Owasco principal spreads Christmas joy as Conductor:
Christopher Sciria
AECSD Public Information Specialist
Much is made about spreading joy during the holiday season, and Owasco Elementary School Principal Ron Gorney has a special way of doing it.
Gorney dresses up as the train conductor from the film “The Polar Express.” Tom Hanks plays the conductor in the film about a boy who rides a train to the North Pole to visit Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
As the conductor, Gorney visits elementary schools in the Auburn School District where he brings the character to life.
“Let me just tell you this,” he said, “I'm in a position to spread joy. In my position there may be some authority but I have an opportunity to spread joy to hundreds of children, so I do it.”
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District, BTW to hold annual Feed-A-Belly food giveaway:
The Auburn Enlarged City School District and Booker T. Washington Community Center will host its annual Fill-A-Belly food giveaway on Tuesday, December 19th at 9 a.m.
The drive-thru event will be held at BTW at 23 Chapman Ave. Auburn, and will be first come, first serve for the first 180 families.
Traffic patterns will differ from last year. Please enter onto Chapman Avenue, driving toward South Street; traffic will enter the BTW parking lot and circle through the lot to receive a box of food provided by the Food Bank of Central NY and a bag of dairy and grain-filled groceries.
A short registration form needs to be completed while waiting in line. If picking up for a family, please be prepared to have names, ages and types of benefits ...
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District offers unique and rewarding opportunities for nurses:
Christopher Sciria
AECSD Public Information Specialist
Registered nurses have numerous choices where they can work, whether it’s a hospital, a doctor’s office, or another type of medical facility, but some RNs may not be aware the Auburn Enlarged City School District can also be an option.
The district is trying to fill some open nursing positions and offers some unique advantages such as scheduling and the ability to work in an educational setting. The way the district staffs its schools, it has two nurses at both the high school and the junior high school and one at each of the five elementary schools.
Nurses who work in the schools have the same calendar as students, which means if they have children in the district, they are able to be home ...
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District Parent Council meetings give community more ways to give input:
Community members may not be aware the Auburn Enlarged City School District holds monthly meetings that are open to the public and a forum to learn more about its operations.
The District Parent Council consists of district officials, including Superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo, Deputy Superintendent Sarah Cupelli and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Amy Mahunik. Other administration employees participate depending on the focus of the meeting.
The council has officers, including a president, a facilitator and a meeting minutes recorder. Other attendees include school board members, teachers and stakeholders in the district – parents are especially encouraged to attend.
Pirozzolo said the more people that attend the meetings, the more topics they ...
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Members of boys cross country compete at prestigious NikeNationals:
Members of the Auburn High School boys cross country team running as the Auburn Pulsars competed Saturday, Dec. 2 at the prestigious Nike CrossNationals at the Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon.
Auburn ran against 22 seven-person clubs and an additional 50 individuals from eight regions across the country. All of their travel expenses were paid by Nike. Auburn finished the regular season third at the state Class A meet and running as the Pulsars, qualified for the NikeNationals with a high finish at the New York race.
Provided
“Going to the Nike Nationals was one of the goals of the team at the beginning of the season,” said coach Greg Stowell. “Especially toward the end of the season it was in reach, but was going to be a difficult task. Once ...
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Secretaries help keep schools running smoothly:
Christopher Sciria
AECSD Public Information Specialist
How many jobs include responsibilities as varied as administrator, public relations, taking lunch orders, traffic cop, mail sorter, telephone operator, gatekeeper and child care?
The Auburn Enlarged City School District’s school secretaries, from elementary to the junior high and high school levels handle all of those duties and more every day. It’s a job that features a lot of multitasking and one that can easily be overlooked for how vital it is.
Jillian Witchey
“The secretary is probably as important as the principal, if not more important because they are truly the first person people see when they walk in,” said Owasco Elementary principal Ron Gorney. “She's the one that's ...
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Auburn sports and music boosters seek new members:
Christopher Sciria
AECSD Public Information Specialist
The Auburn Enlarged City School District is fortunate to have booster clubs that support its music and athletics programs.
The Auburn Music Boosters and the Auburn Sports Boosters are invaluable for the financial assistance they provide that goes toward items and services the district cannot fund through its own athletic and music budgets.
These funds come through hours of hard work which means volunteers are vital. Both booster clubs would like to see more people get involved.
“We can always use more. When I started with the music boosters, maybe we had two to three people at a meeting if we were lucky,” said Allison Fennessy, the music boosters’ president. “It's grown to at ...
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AHS Drama Club performance, CCMEA All-County Festival coming this week:
If you’re a fan of music and live stage, you’ll have plenty of opportunities this week to enjoy both as Auburn students will be participating in a pair of events.
The Auburn High School Drama Club will be putting on “Ten Ways to Survive the Holidays,” and Auburn students will be performing in the Cayuga County Music Educators Association’s All-County Festival.
Using humor and maybe a little bit of sentimentality, “Ten Ways to Survive the Holidays” is a series of 10 short plays that will help get you through the never-ending parade of obligations, family time, and end of the year stress – a coagulation of a terrifying maelstrom of doom – otherwise known as the holidays.
Performances will be held ...
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Auburn High School announces valedictorian, salutatorian for Class of 2024:
The calendar may say autumn but before you know it summer will be here which means commencement and the Auburn Enlarged City School District now knows who the valedictorian and salutatorian are for the Class of 2024.
Auburn High School Class of 2024 Valedictorian Noelle Pipher and Salutatorian Keegan Brady.
Noelle Pipher is Auburn High School’s valedictorian and Keegan Brady is salutatorian. Their academic accomplishments are just the tip of the iceberg to AHS Principal Brian Morgan.
“Honestly, the thing that's most impressive to me about both of these students is that they are very involved in outside activities as well, so they don't just focus all their time and energy on academics,” Morgan said. “Noelle has been dancing outside, like ...
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Auburn district's libraries aim to develop 'skill and thrill' of reading:
Christopher Sciria
AECSD Public Information Specialist
The joy of reading that can last a lifetime starts at the elementary school level, and the Auburn Enlarged City School District’s libraries are trying to spur students to develop the “skill and thrill” for it.
The district’s five elementary school libraries have programs to get books into the hands of students to encourage a culture of reading. One such program at Casey Park is “A Book A Day.” Teachers receive five picture books on Monday to distribute to their students.
“The idea is they read a book a day, whether they've got 10 minutes here, five minutes there, whenever they can fit it in,” said Penny Pitman, Casey Park’s librarian. “It's ...
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Auburn High School Esports program continues to grow:
Christopher Sciria
AECSD Public Information Specialist
Like an increasing number of schools, Auburn High School has an Esports program where players can compete against students from schools across the area as well as the East Coast.
The program, which is currently led by science teacher Brian Bealer, started in February 2022 with help from technology teacher Joe Sheppard.
“It's growing, as the word gets out, I've been having more and more people show up,” Bealer said. “I just had a couple kids come to me last week who want to join us.”
Players can earn varsity letters like other Auburn athletes. Matches are held weekly and games such Ultimate Smash Brothers, chess, Splatoon 3, Minecraft, and Mario Kart are offered. ...
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AHS to host College and Career Night on Oct. 19:
This year’s annual Cayuga Area College Night will feature something new for local high school students.
In addition to more than 60 colleges, Cayuga County-area students will also have the opportunity to speak to representatives from local businesses, apprenticeship programs and trade unions.
Starting this year and moving forward, the event, co-sponsored by Auburn High School Counseling Department and the Cayuga Counselors’ Association, will be a College and Career Night.
“This year, we are excited to also offer students and families the ability to connect with local businesses who are looking to provide career opportunities for graduating students," said Auburn High School counselor Jane Stryker.
The event will be held on Thursday, Oct. ...
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Community leaders get update on district's upcoming DEI plans:
Christopher Sciria
AECSD Public Information Specialist
Continuing its efforts to broaden diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the Auburn Enlarged City School District held a luncheon on Oct. 6 that brought together community leaders from a wide swath of organizations representing different professional fields.
Dr. Renee Burgess, the district’s executive director of DEI, led the event to share the district’s upcoming initiatives and show that relationships have the power to advance them.
The luncheon was an opportunity for community leaders from fields such as education, law enforcement, tourism, social agencies, government and business to meet and discuss how to achieve DEI goals in the community.
Some of the opportunities that ...
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Statement from Superintendent Pirozzolo: Casey Park Elementary follows lockdown protocol:
On Tuesday morning, Oct. 3, 2023, Casey Park Elementary School was placed in a lockdown as a man entered the building.
The man was apprehended by the Auburn Police Department. Students were placed into lockdown to ensure their safety. Students were then placed in a shelter in place to secure the building.
“I’d like to thank the Auburn Police Department and Auburn Fire Department for resolving the issue quickly,” said Auburn Enlarged City School District Superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo. “Thank you to the administration, staff and students at Casey Park for following lockdown protocol perfectly and ensuring everyone’s safety.”
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AECSD partners with hospital on sports medicine, training services:
For the new school sports year the Auburn Enlarged City School District will have its athletic training and sports medicine services provided by Auburn Community Hospital and its Auburn Orthopaedic Specialists.
"This local partnership with Auburn Community Hospital will elevate the Auburn athletics program to heights necessary for our scholar-athletes to compete at their optimal level," Auburn Enlarged City School District Superintendent Jeffrey A. Pirozzolo said in an ACH press release.
“Partnerships, such as this one, allow us the opportunity to bring high-quality local care directly into the communities we serve. Our team’s goal is not only to provide the best treatment for injured athletes but also to educate students and staff ...
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Herman Avenue to take on Cereal Box Domino Challenge:
Herman Avenue Elementary fifth-grade teacher Laura Pesarchick has plans to try something new and fun to teach her students the school’s character attributes of the month – sharing and teamwork.
Pesarchick announced a new community project, the Cereal Box Donation Challenge. From Oct. 6 to 27, all Herman Avenue students are asked to bring in one unopened full-sized box of cereal. On Nov. 9 all of those boxes will be lined up in the school’s hallways, like dominos, then students will be able to watch as the boxes fall one by one.
“Our students get to see the powerful effect of one reaction having a series of positive reactions,” Pesarchick said in a letter to parents and guardians.
After the event, all of the cereal boxes will be ...
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Walk to School Day set for Auburn elementary schools:
The Auburn Enlarged City School District's five elementary schools in coordination with the Cayuga County Health Department, the NYS Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, the Auburn Teachers Association and the Auburn Police Department will participate in Walk to School Day the week of Oct. 2.
Students and parents are encouraged to draw or color a safe route from home to school and mark on their maps the locations of pedestrian safety features, such as stop signs, crosswalks, curb ramps and crossing guards as well as any barriers to safe walking such as broken sidewalks, poorly marked crossings, overgrown bushes or trees or any other obstacles.
Students are then asked to hand in their Safe Route to School Maps at their school entrance.
For more information, ...
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New dining services provider Chartwells changing perceptions of school food:
Christopher Sciria
AECSD Public Information Specialist
As all parents know, feeding children can be difficult. Some young kids can be picky eaters while older ones may be more adventurous and of course some students may have food allergies.
Now imagine having to feed up to 4,000 children on a daily basis and you can get an idea of the challenge that new Auburn Enlarged City School District dining services provider Chartwells faces.
Not only must the food taste good, it also needs to have nutritional value for growing children. Feeding pre-K and elementary school age children is a lot different than high school students.
“That is a challenge, this is the largest restaurant in Auburn really,” said David Smith, who is Chartwells’ area director ...
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