Attica Central School District

Many thanks to all the college and university representatives who attended this morning’s Rochester Area College Fair in our auxiliary gymnasium: • Rochester Institute of Technology • SUNY Geneseo • Alfred University • St. John Fisher University • SUNY Brockport • Finger Lakes Community College • Houghton University • Keuka College • Monroe Community College • Genesee Community College • Nazareth University • Alfred State College • University of Rochester • Roberts Wesleyan College We hosted representatives from 14(!) different institutes of higher education this morning - lots of good exchanging of information with our high school students!

Amanda Brown and Shawn Drysdale shared some of the cool things our food service staff is doing with families at our Middle School Open House last night. Brown and Drysdale shared a recipe for one-pan roasted potatoes and apples - yum! In addition to the recipe, families were sent home with the produce - apples, potatoes and onions - needed for the recipe grown by our friends at Merle’s Produce right here in Attica! We’ve been enjoying supporting our local farmers this school year and are REALLY looking forward to open house down at the Elementary School next week where we’ll be sending families home with a recipe for pumpkin pie and a pie pumpkin - likewise grown by Merle’s Produce. We hope to see you down on Prospect Street next Friday, Sept. 27 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at our Elementary School Open House!

Over the past couple of weeks, a few students in Mr. Matt Struzik’s 6th period study hall have taken to playing around on some of the guitars Struzik keeps in his classroom. This informal group of music enthusiasts, who have dubbed themselves The Fretboard Society, decided to take their music public earlier this week during a brief busking session in a high school hallway. We weren’t around to hear for ourselves but the trio did end up making about $4 so whatever they were playing, it must have sounded good! (Photos courtesy of Matt Struzik)

This morning our district’s TIES Coordinator, Jennifer Rautenstrauch, spoke with eighth graders about what her program does and how they can get involved. The TIES program, short for Together Including Every Student, promotes the participation of students and young adults who have developmental disabilities in inclusive, organized extracurricular and community activities with the support of trained student volunteers. Peer Volunteers are Attica students in grades 8-12 while participants are Attica students ages 8-22. Rautenstrauch went over how the program works, training requirements and some of the different activities peer mentors can do with participants with our eighth graders, who she encouraged to consider signing up as a peer volunteer. If you have or know of any students who would like to volunteer, you can contact Rautenstrauch via email at jrautenstrauch@atticacsd.org or phone at (585) 604-8467. For more information about our TIES program, visit our website at the link below. Link: https://www.atticacsd.org/o/acsd/page/ties-program

Couldn’t miss the first Build-A-Waffle Day of the school year, now could we?! Waffle Day has always been popular with our students and today was no different! Students’ favorite topping was a close call, but we’d have to give it to the whipped cream - only by about 10,000% percent, though.

How cool is this?! Our food service staff was featured in the Fall 2024 issue of “Fresh Bites,” the New York State School Nutrition Association’s quarterly magazine! The magazine chronicled our food service staff’s efforts over the summer to prepare and freeze fresh produce and fruit for use during the school year. Super proud of our food service staff and the more people that know about how awesome they are, the better! You can find the full write-up on page 32 of the “Fresh Bites” fall edition at the link below. Link: https://www.nyschoolnutrition.org/view-fresh-bites-here-

Your Mighty Marching Blue Devils were in action Sunday at the 19th annual Marilla Ag Day Parade! It was a perfect day for a parade and your Blue Devils sounded great (as usual). They even got a little screen time via WKBW-TV, the local ABC affiliate out of Buffalo - check ‘em out at the 0:07-minute mark in the video linked below! (Photos courtesy of Amanda Hofheins) Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr6X-Xdr4fA

Join us in giving a huge shout out to our first Attica All-Star of the 2024-25 school year, JennyBee Rappold! Rappold was first hired on in 2019 as a cleaner and was promoted to head custodian in 2023. In her current position, she’s responsible for overseeing all housekeeping operations for the district. “Stepping into that role has really allowed JennyBee to shine,” said Director of Facilities David Barber. “Not only is she a great supervisor with a great work ethic and skill, but in that role people can see JennyBee’s heart and passion. She loves her job, this school and, most importantly, the people in our community here at Attica Central.” Superintendent Dr. Kiel Illg described Rappold as energetic, enthusiastic and fiercely positive. “I truly believe our facilities are second to none and JennyBee is a huge reason why,” said Illg. “We’re lucky to have someone so dedicated to ensuring our students have a clean and orderly place to come learn each and every morning.” Congratulations, JennyBee, and thank you for being an Attica All-Star!

FARM TO SCHOOL: Our 2024 Ag Camp Advisors Becky Sphar, Melissa Brooks and Janelle Bauer continued to celebrate an outstanding Ag Camp at yesterday’s Board of Education meeting as they presented the Ag Camp Leadership Award to Nathan Stevens! An eighth grader in Attica Middle School, Nate has been an outstanding Ag Camper, Garden Club Member, Baking Club Member and Culinary Club Member who actively participated in both last year’s and this year’s camps. Nate came to camp each morning displaying enthusiasm, interest and passion for each day’s activity. His commitment to growing made him this year’s Ag Camp Leadership Award recipient - congratulations, Nate!

FARM TO SCHOOL: Our food service staff is embracing the fresh flavors of the season! Today, they prepared a homemade tomato cucumber salad for our students using tomatoes grown on campus in our high tunnel and cucumbers that were locally sourced. Students were eager to try this Attica-grown and prepared salad and many gave the recipe two thumbs up! Students will be able to enjoy this salad again as part of their lunches on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Student trays also contained salads with many locally sourced items and cantaloupe from Fenton's Produce in Batavia. We love our local farmers and appreciate their efforts to make our school lunches nutritious and delicious! (Photos courtesy of Alicia Spoth)

TOUR DE ATTICA: We had our own little criterium up and running over on Prospect Street this morning as Mr. Ianna took his students out for a bit of bike-riding during physical education class. Our kiddos donned helmets, then took to the course, trading off bikes with their riding partner after each lap. We expected a bit of riding rust but you know what they say about riding a bike - it’s like riding a bike!

This year, the Wyoming County Suicide Prevention Coalition’s is holding its annual Suicide Prevention Month Walk right here in Attica. As in years past, the walk is a chance for people to come together to help break the stigma around mental health and shed light on a preventable cause of death that has increased nearly 37 percent from 2000 to 2022, the last year for which there are available data. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is now the second leading cause of death for children age 10-14 and third leading cause of death for people 15-24. The walk is Tuesday, Sept. 17 at Pavilion A at Attica Memorial Park, 216 Exchange St., Attica. Registration is preferred, though not required.

Mark your calendars, Attica! In partnership with the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office and Health Department, we’re hosting two upcoming child car seat safety checks in the parking lot of Attica Elementary School, 31 Prospect St., Attica. The first is Friday, Sept., 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The second is Friday, Oct. 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Trained car seat techs will be on hand to ensure you’re using the safest car seat possible for your child and that it’s installed in your car properly.

Please see the following message from Meaghan Matuszak, our Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations: As many of you are aware, this past week the Attica Central School District unveiled our mobile farm stand, and it has been a huge success! We are deeply committed to growing our Farm-to-School program, and seeing this project come to life here in Attica has been a personal dream of mine. I never could have imagined it would become what it is today, and we owe so much of that to the unwavering support we've received from Hillcrest Companies, Attica Partners for Agriculture, and Homeland Woodworking LLC. Their incredible donations, hard work, and ongoing support have been invaluable to our district. They have played a pivotal role in ensuring that our students and staff can experience the very best in farm-to-school education. These partnerships are not just about building a stand—they’re about building a healthier, more sustainable future for our students and our community. Projects like this offer students hands-on experiences with healthy eating, promote fresh, locally-grown food, and foster a deep understanding of where their food comes from. Moreover, it strengthens our connection to the farmers who work tirelessly to provide for our markets and families. By supporting local agriculture, we are teaching our students the importance of community, sustainability, and the impact they can have on the world around them. The ripple effect of this project goes far beyond our campus; it touches the entire community, fostering healthier lifestyles and a stronger local food economy. We could not have accomplished this without the amazing contributions and support from our partners. The impact on our students, staff, and community has been immeasurable. Projects like these allow us to not only teach our students about healthy eating and sustainability but also show our deep commitment to supporting local farmers and strengthening our community ties. Thank you so much! In the group photo below from left are Jim and Ellen Kirch of Homeland Woodworking LLC; Logan Good and Jessica Kirsch of Hillcrest Companies; Attica Partners for Agriculture Board Member Brad Almeter; Superintendent Dr. Kiel Illg, Attica Partners for Agriculture Board Member Katie Carpenter; Food Service Manager Kris Wicks and Board of Education Member Sue Herman.

As we head into the new school year, our TIES, or Together Including Every Student, Program is looking for Peer Volunteers! TIES promotes the participation of students and young adults who have developmental disabilities in inclusive, organized extracurricular and community activities with the support of trained student volunteers. This is a great opportunity to volunteer, gain new perspectives, and earn community service credits! Peer Volunteers are Attica students in grades 8-12 while participants are Attica students ages 8-22. If you have or know of any students who would like to volunteer, contact our district’s TIES Coordinator, Jennifer Rautenstrauch, via email at jrautenstrauch@atticacsd.org or phone at (585) 604-8467. For more information about our TIES program, visit our website at the link below. Link: https://www.atticacsd.org/o/acsd/page/ties-program

Never forget.

Attica's own Mighty Marching Blue Devils getting ready for their first gig of the school year, the Marilla Ag Day Parade this Sunday, Sept. 15! Festivities begin at 11 a.m., parade at 1 p.m. at the Marilla Firemen’s Grounds, 1950 West Ave., Marilla.

FARM TO SCHOOL: Last month, our Summer Ag Campers visited Burley Berries & Blooms in Warsaw for a hands on field trip experience. Campers cut flowers, visited a productive high tunnel and even got to experience the Burley Berries & Blooms Micro Creamery offerings. “We take farm-fresh milk from cows who graze on the freshest grass at East Hill Farms,” explained co-owner Meagan Burley. “Our milk is vat-pasteurized, which is a low-temperature method allowing the milk’s natural flavor and texture to be preserved.” Our students had an amazing experience and called their trip to Burley Berries & Blooms one of their favorite days at camp! Meagan Burley has been a champion for our district’s Farm to School programming and visited us last December to share her story and encourage cafeteria staff to be creative and source locally. The Attica community thanks this family for their continued support of our students and our district's Farm to School mission!

There are still a good number of tickets available for our Future Farmers of America chapter’s 8th Annual Chicken BBQ Fundraiser next week! Each BBQ dinner includes chicken, baked beans, coleslaw, salt potatoes, a roll and butter, milk and dessert. Tickets cost $13 and are pre-sale ONLY. Pickup is Wednesday, Sept. 11 at Attica High School, 3338 East Main Street Rd., Attica. In-school pickup for staff runs from 3:30 to 6 p.m. in the Ag hallway. Drive-up pickup for everyone else runs from 3:45 to 6 p.m. at the bus loop entrance door #28. To purchase a ticket, see our new agriculture teacher and FFA advisor Alyssa Wright or any of our FFA chapter members!

We stopped by the library at Attica Elementary this afternoon and happened to bump into Mrs. Hertel’s new kindergarteners, who were doing an orientation lesson with Mrs. Loranty-Dispenza, our new Elementary School Library Media Specialist! Kindergarteners went over library expectations and procedures, took a tour of the space and then read a book, “Do Not Bring Your Dragon to the Library,” together as a class. Next week, our kindergarteners will move on to checking out their very own books!