Special visitors at Van Schaick Grade School

Students at Van Schaick Grade School had a chance to learn from some local "experts" in January.

For the school's "no referral party," Cohoes High School cheerleaders and basketball players came to Van Schaick to teach the students about their sports.

While the students who wanted to play basketball practiced dribbling, sprinting and shooting in the gym, those who wanted to cheerlead went to the cafeteria.

In the gym, students took cues from the older kids and worked on their basketball skills. At the end of the session they had a chance to watch the high school boys and girls play a short game against each other.

The cafeteria, however, was full of girls who wanted to learn about the sport. The cheerleaders showed them basic positions and then taught them a few cheers for Van Schaick Grade School.

Students are allowed to attend no referral parties if they have no received any referrals for the quarter. A referral is issued by a teacher to a student after the teacher has exhausted his or her classroom behavior plan, and the student continues to demonstrate unacceptable behavior. Referrals are part of a positive-behavior program that the school uses to emphasize appropriate behavior.