BREAKING NEWS out of Attica today - read all about it in the special edition of the totally real, not at all made up Blue Devils Bulletin below!
All kidding aside, today, on National School Lunch Hero Day, we want to recognize the people who make sure our students have the delicious, nutritious food they need to learn day in and day out.
A huge thank you to members of our Food Service Department - Kris Wicks, Amanda Brown, Amber Blaszak, Donna Sell, Jane Bartz, Jesse Fiegl, Kayla George, Laura Brueckman, Shawn Drysdale, Stacey Smith, Todd Ford and Kim Godwin - for all you do!
And a shout out to our substitute food service staff - Brittany Sidell, Nicole Houseknecht, Jennifer Meyer and Rick Pestlin - who step in and keep our operations running smoothly whenever we need them.
We appreciate you!
PLEASE SHARE: Our budget newsletter will be delivered in this weekend’s edition of the Attica Penny Saver.
It contains important information about our district’s 2024-25 budget proposal and Capital Project 2024, both of which district residents will vote on May 21.
You can also access the newsletter on our website at the link below.
Link: https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/2319/ACSD/4270549/attica_budget_newsletter_FINAL_DRAFT.pdf
SAVE THE DATE: Our Scholastic Buy One-Get One FREE Book Fair is THIS MONTH in the Attica Middle School Library!
Our fair begins Wednesday, May 15 and will run through Tuesday, May 21.
You can check out the fair’s homepage, set up an eWallet for your student and review a digital flyer for featured fair titles at the links below!
Fair homepage: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/atticamiddleschool?fbclid=IwAR2O8dUYsddO_OygwtX71QqdzEJ2BlBdJTwXk9T88_AJr7q_lmaI7DWIxsM_aem_AbTjEK01tWMFJF92Ih3lgmTYQdC6LKfkExFSfdqPhi45bjN_9audo9SqaLopEHRu_827Kc8q1PaXNiqkJsppJWGJ
eWallet setup: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/content/fairs/hub/ewallet.html?fbclid=IwAR2evAnrRfZy99MJZJEp3FarCZ2k7Y_QYnT_gJNVgG03d2VXHvuFFByEDIc_aem_AbQoe7g_vPDly7aWZS29v9TF-Y6QZtNWqzb67mBBH7KZlkJCXfH_owfzW6L730GxndhHTJv5YRMnUayp6rOBQFgc
Digital book flyer: https://bookfairsfiles.scholastic.com/homepages/flyer_bogo_middle/flyer_bogo_middle.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1J7VIFdPA1Hp0vlPSYvYPl-X1uwUROla9x1oa2TgIczsoGtu78-sJDuO4_aem_ATap-8JJ2ijUYb-HP1cUA4wmo9bpTGw7O_CCi2GdGhl-yoAaWsMou2oF_qHFBOwDJN5LSMoixtpISo9kHdTEAxjx#p=1
Good morning,
Recently, we have had a change in leadership in our Special Education office. If you have any questions related to your child's special education program or questions related to our Special Education Program, please contact Sara Cropp at 585-591-0400 x 3009 or scropp@atticacsd.org. Thank you.
Stacey Donahue, our Middle School Library Media Specialist, is an Attica All-Star!
Donahue was nominated for this recognition by Erin Holt, a middle school teacher.
“I nominated her because of the way she is with students,” explained Holt. “ For example, a young lady in the 6th grade came into the library during 8th period the day before a science project was due. She was sheepish when she admitted to Stacey that she hadn't even started it yet. Without missing a beat, Stacey quickly said, ‘Alright, I've got some ideas. Let's see what we've got.’”
Instead of wasting time chastising the student who was asking for help, recalled Holt, Donahue immediately jumped in to help.
“Though I'm sure once the project was all set, she probably counseled her on time management,” added Holt.
A fun fact about Donahue - she is, among many other things, the coach of our New York State champion Odyssey of the Mind team that will travel to Iowa State University next month to compete in Worlds!
Congratulations, Stacey, on this well-deserved recognition and good luck next month in Iowa!
Earlier this month, our Future Farmers of America chapter hosted a luncheon for Attica FFA alumni that graduated in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s.
The hope for the luncheon, said FFA Advisor Michelle Barber, was to fill in some of the missing information about the chapter's history and the types of events and projects that its members participated in decades ago.
“We had 7 alumni attend the event in person: Walter "Bud" Youngers, Archie Snyder, Ike Boss, Nick Kirsch, Larry LaWall, Wayne George and Denny Kibler,” said Barber. “They answered a lot of questions from our FFA members and shared many interesting stories. One of the comments that was made the most often was the high regard they had for their Ag teacher, Mr. Floyd Macomber. Mr. Ike Boss also made sure to let us know that he is the oldest surviving Attica FFA alumnus at the very young age of 90!”
Gaining a more robust understanding of the chapter’s history has been a recent point of focus for current FFA members.
To that end, Chapter President Larissa Hyman and Vice President Madelyn King recently traveled to the Skilled Nursing Facility in Warsaw to interview Robert Calkins about his memories of Attica’s FFA when he was a member in the 1950s and to look through some old newspaper clippings Calkins had saved from that time.
Another FFA alumni, Mike Raynor, recently reached out to our current chapter members from his home in Missouri. Raynor was the Attica FFA President in 1971 and sent us photos of his FFA jacket from the time.
“It was such a fun event,” said Barber of the alumni luncheon. “The stories these gentlemen told were wonderful - it was such a pleasure to have them share with our current members what it was like to be part of such a great organization so many years ago.”
(Photos courtesy of Michelle Barber)
Attica’s and Alexander’s varsity softball teams are teaming up for a 2nd Annual Softball Palooza Community Game!
This is a great way for the Attica and Alexander teams and communities to come together, have some fun and support our softball programs!
Palooza activities start Saturday, June 8 at 3 p.m. with the Community Softball Game set to begin at 5 p.m.
To register for the community game, applicants must be 18 years old and an alumni, resident or staff member of the Attica or Alexander school districts. Attica residents must play on the Attica team while Alexander residents must play on the Alexander team.
There is a $25 fee to register for the community game. The deadline to register is May 15.
To register for the Attica team, send the information listed below in an email to Attica Softball Head Coach Lauren Kocher at lkocher@atticacsd.org.
To register for the Alexander team, send the information listed below in an email to Alexander Softball Head Coach John Goodenbury at john.goodenbury@gmail.com.
Registrants will be advised of payment options after emailing their information.
Registration information*
• Name
• Email
• Phone number
• Shirt size
*Please note in your email whether you’re a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, whether you have any veterans in your family and how many will be attending the game.
April’s almost over - can you believe it?
That means our first New York Thursday of May is nearly upon us!
Check out our May menu below to see what local grub we’ve got coming up this month!
FUTURE VIKING: This afternoon, Attica senior Joe Parkhurst signed his national letter of intent to attend Cleveland State University where he’ll compete in the Horizon League as a member of the university’s Division I Men’s Swimming & Diving Team.
A member of Attica’s varsity swim team since he was in 8th grade, Joe ends his high school swim career as the most accomplished swimmer Attica has ever seen.
He holds all or part of every school swim record except the 200- and 500-yard freestyle or, as Joe likes to call them, “those stupid long-distance ones.”
This past season, Joe scored the most points in dual meets of any swimmer in any class in Section V and capped his career with a third place finish in the 50-yard freestyle and a 4th place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke at the New York State Swimming Championships in Ithaca.
Congratulations, Joe, on this important and impressive step.
We can’t wait to see what you do at the next level!
PLEASE SHARE: Attica’s Future Farmers of America chapter is hosting a workshop on berry growing Wednesday, May 15 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in our Performing Arts Center, 3338 East Main Street Rd., Attica.
The workshop will be led by Don Gasiewicz, a natural resources and horticulture program manager with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County.
The workshop is free, though attendees are asked to register ahead of time.
Use the link below to register or contact Gasiewicz directly at (585) 786-2251 or drg35@cornell.edu.
Link: https://pub.cce.cornell.edu/event_registration/main/events_landing.cfm?event=BerryGrowerUpdate2024_256
Mamma mia - we almost forgot to share these from students’ trip to Shea’s Performing Arts Center earlier this month!
A group of 50 junior and senior high chorus students and teachers headed to downtown Buffalo April 9 to catch a performance of the National Tour of the hit, Broadway musical and major motion picture, “Mamma Mia!”
Shout out to Mr. Austin Matson for the photos!
A reminder to all our students, staff and families - last year, our district began a partnership with Care Solace, a free, anonymous and confidential mental health care coordination service that connects people in need of mental health services with available providers in their area.
Attica students, staff and their family members can contact Care Solace 24/7 at 888-515-0595 to find providers in their area. You can also use our district’s custom webpage at the link below to search out providers online.
“Mental health is health, so anything we can do to create a supportive environment for those in need of mental health care is worth doing,” said Superintendent Dr. Kiel Illg. “I encourage anyone who feels they could benefit from speaking with a mental health care professional to take advantage of this free service.”
Link: https://caresolace.com/site/atticacsd
The Attica Middle School Compact Team will be hosting a Chicken BBQ fundraiser on Tuesday, May 21 - the same day as our school budget and capital project votes and Board of Education elections!
Dinners are $13 and include chicken, potatoes, corn and a roll. Pickup is from 4 to 7 p.m. in the high school parking lot, near the tennis courts.
Please pre-order your dinner(s) at the link below or by scanning the QR code in the informational flier.
We hope to see you on the 21st!
Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyG6UVm1IJPAr8i4iXxXAGMRa4fduj-1nUCHvjwpHbBwmu7g/viewform
Attica Elementary’s theme for April is teamwork!
Earlier this month, we spotted AIS Math Teacher Mrs. Tambe working with Mrs. Janes’ kindergarteners on a pattern block picture challenge.
Mrs. Janes’ kindergarteners did a great job working together to complete the challenge!
(Photos courtesy of Sherry Bennett and Ann Tambe)
Mark your calendars, juniors and seniors, because prom tickets go on sale in less than ONE MONTH.
PLEASE SHARE: We are hiring for a variety of fall and winter coaching positions for the coming 2024-25 school year.
Letters of interest and resumes can be sent to Human Resources Clerk Casey Marcy at 3338 E. Main Street Rd., Attica, NY 14011 or via email at cmarcy@atticacsd.org.
Hey elementary school parents - if you were wondering why your kiddo was craving eggs when they got home today, here’s why!
Mrs. Elizabeth Winters’, Mrs. Laura O’Donnell’s and Mrs. Michelle Pitkin's high school science students headed down to Prospect Elementary this morning for STEM Day!
Elementary schoolers broke into small groups of three and, with the help of their assigned high schoolers, used plastic cups, tape, cotton balls, straws, string, saran wrap and tissues to design and create devices to keep an egg intact when dropped from a height of 6 feet.
Students tested their initial designs using golf balls then made improvements before testing them again with eggs.
At the end of the activity, after each group had a chance to test their designs, students came together to reflect on which design elements had worked well to protect their eggs and which hadn’t.
All in, we had 45 high schoolers help about 400 elementary schoolers engage in this activity in 20 different classrooms!
A huge thank you to the Driesel family and Kreher Family Farms for their generous donation of eggs!
Our students may have cracked one or two but you know what they say - you can’t engage in an iterative design process to develop an impact-absorbing delivery system for calcium carbonate-based ovoids without breaking a few eggs!
TONIGHT: Superintendent Dr. Kiel Illg and representatives from Gordon Jones Architects and Buffalo Construction Consultants will give a presentation on and take questions about our proposed capital project.
The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. in our Performing Arts Center, 3338 East Main Street Rd., Attica.
For more information about our proposed capital project, visit our website at the link below.
We hope to see you tonight!
Link: https://www.atticacsd.org/page/capital
Remember earlier this week when we told you about the Cow for Now program?
Well today, Mrs. Baker's kindergarten class was able to try making butter as part of the program.
Our kiddos were excited to learn the process behind butter-making and were REALLY excited when they got to try the butter they’d just made spread on some crackers!
Last week, our first grade team hosted a family paint night for their students and families!
Elementary School Art Teacher Sara Lewinski walked students and family members through the painting, which showed a pair of ladybugs in the grass, on a step-by-step basis.
“I do paint nights with adults and kids on my own time throughout the year and after the last one I did with a group of doctors Sherry Bennett, our elementary school principal, asked if I'd be willing to do it at the school with our first graders,” said Lewinski. “Sherry really wanted to get the parents into the school more since COVID kept the community out of the building for so long, so this was a way to offer something fun for families to do together here in school.”
We had about 70 people attend and everyone had a great time!
A huge thank you to Lewinski, Bennett, our entire first grade team and everyone who attended - we had so much fun!
(Photos courtesy of Sherry Bennett and Sara Lewinsk)
