Van Duyn Elementary School

The 13th Annual Children's Book Fest will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 6, 2012, at Franklin Elementary School, 428 South Alvord St. This year's theme is Reading is Nutritious! Come join us for stories, fun reading games and activities, live entertainment, snacks, zoo animals and more. The entire event is free and all children, ages 2-10, are welcome to attend with their families.

On September 26, 2012 students and teachers all across the Syracuse City School District will be opening their blinds and letting the sunshine in to celebrate Daylight Day.  Please join the Green SCSD team in their efforts to boost student achievement and reduce their carbon footprint.  Teachers and staff are pledging to turn off the lights on Daylight Day. 
 
You can take the Daylight Day Pledge at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CGQP8S2

Huntington Family Center will be the site of second annual Kids Get Fit Fest on Wednesday, April 11.

Open to children ages 2-10, the Fit Fest will run from 1 to 4 p.m. at the center, 405 Gifford St. There will be raffles for bikes, a number of activities including Zumbatomic, and free snacks. Each child who attends will receive a backpack containing a water bottle, a book to read and a sheet of suggestions on how to stay active.

The event, which is free, is sponsored by Success by 6.

Nearly 500 students, parents, health care practitioners, educators, and advocates gathered at the State Capital Building in Albany to raise awareness of the impact School Based Health Centers (SBHC’s) have on communities across New York State. Five students from the Syracuse City School District’s Westside Academy at Blodgett participated in the “Student Speakout” and listened to speeches from legislators and others who have been instrumental in bringing comprehensive health services to students on-site at schools.

Seven music teachers from the Syracuse City School District were recently recognized in the magazine Teaching Music for their initiative to save the strings program in the district. Samantha Darling (Hughes/Porter), Jeff Waite (Grant), Bill Sokolowski (Huntington/Webster), Jen Groth (McKinley-Brighton/Van Duyn), Julie Stuetzle (Ed Smith/Dr. King), Mike Cieply (Roberts), and Kim Rossi (HW Smith) each took it upon themselves to train and improve their string pedagogy while committing to taking on additional students.

Advocates of child safety came together to ride bicycles in support of keeping the children of Syracuse safe in the annual Ride for Missing Children. The ride is sponsored by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which formed in 1981 as a response to the murder of a 6-year-old child, Adam Walsh.