Kudos to the Varsity Cheer team, which has continued its annual tradition of adopting a family this holiday season.
Before the break, the cheer “elves” gathered to wrap gifts for two families.
“We hope these gifts brighten the holidays for these two families,” said Head Coach Patti Archiere. “This is very meaningful to us. Our cheerleaders and their families look forward to doing this every year and we hope it brings smiles to the faces of the recipients.”
Girls Wrestling Varsity Head Coach Dan Gallo is thrilled to share that the Girls Wrestling Program held its first-ever female varsity wrestling tournament on Dec. 15! It was also the first-ever tournament hosted by at Section IX team!
The “Iron Maiden” Tournament featured 170 wrestlers from Minisink Valley, Middletown, Shenendehoah, Shaker, Columbia, Warwick, Valley Central, Burke Catholic, Warrensburg, Port Jervis and LaSalle.
Minisink Valley, the home team, won the team title with 327 points! Middletown finished in second-place with 226 points with Shaker in third-place just under 175 points.
Individual weight-class championships were won by Peyton Matone, Jaida Macaluso and Brooke Besson!
Congratulations to Keira Filip, Madison Thorpe, Sara Pauls and Patricia Deslandes for making it to the Finals; and to Summer LaRusso, McKenna Matone, Colby Furman, Trevon Costello and Amelia Patzelt for placing top three.
Congratulations and well-done to all!
Kudos to the Boys Wrestling Program, which has collected enough food items to create 10 to 15 non-perishable food baskets during this holiday season for Minisink Cares to help those dealing with food insecurity, Since 2020, the Boys Wrestling Program has partnered up with Minisink Cares to donate food baskets. WELL-DONE and thank you to all! Your kindness will make a difference!
High School families: Order your student's yearbook now!
If you need help finding the perfect holiday ornament, ask Kimberly Jordan’s High School Biology students! They can definitely help!
Students were tasked with creating two ornaments, all created at home! The first was an organelle of a cell that they thought was most important; and the other was a cell type. All types of colorful and creative ornaments were created focusing on muscle cells, neurons, sex cells...and much more all showcasing the diversity within us and how organelles and types of cells keeps us alive. What a fun and creative twist to biology class!
An organelle is a subcellular structure that has one or more specific jobs to perform in the cell, much like an organ does in the body. Among the more important cell organelles are the nuclei, which store genetic information; mitochondria, which produce chemical energy; and ribosomes, which assemble proteins.
A "cell type" refers to a group of cells that share similar characteristics and functions within an organism, distinguished from other cell groups by their unique morphology, gene expression patterns, and specialized roles within the body. It’s essentially a classification of cells based on their distinct properties and what they do within the organism.
"The Uglier the Sweater..."
Check out a sampling of the very cool "ugly" (not really) sweaters seen at the High School yesterday, during the school's UGLY SWEATER DAY! Do you have yours ready?
Nichole Gaucher’s and Toni McGinn’s High School Living Environment students are learning about body systems. During this recent class, students explored the respiratory system.
As part of their exploration, students selected and researched a respiratory system disease in order to learn how that disease can disrupt the body's homeostasis. In their research, students learned about the disease's symptoms, how to diagnose it and treat/cure it, what causes it and if it’s contagious. They also learned how this disease affects the respiratory system and its ability to help the body maintain homeostasis. Students created mini-posters to show their findings and participated in a gallery walk where they learned about the diseases their peers researched. Take a look!
In biology, "homeostasis" refers to the ability of a living organism to maintain a stable internal environment despite changes in its external surroundings, essentially keeping key bodily functions like temperature, fluid balance, and pH levels within a narrow, optimal range for proper functioning.
A gallery walk is a teaching strategy that involves students moving around a classroom to examine a collection of artifacts, texts, or student work. The goal is to engage students and help them learn and synthesize concepts.
CAN A McDONALD’S HAPPY MEAL BE USED IN A LAB EXPERIMENT? YES!
Carolyn Russell’s and Jonathan Hannes’ High School Living Environment classes recently completed a very innovative “Mc Mush” lab! Students used a McDonald’s Happy Meal to test for the presence of organic compounds normally found in the body.
After the burger, fries, apples and drink were blended into a compound which was called a “McMush,” groups used chemical indicators like Benedict's solution, iodine, and Biuret reagent to test for carbohydrates, lipids and proteins in their samples. Remember, the term “organic” in science indicates that a compound contains carbon which is very different from the organic choices at the grocery store. (Who kept the Happy Meal toys? We don’t know!)
Every student led their group through an experiment and determine if McMush had the organic compound in question!
Believe it or not, a standard McDonald’s Happy Meal has some nutritional value because three biomolecules are present in the meal. The starch, protein and lipids found in the Happy Meal solution are three biomolecules essential for nutrition. These biomolecules are crucial for bodies because they provide an important source of energy, storage for minerals and to build and repair muscles. Without them, it can lead to lack of metabolism, hormones, energy and blood sugar.
The High School’s Valé yearbook staff has been extremely busy, from group brainstorming sessions earlier this fall to the book’s final development this past October….which has led to first ever announcement of the yearbook’s theme prior to the books’ arrival: OUT LOUD!
To celebrate this milestone and big reveal, yearbook staff will be wearing sweatshirts with the yearbook’s theme artwork on the reverse. Look for them!
And remember, the pre-order deadline to order a book is Saturday, Jan. 25 via www.yearbookforever.com! Don’t miss out!
JOIN US tonight, Dec. 11. for the High School Chorus Concert at 7 p.m.!
CAN YOU HELP? The High School's Youth Against Cancer Club is in the midst of a donation drive through Dec. 16 to collect items to brighten the days of Garnet Medical Center patients. See the flyer for what students are hopeful to collect! Your contributions would be most welcome!
CAN YOU HELP?
The High School cheerleaders' SOCK, HAT and GLOVE DRIVE runs through Dec. 20. Please see the details and thanks for sharing!
CONGRATULATIONS to the Varsity Cheer team, who earned a bid to compete at the UCA National HS Cheerleading Championship in Orlando Florida in February. The bid was earned following their competition at last Saturday’s UCA Pocono Regional at Mohegan Sun in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The team will be competing in the Small Varsity Division II division! #MINISINKProud
"Papa " Elf has arrived at the High School! It looks like he's determined to cause mischief in the Main Office and encourage Sue Papa's math students to deviate from their math work!
BEHIND THE SCENES:
Take a look at these wonderful photos from Friday's "Heart of a Giant" surprise announcement! We all get a chance to see some of the cool, non-public areas of MetLife Stadium, including the Giants ' locker room! Congratulations again to Senior Vanessa Tepper! See more photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
CONGRATULATIONS AND WELL-DONE!
The High School Drama Club’s recent fundraising performance of “Club Green Light,” an adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” set to stage by Junior Drama Club Treasurer Gavin McGinnis, raised $2,600!
The event was a dinner theater fundraiser which was mainly student run and they did a fabulous job---take a peek at the show! Fifty Drama Club students volunteered their evening as performers, servers and backstage help.
Gavin McGinnis wrote and directed the play with the help of assistant director and junior Hana Ebbert. Both have been selected as winning playwrights for the upcoming NYSTEA Student Conference next month.
The funds raised are earmarked for “Footloose,” the Drama Club’s Spring musical, the upcoming trip to NYSTEA Conference and the recent trip to see The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes.
Congratulations to the High School’s November “Students of the Month,” who were recently recognized for their efforts on one of these categories: Trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, citizenship, kindness and fairness. Students are presented with a letter with a description of the category they were nominated for and followed by a breakfast gathering. Honorees are:
Travis Alba
Andres Balseca
Mason Cay
Anthony Cuttler
Olivia Dzierzek
Allison Gerson
Alexandra Godlewski
Sophia Goldstein
Jasani little
Gavin Long
Mikia Nash
Blake Padavano
Gianna Pecorella Zachary Phillips Ella Reicherter Logan Rizzo Christopher Ruiz
Areli Sanchez
Cole Sanfilippo
Gabriel Simpson
Logan Wood
Michael Zechewytz
The Middle School and High School drama clubs had a wonderful Dec. 3 field trip to see The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes! Take a peek at their outing!
This was a great field trip for many reasons: Drama program students experience "drama" in two categories: "Performer" and :Production." In each of these categories, there'a a variety of positions and related skills students need to fulfill their respective "job" in the production. Equally important is that all the district’s drama productions include vocalists, instrumentalists, actors, dancers, set designers, light technicians, sound technicians, technology/device support, set builders, set movers, costumers, house designers --- and more ---- who come together to bring a production to the stage.
That’s no different than the work that happens to bring The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes to the stage! Students had the opportunity to attend a quality show where they can experience and respond to world-class singing, dancing, storytelling and technical production value, which is aligned with New York State Arts Standards involving art, music, dance and theater disciplines. Add to this a STEAM component as well, as the show heavily relies on the use of technology and three-dimensional set effects.
It’s also perfect timing, because both drama clubs are gearing up for their own spring musicals, so seeing this performance also helps them to better understand professional level quality. (And, the show offers deeply discounted ticket pricing for groups!) See more photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD/
High School families: Order your student's yearbook now!
Kimberly Jordan’s Freshman Biology students recently finished up their Biochemistry unit, meaning it was now time to explore chemical indicators! They learned about pH and indicators used to detect nutrients in foods like Benedicts, Biuret, Iodine and even a simple Brown paper bag.
Students merged their hands-on lab experience with the use of our digital lab platform called Gizmos. Using the Gizmo program, they were additionally exposed to SUDAN RED, an additional test for Fats. The labs ran over a week and they had a lot of fun.
THANK YOU to the High School PTO for providing a mini-grant which allowed for the purchase of new lab glasses! Students loved using them!
