Is the beautiful drive to your district each morning deceiving?

Each fall, Portville’s new teachers and their mentors participate in a district-wide bus tour. This year, the teachers were led by Dave Youngs, Portville’s Transportation Director, and retired Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, Tom Costa. The goal is to experience how big the district really is by traveling to some of its borders; the district covers a lot of ground, bordering Allegany; Ceres (NY & PA); Cuba; Eldred, PA; Hinsdale; Little Genesee; and West Clarksville. Dave and Tom share historical aspects of the region along with some of the responsibilities of the transportation department that teachers aren’t always aware of. Teachers often comment on how rural much of the district is and, depending where families live, how long children are on a bus each day. It’s a shared experience that builds empathy and compassion. One teacher commented that it was such an important trip that she’d recommend it for any faculty and staff member who hasn’t participated.

The district tour is a powerful way for teachers to better understand the whole district community, and it provides an authentic, meaningful, and relevant way for teachers to build stronger relationships with their students and their families as well as the district transportation department. The tour is a tremendously beneficial adventure for everyone.

​Please reach out if you have any questions about coordinating district bus tours or facilitating mentor/mentee experiences for your new teachers.

By:  Anne Mitchell, CA BOCES Professional Development

Excitement is building in the CABOCES region as teams are forming and starting to prepare for the 2022-2023 CABOCES Student Competitions, sponsored through CoSer 506.  Specifically, thirteen districts will participate in the 2022-2023 CABOCES VEX Robotics Qualifying Tournament Series.  For the first time, teams will have 2 local qualifying tournament experiences.  Twenty-six VEX Robotics teams from across Cattaraugus and Allegany counties will be attending the CABOCES VEX Robotics Qualifying Tournament at Belfast Central School on Wednesday, December 21st, 2022, and Cuba-Rushford Middle/High School on Wednesday, February 1st, 2023. Students will compete with and against teams from Belfast, Cattaraugus-Little Valley, Cuba-Rushford, Fillmore, Franklinville, Genesee Valley, Hinsdale, Pioneer, Portville, Randolph Academy, Salamanca, Wellsville, and Whitesville.

6th-grade science teacher, Mrs. Cole, and 7th-grade science teacher, Mr. Pleakis, recently paired up for an exciting microscope experiment. As part of the 6th-grade, Lab Aids “Ecology Unit,” students had the opportunity to learn about the microorganism Paramecium and observe its feeding and searching behaviors. First, students watched the Paramecia on the large monitors in the new science lab. After that, students prepared slides with a drop of the solution that contained the Paramecia along with some food particles, and then they observed their behavior; students loved the up-close view. At the end, the students recorded their observations in their science notebooks. The investigation was a huge success.

By: Anne Mitchell, CA BOCES Professional Development

Ninth-grade students at Portville High School were learning about Ancient River Valley Civilizations, and they were using the G.R.A.P.E.S. organizer as a tool to categorize the information for each civilization:
G: Geography
R: Religion
A: Achievements 
P: Political
E: Economy
S: Society

An essential part of studying ancient history is for students to learn that a great deal of what’s known of these civilizations comes from archeological evidence. This is especially true for the Indus River Valley Civilization because their writing has never been successfully translated; everything known is from the work of archeologists. Because of this, an idea was born. Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Carey’s students became archeologists. Mr. Carey spent time highlighting critical aspects of the Indus River Valley so that during “the big dig,” students could infer connections from the artifacts that they discovered.

“The Big Dig”: Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Carey found artifacts that represented each section of the G.R.A.P.E.S.organizer. Next, they put the items in Ziploc bags and buried them in the school’s long-jump pit.
This active exploration proved to be a great simulation for the work of archeologists; students were able to infer what the artifacts represented and demonstrate a better understanding of the civilization. An example of an artifact used was a die and a game token. These items illustrated true archeological findings in the Indus River Valley as numerous game pieces were found but very few weapons, suggesting it was a peaceful and prosperous society. 
The students rotated through six stations (G.R.A.P.E.S.) and really enjoyed digging, finding, and making inferences and connections about each item’s importance. Active student engagement increased their interest and understanding. As learners and educators, “WE DIG IT!”

By: Anne Mitchell, CA BOCES Professional Development

​Student Programs inspires creative problem-solving, teamwork, deep thinking, and resilience.  More than ever before, students, teachers, and the ISS team are being challenged to apply these traits to achieve the impossible, virtually. 

​The Engagement Library is a Netflix-like service featuring 49 pre-recorded assembly programs, plus the following:

• Shorter “snackable” arts-in-education videos for grades preK-8 on a variety of searchable curriculum topics
• Monthly updates with suggestions for using the library to its fullest
• Students can ask unlimited questions by email throughout the year
• A private online concert by Dave Ruch for your school, scheduled at your convenience

Logging into the Engagement Library is simple, using the details below.

Portville 4th graders experienced Dave Ruch’s virtual Native Americans program earlier this year.   According to Mrs. Threehouse, “The Dave Ruch program was very insightful, especially in the hearing and seeing of the cultural significance of music in the Native American culture.  The students enjoyed the musical instruments. He made it fun and had the kids laughing at times.”  A 4th grade student added, “I thought it was cool to see a different culture’s music and how they create it is similar to other music performers. They chant about things that are important to them.”

​ArtsPower Theatre on Demand (CoSer 403) is also available now through June 30, 2021.  APTOD virtually brings core curriculum-based, multiple-lesson courses built around musical theatre productions.  Designed to promote learning in the performing arts, language arts, and character education, these courses feature full-length (55 minute) musicals based on popular children’s books, plus the following:

• Fun, grade-specific Study Buddy’s
• Song and dance instructional videos
• Interviews with the book’s authors, actors, and set designers
• Animated book read-along videos
• Student Gallery pages to post your students’ artwork and videos

 
Whether districts intend to incorporate them into their lesson plans and curriculum or use them as virtual ‘end of the year’ field trips, Dave Ruch’s Engagement Library and Arts Power TOD are both ideal resources for classroom teachers, librarians, art, music, and physical education teachers.
In addition, educators can contact Cece Fuoco ([email protected]) or Cathy Dunkleman ([email protected]) at Learning Resources to check out supplemental books from the professional library or Interlibrary loan.

By: Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programs

​Field Day at Portville, like many schools, is a fun, engaging day not only to help close out the year but to give students ideas to stay active in the summer with their families. Obviously, due to the school shutdown, I had to modify Field Day, but I was not going to cancel it.
Throughout the shutdown, I was able to collaborate and share ideas with physical education teachers with whom I networked from around the country and around the world. I took advantage of the many CABOCES PE webinars and forums afforded to us, especially with learning the use of technology, which is a smooth segue to our Portville Virtual Field Day.
Before the shutdown, I had limited knowledge of Google slides, publishing to YouTube, or Facebook Live. But, I learned these skills to combine with my prior knowledge of physical education to create a Google slide with 23 Field Day events as well as 36 clickable images. The links led the students to YouTube videos of me and my family doing the various Field Day activities. I was also able to attach a scoresheet and a certificate to the Field Day slide post. Some of the activities were my own, while some were shared with me with other PE teachers from as far away as California and Australia.
One of the many challenges was how to come up with physical education activities to do without the aid of traditional equipment. To overcome this, I looked around our home for common household items present in most homes. For example, I used rolled-up socks and pillowcases, ladders, and spatulas. To help hype it up, I asked for elementary teachers and staff to send pictures of themselves with an encouraging sign for our students. Using a video editor, I put together a collage set to music for the students to enjoy.
The community response was overwhelming. On my PE Rockstar Facebook page, I asked for families to share pictures and/or videos of their children doing the activities. I had so many responses, it was hard to keep up with them all! 

​During the shutdown, community support and involvement is even more important than normal times and this was a great way to inspire passion and excitement for physical education.
So why did I do this? I did it to continue to interact with students but also to bring families together with physical activities designed for students, which the whole family could engage in. The passion I have for physical education is something I will always have but staying positive and learning new skills during our time at home will only enrich my teaching in the future.
I would not have been able to do this without the support of our Portville school and community, especially our elementary principal Lynn Corder, who is always supportive of my ideas for our Portville elementary PE program. 

By: Christina Matz, Portville Elementary
Coordinated by: Anne Mitchell, CA BOCES Professional Development

Q: What do you get when you connect over 80 students, 23 teachers and administrators, 24 CABOCES ISS staff members, who are miles apart, each safely in their own homes, across 2 counties?
A: The first ever regional Virtual Scholastic Challenge
 
On May 1st, twenty teams from twelve area school districts got together, virtually, using Zoom.
42 matches took place over the course of the day, with nearly 1000 questions read aloud.  Teams, made up of 3-4 students each, mastered using an online buzzer system that created fast paced and exciting matches.  The students combined an impressive display of intelligence and good sportsmanship as the match facilitators measured their ability to recall facts from a wide variety of topics. There was an exciting energy throughout the day, as summed up by ISS Digital Resources & Technology Coordinator, Alex Freer, one of the match readers, who said, “What a joy to be a part of today!” 
 
Shannon Wood, Franklinville Central School’s coach added, “Please extend our thanks to all of the BOCES staff that participated in pulling off the VSC! It was really a great change of pace for the kids!  They look forward to this and you accomplished the new format very smoothly! Thank you for all of your hard work!”
 
Scholastic Challenge is an annual event hosted by Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES.   The regional competition that tests students’ knowledge of academic trivia and current events is typically held as a face-to-face tournament.
 
Thank you to the 12 school districts that participated:

• Belfast Central School, coached by Aran Heaney
• Cuba-Rushford Central School, coached by Tom Kenyon
• Ellicottville Central School, coached by Ann Chamberlain and Blair Wood
• Fillmore Central School, coached by Bill Kelley
• Franklinville Central School, coached by Shannon Wood
• Genesee Valley Central School, coached by Sarah Horne, Kim Douglas, Cynthia Emrich
• Hinsdale Central School, coached by Sara Centanni
• Olean City Schools, coached by Mike Martel and Cait Butler
• Portville Central School, coached by Gene Rogers
• Scio Central School, coached by Tammy Straight
• Wellsville Central School, coached by Diane Willard and Hope Gilfert
• Whitesville Central School, coached by Alex Lipnicki

Congratulations to the 4 teams that scored the highest number of points at the end of 4 matches:

• Junior (grades 6-9) Finals match: Whitesville (1st place) and Wellsville (2nd place)
• Senior (grades 9-12) Finals match: Ellicottville (1st place) and Fillmore (2nd place)

 
CABOCES applauds all the students and coaches who were willing and enthusiastic to try something unknown.  Everyone learned together, overcame challenges, enjoyed the camaraderie, while having fun.  Students, coaches, and match facilitators practiced and prepared for the new format and rules by participating in virtual scrimmages for 3 weeks prior to the May 1st competition. 
As Tim Cox, Assistant Superintendent for ISS said, “It’s events like this that really bring our region together…especially now.”
 
Jean Oliverio, ISS Student Programs
​

Cuba, New York – Wednesday, January 15, 2020 – Twenty-seven VEX Robotics teams from across Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties attended the 2nd annual VEX Robotics Qualifying Tournament at Cuba-Rushford Middle/High School on Wednesday, January 15, 2020. Students competed with and against teams from Belfast, Cattaraugus-Little Valley, Cuba-Rushford, Fillmore, Franklinville, Genesee Valley, Hinsdale, Pioneer, Portville, Salamanca, Scio, Wellsville, and Whitesville.  The middle and high school students executed the 2019-2020 VEX Robotics Competition game, Tower Takeover, which is played by placing different colored cubes in towers and goal zones during a 2-minute match.
Congratulations go out to 4 teams from Cuba-Rushford and Franklinville.  Specifically, 2 Cuba-Rushford teams (Rebel Robotics and Yellow Team), who formed an alliance and went on to become Tournament Champions.  The Franklinville (Wasted Potential) team earned the Excellence Award and the Franklinville (The Ratz) team earned the Design Award.  These four teams qualify to attend the Northern New York State Championship to be held in Syracuse on February 29.
Additionally, the Judges Award was presented to the Wellsville team (Big Cat Robotics) to acknowledge their outstanding Engineering Notebook. 
The Volunteer of the Year Award was given to Alex Palowitch from iDesign Solutions.
To prepare for the tournament, students worked together to design, build and program a semiautonomous robot that could quickly and efficiently solve the specific challenges of the 2019-2020 VEX Robotics Competition game, Tower Takeover.  Teams studied electronics, programming, mechanical systems, animation, 3D CAD, computer aided machining, web design, and materials fabrication.  An equally important set of skills is learned through competition: communication, negotiation, project management, time management and teamwork.
The tournament was possible because of a tremendous collaborative effort between Cuba-Rushford school and CABOCES.  The CABOCES Tech Support team, along with ISS (Professional Development, Learning Resources, and Student Programs) worked together to make the tournament a success.  Additional support and guidance, which was invaluable, came from Alex Palowitch from iDESIGN Solutions. 
The Cuba-Rushford Qualifying Tournament is one of a series of VEX Robotics Competitions taking place internationally throughout the year. VEX Competitions are the largest and fastest growing competitive robotics programs for elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and college aged students around the world. VEX Competitions represent over 24,000 teams from 61 countries that participate in more than 1,650 VEX Competition events worldwide. The competition season culminates each spring, with VEX Robotics World Championship, a highly anticipated event that unites top qualifying teams from local, state, regional and international VEX Robotics Competitions to crown World Champions. More information about the VEX Robotics Competition is available at RoboticsEducation.org, RobotEvents.com and VEXRobotics.com. To find out how to become involved in VEX Robotics in the CABOCES region, email [email protected] or call 716-376-8323.
About the REC Foundation
The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation manages the VEX Robotics Competition, which thousands of schools participate in around the world each year.  REC states that one million students are reached worldwide through all the VEX robotics programs, classrooms, and competitions.
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. Its goal is to provide these programs with services, solutions, and a community that allows them to flourish in a way that fosters the technical and interpersonal skills necessary for students to succeed in the 21st Century. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work so that one day these programs will become accessible to all students and all schools in all communities. For more information on REC Foundation, visit www.RoboticsEducation.org.
​
Jean Oliverio, Student Programs, ISS, CABOCES

In our region, it’s no secret that Portville Central School is doing amazing things for kids—now the state is starting to take notice, too. This fall Portville educators took the stage at two different state-level conferences. In October, Molly Scott and Theresa Lyons presented at the annual New York State English Council Conference in Albany. They presented the tremendously successful, elementary-level & community-wide One Book One Community Project: Palacio’s Wonder: the idea, the timeline; the events; the teachers; the students; the families, and the community—start to finish—and the lasting impact it’s had. Participants left understanding the value of the project and the process to implement One Book One Community at their own districts.

Young students from nineteen area schools experienced live theatre this month.  Almost 2500 preK through first graders from Cattaraugus and Allegany counties attended the TheatreWorks USA performances of Pete the Cat.  A cool cat named Pete, along with Jimmy and the Biddle family, went on a lively and colorful adventure filled with songs, dance and an insightful message about friendship.

The show at Olean High School on May 10 held added excitement for two local classes, who, thanks to their teachers, learned first-hand about forming new friendships.  First grade teachers, Stacey Clayson of Prospect Elementary and Kristin Yehl of Portville Central, and their students were both traveling to Olean High School to watch the TheatreWorks performance.  Their students had been communicating as pen-pals, but hadn’t actually met in person.  The 35 eager students were able to meet their long-distance friends before the show started. Front row seating was reserved for the special guests. It was exciting to witness the kids’ enthusiasm as they met face-to-face for the first time.  Both teachers were equally as enthusiastic and allowed the pen-pals to sit together to watch the show.

Kristin Yehl, from Portville, explained, “It was such a special treat meeting our pen-pals at the play. My kids were over-the-moon excited to meet up, and extremely happy to have seats reserved up front. We really enjoyed the play. They always do a great job keeping the audience entertained and engaged. We’re busy now writing back to our pen-pals because they delivered letters to us at the play.”

TheatreWorks USA is a professional acting company based out of New York City.  It is America’s largest and most prolific professional theatre for young audiences.

BOCES Arts In Education, CoSer 403, helps schools enrich the lives of their students by providing opportunities to experience the performing arts.  Fillmore Central, Olean High and Arcade Elementary opened their auditoriums to host these performances.  For more information about bringing TheatreWorks shows to your area, contact Student Programs at 716-376-8284. 

By:  Jean Oliverio, CABOCES Student Programming

The largest ever Scholastic Challenge Competition was held on Saturday, February 3 at Portville Central School.  This annual event hosted a record breaking 44 teams who competed in a Junior Division and Senior Division, for grades 6-12.

Scholastic Challenge is a fast-paced contest that tests knowledge of academic trivia and current events.  Teams of four students measure their ability to recall details from a wide variety of topics.

Congratulations to all the teams and to the first and second place teams in each division.  Thank you to 50+ volunteers that made the event possible.

By:  Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programming

A shared reading experience has blanketed Portville, NY, like an early morning fall frost. Portville Elementary School, families, and the entire community have embraced R. J. Palacio's book Wonder and the exciting project: One Book One Community.

One Book One Community is an initiative where the people in a school and the members of its community read the same book. The premise of this program is to promote literacy and engage students and community members in thoughtful reflections around a common text.

From September to November, the teachers and students at Portville Elementary School have been reading, listening to, and talking about Wonder. The enthusiasm for the book has transcended the school walls to reach local businesses, organizations, and families. It’s not uncommon for students and their families to walk into their favorite local restaurant or dentist’s office and hear the employees and customers talking about Wonder.

The power of One Book One Community comes from the reading connection formed between the students and the community and the book’s extraordinary theme: kindness.  Wonder was selected for the project for that very reason: in a world that seems to have more animosity than compassion, Wonder has the power to inspire people to “Choose Kind.”
Portville Elementary School and its community are not just reading and talking, they’re showing their support for the project on Face Book, Instagram, and Twitter. Lawns and business windows reinforce the project with signs:

Wonder, the movie, made its debut before Thanksgiving. With support from CA BOCES Student Programs, Portville sent 3rd-6th-grade students and their teachers to see the movie and is planning a culminating event in January-a great way to start the new year. Although the project will end soon, the conversations will continue for weeks to come.

One Book One Community has been met with such enthusiasm that it’s anticipated to become an annual event.

Social Media Links:
Facebook: Portville Wonders
Instagram: @PortvilleWONDERS
Twitter: @PortvilleWONDERS

By: Anne Mitchell, CA BOCES Professional Development

Students from Portville, Olean, and Hinsdale Central School Districts embarked on a great adventure this week: Outdoor Adventure Camp 2017.
Portville, Olean, and Hinsdale School Districts have collaborated for the past three years to provide up to a total of fifty students who are entering grades 4-12 an outdoor learning adventure that promotes friendship, fun, team building, growth mindset, and confidence. Because each of the three districts has been awarded The Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Grant, the Adventure Camp is free for students.
The 4-day outdoor adventure includes kayaking on the Allegany River and Quaker Lake, archery, tennis, swimming, and Portville’s Ropes Course & Climbing Wall. The opportunity takes learning outdoors and kids are raving about it: “I loved all of it”; “It’s so much fun trying new things and going to new places”; “I like making new friends”; “I love kayaking and the ropes course”; “I conquered my fear of heights”; “I want to come back every summer”; “I’d recommend this camp to all of my friends!”
 
The cheers of encouragement from the belay team to a fellow climber speak volumes: Outdoor Adventure Camp is an experience the kids will carry with them for a lifetime.
 
By: Anne Mitchell, CA BOCES Professional Development & Portville Central School Curriculum Coordinator

The Scholastic Challenge Competition will be held on Saturday, February 4 at Portville Central School.  This annual event, sponsored by Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES (Student Programs CoSer #506) will host 36 teams who will compete in a Junior Division and Senior Division, for grades 6-12.
​
Scholastic Challenge is a fast paced contest that tests knowledge of academic trivia and current events.  Teams of four students measure their ability to recall details from a wide variety of topics.

Fourteen school districts will be participating in the double-elimination contest this year.  This translates to about 200 students and coaches.  Throughout the day, several thousand questions will be read aloud to these ambitious teams.  Spectators are encouraged to watch the competitions. It’s exciting to see the students combine an impressive display of intelligence with camaraderie, graciousness and good sportsmanship.
 
The final matches will be held on stage in the Portville auditorium around 1:15-2:15. The first and second place teams in each division will be presented with plaques to recognize their achievements, as well as an invitation to attend the 2017 National Academic Championship.

This event requires about 40 volunteers to make the day run smoothly.  CABOCES  Student Programs is grateful to everyone who donates their time and experience to provide a fun and educational day for the students in our area.  Scholastic Challenge could not happen without their help!

Congratulations to all the teams participating this year.  Thank you to all coaches for mentoring and encouraging your students.  The following school districts will be attending on Saturday, February 4:

•       Cuba-Rushford – 4 teams coached by John Butler
•       Ellicottville Central- 3 teams coached by Ann Chamberlain
•       Fillmore Central – 3 teams coached by Bill Kelley & Mary Kay Kelley
•       Franklinville Central – 3 teams coached by Shannon Wood
•       Friendship Central – 1 team coached by Wade Pearsall
•       Genesee Valley – 4 teams coached by Sara Donlon & Kim Douglas
•       Hinsdale Central – 1 team coached by Sara Centanni & Charanna Swartwout
•       Pioneer Central – 3 teams coached by Sarah Wood
•       Portville Central – 7 teams coached by Margaret Seib & Gene Rogers
•       Randolph Central – 1 team coached by Jennifer Bieniek
•       Scio Central – 2 teams coached by Mary Zdrojewski
•       Wellsville Central – 2 teams coached by Diane Willard & Hope Gilfert
•       West Valley Central – 1 team coached by Bryan Hansen
•       Whitesville Central – 1 team coached by Laurie Sanders & Renee McNeely

Tenth graders from Andover, Belfast, Bolivar-Richburg, Cuba-Rushford, Fillmore, Portville, Scio, and Wellsville explored careers at Alfred State College.  Over 40 businesses shared about careers in Allegany County.  Student spent the day answering the question, "What's my next step?"

​The Scholastic Challenge Competition will be held this Saturday, February 6 at Portville Central School.  This annual event, sponsored by Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES, will host a total of 41 teams who will compete in a Junior Division and Senior Division, for grades 6-12.
Scholastic Challenge is a fast paced contest that tests knowledge of academic trivia.  Teams of four students will measure their ability to recall details from a wide variety of topics.  
Fourteen school districts will be participating in the double-elimination contest this year.  This translates to about 250 students and coaches.  Throughout the day, several thousand questions will be read aloud to these ambitious teams.  Spectators are encouraged to watch the competitions. It’s exciting to see the students combine an impressive display of intelligence with camaraderie, graciousness and good sportsmanship.

The final matches will be held on stage in the Portville auditorium around 2:15-3:15 (these are approximate times). The first and second place teams in each division will be presented with plaques to recognize their achievements.  
​
This event requires about 40 volunteers to make the day run smoothly.  CABOCES  Student Programs is grateful to everyone who donates their time and experience to provide a fun and educational day for the students in our area.  Scholastic Challenge could not happen without their help! 

The following school districts will be attending:
    Hinsdale Central-2 teams coached by Kate Jedrosko 
    Cuba-Rushford - 4 teams coached by John Butler 
    Ellicottville Central - 3 teams coached by Ann Chamberlain
    Fillmore Central – 2 teams coached by Deb Woltag & Bill Kelley
    Franklinville Central - 3 teams coached by Shannon Wood
    Friendship Central - 1 team coached by Wade Pearsall 
    Genesee Valley - 4 teams coached by Rollie Duttweiler & Sara Donlon
    Olean High- 1 teams coached by Carolyn Shields
    Pioneer Central -4 teams coached by Sarah Wood
    Portville Central - 8 teams coached by Margaret Seib & Gene Rogers 
    Randolph Central-1 team coached by Jennifer Bieniek
    Scio Central - 3 teams coached by Mary Zdrojewski
    Wellsville Central - 2 teams coached by Diane Willard
    West Valley Central - 3 teams coached by Ryan Keem

PCS science students’ success began in February at the PCS Science Fair Exhibition: Best in Show was awarded to Zach Carlson’s project titled “The Material that Built America.” Mariah Bloise’s “From the Fryer to your Fuel Tank” won 1st place; Darienne Slocum’s “Polymers and Drug Delivery System” won 2nd place; and Grant Milne’s “We need Mortar Power” won 3rd place. Top honorable mentions were awarded to the following students: Colin Kloc, Lydia Lukomski, Ryan Kent, Ronnie Lott, Matt Weimer, and Anna Wray.

Next stop: Onondaga College, Syracuse. Winning students participated in the state-level Ying Tri-Region Science and Engineering Fair. Awards included: Zach Carlson “Honors Award”; Matt Weimer “Applied Chemistry Award”; Ryan Kent “Highest Honors, 6th Place Overall”; Darienne Slocum “US Navy Award”; “Runner up for $20,000 Scholarship to Onondaga College”; and “High Honors of Science Award”; Ronnie Lott “Highest Score in Cattaraugus Award”; “Science Award”; “Highest Honors of Science Award”; Mariah Bloise “$20,000 Scholarship for STEM Excellence to Onondaga College”;  “High Honors of Science Award”; and Grant Milne “High Honor Army Award”; “Excellence in Use of Metric System”; “International Professional Engineers Award.”

Maryann Page, Associate Professor of Biology at Onondaga College, complimented PCS students: “I want to congratulate PCS students on the strong showing at the Ying Science Fair.”

Next stop: St. Bonaventure University. SBU hosted its first Regional Science Fair. Three-dozen students from five area high schools competed. PCS’s Darienne Slocum’s “Polymers and Drug Delivery System” took 1st place. Slocum tested the capability of gel beads to absorb and retain common medicines, which could be beneficial in developing delivery systems for medicines based on their ability to slowly release drugs into the body.

Next stop: Alfred State College Regional Science and Technology Fair. Nine local school districts participated: a total of fifty-nine science and technology projects were on display for judging. Winners in the senior division:  Ronnie Lott’s “Blue Blood” won 1st place; Ryan Kent’s “Redox Raft” won 2nd place; Darienne Slocum’s “Polymers and Drug Delivery” won 3rd place, and Zach Carlson’s “The Material That Built America” won the Grand Prize!

Last stop: Jamestown Community College: Cattaraugus Campus. PCS science fair students were honored for their participation in the Ying Tri-Region Science and Engineering Fair. US Rep. Tom Reed attended the reception to present Congressional Commendation certificates. The following students received certificates: Mariah Bloise, Zach Carlson, Ryan Kent, Ronnie Lott, Grant Milne, Darienne Slocum, and Matt Weimer.

Congratulations to all of the young PCS scientists and engineers; job well done.

In addition to Science Fair success at PCS, the high-school science department faculty has earned some high accolades from Business First, 2014 WNY Science Department Ranking: PCS placed 31st out of 136 high schools in WNY. Robert Stives, chemistry, physics, and SUPA Forsensics teacher, was awarded a Business First Teacher of Merit Award.

 

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin

PCS 6th-grade students entered this year’s national 2014 Popcorn Pep Club Contest and WON FIRST PLACE; the GRAND PRIZE is $2,500!

PCS entered a video showcasing the 6th grade popcorn project. Teachers, students, and administrators alike appeared in the video with scripted scenes and a carefully timed lip-sync at the end.  The school used popcorn across disciplines including: Home and Careers: recipe research, creation, and taste test; Art: drawings of mascot “Poppy” and popcorn short story books; ELA: poetry, poems, short skits, alliteration, jokes; Science: conduction experiment, convection explanation, example of transference, radiation; Social Studies: research popcorn history, classification, cultivated corn in history, popularity of popcorn in the past and present using fun facts. The students finished with lip-sync music video and anti-bullying message. 

Some of the 6th-grade students stated the following about their success: “I love how the projected connected to all the subjects”; “I really liked making the Panthers Popping for Popcorn books-artistic and fun”; “I enjoyed helping each other out when we were filming the video”;  “I (we) loved gathering around the PCS Panther outside because it showed our school spirit.”

Congratulations 6th grade. What an amazing accomplishment! “Pop on!”

Check out the video on Portville Central School’s website!

The largest Scholastic Challenge Competition was held on Saturday, February 7 at Portville Central School.  This annual event, sponsored by Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES, hosted a record total of 49 teams who competed in a Junior Division and Senior Division, for grades 6-12.

Scholastic Challenge is a fast-paced contest that tests knowledge of academic trivia.  Teams of three students measure their ability to recall details from a wide variety of topics. 

Thirteen school districts participated in the double-elimination contest this year.  This translates to more than 200 students and coaches.  Throughout the day, several thousand questions were read aloud to these ambitious teams.  All the teams represented their schools well, combining an impressive display of intelligence with camaraderie, graciousness and good sportsmanship that was admirable.

Competitors and coaches represented the following school districts:
      Allegany-Limestone-1 team coached by Kathy Schaeper
      Hinsdale Central-4 teams coached by Kate Jedrosko
      Cuba-Rushford - 6 teams coached by John Butler
      Ellicottville Central - 4 teams coached by Ann Chamberlain
      Fillmore Central – 2 teams coached by Deb Woltag & Bill Kelley
      Friendship Central - 1 team coached by Wade Pearsall
      Genesee Valley - 6 teams coached by Rollie Duttweiler & Sara Donlon
      Olean High- 2 teams coached by Carolyn Shields
      Pioneer Central -5 teams coached by Sarah Wood & Jimmy Wood
      Portville Central - 9 teams coached by Margaret Seib & Gene Rogers
      Randolph Central- 1 team coached by Jennifer Bieniek
      Wellsville Central - 3 teams coached by Diane Willard & Hope Gilfert
      West Valley Central - 5 teams coached by Ryan Keem

There were two impressive teams who were undefeated going into the Finals in the auditorium.  Congratulations to the Fillmore Green Junior team and the Pioneer Starfleet Academy Senior team!           

The final matches were held on stage in the Portville auditorium.  As usual, the finalists were challenged to answer questions on current events and local facts.  The first and second place teams in each division were presented with plaques to recognize their achievements.  All four of the Finalist teams have earned the honor of being invited to the 2015 National Academic Championship.

This event requires about 50 volunteers to make the day run smoothly.  CABOCES Student Programs is grateful to everyone who donated their time and experience to provide a fun and educational day for the students in our area.  Scholastic Challenge could not happen without their help! 

Congratulations to all the teams and their proud coaches on a job well done.  We look forward to seeing everyone back next year!


By: Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES

Six local schools were recognized for their role as Emerging STEM School Systems on Thursday, September 11th at a ceremony at the NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences on the University at Buffalo Campus.

Twenty-nine districts from WNY were included in the inaugural class, and representing Cattaraugus and Allegany counties were Cuba-Rushford Central School, Fillmore Central School, Hinsdale Central School, Pioneer Central School, Portville Central School, and Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES. 

Dr. Michelle Kavanaugh, facilitator of the WNY STEM Hub, recognized these districts for their sparks of STEM growth, and urged them to find ways to make that growth systemic.  She encouraged enlightened teacher leaders to collaborate with enlightened leaders to allocate resources to teach our students today for their world tomorrow.

Dr. Kavanaugh acknowledged that each district represented had its own story about integrating and growing STEM, and explained that those stories would be featured on the WNY STEM Hub website, wnystem.org, so other districts looking for inspiration around STEM implementation could read about their peers’ successes.  Dr. Kavanaugh was joined by Bob Grant, Account Executive for Siemens, in congratulating the districts and their representatives for their current work, and hoped that today would mark an “important turning point for our region” in the area of STEM education.  

Through the generosity of a PEP Grant awarded to the Portville and Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School Districts, physical educators from across the region have been gathering over the last year as a Collaborative Learning Community.

With meetings alternating between Houghton College and the Olean Main Center, teachers have had time to explore best practices and strategies both inside and outside of the physical education classroom setting.  PE teachers have heard presentations on DASA/bullying, law issues in sports and athletics, SLO’s and APPR, and the academic benefits of physical education.  In the gym, they’ve shared lesson and warmup ideas, including ways to integrate technology in education, and have headed outside to explore Houghton’s Ropes Course.  

Together, they have established a Weebly to share information online and have been given access to a Physical Educators email list-serve.  Our hope is that they are able to establish collegial relationships that extend outside of our workshops and improve their practice on a regular basis.

The next Active PE Forum is scheduled for Friday, May 30th at Houghton College.  To register, please contact Laurie Sledge at 376-8357 or [email protected].

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