South Colonie Districtwide News Stories From the 2010-2011 School Year
New York State Property Tax Cap Now Official
Posted on June 30, 2011
The New York State Legislature made it official this month in passing Governor Andrew Cuomo's campaign promise to enact a property tax cap on school districts and municipalities. The cap will take effect this coming budget season and affect district planning for the 2012-2013 school year. full story
District
IT Department Secures $140,000 in Tech Equipment From HVCC For
Use at High School
Posted on june 19, 2011
The South Colonie Central School District has obtained 100 new state of the art computers at no cost as part of the ongoing school to college program with Hudson Valley Community College. The computers, obtained by the district Information Technology Department, are Dell Precision T1600’s, specifically designed for the CAD, Engineering and Graphics programs taught by the Technology Department at Colonie Central High School. These machines have both the power and graphics capabilities needed to run the application software. The department also will be getting a state of the art 3D Printer. The total value of this equipment, funded by HVCC, is approximately $140,000. CCHS students who participate in these courses receive college credit from HVCC as part of the school to college partnership.
Budget Thank You Letter From Superintendent Buhner
Posted on May 23, 2011
On behalf of the Board of Education and all of the staff at South Colonie Central School District, I would like to thank everyone for their support and for being involved in the complex budget development process this year. full letter
South Colonie Residents Approve 2011-2012 District Budget 1,548-1,061
Posted May 17, 2011
South Colonie Central School District residents went to the polls on Tuesday, May 17th, and approved an $91.1 million budget for the 2011-12 school year by a vote of 1,548-1,061. The budget continues to support South Colonie’s key educational initiatives despite a projected $531,000 cut in state aid to the district over the current school year. full story
Board
of Regents Elects John King New New York State Commissioner of
Education
Posted on May 16, 2011
The New York State Board of Regents voted today to elect Dr. John B. King, Jr. as New York State Education Commissioner and President of the University of the State of New York. The Regents took this action at their May meeting held today in Albany. full story
Three Teachers Compete in
2011 Boston
Marathon This Spring
Posted april 19, 2011
Three South Colonie teachers were among the nearly 25,000 runners (11,462 of whom were women) who competed in this year's 115th Boston Marathon Monday. They were Heather Kurto (Forest Park Elementary School - 3:41:26), Connie Smith (Lisha Kill Middle School - 3:53:09) and Gretchen Oliver (Sand Creek Middle School - 3:15:00)
State Education Commissioner Steiner to Resign
Posted on april 7, 2011
State Education Commissioner David Steiner announced Thursday afternoon that he will resign later this year. In a statement, Steiner said he had informed Chancellor Merryl Tisch of his decision, and that he was "immensely proud of the reforms we've achieved - guiding New York's successful Race to the Top application, designing a new teacher and school leader evaluation system, reforming teacher preparation and certification and implementing a tough re-setting of our 3-8 tests." Read statements released by State Education Department
Second Draft of the Proposed 2011-2012 District Budget Includes Nearly $650,000 in Restored State Aid; District Still Braces for a $500,000 Loss
Posted on April 5, 2011
The South Colonie Board of Education reviewed a second draft of a proposed district budget for the 2011-12 school year Tuesday night which includes $648,774 in restored aid for education by the New York State Legislature. full story
Sherri Fisher Appointed Next South Colonie Assistant Superintendent For Management Services and Strategic Planning
Posted on April 5, 2011
Sherri L.D. Fisher is South Colonie’s next Assistant Superintendent for Management Services and Strategic Planning effective July 1. She was appointed to that post by the Board of Education at its meeting Tuesday night and will replace Beverly Miller, who is retiring. full story
South Colonie Custodian Helps Save Man's Life
Posted on april 4, 2011
A South Colonie custodian helped save a man’s life this spring thanks to quick action and training in the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). full story
District Unveils First Draft of the 2011-12 School Year Budget
Posted march 16, 2011
Faced with unprecedented financial challenges due to massive reductions in state support for education, the district unveiled its first draft of a proposed budget for the 2011-2012 school year to the South Colonie Board of Education Tuesday night. full story
District Workshops Encourage Middle Schoolers to Pursue STEM Education
posted on march 16, 2011
South Colonie is heeding the President’s call to encourage today’s students to pursue careers in the fields of math, science and technology so the nation can continue to compete in a global economy. This winter, the Colonie Central High School Math and Science Clubs sponsored two STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) workshops for Lisha Kill and Sand Creek middle school students. full story
President Obama Urges Education Law Overhaul
posted on march 15, 2011
WASHINGTON — President Obama has called for an overhaul of education legislation enacted in the Bush administration, telling an audience on of teachers and students on March 14 that Congress should change the No Child Left Behind Act before the start of the next school year. full story
District Releases New Calendar For 2011-2012 School Year
posted on march 2, 2011
The District has released its calendar for the 2011-2012 school year. To view the calendar, click here (pdf).
NYS Education Department Releases 2009-2010 School Report Cards
posted on february 17, 2011
The New York State Education Department announced today the release of 2009-2010 School Report Cards for all schools and districts throughout New York State. In addition to school and district information, there is also a School Report Card for the entire state. The view the South Colonie Report Card information, click here.
Six Longtime South Colonie Administrators to Retire July 1
posted on february 16, 2011
Six longtime South Colonie administrators have announced their retirements effective at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. The Board of Education approved these retirements at its meeting on February 15. full story
South Colonie Teachers Turn to Google Apps Classroom Web Sites to Heighten Home-School Communications
Posted on february 1, 2011
Home-School communications is certainly a lot different than it used to be. Once upon a time, it was common practice for a teacher to hand a student a folded piece of paper and say: “Johnny, please take this note home to your mother.” But in today’s modern world, communications between school and home is just a mouse click away as more and more teachers in the South Colonie Central School District are developing web sites of their own. full story
CCHS Hosts Board of Regents Forum on Changes to Graduation Requirements
Posted on january 26, 2011
Colonie Central High School hosted a New York State Board of Regents forum on Tuesday night to discuss possible changes to graduation requirements. This was the second of a series of forums being conducted by the Regents around the state over the next two months. The forum include some 200 educators including superintendents, school board members, school leaders and teachers. full story or view a photo gallery of this event
Wall Street Journal Article: Regents Calls For Higher Math and Literacy Standards for Kindergarten and First Grade
Posted on january 13, 2011
More requirements for math as early as kindergarten and teaching a greater understanding of literature are among new standards for New York's public schools to be in place by the 2011-12 school year. full story
South Colonie Joins List of EPA Energy Star Leaders
Posted on january 6, 2011
South Colonie Central Schools is proud to join EPA's list of Energy Star Leaders, an elite group of organizations that have improved energy efficiency across all of the buildings in a portfolio. To date, Energy Star Leaders include organizations such as schools, hospitals, supermarkets, commercial real estate businesses and hospitality companies. full story
South Colonie Stuffs 10 Buses Full of Toys For Tots
Posted on december 22, 2010
South Colonie's fourth annual Stuff the Bus with Toys For Tots campaign was an overwhelming success again this holiday season. Throughout November and December, the district's yellow school buses were set up outside shopping malls and at the schools for students, families, shoppers and staff to drop off new toys to help needy children. Because of everyone's generosity, 10 school buses were stuffed with toys and delivered to the U.S. Marine Depot in Scotia in time for the holidays. Toys for Tots, sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps since 1947, provides some 60,000 Capital District children with toys for the holidays. Thank you to everyone for helping make a child's holidays special this year.
CCHS Students Join Al Gore's Online Town Hall
Posted on november 19, 2010
A group of Colonie High School students participated in November's Global Online Town Hall entitled: "Math, Science and the Future of Our Nation." The program was presented by Time Warner Cable and hosted by former Vice President Al Gore. full story
District Energy Conservation Program Tops $3 Million Mark in Savings
Posted on November 2, 2010
South Colonie's very successful Energy Conservation and Management program has now topped the $3 million mark in energy savings. full story
You
Can Now Follow South Colonie Schools on Facebook
Posted on october 29, 2010
Follow news and announcements about the South Colonie Central School District on Facebook. Click on the icon to sign up.
Dollars for Scholars Phone-a-thon Raises Nearly $3,000 For Scholarships
Posted on october 19, 2010
Thank you to everyone who supported South Colonie Dollars for Scholars' first annual Phone-a-thon, which raised nearly $3,000 in scholarship money for this year's Colonie Central High School graduates. Thirty-two student volunteers from the CCHS Key Club and National Honor Society manned 13 phones on October 18 and received 158 pledges totaling $2,920.
South Colonie Launches New School News Notifier
Posted on october 15, 2010
South Colonie is pleased to announce the launch of the new “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).
Voters Approve
Bus Purchase Proposition 653-366
Posted on october 13, 2010
South Colonie voters went to the polls on Wednesday, October 13th, and approved the annual school bus purchase proposition by a vote of 653-366. full story
South Colonie Web Site Captures Second Communications Award
Posted on september 3, 2010
The South Colonie Central School District web site, redesigned and launched on March 1, has won an Award of Honor in the 31st annual Communications Contest sponsored by the New York School Public Relations Association (NYSPRA). This is the second prestigious award for the district web site since its redesign. full story
School Property Tax Increase Lower Than Expected; Up 1.25% in South Colonie
Posted on september 1, 2010
School property taxes will increase by only about a third of the amount originally projected last spring for residential and commercial property owners living in the Town of Colonie. Based on equalization rates and final assessments recently set by area municipalities, the Board of Education met August 31 and set a new Colonie tax rate of $24.05 per $1,000 of assessed value for the 2010-11 school year. This represents a 1.25 percent or 30-cent increase over last school year’s Colonie tax rate of $23.75 per $1,000. Full story
New York State Wins Millions in 'Race to the Top' Federal Funding; South Colonie Waits For Word on How Local School Districts Will Benefit
Posted on august 24, 2010
New York is among the winners in the Obama administration's Race to the Top program, guaranteeing millions of dollars in new education grants for the state, the U.S. Department of Education has announced. South Colonie will wait for news on how the money will be used to help local school districts. full story
January Regents Exams Back On But Other State Testing Officially Eliminated This School Year Due to New York State Budget Cuts
Posted on august 5, 2010
The New York State Education Department has confirmed it will not eliminate administration of Regents exams in January, 2011, but will continue with its plan to do away with assessments in other subject areas this school year due to state budget cuts. full story
State Education Department/Board of Regents Raise Bar For Student Achievement; Some Test Scores Decline As Expected
Posted on july 28, 2010
Scores released in July on this year’s New York State 3-8 English and math exams showed a sharp decline in proficiency from recent years statewide — not because student performance decreased but because the state has significantly changed its standards of proficiency. full story
South Colonie Districtwide News Stories From the 2009-2010 School Year
State Ed Considering Eliminating Some State Testing Due to Budget Crisis
Posted on june 23, 2010
The New York State Education Department is considering eliminating some state testing next school year due to the state's looming fiscal problems and lack of a state budget. The State Board of Regents voted on June 22 to approve two sets of strategies to achieve cost reductions in the state assessment program. Part of that strategy includes eliminating the January, 2011, Regents exams, fifth and eighth grade Social Studies assessments as well as a variety of state exams in Foreign Language, math and science. full story
District Web Site Captures NSPRA National Award of Merit
Posted on june 15, 2010
The South Colonie Central School District web site, redesigned and launched on March 1, has won a National Award of Merit in the 2010 Publications and Electronic Media Contest. The contest, opened to all public and private school districts in the United States, is sponsored by the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). The district web site was recognized in the Internet/Intranet School Web Sites category. There were more than 800 entries in this year's contest. For more on the new web site, click here. For a list of all contest winners, click here (pdf).
South Colonie Residents Approve 2010-11 District Budget 1,645-1,120
Posted May 18, 2010
South Colonie Central School District residents went to the polls on Tuesday, May 18, and approved an $89.4 million budget for the 2010-11 school year by a vote of 1,645-1,120. The budget continues to support South Colonie’s key educational initiatives despite a projected $3.7 million cut in state aid to the district over the current school year. full story
South Colonie Holds District Art Show
Posted may 12, 2010
The South Colonie District-Wide Art Show was held at the William K. Sanford Town Library in May. On exhibit was artwork from students in Kindergarten through grade 12. Photo Gallery
Second Annual South Colonie Poetry Slam a Huge Success
Posted on may 3, 2010
With
over 150 audience members, South Colonie's Second Annual Poetry
Slam was a huge success. Twenty-five teens from Colonie Central
High School and Lisha Kill and Sand Creek Middle Schools
competed for the top spot in this year’s slam held April 30 at
the Barnes and Noble store in Colonie Central mall. First place
went to Sand Creek eighth grader Briana Pagan. Erika Marcucci,
Colonie High ninth grader, took second place and third place was
won by CCHS 11th grader, Alissa Petsche.
FULL STORY
New York State Releases School Report Card Information for 2008-09
Posted on april 15, 2010
The New York State Education Department has released its School Report Card information on every public school and district in the state. Based on some key assessments taken by students in New York public schools, the report cards provide achievement data on districts and schools, as compared to their past years' performances and to other similar schools. Report cards are released each spring for the previous school year. South Colonie's most current NYS Report Card covers tests taking during the 2008-2009 school year.
Five South Colonie Students Participate in Capital Region Spelling Bee
Posted March 16, 2010
Five students from South Colonie participated in the 2010 Capital Region Spelling Bee at Proctor's Theatre on March 15. The five, who won their school spelling bees, were Nick Chambers, Michael LaChance, Poornima Suresh and Katie Zukowski (grade 8) and Hunter Gerasimovich (grade 6). full story
South Colonie Celebrates National Foreign Language Week
Posted on march 5, 2010
South Colonie students in grades 5-12 once again expanded their borders and celebrated National Foreign Language Week March 1-5. FULL STORY
Welcome to the new www.southcolonieschools.org
Posted March 1, 2010
www.southcolonieschools.org has taken on a new life. The South Colonie Central School District web site, first launched back in 2001, has been completely redesigned and re-launched in early March. full story
District Partners With Village of Colonie to Aid The Victims of Haiti
Posted february 10 2010
The South Colonie Central School District partnered with the Village of Colonie in February to assist the people of Haiti in their earthquake recovery efforts. Full story
South Colonie Students Named Siena Bookmark Contest Winners
Posted february 5, 2010
Three South Colonie students were named winners in the Siena College Bookmark Design Contest. The three earned a free week a any sports camp offered at Siena this summer. Pictured at the Siena College Pink Zone Game to benefit the Caption Region Action Against Breast Cancer are winners Nicole Scott (Lisha Kill Middle School), Carleigh Werner (Roessleville Elementary School) and retired teacher Joan Sheehan. Not pictured is winner Nicholas Sterge (Sand Creek Middle School).
South Colonie Middle School Students Participate in MathCOUNTS
Posted February 1, 2010
Sixteen South Colonie students participated in the national MathCOUNTS competition at the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna in January. full story
District Adds Colonie Central High School To Its List Of Energy Star Schools
Posted on December 21, 2009
Colonie Central High School has been added to the list of South Colonie schools earning the prestigious Energy Star label from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. full story
SCTA Earns Red Cross Award For Blood Drives
Posted on October 6, 2009
The South Colonie Teachers Association has earned the 2008–2009 Blood Drive Sponsor of the Year Award from the American Red Cross. SCTA was one of only five recipients from the New York/Pennsylvania area out of 1,000 nominees.
South Colonie Central Schools Recognized For Excellence In Communications
Posted on September 2, 2009
The South Colonie Central School District has been recognized for outstanding achievement in educational communications by the New York School Public Relations Association (NYSPRA). Award-winning recipients in NYSPRA’s 30th-Annual Communications Awards were honored on October 16 at the annual NYSPRA Awards Luncheon held in conjunction with the 2009 New York State School Boards Association Convention in New York, NY. full story
South
Colonie Kicks Off Full Day Kindergarten
Posted september 9, 2009
South Colonie Schools kicked off its full-day kindergarten program at all five elementary schools in September, providing the early start which is so critical for long term academic excellence. The district-wide full day program replaced the half day sessions formerly offered at Forest Park and Veeder Elementary schools, and the Transitional Kindergarten program at Saddlewood, Shaker Road and Roessleville schools. Beginning on September 9th, South Colonie kindergarten students began their school day in the morning and ended it in the afternoon, just like all of their elementary peers in grades 1-4. full story