Big thanks going out to...

• All those who made Thanksgiving special for our students & community
• Our Family Support Services team and FeedMore WNY for their work on our new school food pantry
• High School students in Mr. Haase's class for mentoring our elementary students through a catapult project
• Several of our staff members who participated in a student vs. staff volleyball tournament recently!
• Ryan Davis for his work highlighting the new Individual Arts Assessment Pathway (IAAP) in a new video

Dear Fredonia School Community,

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends this past weekend. As mentioned over the last several updates, each year our district looks to move forward towards our vision by selecting a cross section of focus areas in the spirit of continuous improvement.

I wanted to take a moment to share a little more information this week about our last district focus area, which is:

Create a fiscally responsible budget that aligns to our updated mission and vision that is respectful of our taxpayers and supports student achievement.

We are taking several action steps to make progress in this area, which include the following:

• Ensure that our budget supports our educational programs and student growth

• Monitor potential increased costs in Special Education, Transportation, Technology, and general utilities

• Generate strategies to effectively utilize and distribute the district’s current fund balance

• Allocate an appropriate amount of surplus funds to allow for unexpected expenses, as well as create flexibility within our budget

• Pursue any and all grant opportunities to enhance our student experience within the district

• Monitor the American Rescue Plan funds and prepare for the transition as the grant expires in two years
  
  

Again, we look forward to working together over the course of the year to continue the tradition of Fredonia being a great place to teach and learn. Thanks in advance for everyone's contribution to this effort.

Respectfully,

Brad Zilliox

Our classrooms celebrated Thanksgiving in many different ways. Pictured are our Unified "Friendsgiving" activities as well as members of our NHS and Interact Club decorating cookies with residents of the WCA Home in Fredonia.

Thanks to our students and staff for spreading positivity and joy this holiday season.

Are you a student who is interested in art and music in high school? Watch this video to learn more about our new Individual Arts Assessment Pathway (IAAP), which allows you to focus on the arts as a pathway to graduation.

Thanks to Ryan Davis for this video!

Did you know that Fredonia is the only school in Chautauqua County to have an in-house food pantry? Through the hard work of our School Social Worker Kat Beyer and our Family Support Services staff, and in partnership with FeedMore WNY, our new school food pantry is up and running. We serve students of all grade levels and their families who may need a little extra assistance with groceries and pantry staples. Any student or family member can reach out to an adult and pick up items from the pantry. They can also fill out the form linked below to request specific items, and even take advantage of delivery of these items. The items pictured are not the only items available, so please reach out with any questions. We are especially grateful for the partnership with Feedmore WNY (formerly Meals on Wheels and the Food Pantry of WNY) who provides all of these items at no cost to the district.

One of this year's district focus areas is to provide for the basic needs of our students, and this program certainly supports that goal. Thank you to all those involved!

For more information on our Family Support Services department, visit our website.

Each year the students in Mrs. Alguire/Mrs. Ashworth's, and Mrs. McAfee's classes learn about the history of the Macy's Day Parade to celebrate the Thanksgiving season. They create their own balloon sculptures and hang them in the hallways. We love seeing this festive activity continue!

Middle School students from Miss Hockwater's and Mrs. Greenough's English classes faced off in a "You Laugh, You Lose" Dad Joke Tournament last week as part of their Humor unit. What a fun way to bring a lesson to life!

The second graders in Mrs. Price’s class enjoyed working with Mr. Haase and his high school seniors recently during their technology class. The students collaborated on building a catapult. They tested their design using a cookie and a marble. The final goal was to see if they could shoot both objects into a cup. This was achieved by working cooperatively to make changes to the placement of the catapult due to the weight of the object. It was an awesome learning experience for all students. The seniors learned the importance of being patient while mentoring, and the second graders learned a little physics and walked away with a “Big Buddy”.

Students in our first grade classrooms recently put together timelines of their lives! If you're visiting the elementary building, you'll see our halls are lined with these fun project depicting important moments in each student's life so far. We love seeing all these fun family photos and memories. Great job!

Congrats to our own Connie Lavelle and Mackenzie Sheldon, High School & Middle School art instructors, on having their work displayed at an exhibition at Barker Library. The show is up through the first week of December, so go check it out!

Recently Mrs. Johnston held a student volleyball tournament after completing their volleyball unit in PE. Seven teams competed and the winning student team competed against a staff team comprised of 6 HS staff members and one MS teacher. The students played exceptionally well and defeated the teachers in a close game, 25-19!

Thanks to our willing participant staff members: Steven Romans, Pat Newell, Amanda Krakowiak, Kerry Sweatman, Dan Bittinger, Shannon Marsh and Lisa Johnston.

Please note - the SAT previously scheduled for December 3 at FHS has been cancelled. Registered students will receive an email from CollegeBoard with instructions on how to reschedule their exam.