SARATOGA COUNTY — Schools have welcomed students for the 2023-2024 school year which means buses are out. Kids can be unpredictable and school buses make frequent stops while boarding and discharging students. If you will be sharing the roads with school buses, consider adding time and patience before setting off for your trip.

Slow down for buses with flashing yellow lights, they are preparing to stop. You must stop for buses with flashing red lights and may not pass until the school bus resumes motion or until signaled by the driver or police officer to proceed.

Know the laws and keep our school kids safe.

For more information https://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/school-bus-safety

SCHUYLERVILLE — Saratoga County Deputy Chris Greive has been named the new school resource officer for the Schuylerville Central School District, the district announced. Greive’s first day in the role was Wednesday, Sep. 13.

Greive, who has been a deputy with the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office for three years, is a graduate of Schuylerville High School. He previously served in the U.S. Air Force for over six years, including two tours of duty in Iraq, the release states.

“I look forward to the opportunity to come back to the community I grew up in and having a positive impact on students and their perception of law enforcement,” said Deputy Greive in the release. “I also look forward to continuing to grow the great foundation and relationships Deputy Warriner has built during his time at Schuylerville.”

Greive replaces Deputy Zach Warriner, who had worked as an SRO in the district since 2018, according to the release.

“As a parent, community member, and administrator in this district, I could not have envisioned a person doing a better job starting the SRO program in Schuylerville,” said Schuylerville HS principal James Ducharme of Warriner in the release. “He immersed himself in our school culture through coaching and being an active participant in countless school activities and events. We thank him for his service to our school community and wish him well.”

“I will miss the people and the relationships I’ve built,” added Deputy Warriner. “Everyone was so welcoming from the start, and it’s been a pleasure to serve this school community.”

SCHUYLERVILLE — The Schuylerville Central School District’s 2023 Kickin’ Out Cancer event is set to be held Oct. 3, taking place in honor of longtime teacher Dave Mehan, who died of cancer in August.

Taking place during the Schuylerville varsity boys’ soccer game against South Glens Falls, proceeds raised during the event will be donated to the Schuylerville Elementary School Kindness Closet, which is set to be established in Mehan’s memory.

Schuylerville CSD Superintendent Gregg Barthelmas said it is a fitting tribute, noting that Mehan was, “everything you’d want in a teacher and a person.”

“He meant everything to the school,” said Barthelmas. “He was fun, kind, loved by staff, loved by students, loved by community members. …People were always excited to go to his classroom. He was always kind of a jokester. He made learning fun.”

Mehan spent 26 years in the district, beginning in 1997 as a co-kindergarten teacher, eventually moving to fourth grade. He also coached a variety of sports through the years, including modified track and field, modified boys soccer, and varsity girls soccer, in addition to helping with the elementary school ski club, S.A.F.E.R. food drives, and serving on the Schuylerville Teachers Association.

Barthelmas said Mehan’s sense of humor was “uncanny,” with he and Shannon Vallee, first grade teacher and Varsity Club Advisor, noting Mehan also enjoyed dressing up during the holidays.

“St. Patrick’s Day, he was always dressed up as a leprechaun,” Vallee said. “He definitely had a connection with kids. One of my own children had him as a teacher, and she had a really good time that year.”

Over the years, Mehan was able to make a tremendous impact on students, with Vallee noting his enthusiasm could influence some kids to come to school when they otherwise might not have wanted to.

“All of his students, the students that really needed his help, they thrived over those years that he was their teacher,” said Vallee. She noted Mehan, along with friends and fellow teachers Pat Whalen and Chad Jorgenson, were constantly “laughing and having fun times.”

The Kickin’ Out Cancer event, which has been held by the district for over a decade, raised over $6,000 last year, Vallee said. This year includes the sponsors Sol Enterprises/Schuylerville Pizza & Pasta, and Document Tailors.

The event will include basket raffles put together by grade levels and departments around the district, a 50/50 raffle, and a ‘glowstick walk’. Proceeds from the school’s concession stand will also be donated to the Elementary School Kindness Closet.

Donations will also be taken at the Schuylerville girls varsity soccer game against Scotia-Glenville on Sept. 30 at Schuyler Park. Vallee said the boys varsity soccer team will be on hand to accept donations, and said basket raffles will also be set up, allowing spectators to purchase a ticket that will be drawn at the boys soccer game on Oct. 3.

“It brings the community together,” said Schuylerville varsity boys soccer head coach David Gauci of the event. “I think it’s a good thing for everyone involved. … It’s rewarding at the end.”

Gauci said opposing teams have also been involved in past years, wearing colors in support of the event. Valle noted it will help launch the Schuylerville Elementary School Kindness Closet, which is intended to be established in honor of Mehan.

“This is really going to jump-start what we can put in the closet, decorate the closet,” Vallee said. “It’s going to be good for the school.”

Like Mehan, Vallee is a graduate of Stillwater High School, and emphasized it is meaningful to honor her former colleague.

“He has a huge community of friends, just up and down the river,” said Valle. “He touched our community, he touched this community, and he touched his home community as well.”

Barthelmas, who started working in the district alongside Mehan in 1997, said the two eventually became good friends. Noting Mehan was the type of person to “give you the shirt off his back,” Barthelmas said the event in his honor is thematic.

“If you think about it, it’s what he did,” said Barthelmas. “We try to represent it as how they conducted themselves. … In this way, (giving) back is Dave Mehan. That’s how I see it.”

BURNT HILLS — Saratoga Voices hosted its 26th Annual Vocal Scholarship competition at Saint Clement’s Church in Saratoga Springs. Of eight applicants performing selections from the standard song repertoire, Joshua Hoyt from Stillwater High School (first place) and Emma Nobes from Niskayuna High School (second place) won $1,500 and $1,000 scholarships, respectively.

The students’ voice teachers are Michael Lotano and Carla Fisk. The competition was judged by Heather Baird and Dr. Kathleen Slezak.

Dr. Slezak is the choir director at Bethesda Episcopal Church in Saratoga Springs, and Heather Baird has recently retired from teaching choral ensembles and vocal lessons at Shenendehowa High Schools East and West. She is also on the advisory board of the Eastern New York Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). 

Joshua Hoyt and Emma Nobes will both attend The Hartt School at the University of Hartford. 

Nobes intends to study Music Education to become a music teacher, and Hoyt will study Musical Theater with an interest in performance as well as producing and directing musicals.

For more information on Saratoga Voices’ Scholarship Program, visit saratogavoices.org.

BALLSTON SPA — Thanks to a donation from the Junior League of Schenectady and Saratoga Counties, every student at Wood Road Elementary School will begin the year with brand new school supplies.

Wood Road received over $10,000 worth of supplies as part of the Junior League’s ‘Operation Back to School.’ For the past 20 years, the organization has adopted a local school district and purchased supplies for students attending an elementary school within the district, said Denise Murphy McGraw, the program’s founder and the President of the Junior League of Schenectady and Saratoga Counties.

“What makes our program different is that we work with the educators to identify exactly all the supplies that the students need, that their teachers say they need, for a successful school year,” said Murphy McGraw. “We really just work very hard to ensure that it’s exactly the items that the educators believe that the students need for the school year.”

Wood Road principal Anders Rasmussen said the district is “so appreciative” of the donation.

“I know, as teachers, principals, it’s great for us,” said Rasmussen. “But more importantly, it’s for the kids and the families, to just remove one additional barrier that really is a barrier for some. We’re just really excited.”

Supplies purchased include pencils, crayons, binders, folders, and much more. Murphy McGraw said roughly 13,000 products were purchased in total, providing “everything” that a student would need to begin the school year.

“We spent about $10,000. The value inside that room is a lot more than that. We use coupons, we go to sales,” Murphy McGraw said. 

Wood Road teacher Megan Haessig is a member of the Junior League, and initially brought the idea to Rasmussen, he said. Murphy McGraw noted the Junior League was “so happy” to work with the Wood Road and BSCSD staff.

“This was such a pleasure, to work with the folks in this particular building in this school district,” Murphy McGraw said. “It’s just been a true partnership. I would love to do it many more years here, because it’s just a wonderful, wonderful atmosphere.”

She said that while September can be a difficult month for some families, the Junior League prides themselves on “trying to ease that burden a little bit.”

“It might be the difference between paying your rent and getting new school clothes, and making sure they have all the supplies,” said Murphy McGraw. “We really want to make sure that everybody has what they need.”

“Just taking that off every family is a tremendous thing,” Rasmussen added. “But also knowing that all the kids are going to come in on the same foot in September, not worrying about it, not stressing it, I think is just great. … I’m just so appreciative, I know everybody here is in the district for this for our families.”

Rasmussen gave credit to the Junior League, Haessig, and Wood Road school counselor Cathy Roy for their help in the process, calling it a “significant undertaking.” He said it will be meaningful for every student at the school to begin the year on the same foot.

“I can’t say enough for those who haven’t seen it what it will mean to a kid to walk in on day one not even having to worry about that,” said Rasmussen. “It’s something that all of us know has been provided for every kid here in the same way, which is pretty cool.”

SCHUYLERVILLE — Members of Schuylerville High School’s Class of 2027 recently participated in the district’s annual freshman transition summer event, which included a presentation by motivational speaker and former NFL player Ricky Sapp.

The event allows students to receive tours of the building and meet with teachers and counselors, according to a release on the district website.

Sapp was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He also played for the New York Jets and Houston Texans. He spoke to the students about viewing high school as a path to future success, the release states.

“I lived out my childhood dream of playing in the NFL, but one thing I will always have is my education,” said Sapp. “I hope you understand how important your education is. My advice for you is to figure out what you’re really passionate about. If you know what you want to do, I encourage you to go after it. If you don’t know what you want to do, I encourage you to try new things to find that passion. When you find your passion, it will never feel like work.”