In keeping with PreK tradition, this year's newest students were introduced to their seventh grade "ag buddies" this week. Throughout the year, PreK students will team up with the seventh grade leadership class to explore various aspects of agriculture including composting, small animal care, dairy/milk, growing plants in the green house, ice cream, cheese tasting, apples, making butter, pumpkins,and much more! On their first day together, each set of buddies toured the ag suite, and were able to really get to know one another. This was the perfect way to start our year-long partnership!
HCS sixth graders spent the day in the North Country exercising, teambuilding, and exploring New York State’s historical canal system. The Black River Outdoor Education Program in Boonville offers local students the opportunities to develop new ways to stay active outdoors including biking, skiing, kayaking, hiking, and snowshoeing. This trip focused on biking along the canal system next to Erwin Park, located in the heart of Boonville. Students learned a great deal about safety, team communication, and equipment from our enthusiastic hosts. After a long bike ride, students were eager to relax in the park with one another for lunch before heading back to HCS. For many students, mountain biking through the woods was a new opportunity and, judging by their excitement, many will continue to pursue biking as a recreational sport. We invite you to visit The Black River Outdoor Education Program’s website for more information at http://blackriveroep.org/. This was the fourth-annual trip to one of their beautiful campuses around Boonville, and we look forward to continuing this partnership in the future! Check out the pictures below of our sixth graders in action! As the 8th grade class officially began their iPad journey today, they were also pleasantly surprised to find a golden ticket tucked inside one of their iPad boxes. The winner of the golden ticket will receive an official chocolate prize next week! Although there was only one ticket winner, the rest of the class couldn't help but to continue with their excitement as they triumphantly secured their devices into their new cases. The iPad journey will continue to help foster 21st century skills of a self-directed learner and will focus on collaboration, communication, differentiation, and innovation. Students in grades 5-7 will also be receiving their devices soon, followed by the fourth graders beginning to use the iPod Touch to innovate their learning. We invite you to check back often for updates from the our 1:1 program at HCS! Our youngest HCS leaders are doing their part to help the environment and collaborating with adults in the building to "go green." Instead of each student receiving their own small milk and juice containers each morning, they will now be working with Mr. Jones to purchase these drinks in gallon sizes, saving a great deal of recyclable materials. Additionally, to save on packaging from individual cereal packages, PreK rooms will soon be stocked with bulk bags of cereal. If you think that's amazing, there's even more! Students are even eating off of washable dishes rather than using Styrofoam! Wow, these PreK students are not only smart, they are great leaders for everyone to follow. Thank you to Mrs. Kenyon, Ms. Briggs, and Mrs. Jones who are mentoring students as they peruse this initiative! The Physics class worked on the first lab of the school year by devising a plan to study the acceleration of a moving object; in this case a bowling ball. They created their own procedures and data tables and will turn in calculations, a graph and conclusions the next time we meet for lab. It was definitely a team effort for the two groups of students and we enjoyed a beautiful fall day.
At the State Fair, the Hamilton FFA accomplished many things. All of the projects that were submitted placed well. The podium, that last year’s woodshop class made, received "grand champion" for best in show. Our booth, which highlighted antique farming equipment, was awarded "grand champion" for best in show out of all the booths put up by FFA chapters across the state. Our Jr. High Horse Judging team, consisting of Kallie Jaquay, Hayley Smith, and Kelly Basset won first place and our Sr. High Horse Judging team, consisting of Lauren Jaquay, Lindsey Palmer, and Kristi Wratten won second place, qualifying them to move on to judge at The Big E convention, September 14 and 15, 2012. In individual results, Lauren Jaquay placed second and Lindsey Palmer placed fourth out of forty-five senior high competitors across the state in the horse judging competition. In junior high horse judging results Kallie Jaquay won first Hayley Smith placed fourth and Kelly Basset placed seventh individually across the state. Congratulations to everyone who competed at the state level and a special thanks to Mrs. Bossard for preparing and supporting us to accomplish these achievements! With more than 25 new elementary students and some new additions to our professional team, we are excited to be growing and welcoming new families to our community. In an assembly aimed at welcoming our new community members, Mrs. O'Connor welcomed the elementary team and Mr. Ellis introduced each student and spoke to students about the year ahead. Students were eager to listen to Mr. Ellis' message about bullying, and challenged students to stand up for themselves and always find an adult if they feel they are being bullied. There will be much more to come as we provide students with the tools to be citizens of character, integrity, and pride. We look forward to a wonderful year ahead! Although school doesn’t offically start until 7:50am, the halls were packed with students long before the first bell with the excitement of a new year. For the professional team at HCS, having students in the building means making our learning community whole again. Mr. Dowsland challenged students during forum to be "curious learners." This message traveled with students to all of their classes, and will surely be the foundation to a successful year. Elementary classrooms were busting with enthusiasm too as teachers began creating dynamic classroom communities. Even our youngest PreK students were eager to begin their new journey. The 2012-2013 school year has already begun on a positive note, and we look forward to all that it has to bring for our entire learning community. We invite you to preview some of the pictures below from the first day of school taken by our teachers and students! |