Principal
Tim Farley
Assistant Principal:
Craig Shull
Office Staff
Katherine Gulisane
Michelle Pullen
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Principal Assistant Principal: Office Staff |
The Ichabod Crane Safe Schools Committee has developed an informational brochure pertaining to teen alcohol and substance abuse.
The brochure, "Parents Are the Last to Know" provides practical information, as well as resources to help parents address this very important issue that touches all our lives.
To view "Parents Are the Last to Know," click here...
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Mrs. Kuhn's Family and Consumer Science (FACS) students completed a wide variety of community service projects ranging from sewing pillows for Albany Medical Center cancer patients, bell ringing for the Salvation Army, peer tutoring younger students during extended day sessions, and volunteering at Barnwell Nursing Home in Valatie.
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In keeping with Ichabod Crane’s commitment to school safety and character education, a powerful and focused anti-bullying program was launched at an assembly presented to students in grades 6 through 12 on Wednesday, October 3.
Students from the Middle School and High School converged in the High School auditorium to participate in a program called “The Pledge – Value Others…Pledge to Make a Difference.”
According to the Program Overview in the teacher’s guide, “The Pledge will motivate students to make a positive difference in the world around them with their words, actions, and attitudes. Everyone faces difficulties in life; we all experience loneliness, frustration, and the pressures to do negative things like drugs, alcohol, smoking, or bullying others. The Pledge will challenge students to make good decisions and commit to building others up rather than tearing them down. It’s a pledge to be part of a solution – a call to step up and make a difference.”
The program provides a teacher with a roadmap to help students explore and understand what causes an individual to resort to cruel, acting out, self-destructive or bullying behavior.
Through self reflection, students can understand how to make alternative, positive decisions to deal with difficulties in life. Examples of real life scenarios provide students with methods to deal with bullying situations – tools to rely on when confronted with threatening behavior by another individual.
Additional topics are explored such as rumors and gossip, cyber bullying, and understanding differences. Students are challenged to find ways in which they can affect a positive difference in their own lives and the lives of those around them.
The program encourages students to “talk about various things people could do ….to motivate others to help put an end to bullying. “ Students are asked, “What kind of activities can your school do to promote a safe and welcoming environment. How can your school become a bully free zone?”
Middle School Principal Tim Farley stated that this was the best anti-bullying program he has seen in years. He noted, “The teachers' resource guide provided our teachers with several activities that reinforced the messages delivered during the assembly. Several classes even had 100% of their students making a pledge to end bullying."
Jennifer Rickert, Grade 6 Team Leader and Middle School English Language Arts Curriculum Liaison, was equally enthusiastic. She noted that the multi-media "Pledge" assembly was very age-appropriate for Middle School students and the format and accompanying music immediately captivated them.
Mrs. Rickert stated, “The teenagers in the presentation had conflicts that our students could relate to, and they were able to share afterward how they had experienced these situations and dealt with them.” She added, “We took the opportunity to use the discussion guide to have a meaningful class discussion and worked in small groups on the focus questions. The atmosphere in the classroom was heart-warming because every child had something important to contribute and was validated by his/her classmates. This program was a great connection to the Bystander Project that we just completed in grade 6.”
(Posted October 6, 2012)
___________________________________________________Mrs. Lara Marotta, seventh grade social studies teacher at Ichabod Crane Middle School, would like to provide a unique opportunity for students in the Middle School to culminate the end of their middle school experience with a field trip to Washington, DC in the fall of their eighth grade year.
Because students learn best through first hand experiences, what better way to have them learn US History, the success of representative democracy, and the importance of civic responsibility than to travel to our nation’s capital? At the beginning of the students' eighth grade year, a committee will be formed consisting of students and faculty to personalize the itinerary for the trip. The trip will consist of three full days in Washington, DC and will take place during the week in lieu of attendance at ICC Middle School. An alternative, in-house field trip will be planned for students who are unable to attend.
After four years of researching travel companies and organizations, the District has partnered with NationsClassroom Student Travel Company, a company with more than 40 years of experience. Some of the offered amenities provided by the travel organization are: on-call doctors, a NationsClassroom certified licensed course leader for each group, night watchman, an on-site coordinator and accidental, medical and dental insurance for each participant.
The estimated cost of this trip is $609, which includes everything! (Mrs. Marotta stated in her letter to parents that by planning for the trip now, they will need to save only $24.36 a month! That is only $.81/day!)
To help defer the cost of the trip and build excitement for this opportunity, staff will be working with students to fund raise during the next three years. Many activities have already been planned that involve student service and not solicitation. (i.e., students can sign up on late bus days to run the snack table, or work during their lunch period clipping box tops.) Students will be given their own “bank account” on an Excel spreadsheet so that a portion of the fund raising they participate in goes directly into offsetting their expenses on the field trip.
At the end of the students' seventh grade year and into their eighth grade year, informational meetings will be set up to inform parents in greater detail of this event. In the meantime, if parents have questions or concerns, please email Mrs. Marotta or call 758 – 7575.
(Updated on April 22, 2013)
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Art Club
Book Club
DC Club
Modified Athletics
The Crane Acting Troupe (Grades 7 - 12)
Students Against Violating the Earth (Junior SAVE)
Kids of America (KOA)
Newspaper Club
Friends of Rachel
Future Cities
Student Council
Select Band
Sing Swing
Ski/Snowboard Club
Yearbook
For information about these, or any other programs at the Middle school, please contact the Main Office at 758-7575.