​2022-2023 was a record-breaking year for Student Competitions.  A total of four teams from the Cattaraugus-Allegany region excelled at their regional qualifying tournaments, advanced to the State competitions, and earned advancements to the World competitions. Congratulations to two VEX Robotics teams from Wellsville Central School, coached by Justin Skrzynski and Caitlin Bowen.  These two teams traveled to Dallas, Texas last month to compete in the ‘Spin Up’ game. Check out next year’s game, ‘Over Under’  at https://www.roboticseducation.org/teams/vex-roboticscompetition/.  CABOCES will host TWO Qualifying Tournaments next year, December 20th, 2023 at Belfast Central School and February 14th, 2024 at Franklinville Central School. 
 
Congratulations to two Odyssey of the Mind teams from Salamanca Central School, coached by Janette McClure and Brenda Windus. These two teams traveled to Michigan State University this month to compete in Problem 4, ‘Where’s the Structure?’. Next year’s Long-Term problems have just been released and will be posted at odysseyofthemind.com. CABOCES will host the Region 19 Odyssey of the Mind Tournament next year, Saturday, March 23rd, 2024 at Salamanca Central School. 
 
For more information about CoSer 506 Student Competitions, contact jean_oliverio@caboces.org. 

By: Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programs

School libraries, like public libraries, provide a collection of up-to-date resources that inform and entertain. Many school libraries are benefitting from renewed spaces that welcome students by providing seating that is relaxing and grouped for conversing, while offering individual spaces for pondering and completing homework.  
The American Library Association (2022) defines libraries as a “venue for exploring questions that arise out of individual curiosity and personal interest”.  Ask any reader why books are engaging and the answer will be related to that individual’s ability to find a connection with the characters or content (Allyn, 2015).  I remember when a 10th grader, who didn’t read much, came to the library just to get out of study-hall.  After talking about his interests, of which one was fishing, he happily left with a non-fiction book on trout fishing with high-quality photographs of tips and tricks.  The library and its collection should be a place where all students, faculty and staff are welcomed and affirmed, thus supporting mental and emotional health.
In studying college students’ psychological distress, Levine et al. (2022) found that “recreational reading was associated with reduced psychological distress” and “seemed to buffer against the frustration of one’s basic psychological needs which led to improved mental health”.  Another study found that recreational reading can “support readers to deal with the daily emotional challenges they experience affecting their psychological well-being” (Yulia et al., 2021).  And it doesn’t take much time! Taking just 6 minutes a day to read can “reduce stress levels by up to 60% by reducing your heartbeat and muscle tension and changing your state of mind” and can be more effective than listening to music (“Making Reading”, 2022). 
School recognizing the relationship between stress and mental health are making efforts to create stress-free and welcoming environments via the school library (“Relationship Between”, 2022).  Below are some pictures of several districts who have changed up their libraries with color, comfortable seating, new flooring, and new shelving. ​

By: Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES Learning Resources

​Allyn, P. (2015, March-April). For the love of reading: five methods to instill a lifetime of good habits. Reading Today, 32(5), 26+
American Library Association. (2022, June 27). Definition of a library. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://libguides.ala.org/library-definition.
Make reading a habit for better mental & emotional health. (2022, October 6). Business World, NA
Relationship between stress and emotional self-efficacy. (2022, August 10). Business World, NA.
S. L. Levine, S. Cherrier, A. C. Holding & R. Koestner. (2022). For the love of reading: Recreational reading reduces psychological distress in college students and autonomous motivation is the key, Journal of American College Health, 70:1, 158-164.
Yulia, A., Joshi, R. M., & Husin, N. A. (2021). Assessing the effects of books on psychological wellbeing in Malaysia. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 19(1), 87+.

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.

​An increase in stress and burnout among teachers have been at the forefront of conversation since the onset of the pandemic.  Our systems have directly experienced the implications of such issues, in several unforgiving ways.  Combined with the number of additional challenges posed to our schools, and the impact that each issue can have on another, the search for solutions has been an ongoing, yet urgent process.  
 
In working with Wellsville and considering research in developing a district strategy for supporting teachers throughout the 2021-22 school year, a monthly schedule of offerings focused on educator resilience, entitled, “Empowered Educators,’ was created.  The sessions are offered monthly, for one hour after school hours and are optional.  
 
Over the past few months teachers have come together during this session to connect, reflect, process and specifically focus on individual resilience building strategies to counter the impact of stress and burnout.  
A few of the resources utilized to support this work are “Onward,” written by Elena Aguilar and “Paws to Comfort,” written by Jen Marr.  Aguilar’s research focused around the 12 strategies that hold the most leverage for cultivating educator resilience and have been central in the development of specific tasks throughout each session.  Marr’s work addresses the significant need for the act of comfort and the gap that exists, as she refers to, “the awkward zone,” in which individuals choose not to respond and comfort due to lagging skills.  Both resources are relevant to the present challenges facing teachers, both individually and collectively, and have been invaluable in the work that has taken place thus far at Wellsville. 
 
As the school year progresses, an open invitation to join the monthly sessions exists.  In addition, the group continues to work collaboratively to reflect on this model of support, in the hopes to grow and evolve this type of support within their district moving forward. 

By: Katie Mendell, CA BOCES Community Schools

The goal of education is to encourage young minds to develop creativity, seek solutions and become forward thinkers who learn more than what we currently know.  Many teachers in our caboces region are experimenting with play as an instructional tool so that children can make connections between disciplines and understand how the pieces of the world fit together.  It is through play that children comprehend learning as a lifelong process of discovery and joy.   

Early childhood experiences are critical to brain development.  Studies show that positive early learning experiences through play allow children to develop social-emotional skills, deepen relationships, gain executive function skills, and manage stress.  Over time, children who experience learning through play-based instruction have better overall health and longer life expectancy.  

A play-based approach to learning requires child-initiated experiences and teacher supported learning.  This learning requires careful cultivation and teachers are coming together to rethink how they are supporting our youngest learners.  On October 22, 2021, teachers who attended the Foundations for Change: Rethinking Early Childhood Education workshop “played” with play-based learning kits from caboces learning resources.  As they played, ideas for lessons, discussions, and questions flowed through the room.  One walking by may have heard questions like:

• “How tall can this house get?”
• “How many blocks do we need?”
• “Can we make triangles?”
• “Who can blow this house down?”
• “What else can we do with the materials we have?”

Teachers engaged in discussion around the thinking of play as a tool for children to develop social and cognitive skills.  They mature emotionally and gain the self-confidence required to ask questions. The conversations and interactions that happen through play are valuable opportunities to support children as they develop their identities early in life.   Positive early experiences at school give children another opportunity to grow in a nurturing, language-rich environment.
​
Play-based learning also honors a child’s home experiences by building on the foundational skills learned at home.  Parents are a child’s first teacher.  Honoring each child’s home values inspires children to develop their identity and feel included in the learning environment.   These ideas were reinforced by Robin Fuller, Early Childhood Development and Education Coordinator of Ardent Solutions in Wellsville, NY.  Robin works tirelessly to make sure families with young children in Allegany County have access to resources.  Robin presented teachers with materials to distribute to families.  She also shared fun family activities that supplement free books donated through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.  Through the Imagination Library, children (birth – age 5) in Allegany County are eligible to receive free monthly books in the mail.  Check out the website for more information: http://www.ardentnetwork.org/dolly-partons-imagination-library.html

If you would like to learn more about play as an instructional tool for learning contact Michelle Rickicki or Jessica Schirrmacher-Smith.  
 
By: Michelle Rickicki, CA BOCES Professional Development

The Region 19 Odyssey of the Mind tournament was scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 14 at Allegany-Limestone Middle/High School.  The ISS Student Programs team, along with 30 teams across the region, were packed and ready.  On March 12, the announcement was made to cancel the tournament.  For many of us, this was the first indicator that our lives were about to change dramatically.
 
The five remaining regional tournaments across New York state also canceled, as did the NY State Tournament.  However, there are some worthwhile points to remember:

• The Odyssey season was not canceled.  Thirty teams in the region worked hard for months to prepare their solutions. Every team creatively solved their long-term problem.
• Kori Thomas, an eighth grader at Bolivar-Richburg Central School, designed the cover of the Coach notebooks that were to be given out on tournament day.  The notebooks were delivered to coaches this month.
• Seven Seniors, six from Allegany-Limestone Middle/High School and one from Salamanca City Central School received a lanyard, pin, notebook, and 2020 shirt.  They were also recognized on NYSOMA social media.
• The six Allegany-Limestone Seniors, along with their coach, Kiki Youngs, and Odyssey coordinator, Penny Owen, recorded a Zoom video announcement, on behalf of NYSOMA.  The video announced that Sue Pircio, retired Allegany-Limestone teacher, was this year’s recipient of the ‘Friend of NYSOMA’ award.
• Certificates and programs were delivered to coaches, upon request.  Coaches are still creatively wrapping up the season and finding ways to safely celebrate the hard work of their teams.

 
It is cathartic to reminisce, and it is also exciting to look ahead to next year. The 2020-2021 Problem Synopses have been released at https://www.odysseyofthemind.com/2021ltproblems/.
 
There is no doubt that the teams, coaches, and the Student Programs team will be ready to think creatively, solve problems, and adjust to new challenges that will be on the horizon.  After all, that is what Odyssey of the Mind is all about.
 
Jean Oliverio, Student Programs
​

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 jean_oliverio@caboces.org 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

Teams have been hard at work since the school year began to prepare for the Southern Tier’s largest Lego League tournament ever.  The program, sponsored by BOCES, continues to grow by leaps and bounds in the Cattaraugus-Allegany region. On Saturday, November 16th, 27 teams from 14 school districts are participating in this year’s FIRST Lego League robotics tournament series held at Houghton College. Congratulations to Archbishop Walsh, Belfast, Bolivar-Richburg, Catt-Little Valley, Cuba-Rushford, Ellicottville, Fillmore, Franklinville, Friendship, Genesee Valley, Salamanca, Scio, Wellsville, and Whitesville for accepting the challenge to explore the fields of architecture and urban engineering.
 
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 challenge is designed to motivate kids to get excited about research, engineering, math and problem solving, while building self-confidence, knowledge and life skills.  Learn about this year’s challenge, City Shaper, here: https://firstinspiresst01.blob.core.windows.net/fll/2020/city-shaper-challenge.pdf
 
The Campus Center at Houghton College is the place to be on Saturday, November 16th to see more than two hundred 9-14 year old students, plus their coaches and families, and over 3 dozen volunteers discover innovative ways to explore robotics while having fun!  Spectators are invited to attend to cheer on all the teams who tackled the City Shaper challenge.  At the Closing Ceremony, the seven teams who will advance to the Championship Tournament at the University of Rochester on December 8 will be announced.
 
Southern Tier Lego League Tournament details:

• 12:00 Opening Ceremony
• 12:10 Competition Rounds begin
• 3:45 Alliance Round & Dance Party
• 4:30 Awards Presentations & Closing Ceremony

Times are approximate and subject to change

• For GPS purposes, use Houghton College, 1 Willard Avenue, Houghton College, Houghton, New York 14744
• Watch for Lego League signs on campus
• The tournament will be held in the Reinhold Campus Center Lounge, the Student Union at Houghton College
• Parking is available in the Gillette and Gym parking lots

 
Call or email BOCES Student Programs at 716-376-8323 for more information.  We're looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday, November 16!  Thanks for supporting the Southern Tier Lego League teams! 

Jean_Oliverio@caboces.org
Student Programs CABOCES
716-307-0877
​

, 

CABOCES hosted the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and an audience of nearly 1,400 elementary students and teachers for 2 interactive concerts at the Olean High School on September 25.   The BPO, led by conductor Jaman Dunn, kicks off their Student Concert Series each year by transporting a 70 piece orchestra to the Southern Tier.
 
The concerts combined a diverse selection of music, story-telling and active audience participation.  It was more than just a concert, it was an educational show that connected NYS elementary curriculum with music. The audience was prompted to listen, conduct, sing and dance along as the musicians’ accompanied them.  The enthusiastic students performed with the BPO.
 
Each year a talented team of music teachers, staff and musicians develop the School Concert Series.  This year the theme was a focus on how music can demonstrate, express and encourage movement and emotion. The BPO Education department aligned their performances with the Common Core Learning Standards.  This provided a unique opportunity to inspire Kindergarten through Fifth grade students and enhance the Arts, ELA and Literacy Standards that are being taught in the classroom.  To ensure a strong foundation for “Moving and Grooving”, the BPO Education Department provided curriculum material, including audio links, for use in the classroom.  The districts received these resources prior to the shows and teachers were encouraged to use them to prepare their students for the performance.  The information is available on the BPO website at http://bpo.org/community-engagement/education4/for-educators/curriculum-resources/
 
Robin Parkinson, BPO’s Director of Education and Community Engagement, summed up the day this way: “The BPO is incredibly proud to start our season of youth concerts in Olean each year, performing for our neighbors in Cattaraugus and Allegany counties. It is gratifying to be able to take the orchestra on the road and play for students who can’t make it to Kleinhans in Buffalo.”

​Thank you to Franklinville, Hinsdale, Scio, Wellsville 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 CABOCES Student Programs at 716-376-8323 to find out more about Arts In Education, CoSer 403.  

By: Jean Oliverio, Student Programs

Imagine, if you can, a world where teachers are given choice in their professional development, where they lead their own research and collaborate with others to hone their craft.  You wouldn’t have to imagine too much if you are familiar with the Collaborative Research and Development Professional Development instituted by the administrative team at the Wellsville Secondary School of Mary Ellen O’Connell (Secondary Principal), Jason Mank (Assistant Principal) and Rick Bull (Assistant Principal).

After some initial planning and collaboration by the administrative team, Mary Ellen contacted me with the idea and from there we created a Moodle course on Poverty around Poor Students, Rich Teaching by Eric Jensen, a FlipGrid component (thanks to Mark Beckwith for this idea and support) for reflection and as an instructional classroom tool.  The team’s vision was to create opportunities for teachers to select to collaborate with others in their building around their four main initiatives for the year poverty, assessment, PBL and positive relationships with students and families.   

Teachers may be researching and collaborating around something they saw at a BOCES workshop, or a conference or that they read about and want to dig into deeper.   Mary Ellen created the opportunity for that research to happen for them by replacing three faculty meetings with three hours of collaborative research and development with a requirement to use FlipGrid to share their learning and reflect on their practice.  Teachers have four checkpoints (30-60 second videos) along the way where they get to share their learning and how they apply new knowledge their classroom practice.

To date, the administrative team has seen an increase in general collaboration among colleagues, an increase in FlipGrid use as an instructional tool by teachers in their classrooms and a deeper dive by teachers into areas of interest based on instruction or content.  Mary Ellen stated “The engagement and interaction on FlipGrid has been unbelievable! We have only completed two of the four “checkpoints” and already my faculty has accumulated 3,500 views and over 21 hours of time online learning from each other’s research. It is clear they enjoy learning from each other’s experiences and research. I’m also very sure they love not attending traditional faculty meetings and they are having fun with the flipGrid format.”
   
If you had a chance to read the ASCD Educational Leadership journal When Teachers Lead their Own Learning in November 2018 you can note some of the same elements (choice, flexibility, personalization) from those articles in the work that the administrative team from the Wellsville Secondary School has created for their building.  Change can be good!

By:  Karen Insley, CA BOCES Learning Resources

Congratulations to all teams that participated in this year's Odyssey of the Mind Region 19 Tournament!  

Last week District Superintendent Lynda Quick, Esq. learned that Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES has been awarded a grant for $466,686 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The grant, known as the Rural Utility Service (RUS) Distance Learning grant, will be implemented by Cattaraugus Allegany BOCES and eleven area school districts to upgrade video conferencing equipment and other technologies.

The equipment upgrades will provide all three Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) Centers, as well as Belfast, Bolivar-Richburg, Cuba-Rushford, Franklinville, Friendship, Genesee Valley, Hinsdale, Olean, Salamanca, Scio, and Wellsville Central School Districts, with new portable, high definition video conference capabilities that schools will use to provide students and teachers with a variety of distance learning opportunities including videoconference courses, virtual field trip experiences, and expanded access to nanotechnology capabilities.

This is not the first USDA RUS Distance Learning grant received by Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES and component school districts. The Distance Learning Team at CA BOCES has been applying for and receiving RUS grants since 1997, resulting in eight previous awards and millions of dollars in equipment for our schools.

“Over the years, USDA funding has built a virtual school in our region," stated Lynda Quick. Over forty virtual classes connect via video conference every single day, allowing schools to share the instructional expertise of their outstanding faculty members. Additionally, hundreds of students to take other online courses because of this funding. These virtual courses are critical in expanding offerings in small rural schools that, over time, have been stripped of the ability to offer many (or any) AP, college credit, or elective courses to their students.
​
Lynda Quick also shared, "This award helps put a dent in leveling the playing field. It helps our students build a transcript that can be competitive in the post-secondary arena." Grant implementation will begin immediately.

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 more than 1,300 elementary students and teachers for 2 interactive concerts at the Olean High School on September 26.   The BPO, led by conductor Stefan Sanders, kicks off their Student Concert Series each year by transporting a 60 piece orchestra to the Southern Tier.
 
The concerts combined not only a variety of musical selections, but also original poetry commissioned for the BPO, story-telling and active audience participation.  It was more than just a concert, it was an educational show that connected NYS elementary curriculum with music. The audience was prompted to sing along, in both English and Spanish, as the musicians’ accompanied them.  In essence, the young students performed with the BPO.
 
Afterwards, a Scio teacher remarked:  “We haven’t been able to come to this for several years.  I’m so glad we could come this year.  We enjoyed every single minute of it!  I loved how the BPO made it interactive for the kids and encouraged them to move and sing!”
Each year a talented team of music teachers, staff and musicians develop the School Concert Series.  This year the theme was a focus on community and working together. The BPO Education department linked their performances to the Common Core Learning Standards.  This provided a unique 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.  To ensure a strong foundation for “Our Orchestra Community: Same and Different” (Kindergarten-2nd Grade) and “The Power of Listening” (3rd-5th Grade), the BPO Education Department provided curriculum material for use in the classroom.  All districts received these resources prior to the shows.  Teachers were encouraged to use the resources to prepare their students for the performance.  The information is also available on the BPO website (https://bpo.org/community-engagement/education/for-educators/curriculum-resources/)
 
Robin Parkinson, BPO’s Director of Education and Community Engagement, summed up the day this way: “The BPO is incredibly proud to start our season of youth concerts in Olean each year, performing for our neighbors in Cattaraugus and Allegany counties. It is gratifying to be able to take the orchestra on the road and play for students who can’t make it to Kleinhans in Buffalo.”

​Thank you to Wellsville, Scio, 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 CABOCES Student Programs at 716-376-8284 to find out more about Arts In Education, CoSer 403.

By:  Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programming

 
(Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan) –The Wellsville Central School Odyssey of the Mind team participated in the 38th annual  Odyssey of the Mind World Finals  at Michigan State University from May 24-27.   The Problem 5 Division 3 team consists of Skyler Stisser, Rachael Ferraloro, Alysa Daily, Justin Cole, Alyssa Kear, Ashley Reitz, and Braden Scott.  Jennifer Parks is their coach.  They excelled at the Region 19 Tournament in Wellsville and the State Tournament in Binghamton, where they earned the honor to advance to the 4 day international tournament, representing New York State. 

Founded in 1978, Odyssey of the Mind is the largest international creative problem-solving tournament in the world.  The program encourages students, from kindergarten through college, to use 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.

Over 850 teams from throughout the United States and 13 other countries compete in Odyssey of the Mind. Teams from the US, Canada, China, South Korea, India, Japan, Russia, Poland, Germany, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy, and Mexico traveled to Michigan State University, making this year’s tournament the largest one in 38 years.

Over 20,000 students and supporters, from different cultures and widely varying backgrounds, prove that creativity is universal. The high-energy tournament embodies an international spirit of teamwork.  While the competition is fierce, there is also a feeling of camaraderie amongst competitors. At World Finals, teams have an once-in-a-lifetime experience to form friendships that span the globe, through a common goal of being creative and having fun. 

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

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 more than 1500 elementary students and teachers for 2 unique concerts at the Olean High School on September 27.   The BPO kicks off their Student Concert Series each year by transporting a 60 piece orchestra to the Southern Tier.
 
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 and active audience participation.  It was more than just a concert, it was an educational show that tied in elementary curriculum with music. 
 
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 Feel the Music! (grades K-2) and Selfies: Musical Portraits (grades 3-5), the BPO Education Department supplied teachers with curriculum lessons for use in the classroom. 
 
Thank you to Wellsville, Hinsdale, Franklinville 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

​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

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

Wellsville first year Spanish teacher Mr. James Neely had a desire to incorporating social media into a project for Spring break. After discussing Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. and the pros and cons of using Social Media in the class, it was determined that using the actual sites for his project could lead to cyber bullying or other inappropriate situations. Instead he worked along with the Technology Integration Coach to create a project that mimics Social Media. The result was a Spapchat style video created by students to share what they did over spring break.

Snapchat is a photo messaging application developed by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown, then Stanford University students. Using the application, users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients. These sent photographs and videos are known as "Snaps". Users set a time limit for how long recipients can view their Snaps (as of April 2014, the range is from 1 to 10 seconds), after which they will be hidden from the recipient's device and deleted from Snapchat's servers.

Their assignment over break was to take video and/or photos of the things they did during their vacation. When they returned from break students transferred their video/photos to their iPad, and students in the 3 classes were then introduced to about 15 apps.  Here are a few:

Technology Integration coach Kate Green then worked with the classes for the next couple of days with adding, editing, and changing their vacation into a presentable product. The assignment was to then write a minimum of 15 word Spanish caption for each of their video/photos.  The teacher supported the students in their translations and gave some class time for a couple of days. Students shared the final videos to the teacher and class presentations will follow. 

By: Rob Griffith, CA BOCES and Wellsville Central School

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

Nancy Aborjaily teaches art at Wellsville Middle School; this year she included a writing component with three grade level art assignments. The goal was to better engage families in the process and product of their child’s artwork.

When their artwork was complete, students were asked to compose a personal letter to their families that highlighted the following: what’s the project; what did you struggle with; what did completing the project teach you about perseverance and grit; and lastly, how did you feel when you completed the project?

Nancy states, “One of the things I have strived to teach students in class is that when they are confronted with an obstacle, they need to stick with it; dig in and work hard to overcome it and solve their ‘artistic’ problem especially when they might want to give up and abandon the work.” Nancy explained that when someone observes a completed work, there’s no way to know or to “see” the perseverance and grit. The students’ letters enabled families to experience more than the completed artwork.

The reflection process was rewarding for the students and their families.

Nancy added, “This idea grew out of my need to let families know how hard their children work to meet and overcome challenges that art projects often times present.” Students gave voice to challenge, hard work, and success; hopefully, they’ll apply the process to other challenges they face in their lives.

With the letters, Nancy included a color photo of the artwork. These items helped with important dialogue at home about the artwork. Nancy said, “Student and family responses were amazing and heartfelt; the process gave families a front row seat in their child’s classroom; it was a smashing success!”

By Anne Mitchell, CA BOCES and Portville Central School

Students and teachers (of COSER 501 member districts) can access hundreds of thousands of digital resources using CABOCES Digital Kids.  

www.cabocesdigitalkids.org

Users may login to CABOCES DIGITAL KIDS to search clips and images or pass through to:
Brain Pop (Jr., ESL, Espanol),Discovery, Learn 360, Sylvan Dell eBooks, Teaching Books, Tumblebooks, Soundszabound, Gale Cengage, Regents Review