New School Year, New Marcellus Central School District Initiatives

Excitement, anticipation, and positive energy are in the air as the beginning of the new school year fast approaches. The 2010-2011 school year promises to be filled with a variety of innovative educational initiatives for the students, families and staff of the Marcellus Central School District educational community. “In every endeavor the most important thing is the beginning.” This ancient quote from the Greek philosopher Plato defined the District’s summertime focus as administrators and staff alike, prepared the campus facilities and classrooms for the arrival of our unique and remarkable students. Outlined below is a small sampling of 2010-2011 school year initiatives and an overview of summertime work projects:

EXCEL Project – Work on the recent EXCEL (Expanding Children’s Education and Learning) facilities project is just about complete. Renovation work on the Groeling Auditorium was completed in the spring of 2010. The renovated facility which included a new sound and lighting system, new seating, new control booth, and air conditioning was spotlighted during a variety of spring concerts, awards assemblies and the 2010 Commencement Ceremony. The most current EXCEL initiative (supported with an EXCEL monetary grant from the New York State Dormitory Authority) will be completed this autumn with site work near the elementary school (new play surface) and Driver Middle School (sidewalk and parking lot upgrades). The site work will also feature two new electronic message signs at the Learners Landing and Mustang Hill campus entrances. The new electronic signs are supported through a New York State Assembly Block grant and an inter-municipal agreement between the Village of Marcellus, the Town of Marcellus and the school district. The signs will display community public service announcements and routine school district messages and reminders.

New Phone System/School Messenger – The Marcellus Central School District will be implementing a new phone system during the 2010-2011 school year. The new system will use the district’s existing computer network and will feature voice mail along with the School Messenger mass communication (emergency notification) service. The School Messenger mass communication service will be used periodically for messages ranging from school closings to other school emergencies. Based on parent/family need the computerized announcements can be sent via text messaging, e-mail, or traditional phone calls. Be sure to look for more information from the school district as this new emergency notification service is implemented in the weeks ahead.

District-Wide Theme of “Commitment”- The Marcellus Central School District theme for the 2010-2011 school year will be “commitment”. Following up on previous yearly themes of connections, communication, collaboration, coordination, and cooperation, the District will work towards strengthening the professional learning community with a primary focus on “commitment”.

Expanded 7th Grade Languages Other than English (LOTE) Experience – The expanded world languages program at 7th grade will expose students to introductory lessons in both French and Spanish. The intent of the expanded program is to enhance student ability to make an informed decision when selecting a language course-of-study at 8th Grade.

Elementary Science Learning Laboratory – The Marcellus Central School District is initiating an Elementary Science Learning Laboratory for the 2010-2011 School Year. The program will be housed at Driver Middle School and, primarily serve students in grades 4-6. The Elementary Science Learning Laboratory experience is designed to enhance the elementary science curriculum through an exciting hands-on laboratory experience for each child in grade 4-6. Grade 4-6 classes will have the opportunity to visit the science lab three times a month and lessons will parallel the in-classroom science instruction at grades 4-6. Although the science lab program is designed for grade 4-6 students, instructor Mary Jo Hoeft will spend one week each month pushing into grades K-3 classrooms at K. C. Heffernan Elementary School.

Senior High School Cafeteria Serving Line – The Marcellus Senior High School cafeteria serving line has been redesigned for the 2010-2011 school year. The new serving line will make the high school similar to the three line format at Driver Middle School, with the SHS third line featuring soups, sandwiches, salads, and snacks. The new cafeteria serving set up is designed to increase student participation in the lunch program while decreasing the time students have to wait in line.

Curriculum Task Forces – The focus of this year’s Curriculum Task Forces will be on the areas of Mathematics and AIS (Academic Intervention Services). The task force approach seeks to “coordinate instructional plans with the New York State Teaching standards. Last year’s task forces on Exceptional Education, Languages Other than English (LOTE) and Career Technical Education (CTE) will wrap up this year.

District Planning Team – The 2010-2011 District Planning Team, which includes representation from all District constituencies, will be focused on revising the District Athletic Plan.

Summer Curriculum Work – More than 100 Marcellus Central School District teachers and administrators were hard at work this summer on a variety of curriculum projects designed to align District curriculum/ instructional practices with New York State Standards as well as “such important 21st Century skills as 1) critical thinking/problem solving 2) collaboration 3) communication and 4) creativity”. Outlined below is a small sampling of summer 2010 curriculum work:
• Review and Revise English Portfolio process, grades 7-12
• Development of curriculum maps, Science grades 7-12
• Item analysis of 2010 Living Environment Regents
• Improve and expand study skills curriculum
• Elementary SMARTboard projects and benchmarks
• Curriculum mapping across all grade levels/all subject areas
• Guided reading and centers, elementary level
• Revision of Pre Calculus Curriculum
• Development of technology lessons to improve student engagement, grade 7-12 Math
• Co-teaching model planning

Maintenance and Custodial Summertime Initiatives – District maintenance and custodial staff has been working with intensity throughout the summer on a variety of projects designed to get the school year off to a successful start. Among these projects are:
• Classroom and program SMARTboard installations
• Preventative maintenance on HVAC systems
• Removal of old lockers from DMS basement level hall
• Installation of new lockers at DMS in 2nd floor Library hall
• Pit field over seeding, fertilizing and sod installation
• Completion of summer painting projects
• Pruning and mulching of landscaping throughout the campus
• Removal of asbestos tile in DMS basement hall and the installation of new tiles
• Painting of the exterior East facing windows at Driver Middle School
• Refinishing and repainting of the KCH gymnasium floor
• Moving forward with the NYSERDA Grant lighting upgrade project
In addition to the above listed projects, building custodial staffs have been hard at work cleaning classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, and gymnasiums in preparation for the opening of school.

Technology Department Summertime Initiative – As instructional technology becomes more and more a component of daily school life, the summertime projects of our Technology department become critical to a successful opening to the school year.
Outlined below is a small sampling of summertime technology department projects:
• Computer replacement as per the District’s Computer Replacement Plan: all 5 year old computers were replaced during the summer months
• A variety of computer moves were completed during the summer months (e.g. 25 DMS library computers were moved to a lab setting and replaced with 32 wireless netbooks).
• Installation of nineteen (19) new SMARTboards
• Installation and set up of five “Netbooks” carts. These new carts of Netbooks will be used in the DMS Library, the Elementary Science Lab, the SHS Special Education Program and for support of the 3rd and 5th grade keyboarding benchmarks.
• Formulation of 2010-2011 Instructional Technology Staff Development Program
In addition to the above projects the technology staff has also worked on network updates, account maintenance tasks, and hardware reconfiguration.


Building Offices Summertime Initiatives – Although students and faculty are away for the summer, the work of our District and Building offices continues year round. Administrators and office staff have worked throughout the summer on a variety of projects which include:
• Requisitioning and distribution of instructional supplies
• Formulation of class lists
• Revision of District and building handbooks
• Registration of new students
• Formulation of instructional schedules
• Summer mailings
Most importantly, the efficient completion of the above named tasks sets a positive tone that ensures a successful opening to the school year for our students and families.


Transportation and Food Service Summer Initiatives – The Marcellus Central School District Transportation and Food Service Departments have been hard at work throughout the summer preparing for a smooth transition to the new school year. While the food service department has worked on menu preparation the transportation department has been focused on bus maintenance/safety as well as bus routes and schedules.