William M. Kaegebein Elementary School
News Page 2012
1690 Love Road
773-8840
Previous News Page
Kaegebein Elementary School District's Website
Principal
Mary E. Haggerty
"A Bully's Tale" - May 2012
Left: Cast Photo, Right: Bully Mack Hudson (Jacob Przystal) and Spirit of Principal Present/Principal Mary Haggerty (Aubrey Nitsche) - Click photos for larger view
The Kaegebein students of Mrs. Tricia McDonald, Mrs. Lynn Ackendorf, Mrs. Ellen Lewis and Miss Dana Santospirito performed "A Bully's Tale" on Thursday, May 17th. A book on bullying, "One" by Kathryn Otoshi had been read to the students and after a discussion in class, the play was written by Mrs. McDonald. In the play a bully named Mack Hudson has encounters with the spirits of principals past, present and future. In the past, Mack sees his mother and father as bullied students and doesn't like it one bit. In the present, Mack overhears his so called friends and how they don't like his behavior. In the future, students discuss that bullying no longer exists and Mack hears old friends remark that he is now in prison. That's all he had to hear to change his tune. The students and teachers did a wonderful job on their production that included songs, humor and lessons on taking a stand against bullying.Author Steve Swinburne Visits Schools - April 2012
Kaegebein and Huth Road Elementary Schools hosted children’s author Steve Swinburne on March 20-21, 2012. Steve Swinburne is the author of more than 25 nonfiction books and one novel for kids. While here, Steve shared with the students about his lifelong love of nature and wildlife. He talked about how he finds ideas for his writing by keeping “his eyes open and ears on,” looking for ideas no matter where he goes. He talked about how important it is to complete each step of the writing process, especially revision. He played a song on his ukulele and inspired children to be good readers and writers through his humor and storytelling. This program was a joint venture between the schools’ PTAs and the Grand Island Central School District.
Kaegebein Community Playground Committee Espresses Thanks - April 2012
(left photo) William and Dorothy Worrall, present a framed certificate to Village Inn Staff, Mike Carr and Sarah Mallare in appreciation of all of the hard work to help prepare for the spaghetti dinner fundraising event.
(right photo) William Worrall, student at Kaegebein and Dorothy Worrall, Treasure of the Kaegebein Community Playground Committee presented a framed certificate to Danielle St. Onge, owner of Island Deli & Meat Market in appreciation of her generosity.
April 4, 2012 . . .Kaegebein Community Playground Committee Treasure, Dorothy Worrall, and her son, William, who is a Kaegebein School 3rd grader, visited the Island Deli & Meat Market along with The Village Inn to express on behalf of the committee, their heartfelt thanks. Both businesses stepped up to help with the latest fund-raising event, a spaghetti dinner held at the school hosted by the Kaegebein Playground Committee. The Island Deli donated over 15 pounds of ground beef and the Village Inn staff took that meat and made over 250 meatballs and all of the sauce for the dinner which was held on March 16th. That fundraiser brought in just over $1,000 to go towards the new community playground that will be located next to the school on Love Road.
“Playgrounds are very expensive and we have a ways to go with raising enough money”, explained Co-Chair of the Kaegebein Community Playground Committee, Carolyn Konopski. The Committee has been working very hard for the last two years and has raised just over $11,000 with different fundraising events all held at the school. A new playground will cost around $80,000.
Recently the Committee has joined the non-profit 501(c)3 organization, The Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo and Western NY. Now that the committee has this tax status, they will be able to offer receipts to donors for tax deduction purposes. The committee is now hoping to start a pledge campaign and look for significant donations to come from our local Grand Island businesses, and community members, and will be applying for grants to help in reaching their goal of $80,000 soon. Anyone who would like to inquire about making a donation towards the new community playground which is badly needed are asked to contact Co-Chairs Carolyn Konopski at 207-0470 or Jody Chadima at 998-6092.
PARP Guest Reader Day at Kaegebein - March 2012
Supervisor Mary Cooke reads to Mrs. Susan Skrabacz's 5th graders. - Click photo for larger view
PARP is a statewide program designed to encourage children to read at home with their parent/guardian, grandparents or siblings for 15 minutes each day. Learning to read is the single most important activity in a child's education. Founded in 1987, the New York State PTA has been the official sponsor and administrator for the Parents As Reading Partners (PARP) Program.Studies show that children who read at home are better prepared to succeed in formal education. PARP asks parents/guardians to encourage their children to read, impressing upon them the fact that reading can be fun as well as informative. Guest reader Supervisor Mary Cooke read "Thank You Mr. Faulkner" and "The Wednesday Surprise" to Mrs. Susan Skrabacz's 5th grade class on Monday, March 12th. Supervisor Cooke also spoke of the importance of the local library to the community, and a history of the library.
Other guest readers included school district administrators and local politicians Marc Poloncarz, Erie County Executive and Kevin Hardwick, Erie County Legislator.
Kaegebein Playground Fundraiser- March 2012
From Left: Dick Crawford, David Brand, Carolyn Konopski and Jody Chadima
A spaghetti dinner fundraiser will be held on Friday, March 16th at Kaegebein Elementary School, 1690 Love Road from 5pm - 8pm. There will also be fun, family activities. All proceeds from this dinner will go towards a new community playground located next to Kaegebein Elementary School. To pre order $5.00 dinner tickets call Carolyn at 207-0470 or email Carolkonop@roadrunner.com by March 14th. It’s not just dinner that is included in this night – it’s also some family fun! After you and the kids enjoy a nice spaghetti dinner (that you didn’t have to prepare) the kids can have time to play in the gym or the family can sign up for a round of Family Feud in the auditorium. Hope to see you there!
Kaegebein Reflections Competition Winners - January 2012
Click photo for larger view
Reflections is a National PTA competition to promote participation in the arts. The Kaegebein PTA held its annual Reflections Assembly on November 10, 2011. The theme was “Diversity Means…”. The winners went on to compete at the next level and the Niagara Region PTA Reflections’ results have been released. The Niagara Region PTA consists of 16 school districts (including Grand Island) and 37 units in Niagara, Orleans, and Northern Erie County. Congratulations to the following Kaegebein School students who received awards at the regional PTA competition level:FIRST PLACE: Photography Primary: Preschool-grade 2 (State entry) – Katelyn Giambra Visual Art Intermediate: Grades 3-5- (State entry) – Sydney Mazur Dance Intermediate: Grades 3-5- (State entry) - Caitlin Kleinschmidt Literature Intermediate: Grades 3-5- (State entry) - Jack Faso SECOND PLACE: Literature Primary: Preschool-grade 2- Kaylee Boyle Intermediate: Grades 3-5- Haylee Kuhn Music Intermediate: Grades 3-5- Joy VanderMey Film Production Intermediate: Grades 3-5- Ryan Wellence THIRD PLACE: Photography Intermediate: Grades 3-5- Benjamin DeFranks Visual Art Intermediate: Grades 3-5- Emily Kwiecinski HONORABLE MENTION: Visual Art Primary: Preschool-Grade 2: Graham ZorichThe first place winners’ entries (Katelyn Giambra, Sydney Mazur, Caitlin Kleinschmidt, and Jack Faso) will advance to the NY State PTA level competition. The state level judging results will be known in mid-March.
