Volume 4, Issue 10Volume 4, Issue 10

North Colonie Central School District

Your News Source For Employee-Related Information at North Colonie

UPCOMING EVENTS

July 1st

BOE Organizational Meeting,

CO, 7:00 p.m.

3rd

Independence Day (observed)

All Employee Holiday

6th

Summer School Begins

August 13th

BOE Budget Committee, CO,

7 :00 pm

31st

BOE Meeting, CO, 7:15 p.m.

September 3rd

Newcomer’s Picnic, 5:30 p.m.

********* Since there aren’t many official

school events during the month

of August, enjoy these lesser

known holidays during your

down time!

1st

National Mustard Day

8th

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your

Neighbor’s Porch Day

30th

Frankenstein Day

DISTRICT MISSION: All students are provided the opportunity and necessary support to engage in relevant, challenging

work which contributes to their academic and social development. All staff, teachers, and administrators are part of a larger learning community, working together to build collective capacity in

order to provide a high-quality, relevant, equitable education for all.

July/August 2015

William J. Furlong has been appointed Assistant Superintendent for Business for North

Colonie Central School District. Mr. Furlong has an impressive resume and a history of

success, including 18 years as Assistant Superintendent for Business at Cazenovia CSD and

positions in the private sector at companies in New York and Pennsylvania. He has also

served as an adjunct professor at SUNY Cortland and is active in professional

organizations. He will officially begin work on July 15.

Mr. Furlong and his wife, Denise, have three grown children, Brittany, Brad, and Kelly. “My

family and I are very excited about relocating to the Albany area,” said Mr. Furlong when

asked about his new position. “North Colonie has a very strong reputation for academic

excellence and I look forward to supporting the District mission and the entire school

community.”

Welcome to North Colonie!

Page 2 The Inside Resource Volume 4, Issue 10

Shaker Unified Basketball Team

Wins Division Championship

Congratulations to the students on the team, to Coach

Doak and Coach Torre for their terrific season, which

ended on a high note when they won the Division

Championship game on May 30 at Skidmore College.

The goal of Unified Basketball is to give students with

intellectual disabilities the opportunity to play

competitively on a school team. The team consists of

students with and without disabilities, in grades 9-

12.

Southgate Elementary School

receives a really big check

Southgate Elementary students and employees

received a really big check from Colonie Center

Mall for being a winner in the “School Bucks”

contest. Danielle Domicolo, school secretary,

signed up for the contest and employees

submitted receipts from Colonie Center Mall

purchases. Apparently Southgate employees love

to shop, since their total was in the top 10 and

enough to earn them a $1,000 prize.

Pictured left to right: Amy Parks, Beth Botshon, and Stacey Shepard.

Latham Ridge students and

teachers in the spotlight!

Wednesday, June 12 a film crew from the Tribeca

Film Institute visited Latham Ridge Elementary

School to film footage for a NYS Department of

Education documentary about teaching through

“inquiry”. Amy Parks, K-6 Learning Enrichment

Program Specialist, participated in the NYS Social

Studies Toolkit Project over the past year. It was

through her actions that Latham Ridge was chosen to

be part of this project. Stacey Shepard, also with the

Learning Enrichment Program, assisted in the day’s

activity. Interestingly, the film crew was headed

by Beth Botshon, a 1995 Shaker High School

graduate who also attended Boght Hills

Elementary School! After earning degrees in

Integrated Media from Hofstra University and

CUNY-Hunter, Ms. Botshon joined the Tribeca

Film Institute, the non-profit arm of the renown

Tribeca Film Festival founded by Robert DeNiro.

Inquiry lesson plans pose a question to students,

who then work together to learn and discuss.

The question posed to Latham Ridge students

was “Do people around the world take children’s

rights seriously?” The documentary will be used

to inform teachers about this type of teaching

plan so they can incorporate the method in their

classrooms.

Ms. Botshon could not guarantee that our

students and teachers would actually appear in

the final film. Still, it was a fun and informative

experience for all.

Page 3 The Inside Resource Volume 4, Issue 10

Tenure Recipients

Retirements

Ginny McQuade and Mike Mitchell.

June and July are bittersweet months as we recognize employees

who have decided to retire. It’s just as bittersweet for the retirees

who have spent the majority, if not their entire career, at North

Colonie, yet are excited to begin a new chapter. So, it’s not goodbye,

but farewell and best wishes to our valued retirees.

Katherine Brizzell -- Cafeteria Supervisor, LO

Cheryl Burton - Teaching Assistant, SHS

Sarah Corcione -- Speech Therapist, BC

Reginald Daigle -- Physical Education Teacher, BC

Robert Dobert -- Bus Driver

Nancy Hooley -- Senior Stenographer, JHS

Joan Julien -- Teacher Aide, GO

Cheryl Kirkendall- Pupil Transportation Analyst

Gloria Lee -- Bus Driver

Virginia McQuade -- Assistant Director, PPS

Elizabeth McNamara -- Director of IT

Donald Mion -- Social Studies Teacher, SHS

Michael Mitchell -- Hall Principal, JHS

Carol Moore -- Teaching Assistant, LO

Gregory Reilly -- Art Teacher, SHS

Christopher Shumway -- Special Educ Teacher, JHS

Heide Westergard - Foreign Language Teacher, HS

Retiring Art Teacher, Greg Reilly (center front) with

Art Department Staff.

Page 4 The Inside Resource Volume 4, Issue 10

New Hires and Staff Changes

In Memoriam

New Arrivals

Brendan Benack

Custodial Worker, LR

Jordan Desjardins

Custodial Worker, HS

Richard Doty

Building Maintenance Mechanic

Maintenance Dept.

Ann Marie Virgilio, passed away on

June 11 at age 65. Ms. Virgilio

taught Family and Consumer

Sciences at SJHS from 1973 to 2008.

Her husband, James Virgilio, is also a

North Colonie retired teacher.

Donald Wheatley, passed away

May 25 at age 68. Mr. Wheatley

was a North Colonie Bus Driver

from 2004 to 2013.

Jude Hanley, Art Teacher, HS

Son: Jack Kevin, May 4

Christina Manion

Teaching Assistant, GO

Lowry Nicsevic

School Nurse, HS

Dawn Rae

Bus Driver, Transportation

People on the Move

As of June 15 Board Meeting

Brian Dineen

Assistant Director of PPS

Crystal Fox

Hall Principal, HS

Jan Zadoorian

Hall Principal, JHS

Have news that you want to share? email: hr@ncolonie.org