Good News! Good News!

A major component of any professional learning community is the celebration of excellence in teaching, outstanding academic achievement, and dedicated community service. When one of us shines, we all shine! With that in mind, we would like to share and celebrate the accomplishments of some of our colleagues and our students.

Congratulations go out to:

· Leda Brittenham and Ryan Bonk who placed in the Central New York Region of the National French exam. The 2010 “Grand Concourse” exam is sponsored by the American Association of French Teachers and more than 100,000 students took the test nationally. Regionally, Brittenham ranked 6th while Bonk ranked 10th. Brittenham also went on to rank 10th at the national level which places her in the top 300 of the 100,000 students who participated in the exam across the country.
· Greg Nolan, Marcellus graduate, Class of 2007, who was appointed as a Company Commander at the Citadel.

· Anita Pawlewicz’ 6th grade class at Driver Middle School who was recognized with an “Echoes” award. “Echoes” is a program developed by Merry-Go-Round Playhouse to “involve and encourage middle school students in the creative writing process.” Pawlewicz’ class earned the distinction by composing and presenting a rap entitled “School Daze”. Every member of the 6th grade class, including Pawlewicz, participated in the creation of the lyrics. The creative writing piece required individual work, small group work, and whole group work. According to Pawlewicz, “students were eager to take on such a big project and were very proud of the end product.”

· Steven Nabinger, Driver Middle School Library-Media Specialist, who was presented with a $250 honorarium from Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies and the National Demonstration Project “Model Lesson Plans for the 21st Century Librarians”.

· K. C. Heffernan Elementary School students and staff raised $500 for the people of Haiti through a project sponsored by the KCH Site-based Team. Students and staff raised funds during a “Hats for Haiti Day.” The school also put together over 100 “Hygiene Kits” to send to Haiti. The kits included items such as washcloths and band aids. K-3 students donated the items that were put into the kits by Eileen Driscoll’s third grade class.

· Kerry Boyle, Class of 2010, and Kate McCarthy, Class of 2010, who signed to play college lacrosse at a ceremony held in the Marcellus Senior High School Library on April 15, 2010. With her parents Gerald and Karen looking on with pride, Boyle signed a letter of intent to attend, and play lacrosse, at St. Francis University. McCarthy signed her letter of intent to attend, and play lacrosse, for Monmouth College as her parents Tom and Janice looked on with expressions of excitement and pride. Boyle has had a stellar career as a four year starter in defense and she also plays for the Star Rider Lacrosse program. McCarthy has been honored by National Women’s Lacrosse as she completed an exemplary varsity career that has spanned the last three years.

· Michael Quercia who was honored with a Winter Sports 2010 Believe to Achieve Award from the Syracuse Sports Corporation. Quercia was recognized with the “Individual Male Athlete Award” for his performances during the winter indoor track season. Noteworthy was Quercia’s performance at the Nike Indoor Track and Field Championship where he posted a Section III record 800 meter time of 1:53.16. Believe to Achieve was founded by former Syracuse University football player Gary Bugenhagen “to recognize meritorious contributions to the CNY community”. Quercia was honored at a ceremony held at Onondaga Community College on May 4, 2010.

· Driver Middle School Science Olympiad team for their 17th place finish (out of 37 finalists) at the New York State Science Olympiad championships held at SUNY New Paltz the weekend of May 1st. Noteworthy performances included: 5th place “Can’t Judge a Powder” - Julie Powers and Taylor Walker; 7th place “Wright Stuff” - Alex Sheridan; 4th place "Pentathalon" - Dylan Felty, Mike Abbot, Mark Tompkins and Sean King and 7th Place “Car of Tomorrow” – Sean King and Mike Abbott. The DMS team qualified for the state championships by virtue of their stellar 4th place finish at the Regional Science Olympiad competition.

· Marcellus Senior High School Spanish students Brennan Dooley, Sarah Glose, Gregg Treleaven, Faith Seeley, Dani Felty, Rebecca Nolan, and Maddie Balman for their exceptional performance on the National Spanish Exam. Dooley, Treleaven, Seeley, Felty, and Balman all scored at the Premio de Excelencia level while Glose and Nolan scored at the Premio de Bronce level. The National Spanish Exam is sponsored by the American Association of Spanish and Portuguese Teachers. The exam is the largest of its kind in the United States with more than 125,900 students taking the exam in 2010. Students performing at the Premio de Excelencia level are at the 50-74th percentile level while students achieving the Premio de Bronce level are at the 75-84th percentile level.

· Hannah Naczi, DMS science teacher, who has been accepted to participate in the Middle School Lab Enhance Project to be held at SUNY Stonybrook.