Good afternoon,

I hope you had a great week. It's a busy time and we have so much going on as we prepare to enter the last week of school and the high school prepares for the big day. Graduation is Thursday evening.

Last week I mentioned that I would share the list of 2023 senior awards and scholarships. We did post that list on the website. Again, congratulations to all the recipients and thank you to the donors.

I also want to extend a huge congratulations to our Class of 2023 top ten students. This is a significant accomplishment and takes hard work.

Last Friday was the Schenectady High School Prom. It was an amazing event. Our students had a great time, looked incredible and were on their best behavior. Thank you to all who helped plan, coordinate and volunteer your time to make this a safe, fun and memorable event for our students. Thank you to Corinna Heggen, Kristina Graves and Molly Schaefer for the beautiful photos. View the album here.

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending the kickoff event for Big Picture Learning Schenectady, our newest program that will launch in the fall as part of the secondary redesign. I enjoyed meeting the students and families. There is much excitement about Big Picture Schenectady. Seventy-two ninth graders will enter the program in September. Follow @BigPicSchdy on Twitter

On June 12 we held the finale of the FIRE Chefs program. Students from each of our middle schools worked with SCLA, SiCM, Simone's Kitchen and Tara Kitchen on culinary techniques, food handling, and plating all while learning about food insecurity issues and the importance of access to fresh foods. Thank you Schenectady Greenmarket for partnering with us on this new program. This is another example of our community coming together to support and provide some learning and fun for our students. We can’t wait until next year! Watch the video to learn about the program and see who wins the competition!  https://youtu.be/ReGuIkkxSpc

Have you seen MLK's Walking School Bus? As part of our Community Schools initiative, we are always looking for ways to break down barriers for our families by working together and coming up with creative solutions to common problems. Watch the video to see the bus in action and hear from grateful families who send their students to school with a safe and familiar adult each day. #SchenectadyRising. https://youtu.be/EDzMFVWiwVQ

Congratulations to all of the girls who took part in the Girls On The Run 5K at Joe Bruno Stadium on Saturday. Schenectady Schools were represented by teams from Paige, Keane and Howe.

MLK End-of-Year Dance
5th graders at King Elementary School looked fabulous and had a fun time at the dance Thursday night.

Benjamin Franklin was the guest of honor at Woodlawn's Kindergarten graduation ceremony. Students loved learning about all of Ben Franklin's inventions that are still used today as part of their lessons this year. They were excited to meet him at graduation.

Summer Wrestling Camp will be held July 17- 21 at Schenectady High School. Camp is open to students in grades 4-7. See flyer.
Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeII_dXg7thN0AobU8fbudEN8gqrej9mvcRZ43AnGAdNZajCQ/viewform

Summer Reading at Schenectady County Public Library (SCPL) is "All Together Now"! Let's read!

Watch Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtQG_6yj8w0

MOBILE APP SUPPORT Click here to watch a short video on how to set your school and language preferences on our mobile app: hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saNC9ek2Lqg

PREVIOUS BRIEFS: For the index of Volume 1 and Volume 2 Briefs, click here.