All 7th and 8th grade students who participated on Cazenovia Central School athletic teams are invited to attend the annual Junior High Athletic Awards Night.  The event takes place on Tuesday, June 4th starting promptly at 7pm in the High School Auditorium. All students will be recognized for their participation on fall, winter and/or spring sports teams.  In addition, the coaching staff will present several 8th graders with our traditional individual awards.

Parents, friends, and families are cordially invited to attend.  The Cazenovia Athletic Association sponsors a brief reception afterwards in the High School Cafeteria.  The entire ceremony usually ends around 8pm.

We hope that you can attend.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mr. Byrnes at mbyrnes@caz.cnyric.org or 655-1358.

Go Lakers!

The Buffalo-based business magazine, Business First, has ranked the Cazenovia Central School District third in academic performance out of 53 public school districts in the six-county Syracuse region.
The Syracuse area rankings, which include school districts in Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, Oswego and Tompkins counties, were released Oct. 22. The magazine, Business First, will combine the separate rankings for eight regions into master rankings for all of Upstate New York and make that information available Friday, Oct. 26.
Last year, Cazenovia ranked ninth out of 430 Upstate school districts in 48 counties and, according to the Business First website, the district has jumped two spots to No. 7 in 2012.

Please enjoy reading the October 2012 Blue and Gold Newsletter.

By Bill Furlong, Assistant Superintendent

There was a recent study conducted by the Statewide Finance Consortium on the equity of funding (http://taxes.lohudblogs.com/2012/09/26/report-many-districts-on-brink-of-disaster-due-to-inequitable-funding-system/) for public schools in New York State.  This study found that not only is the school aid funding formula inequitable, but that the state aid reductions that schools have endured over the last three years have made the inequity even more dramatic.  Poor rural school districts not only receive less tax revenue than wealthier school districts, but they have also received a larger proportional reduction in state aid during the last three years.

By Mr. Byrnes, Athletic Coordinator

The New York State Education Department and the Cazenovia Central School District participate in an athletic advancement program known as Selection Classification. This is the formal process by which students in grades 7 and 8 can become eligible to participate on junior varsity or varsity level athletics teams despite the fact they have not yet reached the 9th grade eligibility requirement. This process is intended to be used rarely. The NYSED Selection Classification Program is only designed for students who have been evaluated as exceptional, unusually gifted or elite in their sport(s). Participants of this program are deemed ready to excel at the junior varsity or varsity level despite their age and grade.

The era of students piling tater tots or French fries on a plate and calling it lunch are over.  That’s a good thing in the long run – for all of us.  With childhood obesity rates spiking higher every year, the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act is designed to combat obesity while encouraging healthy eating habits in children.  Students and staff at Cazenovia have already noticed the differences as they sat down in our school cafeterias this school year.

The federal legislation, championed by First Lady, Michele Obama through her Let’s Move health and wellness program, made significant changes to the nation’s $11 billion school lunch program. The program’s requirements had been essentially unchanged for the past 15 years.  Students who buy lunch will be able to pick and choose from a variety of healthy options.  For example, schools will now double the amount of fruits and vegetables that they serve every day of the week, serve only fat-free and low-fat milk choices and include more whole grains.  In addition, calorie limits for students have been set based on grade level. Maximum calories per served lunch are: 650 calories for grades K-5; 700 calories for grades 6-8; and 850 calories for grades 9-12.