Lisa Assaiante's Otisville K/1 students recently completed an adorable butterfly life cycle craft! They painted lady caterpillars which recently emerged into painted lady butterflies. They know a butterfly's life cycle is: Egg --- caterpillar --- chrysalis --- butterfly!
BREAKING SATURDAY AFTERNOON NEWS!
Our Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team is FINAL FOUR BOUND after their huge 17-6 win over fourth-seed Vestal today in the NYSPHAA Girls Lacrosse Class B Regional matchup!
PLUS: CJ Kuiken scored her 200th goal at today's game!
Next up: The four regional winners now advance to the NYSPHSAA Class B SemiFinals on Friday, June 13. Winners advance to NYSPHSAA championships on Saturday, June 14! You got this, ladies!
Kudos to the Intermediate School’s “Girls On The Run” team for their ongoing work and commitment to be part of activities that build character development, self-confidence and team bonding along with a love for physical activity and, of course, running!
The girls recently completed a service project to create uplifting cards for senior citizens to brighten their day. These cards are planned to be delivered to the Promenade at Middletown and/or Bon Secours.
PLUS: The team has been training for their season culminating 5K race which will take place takes place this Sunday, June 8 at LEGOLAND New York. Good luck to all!
The Otisville Elementary Girls on the Run (GOTR) Program is also competing in the June 8 5K Race at LEGOLAND New York! We're so proud of their efforts! They, too, have working hard to be part of activities that build character development, self-confidence and team bonding along with a love for physical activity and, of course, running! GOOD LUCK TO ALL!
ES kindergarteners took a fabulous field trip to Pierson’s Farms yesterday, June 4!
It was a great day to be outdoors, enjoy the sunshine with friends, meet some goats, try out the trike track, tube gliders, spider web and gravel pit and mine for gems! Students even learned about plants by planting their own little plant to bring home and care for!
Thank you to New York State Troopers Brendan Hoolan and Jared Vonderheide, who visited Teresia Parker's Eighth-Grade Computer/Innovation Class on June 3 with some awesome drones!
It was the perfect visit to support students’ learning about flight and science through “Project Lead the Way.” Students are learning about the four forces of flight (gravity, lift, thrust, drag) and flight controls (pitch, yaw, roll). Troopers Hoolan and Vonderheide reviewed these concepts and talked to students about drone operation, parts of a drone and how drones are now regularly used in New York State Police operations for many different reasons.
After their presentation, students went outdoors and Trooper Hoolan flew the drone and reviewed flight concepts in action. This also included a review and discussion of the necessary pre-flight procedural requirements for drone flight.
Once the drone was airborne, students were able to see a "bird’s eye" live view via an app. Students learned the science behind drone flight, but they also learned the important lesson of how first responders are using technology to keep communities safe….as well as a "drone pilot" is a future career option!
New York law enforcement agencies, including the New York State Police, are increasingly utilizing drones for various purposes, including public safety, first responder support, evidence collection, general surveillance, search and rescue and disaster response.
In finishing up their studies on the immune system, Brendan McGann’s College Biology students traveled around the school to collect samples of microorganisms from various surfaces for the testing and analysis of bacteria and fungi.
Their samples came from many places, including the friendly foot and computer keyboard of Physics Teacher Martin Greco! Students began the inoculation process, swapping samples onto nutrient agar plates. After a couple days in the incubator, the analysis of bacteria and fungi colonies began. The grand finale of their lab was the killing of the colonies with various sterilizers.
The "winner" with most growth and varying colonies came from Mr. Greco's keyboard. The students, being concerned for Mr. Greco’s health and welfare, suggested he might want to regularly clean his keyboard!
•Bacteria grow on computer keyboards because they provide a conducive environment for microbial growth. Keyboards have numerous crevices and spaces where human debris, including skin cells, food particles, and oils, can accumulate. This debris, combined with frequent contact with human hands, creates a breeding ground for bacteria.
•Nutrient agar plates are a type of solid culture medium used in microbiology laboratories to cultivate and observe microorganisms, particularly bacteria.
•Nutrient agar plates contain agar (a gelling agent extracted from seaweed that solidifies the medium); beef extract (provides nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids); peptone: (a protein digest that supplies nitrogen and other nutrients); and sodium chloride (maintains osmotic balance).
Congratulations to the six varsity baseball players who were honored for their many contributions to the team’s success during the team’s recent Senior Night!
“All of our seniors have been a key part of the program for the last five years, having lost their seventh-grade modified season to the pandemic, and had a truly positive impact on and off the diamond,” said Varsity Head Coach Joe D'Antono
Seniors, in numerical order, are:
●Infielder Nik Marrero (#1) – a three-year varsity player, and five-year member of the program who will continue his athletic and academic career at SUNY Orange.
●Infielder and Pitcher Nick Sommella (#2) – a two-year varsity player, and five-year member of the program who is attending Florida Tech in the fall.
●Infielder Dylan Acevedo (#5) – a three-year varsity player who will continue his athletic and academic career at Central Connecticut State.
●Infielder and Pitcher Nate Tormey (#8) – a three-year varsity player, and five-year member of the program who will play football at Alfred State University this fall.
●Outfielder Bobby Ayers (#12) – a two-year varsity player, five-year member of the baseball program who will be attending Stony Brook University.
●Infielder and Pitcher Nick Parco (#16) – a two-year varsity player, and five-year member of the program who will continue his athletic and academic career at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh next year.
Class of 2025 valedictorian Christopher Rickard and salutatorian Mia Abruzzese were among the valedictorians and salutatorians in State Sen. James Skoufis’ district who attended his May 28 Valedictorian and Salutatorian Celebration in Albany!
Students and their parents/guardians were treated to lunch, and a Capitol tour, introduced by Sen. Skoufis in the Senate chamber during its legislative session and presented with Senate citations acknowledging their academic accomplishments. It was an exciting day for all everyone!
“These young men and women are a fantastic group of scholars with bright futures ahead of them. I wish them - and all our Orange County graduating seniors - the absolute best as they complete their school year,” Sen. Skoufis said.
Shawne Demberg’s ES kindergarteners recently celebrated the 7th birthday of Addy, the therapy dog! In lieu of gifts, her class celebrated this sweet dog by donating items especially for dogs which were sent to the local Humane Society! Thank you to everyone who supported this drive, and Happy Birthday to Addy!
Thank you to members of the American Legion George Smith Post 1607, who visited Ashley Beairsto’s and Debbie Orrio's sixth-grade class to teach the students about Memorial Day last Friday, May 30.
Veterans Earl Demberg, Ronnie Aillet, Paul Gale, and Art Olah shared stories of their time in the military and shared positive messages of hard work and dedication to our country.
Becky Olah of the Ladies Auxiliary presented a history of Memorial Day and handed out poppies to the students with the help of Raegan Depola, a Post 1607 junior auxilian. The first national observance of Memorial Day occurred on May 30,1868, so their visit this past Friday made the day an extra special one.
AMAZING! Rain and unseasaonably cold weather didn't stop the fun and fundraising at the 2025 Otisville Elementary Color Fun Run! Over 200 participants had a fabulous time, and...over $10,000 WAS RAISED to support the wonderful work of the Otisville PTO!
Thank you to the Otisville PTO for organizing such a memorable and colorful day...and to all the sponsors, vendors and participants who came out! We appreciate you all!
See more photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
Buddy reading is a fun and useful ELA activity! Just ask Elisabeth Harrison’s Otisville kindergarteners, who regularly read to a class buddy!
That’s because reading to a peer further fosters a love of literacy, builds critical thinking skills, and enhances language development. Shared reading experiences also promote social-emotional development, improve memory, and increase children's understanding of the world.
High School families:
The Lors Photography site is now open for you to purchase from the galleries of photos taken by Lors photographers for the year 2024-25 school year. These include yearbook team photos, Senior Ball, Junior Prom photos and much more! Class of 2025 graduation photos willl be added shortly after the ceremony.
A portion of your purchase of any of these images will benefit the yearbook and allow the yearbook to be sold at a discounted price. (The preorders were all discounted from the actual printing cost.) Don’t miss out if interested!
CLICK HERE and check out all the great Lors images: https://lorsstudio.smugmug.com/Mini.../School-Year-2024-2025
Our Varsity Flag Football team played with fierce grit and tenacity today, May 31, but will not be advancing to the next level of play after today's 13-7 final against Section I champion Tappan Zee. But...the team is a NYSPHSAA regional finalist, and that's a huge accomplishment!
It was a close game, and this team has a lot to be proud of not only today.... but for the entire season. They represented Minisink Valley with pride and distinction in a very new sport for girls athletics in New York State. They will be back...and just as tough.
Please join us in congratulating the team for a great season.
HOW SWEET AND ENCOURAGING IS THIS?
The Girls Modified track team has been busy making these special “clips” using regular clothes pins and writing positive words or phases before a home game and secretly clipping them onto an opposing team member’s bag or shirt. It’s a Tik Tok trend initiated by volleyball players, and Head Coach Nicole Van Pelt asked her team if they’d like to join in! The team immediately agreed and created over 80 clothes pins with inspiring messaging for their Port Jervis opponents during a recent home match.
“We’re leaving ‘the visiting’ with an abundance of encouraging messages,” she said. “The girls jumped at the opportunity to partake in continuing Minisink’s reputable sportsmanship atmosphere, and to spread kindness.”
WELL-DONE, EVERYONE! Take a peek at their kind, inspirational clips!
WHAT A HOOT! Joseph Ferara’s ES second-graders, like all second-graders at the Elementary School, have been studying owls over recent weeks. In this unit, students learned about the parts of an owl, what owls eat, where they live, the different species and much more!
One of the biggest things that they learned was that owls swallow their prey whole! When they do this, owls will later regurgitate up the bones and parts they can’t digest as a pellet. As part of their work, students had the unique opportunity to dissect owl pellets. Inside, they found the bones of the different animals the owls eat such as mole skulls, mouse legs and more. Students used charts to identify the different bones they found. As part of their learning, many classes, like Mr. Ferara’s, incorporated other “owl activities,” including drawings and other crafts such as these adorable hats!
Kudos to members of the High School’s Robotics Club, who competed for the first time in the recent, KISS Institute for Practical Robotics’ New York//New Jersey Botball Tournament the Rahway Recreational Center in New Jersey!
The club designed autonomous robots using code and sensors to perform tasks on a game board. This year's theme for the game board was “a restaurant.” The designed robots performed tasks such as placing ice in cups and delivering the cups to the customer area, or sorting out condiments.
“This was the club’s first year back in the competition after several years and proved to be an overall learning experience,” said advisor Jonathan Hannes. “The club looks forward to taking what they learned and applying it to next year's competition with the goal of going further in the tournament.”
KISS is dedicated to sparking excitement for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through hands-on robotics programs.
Botball is a team-oriented robotics competition where teams design, build, and program autonomous robots to compete in challenges that change annually, fostering teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
Heather Iannucci of the Two by Two Animal Haven in Pleasant Valley visited Otisville K-2 students yesterday, May 28, with eight animal friends to talk to students about endangered species, their habitat and the importance of being kind and respectful to animals, Ms. Iannucci also talked about why some animals don’t make good pets and gave students while showing them a toad, alligator, parrot, tortoise, bearded dragon, chinchilla, ball python and kangaroo!
This traveling animal program seeks to educate the public about animals, their welfare and conservation, while fostering kindness and empathy for all living things. Thank you to the Otisville PTO for sponsoring the visit!
Please support the good work of the Minisink Valley PTO and purchase an ULTIMATE DISCOUNT CARD!
This fundraiser concludes Saturday, June 7!
Get all the details via this link: https://www.ultimatefundraisinginc.com/discount-card-store/physical
