Information
& Programs for South Colonie
Thank You South Colonie Community For Supporting the District Budget
Posted on may 22, 2013
The Board of Education and all South Colonie Central School District staff members would like to express their gratitude to the community for passing the 2013-2014 school budget on May 21. “We are extremely appreciative of the support our community has shown for our students and the critical programming that allows them to succeed," said Superintendent Jonathan Buhner. "The significant loss of state support combined with other factors related to the overall economy made the development of the budget very difficult. With that said, thoughtful planning and discussions combined with employees that were willing to give back resulted in a solid plan for next year. We have a great deal to be proud of here at South Colonie and we feel fortunate that a number of critical academic achievement initiatives can continue.”
2013-2014 District Budget Passes By Supermajority of Votes, Badger Mele and Jaquish Elected to School Board
Posted on may 21, 2013
South Colonie residents went to the polls today and approved a new district budget for the 2013-2014 school year by a vote of 2,205-1,105 – a 66 percent approval margin. They also elected Christine Badger Mele (1,376 total votes) to the Board of Education over two new candidates Tracy Ahtila (690 total votes) and Jesse Weinstock (622 total votes). Incumbent Shelle Jaquish, who ran unopposed, was also elected to a new five-year term on the school board with 2,162 votes. full story
UPK Lottery Registration Deadline is 4 p.m. Today
Posted on May 21, 2013
The deadline for registration for the South Colonie Universal Pre-Kindergarten UPK Program for the 2013-2014 school year is 4 p.m. Wednesday. Entrance to the program is selected by lottery only and ALL applications must be submitted to the District Office by that time. There are no exceptions. The lottery is held at 4 p.m. on Thursday. view UPK application or UPK brochure (pdf).
Teachers and Administrators Approve Concessions for Second Straight Year to Save Critical Programming and Support Services
Posted on may 15, 2013
Faced again with a difficult budget process, South Colonie administrators and teachers, for a second straight year, have agreed to make contract concessions in 2013-2014 to help maintain critical programming and support for the students they serve. Members of the South Colonie Teachers Association (SCTA), more than 450 in all, have agreed to take an unpaid day next school year saving the District approximately $230,000 (staff members will have three days of professional development as compared to the normal four), while Central Office and Building Level administrators throughout the District have agreed to health insurance and compensation changes equating to $102,000 in additional savings for the next school year. full story
District-wide Art Show and CCHS Art Club Art Show at William K. Sanford Colonie Town Library
Posted on may 15, 2013
The William K. Sanford Colonie Town Library is hosting two art shows in May featuring the work of South Colonie students. The first is the annual district-wide Art Show which opened on May 7. The second is the Colonie Central High School Art Club art show going on the the library's Teen Center. Both shows run through the end of May. view a photo gallery
Boston Bus Trip Cancelled Due to Low Enrollment
Posted on may 10, 2013
The June bus trip to Boston sponsored by the Continuing Education program has been cancelled due to low enrollment. A July trip is available to the Finger Lakes Wine Festival. Don’t let this trip get cancelled if you’re thinking about going. Sign up today! trip information
Save a Life Tour Comes to Colonie High School
Posted on may 7, 2013
Colonie teens got a firsthand lesson in the consequences of texting and driving as the Save a Life Tour visited Colonie Central High School today. full story
Colonie High Rescuer Reunites With Boston Marathon Bombing Victim
Posted on april 25, 2013
A 1995 Colonie Central High School graduate and now Boston firefighter James Plourde, whose photograph of him rescuing a woman from the Boston Marathon bombing scene has gone viral, was reunited with the victim on NBC Nightly News Wednesday night. view story
NYS Considers More Work For High School Students in Form of an Essay
Posted on april 23, 2013
New York's high school students could soon face a new challenge before they earn their diplomas: a 1,250-word research paper. That is the new proposal by the state Education Department to better prepare New York's students for life after high school. On Monday, the Board of Regents considered the proposal, which could apply to students entering high school as freshmen in the 2013-2014 school year. full story
Sand Creek Student Scores Highest in State in Grade 7 Math Contest
Posted on april 15, 2013
Sand Creek Middle School student Noble Mushtak earned the highest score in New York State on the State Mathematics League Contest for grade 7. Mushtak is a sixth grader at Sand Creek currently enrolled in the Grade 7 Honors Math course. full story
CCHS Science Club Attends Nano Career Day
Posted on April 8, 2013
Some 30 members of the high school Science Club attended Nana Career Day at SUNY Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering. View a photo gallery or view a Youtube video
Fulbright Teachers Enriching South Colonie Foreign Language Classrooms
Posted on march 21, 2013
In an effort to increase awareness of the importance of foreign language study and multi-cultures, teachers in the South Colonie Foreign Language Department, grades 5-12, are hosting visiting Fulbright teachers in their classes this school year. full story
District Ranked Among Best Communities For Music Education
Posted on march 18, 2013
The South Colonie Central School District has been ranked among the Best Communities for Music Education in the country by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). full story
District Sets Calendar For 2013-2014 School Year
Posted on march 7, 2013
South Colonie Schools has set the district calendar for the 2013-2014 school year. district calendar (pdf)
Sand Creek 8th Grader Wins Area Spelling Bee
Posted on march 6, 2013
Sand Creek Middle School eighth-grader Ryan Devanandan won the 2013 Capital Region Spelling Bee at Proctors Theatre on Tuesday, March 5, in Schenectady. He won in the final round by spelling prevaricate, which means to deviate from the truth or to lie. By winning, Devanandan will get the chance to represent the area in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May. full story
Understanding NYS GEA Aid Formula and What It's Doing to Our Schools
Posted on February 26, 2013
Do you understand New York State's GEA and what it's doing to schools like ours? Take a look at this short video ... it explains it well! view video
Tax Cap Denies a 'Sound, Basic' Education System
Posted on February 24, 2013
A cornerstone of the Cuomo administration's self-declared tower of accomplishments was marked for demolition last week. It can't be blown up high enough or fast enough. The assertion is that the tax cap denies a ''sound, basic'' education, as guaranteed by the state constitution, to a significant and growing number. And that's correct. full story
CCHS iCARE Program Featured in Local Media
Posted on january 15, 2013
Colonie Central High School's iCARE program was featured recently in the local media. Fox23Report or Times Union Story
District Joins 'State of Colonie' Forum
Posted on january 12, 2013
South Colonie Superintendent Jonathan Buhner joined local municipal and business leaders at Colonie Center Friday for the annual "State of Colonie" forum hosted by the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce. full story
Roessleville Student Wins Young Composer Competition
Posted on january 10, 2013
Shashaank Narayanan, a fourth grader at Roessleville Elementary School, has won the NAfME Eastern Division Music Composition Competition. full story or listen to the Mystery Cave music score (mp3)
South Colonie Earns Spot on Prestigious AP Course Honor Roll
Posted on november 26, 2012
South Colonie is one of 539 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the 3rd Annual AP® District Honor Roll for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement® course work while increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams. full story
SC Ranked 11th in Performance Among 84 Capital Region School Districts
Posted on october 23, 2012
South Colonie has been ranked No. 11 in the Albany area for a second consecutive year in a report from a Buffalo business publication. Buffalo Business First began publishing its new rankings of upstate school districts on its website this week, as part of its "Guide to Upstate Schools." The rankings reflect the collective performance of each district's public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. They account for percentages of students who graduate with Regents and advanced Regents diplomas; student scores on Regents exams in 13 subjects; and student performance on the state assessments given in grades 3-8. view more
Sign Up For South Colonie School News Notifier
Sign up today for the South Colonie “School News Notifier” (SNN), a system designed to help keep parents, staff and the community more in touch with what is happening at South Colonie Central Schools. SNN is an opt-in email alert system for which parents and residents can sign up to receive email alerts from the district. With SNN, district officials have the power to send updates and reminders about district activities or information about school closings and delays. Users can choose to receive any or all of the alerts, and they can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up today by clicking on the SNN icon. For more information about SNN, click here (pdf).
Mr. Jonathan Buhner
Superintendent
(518) 869-3576
102 Loralee Drive
Albany, New York 12205
