Veronica E. Connor Middle School
2010
PrincipalMr. Bruce F. Benson
Veronica Connor Middle School District's Web Page.
Bald For Bucks - April 2010
Left: Sue Ohrum of Hizair Salon and Spencer Jon Zukic
Right: From left, Dana Simmons, Lydia Tiedeman, Alexis Wood and Jillian Schneider
Mom Marianne McMahon is proud of her son, Jake.
Middle school teachers Karen Grande and Jillian Schneider are proud of the students and what they have done with this year's Bald For Bucks. The event took place on Tuesday, April 13th, after school in the cafeteria. Four hair stylists from Hizair Salon volunteered to cut and shave the 48 students and four teachers who participated. The teachers feel that all of the students at Connor Middle School, both participants and non-participants, have learned from the event what it means to give back. The students, ages 11-14 years old, proved that they can make a difference. They are great models of what it means to be a hero. The school raised $12,361.55 for the Roswell Park Cancer Alliance, with donations still trickling in. The money benefits cancer research and the patient care programs that Roswell offers. The top fundraiser was 8th grader Jacob McMahon who raised $3,210. The second place fundraiser was 8th grader Chris Swagler who raised $2,710. Forty-eight students and four teachers participated.Connor Middle School Musical - March 2010
Photos are of the Tuesday evening, March 30 performance - click for larger view.
Photos are of the Wednesday evening, March 31 performance - click for larger view.
Connor Middle School students presented Once on This Island Jr. on March 30-31, 2010 in the Grand Island High School auditorium.Faculty members leading the cast were Bruce Benson (producer) and Annalea Masiello (musical director). Among those taking the leads were Jill Anderson, Christian Mason, Marissa Gress and Zachary Jones.
Connor Middle Hosts 7th Annual Bald For Bucks - Spring 2010
The 7th annual BALD FOR BUCKS fundraiser for Roswell Park Cancer Institute will be held at Veronica Connor Middle School on Tuesday, April 13, from 3:45 – 5:45 p.m.
There are many ways for students, faculty and staff to get involved. Some will ask for pledges for getting a buzz haircut or for donating 10” of hair to “Locks of Love” so hairpieces can be made for cancer victims who have lost their hair. Professional hair stylists will donate their time and skills to do the haircuts. Students can play in the basketball or KanJam tournament, try to score a goal in the “Pucks for Bucks” event, sing at the karaoke station or try their hand at guitar hero. There will be refreshments and plenty of fun as everyone helps raise money for a very worthy cause. In 2009 Veronica Connor Middle School raised $10,000 for Roswell in their Bald for Bucks event, the 7th highest in WNY. Anyone wishing to help out or donate prizes for the event can contact Karen Grande at 773-8830, ext 4124.
VCMS Art Students Celebrate “Youth In Art Month” - March 2010
Pictured with two of the works on display are eighth grade artists: Michael Battaglia and Ashley Butler.
March is “Youth In Art Month” and middle school students eagerly celebrate the occasion of this annual event by having prepared artworks for display within our Grand Island community. A wide range of two and three-dimensional works by over forty art students in grades seven and eight may currently be viewed throughout the month at the Grand Island Memorial Library on Bedell Road. Art teacher Nora Klein and her students cordially invite the public to view the display of artworks in the community meeting room of the library.
Artworks currently on display represent a small portion of the learning taking place by art students within the middle school. While the creation of artwork is a primary focus, students must also respond to and analyze works of art, get to know and use art materials and resources, and understand the cultural dimensions and contributions of the arts. The art program that our middle-level art students are engaged in encourages verbal and written reflection as they study the works of master artists and reflect upon their own creations. Cognitive, expressive and creative problem-solving skills are encouraged and supported by this curriculum which meets the New York State Learning Standards for the Visual Arts.
Included are student works in a wide variety of media. Vibrant landscape collages, line drawings, Op-Art designs, painting which abstractly and visually interprets jazz music, pastels inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe, block-print self-portraits and ceramic tile works are among the varied works on display. All art pieces reflect student interpretations and solutions to a variety of visual problems presented to middle-level students in their art classes. The higher order thinking skills employed by young artists as they create artworks are evident in the unique and individual pieces on display.
Student artwork exhibited at the Grand Island Memorial Library is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Art Department of the Grand Island Schools and the Friends of the Grand Island Memorial Library. Since this school-community partnership first began in the Spring of 1996, hundreds of Grand Island's finest student artists have had the opportunity to display their two-dimensional and three-dimensional works professionally presented for public viewing at the library. The public is cordially invited to view Connor Middle School’s “Youth In Art Month” show and experience the unique artistic voices presented by our seventh and eighth grade students as they showcase their achievements, talents and abilities in this public forum. A second display featuring the work of Mr. Andrew Dulak’s grades six and seven students will follow in April.
Students included in the show are: Grade seven: Nick Bonora, Kayla Conway, Karli Deuser, Andrew Dyet, Adam ElHoussieny, Marah Killian, Khristian Kline, Mark McKenna, Jessica Patterson, Alyssa Pelosi, Annie Pilie, Emily Szabo, Matthew Wellence, Alex Zimmerman, Jessica Zoldowski; Grade eight: Robert Agugliaro, Natalie Argy, Michael Battaglia, Ashley Butler, Jacob Burford, Qian Chen, Tommy Doctor, Kai Ellsworth, Emma Garten, Emily Glose, Ashley Gugino, Steven Howard, Amanda Jelonek, Brad Kaminski, Jessica Keller, Kyle Krueger, Ryan Kubik, Liz LoBrutto, Johnna Marinello, Jesse Miller, James Osborne, Ali Price, Luke Siebert, Tanner Speer, Jacob Stromberg and Rebecca Symon.
Connor Middle School Musical - March 2010
Connor Middle School students will present the musical, Once On This Island Jr. in the Grand Island High School Auditorium on Tuesday, March 30 and Wednesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. Tickets at $5 are available at the door.
2010 Modified Girls' Basketball Season Is Success - March 2010
(top row) Coach A. Meaney, Scorekeeper H. LaMarco, K. LaMarco, A. Cutting, K. Stark, M. Villani, A. Kalinowski, Asst. Coach S. Senn, Asst. Coach A. Gilbert; (middle) Asst. Captain M. O'Leary, Captain M. Ruffolo, A. Niland, A. Weselak, G. Scherrer; (front) S. Whitman, K. Kalman, K. Deuser, J. Nijjar, K. Hazelet
Click photo for larger view
The 2010 Connor Middle School Girls' Modified Basketball season has come to a close and the girls showed great improvement across the board. Although their record was a bit less than they hoped for at seven and seven, individually the girls showed tremendous growth and ended their 2010 campaign with a hard-fought overtime win at Gaskill Prepratory of Niagara Falls.
This year's seventh grade crop of players had a number of quality additions, starting with guards Jazmine Nijjar and Karli Deuser. Jazmine had an excellent shot from the foul line that was extremely accurate. Karli played solid defense with a great deal of heart. Two forwards to join our squad this season were Scarlett Whitman and Alley Cutting. These two turned out to be a very dominant pair under the boards. Cutting's blocked shots and Whitman's rebounds made a difference on the season. Our Assistant Captain, Meaghan O'Leary, was also an important player on both ends of the court. She was a smart player who was often on the court at the end of the game.
This year's group of 10 eighth graders had only four returning players. Many of the new eighth graders stepped right in and became important contributors. One newcomer was Amanda Weselak, who brought a tenacious attitude towards defense as she consistently stuck to her "dance partner" like a cheap suit in a rainstorm. Newbie Annie Niland led the team in free throw percentage and brought some muscle to the low post. First timers Mia Villani and Kristy Kalman both brought a nose for the ball -- they often had an offensive rebound land in their hands which they then put in for GI. Rookie Kaitie LaMarco brought a solid, positive team attitude to every practice and every game. Katie was a real plus to the team. And finally, there was Grace Scherrer. Grace is the consumate competitor who does not like to lose. Right-handed Grace's left-hand layups were a thing of envy for most left-handed players. Grace is fundamentally sound and brings a desire to play that cannot be taught -- a real pleasure to have on your team.
Our four returning players included Kara Hazelet and Alexa Kalinowski, two solid guards with excellent shots from the perimeter. Alexa and Kara came in first and second in points, respectively. Kristen Stark was a force under the boards collecting rebounds and altering shots. She was a real team player. And, finally, there was Captain Marissa Ruffolo. Marissa has shown herself to be a hard worker in both practice and games, consistently trying to improve all aspects of her game. She was a team leader in both actions and words. Marissa will go far both on and off the court.
The numbers on the season might not have been what some had hoped for but, overall, thanks to Assistant Coaches Stephanie Senn and Alexis Gilbert, Scorekeeper Hannah LaMarco, and the players, the 2010 Girls' Modified Basketball Squad had a successful campaign of which Grand Island can be proud.
Connor’s Monthly Master - February 2010
Alessandra Price
Click photo for larger view
Pictured with two of her recent artworks is thirteen-year-old Alessandra Price, “Connor’s Monthly Master” for February 2010. Ali, an honor student at Veronica Connor Middle School, is an accelerated art student who, in addition to being a gifted young artist, is also a well-rounded young lady. She is enrolled in honors classes, plays percussion in the school band and swims.
Ali reports that she has been interested in art “forever”. She is inspired by other artworks and the world around her and she particularly enjoys drawing. Says Ali, “I like art because it is what I am good at and it is a fun way to express myself”. Ali makes jewelry in her free time and has had her work appear in art shows locally. She is also a creative and entrepreneurial young lady, displaying and selling her jewelry at the Lewiston Art Show last August.
Ali’s family takes pride in all of her creative accomplishments and they never fail to encourage her and inspire her efforts. One of her favorite art memories is painting a mural in her uncle’s home when she was just 10 years old. A creative gift must run in this family as Ali says that both mom and dad display artistic and creative attributes and abilities as well.
Ali has received many honors and much recognition for her artistic and creative abilities. She’s had her work displayed in district art shows yearly since elementary school, had works displayed at the Grand Island Memorial Library, been in local art shows and is a current recipient of the Connor Character Connection Award for the attribute of creativity. She’s consistently excelled in all of her art classes and is currently an accelerated art student taking Studio In Art and earning high school credit while still in eighth grade. Ali plans to take many more art classes when she begins high school next fall and she’s hoping to be either an architect or a veterinarian when she becomes an adult.
The VCMS Art Department proudly recognizes this student’s ability and unique artistic voice and proudly recognizes her as the “Connor Monthly Master” for February 2010.
Connor Middle School Honor Roll - Feb. 2010
The following Veronica E. Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the second quarter, 2009-2010 school year:
High Honor Roll
Grade 6 - Jill Anderson,Tori Aronica,Cailin Atkins, Adam Bahgat, Leora Bellia, Sarah Bellinger, Adam Bevilacqua, Jarod Brandon, Natalie Braun, Madison Brown, Caitlyn Bykowicz, Alexander Cancilla, Justine Cardone, Adam Dryfhout, Emily Eberhard, Mohamed Eltagouri, Benjamin Freedman, Ashley Giambra, Olivia Goc, Victoria Gruber, Maya Harper, Kali Hausrath, Briana Hollfelder, Leah Jasek, Samara Johnson, Joseph Kulikowski, Hannah Lamarco, Julia Lawley, Caitlyn Less, Brianna Little, Hope LoHouse, Holly Lutnick, Haley Melisz, Jason Miller, Emily Nobumoto, Michael Oldman, Ryan O'Neil, Chad Orsi, Joel Peppers, Maria Ramsperger, Sammantha Reynolds, Gabrielle Robinson, Emelie-jo Scheffler, Christina Serianni, Brendan Sheehan, Cameron Smith, Emma Smith, Lindsey Supparits, Laura Szczepankiewicz, Taylor Vanderzell, Camille Watt, Alex Whetham
Grade 7 - Jessica Ackendorf, Ryan Allen, Joshua Barrett, Hannah Bastian, Carly Bernatovicz, Brianna Brandon, Sierra Brooks, Giuseppe Campanella, Robert Carroll, Marissa Catanzaro, Natalia Christiano, Sara Cichon, Sara Colon, Caitlin Conlon, Kayla Conway, Lillian Cultrara, Enrico D'Abate, Isabel Dengos, Katherine Diefenbach, Shannon Driess, Eric Dudley, Joseph Egloff, Robert Ellegate, Austin Fisher, Katherine Fonte, Ashley Franz, Alexander Garey, Rebekah Gaydosh, Kathryn Gentz, Marissa Gress, Kasandra Guyette, Carly Hand, Christian Hilts, Grey Johnson, Jacqueline Kehoe, Jack Kennedy, Marah Killian, Leah Killian, Khristian Kline, Kurt Laschinger, Taylor Latvala, Michaela McMahon, Devlin McMaster, Nolan Miles, Alexandra Miller, Robin Neary, Alyssa Pelosi, Kelsey Percival, Michael Podgorny, Brendan Pratt, Jenna Reinard, Eric Riederer, Andrew Riederer, Kaitlyn Rudney, Margaret Rustowicz, Joseph Santa Lucia, Benjamin Shaw, Pushpinder Singh, Amelia Stepnoski, Emily Szabo, Laura Taylor, Melissa Ullrich, Apelasan Wigneswaran, Corey Wilkinson, Timothy Winder, Jessica Wing, Bennett Wright
Grade 8 - Natalie Argy, Michael Battaglia, Magdalyn Chauby, Sarah Dollendorf, Heavyn Dreher, Jenell Duxbury, Zachary Jones, Kristina Kasprzycki, Justin Lavis, Emma MacIntyre, Jenna Paternostro, Michael Paternostro, Jillian Sheehan, Tara Stewart, Jackeline Wilson
Honor Roll
Grade 6 - Benjamin Abbott, Clare Ahne, Eric Albrecht, Emily Augugliaro, Alexis Belstadt, Austin Blair, Aaron Bobeck, Thomas Botticello, Zachary Breeden, Andrew Carlson, Taylor Cecere, Cameron Colan, Alexis Conway, Patrick Cramer, Madeline Dallessandro, Colten Deuser, Michael Duda, Emily Dudziak, Ian Estenoz, Cydney Fairbairn, Rachael Farmer, Bridget Federico, Marissa Freedman, Sabrina Giordano, Alexa Graff, Madison Green, Daniel Grinchishin, Haylee Heitman, Rebecca Hennessy, Nicole Hollfelder, Shannon Holt, Kaitlin Hoy, Lovepreet Kaur, Julia Kavanagh, Jacob Kawecki, Sydney Keane, Derek Konopski, Michaela Kozek, Sarah Kustich, Sara Kwarciak, Samantha Lesinski, Kady Liesenfeld, Michael Mankowski, Aubrey McCoy, Tanner Morrow, Nathan Newell, James Niland, Nathaniel Nowocien, Zachery O'Neill, Carissa Parsons, Eric Pease, Jakob Ramallo, Hailey Randle, Chelsea Robillard, Mikayla Rosati, Amber Schwinn, Cassie Shickluna, Cassidy Siebert, Lindsey Spencer, Robert Stolfo, Angelia Strzalkowski, Brandon Surdi, Maxwell VeRost, Samantha Violino, Chancellor Warmus, Eric Watt, Hannah Wiktorowski, Kassidy Wozniak, Kevin Zhang, Spencer-Jon Zukic
Grade 7 - Alwareed Abdellatif, Abigail Armitage, Elaina Bolles, Nicholas Bonora, Bradley Boreali, Alyse Borelli, Vincent Bruno, Nicole Burley, Alexa Calandra, Andrew Colautto, Julia Culbert, Alexandra Cutting, Nancy Dahlquist, Abigail Dallessandro, Genevieve Davis, Anna DeMartin, Karli Deuser, Jared Eichel, McLain Erhard, Joseph Farrell, Morgan Finn, Halle FitzGerald, Andrew Fred, Zoanne Gebhard, Leah Geis, Graciana Giambra, Kyle Graves, Albert Grupp, Nikolai Harper, Connor Harrigan, Sabrina Hausrath, Natalie Henderson, Alexander Hollatz-Guastella, Ryan Kennedy, Jonathan Link, Thomas Major, Nathan Marino, Colton McGraw, Mark McKenna, Matthew McNaughton, Alanna Mergel, Madeline Mitchell, Jazmine Nijjar, Meaghan O'Leary, Colin Osborn, Nicholas Paolini, Devon Perri, Emilie Phinney, Anne Pilie, Michael Podlucky, Lauren Rogoza, Raymond Rott, Meghan Sonnenberg, Alexandra Sponn, Emilie Stinner, Jordan VeRost, Scarlett Whitman, James Wilson, Emily Wolcott, Bethany Wynne, Jordan Yamonaco, Brenna Young, Taylor Zoldowski, Jessica Zoldowski
Grade 8 - Brian Ailinger, Kali Aronica, Jacob Athoe, Griffin Atkinson, Marisa Atkinson, Natalie Baldassarre, Alicia Bianco, Jack Boyko, Jacob Burford, Liana Buscaglia, Ashley Butler, David Cich, Aaron Cook, Brian Cooper, Quinton Corrao, Frank DeRubes, Brian DeRubes, Jaskiran Dhaliwall, Matthew DiMura, Thomas Doctor, Alexandra Dzielski, Yousuf Eltagouri, Elizabeth Figler, Kevin Freedman, Emma Garten, Joseph Gioeli, Emily Glose, Benjamin Goc, Bianca Gowanny, Andrew Grinchishin, Ashley Gugino, Alyssa Heitman, Nicolas Hernandez-Rojas, Steven Howard, Ciara Howley, Henry Huang, Amanda Jelonek, Addison Joslyn, Brad Kaminski, Julia Kelly, Emily Kernin, Mary Frances Koch, Stephanie Kowalak, Ashley Kroetsch, Kyle Krueger, Kathryn Lamarco, Julianne Lavallee, Brittany Little, Elizabeth LoBrutto, Alexandria Makowski, Johnna Marinello, Justin McCarthy, Austin McCoy, Griffin McGuire, Brentyn Mendel, Elliott Michki, Anna Nicolia, Aaron Noyes, James Osborn, Zoann Pittman, Alessandra Price, James Pufpaff, Marissa Ruffolo, Maren Russell, Vincent Shores, Lucas Siebert, Tanner Speer, Lindsey Spiker, Christopher Swagler, Raymond Tafelski, Brock Tetreault, Timothy Utz, Lillian von Reyn, Stephanie Voyzey, Christian Wallinder, Jadon Wegrzyn, Brigid Wilton, Nicholas Young, Matthew Zabaldo
Connor Middle School Merit Roll - Feb. 2010
The following Veronica E. Connor Middle School students have been named to the Merit roll for the second quarter, 2009-2010 school year:
Grade 6 - Jesse Arch, Christopher Aronica, Adam Beiter, Emily Bognar, Troy Brady, Kyle Burns, Dominique Capizzi, Jenna Corrao, Allison DeMartin, Sari Dickinson, Daniel Dinsmore, Danielle Duck, Jayson Endozo, Chloe Evans, Lisa Fankhauser, Brenton Fischer, Jordyn Fisher, Nicholas Giancola, Nicholas Gioeli, Benjamin Graziano, Taj Harris, Joshua HusVar, Taylor Internicola, Sabrina Lemme, Edward Logel, Liana Lombardo, Cameron Mastykarz, Madison McNamara, Tiffany Melendez, Auston Niemann, Kalista Nizialek, Jake Nowak, Anthony Ormsby, Julia Pino, Michael Pyzynski, Mikayla Reading, Page Regan, Brandon Rivers, Heather Robinson, Chelsea Schmidt, Jake Schmidt, Maggie Schultz, Smeen Shah, Elliott Steel, Jeremy Steiger, Christina Sutton, Matthew Tollner, Evan Valint, Katherine Verso, Kurt Villani, Hannah Wessner, Ryan Wilton
Grade 7 - Ayman Abdellatif, Devan Aponte, Brian Brennan, Nicholas Brink, Colin Carey, Mariah Ciffa, Colton Czajka, Andrew Dyet, Ian Eisenberger, Joyce Endozo, Alura Fike, Jacob Foote, Jessica Foote, Ayannah Ford, Emily Fuoco, Nicolette Golden, Balraj Grewal, Keegan Hirtreiter, James Hodan, Joshua Horvath, Kimberly Huffnagle, Benjamin Jensen, Tamara Khairallah, Matthew Ladouceur, Alexa Lombardo, Austin Mahoney, Ryan Marlin, Jacob Matwijkow, Anthony Mosher, Jocelyn Mueller, Timothy Newbould, Ashley Niemann, Miranda Phillips, Jordan Piershalski, Drew Pitts, Amanda Proctor, Jordan Russo, Lydia Senger, Colin Smith, Armand Swanson, Mark Valle, Brian Verso, Alexander Zimmermann
Grade 8 - Rana Abdelal, Michele Aronica, Robert Augugliaro, Sukhdeep Bajwa, Alexander Baker, Samantha Bartolotta, Sierra Besl, Grace Bolton, Kevin Borowicz, Bryce Callen, Amanda Cancilla, Emily Certo, June Chadima, Qian Chen, Jason Cichon, Nicholas DeMita, Sean DeRubes, Ashley Dragonette, Kai Ellsworth, Shawn Fermoile, Tyler Ford, Jack Gorman, Justin Graesser, Anthony Grana, Patrick Hall, Andrew Hannah, Ryan Held, Christine Herman, April Hippert, David Holler, Amber Internicola, Madeline Jackson, Shamus Johnson, Alexa Kalinowski, Kristin Kalman, Jessica Keller, Michael Kleinschmidt, Gabriella Liberatore, John Lillian, M Matthew Madigan, William Madigan, Vincent Malpica, Andrew Masiello, Jacob McMahon, Eric McMasters, Wyatt Mock, Benjamin Morrish, Catherine Navagh, Gregory Nicolia, Anna Niland, Shane Paul, Daniel Ray, Emilie Rengler, Shannon Robillard, Grace Scherrer, Kyle Schoener, Natalie Schultz, Derrick Schutrum, Chelsea Sinicki, Jeremy Smith, Timothy Sutton, Emily Valint, Zoe Wilson, Madalyn Wright, Brandon York
“Artist of the Month” - Feb. 2010
Pictured with his pastel painting is James Osborne, February K-12 Artist of the Month.
The “K-12 Artist of the Month Award” is a way in which the Art Department of the Grand Island Schools collectively recognizes the varied and unique accomplishments of their many high performing artistic achievers. Students selected for recognition are those who perform well in their art classes and have distinguished themselves artistically by using the visual arts as an appropriate vehicle for self-expression and visual problem-solving and; who display the attitudes, behaviors and work ethic necessary for artistic success. These are students who set themselves apart as creative and artistic role models for their peers.
Pictured is fourteen-year-old James Osborne, an eighth-grade student at Veronica Connor Middle School. James is February’s recipient of the “Artist of the Month” award. He is a student who meets all the criteria for selection and one who has distinguished himself by creating unique and beautiful works in a variety of media. During his three years at the middle school, James’ artistic ability has been recognized by his teachers and by his peers. His work has appeared in school displays and at the Grand Island Memorial Library. He is currently enrolled in an accelerated Studio In Art class, earning high school credit while still in grade eight. James enjoys working in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, but is particularly skilled and adept with drawing.
In addition to his art ability, James participates in soccer and football. This student likes to be creative and to keep active and says that the things he does outside of school, particularly sports, serve as inspiration for him when he makes art. He has been interested in art since third grade and lists his parents among those who support and encourage him most in his artistic pursuits.
The Art Department is pleased to recognize this student’s unique and individual artistic accomplishments and wish him continued success in all of his future creative endeavors.
Connor’s Monthly Masters - Jan. 2010
Alyssa Pelosi and Jessica Ackendorf, “Connor’s Monthly Masters for December and January.
The Connor Middle School Art Department is pleased to announce Alyssa Pelosi and Jessica Ackendorf as Connor’s Monthly Masters for the months of December 2009 and January 2010, respectively. Both girls pictured here painting during a recent art class, are seventh grade art students at the middle school.
Alyssa and Jessica display much artistic potential and the work ethic necessary for success. Their innate abilities along with hard work and determination make them stand out as artistic role models for their peers. They take their lessons seriously, apply themselves fully and both young ladies strive for perfection; always putting forth maximum effort. Although they are skilled in a wide range of media, each student has her natural preference and style. Alyssa, preferring realism, favors pastel and pencil while Jessica prefers working and experimenting three-dimensionally with clay. Says Jessica, “I like art because you can’t really ‘mess up’. It’s your point of view and how you interpret things. Everyone can see art differently”. Both girls count their abilities to use art as a vehicle for self-expression as the main reason why they enjoy working visually. They take their inspiration from various places and trips to art galleries. Visits to MOMA in New York City and the Stanford Art Museum are early art memories which they cite as fondly as influences.
While Alyssa hopes to become an anesthesiologist when she’s older, and Jessica hopes to be a veterinarian, both students expect that art will always be an interest and avocation. The VCMS art department is pleased to recognize both young ladies for having distinguished themselves artistically and for using their creative abilities in a positive and affirming manner. It is a pleasure to recognize them as Monthly Masters
Attention Parents/Guardians of Eighth-Grade Students at VCMS - Jan. 2010
Ninth-grade is approaching quickly! From February 8 – 11, Mrs. Cordero and Mrs. Newman will be working with eighth-grade students from Veronica E. Connor Middle School to plan for their high school experience. To help ease student concerns about attending a new school, they will spend time discussing high school expectations, graduation requirements and choosing ninth-grade courses.Your child will be bringing home his/her ninth-grade course selection sheet along with the high school planning guide at the end of February. Please review the courses your child has chosen. If you’d like to make changes, you may do so and return to Student Services before March 26, 2010. At that time the high school will be sending a verification of the courses your child is signed up for.
If you or your child has any questions about high school, please call Student Services at 773-8837 or 773-8844 or have your child stop in to see Mrs. Cordero.
Photos are of the Wednesday evening, March 31 performance - click for larger view.
Pictured with two of the works on display are eighth grade artists: Michael Battaglia and Ashley Butler.
March is “Youth In Art Month” and middle school students eagerly celebrate the occasion of this annual event by having prepared artworks for display within our Grand Island community. A wide range of two and three-dimensional works by over forty art students in grades seven and eight may currently be viewed throughout the month at the Grand Island Memorial Library on Bedell Road. Art teacher Nora Klein and her students cordially invite the public to view the display of artworks in the community meeting room of the library.
Artworks currently on display represent a small portion of the learning taking place by art students within the middle school. While the creation of artwork is a primary focus, students must also respond to and analyze works of art, get to know and use art materials and resources, and understand the cultural dimensions and contributions of the arts. The art program that our middle-level art students are engaged in encourages verbal and written reflection as they study the works of master artists and reflect upon their own creations. Cognitive, expressive and creative problem-solving skills are encouraged and supported by this curriculum which meets the New York State Learning Standards for the Visual Arts.
Included are student works in a wide variety of media. Vibrant landscape collages, line drawings, Op-Art designs, painting which abstractly and visually interprets jazz music, pastels inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe, block-print self-portraits and ceramic tile works are among the varied works on display. All art pieces reflect student interpretations and solutions to a variety of visual problems presented to middle-level students in their art classes. The higher order thinking skills employed by young artists as they create artworks are evident in the unique and individual pieces on display.
Student artwork exhibited at the Grand Island Memorial Library is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Art Department of the Grand Island Schools and the Friends of the Grand Island Memorial Library. Since this school-community partnership first began in the Spring of 1996, hundreds of Grand Island's finest student artists have had the opportunity to display their two-dimensional and three-dimensional works professionally presented for public viewing at the library. The public is cordially invited to view Connor Middle School’s “Youth In Art Month” show and experience the unique artistic voices presented by our seventh and eighth grade students as they showcase their achievements, talents and abilities in this public forum. A second display featuring the work of Mr. Andrew Dulak’s grades six and seven students will follow in April.
Students included in the show are: Grade seven: Nick Bonora, Kayla Conway, Karli Deuser, Andrew Dyet, Adam ElHoussieny, Marah Killian, Khristian Kline, Mark McKenna, Jessica Patterson, Alyssa Pelosi, Annie Pilie, Emily Szabo, Matthew Wellence, Alex Zimmerman, Jessica Zoldowski; Grade eight: Robert Agugliaro, Natalie Argy, Michael Battaglia, Ashley Butler, Jacob Burford, Qian Chen, Tommy Doctor, Kai Ellsworth, Emma Garten, Emily Glose, Ashley Gugino, Steven Howard, Amanda Jelonek, Brad Kaminski, Jessica Keller, Kyle Krueger, Ryan Kubik, Liz LoBrutto, Johnna Marinello, Jesse Miller, James Osborne, Ali Price, Luke Siebert, Tanner Speer, Jacob Stromberg and Rebecca Symon.
Connor Middle School Musical - March 2010
Connor Middle School students will present the musical, Once On This Island Jr. in the Grand Island High School Auditorium on Tuesday, March 30 and Wednesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. Tickets at $5 are available at the door.2010 Modified Girls' Basketball Season Is Success - March 2010
(top row) Coach A. Meaney, Scorekeeper H. LaMarco, K. LaMarco, A. Cutting, K. Stark, M. Villani, A. Kalinowski, Asst. Coach S. Senn, Asst. Coach A. Gilbert; (middle) Asst. Captain M. O'Leary, Captain M. Ruffolo, A. Niland, A. Weselak, G. Scherrer; (front) S. Whitman, K. Kalman, K. Deuser, J. Nijjar, K. Hazelet
Click photo for larger view
The 2010 Connor Middle School Girls' Modified Basketball season has come to a close and the girls showed great improvement across the board. Although their record was a bit less than they hoped for at seven and seven, individually the girls showed tremendous growth and ended their 2010 campaign with a hard-fought overtime win at Gaskill Prepratory of Niagara Falls.
This year's seventh grade crop of players had a number of quality additions, starting with guards Jazmine Nijjar and Karli Deuser. Jazmine had an excellent shot from the foul line that was extremely accurate. Karli played solid defense with a great deal of heart. Two forwards to join our squad this season were Scarlett Whitman and Alley Cutting. These two turned out to be a very dominant pair under the boards. Cutting's blocked shots and Whitman's rebounds made a difference on the season. Our Assistant Captain, Meaghan O'Leary, was also an important player on both ends of the court. She was a smart player who was often on the court at the end of the game.
This year's group of 10 eighth graders had only four returning players. Many of the new eighth graders stepped right in and became important contributors. One newcomer was Amanda Weselak, who brought a tenacious attitude towards defense as she consistently stuck to her "dance partner" like a cheap suit in a rainstorm. Newbie Annie Niland led the team in free throw percentage and brought some muscle to the low post. First timers Mia Villani and Kristy Kalman both brought a nose for the ball -- they often had an offensive rebound land in their hands which they then put in for GI. Rookie Kaitie LaMarco brought a solid, positive team attitude to every practice and every game. Katie was a real plus to the team. And finally, there was Grace Scherrer. Grace is the consumate competitor who does not like to lose. Right-handed Grace's left-hand layups were a thing of envy for most left-handed players. Grace is fundamentally sound and brings a desire to play that cannot be taught -- a real pleasure to have on your team.
Our four returning players included Kara Hazelet and Alexa Kalinowski, two solid guards with excellent shots from the perimeter. Alexa and Kara came in first and second in points, respectively. Kristen Stark was a force under the boards collecting rebounds and altering shots. She was a real team player. And, finally, there was Captain Marissa Ruffolo. Marissa has shown herself to be a hard worker in both practice and games, consistently trying to improve all aspects of her game. She was a team leader in both actions and words. Marissa will go far both on and off the court.
The numbers on the season might not have been what some had hoped for but, overall, thanks to Assistant Coaches Stephanie Senn and Alexis Gilbert, Scorekeeper Hannah LaMarco, and the players, the 2010 Girls' Modified Basketball Squad had a successful campaign of which Grand Island can be proud.
Connor’s Monthly Master - February 2010
Alessandra Price
Click photo for larger view
Pictured with two of her recent artworks is thirteen-year-old Alessandra Price, “Connor’s Monthly Master” for February 2010. Ali, an honor student at Veronica Connor Middle School, is an accelerated art student who, in addition to being a gifted young artist, is also a well-rounded young lady. She is enrolled in honors classes, plays percussion in the school band and swims.
Ali reports that she has been interested in art “forever”. She is inspired by other artworks and the world around her and she particularly enjoys drawing. Says Ali, “I like art because it is what I am good at and it is a fun way to express myself”. Ali makes jewelry in her free time and has had her work appear in art shows locally. She is also a creative and entrepreneurial young lady, displaying and selling her jewelry at the Lewiston Art Show last August.
Ali’s family takes pride in all of her creative accomplishments and they never fail to encourage her and inspire her efforts. One of her favorite art memories is painting a mural in her uncle’s home when she was just 10 years old. A creative gift must run in this family as Ali says that both mom and dad display artistic and creative attributes and abilities as well.
Ali has received many honors and much recognition for her artistic and creative abilities. She’s had her work displayed in district art shows yearly since elementary school, had works displayed at the Grand Island Memorial Library, been in local art shows and is a current recipient of the Connor Character Connection Award for the attribute of creativity. She’s consistently excelled in all of her art classes and is currently an accelerated art student taking Studio In Art and earning high school credit while still in eighth grade. Ali plans to take many more art classes when she begins high school next fall and she’s hoping to be either an architect or a veterinarian when she becomes an adult.
The VCMS Art Department proudly recognizes this student’s ability and unique artistic voice and proudly recognizes her as the “Connor Monthly Master” for February 2010.
Connor Middle School Honor Roll - Feb. 2010
The following Veronica E. Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the second quarter, 2009-2010 school year:
High Honor Roll
Grade 6 - Jill Anderson,Tori Aronica,Cailin Atkins, Adam Bahgat, Leora Bellia, Sarah Bellinger, Adam Bevilacqua, Jarod Brandon, Natalie Braun, Madison Brown, Caitlyn Bykowicz, Alexander Cancilla, Justine Cardone, Adam Dryfhout, Emily Eberhard, Mohamed Eltagouri, Benjamin Freedman, Ashley Giambra, Olivia Goc, Victoria Gruber, Maya Harper, Kali Hausrath, Briana Hollfelder, Leah Jasek, Samara Johnson, Joseph Kulikowski, Hannah Lamarco, Julia Lawley, Caitlyn Less, Brianna Little, Hope LoHouse, Holly Lutnick, Haley Melisz, Jason Miller, Emily Nobumoto, Michael Oldman, Ryan O'Neil, Chad Orsi, Joel Peppers, Maria Ramsperger, Sammantha Reynolds, Gabrielle Robinson, Emelie-jo Scheffler, Christina Serianni, Brendan Sheehan, Cameron Smith, Emma Smith, Lindsey Supparits, Laura Szczepankiewicz, Taylor Vanderzell, Camille Watt, Alex Whetham
Grade 7 - Jessica Ackendorf, Ryan Allen, Joshua Barrett, Hannah Bastian, Carly Bernatovicz, Brianna Brandon, Sierra Brooks, Giuseppe Campanella, Robert Carroll, Marissa Catanzaro, Natalia Christiano, Sara Cichon, Sara Colon, Caitlin Conlon, Kayla Conway, Lillian Cultrara, Enrico D'Abate, Isabel Dengos, Katherine Diefenbach, Shannon Driess, Eric Dudley, Joseph Egloff, Robert Ellegate, Austin Fisher, Katherine Fonte, Ashley Franz, Alexander Garey, Rebekah Gaydosh, Kathryn Gentz, Marissa Gress, Kasandra Guyette, Carly Hand, Christian Hilts, Grey Johnson, Jacqueline Kehoe, Jack Kennedy, Marah Killian, Leah Killian, Khristian Kline, Kurt Laschinger, Taylor Latvala, Michaela McMahon, Devlin McMaster, Nolan Miles, Alexandra Miller, Robin Neary, Alyssa Pelosi, Kelsey Percival, Michael Podgorny, Brendan Pratt, Jenna Reinard, Eric Riederer, Andrew Riederer, Kaitlyn Rudney, Margaret Rustowicz, Joseph Santa Lucia, Benjamin Shaw, Pushpinder Singh, Amelia Stepnoski, Emily Szabo, Laura Taylor, Melissa Ullrich, Apelasan Wigneswaran, Corey Wilkinson, Timothy Winder, Jessica Wing, Bennett Wright
Grade 8 - Natalie Argy, Michael Battaglia, Magdalyn Chauby, Sarah Dollendorf, Heavyn Dreher, Jenell Duxbury, Zachary Jones, Kristina Kasprzycki, Justin Lavis, Emma MacIntyre, Jenna Paternostro, Michael Paternostro, Jillian Sheehan, Tara Stewart, Jackeline Wilson
Honor Roll
Grade 6 - Benjamin Abbott, Clare Ahne, Eric Albrecht, Emily Augugliaro, Alexis Belstadt, Austin Blair, Aaron Bobeck, Thomas Botticello, Zachary Breeden, Andrew Carlson, Taylor Cecere, Cameron Colan, Alexis Conway, Patrick Cramer, Madeline Dallessandro, Colten Deuser, Michael Duda, Emily Dudziak, Ian Estenoz, Cydney Fairbairn, Rachael Farmer, Bridget Federico, Marissa Freedman, Sabrina Giordano, Alexa Graff, Madison Green, Daniel Grinchishin, Haylee Heitman, Rebecca Hennessy, Nicole Hollfelder, Shannon Holt, Kaitlin Hoy, Lovepreet Kaur, Julia Kavanagh, Jacob Kawecki, Sydney Keane, Derek Konopski, Michaela Kozek, Sarah Kustich, Sara Kwarciak, Samantha Lesinski, Kady Liesenfeld, Michael Mankowski, Aubrey McCoy, Tanner Morrow, Nathan Newell, James Niland, Nathaniel Nowocien, Zachery O'Neill, Carissa Parsons, Eric Pease, Jakob Ramallo, Hailey Randle, Chelsea Robillard, Mikayla Rosati, Amber Schwinn, Cassie Shickluna, Cassidy Siebert, Lindsey Spencer, Robert Stolfo, Angelia Strzalkowski, Brandon Surdi, Maxwell VeRost, Samantha Violino, Chancellor Warmus, Eric Watt, Hannah Wiktorowski, Kassidy Wozniak, Kevin Zhang, Spencer-Jon Zukic
Grade 7 - Alwareed Abdellatif, Abigail Armitage, Elaina Bolles, Nicholas Bonora, Bradley Boreali, Alyse Borelli, Vincent Bruno, Nicole Burley, Alexa Calandra, Andrew Colautto, Julia Culbert, Alexandra Cutting, Nancy Dahlquist, Abigail Dallessandro, Genevieve Davis, Anna DeMartin, Karli Deuser, Jared Eichel, McLain Erhard, Joseph Farrell, Morgan Finn, Halle FitzGerald, Andrew Fred, Zoanne Gebhard, Leah Geis, Graciana Giambra, Kyle Graves, Albert Grupp, Nikolai Harper, Connor Harrigan, Sabrina Hausrath, Natalie Henderson, Alexander Hollatz-Guastella, Ryan Kennedy, Jonathan Link, Thomas Major, Nathan Marino, Colton McGraw, Mark McKenna, Matthew McNaughton, Alanna Mergel, Madeline Mitchell, Jazmine Nijjar, Meaghan O'Leary, Colin Osborn, Nicholas Paolini, Devon Perri, Emilie Phinney, Anne Pilie, Michael Podlucky, Lauren Rogoza, Raymond Rott, Meghan Sonnenberg, Alexandra Sponn, Emilie Stinner, Jordan VeRost, Scarlett Whitman, James Wilson, Emily Wolcott, Bethany Wynne, Jordan Yamonaco, Brenna Young, Taylor Zoldowski, Jessica Zoldowski
Grade 8 - Brian Ailinger, Kali Aronica, Jacob Athoe, Griffin Atkinson, Marisa Atkinson, Natalie Baldassarre, Alicia Bianco, Jack Boyko, Jacob Burford, Liana Buscaglia, Ashley Butler, David Cich, Aaron Cook, Brian Cooper, Quinton Corrao, Frank DeRubes, Brian DeRubes, Jaskiran Dhaliwall, Matthew DiMura, Thomas Doctor, Alexandra Dzielski, Yousuf Eltagouri, Elizabeth Figler, Kevin Freedman, Emma Garten, Joseph Gioeli, Emily Glose, Benjamin Goc, Bianca Gowanny, Andrew Grinchishin, Ashley Gugino, Alyssa Heitman, Nicolas Hernandez-Rojas, Steven Howard, Ciara Howley, Henry Huang, Amanda Jelonek, Addison Joslyn, Brad Kaminski, Julia Kelly, Emily Kernin, Mary Frances Koch, Stephanie Kowalak, Ashley Kroetsch, Kyle Krueger, Kathryn Lamarco, Julianne Lavallee, Brittany Little, Elizabeth LoBrutto, Alexandria Makowski, Johnna Marinello, Justin McCarthy, Austin McCoy, Griffin McGuire, Brentyn Mendel, Elliott Michki, Anna Nicolia, Aaron Noyes, James Osborn, Zoann Pittman, Alessandra Price, James Pufpaff, Marissa Ruffolo, Maren Russell, Vincent Shores, Lucas Siebert, Tanner Speer, Lindsey Spiker, Christopher Swagler, Raymond Tafelski, Brock Tetreault, Timothy Utz, Lillian von Reyn, Stephanie Voyzey, Christian Wallinder, Jadon Wegrzyn, Brigid Wilton, Nicholas Young, Matthew Zabaldo
Connor Middle School Merit Roll - Feb. 2010
The following Veronica E. Connor Middle School students have been named to the Merit roll for the second quarter, 2009-2010 school year:
Grade 6 - Jesse Arch, Christopher Aronica, Adam Beiter, Emily Bognar, Troy Brady, Kyle Burns, Dominique Capizzi, Jenna Corrao, Allison DeMartin, Sari Dickinson, Daniel Dinsmore, Danielle Duck, Jayson Endozo, Chloe Evans, Lisa Fankhauser, Brenton Fischer, Jordyn Fisher, Nicholas Giancola, Nicholas Gioeli, Benjamin Graziano, Taj Harris, Joshua HusVar, Taylor Internicola, Sabrina Lemme, Edward Logel, Liana Lombardo, Cameron Mastykarz, Madison McNamara, Tiffany Melendez, Auston Niemann, Kalista Nizialek, Jake Nowak, Anthony Ormsby, Julia Pino, Michael Pyzynski, Mikayla Reading, Page Regan, Brandon Rivers, Heather Robinson, Chelsea Schmidt, Jake Schmidt, Maggie Schultz, Smeen Shah, Elliott Steel, Jeremy Steiger, Christina Sutton, Matthew Tollner, Evan Valint, Katherine Verso, Kurt Villani, Hannah Wessner, Ryan Wilton
Grade 7 - Ayman Abdellatif, Devan Aponte, Brian Brennan, Nicholas Brink, Colin Carey, Mariah Ciffa, Colton Czajka, Andrew Dyet, Ian Eisenberger, Joyce Endozo, Alura Fike, Jacob Foote, Jessica Foote, Ayannah Ford, Emily Fuoco, Nicolette Golden, Balraj Grewal, Keegan Hirtreiter, James Hodan, Joshua Horvath, Kimberly Huffnagle, Benjamin Jensen, Tamara Khairallah, Matthew Ladouceur, Alexa Lombardo, Austin Mahoney, Ryan Marlin, Jacob Matwijkow, Anthony Mosher, Jocelyn Mueller, Timothy Newbould, Ashley Niemann, Miranda Phillips, Jordan Piershalski, Drew Pitts, Amanda Proctor, Jordan Russo, Lydia Senger, Colin Smith, Armand Swanson, Mark Valle, Brian Verso, Alexander Zimmermann
Grade 8 - Rana Abdelal, Michele Aronica, Robert Augugliaro, Sukhdeep Bajwa, Alexander Baker, Samantha Bartolotta, Sierra Besl, Grace Bolton, Kevin Borowicz, Bryce Callen, Amanda Cancilla, Emily Certo, June Chadima, Qian Chen, Jason Cichon, Nicholas DeMita, Sean DeRubes, Ashley Dragonette, Kai Ellsworth, Shawn Fermoile, Tyler Ford, Jack Gorman, Justin Graesser, Anthony Grana, Patrick Hall, Andrew Hannah, Ryan Held, Christine Herman, April Hippert, David Holler, Amber Internicola, Madeline Jackson, Shamus Johnson, Alexa Kalinowski, Kristin Kalman, Jessica Keller, Michael Kleinschmidt, Gabriella Liberatore, John Lillian, M Matthew Madigan, William Madigan, Vincent Malpica, Andrew Masiello, Jacob McMahon, Eric McMasters, Wyatt Mock, Benjamin Morrish, Catherine Navagh, Gregory Nicolia, Anna Niland, Shane Paul, Daniel Ray, Emilie Rengler, Shannon Robillard, Grace Scherrer, Kyle Schoener, Natalie Schultz, Derrick Schutrum, Chelsea Sinicki, Jeremy Smith, Timothy Sutton, Emily Valint, Zoe Wilson, Madalyn Wright, Brandon York
“Artist of the Month” - Feb. 2010
Pictured with his pastel painting is James Osborne, February K-12 Artist of the Month.
The “K-12 Artist of the Month Award” is a way in which the Art Department of the Grand Island Schools collectively recognizes the varied and unique accomplishments of their many high performing artistic achievers. Students selected for recognition are those who perform well in their art classes and have distinguished themselves artistically by using the visual arts as an appropriate vehicle for self-expression and visual problem-solving and; who display the attitudes, behaviors and work ethic necessary for artistic success. These are students who set themselves apart as creative and artistic role models for their peers.
Pictured is fourteen-year-old James Osborne, an eighth-grade student at Veronica Connor Middle School. James is February’s recipient of the “Artist of the Month” award. He is a student who meets all the criteria for selection and one who has distinguished himself by creating unique and beautiful works in a variety of media. During his three years at the middle school, James’ artistic ability has been recognized by his teachers and by his peers. His work has appeared in school displays and at the Grand Island Memorial Library. He is currently enrolled in an accelerated Studio In Art class, earning high school credit while still in grade eight. James enjoys working in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, but is particularly skilled and adept with drawing.
In addition to his art ability, James participates in soccer and football. This student likes to be creative and to keep active and says that the things he does outside of school, particularly sports, serve as inspiration for him when he makes art. He has been interested in art since third grade and lists his parents among those who support and encourage him most in his artistic pursuits.
The Art Department is pleased to recognize this student’s unique and individual artistic accomplishments and wish him continued success in all of his future creative endeavors.
Connor’s Monthly Masters - Jan. 2010
Alyssa Pelosi and Jessica Ackendorf, “Connor’s Monthly Masters for December and January.
The Connor Middle School Art Department is pleased to announce Alyssa Pelosi and Jessica Ackendorf as Connor’s Monthly Masters for the months of December 2009 and January 2010, respectively. Both girls pictured here painting during a recent art class, are seventh grade art students at the middle school.
Alyssa and Jessica display much artistic potential and the work ethic necessary for success. Their innate abilities along with hard work and determination make them stand out as artistic role models for their peers. They take their lessons seriously, apply themselves fully and both young ladies strive for perfection; always putting forth maximum effort. Although they are skilled in a wide range of media, each student has her natural preference and style. Alyssa, preferring realism, favors pastel and pencil while Jessica prefers working and experimenting three-dimensionally with clay. Says Jessica, “I like art because you can’t really ‘mess up’. It’s your point of view and how you interpret things. Everyone can see art differently”. Both girls count their abilities to use art as a vehicle for self-expression as the main reason why they enjoy working visually. They take their inspiration from various places and trips to art galleries. Visits to MOMA in New York City and the Stanford Art Museum are early art memories which they cite as fondly as influences.
While Alyssa hopes to become an anesthesiologist when she’s older, and Jessica hopes to be a veterinarian, both students expect that art will always be an interest and avocation. The VCMS art department is pleased to recognize both young ladies for having distinguished themselves artistically and for using their creative abilities in a positive and affirming manner. It is a pleasure to recognize them as Monthly Masters
Attention Parents/Guardians of Eighth-Grade Students at VCMS - Jan. 2010
Ninth-grade is approaching quickly! From February 8 – 11, Mrs. Cordero and Mrs. Newman will be working with eighth-grade students from Veronica E. Connor Middle School to plan for their high school experience. To help ease student concerns about attending a new school, they will spend time discussing high school expectations, graduation requirements and choosing ninth-grade courses.Your child will be bringing home his/her ninth-grade course selection sheet along with the high school planning guide at the end of February. Please review the courses your child has chosen. If you’d like to make changes, you may do so and return to Student Services before March 26, 2010. At that time the high school will be sending a verification of the courses your child is signed up for.
If you or your child has any questions about high school, please call Student Services at 773-8837 or 773-8844 or have your child stop in to see Mrs. Cordero.
Click photo for larger view
Alessandra Price
Click photo for larger view
Pictured with two of her recent artworks is thirteen-year-old Alessandra Price, “Connor’s Monthly Master” for February 2010. Ali, an honor student at Veronica Connor Middle School, is an accelerated art student who, in addition to being a gifted young artist, is also a well-rounded young lady. She is enrolled in honors classes, plays percussion in the school band and swims.
Ali reports that she has been interested in art “forever”. She is inspired by other artworks and the world around her and she particularly enjoys drawing. Says Ali, “I like art because it is what I am good at and it is a fun way to express myself”. Ali makes jewelry in her free time and has had her work appear in art shows locally. She is also a creative and entrepreneurial young lady, displaying and selling her jewelry at the Lewiston Art Show last August.
Ali’s family takes pride in all of her creative accomplishments and they never fail to encourage her and inspire her efforts. One of her favorite art memories is painting a mural in her uncle’s home when she was just 10 years old. A creative gift must run in this family as Ali says that both mom and dad display artistic and creative attributes and abilities as well.
Ali has received many honors and much recognition for her artistic and creative abilities. She’s had her work displayed in district art shows yearly since elementary school, had works displayed at the Grand Island Memorial Library, been in local art shows and is a current recipient of the Connor Character Connection Award for the attribute of creativity. She’s consistently excelled in all of her art classes and is currently an accelerated art student taking Studio In Art and earning high school credit while still in eighth grade. Ali plans to take many more art classes when she begins high school next fall and she’s hoping to be either an architect or a veterinarian when she becomes an adult.
The VCMS Art Department proudly recognizes this student’s ability and unique artistic voice and proudly recognizes her as the “Connor Monthly Master” for February 2010.
Connor Middle School Honor Roll - Feb. 2010
The following Veronica E. Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the second quarter, 2009-2010 school year:Grade 7 - Jessica Ackendorf, Ryan Allen, Joshua Barrett, Hannah Bastian, Carly Bernatovicz, Brianna Brandon, Sierra Brooks, Giuseppe Campanella, Robert Carroll, Marissa Catanzaro, Natalia Christiano, Sara Cichon, Sara Colon, Caitlin Conlon, Kayla Conway, Lillian Cultrara, Enrico D'Abate, Isabel Dengos, Katherine Diefenbach, Shannon Driess, Eric Dudley, Joseph Egloff, Robert Ellegate, Austin Fisher, Katherine Fonte, Ashley Franz, Alexander Garey, Rebekah Gaydosh, Kathryn Gentz, Marissa Gress, Kasandra Guyette, Carly Hand, Christian Hilts, Grey Johnson, Jacqueline Kehoe, Jack Kennedy, Marah Killian, Leah Killian, Khristian Kline, Kurt Laschinger, Taylor Latvala, Michaela McMahon, Devlin McMaster, Nolan Miles, Alexandra Miller, Robin Neary, Alyssa Pelosi, Kelsey Percival, Michael Podgorny, Brendan Pratt, Jenna Reinard, Eric Riederer, Andrew Riederer, Kaitlyn Rudney, Margaret Rustowicz, Joseph Santa Lucia, Benjamin Shaw, Pushpinder Singh, Amelia Stepnoski, Emily Szabo, Laura Taylor, Melissa Ullrich, Apelasan Wigneswaran, Corey Wilkinson, Timothy Winder, Jessica Wing, Bennett Wright
Grade 8 - Natalie Argy, Michael Battaglia, Magdalyn Chauby, Sarah Dollendorf, Heavyn Dreher, Jenell Duxbury, Zachary Jones, Kristina Kasprzycki, Justin Lavis, Emma MacIntyre, Jenna Paternostro, Michael Paternostro, Jillian Sheehan, Tara Stewart, Jackeline Wilson
Grade 7 - Alwareed Abdellatif, Abigail Armitage, Elaina Bolles, Nicholas Bonora, Bradley Boreali, Alyse Borelli, Vincent Bruno, Nicole Burley, Alexa Calandra, Andrew Colautto, Julia Culbert, Alexandra Cutting, Nancy Dahlquist, Abigail Dallessandro, Genevieve Davis, Anna DeMartin, Karli Deuser, Jared Eichel, McLain Erhard, Joseph Farrell, Morgan Finn, Halle FitzGerald, Andrew Fred, Zoanne Gebhard, Leah Geis, Graciana Giambra, Kyle Graves, Albert Grupp, Nikolai Harper, Connor Harrigan, Sabrina Hausrath, Natalie Henderson, Alexander Hollatz-Guastella, Ryan Kennedy, Jonathan Link, Thomas Major, Nathan Marino, Colton McGraw, Mark McKenna, Matthew McNaughton, Alanna Mergel, Madeline Mitchell, Jazmine Nijjar, Meaghan O'Leary, Colin Osborn, Nicholas Paolini, Devon Perri, Emilie Phinney, Anne Pilie, Michael Podlucky, Lauren Rogoza, Raymond Rott, Meghan Sonnenberg, Alexandra Sponn, Emilie Stinner, Jordan VeRost, Scarlett Whitman, James Wilson, Emily Wolcott, Bethany Wynne, Jordan Yamonaco, Brenna Young, Taylor Zoldowski, Jessica Zoldowski
Grade 8 - Brian Ailinger, Kali Aronica, Jacob Athoe, Griffin Atkinson, Marisa Atkinson, Natalie Baldassarre, Alicia Bianco, Jack Boyko, Jacob Burford, Liana Buscaglia, Ashley Butler, David Cich, Aaron Cook, Brian Cooper, Quinton Corrao, Frank DeRubes, Brian DeRubes, Jaskiran Dhaliwall, Matthew DiMura, Thomas Doctor, Alexandra Dzielski, Yousuf Eltagouri, Elizabeth Figler, Kevin Freedman, Emma Garten, Joseph Gioeli, Emily Glose, Benjamin Goc, Bianca Gowanny, Andrew Grinchishin, Ashley Gugino, Alyssa Heitman, Nicolas Hernandez-Rojas, Steven Howard, Ciara Howley, Henry Huang, Amanda Jelonek, Addison Joslyn, Brad Kaminski, Julia Kelly, Emily Kernin, Mary Frances Koch, Stephanie Kowalak, Ashley Kroetsch, Kyle Krueger, Kathryn Lamarco, Julianne Lavallee, Brittany Little, Elizabeth LoBrutto, Alexandria Makowski, Johnna Marinello, Justin McCarthy, Austin McCoy, Griffin McGuire, Brentyn Mendel, Elliott Michki, Anna Nicolia, Aaron Noyes, James Osborn, Zoann Pittman, Alessandra Price, James Pufpaff, Marissa Ruffolo, Maren Russell, Vincent Shores, Lucas Siebert, Tanner Speer, Lindsey Spiker, Christopher Swagler, Raymond Tafelski, Brock Tetreault, Timothy Utz, Lillian von Reyn, Stephanie Voyzey, Christian Wallinder, Jadon Wegrzyn, Brigid Wilton, Nicholas Young, Matthew Zabaldo
Connor Middle School Merit Roll - Feb. 2010
The following Veronica E. Connor Middle School students have been named to the Merit roll for the second quarter, 2009-2010 school year:Grade 6 - Jesse Arch, Christopher Aronica, Adam Beiter, Emily Bognar, Troy Brady, Kyle Burns, Dominique Capizzi, Jenna Corrao, Allison DeMartin, Sari Dickinson, Daniel Dinsmore, Danielle Duck, Jayson Endozo, Chloe Evans, Lisa Fankhauser, Brenton Fischer, Jordyn Fisher, Nicholas Giancola, Nicholas Gioeli, Benjamin Graziano, Taj Harris, Joshua HusVar, Taylor Internicola, Sabrina Lemme, Edward Logel, Liana Lombardo, Cameron Mastykarz, Madison McNamara, Tiffany Melendez, Auston Niemann, Kalista Nizialek, Jake Nowak, Anthony Ormsby, Julia Pino, Michael Pyzynski, Mikayla Reading, Page Regan, Brandon Rivers, Heather Robinson, Chelsea Schmidt, Jake Schmidt, Maggie Schultz, Smeen Shah, Elliott Steel, Jeremy Steiger, Christina Sutton, Matthew Tollner, Evan Valint, Katherine Verso, Kurt Villani, Hannah Wessner, Ryan Wilton
Grade 7 - Ayman Abdellatif, Devan Aponte, Brian Brennan, Nicholas Brink, Colin Carey, Mariah Ciffa, Colton Czajka, Andrew Dyet, Ian Eisenberger, Joyce Endozo, Alura Fike, Jacob Foote, Jessica Foote, Ayannah Ford, Emily Fuoco, Nicolette Golden, Balraj Grewal, Keegan Hirtreiter, James Hodan, Joshua Horvath, Kimberly Huffnagle, Benjamin Jensen, Tamara Khairallah, Matthew Ladouceur, Alexa Lombardo, Austin Mahoney, Ryan Marlin, Jacob Matwijkow, Anthony Mosher, Jocelyn Mueller, Timothy Newbould, Ashley Niemann, Miranda Phillips, Jordan Piershalski, Drew Pitts, Amanda Proctor, Jordan Russo, Lydia Senger, Colin Smith, Armand Swanson, Mark Valle, Brian Verso, Alexander Zimmermann
Grade 8 - Rana Abdelal, Michele Aronica, Robert Augugliaro, Sukhdeep Bajwa, Alexander Baker, Samantha Bartolotta, Sierra Besl, Grace Bolton, Kevin Borowicz, Bryce Callen, Amanda Cancilla, Emily Certo, June Chadima, Qian Chen, Jason Cichon, Nicholas DeMita, Sean DeRubes, Ashley Dragonette, Kai Ellsworth, Shawn Fermoile, Tyler Ford, Jack Gorman, Justin Graesser, Anthony Grana, Patrick Hall, Andrew Hannah, Ryan Held, Christine Herman, April Hippert, David Holler, Amber Internicola, Madeline Jackson, Shamus Johnson, Alexa Kalinowski, Kristin Kalman, Jessica Keller, Michael Kleinschmidt, Gabriella Liberatore, John Lillian, M Matthew Madigan, William Madigan, Vincent Malpica, Andrew Masiello, Jacob McMahon, Eric McMasters, Wyatt Mock, Benjamin Morrish, Catherine Navagh, Gregory Nicolia, Anna Niland, Shane Paul, Daniel Ray, Emilie Rengler, Shannon Robillard, Grace Scherrer, Kyle Schoener, Natalie Schultz, Derrick Schutrum, Chelsea Sinicki, Jeremy Smith, Timothy Sutton, Emily Valint, Zoe Wilson, Madalyn Wright, Brandon York
“Artist of the Month” - Feb. 2010
Pictured with his pastel painting is James Osborne, February K-12 Artist of the Month.
The “K-12 Artist of the Month Award” is a way in which the Art Department of the Grand Island Schools collectively recognizes the varied and unique accomplishments of their many high performing artistic achievers. Students selected for recognition are those who perform well in their art classes and have distinguished themselves artistically by using the visual arts as an appropriate vehicle for self-expression and visual problem-solving and; who display the attitudes, behaviors and work ethic necessary for artistic success. These are students who set themselves apart as creative and artistic role models for their peers.Pictured is fourteen-year-old James Osborne, an eighth-grade student at Veronica Connor Middle School. James is February’s recipient of the “Artist of the Month” award. He is a student who meets all the criteria for selection and one who has distinguished himself by creating unique and beautiful works in a variety of media. During his three years at the middle school, James’ artistic ability has been recognized by his teachers and by his peers. His work has appeared in school displays and at the Grand Island Memorial Library. He is currently enrolled in an accelerated Studio In Art class, earning high school credit while still in grade eight. James enjoys working in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, but is particularly skilled and adept with drawing.
In addition to his art ability, James participates in soccer and football. This student likes to be creative and to keep active and says that the things he does outside of school, particularly sports, serve as inspiration for him when he makes art. He has been interested in art since third grade and lists his parents among those who support and encourage him most in his artistic pursuits.
The Art Department is pleased to recognize this student’s unique and individual artistic accomplishments and wish him continued success in all of his future creative endeavors.
Connor’s Monthly Masters - Jan. 2010
Alyssa Pelosi and Jessica Ackendorf, “Connor’s Monthly Masters for December and January.
The Connor Middle School Art Department is pleased to announce Alyssa Pelosi and Jessica Ackendorf as Connor’s Monthly Masters for the months of December 2009 and January 2010, respectively. Both girls pictured here painting during a recent art class, are seventh grade art students at the middle school.Alyssa and Jessica display much artistic potential and the work ethic necessary for success. Their innate abilities along with hard work and determination make them stand out as artistic role models for their peers. They take their lessons seriously, apply themselves fully and both young ladies strive for perfection; always putting forth maximum effort. Although they are skilled in a wide range of media, each student has her natural preference and style. Alyssa, preferring realism, favors pastel and pencil while Jessica prefers working and experimenting three-dimensionally with clay. Says Jessica, “I like art because you can’t really ‘mess up’. It’s your point of view and how you interpret things. Everyone can see art differently”. Both girls count their abilities to use art as a vehicle for self-expression as the main reason why they enjoy working visually. They take their inspiration from various places and trips to art galleries. Visits to MOMA in New York City and the Stanford Art Museum are early art memories which they cite as fondly as influences.
While Alyssa hopes to become an anesthesiologist when she’s older, and Jessica hopes to be a veterinarian, both students expect that art will always be an interest and avocation. The VCMS art department is pleased to recognize both young ladies for having distinguished themselves artistically and for using their creative abilities in a positive and affirming manner. It is a pleasure to recognize them as Monthly Masters
