High School

“Collegiate Saturdays” is a collaboration between 100 Black Men of Syracuse  and the Say Yes Collegiate Preparatory Academy (SYCPA) that offers students SAT and Regents preparation, including: proctored practice tests, academic enrichment, test-taking strategies, and tutoring for the core competencies measured on the SAT and Regents exams.

“Write to make a blind man see and a deaf man hear.” These words from Bud Poliquin, columnist for the Post-Standard, inspired the 26 rising ninth grade students who attended the 3rd annual Writing Institute at Nottingham High School. Over the three- week program students kept a Writer’s Notebook, wrote and revised a personal narrative and created a digital movie to explore how writing affects the world.

The Summer Success Academy (SSA) was a five-week program at Onondaga Community College (OCC) created to prepare students to be more successful in college. The program took place from July 6 - August 10, 2012 and included 29 Syracuse City School District graduates who all intend to enroll at OCC in Fall 2012 as full-time Say Yes Scholars. Orientation was on July 6, 2012, followed by a team-building day at Orenda Springs on July 7th and classes/programming Monday-Friday from 8 AM – 5 PM July 9-August 10, 2012.

Members of the Superintendent’s Cabinet were proud to show off the marketing campaign they created with help from the Creative Services Department at Clear Channel Syracuse.

In a presentation to Superintendent Sharon L. Contreras, the students talked about what a valuable experience working on the campaign was for them and why they think it’s important to change the community’s perception of students who attend Syracuse City schools.

The dates and times for the 2011-12 graduation ceremonies are available below. In addition to the five traditional high school graduation ceremonies taking place there will also be an adult education graduation ceremony, a ceremony for the graduates of the LPN program and the August summer graduation. The ceremony schedule is:

Parents of Public Schools of Syracuse is recognizing local teachers, volunteers, students and administrators at their annual Celebration of Excellence. Syracuse City School District Superintendent Sharon L. Contreras will be the guest speaker at the event, which is being held at Syracuse Stage on May 30th.

The Technology Alliance of Central New York (TACNY) presented Gwen Raeford, Fowler High School science teacher with their 2012 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award at the recent Board of Education Business Meeting. The award was created in 1988 to recognize the vital role that teachers play in the preparation of future technologists.

Dr. Arthur Vercillo, Regional President of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and Sharon L. Contreras, Syracuse City School District Superintendent announced the generous donation of a $90,000 multiyear grant by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield that will help HW-SC launch a
program called Healthy Mind/Healthy Body. The initiative will teach healthy habits to Syracuse students, leading to their overall well-being and success in and out of the classroom.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was the inspiration for three sophomores from Nottingham High School who are the winners in this year’s CNY Reads Writing Contest.

Conner Gerbino (1st place), Naomi Rutagarama (2nd place) and Ryan McNeil (3rd place) read the book as part of Jenniffer Benedetto’s 10th grade English class. Once they finished the novel, which tells the story of LIesel, a young girl forced in to foster care in late 1930s Germany, they had to write a 1,000-word piece using writing prompts based upon the style of Zusak.

Say Yes is proud to announce the opening of the Say Yes Financial Aid Counseling Center (FACC) in the Say Yes office at 109 Otisco St. Starting Saturday, April 7, and continuing every Saturday through Sept. 8th (with the exception of 5/26, 7/7 and 9/1) Syracuse City School District seniors and their parents can receive assistance with financial aid applications, respond to a “verification’ request, compare financial aid awards from different colleges, learn about student debt, interpret communications from colleges and understand Say Yes scholarship eligibility.