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What's New on the FFCSD Website?
District voters to decide on 2008-09 budget on May 20
The annual budget vote for the 2008-09 fiscal year by the
qualified voters of Fonda-Fultonville Central School District
will be at Fonda-Fultonville Central Schools on Tuesday, May 20,
2008, between the hours of noon and 9 p.m. Applications for
absentee ballots are available by contacting Karen Kruppenbacher
at 853-4415 ext. 4230.
On Tuesday, May 20, Fonda-Fultonville taxpayers are being asked
to vote on a proposed $25,234,443 budget for 2008-09 that
reflects a 2.98 percent increase in spending over the 2007-08
budget. The total estimated tax levy increase is 2.96 percent. (read
more)
Senator Farley secures grant
State Senator Hugh Farley announced that he had
secured a $22,500 member grant for the Fonda-Fultonville School
District. The funds will enable the district to begin pool repairs
more quickly than originally anticipated.
"These funds came at the perfect time," said
Superintendent Dr. James Hoffman. "Our original aid estimates from
the state for the coming year were higher than the final numbers we
received. That and a delay in the EXCEL funding process made it
difficult for the district to begin making the needed pool repairs.
We owe Senator Farley our sincerest thanks for his support."
Cafeteria to test "Point of Sale" software
Imagine not having to find cash each day for your
child's lunch. Imagine being able to pay for school lunches online.
Imagine no more lost lunch money.
Your imagination will soon become a reality as the
Fonda-Fultonville cafeteria introduces its new point of sale
software. Food Service Director Judy Murray and her staff will begin
testing the software beginning late in May. Mrs. Murray plans to
fully implement the system beginning in September 2008.
(learn
how it will work and how students and families will benefit)
 Cystic Fibrosis March teaches true meaning of
"caring"
How do you teach students the importance of
caring? You can tell them about it. You can ask them to write
about it. You can have them look it up on the Internet. But
sometimes, "doing" is the best teacher.
On Thursday, May 8, Fonda-Fultonville Elementary
School PreK-4 students showed the
community how much they care as they participated in the
school's second annual Cystic
Fibrosis (CF) Mini-March to raise money for CF research. The
children collected donations from family and friends in the
weeks prior to the walk. (read
more and view pictures)
UPK Applications still being accepted
Although the May 2 deadline for applications for UPK
has passed, there are still open slots for the Universal
Pre-Kindergarten program for 2008-2009. There are still six (6)
afternoon session seats available for the program, due to begin in
September, 2008. All morning session program seats are now filled.
If you are interested in having your child attend,
he or she must be four years old no later than December 1, 2008.
To enroll, simply download and complete the
UPK application, and return it to either the
Superintendent’s office, or the Elementary School main office.
Applications are now accepted on a first-come, first-served basis,
until all seats are full. If you send in your application after all
seats have been filled, your child will be placed on a waiting list,
based upon the date and time your application was received.
For further information, please contact Principal Mrs. Henry at the
Elementary School at 853-3332, or District Superintendent Dr.
Hoffman in the Superintendent's Office at 853-4415 ext. 4230.
 Class of 2010 fundraisers
The Class of 2010 is holding two fundraisers.
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Avon sales—The class is selling Avon products
May 2-16. A portion of all sales will benefit the class.
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Webkinz gift basket raffle—tickets are $1.00 each and the drawing will be
on May 20th. (Click on the photo to see the basket in greater
detail)
Please contact a sophomore student or Cindy Monk at
922-6689 (after 3 p.m.)
or cmonk@ffcsd.org for more
information.
 Kiwanis
present books to preschoolers
How do you instill a love a reading in a student? Research
indicates that you expose them to reading at an early age.
On April 2nd the Kiwanis Club of Fonda-Fultonville did its part
to help youngsters on the road to reading as as they presented
reading packets to preschoolers attending the Fulmont HeadStart
program. (full
story and photos)
District to participate in Education
Department weight/health survey—survey includes only grades
K, 2, 4, 7 and 10
As part of a required school health examination, a student is
weighed and his/her height is measured. These numbers are used
to figure out the student’s body mass index or ‘BMI’. The BMI
helps the doctor or nurse know if the student’s weight is in a
healthy range or is too high or too low.
Recent changes to the New York State Education Law require that
BMI and weight status group be included as part of the student’s
school health examination. Fonda-Fultonville Central School
District is taking part in a survey being pilot-tested by the
New York State Department of Health. As part of the survey, we
will be reporting to the New York State Department of Health
information about our students’ weight status groups. Only
summary information is sent. No names and no information about
individual students are sent.
You may choose to have your grade K, 2, 4, 7 or 10 child’s
information excluded from this survey report by completing an
exemption form and returning it to Dr. Constance Spohn,
Director of Special Programs at the address listed on the form.
All exemptions must be submitted by April 10th.
Burton and Wemple Scholarship creates buzz in region—and
opportunity for F-FHS grads
By now, virtually everyone in the Fonda-Fultonville School
District has heard about the newly established Burton and Wemple
Scholarship. In fact, people throughout the region know about
Mr. and Mrs. Wemple's extraordinary gift and the resulting
scholarship from widespread newspaper, television and radio
coverage.
What makes this story so intriguing is that the Wemples passed
away over 30 years ago. For much of their lives, they published
a weekly newspaper, the Mohawk Valley Democrat, in what is now
the NAPA Auto Parts store on the corner of East Main St. and
South Center St. in Fonda. Only upon the death of their last
descendent, was their $1.83 million bequest made known to the
school district. The gift was totally unexpected.
The challenge then fell to the district to establish a
foundation to invest the funds and to distribute them to
students according to the conditions of the Wemples' will. The
will stipulates that the funds be distributed to an equal number
of boys and girls who who are continuing on demonstrate
financial need. FFCS officials came up with a unique plan to tie
the value of the scholarship to the cost of getting an associate
degree from Fulton-Montgomery Community College. As those costs
change, the amount of the award will change.
According to Superintendent Dr. James Hoffman, students need at
least an associate degree in today's job market. This
scholarship assures that finances will not prevent capable
students from continuing their education whether at college or
an accredited trade school.
Scholarship packets which include instructions, student
application and parent financial forms are available online
and in the
high school guidance office. (read
more about the scholarship)
See what the media had to say:
Capital 9 News video
Capital 9 News print article
The Gazette article
The Leader-Herald article
Amsterdam Recorder (not available online)
WNET radio (not available online)
Safety efforts earn Fonda-Fultonville Central School District
Safety Excellence Titanium Award
The Fonda-Fultonville Central School District received the "2008
School Safety Excellence Award," Titanium Level, from the Utica
National Insurance Group.
Utica National Officials presented the award at its 28th annual
school safety seminar, one of seven held in Ness York State.
Utica insures more than 300 school districts in upstate New York
for property and liability insurance and is of the leading
companies in the field.
The Fonda-Fultonville Central School District received a
certificate from the insurance company to commemorate the
district's safety efforts. (read
more)
A day in NYC—courtesy of the Class of 2010
The Class of 2010 is sponsoring a bus trip to New York City on
Saturday, April 26th. Spend the day do whatever you
like—shopping, a show, or sightseeing. At just $40 per person,
this is a great deal. (The tolls alone are $19.50, not to
mention the price of gasoline!) For more information, please
contact Cindy Monk at 922-6689 or cmonk@ffcsd.org on or before
April 21st. There are still plenty of seats available, so why
not come and have some fun!
Elizabeth Valade deployed to Iraq
1999 Fonda-Fultonville graduate 1LT Elizabeth Valade is
currently deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. Elizabeth is the daughter
of Martha Stanton who teaches on Team Seneca. She was an athlete
in school, playing soccer and basketball, and running track at
FFCS and later playing soccer and lacrosse and running track in
college. Elizabeth enlisted in the US Army in 2001. She was an
Intelligence Analyst (96B) for 5 years. As a non-commissioned
officer she was offered a direct commission into the Officer
Corps. She was selected to branch into Military Intelligence.
When not deployed Elizabeth works in the metropolitan Washington
DC area.
Beth Donovan named CASDA's top administrator
The Library Review Committee of the Capital Area
School Development Association (CASDA) has named Fonda-Fultonville
Middle School principal Beth Donovan as the 2008 Administrator of
the Year. She was nominated for the honor by high school media
specialist Nikki Hathaway. Mrs. Donovan will receive award at the
conference for Library Media Specialists and Administrators at the
Holiday Inn on Wolf Road in Albany on April 4. Congratulations!
Community Open Swim canceled until further notice
Community Open Swim is canceled until further notice due to pool maintenance and
repairs.
Parents of special education
students urged to complete questionnaires
Fonda-Fultonville Central School District is working with the
New York State Education Department (NYSED) to collect
information on how we help you and other parents of students
with disabilities to be involved in their children’s education.
Parents from school districts throughout the State are
completing the same survey. NYSED is working with CyberData,
Inc., an independent research firm, to collect the information.
Your answers to the survey are very important to us. They will
help us identify how well we work with parents in order to
improve services and results for all our students with
disabilities. No one from our school district will see how you
answer the questions. CyberData, Inc. will compile the results
of the surveys from all our parents and the results for will be
available to you in a public report issued by NYSED for our
school district.
You may fill out the paper survey and mail it to CyberData, Inc.
in the postage-paid envelope. Or, complete the questionnaire on
the Internet. To do this, go to
www.vesidsurvey.com/parent. The
questionnaires have been mailed and should have reached your
mailbox. Please take the time to complete the survey as soon as
possible.
Thank you for your assistance. If you have any questions, you
may call the Pupil Services Office at 853-3189 ext. 4234.
 FFCS hosts Jazz Festival
Some of the regions finest high school and middle school jazz musicians took the stage at
Fonda-Fultonville High School at the district's annual Jazz
Festival on Thursday, Feb. 14. Bands from Mayfield,
Westmoreland, New Hartford, Oneida, Oppenheim-Ephratah,
Broadalbin-Perth, LaSalle Institute, Gloversville, Canajoharie,
and Amsterdam joined three Fonda-Fultonville ensembles in the
all-day event. (click
here for full story and more photos...)
Important calendar updates
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The Sherburne Pageant of Bands has been
rescheduled. The new dates are Thursday, June 5—Saturday, June
7.
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The Fonda-Fultonville High School's
Spotlight Performers will present "The Music Man" on April
4-6.
 Holiday
gift gives back to F-F third graders
U.S. military honors classroom with special U.S. flag
For Amy Mulyca’s third grade class, Monday, Feb. 4
was an extraordinary day. In a special classroom ceremony, the
Fonda-Fultonville students accepted a very special gift from the
U.S. military—an American flag that had flown aboard a
reconnaissance aircraft in the Middle East.
The flag, a certificate, and a poster of photos from
the Middle East were presented to the class by Fonda native and
Senior Airman Jacob Mundell who just completed service in Saudi
Arabia with the U.S. Air Force. (Click
here to read more...)
Middle
school media center—it's not your same old
library If you graduated from school ten or more
years ago, then chances are that a visit to the
Fonda-Fultonville Middle School media center
will shock you. Yes, you will still find plenty of books, tables, and
chairs, but any resemblance to the library you remember ends
there. Gone is the card catalog—those drawers
filled with index cards listings titles, authors, subjects and
locations of every publication on the library shelves. In their
place you are more likely to find rows of computers and an
online card catalog instead.
The media center has entered the digital age. (Click
here for the full story)
 Finding
the true meaning of the holidays
Six elementary
students give of themselves
If this is the season for giving, then six
Fonda-Fultonville Elementary School students have clearly
discovered what it means to give. Instead of simply going to the
mall and buying gifts, these six young ladies did something
extraordinary for others. (Click
here to read the full story)
When is nothing good news?
When it is the result of a New York State
Comptroller's audit
At the Board of Education meeting held Monday, December 17,
2007, Superintendent Jim Hoffman announced that the result of
the audit conducted by the New York State Comptroller’s Office
was a “no findings” report. This type of report states that
there were no deficiencies in the areas audited that required
changes in the processes used by the district. (Click
her to view the full
story and copy of the report)
Students launch school-wide
recycling program
The Fonda-Fultonville High School Student Government
is spearheading the district's first school-wide recycling program.
The program begins January 2, 2008 recycling only paper and
cardboard, but plans are in the works to expand include recycling
plastics, metal cans, and glass.
Student government recognized that a tremendous
volume of paper was simply being dumped in the trash. The new plan
is both environmentally responsible and may ultimately reduce waste
costs. When the group proposed the effort, it quickly gained the
support of the Board of Education, Superintendent Jim Hoffman,
Principal Dave Halloran, and Head of Buildings and Grounds Tim
Cellary.
On Thursday, December 19th, student government
members distributed recycling receptacles in the high school and a
few selected rooms in the middle school. On January 2nd or 3rd, the
members will finish distributing receptacles throughout the entire
school, pre-K-12.
The group initially plans pick-up once each week
from classrooms and twice weekly from the copy center, media
centers, and offices.
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Accepted materials: newspapers, magazines, card
board, mixed papers such as corrugated boxes, cereal boxes, junk
mail (including envelopes with plastic windows) catalogs,
telephone books, and stapled paper.
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Unacceptable materials: food-stained papers,
tissues, stickers, wet paper products and those containing wax,
plastic, or metal foil coating.
Your paper becomes home insulation. And remember,
one Sunday paper recycled each month saves a tree a year (Better
Homes and Gardens, Feb. 2008).
Fight the weather and support your F-F
Braves
What's big and colorful and keeps out the rain?—giant Fonda-Fultonville
umbrellas being sold by the Class of 2010! These are not those
little, black, fold-up umbrellas that collapse in a light
breeze—these are rugged, 60" across, maroon and white, and
emblazoned with the Braves logo. They are in stock and available
for immediate pick-up. At just $20 each, these will make great
gifts. To purchase your's, contact Cindy Monk at 922-6689 or cmonk@ffcsd.org.
Alumni: Don't forget to
register in database
The FFCSD Web site features an alumni directory, which almost 300
former F-F students have registered in to date. Want to register?
Click here.
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