October/November 2019 Issue

Argyle Central School Newsletter

Dear Argyle Community Members: Our 2019-20 school year is off to a great start! I’d like to thank the entire Argyle CSD faculty and staff for working together to ensure that our students continue to have exciting, meaningful educational opportunities in a safe, supportive school environment. Although our school year is just getting started, we have so much to celebrate and even more to look forward to. Inside our October/November newsletter you will find important information from our building principals, exciting news from our food service depart-ment, dates of upcoming events, yearbook ordering information, and several great photos of our amazing students in action! I’d like to extend our appreciation to the Argyle Booster Club for organizing our annual “Under the Lights” soccer game and our 2019 Homecoming Dance. I’d also like to recognize the ongoing support of the Argyle PTSA, who support so many of our activities and events, including our Open House and our upcoming Monster Mash. Thank you to everyone involved in organizing and support-ing such great opportunities for our students and for the communi-ty. As a reminder, there will be no school for students on Friday, No-vember 1st, as our faculty and staff will be participating in the Washington County Regional Superintendent’s Day. Our faculty will be working with teachers in our neighboring schools on ad-dressing topics and sharing best practices specific to each grade level and subject areas; our teacher aides will be attending training pertaining to effectively working with students of all backgrounds; and our bus drivers will receive first aid training. I hope that the first month of school has been a positive, rewarding experience for your family and that you are all having a great school year! As always, I welcome your questions, concerns, and ideas; feel free to contact me at 518-638-8243, ext. 304 or healey_m@argylecsd.org.

Superintendent’s Message Michael Healey

Page 2 The Bagpiper

On Monday, September 30,

an assembly was held for

students in grades 7-12.

The assembly, put on by

the National Save A Life

Tour, presented infor-

mation on the perils of dis-

tracted and impaired driv-

ing. CJ, the presenter,

shared information and

statistics on preventable motor vehicle accidents. While we often hear

about drivers using their phones, CJ explained that there are many other

sources of distraction, including conversations between the driver and pas-

sengers, eating while driving, and adjusting the controls of the radio.

CJ remained at ACS for the duration of the day, and invited students in

grades 9-12 to participate in driver simulations. In one station, students

held a mock cell phone and tried to reply to sample texts while also driv-

ing. In the other driving simulation, the driver wore a virtual headset that

mimicked the effects of impairment. Students experienced first hand the

necessity of driving safely and without distraction.

Students were asked to complete pre– and post-simulation surveys, and

the information gathered will be shared with school administrators. This

will be helpful in planning any future programming on student safety. In

previous years, we have invited speakers who have shared their personal

stories of distracted driving,

but this is the first time stu-

dents have had this type of

hands on experience. At the

conclusion of the program,

students were invited to sign

a pledge indicating their

commitment to safe driving.

Look for the signed banner

the next time you visit ACS.

Safe Driving Presentation Susan Passaro, 7-12 Principal

October/November 2019 Issue Page 3

Elementary Principal’s Message

Dawn Wood

Dear Families: We are happy to have our hallways filled with your children. It has been a successful start to the school year. Everyone has been excited and eager to learn. It was so nice to see so many of you at our annual Open House on October 3rd. Thank you to all the families that attended. We value our family partnerships. Below are some highlights and reminders that will help us stay connected. We are a Bucket Filling Family: Everyday in our class-

rooms we encourage our students to be kind to one another. We talk about what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Students are recognized in many ways for following our core values and being an Argyle Scot. One of our goals is to pledge to be kind. Our teachers and staff teach these concepts in our classrooms and we recognize students in various ways. You can help at home by celebrating your child’s pledge to be kind by acknowledging the bucket fill-ing slips they bring home on Friday afternoons. We would love to have you send in a selfie of you and your child cele-brating being kind!

Building the habit of Good Attendance: School success

goes hand in hand with good attendance! Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school and them-selves. There are many ways you can help at home. Be on the lookout for information coming in your child’s back-pack.

Don’t forget to Read: Try to read with your child every-

day. Aiming for 10-15 minutes each day will help your child improve their memory, vocabulary, and knowledge. Asking your child questions about their reading is also help-ful in building comprehension skills. Many of our teachers have reading incentives integrated into their ELA curricu-lum. They would be happy to discuss activities you can do at home that promote reading success.

Upcoming Events: Our Annual Halloween Parade will be

held on October 31st at 10am. We look forward to seeing you at our Parent Teacher Conferences in November. We are also planning a family art night in late November. More information coming soon!

Page 4 The Bagpiper

A Piece of the PTSA Have you been wondering what is going on with the Argyle PTSA? Have you been thinking of helping out and not quite sure what you can do? Do you have Box Tops you would like to donate? Love to Bake? Who would I contact about the PTSA? What is the best way to get a hold of the PTSA? These are all GREAT questions and we would like to give you ANSWERS! Ways to communicate with us: Facebook Page Argyle PTSA page with this LOGO PTSA email address: argyleptsa@argylecsd.org PTSA Mailbox in the Main Office Volunteering Looking for something to do to help out the school/the students/the

staff/the PTSA? Do not ever question the VALUE OF VOLUNTEERS! This year we have started a BAKING LIST We need bakers for

our events. What is your specialty? If you give us your name and best way to contact you, we will call when we need baked goods! We need them for the dances, orientations, open house, science fair, paint party, etc.

Busy 2019-2020 School Year Already! Picture day went well—Thank you PTSA volunteers for making sure

the kids had their paperwork and smiles! Hope you had a chance to stop at the Open House snack table—

Thank you bakers for some yummy treats! Upcoming Events! Monster Mash Dance will be held in October for PreK-8. We will be

collecting for the backpack program and the Kindness Closet. Book Fair: November 18-23. Special event times include: Monday

during Parent Teacher Conferences and Thursday is Family Night! Bring the kids and look around together!

Craft Fair: November 23. Come shop, chat with friends, eat, and support LOCAL.

Penguin Patch: December 4-6. Your little ones can shop at school under adult supervision for you, siblings, grandparents, etc.

Parents Day Out: Saturday, December 14. We are still in the plan-ning stages BUT this will be a great opportunity to drop off your kids at school for a few hours. We will have activities, snacks, obstacle course, and even add in a PAINT PARTY! Watch for more infor-mation!

Thank you for all the support! The PTSA Officers

ACS Indoor Walking Program

Adult District residents may

use the building to walk

November –April. There will

be designated hours before and

after school when

participants may walk the hall-

ways of the school.

Participants must pre-register

in the Main office to

participate in this

independent activity.

AChristmasCarol

The 6th—8th Grade Drama Club 

will present a musical adapta on 

of A Christmas Carol 

Friday, November 22, 2019 

6:30 pm 

Page 5 The Bagpiper

Students in Mrs. Pritchett’s math classes, which include Ad-vanced Math 7, Intro to Geometry, Regents Geometry, and a sen-ior Survey of Math class, took the first few days of school en-gaged in a Career Planning Project. Students completed a 60 question career survey that is offered on the SUNY Adirondack website. The assessment matches student answers to compatible career fields, which are then broken into specific career choices. Students researched such topics as daily tasks associated with a chosen career, salary ranges, educational requirements, necessary skills required to be successful, how many job opportunities were posted in the Capital District Region and what companies posted available job openings. This project supports our district goal of career awareness and helps students to realistically plan for their future. Student pro-jects were displayed at our October 3rd Open House and parents parents were encouraged to take them home and use them as a starting point for career discussions and planning.

Page 6 The Bagpiper

From the Food Service Director

Meaghan Wilkins

Did you notice the ARGYLE FARM PRODUCTS on the menu in October? I am working with local vendors to bring in more local items for our students! NYS has a new program to encourage school districts to make every effort to pur-chase as many products as possible that are grown, harvested or minimally processed from NYS. The guidelines are strict, re-quiring items to be at least 51% NYS product, and from approved farmers and growers. I am working diligently with current vendors in order to purchase NY items. Purchases of all lunch meals that include qualifying products are to be specifically documented by Food Service Directors in the 2019-2020 school year. If we meet the goal of at least 30% total costs for NYS products (for lunch meals only), districts will receive an addi-tional $.19 in lunch reimbursements beginning in the 2020-2021 school year. Many people do not realize that the National School Lunch Program is an entity that needs to fund itself (self-sustaining). Our goal is to provide the best quality products to keep student satisfaction high (while trying to keep the cost as low as possible). We hope that you will encourage your students to eat in the ACS Cafeteria. Securing the revenue from state and federal reimbursements is what will help fund the National School Lunch program. We appreciate your sup-port! Have a student that is interest in menu planning, likes taste testing and gives feedback? I have an opportunity for 10 of our Argyle Jun-ior and Senior High students! I am a part of the Tri-County School Nutrition Association and on November 6, 2019 at the Elks Lodge in Greenwich, the Tri-County Directors will be hosting a food show for students from the Tri-County District to attend. A number of food brokers affiliated with our vendors will be offering samples of new items and recipes for districts to try. After tasting, students will vote and be surveyed on their preferences. Food Service Directors will honor student choices when planning future menus. Students will be asked to fill out a questionnaire about their experience and what they gained for knowledge on this field trip. What a great way to engage our student body and to give them a chance to be part of Food Ser-vice Decisions! All interested students should see me during lunch. Thank you for supporting the ACS Food Service Department!

Page 7 The Bagpiper

Operation Santa Claus

Can you believe it is time to start thinking about Christ-

mas? ACS will once again participate in the OSC pro-

gram. If you know of a family that would qualify for

this assistance (clothing, food, and toys), please notify

Kim Humiston at 518-638-8243, ext. 304 for an applica-

tion. Applications are also available on the school web-

site (www.argylecsd.org). Even if you received this ser-

vice previously, you must still apply each year. Appli-

cations are due by November 6, 2019 and will be re-

viewed carefully.

Other options for assistance include the Salvation Army

and Family Services for food, clothing, and toys, and the

Marine Corps for toys. You cannot apply to more

than one agency for the same service. For example,

you can apply for toys from Marine Corps and clothing

from OSC.

Fundraisers for this program include our annual “Pool

Your Pennies” event in November . Please be saving

your coins. Bills are also joyfully accepted! Keep your

eyes open for other fundraisers.

On Sunday, November 3, 2019, the Community Choir

led by Joyce Durkee will present a concert at the Presby-

terian Church in Argyle at 3:00 pm.

In the past, we have had individual families and organi-

zations anonymously “adopt” a family by purchasing

food, clothing, and/or toys. If you would be interested in

adopting one of the OSC families this year, please con-

tact Kim Humiston at 518-638-8243, ext. 304 by No-

vember 6th.

Thank you to all who generously give to help make

Christmas merry for those less fortunate.

Calendar of Events October and November

October 18 6-12 Interim Reports Issued October 22 Grade 8 Field Trip to Career Jam October 25-26 All-County Vocal Festival in Whitehall October 28-29 Natural Helpers Training Retreat November 1 Superintendent’s Conference Day November 1 FFA Field Trip to the Adirondack Stampede Rodeo November 3 Operation Santa Claus Community Concert 3pm at the Argyle Presbyterian Church November 5 PTSA Meeting 7pm November 6 Pre-ACT for Grade 10 November 8 Veterans’ Day Program November 8 Emergency Go-Home Drill K-12 Students Dismissed at 2:15 November 11 Veterans’ Day—School Closed November 13 Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences K-6 Dismissed at 11:30 November 14 Picture Retakes November 14 Board of Education meeting 7pm November 15 6-12 Report Cards Issued November 15-16 Area All-State Festival November 18-23 PTSA Book Fair November 18 Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences K-6 Dismissed at 11:30 November 22 Grades 6-8 Drama Play 6:30pm November 23 PTSA Craft Fair November 27-29 Thanksgiving Recess—School Closed

ArgyleCentralSchool5023StateRoute40Argyle,NewYork12809

CarrierRoutePres.Non‐Pro itOrganizationU.S.PostagePaidPermit#3Argyle,NewYork12809BoardofEducationMembers

PamelaEllis,PresidentDavidHolck,VicePresidentTravisDessaintThomasGenoveseRodneySaunders

PostalPatronorCurrentResident

Pictured above Kasey Austin Pictured above Erica Liddle

Salem Art Works is truly a unique art community and we are so lucky it is located in our backyard! Everyone at Salem Art Works is creatively inspiring and welcomes anyone to visit the campus. Our ACS art students experienced three workshops: glass blowing, blacksmithing, and stone carving. Each student was able to take their finished product home. It was a fantastic experience and we will definitely continue this field trip annually in the future!