Birchwood chorus performs at Empire State Plaza
The Birchwood Elementary School chorus sang beautifully during the New York State School Music Association's 2008 Music in our Schools Month celebration at the Empire State Plaza in Albany in early April. Local legislators Senator Hugh Farley and Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco spoke with students and parents. They also presented NYSSMA certificates and pins to each of the students and a plaque honoring the entire chorus.

Van Antwerp Middle School Drama Club presents “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court”
This year, the Van Antwerp Middle School drama club invites you to follow the adventures of Hank Morgan, King Arthur, Merlin and others in their production of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.”
After Morgan, a stagehand working on his school’s play, is knocked unconscious by a fellow student, he awakens in early medieval England during the reign of King Arthur, and is mistaken for a monster. Morgan who has studied astronomy, predicts an eclipse of the sun and is then hailed a great wizard and is knighted "Sir Boss." He sets about modernizing Camelot, complete with telephones, bicycles and T-shirts. He soon learns that King Arthur's wicked half-sister is planning to invade Camelot with her own army. How "Sir Boss" triumphs over the evil plot and finds his way back to Hartford provides fun and excitement for everyone. Approximately 30 eighth-grade students are participating in the play, which is produced and directed by English teachers Heather Leader and Lauren Kvam. The drama club presents  “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court” on Thursday, April 3 and Friday, April 4 at 7 p.m. in the VA auditorium. Tickets are $5.

Members of Niskayuna High School Jazz Ensemble hit the big stage with Grammy Award-winning band at Proctor's
Student musicians from Niskayuna High School’s Jazz Ensemble had the opportunity of a lifetime when they opened for Blood Sweat & Tears on Friday, April 4 at Proctor’s Theater.
Senior Matt Gillen (trombone); juniors Eli Grant (alto sax), Matt Barnes (guitar), Colin MacCormack (drums), and Markus Salasoo (bass); sophomores Anthony Bellino (trumpet) and Shane Porter (tenor sax) played melodies of jazz icons Thelonius Monk, Horace Silver and Herbie Hancock. The students later joined the band on "God Bless the Child" during the main performance. Blood Sweat & Tears is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a 25-city tour, which included the stop at Proctor’s Theater in early April. Read more

Glencliff Elementary students "give from the heart" to children in Greenland
In recent years, through Glencliff Elementary School’s “Giving from Our Hearts” service projects, students have helped others across the globe, and right in their own backyard. They’ve sent school supplies to children in Madagascar and Kenya; care packages to U.S. troops stationed in Iraq; and collected food for the Schenectady Inner City Mission. This year, the students are collecting school and other supplies for children in Greenland. More about the project

Iroquois student wins regional contest about financial responsibility
Natalie Olsen knows what it takes to be financially responsible. The Iroquois Middle School eighth-grader won a regional contest called "Be Money Wise," for a poster she created that promotes the importance of managing money wisely. Olsen and her classmates learned about financial health and being a smart consumer in teacher Jennifer Deeb's health class in April, which is Financial Literacy Month. The students were then assigned the task of creating a poster about financial responsibility. Olsen’s was selected from numerous entries, from around the region, that were submitted to the Be Money Wise contest. Olsen received a cash prize, an award, and her poster will be entered into the national contest where it will be judged against other entries from across the United States. Congratulations and best of luck!

Community forum presents sobering message about teenage alcohol and substance abuse
On Wednesday, April 9, the Niskayuna Community Action Program (N-CAP) and the Niskayuna PTO Council will sponsor a community forum called “Alcohol and Substance Abuse…the conversation begins” at Niskayuna High School from 6–9 pm.
From 6-6:45 pm, community members and local officials will gather to view the exhibit “Friends: One Day, One Wrong Turn,” a memorial to four Colgate University students who lost their lives in a tragic DWI car accident in 2000. The forum will continue from 7–9 pm with a panel of Niskayuna High School students who will discuss their observations and perceptions of alcohol and substance abuse among their peers. Following the panel, nationally known speaker, John Underwood, president and founder of a high school and NCAA anti-drug program, will share his expertise on the effects of alcohol and other drugs on young adolescents and suggest strategies to protect our children. Underwood will also speak to Niskayuna student survey data from the 2006 Prevention Needs Assessment Survey conducted by Schenectady’s Promise, The Alliance for Youth.

Hillside fifth-grader wins essay contest; rings opening bell

John Koelmel, center top, CEO of First Niagara Financial gets some help from four upstate New York students, left to right, Brooke Testa, Griffin Lenkiewicz, Lauren Litz and Bradley Schneider. (c) 2008, The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

Lauren Juliana Litz, a Niskayuna fifth-grader, had an opportunity that many adults only dream about. On April 14, she traveled to New York City and helped ring the opening bell at the NASDAQ Stock Market in Times Square—signaling the beginning of trading for the business day.
Litz, who attends Hillside Elementary School, joined three other students from across New York State who entered and won an essay contest sponsored by First Niagara Bank.
Litz’s essay was selected from approximately 400 entries submitted by fifth-graders. In the essay, students had to describe a new business that they would start that would help people in their community the most. Read Lauren’s essay
In addition to an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City, including transportation, hotel, and sightseeing, the four essay winners earned $1,000 donations  toward computer equipment for their elementary schools, plus $250 personal savings accounts at their local First Niagara Bank branches. The essay contest marked First Niagara Bank’s 10th anniversary as a public company listed on the NASDAQ.

Prize-winning author, poet and essayist returns home for writer-in-residence program at Niskayuna High School
Niskayuna native and award-winning author, Elizabeth Rosner, will share her literary experience with Niskayuna High School students during the school’s annual writer-in-residence program from April 23-25.
Rosner, a Niskayuna graduate currently residing in California, has written two novels, The Speed of Light and Blue Nude, and a collection of poetry, Gravity.
“We are excited to have Ms. Rosner work with students in both small and large group settings and talk to them about her writing process,” said Eva Jones, Grades 9-12 director of English Language Arts. “She is looking forward to returning to Niskayuna High School to talk with students about her books and her career as a writer.” Read more

Lacrosse players show support for local family
On April 27, members of the Boys Varsity, JV, Freshman and Modified lacrosse teams participated in Miracle Miles for Michele, a 5k Run/Walk in support of Michele Harland, a Glencliff parent who is undergoing treatment for leukemia. More than 50 players, approximately half of the entire Niskayuna lacrosse program, along with many lacrosse family members, ran or walked in the event to raise funds for the Harland family. “It was a great team building activity and opportunity to show community support” said teacher and lacrosse coach Frank Adamo.

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