Although winter is in the rearview mirror, it’s definitely worth a look back before we head into a spring full of opportunities at Sherburne-Earlville!

We hosted a variety of top-notch performances during the holiday season, from concerts to shows to musicals and more for our students, faculty, staff and community members to enjoy. We love seeing you on campus to support these programs, as well as our many clubs and athletics programs that continue to excel at the local, state, regional and even world levels.

Winter highlights include a berth to the VEX Robotics World Championship, multiple Odyssey of the Mind regional crowns, a District 4 win for our FFA program, top awards in the Chenango Student Art and SkillsUSA competitions, and several All-County Music performers. Our winter sports programs also enjoyed tremendous success as they continue to grow into contenders for sectional and state accolades.

Wrestlers Selina Moore, Landon Andrade and Jackson Moore deserve special recognition for their podium finishes in state tournaments this winter, as does Amon Van Alst for breaking two program records in swimming. We also dedicated our basketball court in the Upper Gymnasium to Coach Kevin Vibbard Sr., who led our boys to another sectional tournament in his 36th and final season at S-E.

It takes a team effort to be successful at S-E, and we are thankful for all of the amazing faculty and staff members throughout the district as we continue to see increased student participation in theater, music, clubs and sports. Thanks to Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Antoinette Halliday, instructional coaches and interventionists, we’ve also seen positive trends in scores relative to ELA and Math, as well as a significant reduction in chronic absenteeism at the elementary school.

SECSD has historically provided a high level of support for students and families to meet the needs of the whole child, and we’re always looking for ways to improve. We are deeply committed to creating a learning environment where students can feel safe as we strive to inspire and empower each learner to reach their full potential (our mission) and to be an innovative, high performing rural school district delivering educational excellence (our vision).

You can read more about our academic programs, clubs and sports in this issue of the Maroon and White, as well as on our website and social-media pages (Facebook and X). We’ve also started a YouTube channel and are in the process of adding videos that reinforce our Every Day Counts initiative at S-E, Where You Belong!

As spring approaches, we remind everyone that the next phase of our Capital Project – designed to improve campus safety and infrastructure – will include upgrades to our MS/HS Auditorium, gymnasiums, stadium and classrooms. Stadium construction will begin shortly after the 75th annual Pageant of Bands, which is scheduled for May 30-June 1.

Since the stadium will be under construction in June, we worked closely with students and their families to get feedback on where and when to hold our Class of 2024 Graduation Ceremony. Options included holding the ceremony indoors, moving up the date to late May, or accepting a generous offer from Colgate University for a late June graduation. After much discussion, the majority of our seniors voted to graduate at 6 p.m. Friday, June 28 at Colgate University.

Seniors and other S-E students are also in the process of voting for a new school nickname following our February Community Forum that addressed a state mandate requiring the district to do so. More information about the nickname change is posted on our website and social media pages. We will share the results of student voting in the near future.

As always, if you ever have questions or concerns about anything related to SECSD, please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email or by calling our District Office at 607-674-7300.

 

Superintendent of Schools

Sherburne-Earlville CSD