First graders celebrated the end of their small moment writing unit with a Books and Bagels publishing celebration.
“Mrs. Gilooly’s 4th grade class came down to listen to the 1st grade students share their amazing writing and read their small reading group books while enjoying a bagel,” said Teacher Bethany Wallace. “I am extremely proud of how hard my students are working on improving their writing and reading! They are doing an outstanding job!”
Here is a 3-minute video that explains Gardner-Dickinson’s Guided Reading program and the improved Book Room.
Dr. Mary Yodis spent many hours this summer sorting and organizing existing materials for the Book Room to better support reading instruction for students.
Wynantskill UFSD held a lockdown drill on Oct. 26 to help keep students and staff safe.
The drill allows the district to practice safety procedures and ensures police are familiar with our building in the event of an emergency.
“I would like to thank our students, faculty and staff for doing a great job this morning as well as the North Greenbush Police Department for assisting us. We truly appreciate their commitment to helping keep our school safe,” said Superintendent Dr. Thomas Reardon.
The district would also like to remind our community that visitors are not allowed to enter the building during a lockdown drill and are advised to please return to your vehicle until the drill is over.
Thank you to the Wynantskill Fire Department for visiting Gardner-Dickinson on Oct. 11 to teach our students about fire safety at the annual Fire Prevention Day!
Kindergartners took a field trip to a local farm on Oct. 13.
“Students got to pick pumpkins, meet different farm animals, go through a corn maze, and learn all about life on a farm. All of this is aligned with the Social Studies curriculum that we are learning,” said Teacher Jacquelyn Glaz.
Kindergartners took part in hands-on learning activities in September that taught them all about apples, including how to make apple sauce.
“All week we learned about Johnny Appleseed, different types of apples, and the life cycle of an apple as part of our Science and Social Studies curriculum,” explained Teacher Jacquelyn Glaz.
Great job!
Help Gardner-Dickinson earn free equipment and supplies by registering your Price Chopper/Market 32 AdvantEdge card on their website. The school code is 15907.
Each time you use your AdvantEdge card you can earn points for Gardner-Dickinson which the school can redeem for school supplies, musical instruments, and playground equipment.
Andy Deguire, a custodial worker with the district for the past four years, was named Buildings & Grounds Working Supervisor at the Sept. 21 Board of Education meeting.
Mr. Deguire will succeed Neal Benassi, who retired at the end of September after nearly 14 years with the district.
“Andy has proven since the day he walked in as a substitute custodian that he truly epitomizes every quality that we want in an employee: positivity, a work ethic that is unmatched, and most importantly he is just excited about his job and takes such pride in seeing this building look better than it did the day before,” said Superintendent Dr. Thomas Reardon.
Mr. Deguire has worked his way up through every custodial position in the building. He previously worked in private industry for 27 years, something Dr. Reardon said helped instill great customer service and a desire to improve district efficiency.
“Andy truly has done every job here, from emptying waste baskets to changing air filters on the roof to re-envisioning how we set up events,” said Dr. Reardon. “His big line is ‘I will never ask anyone to do something that I wouldn’t do myself’ and he has modeled that in his work every day.”
Dr. Reardon also praised Mr. Deguire’s unwavering commitment to helping students and staff, from building a large Jenga set for outdoor recess to rethinking building storage to provide more rooms for employees to access.
“Even his spirit is contagious,” said Dr. Reardon. “You can ask any staff in this building that has the privilege of having him on their floor. It doesn’t matter what day it is or if you’re the last of 15 people to ask for a roll of paper towels; it’s always ‘absolutely, whatever I can do.’ ”
The Board of Education also approved the hiring of John Oathout and Jeffery Palmer (left and right in photo, respectively) to fill two vacant custodial staff positions at the Sept. 21 meeting.
“They’re really positive additions to our school community who are excited to work with our community and our students,” said Dr. Reardon.
Dr. Reardon thanked Mr. Benassi, who he noted also rose the ranks by starting out as an evening custodian with the district.
“In his 13 1/2 years, Neal saw the district through a lot of changes, transitions and previous construction projects,” said Dr. Reardon. “I think we are where we are today in large part due to the work of Neal Benassi.”
The Wynantskill PTA is holding a membership drive.
Learn more about the Wynantskill PTA in this flier or email Vice President Paul Koniowka with questions.
The PTA is a partnership between parents, educators and children that enhances our children’s success by hosting programs and opportunities.
