Voter registration taking place
now
Voter registration for the May 20, 2008, budget
vote is taking place May 6-9 and 12-15 at the district's three
elementary schools. Those interested can register to vote during
school hours. To vote, residents must be a United States
citizen, age 18 or older and a district resident for at least 30
days.
For 2008-09 Budget information, click here.
Where do I vote? Click here to find your polling location.
District hosts picnic for ELL
families
Every
year the ESL Department of the Cohoes City School District
organizes picnics for the parents of ELL students, and gives the
parents a chance to meet the teachers, find out about state
tests and talk to each other.
This year's picnic, held on April 29, was a true
celebration of the diversity of Cohoes. Nearly 20 parents and 45
children attended the picnic and enjoyed original and unique
food: Ukrainian golubci (staffed cabbage), Sudanese falafel
(fried vegetarian dish), Afghani deserts, a huge Ukrainian cake
and "American" food - pizza!
MORE
BOCES
Arts & Enrichment Showcase at Cohoes
On Thursday, 1, 2008, the annual BOCES Art &
Enrichment Showcase was hosted by the Cohoes City School
District at Abram Lansing Elementary School and Cohoes Middle
School.
MORE
Cohoes High School Class of 2008
gives back to the community
A
few months shy of graduation, the Cohoes High School Class of
2008 participated in the first annual Senior Service Day, as
part of Global Youth Service Day, on Friday, April 25, 2008.
Throughout the day, nearly all of the seniors in the Class of
2008 were at a variety of locations around the city cleaning,
planting and giving their time to the greater community.
MORE
Board of Education adopts
2008-09 budget
Budget vote May 20
The Cohoes City School District Board of
Education adopted a $35,028,236 school budget with no expected
change in the tax rate at its regular meeting on Wednesday,
April 23.
Next year's proposed budget has a spending
increase of $1,847,591, which is 5.57 percent more than the
current year's approximately $33.2 million budget. The proposed
increase in spending is driven primarily by costs incurred
through district building projects approved by voters in 2006.
These building project costs, however, will be nearly all offset
by state building aid.
MORE
For more budget, voter registration or absentee ballot
information, click here.
Cohoes City Schools meet state
expectations
The 2006-07 New York State School Report Cards,
which were recently released, show that the Cohoes City Schools
have met or exceeded all of the state's learning
expectations. To see the individual report cards, visit the
academics section of each school site.
Sixth Annual Cohoes High School
Student Art Show going on now!
The sixth annual Cohoes High School student show
at the Visitor Center on Remsen Street is taking place now
through the first week of May from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents
are encouraged to stop in to see the work of our students. The
visitor's center is on the ground floor of the Cohoes Music
Hall.
In April four students were recognized during a
reception. Those students include: for the People's Choice
award: Lindsey Grudecki and Vanessa Bressette, for the Best 2-D:
Jenna Deo and for the Best 3-D: Nina Curtain.
Superintendent Charles S. Dedrick leaving Cohoes to lead Capital Region BOCES
Dedrick to step down in June
Charles S. Dedrick, who has served as the superintendent of schools in Cohoes since 1999, is leaving Cohoes to assume the role of District Superintendent at the Capital Region Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES).
Dedrick, who has guided the Cohoes schools through a period of academic growth, was appointed to his new post at Capital Region BOCES by the organization's Board of Education on Wednesday, April 9. His last day in Cohoes will be June 8.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Cohoes City School District," Dedrick said.
"The staff in Cohoes has a vision for each child and it was an honor for me to help them foster their energy and drive for educating the city's
children. I have enjoyed working with the Board of Education,
faculty, staff, city officials and the community members who are
all deeply committed to the children of Cohoes."
MORE
Universal Prekindergarten Facts
For information about the anticipated 2008-09
Cohoes City Schools Universal Prekindergarten program,
click here.
Van Schaick
Grade School and principal honored as "Champions of Character"
 |
|
Cohoes Mayor John
McDonald III, left, Van Schaick Grade School Principal
Jacqueline DeChiaro and Superintendent of School Charles
S. Dedrick stand together after DeChiaro was given her
award. (Photo by Sharon Aitchison.) |
Van Schaick Grade School and its Principal
Jacqueline DeChiaro were honored on Wednesday, March 12, at The
Academy for Character Education at the Sage Colleges' annual
"Champions of Character" Awards Banquet.
MORE
BOCES Legislative Paper
To view the 2008 Capital Region BOCES
Superintendents' Legislative Paper,
click here. The paper describes the group's opinions on the
state budget process this year.
Contingency Days for the 2007-08
School Year
In the event of any more snow days, the district
will begin using its planned contingency days. The days will be
used in the following order:
1. May 27; 2. April 21; 3. April 11; 4. May 23
Kindergarten Screening
Screening for the child will take place in May at the
school your child will be attending. The school will be
contacting you about a specific time. The dates are as follows.
Abram Lansing Elementary School: May 6-8;
Harmony Hill School: May 12-15;
Van Schaick Grade School: May 13-14.
Local educators shadow Cohoes
administrators
 |
|
Middle School Principal Mark Perry
and intern Aaron Thomson sit with some CMS students
during lunch. |
Two administrative interns have been shadowing
Cohoes administrators over the past few weeks through the
Institute for New Era Educational Leadership at The College of
St. Rose.
The interns each spent time with several different
administrators during their five-day visit to Cohoes to see the
different types of roles they could play in a district as a
future administrator themselves.
MORE
Cohoes Mayor awards students for
teamwork
Cohoes
Mayor John T. McDonald III presented the Team Work Awards to
Cohoes students at the Cohoes High Basketball Game on Saturday,
Feb. 9 at the Cohoes High School Gym. The award,
courtesy of the Cohoes Mayoral Foundation, is presented to
nominated students of the various high school sports programs
who best represent good sportsmanship. The award is also
supported by the Cohoes Character Counts Committee.
MORE
Cohoes Superintendent of Schools
recognized by statewide organization
 |
|
Left to
right, Rockville Centre Schools Superintendent and
Chairman of the NYSCOSS Distinguished Service Committee
Bill Johnson, Cohoes City Schools Superintendent Charles
S. Dedrick, and Jericho Public Schools Superintendent
and Council President Henry Grishman. (Photo by Bruce
McDonough.) |
Cohoes City School District Superintendent
Charles S. Dedrick was recently honored with an Appreciation
Award by The New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS).
The Award, which recognizes Dedrick's service and leadership,
was presented at the organization's Mid-Winter Conference on
Jan. 13, 2008.
MORE
Cohoes player sets Section
II and national record
Tuesday,
Jan. 7 was a night for the record books for Cohoes High School
girls' basketball senior guard Courtney Galuski.
Galuski set a Section II record for the most
three-point shots in a game. She
hit 15 three-point goals, leading Cohoes to a 91-36 win over Schalmont on
her team's home turf.
To see a video of her 15 shots,
click here,
or to see her record featured in Sports Illustrated,
click here.
MORE
Cohoes
schools “in good standing”
All three Cohoes City School District elementary
schools, along with Cohoes Middle School, were once again named
schools "in good standing" by the New York State Education
Department on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007.
To be considered "in good standing" elementary and middle
schools must meet the state targets on the state ELA and math
exams in grades 3-8.
"We are proud of the accomplishments of our students, and the
hard work of the teachers, principals and support staff, which
is the reason for their achievement," said Superintendent
Charles S. Dedrick. "I'd like to extend my congratulations to
the school community for its academic success."
Data about Cohoes High School is expected to be
released by the New York State Education Department by the end
of January. It is anticipated that the high school will also be
"in good standing."
Hello? Brazil? It's
Cohoes!
Twenty
years ago, students wrote letters to pen pals in other towns,
states and even countries. But today, with the click of a mouse,
Cohoes Middle School students are chatting, face-to-face, with
"pen pals" in Brazil.
Through the C.A.S.E. (Cohoes After School
Enrichment) program at the middle school, Tony Rivera has
connected students at the Mentes Brillantes (Brilliant Minds)
School in Brazilian children in Campos do Jordão,
Sao Paulo, Brazil.
MORE
ESOL students recognized for
essays
When
asked how they have changed since coming to America, some
students talked about the difficulty of learning English. Others
mentioned getting a job and a few talked about the differences
in the culture in the country where they lived previously.
To view excerpts from the students' essays,
click
MORE.
Former Cohoes football star
inducted into Hall of Fame
John
Bonkoski, a member of the Cohoes High School Football Class of
1999 and the graduating Class of 2000, was inducted into the Cohoes Football Hall of Fame on
Monday, Nov. 19, at the Annual Football Awards Banquet at the
Ukrainian Club in Cohoes.
MORE
Coming together for Character
Education
 |
|
Front: Congressman Michael McNulty
(D-Green Island),
Kathy Jimino, Rensselaer County Executive. Back: Left to
right, Frederick W. Erlich, Dr. John Walko, Charles S. Dedrick; and
Dr. Philip Fusco. |
On Tuesday, Nov. 13, local and federal
politicians came together in honor of character education.
The group included Congressman Michael McNulty (D-Green Island);
Kathy Jimino, Rensselaer County Executive; Fredrick W. Erlich,
CEO of Living Resources; Dr. John Walko,
director for the Academy for Character Education at The Sage
Colleges; Cohoes
Superintendent of Schools Charles S. Dedrick; and Dr. Philip
Fusco, an
associate at the Academy of Character Education at The Sage
Colleges.
MORE
Senior citizen tax exemptions
The Cohoes Board of Education raised the tax
exemption to the maximum amount allowed by law.
To see what exemption you qualify for,
click
here.
Assemblyman Ron Canestrari
visits Cohoes UPK students
 |
|
Assembly Majority Leader Ron
Canestrari (D-Cohoes), talks with Universal
Pre-kindergarten teacher Megan Helmrath and students
during his visit. |
Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari visited
Cohoes Universal Pre-kindergarten students at Abram Lansing on
Nov. 7, to see what they were learning, and to discuss the
importance of state support for the program in Cohoes and
throughout the state with School Superintendent Charles Dedrick.
"The families, teachers and students are reaping the benefits of
the Assemblyman's commitment to Universal Pre-kindergarten
programming," Dedrick said. "We were honored to have Assemblyman
Canestrari as a guest at our schools and to give him the
opportunity to see what our students are learning."
MORE
District staff members honored
for service
John Wilhelm was recognized as the district's
longest employee with 36 years at the Cohoes City School
District's Ninth Annual Employee Recognition Day on Nov.
6.
The event, which was held during the Superintendent's Conference
on Election Day, honored more than 90 employees for their
service to the district.
MORE
Character Counts at Van
Schaick Grade School
During the Week of Oct. 22, 2007, Van Schaick
Grade School celebrated National Education Week.
Students cleaned their community park, donated
food to needy families, learned about responsibility, fairness,
wellness, respect, caring and trumpeted their spirit for their
school.
MORE
To view a slide show of the week's activities,
click here
Math, science and robotics!
The
students in Alison Craver's enrichment class at CMS are not only
honing their math and science skills, they're building
functional robots.
As a group, the students follow Power Point
slides that demonstrate each step, students are crafting their
robots. Once finished, the students will use computer software
to program them to travel specific distances or make noises.
MORE
Conference helps educators
streamline transition from preschool to kindergarten
 |
|
Superintendent Charles Dedrick
introduces the keynote speaker, Helen Wheelock. |
On Friday, Oct. 26, the Cohoes City School
District co-sponsored the Preschool Kindergarten Consortium's
Fall 2007 Conference at Hudson Valley Community College.
One hundred sixty educators from around the region came
together to learn and discuss methods on helping students make a
solid transition from preschool to the public school system in
kindergarten.
"We are proud to be sponsors of such an important event," said
Abram Lansing Principal Cliff Bird.
MORE
Going for broke
Students navigate the stock market through an
online game
Some
of the students in T.J. Keegan's economics class have earned
quite a bit of money through the stock market in the last few
weeks.
Unfortunately for these Cohoes High School
students, they haven't earned actual cash, but "online money"
through the Web site stockmarketgame.org.
MORE
CHS ring lost for 32 years—and
then found
Tinker Young thought he lost his Cohoes High
School Class of 1975 ring in Okinawa, Japan.
But more than 30 years later he was shocked to find out it had
shown up in the pocket of a retired Rensselaer police detective.
MORE
Students' spirit rallies teams
On
Friday, Oct. 5, Cohoes High School was awash in blue and gold
for the Homecoming Pep Rally.
Dressed in blue and gold, students chanted their
class year, trying to be the loudest class in the gym. There
were signs, whistles, cheerleaders with pom poms waving and the
band.
MORE
Harmony Hill School kicks off
a yearlong 20th anniversary celebration
If you had to pick only one item, what would you
choose to commemorate the year 2007? Students and staff at
Harmony Hill School have been working to answer that question as
they prepare to fill a time capsule for the school's 20th
anniversary celebration.
The yearlong anniversary celebration will kicked
off on Friday, Sept. 28, with guest performers, special
activities and a community dance in the evening.
MORE
Fall College Caravan
The
Counseling Department hosted the Fall College Caravan on Sept.
17, 2007 for senior and junior students.
The College Caravan consisted of approximately fourteen college
representatives from regional colleges and universities.
MORE
Welcome back to school!
 |
|
Left: Students arrive at Cohoes
Middle School for the first day of classes on Sept. 6,
2007. Right: Two second-graders wait in line outside Van Schaick Grade School for the bell to ring on the first
day of school. |
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To view arrival and dismissal times,
click here.
-
For a PDF of the district calendar,
click here.
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To see student supply lists for
the 2007-08 school year, visit your school's homepage by
clicking on the link above.
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For food service information,
click here.
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For student registration information,
click here.