Celebrating
your achievements...
Congratulations to the Class of 2009
On Sunday, June 28, 2009, 446
Guilderland High School students walked across the stage at
the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany to
receive their diplomas and begin the next chapter of their
lives beyond of the halls of GHS.
Graduation is a time for students and
teachers to reflect upon their memories and experiences of
the past 12 years. Thoughts of school dances, football games
and good friends will always hold a special place in their
hearts. Yet graduation is also an occasion to celebrate
success. As the Class of 2009 goes forward—whether it be at
college, in the workplace, or in the military—they can be
confident that they have gained the knowledge and skills
necessary to be successful, no matter what the endeavor.
As noted by Superintendent of Schools
John W. McGuire in his commencement remarks, “as you embark
on the first steps of the next phase in your personal life
journey, remember we are all learners, at each stage of this
experience we call life.”
“Others can describe a direction, but
only you can chart your course,” he added. “I am very happy
and excited about all that you will encounter and all that
you will do.”
Congratulations to the Class of 2009 for
all that they have accomplished. Their hard work and
dedication throughout the years are achievements to be
celebrated. Best wishes to you all as you enter into a
bright and exciting future!
GCSD
celebrates groundbreaking of district-wide additions and
renovations project
On Monday, June 22, Guilderland Central
School District students, staff, parents, and community
members braved the raindrops to celebrate the start of the
district-wide additions and renovations project. The
groundbreaking ceremony, held at Guilderland High School,
featured a welcome by Superintendent John McGuire, as well
as remarks from Altamont Mayor James Gaughan and several
selections by our talented high school musicians. In
addition, some very special guests from Mrs. Kossmann's
second grade classroom at Altamont Elementary were also on
hand to help the district recognize this exciting day.
To
view photos from the event, please click here.
In November, 2007, GCSD voters approved
a $26.97 million capital project to be conducted at
Altamont, Guilderland, Lynnwood, Pine Bush, and Westmere
Elementary Schools, and Guilderland High School. The
project, which is expected to be completed by November,
2010, includes:
• New classroom wing at Guilderland High School;
• Renovations to electrical, heating and ventilation,
roofing and communications systems at each elementary
school;
• Updates to technology infrastructure and program
improvements as well as safety and security upgrades; and
• Relocation of district administrative offices to the High
School.
To learn more about the district-wide additions and
renovations project, or to follow the progress of the
project online, please visit the
Building Project
Update home page.
Summer
Reading lists now available
Summer is the perfect time for children
of all ages to sit back and relax with a good book...or two!
To that end, GCSD's recommended summer reading titles are now
available online.
Click
here to see the full list of titles. Please take a few
moments to review the list, organized by grade level, as compiled by our district
librarians and teachers.
New in 2009: Critical reviews and/or book summaries
have been included to help make your selection process a bit
easier. Happy reading!
Laps of Love event a great success
Many thanks to Guilderland Central
School District staff members, students, parents. and
community members for their terrific support of the 4th
annual Laps of Love walk-a-thon held at the Guilderland High
School track on Saturday, June 13th. The event is held each
year to raise money for the Dale Westcott Scholarship Fund
which goes to a graduating senior set to pursue a career in
math or science education. Dr. Westcott is a former teacher
and administrator for science, math and technology who died
from brain cancer in 2005.
This year's Laps of Love featured a
visit from Mrs. Barbara Westcott who came up from Beaufort,
South Carolina to participate in the walk-a-thon. Donations
were received from the Guilderland Teacher's Association,
the National Honor Society at the high school, and pledges
came in the mail from as far south as South Carolina and as
far north as Prospect Harbor, Maine. This year's total in
donations came in at $3,033 dollars and makes for a
four-year running total of over $11,000 dollars raised for
the scholarship fund in memory of Dale Westcott. Thanks
again and please consider joining us for next school year's
Laps of Love walk-a-thon which will take place Friday, June
11th from 7-9PM at the high school track (rain date is
Saturday, 6/12 from 9-11AM).
Pictured above: Top Row (L to R): Mark Rudolph
(Coach), Noah Rubin, Alonna Rudolph (Coach); Middle
Row (L to R): Brian Reed, Kyungduk Rho; Front Row (L
to R): Yipu Wang, Jeremy Simon, Bing Zhang, Zagreb
Mukerjee, and Ved Tanavde.
GHS Masterminds team wins New York State
championship
Congratulations to the Guilderland High
School Masterminds team, who recently took home the top
prize at the state
championship on June 13, 2009 at LeMoyne College. The
competition was a round robin tournament consisting of the
regional champions from Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and
Syracuse. The GHS team went undefeated in states, 3-0, to
cap off a very successful season with a final record of
18-1.
Kudos to team members Greg Barber, Herbie
Goldstein, Haejim Hwang, Sunny Hwang, Beatrice Malsky, Dana
McLaughlin, Alex Metzger, Sindhura Mandava, Zagreb Mukerjee,
Brian Reed, Kyungduk Rho, Noah Rubin, Jeremy Simon, Ved
Tanavde, Yipu Wang, and Bing Zhan. Special honors in the
state tournament went to Zagreb Mukerjee, for MVP, and Yipu
Wang, for making the All-Tournament team.
Guilderland High School student selected
to be a delegate at the World Leadership Congress
Congratulations to Guilderland High
School sophomore Dustin Maguire, who served as the
Guilderland delegate at the Hugh O'Brian (HOBY) Leadership
Conference held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy
on the last weekend in May. Dustin was selected from 10
finalists at the RPI conference to be a delegate at the
World Leadership Congress to be held in Washington, D.C.
this July. A total of 400 students from across the globe
will attend this conference. Dustin is also one of 5 New
York State students to receive a scholarship to the World
Leadership Congress.
Upcoming Board of Education Meeting:
Tuesday, July 6, 2009
The Guilderland Board of Education will
be holding a meeting on Tuesday, July 6, 2009 in the
Guilderland High School LGI room at 7:30 p.m. All community
members are invited to attend this meeting, or watch it live
on Time Warner Cable Channel 16 in the Town of Guilderland.
Agendas for upcoming meetings are typically posted the
Monday before the meeting date.
View 2008-09
meeting agendas here.
Information for students and
parents regarding H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus
April 28, 2009
With recent news attention on confirmed
cases of the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus throughout the country, the district has
created a Web page providing information and resources for
parents and community members seeking facts and information
about this strain of the flu virus.
Please click here to read
more about it. To learn more about how you can help your
family prevent the spread of flu,
read the letter (PDF) from Superintendent John McGuire,
as prepared with the assistance of the New York State
Department of Education, sent out to all "District News" SNN
subscribers earlier today. Thank you for your cooperation in
keeping our children and our schools healthy.
NYS Department of Education issues new
regulations related to the idling of vehicles on school
grounds
State law now requires that all school
buses turn off their engines when loading or unloading
students on school grounds, except when necessary for
heating, mechanical, or emergency reasons. The non-idling
requirement applies to all other school vehicles
(i.e., maintenance trucks), as well. Download a copy
of the NYS Department of Education
law and
regulations here. (PDF) The Guilderland Central School
District adopted its own "no-idling" policy back in 2005.
To
learn more about the district's policy, please click here.
Operation Recognition underway at
Guilderland
Guilderland Central School District is
proud to be a partner in Operation Recognition, a New
York State program which grants a high school diploma to any
veteran who left school prior to graduation to serve in the
military during World War II, the Korean Conflict, or the
Vietnam War. Individuals need not have attended GCSD at the
time of service to be eligible for this program. Diplomas
may also be awarded to next of kin, if eligibility is
established.
Community members interested in
participating in Operation Recognition are encouraged to
contact Guilderland Superintendent of Schools John McGuire
at 456-6200, ext. 3102, or
visit our Operation Recognition home page for
additional details and eligibility requirements.