STARS Program Field Trip Slated for June 18th!

The annual STARS program end of year field trip is slated to take place on Saturday, June 18th.  All STARS students from grades 2 and 3 have the opportunity to participate in a trip to Stony Brook State Park, where students will have the opportunity to explore all the park has to offer!  As always, students' families are invited to join!

Permission slips have been sent home with students, but if you have any questions or concerns, or if you need another permission slip, please contact Tim Crowe at 607-324-1303 ext 1575! 

171 Cedar Arts Ceramics Program

Over the course of the past 6 weeks, 171 Cedar Arts Facilitator, Amanda Warren, has been teaching our students all about ceramics.  From creating ceramic pieces, to glazing and firing, Amanda has taught our students all about ceramics.  The students always get to keep their creations, and they have a great time building!  Thanks, Amanda!

Two of our students working on pots!

Students glazing their most recent creations!

Lego-Based Engineering Program

Recreation facilitator Rich Scott has been teaching a Lego-based engineering program to our 2nd and 3rd grade STARS students, and the results have been phenomenal.  Students are engaged and excited to build using legos, and they're learning basic engineering skills, collaboration, and teamwork in the process!

Students working together to build houses, cars and other structures out of legos!

4-H offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension!

Cornell Cooperative Extension recently wrapped up their six week 4-H program, and the students had a blast!  Each week, they would do a series of experiments that opened their eyes to the natural sciences!  It was an excellent program, and exceeded our expectations as they relate to STEM programs!

This year's new 4-H Program was a huge success, and our students had a lot of fun learning about the natural sciences!

Too Good For Violence - Steuben Council On Addictions

Over the course of each school year, Steuben Council On Addictions and facilitator Barb McCollumn offer our 3rd grade STARS students two separate six-week character education programs.  This year's second program, Too Good For Violence, just wrapped up, and it proved very beneficial to our students.  With the help of Otto, a robot the students control, this fun and engaging programs teaches students many skills related to preventing violence!

Otto, the robot used to help students learn character education skills!

Family Programming Slated for 2/11 at Intermediate School!

Each year we offer 4 separate sessions of parent programming which is facilitated by ProAction of Steuben and Yates.  The programs focus on all sorts of topics that affect students and their families.  Self esteem, bullying awareness, online safety and co-parenting are just a few of the topics we've covered in the past.

Our next session takes place at the Hornell Intermediate School on 2/11 from 3:30 to 5:30, and will be followed immediately by a family spaghetti dinner, free to students and their families.  All S.T.A.R.S. and F.O.C.U.S. families are invited to attend.  Please keep an eye on your son or daughter's homework folder for more information and the RSVP form.  If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me!

Bryant Session Change! New Vendor Programming!

During our last 6 week session, students received the Too Good For Violence program from the Steuben Council on Addictions and a 4-H program from Cornell Cooperative Extension.  They were both highly educational, fun, and exciting programs!

This week, our 3rd session of program starts.  Each Wednesday, Science & Discovery Center will join out 3rd graders for 6 weeks of Stop Motion Animation classes.  By the end, students will have created their own short film!  On Thursdays, we will be joined by 171 Cedar Arts for our second year of Ceramics, where every week students will create a ceramics project to keep!

Cornell Cooperative Extensions's 4-H program was a huge hit with the 3rd Grade S.T.A.R.S. Program Students!  Here they're working in small groups to complete some exciting science experiments!

Community Service Opportunities for Seniors and National Honor Society Students!

This is the second year we've offered National Honor Society and Seniors currently enrolled in Government Class the opportunity to complete their mandatory community service hours, and the turnout has been spectacular!

This year we've had over 20 students complete hours with our Bryant School S.T.A.R.S. and Intermediate School F.O.C.U.S. programs, which translates into over 400 hours of district students working together to achieve their goals!

This program has been beneficial in so many ways!  Senior High Students have the opportunity to complete their hours in a fun and exciting environment, which also offers them some great experience if their looking into the childcare or education fields.  Our F.O.C.U.S. and S.T.A.R.S. students have the opportunity to be mentored and build relationships with older students, with whom they can easily relate, while working on homework, projects and other educational activities.  Finally, having extra people at program to work with students is a big help to our staff!

A huge thanks goes out to all of our senior high students who have helped us over the course of the year!  Your hard work and dedication brings a whole new dynamic to our programs, and offers the younger students so much!

YMCA Winter Break Programming Success - February Break Program Just Around the Corner!

Over our school district's extended breaks, the Hornell City School District's ESD and 21st Century Grant Programs team up with the Hornell YMCA to offer a number of YMCA programming scholarships!  Students who receive the scholarships get full day programming at the YMCA over break, where the caring and creative YMCA staff offer art, music, literacy and PE lessons in addition to recreational time and field trips!

This time around, 18 HCSD students grades 3-8 received three full days of programming!  Not only did the students have a safe, fun and educational environment to spend their time over break, but their families had the opportunity to work without the high cost of childcare being a burden!

We will be offering this program over February Break, which runs from 2/15 to 2/19.  If you're a parent with a child who is interested in attending, please don't hesitate to reach out to us!

The Hornell Family YMCA on Center Street in Hornell has been instrumental in helping the 21st Century and Extended School Day Grants achieve their goals!

S.T.A.R.S. Program Update

The S.T.A.R.S. Program at Bryant School is well under way, and we're off to a great start!  We've had a lot of fun and educational activities so far, including weekly visits from Science & Discovery Center, where students complete weekly science projects; weekly programming from Cornell Cooperative Extension's CATCH Kids Club, which teaches students the importance of making healthy nutrition decisions; and ProAction's Job Club, where students learned all about STEM Careers!

Students work with Pat Lamphier of Cornell Cooperative Extension to learn about the importance of making healthy and nutritious decisions when it comes to their snacks!  In this particular lesson, students tried several types of apples while learning about the nutritional value of each.  They also ranked the apples by how much they liked them!

Students worked with ProAction's Job Club to learn all about careers in STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math!  Later they built their own structures using gum drops and toothpicks!

Science and Discovery Center came to offer our students their Science Sampler Program.  Once each week a Science and Discovery Center Representative worked with our students to complete fun and interesting science experiments!

Programming Has Begun!

This year the Extended School Day Program has some great opportunities for Hornell City School District!  Here's a list of what we've got going on so far this year!

Bryant School S.T.A.R.S. Program: This 2^nd and 3^rd grade program takes place daily at Bryant School.  Focusing on homework help, PE, Art, ELA, History and STEM, this program is sure to help students struggling with their daily assignments.  The program also offers students a variety of field trips, all meant to enrich their education.

Hornell Intermediate School F.O.C.U.S. Program:  Just like the S.T.A.R.S. Program, but for 4th through 6th grade students!  Focusing on homework help, PE, Art, ELA, History and STEM, this program is sure to help students struggling with their daily assignments.  It also offers students a variety of field trips, all meant to enrich their education in a fun and meaningful way.

Junior/Senior High Extended Library Hours & Tutoring:  Every Monday through Thursday from 3:03 until approximately 4:45, the library will be open for student use, and there will be a tutor on hand to assist with assignments.  Last year there were over 4,500 instances of students using the library after school, and we're hoping to build on it this year.

After School Open Lab:  Once each week, high school science teacher Kelly Jackson open her lab after school.  Students who need to complete science labs are welcomed to do so in her room.  For more information on this program, please see Mrs. Jackson in the science wing!

Community Service Opportunities:  Each year we offer community service opportunities to our high school students.  Students currently rolled in Government, as well as students taking part in National Honor Society, are invited to volunteer to help with our S.T.A.R.S. or F.O.C.U.S. programs!  Not only is this a fun way for our older students to complete their community service requirements, it also gives those interested in pursuing careers in child care or education the opportunity to get their feet wet!  It also gives our younger students the opportunity to be mentored by high schoolers!

Junior/Senior High Robotics/STEM:  Students design, engineer, build and program robots, then compete against teams from other districts at regional, state, and/or national level.

Junior/Senior High Teen Book Fest Reading Group: Students are given brand new copies of books written by young adult authors and meet throughout the year for discussions.  This program culminates with a trip to the annual Teen Book Festival at Nazareth College, where students meet the authors they've been reading all year!

Junior/Senior High Writer's Circle:  Students meet weekly to work on and peer review books they write themselves.  At the end of the year, the student-written books are bound and published with an ISBN and all!

Junior/Senior High Earth and Sky:  This program offers an in depth and interesting study of our planet, solar system and universe, and is perfect for students interested in science and space.  Throughout the year, this group takes multiple field trips to enrich their studies.

Junior/Senior High Chess Club:  This group will learn how to play chess, and win!  They’ll learn strategy, team work, and the science behind playing chess, and they’ll even have the opportunity to play in tournaments against other schools!

Alfred State College Cooking Program

Alfred State's Culinary Art program made a special trip to visit the Bryant School STARS Students.  3 professors and 6 college students visited the school to discuss careers in the Culinary Arts.  In addition, they taught students how to make some great snacks!

One of the most fun and educational programs the students have had all year, this particular visit was a huge success!  Plus, there were cupcakes!

STARS Students learn to make healthy wraps using yogurt, fruit and veggies!

An Alfred State Culinary Arts student teaching students that presentation is just as important as the food itself!  Here, she shows students how to make their very own Cookie Monster Cupcakes!

Second Career Day

Sarah Sassman of GST BOCES has been instrumental in bringing College and Career Readiness to the 21st Century and ESD Grant programs.  Over the course of the year, she organized  excellent career days at the Hornell Intermediate School, where students from all over the district came to explore different possible career paths.

Ms. Sassman used student interest surveys to determine what careers the students would like to explore.  The first career day brought careers in the arts.  The second brought careers in public service.  Students heard presentations from a local police officer, firefighter, veterinarian, and sports writer from Alfred State.

It was a great experience for the students, and it touched on one of our grant's key elements: exposing Hornell's students to college and career options that might interest them!

Wildlife Defenders Visit Hornell Intermediate School

The Wildlife Defenders, a division of Bridges for Brain Injuries, visited the Hornell Intermediate School to show off some of the great animals they use for rehabilitation.  Students from the STARS Program also took a field trip to see their presentation.

From Lemurs to Crocodiles, students had the opportunity see some really cool animals they wouldn't see otherwise!  This was the 5th time The Wildlife Defenders have been to our district, and every visit is better than the last!

3rd Grade STARS Field Trip - Museum of Play - 4/18

On Saturday, 4/18, our 3rd Grade STARS students have the opportunity to travel to the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY.  The museum, which boast a myriad of educational, fun, and interactive exhibits, highlights how play has changed over the years while exploring the way play boosts learning, creativity, and discovery while illuminating cultural history.  With the world's most comprehensive collection of toys, games and play related materials, this is bound to be and education and enjoyable trip for the STARS students!

For more information on The Strong National Museum of Play, please visit www.museumofplay.org/

Hornell students on the front steps on Seasame Street!

Alfred State College Culinary Program to visit Bryant School

This Wednesday, the Alfred State College Culinary Arts Program will be paying a visit to our 3rd Grade STARS program.  The reason for their visit is three-fold:  First, they'll be teaching students about careers in the culinary arts, touching on one of our grant's key points - college and career readiness.  Second, they'll teach our students all about nutrition and why it's important they develop healthy eating habits now.  Finally, they'll be providing fun through some great cooking activities meant to engage our students.

Over the coming weeks, several programs from Alfred State will be coming down to join us for single visits. These visits are meant to give our students and exciting glimpse into different college and career options available to them!

ESD/SVP Grant Extended Another Year!

We were happy to hear the New York State Education Department has offered current Extended School Day/School Violence Prevention Grantees a 1 year extension!  Having the grant for another year means that we will be able to provide another year of excellent programming for the district's students and families.  From academics to social skills, we're proud of all that our program has to offer, and we look forward to its continued growth.  Next year, we will be looking to bring back our current programming and add some new things into the mix!

If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to contact me!

Wegmans Cooking Program Continues at Intermediate School

After a successful 3 week program at the high school, our Wegmans afterschool culinary program, facilitated by Wegmans Chef Ken Sanford and hosted by Pat Lamphier and Pat White of Cornell Cooperative Extention, is moving to the Intermediate School.  This is the program's second year running, and it's been one of our most popular and valuable programs.  Promoting healthy and cost effective food options, this program teaches students everything from cooking skills to how to read nutrition information.

A special thanks to Pat and Pat, Chef Ken, Wegmans, and Cornell Cooperative Extension for support our programming and playing a key role in the lives of the HCSD's students.

171 Cedar Arts Ceramics Program Draws to a Close

The 171 Cedar Arts Ceramics program, led by facilitator Amanda Warren, has come to an end, but not without an exciting project for the students.  Over the course of 6 weeks, Bryant School 3rd graders had the opportunity to create 6 different ceramics pieces, most of which were artistic as well as functional.  From coil pots to monsters, our students had a great time using a medium they wouldn't otherwise be able to use.

171 Cedar Arts has been an excellent resource for our arts programming, and we highly recommend participating in any of their programs.  For more information, visit www.171cedararts.org.

One week, students made turtle bowls!

YMCA February Break Program Successful

Over extended breaks, The Extended School Day and 21st Century Grant programs team up with the Hornell YMCA to provide scholarships in the YMCA's Care For Kids program.  Designed to enrich the lives of Hornell's while offering them a safe enviornment, the program has always proven beneficial to the students who enroll.  This year was no different.

Over February break, we were able to provide 22 students from the Bryant School S.T.A.R.S. and Intermediate School F.O.C.U.S. programs scholarships.  Our students had opportunities to swim, participate in music and art classes, engage in all kinds of games and physical activities, build social and interpersonal skills, and improve literacy skills.  The program has always been successful, and we can't thank the YMCA enough for the role they play in this partnership.