It’s beginning to look a lot like….

It’s beginning to look a lot like….

…Spring?? The fall weather has been so mild—almost spring-like—that our recently finished multi-purpose field is already sporting a great showing of young grass.  This encourages us to believe that we will be able to use this field in the fall of 2017.   While last year was one of the mildest winters on record for our area with negligible snow, we all know that the weather can change quickly and unpredictably in Pennsylvania.  Let’s enjoy these days while we can, keeping shovels and plows out of sight for a while longer. 

Even as the weather makes it easy to ignore the inevitable, I want to reiterate that the usual protocol applies: if we have not called a delay/cancellation by 5:30 AM, it is too late to get the word out and schools will open at the usual time. Speaking from my own perspective, making the right call can be most stressful for PA superintendents. As I continue to emphasize to parents, staff, Board members and, most importantly to students, the safety and welfare of all are paramount; decisions are always based on safety.

November is a time when most people gear up for the Big Holiday.  In education, November is also the month in which we celebrate American Education Week (November 14-18).  All buildings held a variety of activities to celebrate the week, inviting parents and community members to experience showcased artwork, their children’s classrooms, and other salutes to our educational process. American Education week is a great opportunity to bring in the community and see what our district is about.

Speaking of successes, our Scholastic Quiz team placed second overall during this week’s competition.  Our high school play, Thoroughly Modern Millie, which began on November 17 and runs thru November 20, is another great production through which the community can see the amazing talents of CCSD students.   Sports-wise, winter sports are now in full swing as our swim teams, basketball teams and wrestlers begin their season.  One of our senior wrestlers, Max Murin, recently signed his national letter of intent for the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling program.  Max’s high school record is 115-5.  Aside from his athletic prowess, he is a good student and all around great person.

Our Student Information System now includes our cafeteria in Skyward; it appears to be working well.  At CCSD, we constantly look for better and more improved ways to keep the lines of communication open to our stakeholders.  Using Skyward to check on grades, attendance, global calls, transportation, special education, nursing services and now cafeteria accounts, allows parents to maintain real time information about their child/ren.

Okay, as I write this, I am being treated to a lovely snow squall. Maybe it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. With this in mind, let’s take time to give thanks for—and share our blessings and good fortune. I wish for all staff and students a happy, relaxing, and fulfilling holiday.  Cherish those close to you in the spirit of the season, and be the person that makes you proud. Share fond memories—and make new ones—with family and friends. (And watch lots of football!)

Until the snow starts in earnest,

Dr. D.

Beautiful time of year

Autumn is the hush before winter. ~French Proverb

The leaves are turning so beautiful this fall, but it will be short-lived as the rains and wind will whisk them away.  If you recall my comment last October, “Someone told me, that snowfall before the ground is frozen is a sign of a mild winter.”, turned out to be true.  Our winter last year was very mild, with only two delays, one cancellation and one early dismissal.   I don’t think winter is going to be all that mild this year from all I am reading. Greg, our maintenance supervisor, has assured me our supply of anti-skid and salt is in good shape and ready when needed.  With the other snow equipment in our garages, we should be ready for whatever degree of harshness Old Man Winter delivers again this year. 

Some student noteworthy performances to mention:

• The boys and girls XC teams are both undefeated this year, and both teams won the LHAC finals on 10/19
• Kourtney Cavalier is once again District 6 singles champ – fourth year in a row
• The girl soccer team is 14-2 as they prepare for district competition
• Alex Kiepert & Lauren Stevens qualified for the PIAA Western Regional Finals.  Lauren won the District 6 girls AA golf tournament for the second year in a row. 
• Lauren now advances to the state finals on Monday, October 24

Good luck and Kudos to all the hard work and effort by the athletes and their coaches.

On Tuesday, October 11, we had our first competition in our newly renovated gym; it was girls’ volleyball pink out against BG.  There we many positive comments about the gym and how awesome it looked.  Of course the sound system and the main score board decided to be contrary and not work, but we hope to have it working very soon.

   

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Our softball, and baseball fields are nearing completion.  The multipurpose field is done except for some minor punch list items.  The goal is to have the fields ready for use by spring for baseball and softball, and the multipurpose by fall of 2017.

Some great news about the HS and MS keystone/PSSA scores.  The HS Keystone scores are the second highest SPP in Cambria County and the third highest in the four county IU08 region (there are 35 high schools in the IU08 region).  The MS PSSA scores are the highest in Cambria county for math and language arts.  Congrats to the staff, students and admin for preparing for the PSSAs.

There are so many great thigs to be proud of here at CCSD.  All of us appreciate the work and dedication of the staff, admin and students, as we continue to build a brighter future for those that leave our district.

Well, as I feared, the Pirates imploded and never made it to post season play.  Sigh.  The Pens seem off to a good start even as Crosby sits out under concussion protocol for a period of time, and the injury bug has bitten the Steelers to the point that multiple starters are out for the season.  Big Ben has a torn meniscus, spelling trouble for our offense.  The Steelers are still leading their division – so far.  Losing to the Eagles still stings, but the loss to Miami is baffling.    They are 4-2, with lots of football left I’m hopeful that Coach Tomlin’s mantra “next man up” will continue to work for the Steelers. 

Although watching sports inside is enjoyable if you’re a sports addict like me, but this time of year is beautiful and lasts for a very short time.  So take a walk, ride a bike, drive through the hills to see the leaves, or all of that; but don’t let the season slip by without enjoying all it has to offer. 

Until my next blog, please cherish family and all that you hold dear. 

Dr. D

First Day of Fall…

First Day of Fall…

         Fall is here! Cambria County residents are fortunate in that, in this area, September makes way for the crisp mornings and blue skies of October.  Fall colors, crisp cool air, and sunshine just warm enough to feel like a hug, combine to make this a great time to appreciate Mother Nature’s gifts. Let’s not think (yet!) about the gifts she’ll bestow on us in a few short months.

Because warm weather leads students to yearn for the outdoors, teachers and administrators are thankful that the weather forecast includes a seasonably cool October. This will help students stay attentive as they prepare for Keystone exams. Teachers and support staff are using the training they received over the course of the past year to ensure success for all learners.

Fall athletics at Central Cambria are in full swing. Kudos to the golf teams; the girls placed first at the Altoona Our Town tourney and the boys placed second.  The girls received a $2500 check for our District’s drug education effort.  Both girls’ and boys’ cross country teams are also doing exceedingly well.

As many of you may have noticed, progress on our new multi-purpose field is coming along very well.  The field has been graded and will soon get topsoil for seeding before winter sets in.  The goal is to have the field playable by fall of 2017.  This field will host high school and middle school football and/or high school soccer.  Mr. Wilson, our athletic director, has been ‘beating the bushes’ to obtain funding for lighting.  Work should be done by November 4, 2016.

Work on the softball field is also on schedule.  LD&C has been working to mitigate drainage issues and hopes to soon complete this field and move on to resolve similar issues on the baseball field. Both fields are to be done by the end of October, and will be ready in the spring for their season opener.

The gym floor is almost done.  It has taken longer than we had expected, but I can assure you that the result will have been well worth the wait.  Hats off to Mr. Nikolishen and Miss Getz, high school and middle school physical education teachers, for providing classes without the use of the HS gym.

  As you see, there are many exciting things happening in our District. All of these improvements have been implemented without any tax increase.  Our School Board Directors always keep the students first; they recognize that, much like our curriculum, our buildings and grounds require regular maintenance and upgrades in order to maintain and support all those who are affected by our District. On this note, please let me add that such attention to all elements of the school district accomplishes two important things. First, addressing needs as they arise prevents unexpected and costly overhauls to facilities and materials.  Second, providing an outstanding facility to our students and their families promotes success for all; it also serves to attract new families and businesses to our community.

         Now, on a much less serious note, I would like to switch gears and talk about sports.  The Pirates have not had such a great year as they are 4.5 games out of a wild card spot.  As they wind down their season, I don’t foresee any post season games for them this year.  Sigh – and they started the year with so much potential. I have now, with some sadness, put away my Pirates hat for the season. As I do so, I don my Steelers hat with my usual optimism. However, I am more than a little apprehensive about the Black and Gold. They looked outstanding against the Bungles but then got shredded by the Eagles—and a rookie quarterback. They are now 2-1 but have some tough matchups in their upcoming schedule.  The Eagles loss was the worst point lost by a Mike Tomlin-led Steelers team.  Bigger Sigh…!   I am getting too old to deal with such inconsistency by the teams who impact my sports-watching happiness. Maybe I should stick to fall festivals and walks in the woods with my wife. (PotatoFest was nice, I do admit).

My thanks to all who have made the start to this school year so seamless and smooth.  Let’s take time to not only enjoy this fall season, but also to thank those who help our district remain top notch – our staff and the Board of Directors!

Until next month, stay well.  Dr. D.

Amazing

Amazing. Another summer has come and gone.  The staff is now meeting for in-service presentations, and many have come in prior to this in order to prepare their rooms for the opening day on which their students arrive. The campus has been buzzing with many activities taking place: football camp, band practice, cross country training sessions, distribution of supplies and many other final building preparations.  All the buildings have been thoroughly cleaned and arranged, the field house and the surrounding grounds look great for our fall sporting events, thanks to Greg Shaffer and his crew of hard workers.

While there have been some changes over the summer to prepare for this school year, one of the most notable changes is a newly hired transportation coordinator.  Kim Bednar has been working very hard to organize bus routes, pick up points and drop off times.  With respect to transportation concerns, I ask parents to be patient as we work through the first couple weeks.  If there are issues or questions, Mrs. Bednar can be reached at 472-8870, ext. 306. 

Another change is we have migrated our Food Service System into Skyward. We will no longer be using Food Service Solutions as the Point of Sale system in our cafeterias. All transactions will take place through Skyward. This also means we will no longer be using Myschoolaccount.com to process online payments. A new online payment system will be setup and a link will be made available directly through Skyward. We feel having everything in one system will make it easier for parents; they will log into one area and see everything that is associated with their children. They will still see a detailed record of what was purchased, account balances and payments. In addition, students will experience no change as they go through the lines; they will still use their student ID numbers or badges to go through the line. 

Media night is this Friday, August 19.   The boosters/coaches/parents have done a great job in organizing and promoting this event to recognize our athletes and coaches and to introduce them to the community. This is a great way to generate enthusiasm for upcoming sports events.

In personnel news, we have 17 new staff members.  Each building has several new teachers. The middle school welcomes Rita Tinik as the new secretary, CES has added another Life Skills classroom, and the High School has added a Multi Disabled classroom. 

A yearly reminder for all who use our campus roads during the school day: following the same schedule as last year, the gate will again be closed during the school day.  The gate is used to protect the campus while school is in session and to reduce the amount of traffic on our road system during the school day.

          I wish to offer my congratulations to all students and staff on the PSSA and Keystone test preparation this past year; their scores are the direct result of a shared effort toward academic excellence.  We at Central Cambria are truly blessed with a caring, devoted, professional staff!!

         Our High School gym is still being worked on; we have been told there are about two weeks of work left.  It will be quite an impressive facility and well worth the wait.

Speaking of sports (of course), the Steelers seem poised to have a great season even as they deal with issues off the field (LeVeon Bell, James Harrison), as well as the injury bug afflicting several players.  I am hopeful that they make a strong run at the SuperBowl this year and that the injuries are minimal.  Big Ben will do his part, but he can’t do it alone.  

The Pirates seem to be imploding this year as the bull pen has been a letdown. With only a month and a half left of play, I don’t have high hopes for any Pirate post season play.  Sports are a great way for me to enjoy every season of the year—despite my outbursts aimed at the TV when my armchair coaching is ineffective, sports are a source of stress release for me.   As this football – er, fall – season approaches, I hope you enjoy all that autumn has to offer. 

  

                                                  DR. D