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Henninger News

Vex Robotics Competition
01/17/12

The SCSD inter-district Robotics competition was held at Lincoln Middle School. 21 teams and 82 students competed in the annual competition. All 5 SCSD high schools participated in the HS division with Danforth, Clary and Lincoln middle schools participating at the MS level.

This year teams were challenged to build robots designed specifically for the VEX Gateway game. The “game” is played on a 12’x12’ square field. Student driver-controlled robots have two minutes to attain the highest score by manipulating Barrels and Balls into Goals.

The New York State Summer School of the Arts
12/21/11

The New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA), NYS Education Department, is once again offering a very unique opportunity for high school age students of New York State. The New York State Summer School of the Arts provides intensive pre-professional training with internationally acclaimed artists and artistic companies. The program is supported and sponsored by the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The 2012 Schools include the Schools of Ballet, Choral Studies, Dance, Media Arts, Orchestral Studies, Theatre and Visual Arts.

Corporate Volunteer Council Dictionary Day
12/21/11

The season of giving is in full swing and the Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC) kicked things off with their annual Dictionary Project – a spin-off of National Dictionary Day.

Members of the Corporate Volunteer Council of Central New York have stepped up to volunteer and purchase English and Spanish dictionaries for the third grade students at twenty-one elementary or grades 1-8 schools in the Syracuse City School District. Sponsors collected the dictionaries from a designated distribution site and presented them to the third graders at their “sponsored” school.

“Our Members step up and embrace the opportunity to provide the community’s third graders with a reading tool to help them not only this school year, but in years to come,” said CVC President Nicki Arnett.

Educators see third grade as the dividing line between learning to read and reading to learn. The goal of the Dictionary Project is to assist all students in becoming solid writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionary to use at school and at home.

Syracuse City School District Transformation Initiative
12/16/11

The Syracuse City School District Transformation Plan is built upon four high impact levers for transforming education: Curriculum and Instruction, High Quality Teaching and Leadership, Innovation and District Structure and Standards of Service and Systems of Support.

The Transformation Plan includes seven individual task forces which are closely aligned to our key levers. The task forces are comprised of Teachers and Administrators, Central Office Leadership, Parents, Higher Education Representatives, Community Members and Business Leaders. Each task force is also assigned a facilitator with expertise in the defined area. The facilitators we are working with are from Collier Educational Consultants, Mass Insight Education, Insight Education and Battelle for Kids.

Retirement Incentive Extension
12/09/11

At its meeting on November 9, 2011, the Board of Education approved a Retirement Incentive for Units 1, 2, and 8 (Teaching Assistants only). The retirement incentive notification date has been extended through Friday, January 13, 2012 (4:30 p.m.). No other terms have been modified. (If you already submitted a “2012 Retirement Incentive Form,” it is not necessary to submit another form.)

The District will provide information to interested employees regarding retirement benefits at a general information meeting on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 – 4:00 p.m.

Departmental Reviews Concluded
12/05/11

One of the goals of Superintendent Contreras’s 100 Day Entry Plan was to assess the state of the school district, including the core business of teaching and learning, operations, business systems, finances and budgeting, using externally funded and conducted reviews. These reviews were conducted by national experts in their respective fields including Cross and Joftus, Schoolhouse Partners and Collier Educational Consulting.

Superintendent Contreras 100 Day Entry Plan was filled with listening and learning as she sought to hear from parents, students, staff, community members and others about their perceptions and experiences with the school district. She reported to the Board of Education and the community her findings from her 100 Day Entry Plan at this month’s Board of Education meeting.

The departmental reviews will help the district identify the greatest areas of concerns and provide us with information to take immediate action. They will provide data to help us become more efficient and effective as we look to make transformational change.

Each of the consultants presented their findings and recommendations at specially scheduled Board of Education Study Sessions. You can view the presentations by clicking on the links below.

Commissioner of Education Resigns
12/01/11

Commissioner of Education Monique Wright-Williams has submitted her resignation from the Syracuse City School District Board of Education effective immediately. Commissioner Wright-Williams has served on the Board since January 1, 2010.

“Monique has been a tremendous asset to the Syracuse City School District. Her commitment and insight have been invaluable as she has worked tirelessly to improve our school district,” said Board of Education President Richard T. Strong.

SCSD Students Take Home Awards at National Society of Black Engineers Fall Regional Conference
11/28/11

Students from Clary, Corcoran, Danforth, Fowler, Henninger, ITC, Nottingham, Roberts, and Westside Academy at Blodgett attended the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Fall Regional Conference. At the conference the students participated in Math, Robotics, and Science Fair competitions at the high school and middle school levels. There were approximately 1,000 middle school, high school, collegiate, professional and chaperones who took part in the conference.

SAT Prep and College Readiness Classes Available for High School Students
11/21/11

100 Black Men of Syracuse and Say Yes to Education have partnered to bring SAT Prep and College Readiness classes to high school students in the Syracuse City School District. The classes will run on Saturday’s from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM at the Say Yes offices (109 Otisco St.).

The classes are offered on the following Saturdays:

  • December 3
  • December 10
  • December 17
  • January 7
  • January 14
  • January 21.
Units 1, 2 and 8 (Teaching Assistant Only) Retirement Incentive
11/17/11

The Board of Education passed a Retirement Incentive for Units 1, 2 and 8 (teaching assistants only) at its November 9, 2011 meeting. Retirement Incentive forms were emailed to all Unit 1, 2 and 8 members to review and complete. For more information, please contact the Director of Personnel Randolph Williams at (315) 435-4525 or the Employee Benefits Office at (315) 435-4180. You can also download the form here.