Mark your calendars: The High School's Chorus Harvest Concert is Monday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.!
As students begin, or continue, on their journeys to look at the many college and university options in their next steps of their academic careers, this evening also helped them to discover potential schools, get personalized answers to questions, network, and further plan about their future education. DON'T BLINK...freshman year will be here before you know it!
STILL UNDEFEATED after Friday's amazing road 49-6 win against FDR!
THE DIVISIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IS THIS FRIDAY, OCT. 17 at home against Warwick! BE THERE!
"We played a good game all around," reports Varsity Coach Kevinn Gallagher. "Zach Filip had a great game running the ball with 11 carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a monster game on defense. Max Wickwrath also had a great game on both sides of the ball with a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown on defense."
Coach Gallagher added: "Robbie LaBarbera had six carries for 77 yards and a touchdown as well as throwing for one. Chris Thorpe also ran well scoring his first touchdown of the year. I thought our defense was great all night creating turnovers by Max Wickwrath and an interception by Anthony Alexis as well."
GIRLS TEAM: Audrey Defazio Schultz, Olivia Dzierzek, Lauren Figueroa, Merlot Hindley, Kathryn Jones and Concettina Siena!
BOYS TEAM: Caleb Decker, Nolan Mann, Luciano Palacios, Carter Rossi, Gabriel Simpson and Owen Skinner!
The district has equipped its entire bus fleet with cameras to catch vehicles that illegally pass a stopped school bus. If you see a bus’ red lights flashing and stop-arm extended, STOP! Otherwise, you and the vehicle you’re driving will be photographed and you WILL GET A $250 FINE.
Don't say we didn't tell you: Please pay attention and drive safe!
READ MORE: https://www.minisink.com/article/2365311
REHEARSALS ARE GOING GREAT -- BE SURE TO GET YOUR TICKETS!
Tickets are on sale for the High School Drama Club's performance of "Arsenic and Old Lace," with two shows taking place Saturday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The show is a classic dark humor comedy about the only thing more deadly than poison: Family!
Drama critic Mortimer Brewster’s engagement announcement is upended when he discovers a corpse in his elderly aunts’ window seat. Mortimer rushes to tell Abby and Martha before they stumble upon the body themselves, only to learn that the two old women aren’t just aware of the dead man in their parlor, they killed him! Between his aunts’ penchant for poisoning wine, a brother who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, and another brother using plastic surgery to hide from the police—not to mention Mortimer’s own hesitancy about marriage—it’ll be a miracle if Mortimer makes it to his wedding.
Ticket prices are $12 for adults, and $8 for students and senior citizens.
To purchase tickets, visit: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/minisink-valley-high-school/68c16206637eca2abefeeca7
BE BOLD! BE COLD!
FREEZE FOR A GREAT CAUSE!
Minisink Valley is again creating a team for the 2025 Orange County Polar Plunge to support Special Olympics New York! The plunge will be held Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Rez in Highland Mills!
JOIN OUR TEAM and help us retain our title as the “Cool School Challenge” winner! Last year, Minisink Valley won the 2024 Cool School Challenge (retaining this title earned in 2023) and raised $4,022! We are looking to exceed this amount this year!
The “Cool School Challenge” is a friendly competition between local schools as part of the 2025 Orange County Polar Plunge. Not only are our school clubs and teams as well as families and students invited to join us our team, we’re looking for community members to be a part of it, too! It was great to see the large number of people participating last year and we’re hopeful to see this number grow this year!
Director of PPS Jeff Finton is overseeing Minisink Valley’s efforts to create a team. JOIN US and BE COLD: Email Jeff Finton at: jfinton@minisink.com.
Thank you for whatever you’re able to do to support this initiative!
A reminder Orange Ulster BOCES' CTE Open House is Thursday, Oct. 16!
--- Level I students' parents and guardians: 6 to 6:45 p.m.
--- Level II students' parents and guardians: 7 to 7:45 p.m.
Meet your student's teacher and members of the CTE staff and get a understanding of the expectations and opportunities for Level I and Level II students. You're invited to learn more about CTE's experiential learning and practical applications opportunities which prepare students for college and careers.
The goal is to equip students with tools they can use in their daily lives to improve emotional well-being, focus, and resilience.
DID YOU KNOW that sticker painting can be a surprisingly effective way to relieve stress, thanks to a combination of mindfulness, creativity, and tactile engagement? Take a look at her students and their wonderful pieces of art created as part of their important discussions about stress management!
Here’s how it works:
1. Promotes mindfulness: Sticker painting encourages you to focus on matching numbered stickers to spaces. This slows your thoughts and brings your attention to the present moment—similar to meditation.
2. Provides a creative outlet: Creativity is a powerful way to process emotions and relax.
3. Engages the hands (tactile comfort): Physically peeling and placing stickers activates fine motor skills and gives a sense of control—especially helpful when life feels chaotic.
4. Triggers a Dopamine Boost: Every time you place a sticker correctly and watch the image build, your brain gets a small hit of dopamine—the “feel-good” neurotransmitter.
Sticker painting doesn’t take a lot of effort, but there’s a low-effort, high-reward activity that helps ground your thoughts, occupy your hands, and create something beautiful—all of which can help calm your mind and relieve stress! You can find sticker painting kits in many stores, try it!
See more photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
SENIOR FAMILIES:
It's time to order your student's graduation cap and gown! Details are here:
•Diver Madison Jennings made the section cut with her six dive list in her first year of diving! Varsity Coach Sam Woodward reports that she’s continually improving and adding new and difficult dives to her repertoire.
•Diver Madyson Thorpe made the section cut for the third consecutive year and is consistently hitting her personal best score in every meet as a freshman! She is currently ranked eighth in the section for her six dive list.
•Swimmer Natalie Wargo made the cut in seven out of nine possible events as an eighth-grader! She’s ranked third in the section in the 500m freestyle!
“Others to look out for,” added Coach Woodward, “are Senior Malunga Kinzonzi, Senior Olivia Bohr, and freshman Treven Costello as they continue to chase section cuts and lead the team in points.”
"Max Wickwrath played a great game on both sides of the ball," said Varsity Coach Kevin Gallagher. "On offense Max had four catches for 95 yards and a touchdown and on defense he had two interceptions and one of them was for a touchdown. Others that scored for us were Robbie LaBarbara who had nine carries for 139 yards and one touchdown, Zach Filip rushed 15 times for 71 yards and two touchdowns and Stetson Terpak scored on a 37 yard pass from Robbie. I thought we played pretty well overall and really put it together in the second half. Our defense really stepped up against a funky offense and really kept us in the lead until our offense got it going."
Pattie Hoban-Rich’s High School “Studio in Arts” students haven been busy creating unique comic drawing using a grid method!
Students use the grid method to transfer a reference image onto a larger drawing surface by dividing both into a grid of squares, then drawing the image one square at a time to maintain proportion and accuracy.
For a comic, this means choosing a simple character or scene, drawing a grid over the reference image, drawing a scaled grid on the comic panel paper, and then carefully sketching the comic's image square by square, focusing on observational skills to break the larger task into manageable steps.
Their work is creative and unique! Take a peek!
What a great night!! Not only does the Varsity football team remain undefeated, the high school's incredible Homecoming gathering this past Friday evening included a banner parade, the crowning of Kathryn Jones and Rogan Lynch as Homecoming Queen and King, fabulous musical entertainment by the mighty Minisink Valley Marching Band and the unbelievable support of the crowd, led by our cheer squad! WERE YOU THERE? Take a look at a sampling of the evening! See more photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
•High school homecoming originated from college traditions, with many universities claiming to have hosted the first event, though the University of Missouri is credited with holding the first official homecoming in 1911 to boost school spirit and unite alumni with current students and celebrate the university’s existence. The concept quickly spread to other colleges and then to high schools across the nation, evolving to include events such as parades, pep rallies, bonfires, and dances centered around a football game.
•The high school homecoming king and queen tradition began in the 1930s as an adaptation of college homecoming celebrations. The focus eventually shifted to selecting a queen and king based on personality and character in later decades. The first queens were crowned much earlier in college history, but the king and queen as a pair was a later development in the high school setting, reflecting the tradition's evolution from a general school spirit event to a more formal, celebrated court.
WE’RE NOW 4-0!
Congratulations to the Varsity Football team on its continued undefeated season after its 21-18 win against Washingtonville at Friday’s Homecoming game! Take a look!
“I was happy with the win,” said Varsity Coach Kevin Gallagher. “We got tough when we had to, but we need to keep getting better. Washingtonville was 3-0 coming in and they are a well-coached, hard-nosed team so it was a good test. Max Wickwrath and Zach Filip made some big plays on the offense and our defense came up big when we had to, especially Jayden Pressley who had six sacks.”
Kudos to members of the High School's Youth Against Cancer (YAC) Club), which delivered 100 cards were made members this past Friday to pediatric patients in Garnet Medical Center's oncology unit. As a treat, students attached lollipops to each card! YAC President Heather Day, who is also a Board of Education student representative, presented the cards to Garnet's Director of Infusion Stephanie Bonanno, R.N.
TWO OTHER REMINDERS: Please consider being part of the YAC's book and toy donation for Garnet's pediatric patients through Oct. 11. Boxes are in all five buildings the the district's Transportation Center. And, tomorrow is the district's GOING GOLD DAY! Make sure your yellow/gold attire is ready for tomorrow!
Take a peek at a sampling of how great everyone looked for last Friday's Homecoming Dance! THANK YOU to the proud parents who shared these photos! See more photos on the district's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MinisinkValleyCSD
Their individual messages are a collaboration with Fearless!, an Orange County community agency. This display was created to raise awareness among young people about abuse by romantic partners, “a problem often kept quiet or spoken of in whispers,” according to Fearless!, which also says “teens will often listen to other teens regarding bad relationships more than they will listen to adults, who could be viewed as trying to tell them what to do.”
During lunch periods, students were invited outside to draw a picture on the sidewalk or write reaffirming words about what love means to them. Take a peek; they have a gorgeous fall day to create these important messages for their peers.
