Attica Central School District

Shout out to our middle school lego robotics team, who competed against teams from across the region last month at the First Lego League competition through Genesee Valley BOCES!

Teams kicked things off with practice rounds before moving into three official Robot Game rounds, where only the highest score counted.

In addition to programming their robot to interact with several missions on the archaeology themed Lego table, the team created a fabulous Innovation Project.

They researched problems that face archaeologists in the field and found that weather was the biggest obstacle. After reading an article about how the rain can make it difficult to clean and sift dirt from the artifacts, the team created a prototype for robotic sieve that used coding to move the lego pieces in order to sift dirt from artifacts. In theory their invention would sense the size of the artifact and adjust hole size and assess the amount of movement the artifact could withstand. The sieve would collect rainwater to clean artifacts, could blow them dry if needed, and would run on solar power.

The judges were impressed that the team's prototype actually moved with programming and said they have only seen that once or twice over the years.

Congrats to our team members: David Anthony, Emerson Spink, Isaac Dunlap, Lucas Zybcynski, Andrew Struzik, Calven Schlau, Lincoln Fleenor, Bobby Cook and James Vogel!

(Photos courtesy of Lyndsay Herkimer)

It was another exciting week of progress down at Attica Elementary, with major work wrapping up in the nurses and behavioural suites and preparatory work beginning for the next phase of capital project construction in our library media center.

This week, teams completed painting, flooring, shades, tackboards, whiteboards, grab handles, lighting, receptacles, low-voltage trim, and continued fire alarm and data work.

Plumbing fixtures are being installed, and millwork was on schedule for delivery earlier this week.

In the library media center, air testing was completed and clean demo began, including shelving removal. Full demo and abatement are scheduled for this week.

Outside, site crews were on hand for GPS layout of the playground, maintenance building, and outdoor kitchen areas.

Ms. Alyssa Wright’s animal room got some good use last week!

With Easter right around the corner, it was the perfect opportunity for a visit from the Easter Bunny, so Carolyn Almeter of Attica Partners for Agriculture and Breezy Hill Dairy let Wright borrow her daughters' sweet rabbit, Annie, to show her students.

Annie is a Flemish Giant breed of rabbit - traditionally raised for meat - but in this case, raised as a pet for Almeter's three daughters.

Thank you to the Almeter family for letting us give apples and attention to Annie all week long!

(Photos courtesy of Alyssa Wright)

Yesterday was peep day in Mrs. Kristin Janes’ kindergarten class!

Students did all kinds of peeps-centric activities, including:
• Adopting a peep and coming up with a story about it
• Conducting a peep ‘sink or float’ experiment
• Building a jellybean house for the peep
• Designing their own peep

And don’t worry, there was plenty of peep-eating along the way, too!

(Photos courtesy of Kristin Janes)

REMINDER: Our parent/guardian information night for incoming freshmen is TOMORROW - Tuesday, March 31 - in our Performing Arts Center. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.

This meeting is intended for parents and guardians of members of our class of 2030 who will enter their freshman year of high school in September 2026.

Our high school principal, Mr. Michael Jansma, and counselor, Mrs. Erica Frongetta, will present on course selections, high school credits, graduation requirements, clubs and extra curricular activities, among other topics. There will also be time for questions.

We hope to see you on March 31!

WE ASKED, YOU DELIVERED: Our middle school sneaker drive, launched by physical education teacher Samantha Berube earlier this month, is an official, certified, SUCCESS!

“We had an amazing turn out with over 80 pairs donated,” said Berube. “I just want to thank all of the Attica community for contributing - this wouldn’t have been possible without such incredible generosity.”

While Berube will continue to accept sneaker donations, our current 80-plus pair stockpile should meet our middle school students’ physical education class needs for quite a while!

Thank you, Blue Devils - you never cease to amaze us!

Our second graders made the trip from Prospect Street up to our Performing Arts Center Thursday for their annual Folk Music Concert!

Under the direction of Elementary Music Teacher Mrs. Jill Farrell, our student musicians performed folk classics such as “Li’l Liza Jane,” “Scarborough Fair” and “Oh! Susanna,” by American composer Stephen Foster.

You can watch the full concert over on our YouTube channel at the link below!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beqGXYVaID4

Heads up, Blue Devils - our district’s winter newsletter will be delivered in this weekend’s edition of the Attica Penny Saver.

Read it then, or right now over on our website at the link below!

Link: https://files-backend.assets.thrillshare.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/2319/Acsd/0f247433-64b8-4203-94b8-c33b9600f373/Attica-Winter-2026-Newsletter-Final.pdf?disposition=inline

Congratulations and a job well done to our 19 student musicians who participated in the Genesee-Wyoming Music Educators Association’s All-County Music Festival this weekend at Batavia High School!

Students in the elementary and senior chorus ensembles were selected based on teacher recommendations while junior band members qualified based on their scores at solo-festival last year.

Between the three ensembles, we had 19 students selected to participate - four for elementary chorus, four for junior band and 11 for senior chorus.

Elementary Chorus
• Annabelle Kirsch
• David Anthony
• Ellie Keem
• Issac Dunlap

Junior Band
• Madison Clark
• Kate George
• Caleb Lavrincik
• Caleb MacLane

Senior Chorus
• Amarisel Ennis
• Brooke Nuhn
• Sophia Biniaszewski
• Quinn Jerge
• Peyton Miller
• Ilyssa George
• Trevor Gromek
• Daniel Norcross
• Jakob Easton
• Ethan Woloszyn
• Melandia Dressel

(Photos courtesy of Julie Daley, Stephanie Gietler and the Genesee-Wyoming Music Educators Association)

Attica students joined hundreds of other middle and high schoolers from nearly two dozen districts across the Genesee-Livingston-Orleans-Wyoming county region at Genesee Community College last week for the fourth annual ‘GLOW With Your Hands: Healthcare’ careers expo.

This year’s expo brought to GCC more than 60 exhibitors who presented on various sectors of the healthcare industry, including hospitals and health systems, nursing, mental health, social services and first responders as well as educational pathways into healthcare through BOCES, local colleges and universities.

Our students got hands-on experience exploring skilled trades and career opportunities,
learned about the evolving healthcare sector, engaged in career-focused workshops and demonstrations, discovered careers they may not have previously considered and deepened interest in careers they may want to pursue in the future.

Many thanks to all the exhibitors, sponsors and volunteers for putting on such a professional and informative event for our students!

More photos over on our Facebook page at the link below.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=100057106403663&set=a.1458226829424183

Let’s give a big hand to our kindergarteners, whose rhythm band concert last week was a joyful celebration of music and learning!

Over the past several weeks, our kindergarteners have been exploring the concept of steady beat and practicing different rhythmic patterns. They worked so hard to play their instruments together and stay in time with the music, and their efforts truly shined during their March 20 performance!

We wrapped up the concert with two special songs. The first expressed their excitement for the arrival of spring while the other was a heartfelt reminder to their families of just how sweet it is to be loved by them.

We are so proud of their growth, confidence and enthusiasm. What a wonderful performance. Thank you to everyone who came out to support our young musicians!

(Photos courtesy of Chaunda Hertel and Ashley Haniszewski)

Our Chapter 1 PageTurners team took second place in their spring meet at home last week, even with two team members out sick!
When combined with the score from their fall meet earlier this school year, our chapter 1 team finished in 2nd place overall in the division, missing out on qualifying for the regional championships by just 3 points!
Our Chapter 1 coaches, Ms. Donahue and Mrs. Dispenza, are so proud of this group and all the effort they’ve put in this year. They read 16 books and two poems over the course of the fall and spring sessions, and their dedication truly showed last week.
Congratulations to our chapter 1 team on a fantastic season: Magdalena George, Clair Coffta, Zander Almeter, Declan Higgins, Peyton Anthony, Lucy Kennedy, Max Edwards, Wyatt Bennett, Gideon Bosarge, Audrey Huette, Aria Boxler, April Edwards and Taylor Kelly.
(Photos courtesy of Melanie Dispenza)

We welcomed a few (incredibly cute) guests to Attica today!

The baby goats, or kids, came courtesy of the Nikiel family, who recently purchased them from the Janis family.

Alyssa Wright’s veterinary science students even got to practice administering vaccines to the goats, a topic they’ve been discussing in class.

Thanks to Wright’s students, these kids are now protected against tetanus!

(Photos courtesy of Alyssa Wright)

This week’s update highlights the strong progress in the behavioral and nurse’s suites as we continue closing in on the Phase I finish line.

Ferguson Electric (Electrical)
• Continued installing the fire alarm system throughout the Elementary School basement and first floor.
• Made strong progress on backup (emergency) power systems at both the Elementary and High School.
• Installed a new data rack in Room 147, replacing the old system while keeping everything operational.
• Continued electrical work at the High School, including fire alarm and generator-related systems.

Tiede- Zoeller (Tile)
• Completed tile installation in the Nurse’s bathroom (Room 145A), including prep, waterproofing, and grout.
• Tile work is nearly complete.
• Minor touch-ups in nearby hallway areas scheduled for early next week.

Heritage Contract Flooring (Flooring)
• Completed carpet installation in the Behavioral Suite.
• Finished floor prep and began final flooring installation in the Nurse’s Suite, now nearly complete.
• Will be back Monday night to finish the last section of floor.

Let’s make some noise for our Division II Problem 5 Odyssey of the Mind team who took third place out of 19 competing teams this past weekend at the OM State Finals in Syracuse and punched their ticket to the OM World Championships at Iowa State University in May!

Way to go, OMers!

(Photos courtesy of Stacey Donahue)

Fourth graders enjoyed their trip to Rochester last week, taking in a performance by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in Eastman Theatre’s Kodak Hall before heading across town to tour the Memorial Art Gallery.

The concert, titled Celebrating America, included performances of Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” and “Hoedown,” the most well-known movement from the composer’s famous “Rodeo” ballet.

Students also had a chance to sing along as the orchestra played “The Star Spangled Banner” but the RPO’s finale, a performance of the main theme from “Star Wars” by John Williams, was definitely our students’ favorite.

After the concert, students headed to the MAG for a guided tour of the museum’s collection of artworks which includes pieces by Rembrandt, Claude Monet, Georgia O’Keefe, Henri Matisse and many others.

More photos over on our Facebook page at the link below!

Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=100057106403663&set=a.1452221750024691

(Photos courtesy of Jill Farrell, Jessica Edwards, Molly Kirsch, Ashlee Camp, Sara Lewinski and Travis Rowley)

Mark your calendars, Attica.

We’ll be hosting a parent/guardian information night for incoming freshmen on Tuesday, March 31 in our Performing Arts Center. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m.

This meeting is intended for parents and guardians of members of our class of 2030 who will enter their freshman year of high school in September 2026.

Our high school principal, Mr. Michael Jansma, and counselor, Mrs. Erica Frongetta, will present on course selections, high school credits, graduation requirements, clubs and extra curricular activities, among other topics. There will also be time for questions.

We hope to see you on March 31!

Yee-haw! Our middle school student council put on a western-themed dance for our middle school students this past Friday.

In addition to the line-dancing and mechanical bull rides, we also had a contest for the best-dressed cowpoke.

Congratulations to Jackson Bennett, our best-dressed cowboy, and to Callie Nikiel, our best-dressed cowgirl!

Oh, and let’s not forget Bentley Geedy, who put up the longest bull ride of the evening at a whopping 55 seconds!

(Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Kowalski and Mary Beth Brotherton-Hardie)