Hudson Highlights June 2016

Hudson CSD eNewsletter: June 2016

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Hudson CSD eNewsletter: June 2016

District Insights: Honoring students and teachers at Hudson CSD

These last few weeks of June mark the culmination of what was perhaps the most eventful and unforgettable year the Hudson City School District has had in recent memory. During the 2015-16 school year we saw our Bluehawks earn three Patroon Conference Championship titles (for boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball as well as boys’ varsity baseball), multiple school sports records broken, and significant progress toward our Destination Graduation goals.

And that is where we are now: graduation. It is a bittersweet time when we say goodbye to another class of Bluehawks, but not before celebrating student achievements and successes--of graduates and returning students.

Continue reading Superintendent Suttmeier's June c olumn in the Register Star >>
Read Superintendent Suttmeier's April column: Volunteers help make it all possible >>

The financing for the Capital Project was approved by voters on February 9th... what's next?

Sign up for the Capital Project eNewsletter to receive email updates about the status of the project!

Alumni Spotlight: Caitie Hilliard

Caitie Hilliard graduated from Hudson Senior High School in 2006. Since graduation Caitie has been busy furthering both her education and her career, recently earning a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa (pictured left, center).

Read more to find out the most valuable things Caitie learned in the HHS classroom and as an HHS athlete, as well as how growing up a Bluehawk taught her what it means to persevere.

Water Safety Month

Did you know that May was National Water Safety Month?

On Thursday, May 26, MCSIS students finished the swimming unit of their physical education classes. Each year, students in grades 3-6 go to the high school pool for a few weeks in lieu of regular PE classes, where they learn important swimming skills such as various strokes, endurance and how to tread water.

To learn more about water safety and get tips on safe swimming, visit:
www.nationalwatersafetymonth.org

Bluehawks break school records

During the Patroon Conference Championships for track and field our Bluehawks broke a total of four school records, including a record that was set in 1964!

Congratulations to Daniel Folds (high jump), Shervanessa Baker (Pentathlon), and Ali Bartolotta, Lynette Dellavechia, Kristen Ward and Caitlin Keil (4x800-meter relay)! Bartolotta also broke her own record for the 3000-meter race. Bartolotta broke another school record, for the 800-meter race, in a meet prior to the championships.

Read the full story, "Bluehawks break four records on oval," from the Register-Star.

"B" is for breakfast (for lunch)

At John L. Edwards Primary School, Mrs. Barnes' class has been celebrating these last days of school according to the alphabet! Every day they enjoy a new activity based on the letters A to Z. On May 23rd the letter was "B," which stood for Breakfast (for lunch) Day!

Mrs. Barnes and Mrs. Conte served up dozens of hot, homemade pancakes with blueberry syrup, bacon and fruit cups. The entire class joined in the mixing and preparing and eating, and a tasty B-Day was had by all!

HHS sophomore selected as environmental ambassador

Brianna Tsitsera is one of 16 teenagers from across New York State, and the only one from Columbia County, to be chosen to join the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s new 4-H Invasive Species Action Team (ISAT).

During mid-winter break, Tsitsera and other ISAT ambassadors participated in educational training. The teens learned about various local invasive plant species of concern, as well as hands-on educational activities they can use to inform others about these species and the effects they have on local ecologies. Members of ISAT also focused on leadership, communication and public speaking skills to help them effectively share the information. They will apply what they have learned to educate others using informational posters and interactive displays at places such as schools, local events and county fairs. Read the full story >>

Simple machine problem-solving

Will students in Mrs. Kipp and Ms. Hungerford's fourth grade class be the next contestants on Shark Tank?

In true Rube Goldberg fashion, students were given the task to create something that would make life easier through the use of simple machines. Some of the creative projects included a bed maker and a device to pick up lost items in places that are too small for human hands. A dog self-feeding machine (pictured) was a class favorite!

"Sunny & Peep's Last Day"

Each year at JLE, Ms. Groat hatches duck eggs in her 1st grade classroom. The students love interacting with the fuzzy ducklings, but it's not always playtime!

Since the ducklings first hatched, Ms. Groat's class has been learning about ducks, and the students have been practicing informative and opinion writing using Sunny and Peep as the subjects! See more photos >>

HHS Spanish exchange program

Spanish teacher Amparo Gazzera coordinated this year's Spanish exchange program at Hudson High School. Pictured below, the students went to Madrid, Spain and were greeted at the airport by their host families. They spent time with their exchange families and they learned about the Spanish culture in the home. They attended the local school and found the educational system to be very different from ours in the States. Their school layout and the way they operate was different. The host families also helped the students improve on their understanding of the Spanish language.

After returning to the States, the Spanish students visited our students in America and were shown how the American culture operates and how it is different from Spain. Our students enjoyed every moment of Spain, and the Spanish students enjoyed everything about our country as well!

Students help with Cornell research

Mr. McDarby's Advanced Placement Environmental Science class collected water samples to be analyzed by Cornell University as part of the institution's Invasive Species Program. Researchers are going to look for microscopic traces of DNA (what they call eDNA) from three invasive species - sea lampreys, Asian carp and round goby. The students' findings will be added to Cornell's state map of invasive species and a tag will be added giving credit to the class and Hudson High School. See more p hotos here >>

Kindness Club

The Kindness Club at HHS has a lot to talk about this spring!

On May 12th, Dean Haskin, a beekeeper from Cobleskill, visited to teach the students about bees and share his observation hive, equipment, real honeycomb and some sweet treats. See photos here >>

On May 19th, the Kindness Club took a trip to the brand new Hudson Area Library (left), where they received library cards and were able to check out books.

And on May 3rd, the Kindness Club participated in a graduation ceremony at Columbia-Greene Community College after finishing a semester of life skills classes on campus. They were honored at a special graduation ceremony at which the president of the college, James R. Campion, presented certificates to each of our students! See photos here >>

2016 Teachers of Excellence

Two teachers at Hudson CSD were recently honored with Awards for Teaching Excellence by NYS Senator, Kathy Marchione!

Congratulations to Michelle Nowak (left) and Lisa Dolan (right) on this well-deserved distinction!

Mrs. Nowak is a science teacher at Hudson High School and Mrs. Dolan is a literacy teacher at MCSIS.

5th Grade D.A.R.E. graduation

On May 25, 2016, students at MCSIS graduated from the D.A.R.E. program, which is implemented in K-12 schools across the nation and in 52 countries. The original focus of the educational program was drug abuse and resistance, but it has expanded to include many issues currently faced by our youth: violence, bullying and internet safety.

See more photos here >>

Schoolgirl Queen 2016

As an alternative to junior prom court, students at several area school districts nominate one junior girl from the school to compete for Schoolgirl Queen. The Schoolgirl Queens from each school district in Columbia County will represent their schools at the Columbia County Fair in August (one of whom will be chosen as the winner).

The 2016 Schoolgirl Queen for Hudson High School is Kyra Hazzard: "It means a lot and I am honored to be nominated for this position. I thank all my classmates and teachers for nominating me. I'm looking forward to preparing for this big day and showing my school spirit. I can't wait to see how everything turns out and I'm excited to meet new girls from different school districts!"

2016 National Honor Society Inductees

Congratulations to the newest members of the National Honor Society: Siddique Ahmed, Sharmin Akther, Shimran Alam, Maya Alvarez, Abdula Badon, Samaria Barnes, Gabriel Barrientos, Antonia Bellamy-Talbot, Kierstin Colloton, Sheila DeJesus Pineda, Michael Dolan, Jacob Ebel, Ummeh Era, Karissa Garbarini, Thomas Gallean Manuel, Maison Goldstein, Matthew Haigh, Saima Hannan, Suman Humagain, Most Islam, Sabrina Johnson, Sifath Khan, Kayleigh McCagg, Nadia Miah, Shelbi Neal, Daniela Rivera, Samuel Romano, Alicia Salvatore, Jessica Sherman, Tahrima Siha, Devon Sweatt, Annaliese Tampasis, Kristian Tampasis, Tayjul Tonmoy, Brianna Tsitsera and Isabelle Waldron.

To be eligible for the National Honor Society, students are required to have a dedication to academics (a minimum GPA of 85) as well as leadership, service and overall good character.

2016 Junior National Honor Society Inductees

Congratulations are also in order for the 34 Bluehawks who were recently inducted into the National Junior Honor Society (for students in grades 6-9): Mackenzie Alexander, Theodora Avramidis, Matthew Bowes, Kobi Buffa, Isabella Canevari, Giavanna Chiarito, Halima Chowdhury, Tori Colarusso, Morgan DePasse, Aidan Doto, Matthew Gower, Jahid Hasan, Jacob Hoffman, Miftahul Huq, Abigayle Jepsen, Katherine Jepsen, Mollie Keeler, McKenna Krager, Elijah Kudlack, Aaron Li, Danielle McDonald, Joshua Meicht, Neil Mingua, Kasey Moore, Ahmed Mufti, Caleigh Parmentier, Ainsley Pizza, Tanner Race, Nicole Rivette, Hannah Schunk, Tanner Shook, Vada Simmons, Deja Squire and Dewan Tamika.

To be eligible for the National Honor Society, students are required to have a dedication to academics (a minimum GPA of 85) as well as leadership, service and overall good character.

Program Profile: YES at Hudson High School

Thirteen students from Hudson High School graduated from the YES (Youth Employment Services) Program on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. Congratulations to the graduates:

Bryant Barrientos, Denise Ball, Tiarrah Cuyler, Dominic Domkoski, John Gambino, Suman Humagain, Brendan Nicholson, Jon Pradella, Daniella Rivera, Gerrit Schwab, Annette Sturdivant, Devon Sweatt and Michael Zhang

Special thanks to the business partners, volunteers and generous donors for making the YES program possible:

The Barlow: A Hudson Hotel, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, Inc., Columbia County Sheriff, Columbia Greene Humane Society, Herrington's, Hudson Area Library, Hudson Opera House, HCSD After School Program, Operation Unite, School Life Media, Stair Gallery, 2 Hot Teez, Helsinki Hudson, Galvan Foundation, Abatecola Foundation, Investments in Youth, the Mentors, Hudson Senior High School, Hudson Junior High School, Dr. Maria Lagana Suttmeier, HCSD Board of Education, Kathy Clark & Mike Fulton, Celeste Burton, Courtney McDonald, Nikki DeDominicis, the Bluehawk nation, and of course the parents/guardians of the graduates!

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Copyright © 2016. Hudson City School District. All rights reserved.

Our contact info:
Hudson City School District
215 Harry Howard Avenue
Hudson, NY 12534
518-828-4360
www.hudsoncityschooldistrict.com

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