​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.  
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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

TheatreWorksUSA’s talented cast performed, Miss Nelson Is Missing, based on the book series by Harry Allard this week.   More than 1700 second and third graders from schools across Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties learned valuable lessons for school and life.  The rowdy students and the witchy substitute teacher, Miss Viola Swamp, sang and danced their way through the school day.  The engaging cast even asked the student audience for help in trying to figure out how to get Miss Nelson back to school.

Bolivar-Richburg, Franklinville and Arcade Elementary opened their auditoriums to host these performances.  Teachers prepared their students well by utilizing the classroom activities provided by TheatreWorks USA.  The pre and post show teaching tools supplement the teachers’ curriculum goals.

Miss Nelson Is Missing marked the fourth performance of the school year contracted by BOCES.  BOCES Arts-In-Education helps schools enrich the lives of their students by providing opportunities to experience the performing arts.  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. 

For more information about bringing TheatreWorks shows to your area, contact Student Programs at 716-376-8284. 

By: Jean OIiverio, CA BOCES Student Programs

“You have to give a little to get a little.”  Farmer Brown learned the value of negotiation and compromise from the most talented and funny barnyard animals around.  Three smart, typing cows, three chickens and Farmer Brown’s granddaughter, Jenny, sang and danced for almost 2500 Kindergarteners and First graders from schools across Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties.  TheatreWorksUSA’s talented cast performed Click Clack Moo, based on the Caldecott Honor book by Doreen Cronin this week. 
 
Genesee Valley, Cattaraugus-Little Valley and Arcade Elementary opened their auditoriums to host these performances.  For some of the audience, it was the first time viewing a live theatrical production.  Teachers prepared their students well by utilizing the classroom activities provided by TheatreWorks USA.  The pre and post show teaching tools supplement the teachers’ curriculum goals.
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Click Clack Moo marked the third performance of the school year contracted by BOCES.  BOCES Arts-In-Education helps schools enrich the lives of their students by providing opportunities to experience the performing arts.  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. 
For more information about bringing TheatreWorks shows to your area, contact Student Programs at 716-376-8284. 

By: Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programs

About 1800 fourth and fifth graders from schools across Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties attended TheatreWorks USA’s production of Steam Trunk Circus last week.  Genesee Valley,  Olean High School and Arcade Elementary opened  their auditoriums to host these performances.
 
Steam Trunk Circus marked the first performance of the school year contracted by BOCES.  BOCES Arts-In-Education helps schools enrich the lives of their K-5th grade students by providing opportunities to experience the performing arts.   Teachers received Storyologist Handbooks filled with classroom activities to supplement their Language Arts curriculum goals.

​The performers made the audience become the heroes of the story by tasking them to solve problems and infer and predict by paying attention to clues.  An old trunk, a mysterious book and Harry Houdini’s hat set the tale in motion. The audience willingly did this, laughing all the way at Kenny’s comedic antics.  Thanks to Page Turner and Kenny Mikey, there are now 1800 new, official Storyologists in the Southern Tier who are ready to collect, tell and write their own stories.
Page Turner Adventures, from Florida, has teamed up with TheatreWorks USA,  a professional acting company based out of New York City. TheatreWorks USA is America’s largest and most prolific professional theatre for young audiences.  For more information, contact CABOCES Student Programs at 716-376-8284.

By: Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programming

Exposing children to music and art leads to a deeper understanding of content.  It’s a natural connection for teachers to offer their students.
 
CABOCES hosted the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and an audience of 1500 elementary students and teachers for 2 unique concerts at the Olean High School on September 25.   The BPO opened the 2015-2016 season for the tenth straight year in Olean.
 
This was a wonderful opportunity to inspire Kindergarten through Fifth grade students and enhance the ELA, Literacy, Social Studies and Art Standards that are being taught in the classroom.  The BPO Education department masterfully linked their performances to the Common Core Standards. Both concerts combined not only a variety of musical selections, but also story-telling, active audience participation and a sing a-long. 
 
Mr. Stefan Sanders, conductor for the BPO, embraced the idea that musical story telling is a valuable tool that fosters greater understanding of student learning objectives. To ensure a strong foundation for Symphonic Fairy Tales (grades K-2) and Musical Passport (grades 3-5), the BPO Education Department supplied teachers with curriculum lessons for use in the classroom. 
 
Thank you to Wellsville, Hinsdale and Olean school districts for allowing their students to attend and promoting the arts in their education.  CABOCES Arts in Education helps schools enrich the lives of their students by providing opportunities to experience the performing arts.  If the concept of music as education piques your interest, please call Student Programs at CABOCES 716-376-8284 to find out more about Arts In Education, CoSer 403.  

By: Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programming

At our September faculty meeting, each CA BOCES Itinerant teacher received a copy of the book Explicit Direct Instruction: The Power of the Well-Crafted, Well-Taught Lesson by John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra.  Explicit Direct Instruction, or EDI, is a strategic collection of instructional practices combined together to design and deliver well-crafted lessons that explicitly teach content, especially grade level content, to all students.  The Itinerants will begin their EDI journey by implementing the strategy ‘Checking for Understanding’ in their classrooms.  Checking for understanding means you are continually verifying that students are learning while they are being taught.  EDI uses the acronym TAPPLE to help remember all of the steps involved.

1. When asking a question, always present it to the entire class before selecting a student to respond.
2. Then pause several seconds before selecting a student to respond.  While you are pausing, students don’t know which person you will select, and they all start thinking about the answer in case they are called upon.  Asking students to do a think-pair-share during this “pause” is great way to build in time for the students to practice giving their answer.
3. Always call on random non-volunteers.  This is the only way you can measure if everyone is learning.

 
You can learn more about the research behind EDI and tap into some of their resources by visiting the website: http://dataworks-ed.com/

By: Mary Morris, CA BOCES Student Programming

Whether they were participating in Driver’s Education or attending Summer School at one of the three CA BOCES sites, many of our students found themselves engaged in learning over the summer.  The numbers can speak for themselves.   At the Salamanca Summer School site, we had 254 students enrolled in classes and 341 students registered to take one of the August Regents Exams.  At the Wellsville Summer School site, we had 195 students enrolled in classes and 188 students registered to take one of the August Regents Exams.  At the Cuba Summer School site, we had 83 students enrolled in classes and 95 students registered to take one of the August Regents Exams.  Driver’s Education instructor’s operated out of 15 district sites and helped 377 students learn the rules of the road.

We would like to thank all of the Summer School teachers and Driver’s Education instructors for their desire and dedication in helping all of our students fulfill their academic obligations.  Please contact us if you have any questions or need future assistance.  We are always striving to make our summer student programs the best that they can be!  

(Randolph, New York) – On Saturday, March 14, 2015, 49 teams from across the Southern Tier will be showcasing their creativity during the Odyssey of the Mind Regional competition.  Odyssey of the Mind is a world-wide creative problem-solving tournament that promotes original and divergent thinking as a team sport.  Divergent problems, that is, those with more than one solution, encourage students to learn and lead the way using 21st century skills.  By working in teams of up to seven members, participants learn teamwork, the appreciation and understanding of others, and the concept that a group is a more powerful thinking force than an individual.

Randolph Central School will be hosting more than 300 creative kids aged ten through eighteen years old, who will be showing off their brain power in this high-energy tournament. The winners, who will be announced at the end of the day, will represent Region 19 at the New York State Tournament at Binghamton University on April 11 and possibly World Finals at Michigan State University on May 20-23.

Teams from 14 area school districts have worked hard to come up with 8 minute solutions to one of these five mind-bending problems posed by Odyssey of the Mind:  

Problem 1: Runaway 'Train'
The team’s problem is to design, build and operate one or more vehicles that will travel on tracks and make stops at different stations without touching the floor. While traveling between stations, the vehicles must overcome obstacles —moving uphill, towing something, and more. The theme of the performance will explain the vehicle’s difficulties on the track and will include a ‘conductor’ character. Once the vehicle reaches its final destination it will display a flag or banner during a victory lap!

Problem 2: Problem 2: Experiencing Technical Difficulties
The problem is to design, build, and demonstrate various devices that complete specific tasks. The team will create a theme where technical failures must be resolved through completing the tasks. There will be a list of tasks to choose from including ring a bell, change the wording on something, sound an alarm, move an object, etc. There will also be a mysterious engineer character. Of course, there’s a twist — all of the devices must be powered by rubber bands!

Problem 3: Problem 3: Pandora’s Box 
In this classics problem, teams will put a video game spin on the story of Pandora’s Box. A gamer character will take on this multi-level game inspired by the Greek myth. The game will include a prologue that depicts the original story of Pandora’s Box, three characters representing different evils that escaped the box, and a power meter that represents the gamer character’s health. To beat the game, the player will advance to the final level where it will release hope into the world.

Problem 4: Problem 4: Lose Your Marbles 
This problem requires teams to design, build, and test a structure, made only of balsa wood and glue, that will balance and support as much weight as possible. The structure will also hold five marbles that will be released during weight placement as a result of a team-created device removing a piece of the structure. After the crusher board and one additional weight are placed on top of the structure, the first marble will be released. After the next weight is supported, the team will use its device to release another marble, and so on. The team will incorporate weight placement and “losing your marbles” into the theme of the performance.

Problem 5: Problem 5: Silent Movie
Lights, camera...action! In this problem teams will create and present a performance depicting a Director character that produces and presents a silent movie featuring a humorous villain character that commits three silly acts of “villainy”. Characters that are in the movie may not speak as part of the presentation of the movie. Instead, like classic silent films, the team will use music played on a team-created instrument and creatively displayed subtitles to convey its story to the audience and judges. Also, teams will use a signal to indicate when the movie begins and ends. 

Students have spent months of their free time solving these problems as well as developing teamwork skills, independent study, friendships, confidence, all while improving their brainstorming and problem-solving techniques. They learn new things and utilize their individual strengths to solve the problem. Teams also learn how to budget money since there is a cost limit to each problem. Throughout the day, one will witness imaginative costumes, elaborate props, dances, original songs and poetry, creative writing and much more.                                                  

Not only do the participants compete within their chosen problem, but teams must also perform well in a “spontaneous problem”, where they solve a new problem on the spot. They must be creative, quick thinking and work well together as a team.

Spectators are welcome to join in the excitement of the day.  CABOCES is still recruiting volunteers.  No prior experience is needed and training will be provided.  Anyone interested in getting involved is encouraged to call (716) 376-8284. 

Saturday, March 14 is the culmination of many months of work from students, coaches, parents and judges who all work together with the common goal of expressing creativity, supporting the arts and learning new things in a fun environment. The tournament starts at 8:30 and continues throughout the day. The Awards Ceremony begins around 3:15.

Thousands of teams from throughout the United States and 25 other countries participate in this program.  For more information visit www.odysseyofthemind.com, www.nysoma.org or call CABOCES Student Programs at 716-376-8284.

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

This is the question on the minds of Lego League teams this fall.  The 2014-2015 Lego League Challenge is World Class-Learning Unleashed.  Students will redesign how knowledge and skills are gathered in the 21st century.  Teams will teach adults about the ways that kids need and want to learn.  Get ready for a whole new class, World Class.
Teams have been hard at work since the school year began to prepare for the Southern Tier Lego League Tournament on Saturday, November 22, 2014 at Houghton College.  It's exciting to see the program continue to grow in our region and new schools have formed teams this season.

First Lego League, a world-wide robotics program, was founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in Science and Technology.  Each year a new program is designed to motivate kids to get excited about research, engineering, math and problem solving, while building self confidence, knowledge and life skills.

The Nielsen Phys. Ed building at Houghton College is the place to be this Saturday to see about a hundred 9-14 year old students, their coaches and families, and over 3 dozen volunteers discover innovative ways to explore robotics while having fun!  Please call or email BOCES Student Programs at 716-376-8284 if you'd like more information.  Also, check out this link:  firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2014fllworldclass.  

Times are approximate:
Opening Ceremony - 12:15 - 12:30 
Competition Rounds - 12:30 - 2:15 
Alliance Round - 2:15 - 3:00
Awards Presentation & Closing Ceremonies - 3:00 - 3:30

The mantra of the program is always its’ Core Values, which are as follows:

• We are a team.
  
• We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
  
• We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.
  
• We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
  
• What we discover is more important than what we win.
  
• We share our experiences with others.
  
• We display “Gracious Professionalism” in everything we do.
  
• We have fun!
  

The Wellsville Campus of Alfred State College was the place to be on April 2, 2014 from 9:00-1:00.  Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES offered the 3rd Annual College and Career Readiness Fair for more than 325 Allegany County teenagers.  Immediately afterwards, the Greater Allegany County Chamber of Commerce began their Business Conference, concluding at 5:00.  

The Career Day Planning Committee worked for a full year to develop a great opportunity for Allegany County students to explore their future, discover their passions and set potential goals.  All details of the day, from student and exhibitor registration to pre-event activities, were available at lifeready.weebly.com.  The dynamic and user-friendly website was the main vehicle of communication between CABOCES and students, guidance counselors, and businesses. 

The 2014 event shaped up to be bigger and better than last year, with an even more robust lineup of speakers. The Planning Committee was honored to introduce Scio native,  Michael Kintner (360heros.com),  as Keynote Speaker to address the students. The Career Fair website details the impressive lineup of all the successful professionals committed to connecting with the youth of Allegany County.

Allegany County teenagers from 9 different school districts participated in the Fair. Participants transitioned through 3 interactive areas (Career Conversations, Career Playground and the Career and Community Exhibitors) while on campus.  Students prepared for the day by identifying a Career Cluster that interested them.  Careers can be categorized into six main clusters, see the Fair website for more details.  Each Career Cluster was identified at the Fair.  Students were guided to learn from experts from each Career Cluster.

Based on students' individual interests, they were given a personalized schedule to ensure they got the most out of their day.  Students were encouraged to get their hands dirty, drive a backhoe, take a Culinary Arts lesson, speak with professionals from local businesses, and Skype with successful business people from across the country.  The day offered something for everyone, in a rich, hands-on way. 

Thank you to Andover, Belfast, Bolivar-Richburg, Cuba-Rushford, Elm Street Academy, Fillmore, Portville, Scio, Wellsville School Districts for allowing their students to attend and inspiring them to dream and set goals for a bright future.  The date for next year’s event will be Thursday, April 9, 2015. For more information, call CABOCES Student Programs at 716-376-8284 and the College and Career Readiness website at lifeready.weebly.com.


By: Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programming