Schuylerville — Schuylerville High School’s FFA Chapter of has been named a 2020 recipient of two National FFA Organization grants, totaling $7,555. Both grants will be used to fund agricultural education and experiential learning initiatives at the high school.

The Chapter received $4,955 from the Grants for Growing program to begin a maple syrup production operation. They plan to purchase a maple syrup evaporator, canning unit, taps and other equipment for maple syrup production. 

Also awarded the Living to Serve Grant in the amount of $2,600, the Schuylerville FFA plans to build raised bed gardens to grow fresh produce for donation to both the school cafeteria as well as S.A.F.E.R, Schuylerville Area Food Emergency Relief. This project will be done in conjunction with the high school technology program. 

The funding for both grants is provided by the sponsors of the National FFA Organization, including: CoBank, Tractor Supply Company, Cargill, CSX, Dominoes and Elanco. 

The Grants for Growing program is funded through the donations of customers who purchase $1 paper emblems at Tractor Supply stores at checkout during National FFA Week

Being clean is a privilege some just can’t afford.

Since the pandemic, the importance of keeping germs at bay has become a priority for everyone, but some Saratoga children are going unwashed simply because basic hygiene products aren’t available for them to use at home. 

Even before the current crisis, Grace Firehock, now a senior at Saratoga Springs High School, saw there were students in need. In the Spring of 2019, she started Toga Toiletries to provide access to toiletries and personal hygiene products to students in need. 

“I just wanted all high schoolers to have basic toiletries and to have easy access to them,” she said. 

Grace and her parents purchased supplies to fill a closet in the school guidance office. Then, she began sending out requests for others to help.

Grace’s efforts have resulted in donations from Billington Family Dentistry, Hannaford Supermarkets, Byrne Orthodontics, Arbonne, and numerous local families. 

GROWING NEED
Now, Toga Toiletries are available to children throughout the Saratoga Springs City School District. Working with the Saratoga Food Pantry, Community Health Center, and SNACpack, they are also able to deliver toiletries to children.

The SNACpack Program (Saratoga Nutrition Assistance for Children) is seeing more children than ever in need of food and essential care items.

“Toga Toiletries is providing a wonderful, much-needed service for children and families! During this very difficult time where many families have lost income, toiletries have truly become a luxury that many cannot afford,” said SNACpack’s founder Karey Trimmings.

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FINDING TIME TO BE KIND
Grace Firehock finds time to package hygiene products for Toga Toiletries in between her already busy schedule, which also includes playing varsity tennis, Irish step and piano classes, skiing, and her other volunteer efforts. 

“Grace has always had a very philanthropic attitude.   She took an idea and found a way to bring it to life.  Her work has allowed families in the community to save money on expensive hygiene and toiletry products, which became especially helpful during the pandemic as some households struggle to pay bills due to lost employment,” said school counselor, Siobahn LaMar. 

“This endeavor hasn’t just benefited people in the community, it has also had a tremendous impact on Grace.  A bit quiet and shy by nature, this experience has pushed her out of her comfort zone needing to ask strangers for donations.  Her confidence has grown, along with her presentation skills.  Grace is a great role model to her peers and younger siblings, and we hope to see the community continue to benefit from her efforts after she graduates,” she continued. 

LASTING IMPACT
The benefits of helping others are especially poignant for Grace when she receives emails from recipients expressing their gratitude and accompanied by photos of the children she is helping. 

“It has an impact. It feels amazing to know I’ve helped people at this time,” said Grace.

Grace’s younger siblings have been helping package items and her sister, Caroline Firehock, a sophomore, will inherit Toga Toiletries when Grace graduates to ensure its continuation for years to come. 

Toga Toiletries is always in need of donations – shampoo is the most requested item, followed by deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and razors. They accept cash donations to buy specialty items including diapers and lotion. To make or receive a donation, and to find their Amazon wish list, go to www.facebook.com/togat0iletries or email togatoiletries@gmail.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — American poet Louise Gluck, a Skidmore College honorary degree recipient and a regular participant in the New York State Summer Writers Institute hosted by the college for more than three decades, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

Gluck, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her collection “The Wild Iris” in 1993, was U.S. poet laureate 2003-2004. Her most recent book, “Faithful and Virtuous Night,” published in 2014, won a National Book Award. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —The 2020 Saratoga Hospital Golf Invitational presented by A.O.W. Associates, Inc. raised $157,552 for the hospital’s Nursing Scholarship Program. 

The tournament exceeded what was raised in 2019.  And the support of the community provided funding for 53 nursing scholarship awards this year.

Since the scholarship program was launched in 2002, 135 recipients have earned their associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree in nursing. 

The first in the Capital Region to become a Magnet organization, Saratoga Hospital has maintained the designation since 2004. In August, the hospital earned Magnet recognition for the fourth consecutive time. Approximately 8% of U.S. hospitals have been awarded Magnet recognition, and less than 2% have earned the distinction four or more times.

For six years, the Scholastic Book Club’s Patterson Partnership Grant has been awarding schools throughout the country with books that educate and inspire children. This year, five regional educators were winners.

It’s all a matter of luck. The Scholastic Book Club partners with mystery and young adult author James Patterson to award 5,000 prizes randomly each year from the more than 100,000 entries they receive annually. The grant awards $500 and 500 points to be used towards new materials from Scholastic to each winner. 

“I’m super excited and can’t wait to order. It’s like winning the lottery,” said Katie Fleming, 4th grade teacher at St. Mary’s School in Ballston Spa. 

She plans to order supplies that will help to supplement her classroom’s novel studies, that have great figurative language, and that coordinate with their social studies curriculum.

PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF
Because less than five percent of entries are chosen as winners, it pays to keep trying. 

That’s what Meredith Andrews, 4th grade teacher at Karigon Elementary School in Clifton Park discovered. She’s entered to win the grant before and has known colleagues who have won, but this time, luck was on her side. 

“Of course, I’m very excited. I plan to purchase things the whole grade level can use,” she said.

This includes multi-cultural books that feature characters of different races and abilities so that every child can see themselves reflected in what they read. Andrews also hopes to secure fiction and mystery sets for the classroom.

PROVIDES NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Engaging materials make learning fun and help to enrich transitions for teachers. Their enthusiasm is then shared with their students, so everyone feels like a winner. 

“I switched from teaching kindergarten to first grade this year and thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to build my classroom library. I was so surprised and excited to receive the notice in the mail that I had won! I plan to use the money to buy high-interest fiction and non-fiction texts to enrich the educational experience of my first-grade students. What a wonderful opportunity!” said Alison Leclerc, teacher at Skano Elementary School in Clifton Park. 

Studies have proven that the more contact children have with books, the better readers they become. The most successful classroom libraries offer students immediate and frequent access to a variety of different books while also providing a venue where teachers and students can easily recommend books to each other.

According to the American Library Association, classroom libraries should contain between 300-600 titles, depending on grade level, be supplemented from a well-stocked school library and from other sources. Additional new books should be added each year. Materials should span a range of difficulties, languages, topics, genres, and perspectives to best tell the story of our diverse world. 

Additional local winners of the Scholastic prize also include David Bassani from Schuylerville Central School and Darci Carril for the Saratoga Springs YMCA.

COOKING UP CHANGE – BOTH IN AND OUTSIDE OF THE SCHOOL CAFETERIA
Like so many others this year, school cafeterias are doing things differently. Providing free lunches has been one of them.

Since March, in a move meant to ease the financial toll the pandemic is having on families, the US Department of Agriculture has been reimbursing school cafeterias for the meals they serve through their National Lunch Program. Then, in August, it was decided that free lunches would be made available to all students until December. In Schuylerville, there are approximately 1500 students enrolled. 

On October 1, legislation authorized the USDA to extend National School Lunch Program waivers through Sept. 30, 2021. The costs of these free lunches, however, are already rolling in.

“School food services are struggling all over country. We were operating on a shoestring budget already, so we rely on the reimbursement of meals and on a la cart sales – and these sales are way down,” said Sarah Keen, Schuylerville’s Food Services Manager for six years. 

THE HIDDEN COSTS
The price tag of providing free lunches for so many kids are substantial. As they stand now, the Federal and State reimbursements are not going to be enough to balance the school food budget. These reimbursements are $1.99/breakfast and $3.57/lunch. 

“That’s the flat rate, regardless of what we put in it,” said Keen. 

It also doesn’t factor in that fewer students are choosing school meals.

“We’re desperate for kids to come back in and get school meals,” said Keen.

In September, Schuylerville’s food services revenue was down $20,000 in a la cart, and down $20,000 in meal sales. 

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FEEDING THE PROBLEM
So why aren’t kids getting school food? People are choosing to bring their lunch, and many students just aren’t hungry at lunch time now because schedules have some eating as early as 10:15 a.m. It also doesn’t account for the additional safety precautions that have been put in place to meet health guidelines. 

These are mainly in the form of additional staff time, lots of packaging and trash. 

Pre-plated and packaged items have replaced traditional options for meals served both on-campus and off, devastating greening initiatives that had previously been in place.

“It’s just a juggling act to make it work,” said Keen.

FINDING BALANCE WITH FARM-TO-SCHOOL
Choosing to create a more closed system with farm-to-school has many benefits. It was announced this week that Schuylerville will be the recipient of the Farm-to-School Project Grant administered through Cornell Cooperative Extension. 

A participant in farm-to-school projects for more than a decade, Schuylerville spends 30 percent of their district food budget on NY products. They partner with seven NYS farms, including neighbors Kings Dairy, Saratoga Apple, Thomas Poultry, and Old Saratoga Maple. They’ve received food donations from Old Saratoga Mercantile and Irving Tissue, among others. The grant will help Pitney Meadows Farm in Saratoga build a new greenhouse while also awarding $2,000 to the school for new kitchen equipment. 

“What I’ve heard most about the program now is the sense of normalcy that kids feel – they can still have that Stewart’s chocolate milk and the pizza that they’re used to,” said Keen.

SARATOGA COUNTY —The Saratoga County 4-H School Outreach Educator, Mrs. Julie Curren, has readapted the 4-H program to offer “kits” through socially-distanced drop-offs supplemented with LIVE lessons through online platforms.

Kits are now available to all Saratoga County families through the inaugural launch of the 4-H Homeschool Outreach Program.

Beginning in October and rolling out throughout the school year, current offerings include “Eat a Rainbow” snacks, “Think Your Drink” beverages, “Label Literacy” with the MyPlate guide, taking a walk and building a birdhouse with “Bluebirds of NY” and building a plastic bottle rocket with “Rockets Away” kits. Prices are $5 – $15/each. For more information go to ccesaratoga.org/ccesaratoga-and-covid-19/4-h-school-outreach-homeschool-hub or call Kim Wilbur at 518-885-8995.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Saratoga Springs High School students Cristina DeMeo, Nathan Krackeler, Lily Rosan, and Julian Silva-Forbes have been named National Merit Semifinalists. 

More than 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT Test (PSAT).  Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, include the highest-scoring entrants in each state. Semifinalists have the opportunity to compete in the National Merit
Scholarship competition.

In addition, Jonathan D’Alonzo, Jackson Ellnor, Wesley Griffiths, Kara Hausam, Ava Herzog, Nicholas Leanza, Joseph Mergen, Joseph Prostick, Jason Schwartz, Vania Sih, Alexander Ucci, and Jason Zheng have been named as Commended Students in the National Merit program. Commended Students are also recognized for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Students throughout Saratoga are spending more class time outside this year. 

Open-air classrooms were utilized more than a century ago as a way to prevent the spread of tuberculous and are being reintroduced this year as a healthy way to adhere to social distancing guidelines. 

When Fred McNeary, a Saratoga Springs High School alum and the CEO of Prestwick Chase at Saratoga, saw that NYRA loaned 175 picnic tables to the Saratoga Springs School District for courtyard seating, he got an idea.

This week, Prestwick Chase donated 75 Adirondack chairs to the district to further expand their outside seating options. The chairs were left over from an outdoor event the retirement community held on Mother’s Day this year. 

“With the pandemic, everyone’s changing how they are having classes. We were happy to do it and the kids were happy to have them,” said John Rowe, Prestwick Chase Marketing Director.

BEING OUTDOORS BECOMES SECOND NATURE

For the children at Saratoga Independent School, being outside more is already becoming second nature.

“We’ve always incorporated some outdoor learning in our classes. We have this beautiful 60-acre campus with trails through the woods, so there are always things for students to see and learn outside. Now, we’re increasing our time outside and having it on a more regular basis for a lot of classes,” said Lisa Brown, Principal of Saratoga Independent School.

Under the school’s three large shade sails, students sit in a circle on foam pads or beach towels for morning meetings, language arts, snack, lunch and more. There are picnic tables, portable easels and whiteboards set up, as well. 

The school purchased microphones and speakers so remote students could connect with the outdoor classrooms, and for Kindergarteners, sitting inside hula hoops serves as a visual and tactile social distancing solution.

“One of the best things that’s come from this whole experience is that the kids are taking it very seriously. Our school motto is to take care of ourselves, each other and the community. This allows the kids to be independent. Kids really do want to do the right thing,” said Brown.

PREPARED FOR PREVENTION

Grounded in the philosophy of hands-on learning, the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs was already running an all-outdoor Forest Kindergarten and is adding another following the same outdoor model.

Waldorf’s 1st through 7th grade students are now spending 75 percent of their school day outside, said Waldorf teacher and Faculty Chair, Astrea Ravenstar. 

High school students are outdoors for half the day studying English, foreign languages and the practical arts. 

Folding chairs equipped with supplies and even cushioned tree stumps have been set up to create outdoor classroom spaces. As the weather cools, the school will be setting up tents and heaters, as well.

When the weather is too wet, classes will be inside but the school’s big windows will remain open for increased ventilation.

“Kids need to dress in layers with hats on. They need to be a little more prepared to stay outside as much as possible. That, combined with the sanitation processes we have in place, really will help keep COVID at bay,” said Ravenstar.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — This week mothers who are residents at Prestwick Chase will be donating 75 plastic Adirondack chairs to the Saratoga Springs High School. John Rowe, director of marketing at Prestwick, said they had many chairs left over from their Mothers Day event this year and wanted a way to help out the school district.