As October is National Farm to School Month, we figured we’d highlight some of our local agriculture partners who help us bring delicious, nutritious meals to our students each and every day!
The first farm to foray into our Friday feature is Preston’s Farms out of Albion, Orleans County.
If they sound familiar, that’s because they just supplied us with literally THOUSANDS of fresh apples for our Big Apple Crunch event down at Prospect Elementary!
Preston’s is a women-owned, first generation apple farm that specializes in selling its high-quality fruit to local school districts. It produces gala, honeycrisp and evercrisp varieties.
Thank you, Preston’s Farms!
Few shots from our homecoming football game last week courtesy of Brennan Bezon.
Your Blue Devils fought hard, but took the 19-27 loss to Oakfield-Alabama/Elba and fell to 1-4.
The boys are next in action Saturday, Oct. 12 against Notre Dame Batavia/Byron-Bergen at GCC.
There’s nothing more important to us than keeping our students safe - at school AND at home.
That’s why we’re so grateful to all our local firefighters and EMS workers for coming to speak with our students for Fire Prevention Day yesterday at Attica Elementary!
It was a great day of learning (and fun) for our kiddos!
Full photo album over on our Facebook page at the link below.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=100057106403663&set=a.1047869053793298
Fifth graders in Ms. Heather Smith’s class competed in the Metric Olympics last week!
This activity was the brainchild of Ms. Rachel Sampson, Smith’s student teacher, and included a number of olympics-style events that tested students’ knowledge of the metric system.
Students estimated and then measured using different measuring tools in the events of Paper Plate Discus, Plastic Straw Javelin, Cotton Ball Shot Put, Right Handed Marble Grab and Left-Handed Sponge Squeeze.
Fun and learning was had by ALL!
(Photos courtesy of Heather Smith)
We are once again participating in New York Thursdays this school year!
A statewide initiative, New York Thursdays highlights New York-grown and produced food items during school meals once per week. It’s intended to maximize the amount of locally produced food students have access to at school while, at the same time, saving the district money in the form of increased state aid reimbursements.
Check out the image below to see what delicious, locally produced food we’ve got on the menu this month!
Our elementary school students and staff were thrilled to participate in this year’s Big Apple Crunch!
Sponsored annually by the FarmOn! Foundation, the Big Apple Crunch is a way of recognizing New York State apple producers and celebrating the bounty of apples they grow for us each and every year! In fact, if New York State were a country, its yearly apple harvest would rank just outside the top 20 globally - incredible, but true!
To mark the Big Apple Crunch, our students were each given an apple. Then, they assembled in our side lawn and arranged themselves in the shape of 3 apples - one yellow, one red and one green (shoutout to Ms. Brooke Schery for painting apple outlines on the grass).
Then, after a few photos, we counted down and had all our students take a bite out of their apples together in ONE. BIG. CRUNCH!
At the end of the day, each and every one of our more than 450 elementary school students were sent home with a bag of apples from Preston’s Farms in Albion, NY.
Many thanks to Preston’s for supplying today’s apples and to the Titus Fruit Stand for supporting this event. We encourage our district residents to get out there and explore the many fantastic producers that call Western New York home.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering what to do with all those apples your kiddos brought home, not to worry - the New York Apple Association has a bunch of great recipes over on its website at the link below!
Link: https://www.applesfromny.com/recipes/
Recently installed some new signage in the entryway to our district office.
Not sure about you, but we think it looks pretty sharp!
Most importantly, it communicates to visitors our district’s core values: Student-centered approach, positive and respectful culture, community and relationships, and innovation and creativity.
Congratulations to our high school Students of the Month for September!
Our freshman Student of the Month is Ilyssa George. Ilyssa was nominated by Ms. Jocelyn Pierce.
“Last year, the 8th grade class was hesitant about running for class office for their freshman year. I convinced Illysa to give treasurer a try and she has not disappointed. She has the main lead on her float. She is recruiting kids to help, offering her house to meet and initiating meetings at school. I am very impressed with her motivation and organization,” said Pierce. “I also was missing a secretary and two reps and she found me officers for those positions. Illysa is also an amazing student in the classroom. She contributes to class, always completes her homework, is respectful to her peers and teachers and received a 100 on her Algebra regents last year. Illysa is a super star!”
Our sophomore Student of the Month is Luke Mest. Luke was nominated by Mrs. Elizabeth Winters.
“Luke pays attention in class and asks thought provoking questions that relate to the topics we are discussing. He completes work when asked, is an active learner who deeply thinks about the information presented, and is not afraid to speak up in front of the class,” said Winters. “These are great qualities in general, but I especially appreciate seeing this in science where students should not accept everything without evidence and data to support a claim or conclusion.
Our junior Students of the Month is Rachel Rickettson, who was nominated by Ms. Jocelyn Pierce.
“Rachel came in before school and hung welcome back treats on all the lockers with help from Robert Beck. But Rachel also wrote individual notes to all of the teachers and gave them dove chocolate to welcome them back. She didn't even sign it to take credit,” Pierce said. “The time and thoughtfulness she puts in goes above and beyond. On top of that, Rachel is an honors students and respected by her teachers and peers.”
Our senior Student of the Month is Catharine Struzik. Catharine was nominated by Mrs. Michelle Pitkin.
“Catharine is a laboratory assistant in my classroom and is also assisting with Regents chemistry period 1 students this year. Her work is very thorough. She enjoys science and had room in her schedule to assist again this year,” said Pitkin. “It is a pleasure to work with her. Her interactions during 1st period with students is stellar. I appreciate her time and effort to assist students in this difficult subject material. She asks students why phenomena are occurring and helps students with experiments and data collection.”
Mrs. Jenna Linsey’s local outdoor sciences students headed - you guessed it - outside this afternoon to collect some water samples from Baker Brook.
After freeing an errant minnow that got caught in the collection equipment, Linsey’s students headed back to her classroom and to analyze their samples.
Students created wet mount slides and, using microscopes, looked for signs of microorganisms.
The day’s lesson was practice for students’ field trip to Seneca Lake next week where they’ll collect water samples alongside researchers with Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
FARM TO SCHOOL: During summer ag camp in August, a handful of our middle school students grew, harvested and processed a crop of onions and bell peppers for our food service staff to use in lunches during the 2024-25 school year.
Well today, the fruits of all that labor paid off as the onions and peppers campers grew were served to students as part of a chicken fajitas entree option!
Hands-on learning experiences that yield nutritious and delicious food for our students? Uhhh… yes please!
A huge thank you to our campers whose hard work and green thumbs made today’s fajitas possible: Blake Dominesey, Stacy Harris, Claira Deuel, Madalynn Perl, Laura Harris, Nathan Burns, Lucy Eddy, Caleb Lavrincik, Ryan Torrey, Caleb MacLane, Garrett Hirsch, Sophia Harper, Hudson Sphar, Nathan Stevens, Dylan Walek and Lexi George.
A huge shout out to Food Service Manager Kris Wicks, Farm to School Coordinator Alicia Spoth and our district’s entire food service team on receiving the New York School Nutrition Association’s Farm to School Award!
This award recognizes exemplary farm to school projects across New York State and those who go above and beyond to make a positive impact on child nutrition and wellness in our schools.
A well-earned recognition by our incredible food service team!
PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE WILD: Shout out to Attica alumna Alanna Pellicane for photographing our annual flickerball tournament earlier this week.
Now a freshman at SUNY Brockport, Alanna has been helping chronicle Attica Central School District happenings through her photography business, Pellicane Photography, for more than a year!
We’ve got a hunch we might see her at our pep rally tomorrow, too!
Our new middle school agriculture and STEAM teacher, Alyssa Wright, has been working with elementary school STEAM teacher Sarah Stenson to expand STEAM instruction to the middle school.
This is the first time we’ve offered STEAM instruction in our middle school and our students have been loving it!
“In class, my fifth graders have been discussing and experimenting with dairy products most of this month,” said Wright. “We’ve plastic out of milk and had a lesson called ‘Molecules on the Moo-ve’. Yesterday, we made butter from heavy whipping cream and enjoyed a dance party while we shook the jars - thanks to Ms. Woodhouse for helping with all of our super fun experiments!”
(Photos courtesy of Alyssa Wright)
Heckuva night for flickerball last night!
In the evening’s first game, our juniors beat the freshmen by a score of 17-13. Then, seniors topped sophomores 22-12 to set up a final against the juniors.
The finals were hard-fought on both sides but when the dust cleared, it was the seniors who came out on top, 25-14, to capture the 2024 Flickerball title.
Way to go, Class of 2025!
Full photo album over on our Facebook page at the link below.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=100057106403663&set=a.1041216427791894
Our Attica food service staff had an awesome time serving our students last week!
From fresh potato salad made with Merle’s Fresh Produce potatoes and parsley grown in the Middle School Garden to homemade salsa made with tomatoes grown in our very own high tunnel, the flavors have been fresh and local!
Our food service staff wrapped up last week serving homemade buffalo chicken wing pizza and a chicken and pickle skewer which will be featured on our next Build a Grilled Chicken Sandwich Day on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
We can’t wait to celebrate homecoming this week with orange cauliflower and locally-sourced lettuce on our salad bar!
We are thrilled to announce that Kris Wicks, our dedicated Food Service Manager, is an Attica All-Star!
Over the last few years, Kris has completely transformed our district’s food services. Her leadership and vision have revitalized student meals, prioritized scratch cooking, incorporated locally sourced produce and ensured better quality meals for all students.
“Kris has worked tirelessly to align with our Cafeteria Committee’s mission, collaborating closely with our Farm-to-School Coordinator, Alicia Spoth, to ensure that the Farm-to-School program continues to thrive,” said Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Meaghan Matuszak. “Under Kris’s guidance, members of our food service staff have been empowered through exceptional professional development opportunities, including innovative summer programs where they process and prepare locally grown food for the upcoming school year.”
These positive changes have yielded a dramatic increase in student participation in our cafeteria.
“Our students are not only eating healthier but are also benefiting academically and physically from the high-quality meals Kris has championed,” said Farm-to-School Coordinator Alicia Spoth. “Her commitment to nurturing student health and success through nutritious, locally sourced meals has made a lasting impact on our district.”
Thank you, Kris, for all that you do and congratulations on being named an Attica All-Star!
REMINDER: 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 TOMORROW - 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.
Last week, we played host to Nicole Watson-Bartlett, an eating disorders educator who came in to speak with our athletes about how to spot signs of disordered eating, approach someone they feel may be struggling with such a disorder and eat intentionally to better prepare their bodies for competition.
Watson-Bartlett herself struggled with an eating disorder when she was a softball player at the University of Rochester and now shares her story and speaks with young people about how to combat such disorders.
High School Counselor Erica Frongetta was the driving force behind getting Watson-Bartlett to Attica.
“Nicole was recommended to me through a U of R eating disorder group I am a part of called ECHO. She is a survivor of the disease and currently works with college level athletes,” said Frongetta. “I have a passion for intervention and support with eating disorders and wanted desperately to provide support for our student athletes not only with disordered eating but with healthy food choices and education on food as fuel for our bodies to improve athletic performance.”
Watson-Bartlett’s presentation also touched on other things, said Athletic Director Lisa Young.
“She also touched on some mental health things as well,” said Young, who attended Watson’s presentation last week. “She went over how, as an athlete, you may feel like you always have to be bigger, stronger and faster but that, in reality, it’s OK to be OK with yourself and your performance.”
Thank you, Nicole, for coming to speak with our students on such an important topic!
Club representatives distributed information, answered questions and recruited new club members for the coming school year.
I think we’d have to agree with Mrs. Frongetta - high school is way more fun when you get involved!
Shout out to senior Carter Gorski on being named the Batavia Daily News’s High School Athlete of the Week!
Carter is the Blue Devils’ leading scorer this season with 8 goals and 4 assists. The Blue Devils are 5-3 through 8 games and are next in action tonight at Kendall.
Click on the link below to check out Carter’s Athlete of the Week video over on the Daily News’s Facebook page!
Link: https://www.facebook.com/BataviaDailyNews/videos/516896984379420
