Category: Jr./Sr. High News
Fall sports sign-up is open
Attention Fort Plain students: Sign up now for fall 2021 sports.
Just visit this link and complete a short form.
High school sports start on August 23, 2021 and modified sports start on August 30. Go Hilltoppers!
District residents approve proposed budget and bus proposition, elect 2 to Board of Education
Fort Plain Central School District residents approved a proposed $21.8 million budget for the 2021-22 school year by a vote of 126 to 15 on May 18, 2021.
They also approved a proposition by a vote of 125 to 16 authorizing the district to acquire school vehicles at a maximum cost of $275,000, with the funds to be drawn from the Bus Purchase Reserve Fund.
Voters also elected Kimberly Keane (126 votes) and Teresa Karker (121 votes) to serve on the Board of Education for three-year terms running from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024.
The approved 2021-22 budget maintains all academic programming with no increase in the tax levy. The approved school vehicle purchase proposition also will not have an impact on the tax levy, and it will allow the district to replace aging buses and minimize maintenance costs.
“Thank you to all who came out to vote,” said John Bishop, Fort Plain superintendent of schools. “We’re proud of our instructional programs and the services and opportunities we are able to offer our students. We appreciate the community’s support.”
Congrats Coach Phillips!
Fort Plain baseball coach Craig Phillips has been in the media spotlight after achieving 800 career wins on May 18. Known as much for his sense of humor and pranks as for his outstanding coaching of the Hilltoppers and record-breaking wins on the diamond and basketball court (regionally and statewide), Coach Phillips has been the focus of much well-deserved attention this week. Here’s just some of the coverage:
The Daily Gazette:
800 wins for Fort Plain baseball’s Phillips, countless stories for those around him
Spectrum News Albany:
News 10 Albany:
The Leader-Herald:
https://www.leaderherald.com/sports/local-sports/2021/05/phillips-gets-800th-career-victory/
CBS 6, Albany:
https://cbs6albany.com/sports/content/fort-plains-phillips-wins-800th-game-on-the-diamond
Albany Times Union:
https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Fort-Plain-baseball-coach-Craig-Phillips-has-16169667.php
Reminder: No school on May 27 & 28
Reminder: Per the emergency days guidance on the board-approved one-page calendar, Fort Plain Schools will be closed on May 27 and 28 because the district did not use all of our snow days. Enjoy the long Memorial Day weekend!
FPHS honors Students of the Month
Congratulations to our Fort Plain Jr./Sr. High School Students of the Month for April 2021:
7th Grade- Daniel Lancaster
8th Grade- Mariah Deese
9th Grade- Sadie Mollel
10th Grade- Amelia Gallagher
11th Grade- Sarah Florian
12th Grade- Zavia Allen
In the photo above, from left: Sadie, Mariah, Zavia, Sarah, Amelia and Dan
Sheriff Smith presents skateboard crafters with helmets, stickers & safety advice
The weather on Friday, May 14, was as spectacular as the longboard skateboards crafted by 16 Fort Plain Jr./Sr. High School 8th grade students, who were presented with helmets, stickers and safety advice by Montgomery County Sheriff Jeffery T. Smith at a ceremony in Wiles Park.
Sheriff Smith was joined by Undersheriff Carl Rust and Sergeant TW Flickinger in making the presentations, which also included certificates for their technology teachers, Kreig Heroth and Ted Arndt. Sheriff Smith, in turn, was presented with his own custom-made longboard, complete with an emergency beacon. The teachers said it was a culmination of all that they – both faculty and students – learned during the project.
After donning their Sheriff-donated helmets, the students road-tested their quick and colorful longboards in the park, experimenting with standing and seated rides and gaining confidence and skill with each ride. Some even wove their longboards around obstacles on a curvy path. Teamwork and encouragement were abundant as the students offered tips and cheered each other on.
The helmets, the project and the day were a big hit with all in attendance, even Superintendent of Schools John Bishop, who took one of the longboards out for a smooth cruise.
Mr. Arndt and Mr. Heroth said that earlier in the year, they thought it would be exciting for the students to build the longboards as a class project. Unlike typical street boards, longboards are used for gracefully cruising around town, on the bike path, etc. They are very long (38 to 45 inches) with a correspondingly long wheelbase. The students worked on the project over several months. Read more about what they learned.
Judging by the success of the 2021 longboard project, there are likely more cool crafted cruisers to be crafted at the high school in the future.
Visit our Facebook Photo Album!
Media coverage:
CBS-6 Albany, Friday, May 14:
Times Union, Sunday, May 16:
FPHS earns high national, area rankings from U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report has awarded Fort Plain Jr./Sr. High School high rankings nationally and regionally rankings in its “2021 Best High Schools” report.
Schools were ranked on six factors based on their performance on state assessments, graduation, and how well they prepare students for college. Fort Plain Jr./Sr. High School continues to rank high in the national report.
Fort Plain was ranked number one in the Amsterdam, N.Y. metro area, number 467 in New York State, and number 5,470 out of 24,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Great work, Hilltoppers!
Seth Wintermute, Patti Jarabek honored with CASDA Scholars Recognition awards
Fort Plain senior Seth Wintermute and Spanish teacher Patti Jarabek have been honored with 2021 Capital Area School Development Association (CASDA) Scholars Recognition awards.
Seth was nominated for the award by Fort Plain Jr./Sr. High School counselor Colleen Cushing. He was then asked to nominate a teacher and selected Mrs. Jarabek.
A CASDA website article about the awards said this about Seth’s nomination: “Seth is an outstanding student who will be attending Syracuse University in the fall. A recipient of Syracuse’s Leadership Scholars Award, Seth will be studying Political Philosophy and Political Science.
“While a student at Fort Plain, Seth participated in Track and Field and Cross Country, and held leadership roles on both teams. Seth received the Rensselaer Medal, The Julia Innella Memorial Award, and the Bausch and Lomb Science Award.”
About Patti Jarabek, CASDA said, “Mrs. Jarabek has been teaching Spanish for the Fort Plain Central School District for 29 years, influencing the lives of hundreds of students. Seth chose to recognize Mrs. Jarabek as the teacher that has had the most significant influence on his education because, in his words, ‘her class and guidance has helped me immensely through my career in high school and I would like the opportunity to thank her for that.’”
Congratulations Seth and Mrs. Jarabek!
Senior’s graphic project educates classmates about careers
A Fort Plain High School senior’s creative and information-packed graphic display project is serving as a resource to educate fellow students about more than a dozen career clusters and the job opportunities they offer.
Justin Schumacher, a student in the high school’s work-based learning program, produced the educational graphics as part of his work-based learning project as a teaching assistant.
“Justin used skills learned in school and applied them to a work setting,” teacher Wendy Stokna said. “His focus on quality work and patience was a top priority in this experience.”
The graphics are displayed in Mrs. Stokna’s classroom to remind all students about the 16 career clusters and types of work that each contains. Justin researched the careers using the O*Net resource and decided on the career image that he thought would best represent each cluster.
“In this experience,” Mrs. Stokna said, “he learned about editing and proofing his work to produce the best result. He has a natural talent for using technology and remembering facts that served him well throughout this learning experience.”
Now live online: Fort Plain-Canajoharie Drama Club presents “On Broadway: Directors’ Choice!”
UPDATES April 6: Act 2 link updated, 2:21 p.m.
April 5: Links to view online – Act 1 link updated 4:50 p.m.:
- Act 1:
https://youtu.be/HKjVtsIiLb8 - Act 2:
https://youtu.be/o0ca9kEWNNA
The Fort Plain-Canajoharie Drama Club is proud to announce an online performance of “On Broadway: Directors’ Choice!” This musical review will include 21 songs from famous Broadway shows. The production includes full costumes, lights, sound and sets. Meet the cast.
Performances will include numbers from Broadway favorites such as “RENT,” “Chicago,” “Spring Awakening,” “A Chorus Line,” “Mary Poppins,” “The Sound of Music,” “Lion King,” “Wicked,” “West Side Story,” “Into the Woods,” and more. The production will also include four songs from “Les Miserables,” which the drama club was scheduled to perform during the spring of 2020 and had to cancel due to COVID-19 restrictions.
This year’s show features eight solo songs, performed by Sarah Paradiso, Faith Clark, Tori Rocas, Howie Kelley, Macenzie (Max) Richtmyer, Chiarra Morris, Michael Palmeri and Caleigh Bartholomew. Other featured soloists include Dawson Sweet, Avery Merchant, Alex Gyurik and Chad Rogers. Completing the ensemble are Anthony Paradiso, Hannah Briggs, Matthew Travis, Emery Frew, Grace McFee, Lily Lapi, Jayden Bentz, and Jasmine Lapi. There will be special cameos by Mr. Will Ryan, Mrs. Lauri Broady and recent Canajoharie graduate Vicente Nunez.
The production is directed by Mr. Will Ryan and Mrs. Lauri Broady, with musical direction by Mrs. Norma Bowley. Technical direction is provided by Mr. Mike Broady and costuming is by Mrs. Lisa Hill and Miss Autumn Dodson. Student crew includes Noah Ehle on sound, Matthew Ehle and Clayton Welch on lights, and Tucker Jones and Anthony Paradiso on stage crew.
“On Broadway: Director’s Choice” will be taped for home viewing and posted on the YouTube channels of both school districts. The performance will be available beginning on April 5.
For more show details, please visit the Drama Club website.
More photos are posted in our Facebook album.