Need information on college planning
and financial aid? Join us for a
“Night on the Web”
Call and sign up NOW!
On
Thursday, January 24, at 7:00 p.m.,
the
Counseling Office will be offering
an
opportunity to become familiar with
websites that can help parents and
students gather information about college
planning, financial aid, and scholarships.
There is so much available on the Internet
that is free and we would like to familiarize
you with a sampling of helpful sites.
This will be
an interactive workshop
that
will have good information for parents of high
school students at all grade levels. We will
be
meeting in the computer lab
, room 39.
Since we want everyone to work on their own
computers,
call the Counseling Office (589
9624) by January 23 to reserve a spot.
See you there!
R
R
E
E
M
M
I
I
N
N
D
D
E
E
R
R
.
.
.
.
.
.
The district web site contains a great deal of information. You
can access it at:
http://www.williamsoncentral.k12.ny.us
Email is a good means by which to contact me at school. My e
mail address is:
dstarr@wfmail.williamsoncentral.k12.ny.us
FROM THE PRINCIPAL...
Daniel Starr, Ed.D.
We are into our second year of the
Gemini Program
in conjunction with Finger Lakes Community College. This is a
program where we align our course curriculum with a comparable course from the college. The students who want to get
college credit for it pay a reduced tuition rate ($90 instead of $270 for a 3hour course), and then must get an 80 for a final
grade in the class. Students are expected to purchase the textbooks for classes that begin January 25.
The following Gemini courses are offered for second semester enrollment:
Pre Calculus
– a fullyear course for WHS, but the second half (the
spring semester) is available for Gemini credit.
English 12
– a fullyear course for WHS, and each semester is
available for Gemini credit
Intro to Child Care
– this is the second semester course that aligns
with the child psychology class Mrs. Wilkins taught the first
semester.
Sociology
– a onesemester course for both WHS and FLCC.
BA/BCA
–
a fullyear course for WHS, and each semester is
available for Gemini credit.
Micro Computing
– a onesemester course for both WHS and FLCC.
Data Structures
– a onesemester course for both WHS and FLCC.
US History is a fullyear course for WHS, but only the first semester
was available for Gemini credit. This is also a Regents course and we
want to ensure that the Gemini curriculum aligns with the requirements
from the State Education Department.
Listed below are
student enrollment requirements for Gemini
participation.
1.
11
th
and 12
th
grade students
2.
Students must have a “B” (as defined as 8089%) or better
overall GPA – exceptions for balance will be considered.
3.
All placement into the Gemini program will be based on recommendations from the High School faculty and
guidance counselors and should include successful completion of Course III for math, and ELA or the
Comprehensive English exam for English.
4.
Students must have a written recommendation from the school principal and guidance director advocating
their participating – single list.
5.
No student can take more than 3 courses per semester.
6.
Students must meet the prerequisites as stated in the college catalog.
7.
Any request for enrollment exceptions will be made on a casebycase basis by the College Academic Vice
President.
If you have any questions about whether participation in a Gemini course is the right thing for your 11
th
or 12
th
grade son
or daughter, ple ase contact the Counseling Office at 5899624.
Did you know your student must submit
a
Computer Use Agreement
with parent
and student signatures in order to access
the computer network? If your student
cannot access the network at school, the
necessary paperwork is available in the
High School Main Office.
Williamson Senior High School
January 2002
PSAT SCORES
DELAYED
We have been notified by
PSAT/NMSQT that our PSAT
answer sheets from the
October testing may be
amongst quarantined mail
being held at one of the closed
postal facilities as part of the
federal
g
overnment’s
investigations into tainted
letters. We usually receive
test results in December,
however, we are not sure
when the mail will be released,
the tests scored, and the
results sent to us. In a memo
from the Educational Testing
Service, they were hoping to
have everything complete by
the end of January.
We will keep you updated on
this situation. If you have any
questions, please call the
Counseling Office at 589
9624.
LIFE’S GREATEST LESSONS
The issue of Character Education has
gained prominence across the United
States in recent years. It became part
of the S.A.V.E. legislation in NYS
last summer. At the heart of any
character education initiative is the
issue of val
ues and how to teach
them. The values we teach our
children are an integral part of their
upbringing and one of the most
important things we do as parents.
When we impart values as a part of
their formal education in school,
there typically is the issue of whether
the school is teaching religion.
Such is the case in the High School
with a book entitled Life’s Greatest
Lessons, by Dr. Hal Urban. Dr.
Urban presents 20
lessons or ideals that
he has grown to
believe are the most
important things we
should teach our
children.
He quotes the Bible
and discusses his
own spirituality. He
mentions Buddha
and Gandhi and Ben
Franklin. He also
paraphrases St. Paul.
He states that having
faith is one of the
cornerstones he
found important –
calling for a balance
between physical,
intellectual, and
spiritual health.
Teaching religion in
a public school can
be an explosive
issue, as the
Constitution
demands a
separation of church
and state. However,
the Constitution does
not forbid the mention of God or
even a de scription of the Bible, or the
Koran, or the Torah, or the teachings
of Hinduism. It does forbid the
promotion of one faith as superior to
the others.
The ideas Urban presents represent a
great deal of common sense. But
they are the ideas of one man, with
which we can agree or disagree.
Some people have argued that his
book does not belong in the High
School because it teaches or
promotes religion. Urban promotes
the need for faith as it helped him in
his life. He also tells the reader that
he or she must determine their own
beliefs, whether they agree with his
own or not.
It has received a great deal of
attention from the Board of
Education, as they strive to ensure
that it does
not teach or
promote
one religion
over
another.
Other
issues of
this
newsletter
have alerted
readers to
the gist of
the book, as
well as
information
available on
our web
site. That
information
is still there
for all to
see.
In addition
to this
publicity, I
hosted an
evening for
parents to
meet with
me to
discuss it
and have invited phone calls with
questions. The Board of Education
was invited to attend a meeting of
our House Planning Team to learn
how the teachers in the building
viewed this book.
I have asked the English Department
to devote several lessons to the
values that Urban presents. Some
argue that the students need to see
these values modeled by the adults
and other students around them.
This is true. There is also value in
the reading and writing about them,
as it gives students time to reflect on
their values and express their
feelings.
Most of the students who enter this
building have a solid ethical
foundation. They are teenagers,
however, and that means they
challenge everything around them.
We see this as parents and we see it
as educators. Thus, the opportunity
to ponder their values and decide
what is right and wrong is valuable.
From the principal’s perspective, I
can deal with the behavior and assign
consequences, but it would be far
better to address the values that
underlie the character of the students
in our school.
¨
Ski Club...
will have trips to Brantling
January 4, 11, 18, 25, and
February 1. Buses will leave the
High School about 3:45 p.m.
Students are to bring equipment
to the High School and Mr. Scott
will direct you as to where it
should be stored during the day.
IMPORTANT REMINDER: Only
parents, according to school
rules, are allowed to pick up
students at Brantling after signing
your child out with an advisor.
FROM THE HEALTH OFFICE...
Cynthia Showman, R.N.
Happy New Year to all of you!
I am beginning to screen the 10
th
grade students this month. For those who have not had
a required physical exam yet this school year, I will be scheduling them to receive one on Tuesday, January 8
th
. It will be
with Mary Jo Lockwood, CNP from Williamson Medical Center. She has been doing physicals for us for a number of
years. If you have any questions, please contact me at the Health Office (5899625).
LIBRARIES CHANGE LIVES...
Almost every person of achievement credits reading and the library
for a role in his/her success. There are countless others whose
lives have changed and flourished because of the assistance
provided by libraries and librarians. In school, college, public and
special libraries across the nation, librarians play a unique role in
ensuring the public’s right to know and empowering people from all
walks of life to lead better lives. They include:
•
the homeless man in Boston who spent all his time in the library
studying how to become a writer. Today, he is a published,
selfsupporting freelance journalist.
•
the little girl who spent all her free time in an East Toledo
branch library, reading to escape from an impoverished home
and the burden of caring for her mentally ill mother. Today
Gloria Steinem, wellknown author and feminist, says: “I am
entirely a product of libraries. You have made me what I am
today.”
It happens every day. Libraries and librarians change lives, shape
lives, even save lives. Here are more stories of some whose names
you may recognize.
As a young man
unable to afford college, awardwinning science fiction author Ray Bradbury, says he educated himself
at the Los Angeles Downtown Library, "attending" three or four d
ays a week and "graduating" when he was 28. "I went
through every room educating myself in a shallow manner, in philosophy and psychology, but in a deeper manner in the
history of poetry, short stories, novels from every country, and especially essays. When I speak with students I tell them,
'it's no use going to school if the library is not your final goal'."
As a young boy
growing up during the Depression in Edinburgh, Scotland, actor Sean Connery left school at age 12 to
help support his family. A few years later, while appearing in his first theater production, an American friend gave him a list
of recommended reading. Connery considers the act a turning point that led to his future success: "I spent the rest of the
tour in libraries . . . it's the books, the reading that can change one's life. I'm the living evidence."
"As a child,
my number one best friend was the librarian at my grade school. I actually believed all those books belonged
to her," says author/humorist Erma Bombeck. When the librarian warned that some books were too old for her, Bombeck
claimed they were for her mother. "I have never regretted my dishonesty."
Looking back on his childhood,
actor/director Robert Redford recalls weekly visits to the library with his parents as a
major influence. ". . .the library had a greater impact on me than I ever knew . . . I would go to the children's area and read
Rafael Sabatini and Greek mythologies . . . I fell in love with reading. I would take a book out, take it home, and it would
be my book until the next Wednesday night."
As a struggling young actor,
Harrison Ford supported his family by doing carpentry he taught himself from library
books. Today, he says the mastery of carpentry taught him discipline that improved his approach to acting. And he still
enjoys carpentry as an advocation.
An AfricanAmerican youngster
in the Detroit inner city was taunted by his schoolmates as "dumb". But his mother had
faith in him. Among other things, she insisted that he borrow two books from the library each week and turn in a book
report. Gradually, he began to develop an interest in reading, especially about science. His vocabulary and reading
comprehension improved. He received a college scholarship and, at age 33, was appointed director of pediatric
neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. You may recognize him as Benjamin Carson, the skilled surgeon in the widely publicized
surgery that successfully separated Siamese twins joined at the head.
American Library Association Fact Sheet 2001
Publication of the
WILLIAMSON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
PO BOX 900
WILLIAMSON, NY 14589
If you have not reserved your copy of yearbook, the price
for “The Log 2002” is now $35.00. Checks should be
made payable to “The Log 2002.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, January 21 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, January 22Thursday, January 24 – MIDTERM EXAMS
Friday, January 25 – 3
rd
MARKING PERIOD BEGINS
Tuesday, February 12 – Parent Conference Day
(dismissal at 11:25 a.m.)
Monday, February 18Friday, February 22 – Presidents’ Week Recess
Saturday, March 9 – WCS K12 Learning Fair at Middle School from 14 p.m.
M i d
M i d –
– T e r m E x a m S c h e d u l e
T e r m E x a m S c h e d u l e
January 2 0 0 2
Morning session — 8:0011:00 A.M.
Tuesday
January 22
Wednesday
January 23
Thursday
January 24
Regents:
RCT Writing
Chemistry
Physics
Global Studies
RCT Math
Comp English (session one)
RCT Science
Comp English (session two)
Local:
English 912
Social Studies 912
Sciences (including AP)
Tuesday
January 22
Wednesday
January 23
Thursday
January 24
Regents:
Intro to Occupations
US History & Gov’t.
Course I
Course II
Mathematics A
RCT Global Studies
Living Environment
RCT US History & Gov’t.
French
Spanish
Physical setting/Earth Science
Local:
Driver Education
Foreign Language
Math (all except those who
took Math A on 1/22/02)
The only transportation
to school
will be provided by the regular morning bus run.
Buses will depart:
Tuesday:
10:15 a.m.
Noon
2:22 p.m.
3:10 p.m.
Wednesday:
10:15 a.m.
Noon
2:22 p.m.
3:10 p.m.
Thursday:
10:15 a.m.
Noon
2:22 p.m.
3:10 p.m.
Lunches will be served between 11:00 a.m.–Noon
Afternoon
session
—
Noon
3:00 P.M.
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
1
NO SCHOOL
NEW YEAR’S
DAY
2
A
3
B
4
C
Ski Club leaves at
3:30 p.m. from H.S.
5
6
7
D
“FINANCIAL AID
INFORMATION
NIGHT” – 7:00 p.m.
(High School Library)
8
E
9
F
Board of Education
Meeting 7:30 p.m.
10
A
11
B
Ski Club leaves at
3:30 p.m. from H.S.
12
13
14
C
15
D
16
E
17
F
18
A
Ski Club leaves at
3:30 p.m. from H.S.
19
20
21
NO SCHOOL
MARTIN
LUTHER
KING, JR. DAY
22
NHS Dinner for new
Inductees (cafeteria)
23
Board of Education
Meeting 7:30 p.m.
24
Searching the Web for
College Planning
79:00 p.m.(room 39)
25
A
Ski Club leaves at
3:30 p.m. from H.S.
26
27
28
B
29
C
30
D
31
E
Williamson Senior High School
January 2002
Main Office 5899621
Counseling Office 5899624
Health Office 5899625
MID
TERM EXAMS & REGENTS EXAMS
3
rd
MARKING
PERIOD BEGINS
END OF 20 WEEKS
Back to top
