Holland Patent Central School District has been honored
with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM
Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. Holland Patent is
one of 147 districts across the state receiving the prestigious award in 2017.
The Best Communities Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. To qualify for the Best Communities designation, Holland Patent music faculty answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.
“Music enriches the student experience in ways that are beyond measurement,” said Dr. Cheryl Venettozzi, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance. “Outstanding work by all the students and teachers! HP Administration is proud to support the music program!”
This award recognizes that Holland Patent is leading the way with music learning opportunities as outlined in the new federal education legislation, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The legislation, signed into law in December 2015, and awaiting state implementation designates music and the arts as important elements of well-rounded education for all children.
As Holland Patent finalizes its 2017-2018 budget, The NAMM Foundation’s Best Communities for Music Education Award and the state level implementation of the federal ESSA law bring attention to the importance of keeping music education’s curricular and extracurricular offerings available to all students. It also highlights music’s vital role in students’ overall success in school and the personal benefits of making music.
About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by The National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,300 members around the world. Its mission is to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving, and public service programs. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit www.nammfoundation.org.
On Thursday, March 30th, over 35 NYS master teachers from the Mohawk Valley Region visited the Holland Patent Middle School and participated in an interactive tour of the Makerspace. Stacey Smith, a middle school science teacher and master teacher, hosted the event. Teachers from the Emerging Technologies PLT demonstrated and shared lessons using drones, 3D printing, LittleBits electronics, Arduino and Raspbery Pi microcomputers, and an iPad augmented reality app.
The HP Middle School Makerspace has been open for business for the past two years. Throughout the school day, students can sign out of their study halls to visit the maker space. Each month, students experience a different project challenge in the maker space, allowing them to acquire skills needed to use technology equipment. The Friday afternoon Maker Space Club allows students more in-depth experience with these challenges. Time is also available for free exploration and creation.
The NYS Master Teacher Program celebrates the work of the highest-performing STEM teachers by establishing a community dedicated to developing expertise in the areas of content, pedagogy, and students’ families and communities. The Mohawk Valley Cohort is based at SUNY Oneonta.
After exploring several ideas in an
effort to provide breakfast meals at the high school we have installed a
vending machine to solve two
key issues; to serve students a healthy and USDA
compliant breakfast in a shortened time period and do it without involving the
added expenses of extra staff and equipment of a traditional serving line.
The vending machine interfaces with our NutriKids Point-of-sale (POS) system
the same way the registers do in the traditional serving lines. Cashless
vending machines allow the student to enter a PIN to make their
selection. This is important because it allows all the benefits of going
through the lunch line and using their lunch accounts for the purchase. Furthermore,
and most importantly, if a student is free or reduced, they will be able to
enjoy their benefits at the vending machine as well. FREE AND REDUCED MEAL
BENEFITS ARE IN EFFECT THROUGH THE MACHINE FROM THE HOURS OF 7:00AM – 10:35AM
ONLY. ANY PURCHASES MADE OUTSIDE OF THESE HOURS WILL BE TREATED AS ALA
CARTE AND ACCOUNTS WILL BE CHARGED THE NORMAL SELLING PRICE. As
always with free and reduced accounts, the first meal is free or reduced and
any other purchases would be charged to their account
accordingly. Charging to a negative balance will not be allowed at the
machine. If you have a negative balance the vending machine will not allow
the purchase.
Hunger leads to distraction during learning times. Offering breakfast items in the vending machine will give hungry kids the opportunity to eat before class starts and in turn be more focused on classwork without being distracted by a growling stomach.
The Food service team is excited about this new endeavor and confident that we can obtain our goal of feeding more kids and giving them the fuel they need to start the day. In the process, we hope to serve as a model for other schools in the region experiencing the same sort of struggles with regards to offering a breakfast program.
This initiative was recently highlighted by the FoodService Director website.
