Dear Batavia Families and Community,
Perhaps we are in for a warm-up now, after my last update when I commented on us being in the “throes” of winter? Let’s hope we start having some more regular spring weather soon. I appreciate the positive feedback I have received from many of you, including our staff, on these bi-weekly updates. These updates became one of my “new normals” when regular communication became so critical during the height of COVID back in the spring of 2020.
In this update, I am only going to dedicate a paragraph to COVID. As our Batavia families hopefully saw in their email yesterday, if and when Governor Hochul lifts the school mask mandate, Batavia CSD will be mask optional. For reference, you can read that email here.
Last spring, Batavia CSD undertook a comprehensive strategic planning process, consisting of surveys from all stakeholders, of which you can see the results on our website. From there, goals were developed, and the process was eventually placed on hold until a permanent Superintendent of Schools was named. Since my arrival in January, I have authorized the team to restart the process, and we are looking forward to unveiling this plan later this spring. Why do schools and organizations engage in strategic planning? The simple answer is that healthy and vibrant schools need to have district-specific goals, otherwise, our programs and initiatives only reflect what’s been developed on a state and federal level, with no local input on what’s best for our students and our community. What is important to Batavia families, students, faculty, and staff? These are the questions that a successful strategic planning process seeks to answer, and we look forward to sharing more details with you in a few months–so stay tuned.
Speaking of presentations, I am nearing the end of my entry plan and will be ready to share the results with our district and community this spring. To date, I have met with Board members, parent groups, administrators, community members and leaders, students, teachers, staff, and representatives from our nutritional services and custodial departments. While it’s difficult to meet with every parent and family in our district, my door is always open, and if you would like to share your thoughts, please feel free to respond to the following questions via an email to me:
1. What makes the Batavia City School District special? What makes YOU proud?
2. What are your hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the staff, students, and community of the Batavia City School District?
3. What are some improvement opportunities in the Batavia City School District?
4. In one word, describe the Batavia City School District.
5. What do you need from your new Superintendent of Schools and what advice can you
offer?
6. What else would you like to share, and what are your questions?
Be sure to check out our annual student art show at the Richmond Memorial Library beginning March 1, which will feature artwork from all our students. I have been honored to serve as one of the judges, and I have attended this show in the past as well to view my own childrens’ work, and it is not to be missed!
Congratulations to our BHS Choral Ensembles on a beautiful concert last week where some excellent soloists were featured. I particularly enjoyed the moving piece called Stand Up, from the movie Harriet, about Harriet Tubman. It’s a beautiful song with powerful lyrics and an important message.
Staying in the music realm, our Winterguard hosted a fantastic winter exhibition this past Saturday, featuring 17 schools with some wonderful performances. I had never attended a show like this before and was so impressed with the talent of our groups, and our Batavia team certainly made us proud!
Our elementary schools celebrated 100 days of school this past week–always a fun and important milestone in the lives of our younger students. Jackson students continued to embrace peace circles and learned some important lessons about presidents in honor of Presidents Day, and I had the opportunity to visit the very cool STEAM Lab at John Kennedy.
Congratulations to all of our winter sports teams on their successes the past month or so, including the Boys Indoor Track & Field Team winning its 10th Section V Championship, the Batavia/Notre Dame Girls Swim Team claiming its first-ever Genesee Region/Niagara-Orleans Inter-sectional Championship, where Sophie Fulton was named “Swimmer of the Meet,” and Wrestling team members Casper Stewart and Kaden Marucci winning Section V championships. Special shoutouts to:
● Harrison Southall - Boys Swimming Sectional Champion in 100 Fly
● Unified Bowling Team - Excellence in Student Services Award
● Tyler Umlauf Class - A2 Sectional Pole Vault Champion
● Libby Grazioplene - Class A2 Shot Put Champion
● Campbell Riley - Class A2 1500m Champion
● BND United hockey team winning its first sectional game
Congratulations to our girls & boys basketball teams on hard-fought sectional wins on Tuesday and Wednesday night. As I write this on Thursday morning, they are preparing for Round #2.
In some academic competitions, our Scholastic Bowl Team finished first in the regionals, and our Middle School Math Team had a wonderful 3rd place finish in the GLOW regional competition (pictured below).
Batavia Middle School has begun a special parent group designed to foster a climate of respect and kindness, and I encourage you to join if you have not already done so. Please contact Mr. Korzelius, Interim Principal, for more information at Nkorzelius@bataviacsd.org.
I look forward to warm weather in March, plenty of musical events, and the beginning of spring sports.
Enjoy the rest of our February break, and thank you for your continued support!
Jason A. Smith
Superintendent of Schools
585-343-2480, extension 1000
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