Hello Watkins Glen School Community!
Welcome back to school WG!
I hope this message finds you happy and healthy, and energized for a new school year. Like anything new, the 23-24 has the potential to the best year yet!
We are in an exciting time of change at WGCSD! Below are a few examples and details of changes that will take place during the 23-24 school year.
School Spirit Store & Lake Hawk Imagery Update:
We have worked hard to develop a school spirit store to kick off the new school year. The online store can be accessed here. This store will NOT have our new Lake Hawks imagery as that work remains in development. A small group of teachers and administrators has been working to develop a few draft images, and we feel have a built a foundation for our students to work with. The drafts will now go to a few classes and student groups for feedback. We will take the feedback provided by students and bring it back to our graphic designers to develop final draft images. Our goal is to have new imagery ready by early October. Once new imagery is finalized, we will build another online store, which will be ready by the holiday season.
The rebranding of a school district is not an easy or quick task, I would like to thank everyone for their patience and support as we put forth a strong effort to do something great.
Updated Vision & Mission & Strategic Planning:
As we communicated in our fall newsletter, and with the assistance of the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education, the Watkins Glen Central School District has developed and adopted a new vision and mission statement.
The new statements are below:
Vision Statement:
United, we guide all learners to soar toward their full potential.
Mission Statement:
Together with our community, we create a welcoming environment that sparks the habits of life-long learning. Our district encourages respect, resilience, and personal growth as the foundation for success.
The next step in this process will be the actual planning work to achieve our vision and mission.
If you would like to have input on the strategic plan, we have the following opportunities available for you:
- Attend the community perception gathering session on September 18th at 6:30PM. These sessions will take place in the high school library and the high school home and careers classroom. All community members are invited to attend. We would love to have parents and caregivers attend to weigh in on the future of the Watkins Glen Central School District.
- Join the Planning Council – We are looking for one to two more people to commit to the work of strategic planning. We will look at both numeric and opinion-based data to drive our conversation and improvement planning. Below are the details. If you are interested in joining, please call me at 607-535-3220.
What is the Planning Council?
Who – Small group of interested faculty, staff, administration, and school community members.
When – 4 full workdays on October 17th, October 25th, November 8th, November 17th from 8:00AM – 3:00PM.
Where – WGCSD Board of Education/Professional Learning Room
What – This will be deep dive as we research and analyze data, digging into the nuts and bolts of the strategic planning process. These four days will require attendance and active participation by all participants during all 4 dates and times.
If you have any questions about this process, feel free to contact the District Office at 607-535-3220.
Back-To-School Night:
Though it has been communicated out a lot already, I want to remind everyone that we have scheduled our annual open house in the form of a “back-to-school night”, which will take place this evening (9.5) from 4:30-6:30PM. All are invited!
Athletics:
The fall sports season is underway!
Check out our athletic schedule here.
COVID-19 Updates:
As a reminder, there have been no changes or additional guidance provided by the agencies of our state. Our district is planning to run our schools in a typical manner for the 2023-24 school year.
Currently, there are no requirements for testing, masking or contact tracing. However, we ask that you remain home if you are sick, self-report positive tests and communicate with the appropriate health office if an at-home test results in a positive test.
The District will continue to keep high levels of air flow and exchange throughout our buildings. We will also continue our rigorous daily cleaning protocols and hand sanitizer will remain strategically placed throughout all District buildings. Additional COVID-related information can be found on our district website.
I will keep you updated on any changes. Our goal, as always, is to keep our students as safe and healthy as possible.
That is all for now WG & SOAR Lake Hawks!
Respectfully,
Kai D’Alleva
Watkins Glen Central School District
Superintendent of Schools