May 20, 2012

MCS thanks the community for its help, support and understanding over the past several months.   Evacuation Drill Completed Successfully  Middleburgh Central School District conducted an off-site evacuation drill of the district’s emergency plan. MORE Voters approve $20.15 million 2012-13 school year budget by margin of 56 to 44 percent Voters in the Middleburgh Central School District approved the district’s proposed 2012-13 budget on Tuesday, May 15. The final total was 478 yes votes to 368 no votes (56 percent to 44 percent). MORE Anonymous Voter Exit Survey MCSD will be conducting a voter exit survey at the polls on Tuesday. The survey is voluntary and anonymous, and both paper and online versions will be available. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey after you vote. Your input will help us to better understand voter priorities and concerns, and will inform future district decision making. The survey results will be posted on the district website following their compilation. We appreciate your participation and feedback. Middleburgh Community Day On May 12, please join us for Middleburgh Community Day sponsored by Project Buoyancy.  It is a time to come together and celebrate the resiliency of our community! More Meet the School Board Candidates On May 15, in addition to voting on the 2012-13 school year budget, voters will elect two candidates to the Board of Education. You can read their profiles online here. Budget Q&A Answers to frequently asked questions about the 2012-13 budget are available here. Board Adopts Proposed 2012-13 Budget On Wednesday, April 18, the Middleburgh Central School District Board of Education approved a $20,150,481 budget for the 2012-13 school year. The proposed budget decreases spending by 0.18 percent, or $35,98, from the current school year, and would raise increase the tax levy by 2.39 percent. MORE Walk to Cure Diabetes-Rescheduled to May 23rd *Each year, more than 13,000 children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the U.S. That's 35 children each day.  JDRF's (Juvenile Diabetes Research Research Foundation) mission is to find a cure for diabetes & it's complications through the support of research. MCS will hold a walk on May 23rd at 2:15 pm. at the elementary school. Online donations may be accepted until June 8th by clicking on the link below: http://jdrfkidswalk.donordrive.com/event/middleburghelementary/ Confidential Adolescent Health Services Ongoing questions and concerns have been raised about confidential services provided by the Bassett School-Based Health Center at Middleburgh Central School District. For details about New York state law, services provided and resources for talking with your teen about tough issues, read MORE NYS Assessments Begin April 17 New York State testing for students in grades 3-8 begins Tuesday, April 17. It is important your child be in attendance for all assessments. For testing tips and a full schedule of assessments, read MORE State to Cover Local Share of FEMA Recovery Projects On Wednesday, April 11, Gov. Andrew Cuomo held a press conference at the Middleburgh Fire Department to announce that New York state will cover the local share of eligible disaster response and recovery costs resulting from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. MORE Calling All Volunteers! On April 21 and 22, please join us for a weekend of community and recovery as we dig in together to begin the restoration of our school athletic fields. Details will follow, but save the date now!  Details on the 2012-13 Bus Proposition On May 15, in addition to voting on the Middleburgh Central School District budget for 2012-13, residents will also decide on a special proposition for the five-year lease of two 66-passenger school busses for a total net annual cost of $5,745 after state aid reimbursement. MORE Coloring Contest Winners Second grader Chloe Smith and first grader Damon Pickett were awarded first place in their grade level in a coloring contest sponsored by the Brain Injury Association of New York State. MORE Community Budget Update Thanks to those who joined us for a community budget update on Tuesday, April 3. The presentation is now available online. VIEW PRESENTATION Dress Code Reminder As the weather gets warmer, it is important we remember that Middleburgh Central School District has a dress code that will be enforced. MORE MCSD Answers Your Questions For more information about the feasibility study, district efficiency efforts, state and federal mandates, school taxes, FEMA aid and budget development, check out our FAQ. If you have a question you would like the district to answer in our FAQ, please email communications specialist Kate Geurin kathryn.geurin@middleburghcsd.org. Interested in running for the BOE? There are two seats up this year, each for a term of three years, commencing in July 2012 and ending June 30, 2015. All interested candidates must file a petition with the district clerk. A minimum of 25 signatures of Middleburgh Central School District residents is required to secure a place on the ballot. All petitions are due by 5 p.m. on Monday, April 16. DOWNLOAD PETITION Kindergarten Registration Middleburgh Elementary School is accepting the names of all students who reside in the district and will be 5 by Dec. 1, 2012 for Kindergarten registration. Please contact the elementary school at 827-3677.    Athletic Fields and Spring Sports Update With the start of spring sports this month, we wanted to provide an overview of the flood damage to our athletic fields, the long-term plan for restoration and the short-term plan for ensuring our students have the opportunity to participate in spring athletics. MORE Fox 23 Reports on the upcoming MCS Production of Wonderful Town MCS will present Wonderful Town March 16-18, and Fox 23 came to rehearsal to get the scoop. MORE Community Budget Forum Feb. 28 Thanks to all who attended our second community forum on Tuesday, Feb. 28. If you weren't able to attend, you can still view the presentation online. Confidential HIV Testing Available A recent change in NYS Department of Health Law requires all patient's ages 13 or older to have access to free confidential HIV testing. To comply with these new changes, our School-Based Health Center is now offering this optional testing to MCS students as part of their health services. HEALTH CENTER HOME Community Members Discuss Concerns and Priorities for the Future of MCSD On January 25, 2012, more than 40 community members attended Middleburgh Central School District’s District Update and Community Conversation, held in the High School Auditorium. A summary report from the conversations is now available online.  MORE District Response to Bus Incident The district responds to an altercation that took place on a MCSD bus on Feb. 1. MORE Clarification on Restroom Policies Concern has been raised about the district's upper-school bathroom use policies. We want to clarify that students never lose the opportunity to use the restroom when needed.  In some cases, student sign-out privileges are restricted due to academic or disciplinary concerns. However, their basic needs, including restroom access, are always met. District Launches Connect-ED Alert Service This month we are implementing a new alert and notification service throughout the district, which will enable us to personally communicate with parents about emergency situations, school events and important issues impacting your child. MORE Walmart donates $5,000 to help district pay for flood damage 12/22/11 - The Walmart Distribution Center in Sharon Springs has donated $5,000 to the school district to help with flood relief. MORE Music of the Knight video wins Glee contest; MCS to receive $25,000 for music programs 12/15/11 - The video submitted in October by the Music of the Knight, an a cappella student vocal group, has won First Prize and will be awarded $25,000 by the Glee Give a Note Foundation. MORE Makenzie Terrell placed first in local Elks contest; heads to regionals on January 7 12/13/11 - Grade 4 student Makenzie Terrell placed first in Saturday's Elks National Free Throw "Hoop Shoot" contest and will now move on the regional competition at 9 a.m. on Saturday, January 7, in Watervliet. Click on photo to enlarge. Students to perform on WMHT's Music for the Holidays in December 12/7/11 - “Music of the Knight”, a choir of 13 select vocalists at Middleburgh High School, will be appearing on the television show “Music for the Holidays”, on WMHT-TV in December. MORE Website wins Award of Excellence from NYSPRA 12/1/11 - The NYS Public Relations Association has recognized Middleburgh's website with an Award of Excellence. MORE Elks National "Hoop Shoot" set for Dec. 3 and 10 11/29/11 - The area Elks National Free Throw "Hoop Shoot" contests for boys and girls ages 8-13 will be held on Dec. 3 and 10. Click on the image to read the flyer. MORE Terry Blanchfield named MCS interim business administrator 11/29/11 - Terry Blanchfield, the retired assistant superintendent for administrative services at the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex (WSWHE) BOCES, has been named as the the school district's interim business administrator. MORE A message of thanks from the third graders at MES Dear community friend, We, the students and staff of the third grade at Middleburgh Central School, would like to wish you a fond holiday season and to “WELCOME” you “BACK” from the uneasiness created by the August and September storms. Without you, our community would not be complete. Thank you. Sincerely, The Entire Third Grade at Middleburgh Central School This letter was given to many of our local businesses. Mr. Miller's class above brought a plate of cookies with the message to the District Office, which has been relocated to the elementary school because of the flood. State and federal officials hear about the challenges facing MCS, area schools 11/15/11 - State and federal representatives heard from students and superintendents about the impact the devastating tropical storms two months ago will have on local school systems that were already facing challenges because of rising state mandates and the state's new property tax levy cap. MORE Middle School named as SINI school by the state 11/14/11 - The state Education Department has named the Middle School as a School in Need of Improvement (SINI) because students with disabilities failed to make "adequate yearly progress" as a group on the English Language Arts state tests they took in the spring. MORE Students and veterans celebrate Veterans Day UPDATED with additional photos 11/10/11 - Hundreds of students dressed in red, white and blue and dozens of veterans celebrated Veterans Day together in the elementary gymnasium during the annual Veterans Day Program. MORE Middleburgh part of successful tri-district Project Buoyancy grant 11/2/11 - Two months after tropical storms left a path of destruction throughout Schoharie County, the Middleburgh, Schoharie and Cobleskill-Richmondville school districts have joined together to create a program called Project Buoyancy to meet the mental health and psychosocial support needs of students, staff and parents living in the districts. It will be funded with a $90,790 AmeriCares Disaster Recovery Initiative Grant. MORE Seventh annual pumpkin race a success 10/24/11 - Congratulations to all the participants in the seventh annual pumpkin race. The overall winner was fifth-grader Alex Juhl. Pumpkins were generously donated by Stanton Farms and decorated by Elementary Art Club. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! MORE Facing several challenges, Middleburgh is studying its future options 10/21/11 – The Middleburgh school district is looking into options for its future, as it grapples with multiple financial and educational challenges. MORE Career and Tech students fixing damaged small engines for area residents 10/17/11 - Students at the Capital Region's Career and Technical School's Schoharie Campus will fix small engine items - lawnmowers, generators, four-wheelers, snow blowers, etc. - that were damaged by flooding. MORE Board of Education adopts revised calendar for 2011-12 10/6/11 - The Board of Education adopted a revised school year calendar that trims the Thanksgiving and February Winter recesses and cancels a March 23 staff development day to recoup five days lost because of the late start of the year due to flooding. Here is the revised calendar PDF Students return to classes 9/19/11 - A sense of normalcy returned today as students hopped off buses, walked to classes, listened to teachers and smiled - three weeks after Tropical Storm Irene flooded the basement of the High School/Middle School. Check out these pictures from the elementary school, middle school and high school. MORE 9/20/11 - This article was in today's Daily Gazette newspaper about the first day of school. MORE State of Emergency in Middleburgh ●UPDATED: 9/15/11 - Staff returned today to hear an update on the damage caused at the school and try to return to a sense of normalcy for the 900 students who will return on Monday, September 19. MORE ▪▪▪ ● Disaster assistance and information about relief and applying for assistance from FEMA is available at this website: http://www.disasterassistance.gov ●Here are other important links about flood cleanup, food and water safety and carbon monoxide and mold warnings from government agencies MORE ●A trauma like flooding can lead to many stresses in the community - for students, parents and others. Here is information to help our neighbors cope with those stresses. MORE ●Monetary donations may be made to the MCSD Hurricane Irene Recovery Fund, PO Box 606, Middleburgh, NY 12122. Contributions can also be dropped off at the NBT Bank in Middleburgh. ▪▪▪ ARCHIVES: Here are updates and disaster information from over the past several weeks. NYS Education Department releases spring testing dates 8/30/11 - The state Education Department today released the spring testing dates for the English Language Arts, mathematics and science tests taken by thousands of students in grades 3-8 every year. MORE