Veronica E. Connor Middle School
2011
PrincipalMr. Bruce F. Benson
Veronica Connor Middle School District's Web Page.
Connor Middle School Honor Roll - Nov. 2011
The following Veronica E. Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the first quarter, 2011-2012 school year:Grade 7 - Giana Aiello, Jordan Anthony, Kristen Atkinson, Genna Baldassarre, JosephBoyko, Devin Brandon, Karli Burford, Julia Buscaglia, Vincent Cancilla, Sophia Castillo, Savannah Cramer, Julia Diehl, Jacob Dollendorf, ToddDomowicz, Louis Fabiano, ShayeFermoile, James Franz, Gabrielle Gagliardi, Alexis Gallup, Kelsey Harrigan, Marilyn Hess, Alexis Hofmeyer, Richard Hoover, William Hughes, Robert Jankowiak, Olivia Johnson, Amanda Jordan, Natalie Kaminski, Maxwell Keller, Sydney Khreis, Reganne Kleisath, Madelyn Konopczynski, Alexis Kowalak, Genavieve Koyn, Justin Kozlowski, Adam Krathaus, Jason Kubanek, Kelsey Mahoney, Julianna Major, Jacob Masucci, Ryan McDonald, Catherine Merletti, Joseph Mesmer, Kristiana Morell, Owen Morrish, Kayli Nelson, Claire O'Connor, Jennalise Olson, Ryon Pietrzak, Charles Pratt, Emily Prawel, Lindsay Proctor, Nicholas Rallo, Alexa Rogers, Brooke Rowland, MaryElisabeth Rustowicz, Kelly Schlifke, Brandon Schoener, Emma Schultz, Shelby Seese, Alexia Shivers, Jessica Surace, Kristine Sutton, Sarah Swagler, Nicholas Szabo, Ryan Tetreault, Marie Tomasula, Kaitlynn Tuohy, Olivia Turck, Marianthi Vasiliadis, Jenna VeRost, Cameron Watt, Madelyn Webb, Sarah Wellence, Marina Wittmann, Dakota Wolf, Sophia Zacher
Grade 8 - Tori Aronica, Cailin Atkins, Leora Bellia, Sarah Bellinger, Adam Bevilacqua, Natalie Braun, Madison Brown, Caitlyn Bykowicz, Alexander Cancilla, Justine Cardone, Madeline Dallessandro, Adam Dryfhout, Mohamed Eltagouri, Benjamin Freedman, Victoria Gruber, Samara Johnson, Jacob Kawecki, Brianna Little, Hope LoHouse, Holly Lutnick, Haley Melisz, Sarah Moseley, James Niland, Maria Ramsperger, Sammantha Reynolds, Mikayla Rosati, Emelie-jo Scheffler, Cassie Shickluna, Cameron Smith, Laura Szczepankiewicz, Camille Watt
Grade 7 - Liam Atkins, Marcella Barberic, Theresa Baughman, Mennefer Blue, Amanda Brodie, Cassandra Brooks, Liam Bryan, Sarina Buscaglia, Roman Cacciatore, Erik Carlson, Andrea Colan, Alexandra Colucci, Kaylee Conta, Juliana Cousins, Jessica Culbert, Mallory DelSignore, Nicholas Dingey, Narmeen Durrani, Samuel Eichel, Cole Ellsworth, Simon Estenoz, Joseph Frailey, Angelica Marie Garcia, Chloe Groff, Lenin Harper, Jessica Harvey, Braden Hawley, Jacob Hooton, Timothy Howard, Britney Hughes, Emily Jelonek, Brennen Joslyn, Julia Koprevich, Katherine Kovacs, Matthew Kowalski, Hayley Latvala, Lily Anna Leffler, Andrew Little, Nicholas MacDonald, Rachel Madigan, Alexa Mallare, Faith Martell, Kristopher Masiello, Alyssa Maxwell, Gracie McNamara, Heather Michki, Kassie Moss, Tyler Muggli, Lindsay Nitsche, Juleeann Nyitrai, David Pachla, Simon Pannullo, Stephen Parisi, Madisyn Pezzino, Madison Phillips, Connor Pignatora, Sean Pufpaff, Dilshawn Randhawa, Kaylee Richard, Thomas Riniolo, William Scalzo, Cassandra Shores, Brianna Smith, Samuel Sommer, Jacob Spencer, Jack Stieringer, Noah Stimpson, Anthony Stolfo, Alexis Studley, Lauryn Swanson, Andrew Szolnoky, Joseph Tamsen, James Thorpe, Collin Tolsma, Jacob Tucker, Mary Valle, Zachary Valvo, Aruran Wigneswaran, Cassidy Wilkinson, Gillian Worrall, Abraham Zherebilov
Grade 8 - Clare Ahne, Eric Albrecht, Jill Anderson, Narmeen Asif, Emily Augugliaro, Adam Bahgat, Austin Blair, Aaron Bobeck, Jarod Brandon, Zachary Breeden, Andrew Carlson, Taylor Cecere, Charles Cetola, Cameron Colan, Colten Deuser, Sari Dickinson, Emily Dudziak, Emily Eberhard, Bridget Federico, Marissa Freedman, Ashley Giambra, Sabrina Giordano, Olivia Goc, Alexa Graff, Madison Green, Daniel Grinchishin, Maya Harper, Haylee Heitman, Rebecca Hennessy, Briana Hollfelder, Nicole Hollfelder, Kaitlin Hoy, Alexander Jackson, Leah Jasek, Taylor Johnson, Lovepreet Kaur, Sydney Keane, Michaela Kozek, Joseph Kulikowski, Julia Lawley, Michaela Malesky, Aubrey McCoy, Madison McNamara, Tiffany, Melendez, Jason Miller, Emily Nobumoto, Nathaniel Nowocien, Michael Oldman, Ryan O'Neil, Zachery O'Neill, Carissa Parsons, Eric Pease, Hailey Randle, Sarah Rennells, Chelsea Robillard, Gabrielle Robinson, Chelsea Schmidt, Christina Serianni, Brendan Sheehan, Cassidy Siebert, Rohan Alexi Smith, Lindsey Supparits, Brandon Surdi, Christina Sutton, Melanie Sweeney, Taylor Vanderzell, Samantha Violino, Eric Watt, Alex Whetham, Dakaylah Winfield, Spencer-Jon, Zukic
Connor Middle School Merit Roll - November 2011
The following Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the first quarter, 2011-2012 school year:Grade 6 - Jonathan Abbott, Nicholas Anzalone, Rhianna Argiro, Steven Bachman, Alexanderia Casseri, Colonie Chaney, Jenna Cook, Jaynie Decker, Daniel Fabiano, Mariana Floro, Samantha Garcia, Nicolas Goff, Andrew Gradolph, Amber Graves, Kaitlyn Grybel, Michael Hannon, Jason Held, Madeline Hjalmarson, Robert Hodan, Zane Johnson, Ryan King, Ethan Lynch, Kyra Magee, Kelsey Mankowski, Kayla McCauley, Nathan Miller, Elizabeth Mitchell, Amanda Moran, Thomas Muscoreil, Tyler Myszka, Colin Navagh, Collin Newbould, Nicholas Phinney, Emma Richard, Jacob Ruffolo, Mark Seibert, Brandon Snyder, Kayla Staub, Breanna Stedman-Pate, Jacob VeRost, Michelle Wadell, Taylor Zajdowicz
Grade 7 - Eric Beauchamp, Conner Buzby, Joseph Chadima, Connor Cinelli, Jesus Cisneros Vilchis, Mikayla Claus, McKenna Collignon, Megan DiBerardino, Louis Estrella, Madison Finn, Gianni Ford, Meghan Frisch, Jahmyra Hegwood, Erika Jaegers, Bryce Jellinick, Alexander Jennings, Natasha Keller, Kelsey Kenney, Emily Martinez, Nathaniel Massaro, Jerome Masters, Matthew Mosher, Tyler Moskala, Sarah Nelson, Kevin O'Leary, Dylan Ostertag-MacKenna, Trevor Palamuso, Ashley Parmelee, Julianna Passarelli, Arjun Patel, Caleb Stallard, Noah Teator, Randy Thomas, Alex Turner, Madison VeRost, Samantha Wakefield, Jamie Warren, Kyle York, Nicholas Yung
Grade 8 - Benjamin Abbott, Destiny Benjamin, Troy Brady, Drew Callen, Dominique Capizzi, Alexis Conway, JennaCorrao, Patrick Cramer, Patrick Dansereau, Allison DeMartin, Michael Duda, Erin Dugan, Jayson Endozo, Ian Estenoz, Cydney Fairbairn, Nicholas Giancola, Nicholas Gioeli, Benjamin Graziano, Kali Hausrath, Shannon Holt, Joshua HusVar, Taylor Internicola, Julia Kavanagh, Derek Konopski, Samantha Krause, Sarah Kustich, Sara Kwarciak, Samantha Lesinski, KadyLiesenfeld, Liana Lombardo, Michael Mankowski, Chad Martin, Daryana Martinez, Cameron Mastykarz, Manny Montes, Tanner Morrow, AustonNiemann, Jake Nowak, Anthony Ormsby, Daniel Otto, Xavier Ramadan, Mikayla Reading, Heather Robinson, Maximilian Russell, Jake Schmidt, Amber Schwinn, Smeen Shah, Emma Smith, Lindsey Spencer, Robert Stolfo, Angelia Strzalkowski, Matthew Tollner, Maxwell VeRost, Hannah Wessner, Brianna Wik, Hannah Wiktorowski, Kassidy Wozniak, Douglas Yockey, Kevin Zhang
VCMS Student is K-12 "Artist of the Month" - Oct. 2011
Pictured, Samantha proudly displays her recently completed pastel painting.
October 27, 2011 . . . Each year, the Art Department of the Grand Island schools recognizes many of its top artistic achievers with the "K-12 Artist of the Month" award. Presented to ten students annually, the award highlights the varied accomplishments and achievements of district students who excel artistically and who creatively solve problems by using a wide variety of media to express and find their own unique artistic voices. The first student artist selected for the 2011-2012 school year is Samantha Krause, an accelerated eighth grade art student currently enrolled in the middle school Studio In Art class.
Samantha is an extremely talented young artist who applies herself fully to each assignment. While gifted in a variety of media, Samantha is particularly fluent when she's drawing and painting; using her canvas to express her own unique artistic voice and vision. Says Samantha, "I like art because I get to express my feelings in drawing and painting. I love having an outlet to express what I feel. Drawing and painting is my hobby not because it is fun, but because it is something to release all my feeling into." This student cites Masashi Kishimoto, a manga/anime artist, as an inspiration and particular favorite. She also receives inspiration from her friends and from people who have purchased her work.
Samantha sees art as always being an important part of her future. Career plans include becoming an art teacher and a singer when she's older. Samantha's art teacher cites her talent, positive attitude and work ethic as reasons that this student was selected as a recipient of this award. The art department congratulates Samantha and wishes her much success in all of her future endeavors.
Students Display Artworks - Oct. 2011
October 27, 2011 . . .On display this weekend at the Buffalo Convention Center are the artworks of Michaela Bailes, Nick Bonora and Joyce Endozo. Their work along with many other student works from across New York State, will be on view during the New York State School Boards Convention.
New York State Art Teachers Association members were invited to select up to three students to represent their school and their district at this event. Michaela, Nick and Joyce were selected by art teacher Nora Klein to represent Veronica Connor Middle School. Their works were created last spring in their eighth grade accelerated art class. Both Michaela and Nick are displaying expressive still-life drawings while Joyce's work is a reflective self-portrait.
Students and their families are invited to an opening reception on Saturday, October 28. Pictured with their works are Michaela Bailes and Joyce Endozo and Nick Bonora.
Connor Middle School International Night - Oct. 2011
International Night is being held from 6-9 p.m. Friday, November 4, 2011, at Connor Middle School. Admission is free and the public is welcome to attend. Featured will be a variety of activities for everyone to enjoy, including music and dance demonstrations. Everyone will have the opportunity to watch or learn an International dance. Food may be sampled in the cafeteria and games will be played. Theme baskets will be raffled at the end of the evening.Connor Middle School Honor Roll - July 2011
The following Veronica E. Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the fourth quarter, 2010-2011 school year:Grade 7 - Eric Albrecht, Jill Anderson, Tori Aronica, Narmeen Asif, Cailin Atkins, Emily Augugliaro, Leora Bellia, Sarah Bellinger, Adam Bevilacqua, Austin Blair, Natalie Braun, Caitlyn Bykowicz, Alexander Cancilla, Justine Cardone, Andrew Carlson, Taylor Cecere, Cameron Colan, Madeline Dallessandro, Adam Dryfhout, Emily Eberhard, Mohamed Eltagouri, Benjamin Freedman, Marissa Freedman, Sabrina Giordano, Olivia Goc, Alexa Graff, Victoria Gruber, Maya Harper, Samara Johnson, Lovepreet Kaur, Jacob Kawecki, Sydney Keane, Joseph Kulikowski, Brianna Little, Hope LoHouse, Holly Lutnick, Michael Mankowski, Aubrey McCoy, Haley Melisz, Sarah Moseley, Michael Oldman, Ryan O'Neil, Maria Ramsperger, Sarah Rennells, Sammantha Reynolds, Gabrielle Robinson, Emelie-jo Scheffler, Christina Serianni, Brendan Sheehan, Cassie Shickluna, Cameron Smith, Lindsey Supparits, Taylor Vanderzell, Camille Watt, Kassidy Wozniak
Grade 8 - Jessica Ackendorf, Ryan Allen, Joshua Barrett, Hannah Bastian, Carly Bernatovicz, Giuseppe Campanella, Robert Carroll, Marissa Catanzaro, Natalia Christiano, Sara Cichon, Andrew Colautto, Kayla Conway, Isabel Dengos, Shannon Driess, Julia Drozdowsky, Eric Dudley, Robert Ellegate, Katherine Fonte, Ashley Franz, Alexander Garey, Rebekah Gaydosh, Kathryn Gentz, Kasandra Guyette, Carly Hand, Grey Johnson, Jack Kennedy, Marah Killian, Leah Killian, Khristian Kline, Kurt Laschinger, Taylor Latvala, Michaela McMahon, Nolan Miles, Jazmine Nijjar, Alyssa Pelosi, Kelsey Percival, Michael Podgorny, Andrew Riederer, Eric Riederer, Kaitlyn Rudney, Joseph Santa Lucia, Pushpinder Singh, Alexandra Sponn, Amelia Stepnoski, Laura Taylor, Bennett Wright
Grade 7 - Benjamin Abbott, Adam Bahgat, Aaron Bobeck, Jarod Brandon, Madison Brown, Alexis Conway, Patrick Cramer, Emily Dudziak, Ian Estenoz, Bridget Federico, Ashley Giambra, Benjamin Graziano, Madison Green, Kali Hausrath, Haylee Heitman, Briana Hollfelder, Leah Jasek, Michaela Kozek, Hannah Lamarco, Julia Lawley, Caitlyn Less, Kady Liesenfeld, Chad Martin, Cameron Mastykarz, Tiffany Melendez, James Niland, Emily Nobumoto, Jake Nowak, Nathaniel Nowocien, Zachery O'Neill, Carissa Parsons, Eric Pease, Hailey Randle, Brandon Rivers, Chelsea Robillard, Mikayla Rosati, Chelsea Schmidt, Amber Schwinn, Emma Smith, Robert Stolfo, Melanie Sweeney, Laura Szczepankiewicz, Samantha Violino, Alex Whetham, Hannah Wiktorowski, Spencer-Jon Zukic
Grade 8 - Elaina Bolles, Nicholas Bonora, Bradley Boreali, Brianna Brandon, Sierra Brooks, Vincent Bruno, Sara Colon, Caitlin Conlon, Julia Culbert, Lillian Cultrara, Enrico D'Abate, Nancy Dahlquist, Abigail Dallessandro, Genevieve Davis, Katherine Diefenbach, Andrew Dyet, Jared Eichel, McLain Erhard, Joseph Farrell, Morgan Finn, Halle FitzGerald, Andrew Fred, Leah Geis, Graciana Giambra, Kyle Graves, Balraj Grewal, Nikola Harper, Connor Harrigan, Sabrina Hausrath, Natalie Henderson, Christian Hilts, Alexander Hollatz-Guastella, Grant Johnson, Jacqueline Kehoe, Thomas Major, Nathan Marino, Ryan Marlin, Colton McGraw, Devlin McMaster, Matthew McNaughton, Alexandra Miller, Robin Neary, Jacob Neumann, Jordan Piershalski, Brendan Pratt, Jenna Reinard, Raymond Rott, Margaret Rustowicz, Benjamin Shaw, Olivia Slahta, Meghan Sonnenberg, Emily Szabo, Melissa Ullrich, Scarlett Whitman, Apelasan Wigneswaran, Corey Wilkinson, James Wilson, Timothy Winder, Jessica Wing, Emily Wolcott, Bethany Wynne, Jordan Yamonaco, Alexander Zimmermann, Taylor Zoldowski, Jessica Zoldowski
Connor Middle School Merit Roll - July 2011
The following Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the fourth quarter, 2010-2011 school year:Grade 6 - Megan Adamczyk, Marcella Barberic, Alexander Brennan, Liam Bryan, Joseph Chadima, Lauryn Clark, Mikayla Claus, McKenna Collignon, Alexandra Colucci, Juliana Cousins, Megan DiBerardino, Nicholas Dingey, Cole Ellsworth, Madison Finn, Joseph Frailey, Sartaj Grewal, Chloe Groff, Jacob Hooton, Bryce Jellinick, Natasha Keller, Kelsey Kenney, Hannah Mahon, Harrison Mangat, Faith Martell, Emily Martinez, Nathaniel Massaro, Zachary Morano, Kassie Moss, Katelyn Newbould, Trevor Palamuso, Julianna Passarelli, Madisyn Pezzino, Connor Pignatora, Kaylee Richard, Robert Sadkowski, William Scalzo, Samuel Sommer, Noah Stimpson, Andrew Szolnoky, Noah Teator, Zachary Valvo, Madison VeRost, Jamie Warren, Kyle York, Nicholas Yung
Grade 7 - Jesse Arch, Destiny Benjamin, Zachary Breeden, Drew Callen, Frank Cotroneo, Matthew Crist, Sari Dickinson, Daniel Dinsmore, Michael Duda, Jayson Endozo, Chloe Evans, Cydney Fairbairn, Brenton Fischer, Nicholas Giancola, Nicholas Gioeli, Daniel Grinchishin, Rebecca Hennessy, Nicole Hollfelder, Shannon Holt, Kaitlin Hoy, Joshua HusVar, Shelby Ishmael, Alexander Jackson, Taylor Johnson, Julia Kavanagh, Derek Konopski, Samantha Krause, Sarah Kustich, Samantha Lesinski, Michaela Malesky, Madison McNamara, Jason Miller, Tanner Morrow, Anthony Ormsby, Daniel Otto, Xavier Ramadan, Mikayla Reading, Heather Robinson, Cassidy Siebert, Rohan Alexi Smith, Lindsey Spencer, Brandon Surdi, Christina Sutton, Matthew Tollner, Maxwell VeRost, Eric Watt
Grade 8 - Alwareed Abdellatif, Devan Aponte, Alyse Borelli, Nicole Burley, Alexa Calandra, Dennis Chatkhan, Mariah Ciffa, Alexandra Cutting, Colton Czajka, Anna DeMartin, Karli Deuser, Rajveer Dhaliwall, Joseph Egloff, Ian Eisenberger, Joyce Endozo, Austin Fisher, Ayannah Ford, Emily Fuoco, Nicolette Golden, Marissa Gress, Albert Grupp, Keegan Hirtreiter, Kimberly Huffnagle, Benjamin Jensen, Ryan Kennedy, Jonathan Link, Alanna Mergel, Madeline Mitchell, Talha Mojawalla, Courtney Monroe, Thomas Morgan, Jocelyn Mueller, Ashley Niemann, Meaghan O'Leary, Colin Osborn, Nicholas Paolini, Devon Perri, Miranda Phillips, Emilie Phinney, Anne Pilie, Michael Podlucky, Jessica Pontrello, Lauren Rogoza, Michael Rugg, Mackenzie Smith, Emilie Stinner, Mark Valle, Jordan VeRost, Brian Verso, Caitlyn Yensan, Brenna Young
Middle School New Student Orientation - Summer 2011
See
OrientationVeronica E. Connor Middle School New Student Orientation takes place at 10 a.m. August 18 in the Grand Island High School Auditorium.
8th Grade Moving Up Ceremony - 2011
President's Awards for Academic ExcellenceVeronica E. Connor Middle School administration, faculty, and parents celebrated students’ accomplishments and achievements at the annual 8th Grade Moving Up Ceremony which was held June 20, 2011 in the Grand Island High School Auditorium.
Assistant Principal Eleanor Payne opened the program, welcoming the families and friends of 8th grade students. Brianna Brandon, Student Council President, and Grace Giambra, Student Council Vice-President, chronicled their three years in the middle school in speeches that enlightened the audience concerning the activities that created memories for all the students. Academic Awards then were presented by teachers, followed by the presentation of a certificate of completion to each 8th grader by Principal Bruce Benson. Mr. Benson reminded the students that this was an important benchmark on their path through life and has proven to be an excellent foundation for further academic endeavors. He reiterated to the students that he expected to see exceptional accomplishments from their class in Grand Island High School.
Academic Awards were then presented by the middle school teachers:
• Art Awards were presented by Ms. Nora Klein to: Amelia Stepnoski, Joyce Endozo, and Kurt Laschinger
• The Foreign Language Department recognized the following students who received 100% on the grade 8 Foreign Language Proficiency Exam in Spanish:
Robert Carroll Kyle Graves Laura Taylor James Wilson Jessica Wing• The English Department presented the following awards for “Highest Averages” in ELA 8:
Mrs. Campbell’s honors classes: Jessica Ackendorf, Marah Killian
Modified Softball Ends Another Winning Campaign in 2011 - June 2011
(left photo Modified Girls Softball) Asst. Captain Sabrina Giordano, Grace Giambra, and Captain Meaghan O'Leary.
(kneeling) Rebecca Hennessy and Melanie Sweeney; (standing) Bridget Federico, Emilie Phinney, Sarah Bellanger, Jordan Yamonaco, Bri Brandon, Alexa Graff, Taylor Cecere, Emily Augugliaro, Karli Deuser, Lauren Rogoza, Alexa Calandra, Coach Art Meaney
(right photo Modified Boys Softball)
Click photos for larger view
The Grand Island Modified Softball Squad ended another successful season in 2011. Although their 52 game/almost-four-year-winning-streak finally came to a close, as all good things do, the girls played with the same intensity and passion of past squads. All of the players are ready to begin a new chapter of winning in the high school or comING back to the middle school next year and beginning another winning streak.This year's crop of seventh graders was a solid one. Bridget Federico displayed a strong arm at third base. Alexa Graff played a solid first base and pitched for two wins. Emily Augugliaro also posted a win from the circle and had an on-base percentage (OB%) of over .545. Middle infielders Sarah Bellanger and Sabrina Giordano showed the importance of "strength up the middle." They were a solid 2B/SS combination who performed on the field and at bat, both posting OB% of about .600. Sabrina also showed solid leadership as the team's assistant captain. Rebecca Hennessy is going to be a solid pitcher next season and her discriminating eye at the plate also gave her an OB% of over .500. Taylor Cecere, a solid third base girl, proved she had the flexibility to learn first base. Her work there was commendable and her attitude towards a new position was exemplary. Taylor batted almost .400 and hit with authority. Our final seventh grader was Melanie Sweeney, who was relied upon to do many things -- pitch, infield, outfield. Wherever she went, she gave a dependable performance. Melanie is an aggressive batter who does not get cheated and had an OB% of .400. Things look good for the 2012 season.
The eighth grade part of the team had a number of first time players on modified and they performed very well. Alexa Calandra was a pleasant surprise who hit with power, fielded well, and, most importantly, was "into" every pitch. Alexa made sure she got the most out of what she brought to the field every day -- a lesson for us all. Karli Deuser was a very solid performer, quietly ending up third on the team with an OB% of almost .700. She also led the team in HBP (ow!). Emilie Phinney and Jordan Yamonaco also joined us this year and both performed admirably. Emilie had an OB% of .500 and Jordan posted one of about .400. They also both roamed the outfield with a purpose, defending against opponents' flyballs. Our final newcomer was Bri Brandon. Bri is the student council president at Connor Middle School and showed she is more than just a politician. No one gets more out of an at bat than Bri -- she does not get cheated in the box (ballot or batter)! Bri led the team in doubles, triples, and runs batted in while batting .424. She was a force in the field as well, making all the plays expected of her and some that weren't.
Our final three eighth graders moving on to high school were the only returners from a perfect season last year. Lauren Rogoza, a quiet, let-my-performance-do-the-talking player could usually be found at third base. Lauren hit the ball with authority all season, posting a .539 BA and an OB% of .714 (second highest). A solid ballplayer that any team could use. Grace Giambra was our go-to pitcher. She posted an earned run average of under three with four wins and 49 strikeouts in 41 innings. Her OB% was over .600 and she hit with power. When Grace is at the game, your chances of winning go up dramatically. And finally, captain Meaghan O'Leary. Meaghan proved herself to be a leader in the dugout as well as on the field. Meaghan led the team in hits, runs scored, and base-on-balls to give her the team highs in batting average (.594) and OB% (.714). Meaghan is a solid catcher who competes every pitch and every practice. Meaghan speaks her mind but backs it up with her play. She has been a pleasure to coach for these past four seasons (two softball and two basketball) and will be sorely missed.
The Grand Island community can be proud of these ladies for their accomplishments both on and off the field. We look forward to the upcoming years and seasons as we watch them compete in all of their endeavors.
Coach Art Meaney
Connor Middle School Honors Breakfast - June 2011
Connor Middle School Principal Mr. Bruce Benson and Ryan Marlin
The annual Veronica E. Connor Middle School 8th Grade Honors Breakfast was held Friday, May 20, 2011. Students were honored for maintaining academic averages on the High Honor Roll or Honor Roll for the first three quarters of the eighth grade. This year, students celebrated their success by enjoying a breakfast with District Superintendent, Mr. Robert Christmann, and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Karen Karmazin, compliments of the Student Council. In attendance from Veronica E. Connor Middle School were Principal Mr. Bruce Benson, Assistant Principal Mrs. Eleanor Payne, and many teachers. Grand Island High School Principal Mrs. Sandra Anzalone, as well as Grand Island High School Assistant Principal Mr. Andres Arroyo also joined the celebration. The following students were honored for their hard work and dedication:
Jessica Ackendorf, Ryan Allen, Joshua Barrett, Hannah Bastian, Carly Bernatovicz, Nicholas Bonora, Bradley Boreali, Brianna Brandon, Nicole Burley, Giuseppe Campanella, Robert Carroll, Marissa Catanzaro, Natalia Christiano, Sara Cichon, Andrew Colautto, Sara Colon, Caitlin Conlon, Kayla Conway, Lillian Cultrara, Enrico D’Abate, Nancy Dahlquist, Abigail Dallessandro, Isabel Dengos, Katherine Diefenbach, Shannon Driess, Julia Drozdowsky, Eric Dudley, Robert Ellegate, McLain Erhard, Morgan Finn, Austin Fisher, Katherine Fonte, Ashley Franz, Andrew Fred, Alexander Garey, Rebekah Gaydosh, Kathryn Gentz, Kyle Graves, Kasandra Guyette
Also Carly Hand, Nikolai Harper, Connor Harrigan, Sabrina Hausrath, Natalie Henderson, Christian Hilts, Grey Johnson, Jacqueline Kehoe, Jack Kennedy, Marah Killian, Leah Killian, Khristian Kline, Kurt Laschinger, Taylor Latvala, Thomas Major, Nathan Marino, Ryan Marlin, Colton McGraw, Michaela McMahon, Devlin McMaster, Nolan Miles, Alexandra Miller, Robin Neary, Jazmine Nijjar, Nicholas Paolini, Alyssa Pelosi, Kelsey Percival, Michael Podgorny, Brendan Pratt, Jenna Reinard, Andrew Riederer, Eric Riederer, Lauren Rogoza, Raymond Rott, Kaitlyn Rudney, Margaret Rustowicz, Joseph Santa Lucia, Benjamin Shaw, Pushpinder Singh, Alexandra Sponn, Amelia Stepnoski, Emily Szabo, Laura Taylor, Melissa Ullrich, Apelasan Wigneswaran, Corey Wilkinson, James Wilson, Timothy Winder, Emily Wolcott, Bennett Wright, Bethany Wynne, and Taylor Zoldowski.
Connor Middle School Honor Roll - May 2011
The following Veronica E. Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the third quarter, 2010-2011 school year:Grade 7 - Eric Albrecht, Jill Anderson, Tori Aronica, Cailin Atkins, Emily Augugliaro, Leora Bellia, Sarah Bellinger, Adam Bevilacqua, Natalie Braun, Madison Brown, Caitlyn Bykowicz, Alexander Cancilla, Justine Cardone, Andrew Carlson, Cameron Colan, Madeline Dallessandro, Adam Dryfhout, Emily Eberhard, Mohamed Eltagouri, Bridget Federico, Benjamin Freedman, Marissa Freedman, Sabrina Giordano, Olivia Goc, Alexa Graff, Victoria Gruber, Maya Harper, Samara Johnson, Lovepreet Kaur, Jacob Kawecki, Sydney Keane, Joseph Kulikowski, Hannah Lamarco Brianna Little, Hope LoHouse, Holly Lutnick, Michael Mankowski, Aubrey McCoy, Haley Melisz Sarah Moseley, Emily Nobumoto, Nathaniel Nowocien, Ryan O'Neil, Maria Ramsperger, Sarah Rennells, Gabrielle Robinson, Emelie-jo Scheffler, Christina Serianni, Brendan Sheehan, Cassie Shickluna, Cameron Smith, Emma Smith, Lindsey Supparits, Taylor Vanderzell, Samantha Violino, Camille Watt, Kassidy Wozniak
Grade 8 - Jessica Ackendorf, Ryan Allen, Joshua Barrett, Hannah Bastian, Carly Bernatovicz, Giuseppe Campanella, Robert Carroll, Marissa Catanzaro, Natalia Christiano, Sara Cichon, Kayla Conway, Isabel Dengos, Shannon Driess, Julia Drozdowsky, Eric Dudley, Robert Ellegate, Katherine Fonte, Alexander Garey, Rebekah Gaydosh, Kathryn Gentz, Kasandra Guyette, Carly Hand, Christian Hilts, Grey Johnson, Jack Kennedy, Marah Killian, Kurt Laschinger, Taylor Latvala, Michaela McMahon, Nolan Miles, Alyssa Pelosi, Eric Riederer, Joseph Santa Lucia, Pushpinder Singh, Alexandra Sponn, Amelia Stepnoski, Emily Szabo, Laura Taylor, Bennett Wright
Grade 7 - Benjamin Abbott, Narmeen Asif, Austin Blair, Aaron Bobeck, Jarod Brandon, Taylor Cecere, Alexis Conway, Emily Dudziak, Jayson Endozo, Ian Estenoz, Chloe Evans, Cydney Fairbairn, Ashley Giambra, Madison Green, Daniel Grinchishin, Kali Hausrath, Haylee Heitman, Briana Hollfelder, Kaitlin Hoy, Shelby Ishmael, Leah Jasek, Michaela Kozek, Sarah Kustich, Julia Lawley, Caitlyn Less, Kady Liesenfeld, Chad Martin, Tiffany Melendez, James Niland, Jake Nowak, Michael Oldman, Zachery O'Neill, Carissa Parsons, Eric Pease, Hailey Randle, Sammantha Reynolds, Brandon Rivers, Chelsea Robillard, Heather Robinson, Mikayla Rosati, Chelsea Schmidt, Cassidy Siebert, Robert Stolfo, Christina Sutton, Melanie Sweeney, Laura Szczepankiewicz, Maxwell VeRost, Alex Whetham, Spencer-Jon Zukic
Grade 8 - Devan Aponte, Elaina Bolles, Nicholas Bonora, Bradley Boreali, Alyse Borelli, Brianna Brandon, Sierra Brooks, Andrew Colautto, Sara Colon, Caitlin Conlon, Lillian Cultrara, Enrico D'Abate, Nancy Dahlquist, Abigail Dallessandro, Anna DeMartin, Rajveer Dhaliwall, Katherine Diefenbach, Joseph Egloff, McLain Erhard, Joseph Farrell, Morgan Finn, Austin Fisher, Halle FitzGerald, Ashley Franz, Andrew Fred, Kyle Graves, Nikolai Harper, Connor Harrigan, Sabrina Hausrath, Natalie Henderson, Alexander Hollatz-Guastella, Kimberly Huffnagle, Grant Johnson, Jacqueline Kehoe, Leah Killian, Khristian Kline, Thomas Major, Nathan Marino, Ryan Marlin, Colton McGraw, Devlin McMaster, Alexandra Miller, Robin Neary, Jazmine Nijjar, Meaghan O'Leary, Kelsey Percival, Michael Podgorny, Brendan Pratt, Jenna Reinard, Andrew Riederer, Lauren Rogoza, Raymond Rott, Kaitlyn Rudney, Margaret Rustowicz, Benjamin Shaw, Olivia Slahta, Melissa Ullrich, Scarlett Whitman, Apelasan Wigneswaran, Corey Wilkinson, James Wilson, Timothy Winder, Jessica Wing, Emily Wolcott, Bethany Wynne, Taylor Zoldowski, Jessica Zoldowski
Connor Middle School Merit Roll - May 2011
The following Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the third quarter, 2010-2011 school year:Grade 6 - Ayah Abdelal, Megan Adamczyk, Marcella Barberic, Amanda Brodie, Liam Bryan, Sarina Buscaglia, Conner Buzby, Erik Carlson, Joseph Chadima, Mikayla Claus, Raymond Cleveland, Andrea Colan, Jessica Culbert, Mallory DelSignore, Gianni Ford, Joseph Frailey, Sartaj Grewal, Lenin Harper, Jessica Harvey, Jacob Hooton, Abigail Jones, Natasha Keller, Katherine Kovacs, Alexis Kowalak, Rachel Kullerkupp, Lily Anna Leffler, Andrew Little, Harrison Mangat, Emily Martinez, Katelyn Newbould, Juleeann Nyitrai, Ashley Parmelee, Madisyn Pezzino, Madison Phillips, Dilshawn Randhawa, Samuel Sommer, Noah Stimpson, James Thorpe, Collin Tolsma, Jacob Tucker, Zachary Valvo, Madison VeRost, Jamie Warren, Cassidy Wilkinson, Kyle York, Nicholas Yung
Grade 7 - Adam Bahgat, Destiny Benjamin, Dominique Capizzi, Frank Cotroneo, Patrick Cramer, Matthew Crist, Sari Dickinson, Daniel Dinsmore, Danielle Duck, Michael Duda, Jordyn Fisher, Nicholas Giancola, Benjamin Graziano, Rebecca Hennessy, Nicole Hollfelder, Shannon Holt, Joshua HusVar, Taylor Internicola, Alexander Jackson, Taylor Johnson, Julia Kavanagh, Bailey Kephart, Derek Konopski, Samantha Krause, Edward Logel, Liana Lombardo, Michaela Malesky, Loveleen Mangat, Cameron Mastykarz, Madison McNamara, Jason Miller, Daniel Otto, Xavier Ramadan, Jakob Ramallo, Mikayla Reading, Amber Schwinn, Smeen Shah, Rohan Alexi Smith, Lindsey Spencer, Brandon Surdi, Matthew Tollner, Chancellor Warmus, Brianna Wik, Hannah Wiktorowski, Ryan Wilton, Douglas Yockey
Grade 8 - Alwareed Abdellatif, Vincent Bruno, Nicole Burley, Alexa Calandra, Dennis Chatkhan, Mariah Ciffa, Julia Culbert, Alexandra Cutting, Colton Czajka, Genevieve Davis, Karli Deuser, Andrew Dyet, Daniel Edel, Jared Eichel, Ian Eisenberger, Joyce Endozo, Jacob Foote, Jessica Foote, Emily Fuoco, Leah Geis, Graciana Giambra, Nicolette Golden, Marissa Gress, Balraj Grewal, Keegan Hirtreiter, Ryan Kennedy, Matthew McNaughton, Alanna Mergel, Madeline Mitchell, Talha Mojawalla, Thomas Morgan, Anthony Mosher, Jocelyn Mueller, Jacob Neumann, Ashley Niemann, Colin Osborn, Nicholas Paolini, Devon Perri, Miranda Phillips, Emilie Phinney Jordan Piershalski, Anne Pilie, Michael Podlucky, Jessica Pontrello, Michael Rugg, Mackenzie Smith, Meghan Sonnenberg, Emilie Stinner, Jordan VeRost, Brian Verso, Jordan Yamonaco, Caitlyn Yensan, Brenna Young, Alexander Zimmermann
Students Attend Character Council of WNY’s Middle School Rally Day - April 2011
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How do you develop the heart of a champion? You start on the inside and work your way out. This was one of the underlying messages of the Character Council of Western New York’s Middle School Rally Day on March 17, 2011 at Michael's Banquet Facility in Hamburg, New York. A group of sixth, seventh and eighth graders from Veronica Connor Middle School (VCMS) attended this-all day event in order to raise awareness of the importance of character in determining someone’s ability to handle the pressures and challenges sure to face everyone in their future.Students were treated to a motivational interactive presentation by Grand Island native Mike Masters, son of the late Gene Masters, former Grand Island coach for whom the Grand Island High School stadium is aptly named. According to Mike Masters, “belief defines your thinking, your thinking directs your choices, your choices determine your character, and your character is demonstrated by your behavior”. Musical presentations were made by Binghamton native, Jared Campbell of the Blues Project and Corning teen Dallas Pace, who is beginning her singing career despite a leg amputation from childhood cancer.
Everyone in attendance was touched by the messages they heard and left ready to spread the word to their fellow classmates through the expansion of the Rachel’s Challenge program at VCMS. Reference books were donated by the Character Council with helpful tips on developing kids with positive character for use by parents, teachers and teens. These books will be housed in the VCMS Student Service Center.
Disney's Beauty and the Beast Huge Success - March 2011
The Connor Middle School play was seen by over 600 people each night of it's three performances.
Connor Middle School To Present Disney's Beauty and the Beast - March 2011
Top: Andrew Dyet Bottom: Sam Sommer
Back Row: Eric Albrecht, Jessica Ackendorf, Ryan Allen, Rebekah Gaydosh & Holly Lutnick
Middle: Katherine Fonte (Belle) & Corey Wilkinson
Front: McLain Erhard & Mary Elisabeth Rustowicz
Under the direction of Connor music teachers Mrs. Sarah Russo and Ms. Shannon Smith, over 130 students will be presenting
"Disney's Beauty and the Beast" at the end of March in the high school auditorium. Performances are scheduled for Monday, March 28th at 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday and Wednesday, March 29th and 30th at 7:00 p.m. Tickets will be $5.00 for ages 11+ and $3.00 for ten and under.
“Youth In Art Month” Display at Library - March 2011
Pictured with two of the pieces on display are eighth grade student Pushpinder Singh with his Persian inspired sgraffito tile and scratch art designs, and seventh grader Christina Serriani with her Impressionist landscape painting.
Click photos for larger view
The public is cordially invited to view a display of artworks created by Connor Middle School seventh and eighth grade students at the Grand Island Memorial Library. The display which features artworks in a variety of visual media, celebrates the talents, visual problem-solving and diversity of ideas abundant in middle-level learners. The show coincides with national “Youth In Art Month” festivities.Youth In Art Month is an annual observance which began in 1961 as a collaborative effort between the Art and Craft Materials Institute, the National Art Education Association and the Council for Art Education in order to emphasize and make known the value of art education for all students and to support quality art programs within the nation’s schools. Among its many goals, this annual observance seeks to direct attention to the value of art education as an important component of the total student experience and educational curricula within schools. Recognizing that art education fosters understanding which helps develop citizens of a global society, Youth In Art Month seeks to make communities aware of the divergent and critical thinking skills inherent in art-based learning.
Artworks on display represent a small portion of the learning taking place by students during their art classes within the middle school. Cognitive, expressive and creative problem-solving skills are evident. Artworks that make strong interdisciplinary connections, raise multicultural awareness and highlight the technical, expressive and communicative abilities of seventh and eighth grade students can be seen throughout.
Students with works on display are: Grade seven: Mikayla Rosati, Gabrielle Robinson, Amber Schwinn, Christina Serriani, Brendan Sheehan, Lindsey Spencer, Lindsey Suppartis, Ryan Wilton; Grade 8: Michaela Bailes, Alexa Calandra, Sara Cichon, Lily Cultrara, Joyce Endozo, Ashley Franz, Leah Geis, Balraj Grewal, Carly Hand, Ian Hardison, Connor Harrigan, Natalie Henderson, Grant Johnson, Grey Johnson, Kurt Laschinger, Madeline Mitchell, Jazmine Nijjar, Emilie Phinney, Pushpinder Singh,Olivia Slahta, Amelia Stepnoski.
The display, which features paintings, mosaics, drawings, tile work, pastels, collage and sgrafitto designs by students in Ms. Nora Klein’s classes at the middle school, will remain on view throughout March and will be followed by a second display featuring Mr. Andrew Dulak’s sixth and seventh grade students in April. The work can be viewed in the Community Meeting Room during regular library hours.
Connor Middle School To Present Disney's Beauty and the Beast - March 2011
Under the direction of Connor music teachers Mrs. Sarah Russo and Ms. Shannon Smith, over 130 students will be presenting "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" at the end of March in the high school auditorium. Performances are scheduled for Monday, March 28th at 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday and Wednesday, March 29th and 30th at 7:00 p.m. Tickets will be $5.00 for ages 11+ and $3.00 for ten and under.
Connor Middle School Student is K-12 Artist of the Month - March 2011
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Proudly displaying several recently created artworks from his portfolio is Connor Harrigan, an eighth grade student at Veronica Connor Middle School. Connor has been designated by the Art Department of the Grand Island Schools as the recipient of the “K-12 Artist of the Month Award” for February 2011. His teacher, Ms. Nora Klein, cites his enthusiasm, creativity and ability to work well with almost every method and material, as some of the reasons for his selection.Connor reports that he has been interested in art for a very long time. He fondly recalls past art projects and remembers in detail making his first piece of pottery as a fifth grader. He counts this experience among his favorite art memories. While equally fluent and adept in a variety of media, Connor prefers working with clay. His ceramic mask pictured here, is his favorite artwork that he has thus far created.
This student says that art allows him to express himself while also offering him the opportunity to be creative. He is an accelerated student, currently enrolled in Studio In Art at the middle school. Connor’s sources of inspiration include his family, friends and nature. He is encouraged and supported by his family, who proudly display his work at home.
Connor plans on pursuing art in high school and as a future career. He hopes to one day become an architect. His teacher and the entire art department are proud to recognize his unique and individual artistic accomplishments and wish Connor continued success in all of his future creative endeavors.
2011 Grand Island Middle School
Girls’ Modified Basketball Has Outstanding Season! - March 2011
See Girls Modified BasketballConnor Middle School Honor Roll - Feb. 2011
The following Veronica E. Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the second quarter, 2010-2011 school year:Grade 7 - Eric Albrecht, Jill Anderson, Tori Aronica, Narmeen Asif, Cailin Atkins, Emily Augugliaro, Leora Bellia, Sarah Bellinger, Adam Bevilacqua, Jarod Brandon, Natalie Braun, Madison Brown, Caitlyn Bykowicz, Alexander Cancilla, Justine Cardone, Andrew Carlson, Taylor Cecere, Cameron Colan, Madeline Dallessandro, Adam Dryfhout, Emily Eberhard, Mohamed Eltagouri, Bridget Federico, Benjamin Freedman, Marissa Freedman, Sabrina Giordano, Olivia Goc, Alexa Graff Daniel Grinchishin, Victoria Gruber, Maya Harper, Samara Johnson, Lovepreet Kaur, Jacob Kawecki, Sydney Keane, Joseph Kulikowski, Hannah Lamarco, Brianna Little, Hope LoHouse, Holly Lutnick, Michael Mankowski, Aubrey McCoy, Haley Melisz, Sarah Moseley, Emily Nobumoto, Nathaniel Nowocien, Michael Oldman, Ryan O'Neil, Carissa Parsons, Eric Pease, Maria Ramsperger, Sarah Rennells, Sammantha Reynolds, Gabrielle Robinson, Mikayla Rosati, Emelie-jo Scheffler, Christina Serianni, Brendan Sheehan, Cassie Shickluna, Cameron Smith, Laura Szczepankiewicz, Taylor Vanderzell, Maxwell VeRost, Samantha Violino, Camille Watt, Alex Whetham, Kassidy Wozniak
Grade 8 - Jessica Ackendorf, Ryan Allen, Joshua Barrett, Hannah Bastian, Carly Bernatovicz, Giuseppe Campanella, Robert Carroll, Marissa Catanzaro, Natalia Christiano, Sara Cichon, Kayla Conway, Nancy Dahlquist, Isabel Dengos, Shannon Driess, Julia Drozdowsky, Eric Dudley, Robert Ellegate, Katherine Fonte, Ashley Franz, Alexander Garey, Rebekah Gaydosh, Kathryn Gentz, Carly Hand, Jack Kennedy, Marah Killian, Kurt Laschinger, Michaela McMahon, Nolan Miles, Robin Neary, Alyssa Pelosi, Kaitlyn Rudney, Benjamin Shaw, Pushpinder Singh, Amelia Stepnoski, Laura Taylor, Melissa Ullrich, Bennett Wright
Grade 7 - Benjamin Abbott, Jesse Arch, Adam Bahgat, Austin Blair, Aaron Bobeck, Alexis Conway, Sari Dickinson, Daniel Dinsmore, Emily Dudziak, Jayson Endozo, Ian Estenoz, Chloe Evans, Cydney Fairbairn, Ashley Giambra, Madison Green, Kali Hausrath, Haylee Heitman, Rebecca Hennessy, Briana Hollfelder, Nicole Hollfelder, Kaitlin Hoy, Leah Jasek, Michaela Kozek, Sarah Kustich, Julia Lawley, Caitlyn Less, Kady Liesenfeld, Liana Lombardo, Chad Martin, Madison McNamara, Tiffany Melendez, Jason Miller, Auston Niemann, James Niland, Jake Nowak, Zachery O'Neill, Hailey Randle, Brandon Rivers, Chelsea Robillard, Heather Robinson, Amber Schwinn, Cassidy Siebert, Emma Smith, Rohan Alexi Smith, Lindsey Spencer, Robert Stolfo, Lindsey Supparits, Brandon Surdi, Christina Sutton, Melanie Sweeney, Matthew Tollner, Chancellor Warmus, Eric Watt, Hannah Wiktorowski, Spencer-Jon Zukic
Grade 8 - Elaina Bolles, Nicholas Bonora, Bradley Boreali, Brianna Brandon, Sierra Brooks, Nicole Burley, Andrew Colautto, Sara Colon, Caitlin Conlon, Lillian Cultrara, Enrico D'Abate, Abigail Dallessandro, Katherine Diefenbach, McLain Erhard, Morgan Finn, Austin Fisher, Andrew Fred, Leah Geis, Kyle Graves, Marissa Gress, Nikolai Harper, Connor Harrigan, Sabrina Hausrath, Natalie Henderson, Christian Hilts, Grey Johnson, Jacqueline Kehoe, Leah Killian, Khristian Kline, Taylor Latvala, Thomas Major, Nathan Marino, Ryan Marlin, Colton McGraw, Devlin McMaster, Matthew McNaughton, Alexandra Miller, Jazmine Nijjar, Colin Osborn, Nicholas Paolini, Kelsey Percival, Devon Perri, Emilie Phinney, Michael Podgorny, Brendan Pratt, Jenna Reinard, Andrew Riederer, Eric Riederer, Lauren Rogoza, Raymond Rott, Margaret Rustowicz, Joseph Santa Lucia, Olivia Slahta, Alexandra Sponn, Emily Szabo, Apelasan Wigneswaran, Corey Wilkinson, James Wilson, Timothy Winder, Emily Wolcott, Bethany Wynne, Taylor Zoldowski
Connor Middle School Merit Roll - Feb. 2011
The following Connor Middle School students have been named to the honor roll for the second quarter, 2010-2011 school year:Grade 6 - Ayah Abdelal, Mason Akers, Liam Bryan, Sarina Buscaglia, Joseph Chadima, Mikayla Claus, Andrea Colan, Alexandra Colucci, Adam Crist, Jessica Culbert, Narmeen Durrani, Cole Ellsworth, Madison Finn, Gianni Ford, Joseph Frailey, Meghan Frisch, Sartaj Grewal, Lenin Harper, Jessica Harvey, Jacob Hooton, Bryce Jellinick, Brennen Joslyn, Alexis Kowalak, Rachel Kullerkupp, Jacob Kurek, Lily Anna Leffler, Andrew Little, Harrison Mangat, Emily Martinez, Mason Michels, Heather Michki, Tyler Moskala, Kassie Moss, Juleeann Nyitrai, Simon Pannullo, Madisyn Pezzino, Madison Phillips, Dilshawn Randhawa, Jack Slazyk, Samuel Sommer, Noah Stimpson, Randy Thomas, James Thorpe, Marie Tomasula, Zachary Valvo, Madison VeRost, Cassidy Wilkinson, Kyle York, Abraham Zherebilov
Grade 7 - Clare Ahne, Kiera Beadles, Hayley Becker, Destiny Benjamin, Troy Brady, Zachary Breeden, Drew Callen, Dominique Capizzi, Jenna Corrao, Frank Cotroneo, Patrick Cramer, Matthew Crist, Allison DeMartin, Danielle Duck, Michael Duda, Jordyn Fisher, Nicholas Giancola, Jacob Gilcart, Nicholas Gioeli, Benjamin Graziano, Shannon Holt, Joshua HusVar, Taylor Internicola, Shelby Ishmael, Alexander Jackson, Taylor Johnson, Julia Kavanagh, Bailey Kephart, Derek Konopski, Samantha Krause, Samantha Lesinski, Edward Logel, Michaela Malesky, Loveleen Mangat, Cameron Mastykarz, Tanner Morrow, Eric O'Brien, Daniel Otto, Xavier Ramadan, Mikayla Reading, Chelsea Schmidt, Jake Schmidt, Smeen Shah, Angelia Strzalkowski, Kurt Villani, Hannah Wessner, Brianna Wik, Ryan Wilton, Douglas Yockey, Michael Ziehm
Grade 8 - Alwareed Abdellatif, Nicholas Brink, Vincent Bruno, Alexa Calandra, Dennis Chatkhan, Mariah Ciffa, Alexandra Cutting, Colton Czajka, Genevieve Davis, Anna DeMartin, Rajveer Dhaliwall, Andrew Dyet, Daniel Edel, Joseph Egloff, Jared Eichel, Ian Eisenberger, Joseph Farrell, Halle FitzGerald, Emily Fuoco, Graciana Giambra, Nicolette Golden, Balraj Grewal, Albert Grupp, Alexander Hollatz-Guastella, Joshua Horvath, Kimberly Huffnagle, Benjamin Jensen, Grant Johnson, Ryan Kennedy, Jonathan Link, Mark McKenna, Alanna Mergel, Madeline Mitchell, Talha Mojawalla, Jacob Neumann, Timothy Newbould, Meaghan O'Leary, Miranda Phillips, Jordan Piershalski, Anne Pilie, Drew Pitts, Michael Podlucky, Michael Rugg, Mackenzie Smith, Colin Smith, Meghan Sonnenberg, Emilie Stinner, Jordan VeRost, Brian Verso, Matthew Wellence, Scarlett Whitman, Jessica Wing, Jordan Yamonaco, Brenna Young, Alexander Zimmermann, Jessica Zoldowski
Students Interview Role Models - Feb. 2011
(left) Nathan Newell, Jesus Cisneros-Vilchis, Officer Dale Mock, Thomas Botticello, April Booker, Eric Watt, Firefighter Michael Pyzynski, Jordain Benoit and Colton Deuser.
How far do students from Veronica E. Connor Middle School have to travel to find dozens of valuable role models? The gas conserving answer is, “Not very far!” Over the past few weeks, Mrs. Fonte’s Family and Consumer Science Life Skills Class has been taking daily walking “field trips” throughout the Ransom Road complex to interview administrators, teachers, counselors, coaches, therapists and even a New York State Trooper.Interviews are taking place on-site so students see the adults in their own stimulating, educational environment. When our students showed interest in meeting others from the Grand Island community, two members of our Volunteer Fire Company drove up in a fire engine to bring themselves to the students. Student interviewers are having fun and benefiting from the experiences by gaining self-confidence in their conversations, eye-contact and hand-shaking - all skills that are needed in the world of employment. This experience is an opportunity for the interviewees to see how capable and mature middle school students can be. It is a win-win project for all. An illustrated book of the interviews is being created by the class as a keepsake for the school and for each interviewee and student.
Connor Middle School Student Council Raises Money for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo - Feb. 2011
(left) Assistant Principal Mrs. Eleanor Payne and the Student Council representatives ready to distribute the carnations
(right) “Presenting the check”: Representative from Women and Children’s Hospital,
Student Council Officers, and Student Council Advisors
(front left) Student Council Co-Advisor Mrs. Myers, Mrs. Walentynowicz from
Women and Children’s Hospital, Treasurer Derek Konopski, President Brianna Brandon, Historian Ryan Schwinn,
Assistant Pricipal Mrs. Payne; (back) Secretary Justice Cardone, Vice President Grace Giambra, Co-Advisor Mrs. Saunders
Click photos for larger view
Veronica E. Connor Middle School has lots of heart! Student Council conducted their annual Valentine’s Day carnation sale in late January when students ordered carnations for their friends, family, teachers, themselves, or that special someone. Each carnation cost $1.00. This year, 2,487 carnations were sold. The red carnations were delivered to the students on Friday, February 11. By combining the carnation proceeds with money raised during a candy cane sale, the donation was an outstanding $1,800! Student Council representatives voted to donate all proceeds from the sale this year to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo.
Connor Middle School Student is K-12 Artist of the Month - Feb. 2011
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Proudly displaying several recently created artworks from his portfolio is Connor Harrigan, an eighth grade student at Veronica Connor Middle School. Connor has been designated by the Art Department of the Grand Island Schools as the recipient of the “K-12 Artist of the Month Award” for February 2011. His teacher, Ms. Nora Klein, cites his enthusiasm, creativity and ability to work well with almost every method and material, as some of the reasons for his selection.Connor reports that he has been interested in art for a very long time. He fondly recalls past art projects and remembers in detail making his first piece of pottery as a fifth grader. He counts this experience among his favorite art memories. While equally fluent and adept in a variety of media, Connor prefers working with clay. His ceramic mask pictured here, is his favorite artwork that he has thus far created.
This student says that art allows him to express himself while also offering him the opportunity to be creative. He is an accelerated student, currently enrolled in Studio In Art at the middle school. Connor’s sources of inspiration include his family, friends and nature. He is encouraged and supported by his family, who proudly display his work at home.
Connor plans on pursuing art in high school and as a future career. He hopes to one day become an architect. His teacher and the entire art department are proud to recognize his unique and individual artistic accomplishments and wish Connor continued success in all of his future creative endeavors.
VCMS Students Participate in
National Arts Program - Feb. 2011
Students Honored for Outstanding Creative Work
February 3, 2011 . . . Students from Veronica E. Connor Middle School participated in PTA ReflectionsSM, a national arts recognition program. Through the Connor PTA, students submitted creative works inspired by the 2010–2011 Reflections Program theme, “Together We Can.” Works include entries in the areas of film production, literature, musical composition, photography and the visual arts.
Congratulations to the following Reflections winners:Film - Grade 6 – 8:
1st place, Simon Estenoz
Literature - Grade 6 – 8:
Tie for 3rd, Flo Rosati
Visual Arts – Grade 6 – 8:
1st place, Jordan VeRost
Tie for 3rd, Gabrielle Gagliardi
Honorable Mention, Sarah Swagler
Photography - Grade 6 – 8:
1st, Jacob Hooton
Tie for 2nd, Thomas Major
3rd, Julianna Major
Music – Grade 6 – 8:
2nd, Ian Estenoz
“An arts education is important to the educational growth of children,” said National PTA® President Charles J. “Chuck” Saylors. “That’s why we’re proud that PTA Reflections, in its more than 40 years, has given millions of students a way to express themselves through the arts. We’re excited for Connor Middle School PTA and the creative energy of their students.”
About PTA ReflectionsSM
For over 40 years, the national PTA Reflections Program has encouraged students across the nation and in American schools overseas to explore their artistic talents. PTA believes that all children deserve a quality arts education and encourages students to pursue artistic expression through participation in the annual Reflections Program. Students in preschool through grade 12 are invited to create and submit works of art in the areas of dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography, and the visual arts.
About PTA
The National Parent Teacher Association® (PTA®) comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health, and welfare of children and youth.
Scrooge Makes a Positive Impact on VCMS Students - Dec. 2010
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Veronica E. Connor Middle School students learned about the true meaning of Christmas when the Hampstead Stage Company from New Hampshire performed the exciting and magical retelling of the classic tale, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens on Tuesday, December 21, 2010. The students were really captured by the two actors' depiction of the world of Ebenezer Scrooge. Everyone was impressed with the staging, costumes and the actors' ability to play multiple characters. It was a thrill to see the audience so engaged when two middle school students and one staff member were invited up onto the stage to perform as part of the production. Students were given the opportunity to ask any questions at the conclusion of the performance. All students then returned to their class where they wrote a letter of appreciation to a staff member at VCMS who has made a positive contribution to their lives at school.Also featured was an acting workshop that thirty students had the privilege to attend. Students had the opportunity, in a smaller group setting, to work with professional, trained actors. The workshop focused on improvisation and other acting techniques.
A warm thank you goes out to the Veronica E. Connor Middle School PTA who sponsored this program. It was a wonderful way to begin the holiday season!
Connor Middle School Singcopations - Dec. 2010
