Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and Graduation Speaker Chosen
Principal Jack Lynskey is proud to announce the top students of the 2009 eighth grade class. The Valedictorian of the class of 2009 is Salvatore Elder, Jr. Victoria Wood has been named the Salutatorian of the class. The class speaker will be Mrs. Horacek. Click here for more information. Congratulations to the eighth grade class of 2009!
Fifth Grade Learns about Forensics
In
the fifth grade science curriculum, the students learn about
forensics. Recently, Retired City of Troy Police Detective and
Evidence Technician Jack Rogers visited the fifth grade class and gave
the students a “hands on” experience learning about how to collect
fingerprints and other forensic evidence and how it is collected at
crime scenes. Thank you to Mr. Jack Rogers for the visit, the
students really learned a lot!
Sports Banquet Held June 5
Congratulations to all of our athletes on your achievements!
New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers honors Wynantskill Student
Victoria
Wood, an 8th grade student was recently honored with the New York State
Foreign Language Teachers Association Award. Victoria is one out
of ten 8th grade students in the state of New York to receive this
award, and is the only student in the capital region to win
The Fulvi Love of Language Award is awarded to a student who demonstrates a distinguished level of understanding of a foreign language and is able to communicate effectively in more than one language. Victoria was honored for her exceptional skills in Spanish and received a $50 Savings Bond from the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers. Way to go Victoria; keep up the great work!
Chicken BBQ a Success!
The 8th grade class hosted a Chicken BBQ fundraiser on May 19. The 8th grade class would like to thank everyone who supported the fundraiser as it was a true success!
Wynantskill Budget Vote Results
The 2009-2010 School Budget was approved by voters by a vote of 176 to 88. For the Board of Education seats, Christina Curran received 186 votes and Ann Marsh received 176 votes. Thank you to all the district residents who came out to vote.
Students Sing the National Anthem at Opening Day
With
guidance from Mrs. Newell and Mrs. Gaudino, Gardner Dickinson Middle
School students recently sang the Star Spangled Banner at the opening
day ceremonies for the Classie Lassie girls softball league. The
girls did a wonderful job and sang the national anthem beautifully!
Textbook Return Information Click Here
Wynantskill Competes in Odyssey of the Mind Tournament
Wynantskill had two teams place in the recent Odyssey of the Mind tournament. The “Teach Yer Creature” team came in 1st place in their division! The Superstition team came in 4th place. The first place teams from each category get a chance to compete in the state tournament.
The “Teach Yer Creature” team recently competed in the State Championship in Binghamton. The team consists of Michelle Lauletta, Liisi Vink-Lainas, Elizabeth Karam, Sal Elder, Christina Mamone, Kelse Merrill, and Brayleigh Hanlon. The team placed 3rd in Spontaneous Problem Solving out of 17 teams!!!!!
The team overall came in 6th out of 17 teams in the division. Although the team didn’t make it to the world tournament this year, they are geared up and ready for the challenge next year! The kids had a great time and enjoyed a PTO sponsored pizza party!
The team would like to thank their advisors Karen Keane and Stephanie Carbone. They would also like to thank the PTO for the pizza party they sponsored during their trip to Binghamton and also thank the Board of Education for approving this trip.
Wynantskill Band and Chorus Perform at the Concourse in Albany
The
Wynantskill Band and Chorus, under the direction of Ms. Newell and Ms.
Gaudino, recently performed at the concourse in Albany for The Music in
Our Schools Celebration.
March has been officially designated by
The National Association for Music Education for the observance of
Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM®), the time of year when music
education becomes the focus of schools across the nation. MIOSM began
as a single statewide celebration in 1973, and has grown over the
decades to encompass a day, then a week, and then in 1985 to become a
month long celebration of school music. The purpose of MIOSM is to
raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children –
and to remind citizens that school is where all children should have
access to music. MIOSM is an opportunity for music teachers to bring
their music programs to the attention of the school and the community
and to display the benefits school music brings to students of all
ages. (Information obtained from: www.menc.org )
The Students had a great time and did a wonderful job!
Arts in Education Committee Brings Many Valuable Performances to Wynantskill
The Arts in Education Committee has had the opportunity to bring in many guest performers this year for our students. The programs are enrichment performances that are planned to enhance and expand on our curriculum for all students. This year the committee focused on a theme of history and world culture. The Arts in Education opportunities are made possible through both district and PTO support. Thank you PTO!
Guest performers for the year have included:
Felix Pitre, an author, who taught our students in Grades 6-8 about
Latin America through stories and songs. He presented the program in both
English and Spanish.
Mark Mason, a local musician, who presented the history, legends and
music of the Adirondacks for our students in grades 4-6. He sang
songs and told of the local folklore of the Adirondacks.
Bob Bloom, a percussionist, who taught our students in grades K-5
about hand percussion instruments. His focus was on music from
Brazil and South America. Bob taught our students about the songs and
culture of Brazil and South America through songs and utilizing hand
percussion instruments. Each of the children had an opportunity
to perform on a percussion instrument as well.
Magic Lantern Show, The American Magic-Lantern Theater re-creates Victorian "Magic-Lantern Shows" -- a popular 1890s combination of projected color images, live drama, live music, hilarious comedy and boisterous audience participation. The shows were "the great grandfather of the cinema" -- what the movies developed from 100 years ago. In their traveling shows, a magnificent old brass-and-mahogany "magic-lantern" -- the multi-lens forerunner of the movie projector -- rapidly projects the pictures on a full-size movie screen. The "sound track" of the movies is provided by dramatic narration from a magic-lantern showman. He is a master of voice and accent, often creating as many as 20 different characters in a single show. A professional soprano and accompanist, the second member of the cast, sings the solos, leads the sing-a longs, and provides live musical underscoring for the stories. Student the "special effects” and everyone is encouraged to join in sing-alongs. The American History show covered 300 years of American history in story and song.
Mokoto, Mokoto, an award winning presentation on Japanese culture and
storytelling for Grades K-3.
Second Graders Get Creative!
Art Teacher, Mrs. Mitchell, recently had the second grade class create a special project. The project was not only art based but also corresponded with the children’s learning about writing in their classroom. The students were tasked with writing and illustrating a book of their own.
The project was based on the book “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Joffe Numeroff. The students were given two boxes to choose items out of. One box was filled with food items and the other box was filled with animals. The students had to pick one food item and one animal and then write a story about it and then illustrate it.
The second grade class completed their books and then got the privilege to read their books to the kindergarten class. The books were also displayed in the lobby. The books were very creative and very well done. Great job!
The American Magic-Lantern Theatre Visits Wynantskill
The
American Magic-Lantern Theater re-creates Victorian "Magic-Lantern
Shows" -- a popular 1890s combination of projected color images, live
drama, live music, hilarious comedy and boisterous audience
participation. The shows were "the great grandfather of the cinema" --
what the movies developed from 100 years ago. In their traveling shows,
a magnificent old brass-and-mahogany "magic-lantern" -- the multi-lens
forerunner of the movie projector -- rapidly projects the pictures on a
full-size movie screen.
The "sound track" of the movies is provided
by dramatic narration from a magic-lantern showman. He is a master of
voice and accent, often creating as many as 20 different characters in
a single show. A professional soprano and accompanist, the second
member of the cast, sings the solos, leads the sing-a longs, and
provides live musical underscoring for the stories. Student
participation contributes the "special effects” and everyone is
encouraged to join in sing-alongs. The American History show
covered 300 years of American history in story and song for our
Students Participate in Rensselaer All-County Music Festival
On
Saturday January 17th, select Gardner-Dickinson band and chorus
students performed in the Rensselaer All-County Music Festival at
Lansingburgh High School. The music festival was sponsored by the
Rensselaer County Music Teachers Association.
Students had been recommended by their school music teacher Mrs. Newell and Mrs. Gaudino in order to participate. The festival included students from all of the schools in Rensselaer County and provided musicians with an opportunity to perform music at a higher level than at their home school. We congratulate the following students for their hard work and dedication!
Junior High Band Students: Sal Elder, Connor Gray, Tyler Gray, and Christina Mamone.
Elementary Chorus Students: Jessica Elder, Lauren Elder, Willy Gumlaw, Elissa Kane, Jessica Marsh, and Annie Paone.
Fourth Grade Visits the Albany Symphony Orchestra
Recently,the fourth grade class traveled to see the Albany Symphony Orchestra performunder the direction of David Allen Miller at the Palace Theatre in Albany.
The students became and “archeological adventurer” and joined Michigan Miller as he traveled through the “Door of Time” into the murky musical past in search of the origins of the Symphony. Along the way, the students and Michigan Miller solved the riddles of the evil “Symphonic Sphinx” in their effort to find “Papa” Haydn and discover the origins of “the Symphony”. The music preformed by the symphony included Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Schumann, and Haydn.
8th Grade Class Fundraiser a Big Success!!
The
8th grade class held an annual holiday wreath fundraiser and sold a
record number of wreaths (over 140!). The students handcrafted
the wreaths and decorated them all by hand along with parent
volunteers. The 8th grade class did a terrific job working
together and would like to thank all those that supported their
fundraiser!
Writing Elective Class Students Create One Act Plays
Recently,
Mrs. Delaney’s eighth grade writing elective class students were given
the task of creating original, one act plays. Mrs. Delaney had the
students select a genre: Mystery/Suspense, Parody, or Reality Based.
Once they selected their genre, the students had three weeks to write
their original script and then got to perform their plays in front of
the other eighth grade classes! The class worked diligently on their
scripts everyday and the outcome was fantastic!
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