Attica Central School District

Please see the following statement from Superintendent Dr. Kiel Illg: Dear Attica Families, It is with excitement for the individual and gratefulness for his service that I write to you to announce that Physical Education Teacher and Athletic Director Eric Romesser will be leaving the District for the purposes of retirement on September 28, 2023. I am extremely grateful for Mr. Romesser's service and dedication in his role as Athletic Director since he began the position in 2012. Since that time Mr. Romesser has led the District in providing engaging, educational experiences through athletics for our students. Mr. Romesser was also instrumental in providing guidance in the development and completion of the new athletic complex for the District. “I’ve been here in some way, shape or form since 1992,” said Romesser. “In that time we’ve had great kids, understanding and supportive parents and some truly terrific coaches - all of which have made my job that much easier and are just a few of the reasons why Attica is such a special place. Looking back, I can honestly say I’ve loved my time here at Attica. It’s my second home.” As part of the transition plan for the remainder of the year, the District has selected Mrs. Lisa Young to serve as the Athletic Director. Mrs. Young will begin her duties as Athletic Director on September 29, 2023. I look forward to the leadership, commitment, and support that Mrs. Young will provide to our Athletic Department, students and school community in her new role. -Dr. Kiel Illg Superintendent of Schools

FYI: The Attica Fitness Center adult evening session will be closed tonight (9/28)....it will reopen on Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m.

Attica students joined more than 1,000 others from across the region at the Genesee County Fairgrounds in Batavia yesterday for GLOW with Your Hands, the career exploration event designed to give students in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties opportunities to learn more about career opportunities in local high-growth, high-demand industries. More than 65 business and career exhibitors in agriculture, manufacturing and other skilled trades attended this year’s event to present to students. This was an incredible opportunity for our students and they learned a lot! This annual event is a great opportunity for our students to learn directly from professionals in a variety of industries and get a feel for what career they may wish to pursue after high school.

Remember local outdoor sciences, the new elective High School Science Teacher Jenna Linsey started last year? Well it was so popular with our students that this year, we’ve had to expand it to two sections! Linsey’s students are continuing to monitor the health of Baker Brook, which runs near the Attica Nature Trail along the southwest boundary of the middle and high school campus. They also have a greater understanding of and appreciation for the importance of the Attica Wastewater Treatment Plant after taking a field trip Thursday and hearing from Attica alumni Doug Bietz (class of 2009) and Evan Krawczyk (class of 2014) about how they treat and purify wastewater. Krawczyk and Beitz, chief operator of the plant, emphasized the importance of ensuring water is as clean as possible before it’s released back into Tonawanda Creek - especially as a means of reducing the chances of harmful algal blooms on Lake Ontario, which the Tonawanda feeds into. (Photos courtesy of Jenna Linsey)

Senior Olivia Bernacki was recently named a National Recognition Program awardee by College Board, the education non-profit that administers the SAT and Advanced Placement program. Olivia was recognized with a National Rural and Small Town Award based on her overall GPA and scores on AP tests and the PSAT. To be recognized as a National Recognition Program awardee by College Board, a student must maintain a 3.5 GPA and score in the top 10 percent on their PSAT or at least a 3 on two different AP tests. Congratulations, Olivia!

Good news, everyone! The Scholastic Book Fair, originally set to end today, will remain open in our Middle School Library through Tuesday, Sept. 26! This annual fair is a win-win for students and our library - students are able to select from a broad selection of quality titles while each dollar spent helps raise funds to purchase materials and equipment for our library. If you haven’t stopped by to check it out, make sure you do so before it’s gone!

Laura Brueckman, one of our food service helpers, manned the cafeteria booth last night at our Middle School Open House! Laura had a great time educating families on our Food Service Department’s New York Thursdays program and ‘Build-A’ days and giving out samples of our homemade pico de gallo made using Attica-grown tomatoes - yum! Thanks to all the families who stopped by to say hello! (Photos courtesy of Alicia Spoth)

FARM TO SCHOOL: Another ‘New York Thursdays’ at Attica Central Schools! Today’s lunch menu was chock-full of local ingredients and products: • Taco in a bag with Burly Bros. ground beef (Attica) • Side salad: Tomatoes from district high tunnel greenhouse, cucumbers and peppers from • American Fruit and Vegetable Company (Rochester) • Corn on the cob: Merle’s Fresh Produce (Attica) • Plums: American Fruit and Vegetable Company (Rochester) • Apples: LynOaken Farms (Medina) • Milk: Upstate Farms (Farmer-owned dairy cooperative comprising more than 300 farms - most in Western New York) (Photos courtesy of Kris Wicks)

Freshmen English students recently finished reading Richard Connell’s famous short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” in class. Today, to review, they headed down to our High School Library where Library Media Specialist Melanie Loranty had prepared an escape room-style Breakout Box challenge to test what students had learned while reading the story. After being broken up into small groups, students were presented with five tasks, each of which included questions centered on vocabulary, literary elements and plot points Loranty had drawn from the story. Each successfully completed task yielded a portion of the combination to a locked box. After finishing all five tasks, students were able to enter the full combination and unlock their box to reveal the prize within! What a fun way to review!

We hope you’ll join us in congratulating Kara Hassenfratz and Kate Metzger, who were recently selected for the New York State School Music Association’s Area All-State Treble Choir! Last school year, Kara and Kate auditioned along with thousands of other student musicians as part of NYSSMA’s Solo Festival process in the hopes of being selected for an honors ensemble. Their selection to this prestigious vocal ensemble is all the more impressive considering they competed against the best student musicians in NYSSMA’s Zone 2, which includes eight counties in the greater Rochester area. This year's Area All-State Festival takes place at Rush Henrietta Senior High School on Friday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 18 with a final performance taking place on the afternoon of the 18th. Congratulations to Kara and Kate! (Photo courtesy of Austin Matson)

You’re invited! Don’t forget to stop by our cafeteria booth during our upcoming elementary, middle and high school open houses! You can meet the food service staff who feed your students fresh, local and nutritious food each and every day and even try some of our home-made pico de gallo made using Attica-grown tomatoes. We can’t wait to see you at your student’s open house!

Homecoming Week is almost upon us! Start planning your outfits now and don’t forget to bring that Blue Devils pride all week long! #DevilsNation

FARM TO SCHOOL: We had our first taste testing event of the school year this past Friday. Students sampled Attica-grown tomatoes paired with cucumbers and topped with Italian dressing! The salad will be available on our salad bar and received many requests for seconds from student samplers. The green and yellow bean combination was served on Friday’s line as well. The beans were frozen as a part of the summer food service program and grown by Fenton’s Produce in Batavia. (Photos courtesy of Alicia Spoth)

A huge shout out and thank you to Harding’s Furniture Flooring and Mattress for its $1,000 donation to our Future Farmers of America chapter - so incredibly generous!

Attention Sports Fans - Just a reminder: the 2023 Attica Central School Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is just around the corner. Reservations are filling up fast. This event will take place at “The Lodge” at Hidden Valley Adventures in Varysburg, New York on Saturday September 30th. This year's inductees include 2 coaches, 4 athletes, and one team. Inductees are: Margaret “Peg” Sisson Ronald Phillips Mike Lavarnway William Powers Laurie Jennings John Perl & the 1973-74 Girls Basketball Team Doors will open at 5:30 with Hor D’ourves and cash bar. The Dinner Buffet will be served at 6:30 with the ceremony starting at 7:45. The cost will be $35.00 per person. Reservations can me made by contacting the Attica Athletic Department by 9/22 - 585-591-0400 ext. 1176. Checks should be made payable to the Attica Booster Club and mailed to: Attica Central Schools Attn: Eric Romesser 3338 East Main Street Road Attica, New York 14011 Please come on out and help support and honor these individuals that make up the rich history of ACS athletics......

Creating displays is a time consuming, but incredibly fulfilling venture that our art teachers pride themselves on. This year, Ms. Laura Steves' displays for the beginning of the year helped set the tone for not only her classes, but the entire student body. Thank you, Ms. Steves, for helping make our days a little brighter!

Our Future Farmers of America chapter sold nearly 400 chicken dinners Wednesday during its annual Chicken BBQ! Money raised through this fundraiser helps support our FFA members throughout the school year. A huge thank you to everyone who bought a dinner (or four). We’re lucky to live in such a supportive community!

FARM TO SCHOOL: Our high tunnel greenhouse continues to produce an absolute bounty of vegetables. We tagged along yesterday afternoon as students in Becky Sphar’s foods on your own class harvested some Roma tomatoes before heading over to the middle school courtyard where students have planted several other vegetable beds. There, they picked banana, bell and jalapeño peppers, a couple of eggplants and some kale. Sphar and her students have big plans for the produce - they’re hoping to pickle the peppers and make a marinara sauce with the tomatoes. We bet that would go great with some eggplant parmesan. Just saying…

Our fifth graders were DIALED IN this afternoon as teams went head-to-head in a series of bean bag toss challenges during phys. ed.

FARM TO SCHOOL: We stopped by our middle/high school cafeteria today to check out our school nutrition team’s New York Thursdays offerings! A statewide initiative, New York Thursdays highlights New York-grown and produced food items during school meals once per week. It’s intended to maximize the amount of locally produced food students have access to at school while, at the same time, saving the district money in the form of increased state aid reimbursements. It’s truly a win-win-win for students, our district and local farmers! Today’s lunch menu is below - take a look to see all the New York-grown products! • Hotdog on a bun: Hotdogs from Wardynski’s Meats (Buffalo) • Side salads: Tomatoes from our district’s high-tunnel greenhouse, cucumbers from American Fruit and Vegetable Company (Rochester), bread and butter pickles from our district’s Summer Agriculture Club. • Carrots: Headwater Foods (Ontario, Wayne County) • Apples: LynOaken Farms (Medina) • Peaches: American Fruit and Vegetable Company (Rochester) • Milk: Upstate Farms (Farmer-owned dairy cooperative comprising more than 300 farms - most in Western New York)