THE SPARTAN NEWS

New Hartford Senior High School

33 Oxford Road

New Hartford, NY 13413

315-624-1214 FAX 315-624-1209

www.newhartfordschools.org

Mr. Mark Benson, Principal

Mr. Tim Crowe, Dean of Students September 2015

Welcome From Mark Benson, New High School Principal. It is truly an honor and privilege to join the New Hartford Central School District team and to serve the students, parents and community of New Hartford. As I begin my 20th year in the field of education, I am excited about the new opportunities that await. New Hartford has a proud tradi-tion of academic excellence, one I plan to continue. The education our students receive provides the necessary foundation as they move on to the college or career of their choice. I know that I have much to learn as I become acquainted with the district and community. I look forward to meeting each of you and working together to provide the best possible opportunities for the students of New Hartford Senior High School.

About Mr. Benson: Originally from Churchville, New York, Mr. Benson graduated from Churchville-Chili High School. He attended Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education. He then began teaching High School Music at Seaford High School in Seaford, Delaware. While teaching, he completed his Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership at Wilmington University in Wilmington, Del-aware. His career in administration began in the Rome City School Dis-trict, Rome, New York, where he served as an Assistant Principal at Staley Middle School for two years. He was then appointed as Principal of Rome Free Academy where he has spent the last ten years. He has

been married to his wife, Amy, for 22 years. He and Amy are the proud parents of five chil-dren; Sarah (14), Andrew (14) Hannah (13) Margaret (10) and Nathan (2).

High School Back To School Night High School Back to School Night is scheduled for Monday, September 14th from 6:30 PM—8:30 PM. Take advantage of this opportunity to meet your child’s teachers, administrators and counselor. Learn more about curriculum, programs, courses offered, etc. Day 1 and Day 2 schedules can be followed by parents. Counselors have scheduled presentations for parents of 11th and 12th grade students regarding the college search and application processes in the cafeterias. These presentations will take place from 5:45 and 6:15. Please note, this evening in not intended for parent - teacher discussions regarding student progress. Par-ents may email or phone teachers or counselors to set up individual meetings for that purpose. Refreshments will be offered in the High School Library compliments of the High School PTSA. We look forward to seeing you!

CALENDAR

AUGUST 25TH

SOPHOMORE TOUR DAY

BEGINS AT 11:00 AM IN

THE HIGH SCHOOL GYM

SEPTEMBER 8TH

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

FOR STUDENTS

SEPTEMBER

10TH

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

PTSA MEETING AT 7:00

PM IN THE HIGH

SCHOOL LIBRARY

SEPTEMBER

22ND

BOARD OF EDUCATION

MEETING AT 7:00 PM

SEPTEMBER

25TH

MARCHING BAND TRIP

TO BOSTON

SEPTEMBER

29TH

PRESENTATION AND

ASSEMBLIES, “HANG UP

AND DRIVE.’ MESSAGE

ABOUT TEXTING , US-

ING CELL PHONES AND

DISTRACTED DRIVING.

Marching Band Marches on After Win-ning State Championship in 2014 Marching Band is already well into it’s Fall 2015 season. Marching Band student leaders recently enjoyed a day filled with hiking and outdoor activities at Moss Lake. This is an annual trip designed to enhance leadership skills and pro-mote the camaraderie that makes the Marching Band a co-hesive unit on and off the field of competition. The Marching Band has planned and is looking forward to a weekend trip to Boston on Friday, September 25th.

Free/Reduced Lunch Applications Are available on the district website. From the homepage at newhartfordschools.org, click on Departments then food service. Then click on the Free and Reduced Lunch Application. Or...you may go directly to the link http://newhartfordschools.org/domain/61. You may also pick up a hard copy of the application from the counseling office. Remember you must reapply for this benefit each year, even if your child received free/reduced lunches at school last year.

News From The Counseling Department...

10th grade Tour Day is Tuesday, August 25th at 11:00am in the High School Gym. Students should bring their $5.00 locker deposit with them. During Tour Day, 10th graders will have the opportunity to get their lock & lock-er information, find classrooms, and tour the high school.

This is a great opportunity to become more familiar with the high school and get yourself ready for the start of a great school year!

The Portal will open on Monday, August 24th at noon. Student schedules will be available at that time. If a stu-dent has a concern regarding their schedule he/she should call his/her counselor to discuss the issue or schedule an appointment to come into the office. Please make sure to PRINT your schedule for the first day of clas-ses!

The Counselors will have presentations for parents/guardians of 11th and 12th graders prior to Back To School Night. The presentations will take place on Sep-tember 14th from 5:45 pm to 6:15 pm in the cafeterias. The presentation for parents/guardians of juniors will be on the college search process and for seniors on the col-lege application process.

All Future High School Newsletters Will Be Available Online Only You will be notified via email each month when the news-letter becomes available on the school website. Please make sure we have a current, valid email address as much of our communication is now electronic. If you prefer a hard copy be mailed to you, please call the main office at 624-1248.

Emergency Procedures New Emergency Procedures have been created by Safe Schools NY and will be implemented in the district. New emergency responses include: shelter-in-place, hold-in-place, evacuate, lockout and lockdown. There will be drills throughout the school year using the new terminol-ogy as well as fire drills. The high school may conduct drills using drug detecting dogs in conjunction with local police and sheriffs to ensure that our school is free of ille-gal drugs and contraband. Student lockers are the prop-erty of the district and may be inspected at any time with-out a search warrant, without notice and/or without con-sent.

Cell Phones may be used before school,

during lunch, after school and between classes. They may be used in study hall to listen to music, text, or search the Internet at the teacher’s discretion. Unauthorized use or use during classes will result in disci-plinary consequences.

NHPTA Council Presents Hang Up and Drive:

Students and parents will have an opportunity to see “Hang up and Drive,” a presentation from Jacy Good and Steve Johnson. On Tuesday, September 29th nationally renowned speakers, Jacy Good and Steve Johnson, will be coming to the New Hartford Central School District to share their incredible story of survival.

In 2008, Jacy was in a horrific car crash caused by a driver who was distracted by using his cell phone. Neither of Jacy’s parents survived the crash, while Jacy was left with just a 10% chance of living through the night.

In her crusade, her determination to educate others about the dan-gers of cell phone use behind the wheel has been her top priority.

Jacy has been on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in People Magazine along with many other large and small publica-tions and events across the country. Since beginning as public speakers Jacy and her husband, Steve, have given the Hang Up And Drive presentation at over 500 events in 32 states.

Please join us on September 29th as we welcome Jacy Good and Steve Johnson. They will be speaking to the New Hartford

High School Students and 9th grade students at Ralph Per-ry Junior High during the day. We also invite you to join us in the evening at 7:00 pm in the JAMPAC Auditorium to hear the startling science regarding distracted driving and be inspired to create the change so badly needed on our roads. By attending the evening program we will be able to begin conversations with our loved ones in order to hold each other accountable for all our choices on the road. This real life story of heartbreak and recovery will have a lasting impact on your life and the lives of our chil-dren.

Student Parking at the High School Seniors at New Hartford Senior High School have the op-tion of driving to school and using the Senior Parking Lot. The lot is located off of Graham Avenue behind the base-ball field. There is a paved walkway from the lot to doors located near the tennis courts for the convenience of sen-ior drivers. The safety of our students is of primary con-cern. For this reason, students are not allowed to drive out of the lot at lunchtime. Students wishing to use the senior lot must obtain a permit from the Office of the Dean of Students. Forms will be available beginning on the first day of school. Students who wish to drive to BO-CES or are involved in a bridge program, taking classes at Hamilton College, Utica College or MVCC, must obtain spe-cial permission to drive off campus during the school day from the Dean of Students.

Juniors wishing to drive to school may not park on cam-pus; however, other options are available. Parking is avail-able at the New Hartford Recreation Center to a limited number of students. Rec Center Parking Permits will be available beginning August 31st from 7:00 AM—3:00 PM. The cost is $100.00 for the school year. Questions? Call John Cunningham at the Rec Center, 724-0600. There are also a limited number of spaces available at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Oxford Road for $30.00 per month. Stop into the church office to make arrangements. Stu-dents may not park in the faculty parking lots.

Driver Education Classes will be offered in

the fall semester. Availability is limited for this course. Sign up at the beginning of lunch on the first day of classes with Mrs. Dunn in the School Counseling Office. The fee is $375.00. Enrollment is on a first come, first pay basis with seniors having priority over juniors or sophomores, so re-member to bring payment when you sign up.

Welcome Nicole

Feduccia to the

High School Faculty

Welcome and congratulations to Nicole Feduccia who will be join-ing the high school faculty as a special education teacher.

Yearbook Photograph Information: Senior Photograph Information: In order to guarantee that your student’s photograph will be in the 2016 Year-book, all Senior yearbook photos must be turned in no later than Tuesday, October 1, 2015. Late photos will NOT be accepted without prior approval. All Senior photographs submitted to the Yearbook should be a head and shoul-ders shot photographed against a traditional background. No horizontal style portraits will be accepted. Please make sure the photograph does not include props, such as, flowers or hats. If you are having a problem finding a photographer that can meet this deadline, please contact the yearbook adviser at yearbook@nhart.org. Photo-graphs should be submitted digitally, if possible, on a CD or as an e-mail attachment to yearbook@nhart.org with your student’s name clearly indicated in the subject line and the file name. The dimensions of the image should be at least 2” wide x 3” high with a resolution of 300 ppi or higher. If your photographer is not able submit a digital image, please submit a wallet-sized or larger photograph to the yearbook adviser or editors before October 1, 2015. If you should have any questions, please e-mail yearbook@nhart.org.

Junior and Sophomore Photograph Information Underclassman photos will be taken in October for the 2015-2016 school year. Please be sure to take note of the following dates for your student’s portrait: Junior class photographs will be taken on Thursday, Octo-ber 15, 2015. Sophomore class photographs will be taken on Friday, Oc-tober 16, 2015.

All photographs will be taken in the High School Library, from 9:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m. both days. A schedule with your student's date and time will be posted at school the week prior to photos. If there is a scheduling conflict, please have your student report at a more convenient time during the day or on the alternate day. DeNicola Photography will remain in the library during lunch to ac-commodate scheduling conflicts. Please encourage your student to report for his/her yearbook photo; the guid-ance office also uses these photographs for identification purposes. Photo retakes will not be scheduled until after the first photos are back from the photographer. If you have any questions or concerns during the year, please feel free to contact the yearbook adviser at yearbook@nhart.org.

Yearbook Ordering Information: During the month of September, all students will be filling out a yearbook order form. In addition to the books, stu-dents may also order personalization, a clear protective cover, or an autograph section for their book. Every stu-dent will be filling out an order form even if he/she does not want to order a yearbook at this time. These forms are meant to help the yearbook staff determine how many yearbooks to order for the end of the school year. They are not a commitment to purchase a yearbook. If you choose to order a yearbook, you will receive a state-ment with payment information by late October or early November with instructions on how to make payment directly to Jostens, our yearbook company. Yearbooks will only be ordered and guaranteed for students who pre-order and pre-pay for their books in advance. A limited number of extra copies will be ordered and sold at a high-er price when the books are delivered at the end of the school year. If your student misses ordering a yearbook or if you would like to get a head start, you can also order online by clicking the “Purchase a Yearbook” link on the Senior High homepage or Yearbook Club homepage. Please remember, only pre-paid orders are guaranteed a yearbook in the spring. If you should have any questions regarding the ordering process, please e-mail the year-book adviser at yearbook@nhart.org.

Attendance Reminder: When your child is

absent, please call our 24-hour attendance number at 624-1210 or email lcunning@nhart.org. All instances of ab-sence, early release for appointments or tardiness require a parent/guardian excuse. The excuse may be presented in written, electronic or credible verbal form. Students failing to present an excuse or communication with a par-ent or guardian may be subject to disciplinary conse-quences.