This week is Teacher Appreciation week, and HCS teachers found a great note from Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Hanson's second graders in their mailboxes today. The note, pictured below, shows the genuine kindness, thoughtfulness, and consideration that these students have for their teachers. Their thoughtfulness is also a great way for us all to pause and consider how we can pay it forward to make someone else smile. This is why teachers teach, and we are thankful to have such wonderful students at HCS!
The Hamilton FFA chapter drove to Albion, Wednesday, May 1st thru Saturday, May 4th for the 88th annual New York State FFA Convention. The state convention is a chance that each chapter gets to show their hard work preparing for their Career Development Event contests during the previous year. This year’s state convention was hosted by the Albion Central School FFA and the Hamilton FFA stayed nearby in Batavia. While there we enjoyed a water park that was built into the hotel, the career show at Convention, a tour of Lor-Rob Dairy and Draft Horse Farm, and hours spent making friends. Hamilton FFA competed in three different CDE events: Senior and Junior Prepared Speaking and Senior Extemporaneous Speaking. In Senior Extemporaneous Speaking Tyler Curtis Placed 5th, and Anthony Casarotti placed 6th in the state overall. In Senior Prepared Speaking Lauren Jaquay placed 4nd. In Junior Prepared Speaking Kallie Jaquay placed 5th overall in the state. Tyler Curtis, and Lauren Jaquay both received their Empire Degrees, which is the highest honor a FFA student can receive from NY FFA. The Hamilton FFA Chapter Scrapbook also placed third in the state. Lauren Jaquay also received a National FFA Scholarship for $1,000 to apply towards her college education! Lindsey Palmer also served as a Nominating Committee member, and was tasked with the job of slating this year’s District FFA Presidents. She did a wonderful job representing Hamilton in this capacity! The trip was a resounding success, with everyone trying their hardest; we are already looking forward to next year’s state convention. The annual senior citizens breakfast is a great way to kickoff May here at HCS. We love to open our doors to such wonderful community members. They come to not only enjoy a top-notch breakfast, prepared by Randy Jones and his culinary team, but to also enjoy some musical talent from Mr. Rossi's students. Additionally, seventh graders spent time sharing the numerous ways they have reached out to the national and international communities this year. Our students and professional staff enjoyed spending time with our guests just as much as they enjoyed being here! We want to thank everyone who joined us this morning, and welcome you to visit us for all of our upcoming events! HCS students and our local community showed their caring spirit yet again! Together, we raised a total of $6,441.37 to send to our downstate neighbors at the East Rockaway School District, as they rebuild their school from the devastation Hurricane Sandy brought this past October. Through various fundraisers, including the student-run HCS Winter Festival, we were able to raise these funds to help the East Rockaway Rockmen.
Great work, HCS students and a huge thank you to everyone in our community for their support! We are fortunate to have such a wonderfully supportive network of people supporting one another! It's official, HCS elementary students exceeded their PARP reading goal by reading more than 5,000 minutes during the month of March! Not only did students spend so much time enjoying wonderful literature, but they also were able to enter suggestions into the "Principal's Challenge" if students completed their minutes. This challenge was voted on by students, and the unveiling of the chosen challenge took place today at the PARP assembly. So, what will Mr. Ellis be doing this year? He will be organizing a 1/2 day reading extravaganza for students, complete with homemade cookies! Now, that's fun! This year's theme was "Dig into Reading," and each grade level explored a different continent through a variety of exciting texts. At the assembly today, they each shared what they learned. Some used videos from YouTube, others shared original artwork, poems, and movies. Check out some of the links, pictures, and videos below! PreK-Antartica
Gate-Town Connection is this Sunday, April 7, from 4-7 p.m. on Whitnall Field. Join Colgate students and faculty for a fun afternoon that includes: a free BBQ, Danger Boy concert, inflatables, a pie eating contest, and relay races run by D1 athletes. Hope to see you all there! -John Lee
On Thursday, March 28th, Holocaust survivor Helen Sperling was welcomed to HCS by our community of learners. She shared her horrific, unimaginable story of survival as a young girl trapped in the Holocaust, while delivering an inspiring message of hope and love to our students. As she brought the audience through her experiences as a prisoner in numerous concentration camps, she shared glimpses of hope that kept her alive. She then brought students through her life as a wife, parent, and community member and shared the impact that her past has on her daily life. As she closed her presentation, Helen encouraged students to stand up for and love one another, and to not sit by as others are being bullied or harmed. She distributed blue bracelets for students and adults to wear that have the message, "Thou shall not be a bystander...." written on them. She invited everyone to come up on stage to give her a hug, and seeing the line of students form was a clear indication that we have a group of young adults who truly care about making our world a better place.
In the spring, please take a moment to look at the lilac tree that was planted in front of the HCS cafeteria after Helen's last visit, four years ago. It is a wonderful remembrance of her message to us all and a way to keep it going strong in our community. As part of our annual College Week at HCS, students and teachers showcased various colleges by decorating their classroom doors. Colleges and universities from all around the United States were represented, which was a great way for students to engage in conversations about their future plans. Prizes will be awarded on Monday to top place winners of the contest! As part of the annual College Week at HCS, teachers represented various careers as a way to peak students' interest in a variety of fields. During the "Career Fashion Show," each career was highlighted for the students in forum with information about salary, education requirements, job placement, and skills for each career path. Check out the pictures below from the forum fashion show, and a whole-group snapshot from this year and last year. |