter

at US!LOOK

Spring 2020Vol. IV, No. 3

We have many exciting Capital Project renovations currently underway, with more planned for the near future throughout the Vestal Central

School District!

This past summer we worked extensively on our athletic areas, replacing our stadium turf, track and long-jump surfaces in Dick Hoover Stadium. At Vestal High School, infield turfs were added at the baseball and softball fields, and a pickleball court was installed near Herrick Field.

Also at the high school, we repaved the parking lot, parent drop-off lane and school bus loop. Per DEC regulations, underground water storage for storm water was added, and drainage in the cafeteria courtyard was improved. Finally, the main campus road was repaved with safety speed bumps and new sidewalks added. Repaving continued at adjacent Clayton Avenue Elementary, as the parking lot was repaved and the sidewalks repaired. A new sidewalk was installed by Sammon Field, connecting Central Junior and Clayton Avenue.

Cover photo; Volunteer and VHE parent Dinesha Ramie, Lockheed Martin, en-courages Sheridan Blake and Zamorah Spivey as they program their LEGO robot.

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Upcoming Date Reminders:Now thru April 3, 2020Kindergarten Registration

March 10, 2020; 6:30 p.m.Junior Parents College Information Night (VHS)

March 12 & 13, 2020 - No School

March 14, 2020 - SAT (Area Schools)

March 14, 2020Odyssey of the Mind (Broome-Tioga BOCES)

March 14, 2020; 7 - 9:30 p.m. Vestal H.S. Talent Fest (VHS Auditorium)

March 19, 2020; 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.Vestal H.S. Talent Fest (VHS Auditorium)

March 20 & 21, 2020BCMEA Festival I (3/20 at C-V; 3/21 at B.U.)

March 25, 2020; 7 p.m.Wind Ensemble/Vestal Voices Concert (VHS)

March 25 - 27, 2020NYS ELA Assessments for Grades 3 - 8

March 28, 2020; 8:30 a.m. RegistrationRunning of the Bears 5K Walk/Run (VHS)

April 6 - 10, 2020 Spring Break - No School

Swing into Spring Dance6 - 8 p.m., May 15 Vestal H.S. Gym

Free for area senior citizens!

And, Don’t Miss This!.. Vestal H.S. will present

Swing intoSpring!

Running of the BeaRs 5KSaturday, March 28, 2020Vestal High SchoolRace-Day Registration: 8:30 a.m.Kids Run: 9 a.m.Walkers Start: 9:30 a.m.Runners Start: 10 a.m.

Pre-register by March 13 to receive your official “Running of the Bears” T-shirt!

(Register online at Bears5K.ItsYour Race.com)

All proceeds benefit Team Hopefull, providing support and resources to local families living with Prader-Willi Syndrome.

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.March 19VHS AuditoriumFree DinnerFree Screeningof “Like” filmFree Childcare

Technology makes our lives easier in so many ways - but what is the cost of our dependence, and our children’s reliance, on screens? “LIKE” reveals the true effects of techno- logy on the brain and uncovers the impact that social media can have on our lives. The film’s mission is to educate, inform and inspire people to effectively self-regulate their screen time.

A documentary about the impact of social media on our lives

All are welcome! If you plan to attend the dinner at 5:30 and/or will need child care, please register on the District website by March 17... Look for the link next to the LIKE icon.

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District Website Redesign If you’ve visited the District website in the last few weeks, you may have noticed a new look! The website has undergone a design update

to improve navigation. Drop-down menus make it easier to see page information at a glance, and new “Find-it-Fast” quick links streamline access to information you use often, such as Food Service, Athletics and more! If you have any trouble locating anything on the website, please contact Regina Felice at rmfelice@vestal.k12.ny.us. Thank you!

Support

Vestal Hall of Fame announces 2020 Inductees

The Vestal Hall of Fame Committee is pleased to announce our Inductees for the 2020 Hall of Fame. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Mark Hatala, Class of 1980, and

Brian Lynn, Class of 1993!

A Board-certified Orthodontist, Dr. Hatala founded Hatala Orthodontics in Johnson City and has been providing orthodontic care to the area for over 26 years. He is recognized in his field and serves as an

Associate Clinical & Research Instructor at Eastman Dental Center and a Clinical Instructor at the SUNY Broome School of Hygiene. In addition to his stellar professional pedigree, Dr. Mark (as his patients call him) is the embod-iment of a contributing citizen to his community. He is a generous benefactor to an astounding number of local charities, as well as an active volunteer for many more. In particular, Dr. Mark is dedicated to being a role model for students. Every year he hosts students from area high schools for Groundhog Job Shadow Day, educating them on the real-world careers available in an orthodontics practice. Dr. Mark also welcomes students from the BOCES New Visions Health Career Academy and dental hygiene students from Binghamton University and SUNY Broome!

An award-winning interaction and product designer, Brian Lynn has demonstra- ted adaptive excellence in a number of areas for over 20 years. He has designed interactive environments and interfaces for consumer, educational, industrial and medical products, as well as for software, websites and mobile applications. Brian’s virtuosity in so many areas has been recognized with a number of awards and patents. Just to name a few, he has received three OBIE awards and multiple Horizon Interactive Awards in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009. Brian volunteers for and serves on community boards and also coaches youth lacrosse and soccer, all while continuing to design and create multiple projects to help us in our daily lives!

We hope you will mark your calendars and plan to join us in saluting these two fine alumni on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. The social hour will begin at 5 p.m. in

the Vestal High School lobby where crudites and other light refreshments will be served. A fine dinner will be served at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria, with the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony to follow. A dinner invitation will be posted on the Vestal Central School District website once the dinner menu has been selected. If you wish to have an invitation mailed to you, please call Shelly Lewis at 607-757-2241.

Foster

Community 101

Vestal’s mission to help our students grow into responsible, contributing citizens is embodied

by their enthusiastic efforts to benefit the community. Here are some of the most recent initiatives they have supported.

African Road ElementaryIn February, ARE Kindergarten and first-grade students crafted over 100 Valentines to be shared with Meals on Wheels recipients in Broome County.

Tioga Hills ElementaryBesides the annual schoolwide food drive in conjunction with the Apalachin Lions Club, THE students found wonderful ways to “Make Actions Count!” Fifth- graders continued their annual Community Box Project on December 5. They filled shoe boxes with personal- care items, wrapped and decorated the boxes, 45 in all, and delivered them personally to the Park Terrace Community Food Pantry. There, they were distributed to patrons of the food pantry over the holidays.

First-graders in Mrs. England’s class made pies for resi-dents at Mercy House of the Southern Tier. They deliv-ered a total of 22 pies on December 12!

Vestal Middle SchoolStudents in Ms. Motell’s FACS (Family & Consumer Science) classes have been sewing pillowcases for children undergoing cancer treatment. Altogether, their teacher anticipates donating just over 300 pillowcases to Ryan’s Case for Smiles.

Vestal High SchoolSophomores in Mr. Bower’s Advanced Drawing & Painting classes teamed up with the Memory Project to paint portraits of children in Malaysia. Many of these children are refugees with few personal possessions. Having a portrait of themselves is a special memento that they will treasure always. For a complete article on this project, visit the Vestal High School web page and click the link “VHS Art students create memories for children in Malaysia.”

Yes Leads helped some wishes come true for an organi-zation in our community that cares for the most vulner-able. The students collected over 175 items for Mercy House of the Southern Tier and delivered them on Feb-ruary 12. If you’d like to help, visit the Mercy House website mercyhouse-southerntier.com for their Wish List.

Left-to-right; Matthew Shirley sews a Mickey Mouse pillowcase in FACS class... YES Leads advisor Patty Kelley with Hannah Krauss, Leah Eldred and Karissa Camp deliver donations to Linda Cerra, Executive Director, at Mercy House (with Tess Dzuba)... Tioga Hills fifth-graders Prescott Darling and Jake Stica select some toothpaste to add to their Community Box... Olivia Muse and Eunice Song hold the portraits they created of Malaysian children for the Memory Project.

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5Challenge

Word Detectives solve the Case of the Mystery Words!

First-grade Word Detectives from African Road had quite a story to tell after their super-secret

adventure at the Super-Secret Detective Agency in November. The students and their teachers shared literacy clues for unraveling mystery words, and then they used their super reading skills to tackle another mission for Sir Book-worm, the head of the Super-Secret Detective Agency. They helped him find his missing words, and received some fun gifts from him in thanks.

First-graders from the other elementary schools also visited the Super-Secret Detective Agency on their own reading missions in November!

African Road Elementary

Andrew, McKenzie, Giovanni and Ava test which shapes roll easier down a small ramp.

Universal Pre-Kindergarten Geometry 101

Don’t tell these four-year-olds at the Cub Care campus that math isn’t fun! They

are having a great time seeing what shapes roll down a ramp better than others as part of a math center on January 29.

While one of the goals of Universal Pre- Kindergarten is to promote school readiness for all children, it’s also the perfect time to instill a love of learning as well.

Lula, Chris, Rui, Gurjot and Japleen (in background) join Sir Bookworm, aka Senior Typist Dylan Ruffo,

in identifying mystery words when they are reading.

Taste of ARE

Food is the ingredient that binds us together! That was the quote on the flyer promoting African

Road’s signature event, Taste of ARE, for this year. This is the fourth year that the ARE community has come together to celebrate the school’s global culture and traditions through the sharing of cui-sine from around the world. Altogether, 20 different countries were represented by ARE students and their families!

Rabia and Ashiana Uppal and their family represented India at the Fourth Annual Taste of ARE.

Support

“Tricky” Science Fun!

One thing Glenwood fourth-graders learned during the Chemistry Magic

Show at Vestal High School on December 11 is that it’s not magic, it’s science! They were completely dazzled by the chemical reac-tions that VHS Chemistry students prepared for them as part of this annual presentation supported by the Vestal School Foundation. VHS role models who specially trained to participate took great delight in showing the

younger students that science is a blast!Fourth-graders from the other four ele-mentary schools also enjoyed Chemistry Magic Shows in No-vember and January.

Above; Maliyah Abdullah participates in the fortune teller’s (Jack Zhou) skit during the Chemistry Magic Show at Vestal High School.

Glenwood Elementary

Left; Aspiring writers/ illustrators Samiyah, Juliette, Brynn and Samarth meet chil-dren’s book author Suzanne Bloom.

Clayton Avenue ElementaryBaxter’s Book Tour

Baxter the Bearcat and six of his friends, student athletes from Binghamton University’s Wres-

tling team, shared the importance of reading with Clayton Avenue second-graders when they stopped by as part of “Baxter’s Book Tour” on January 15. The athletes read a favorite children’s book as well as a new book for the children, “Baxter the Bearcat explores Binghamton University.” Afterward, Baxter and friends gave copies of Baxter’s book to each class, and then posed for photos with them.

Clayton Avenue was not the only stop on Baxter’s Book Tour... Athletes from B.U.’s Swimming & Diving team visited Vestal Hills on January 13 to read to second-graders there!

Above; B.U. wrestlers Aidan Monteverdi and Dane Heberlein take turns reading to second-graders in Mrs. Barney’s classroom.

Left; Lindsey Briglia meets Baxter.

Blooming Writers

What an incentive to put pencil to paper or crayon to drawing pad!.. Children’s book

author Suzanne Bloom (“Piggy Monday” & “A Splendid Friend, Indeed”) visited the school on December 10 to present on the creative process to students in grades K - 5... She also visited African Road on November 14.

The author’s visits were courtesy of GSCA & ARE PTA, in part. 6

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Cohen, Binghamton University

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Being Good Neighbors

Part of the District’s mission statement focuses on encour-aging our students to become responsible, contributing cit-

izens. Vestal Hills Kindergarten students begin practicing their social skills early, with their annual pre-Thanksgiving visit to their neighbors at Elderwood Village. They brought cards and place mats they made, and sang Thanksgiving songs to the residents. Sometimes, they just like to chat with a new friend.

Tioga Hills Elementary

Vestal Hills Elementary LEGO Day

If you build it, sometimes it will move!.. Vestal Hills fourth- and fifth-graders celebrated National LEGO

Day early on January 24, with help from Lockheed Martin volunteers. As part of their “Engineers in the Classroom” outreach programs, Lockheed Martin vol-unteers came by with LEGO robotics kits and helped the students build and program LEGO robots. In other classrooms throughout the school, younger students enjoyed age-appropriate LEGO activities.

Field Trips in our Backyard

Sometimes we take for granted what a valuable asset our area has in the edu-

cational resources available through Bing-hamton University. In our last “Look at Us,” we highlighted B.U. pharmacy stu-dents visiting Vestal Hills in October. Now, Tioga Hills fourth-grade classes enjoyed a field trip to science departments and the greenhouse at Binghamton University. On February 10, they met with scientists and engineers in the areas of Biology, Chemistry and Archaeology for an educa-tional tour of the facilities and a peek into some of the projects and research that B.U. students and their professors are undertaking.

Right; Brady has an earnest conversation with Elderwood Village resident Ruth Soltanoff.

Above; Binghamton University Greenhouse Manager Laurie Bell leads fourth-graders on a tour of the E.W. Heier Teaching Greenhouse.

Left; Fifth-graders Teddy Brosius and Josh Kweller work together to build their LEGO robot.

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Testing Cell Permeability, aka The Naked Egg Lab

It’s like a rite of passage for middle school students in Vestal, the Naked Egg Lab!

Described by one of the science teachers, Ms. Karen Valenta, as the biggest lab of the year, it provides an opportunity for seventh- graders to test the inquiry “Does the external environment affect the internal environment of a cell?”

Over the course of a week at the end of January, students immersed eggs into various solutions, like vinegar, corn syrup, and then plain, old H20. Following the immersion, they obtained the mass of their eggs, sketched them and noted the changes that their specimens have undergone. The egg-citing fun for students whose eggs had survived to the end of the lab? They got to lob them at their teachers!

Above; Ian Ontaneda obtains the mass of his egg on Day 3 of the Naked Egg Lab, to see how a night spent immersed in corn syrup affected its mass.

Vestal Middle School American Chemical Society contest

Congratulations to Yejun Yun, who won first place in our region, out

of 82 entries, in the American Chemi-cal Society’s illustrated poetry contest. Yejun began eighth grade at Vestal Middle School in September, but he relocated to South Korea last month.

What would you do if you found your- self in the middle of a violent situation?

Do you have a plan? Are you prepared to act?

The Town of Vestal Police Department, in partnership with the Vestal Central School District, will be offering a presentation on “Civilian Response to an Active-Shooter Event” on April 22, 2020. The presentation will begin at 6 p.m. in the African Road Auditorium.

Peace Poster Contest Winner

S indi Zhou, a sixth-grader

at Vestal Middle School was selec- ted as one of the regional winners of the Apalachin Lions Club annual Peace Poster Contest. This year’s theme was “Journey of Peace,” and Sindi received a $50 savings bond as her prize. Her art teacher at VMS is Christopher Gilligan.

During this program, attendees will be provided with some history of active-attack events, and the background science of how people may behave in high-stress situations. This Avoid, Deny, De-fend program is designed to provide civilians with knowledge that will empower and instill confidence to survive an active-attack event. Due to the serious-ness of the content, anyone less than 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.

Presenters have been certified via Texas State University’s Advance Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) program.For more information about this presentation, contact Vestal PD at 748-1514, Ext. 441.

Community Event: District partners with Vestal Police for Civilian Response program

Azalynn Delovich, Abby Slabicki, Evangeline Delovich, Sophie Coker, Hannah Goldberg, Khushi Patel, Abbey Kane and Tabitha Briggs (seated), Garden Club president.

9Foster

Garden Club receives Grow Tower

H ow does your garden grow? Well, the future of farming may be in the classroom! In October, Vestal High School’s Garden Club received a Grow Tower kit from the Vestal Food Services program. Seven-feet tall,

with a rolling base, lighting system and hydroponic watering capability, the Grow Tower was perfect for grow-ing lettuce... and so the students wasted no time assembling the tower and starting seeds for their first crop. Garden Club members, with guests from BOCES Rock on Café and Vestal High School Cook Manager Christine Clapper, picked their first harvest on December 6. The lettuce, which included arugula, butter and mixed, was served in the school’s cafeteria that day.

The Grow Tower kit from the Rock on Café is part of its farm-to-market philosophy of the 3 C’s - classroom, cafeteria and community! Many thanks to Vestal Food Services for this gift, and for the assistance of VHS Science teachers and Garden Club advisors Andrea Smith and Kyle Rizzo. Not pictured above, but assisting in the assembly of the Grow Tower in October were Garden Club members Conlon Crowley, Emma Goldberg, Zachary Stirpe and Maggie Zhang.

Vestal High School

Writing Contest Winners

T he General Federation of Women’s Club seeks to provide an avenue for youth to freely express

themselves through writing. In January, Carlin Reyen and Mason VanZandt received regional recognition for their submissions to this writing contest, through local member, Tri-Cities Women’s Club. Congratulations to Carlin, who took two first-place awards in the short-story and poetry category for high school students!.. And to Mason, who placed second in poetry!Carlin Reyen and Mason VanZandt with Tri-Cities

Women’s Club President Dorothy Bachman.

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Regional Scholastic Awards

T en VHS student artists garnered an

astonishing 24 awards in the Regional Scho-lastic Art Awards on February 1!

Ashwath Ashok - National Merit Finalist

A shwath Ashok has qualified as a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program based on his outstanding achievement and commendable scores on the

PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test). Ash received a Certificate of Merit and will be among those finalists considered for approximately 7,500 Merit Scholarships to be awarded later this spring.

Seniors Wyatt Zindle and Urwah Imran (far left in the above photo) received four Gold Key and four Silver Key awards, as well as four Honorable Mentions. Their Gold Key pieces, including Wyatt’s entire portfolio, will go to NYS in April for national adjudication! Congratulations also to (front row) Miah Barnard, Hono- rable Mention; Delaney Schoenfeldt, Silver Key & Hon-orable Mention; Dora Donacik, Silver Key & Honorable Mention; Zoha Khan, Silver Key; (back row) Anna Bishop, Honorable Mention; Brooke Hammaker, Honorable Men-tion; Saqqara Madden, Silver Key; Relin Abdullrahman, Silver Key & Honorable Mention.

M ore talented students won Scholastic Writing Awards! Congratulations to (left to right) Raghav

Pallapothu (VMS) for his Gold Key in Critical Essay. His sister, Sriya Pallapothu, won a Silver Key, also in Critical Essay. Eunice Song received a Gold Key in Personal Essay and Lucy Laats was awarded a Silver Key in Science Fiction/Fantasy.

Jaron Cui - U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Candidate

J aron Cui has been named a Career & Technical Education candidate as part of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars

Program. Career & Technical Education candidates were nominated by their Chief State School Officers based on their accomplishments in career & technical education fields. Jaron is among those being considered in May to become one of 161 Presidential Scholars. Of these, 20 will be selected as U.S. Presidential Scholars in Career & Technical Education.

Alexander LaClair - Prudential Spirit of Community Award

A lexander LaClair was honored for his exemplary volunteer service with a Certif-icate of Excellence from the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a National

program that honors youth volunteers nationwide. The program, sponsored by Pruden-tial Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) granted Certificates of Excellence to the top 10 percent of all applicants in each state.

Vestal High School Golde

Golden Bears Vestal Hig

School Golden Bears V

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Block V &

Scholar Athletes

for the Fall, Winter and

Spring seasons are posted

on the Athletics page of

the District website.

Scholar Athletes& Block V Awards

Vestal High School

Golden Bears Ves

tal High School Go

Simone Davey signed her National Letter of Intent accep- ting a cross-country/track scholarship to Div. I Lehigh University on December 20, 2019!

Vestal’s Girls Swimming & Diving Team won their first Sectional Gold since 2010 when Ritaj El Ghissassi won the 100 Fly, tying her school-record time!

Photo courtesy of United Soccer Coaches

Section IV Highlights!

Coach George Herrick Inducted into the Class of 2020 United

Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame in January!Vestal HS Varsity Soccer Coach, 1968-1996,

taking his Golden Bears to 1 NYS and 18 Sect. IV Championships. Four-time NYS Coach of the

Year and 1990 National HS Coach of the Year!

Vestal High School Golde

Golden Bears Vestal Hig

School Golden Bears V

Vestal High School Golde

Golden Bears Ves-tal Hig

School Golden Bears V

Gabby Rosas signed her National Letter of Intent on January 10, 2020, to play field hockey with the Frostburg State Bobcats!

Sam Schaffer signed her National Letter of Intent on December 18, 2019, to play field hockey with the Bloomsburg University Huskies!

Aaron Tebo signed his National Letter of Intent accepting

a lacrosse scholarship to Div. I Binghamton University on December 11, 2019!

In the Spring, Conlon Crowley came through for the Boys Swimming & Diving Team, as he secured the first Sectional Gold since 2012 in the 50 Free with the seventh-fastest time in VHS history!

Board of EducationMario Nunes, PresidentJohn Hroncich, Vice PresidentMark BrowningLinda DainoLynne MajewskiDinno NisticoChristina PierceSylvia PlaceAnthony Turnbull

Superintendent of SchoolsJeffrey J. Ahearnsuperintendent@vestal.k12.ny.us757-2241Public Information CoordinatorRegina M. Felicermfelice@vestal.k12.ny.us757-2205

201 Main StreetVestal, NY 13850

Current Resident or

ECRWSSPostal Patron

Music & Lyrics byKristen Anderson-Lopez

and Robert Lopez

Book byJennifer Lee

A Musical that will Melt your Heart!.. Save the Date for Vestal Middle School’s production of

Produced through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) www.mtishows.com/212-541-4684

SHOW TIMES: ▪ 7 p.m., April 17 ▪ 1 p.m. & 7 p.m., April 18

Tickets on sale at the door one

hour prior to each show time!

Ticket Reservations Begin March 23!

Based on the Disney film written by Jennifer Lee, and directed by Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 18

Norwich, New York13815