Westfield Academy and Central School

This past weekend, our very own Carson Swanson attended a basketball camp run by Jay Bilas of ESPN, where Carson was awarded the camps toughest competitor, and Carson's team won the team championship and the 3 v 3 tournament at the camp. Special things are happening for Carson and we are excited to be part of it!

Congratulations to our very own Keara Kincaid for signing to play volleyball next year at SUNY Fredonia! Great job Keara!

The September 5th capital project vote is approaching. These transformative upgrades will benefit our school and community for years to come. Continue to learn about the project by visiting our website. OR feel free to call 716-326-2151 with any questions. https://www.westfieldcsd.org/o/wacs/page/future-capital-project-building-our-future

Come support Coach Shawn and our 4 senior softball girls Keara, Drew, Brynn, and Tanleigh, as they play in the Senior All-Star game tomorrow at Frontier HS at 5 pm!

The gray skies and raindrops didn't stop us from enjoying our PBIS picnic on Friday afternoon! We work hard all year long to earn paw prints for kindness, making safe choices, working together, showing respect, using good manners, and doing our best! WE ARE WOLVERINES! 🐾 💙 We are grateful for our PBIS committee for planning these special events! Next Friday is PBIS FUN DAY and we are so excited!

Readers of the Galaxy- Unite! It has been a stellar year full of setting and achieving our reading goals! Congratulations to our top astronauts and year-long readers! You are AMAZING! 🌟 Thank you to all of our participants and to our STAR Committee of Miss Bena, Mrs. Holt, and Mrs. Stoughton!

Fourth grade put on a great STAR Program all about Neptune today! We especially loved their poems and projects on display! 🪐🌚⭐️

Updates on our partnership for the 2024-25 school year with the YWCA for before and after school programing.

Congratulations to Nora Robison! She competed at the Sectional Meet for Modified Track and finished the 1500m in 6th Place with a time of 6 minutes 45 seconds (A new personal record for Nora). Great job Nora!

Congratulations to the following Wolverines on earning their tenure this year. Andrea Gundlach Emily Colt Samantha Eklund Brianna Hunt (December) Christopher Kelley Tiffany Travis Thank you for your dedication to our students and school! We are proud of you!

The Class of 2024 is taking in all that NYC has to offer on their class trip. Here they are all dressed up for their dinner cruise.

Congratulations to our Softball seniors on amazing careers and achievements: Tanleigh, Drew, Brynn, and Keara! Your leadership, talent, and sportsmanship will all be greatly missed! Thank you for all you did for Westfield Softball!

Congratulations to our V Softball Allstars! Eva Gnadzinski: Pitcher of the Year! 1st Team: Tanleigh Bestine, Sydney Hotchkiss, and Drew Ernewein 2nd Team: Keara Kincaid, Mackenzie Schumaker, and Maddie Burgess Honorable Mention: Brynn Ernewein and Avery Smith Sportsmanship Award: Arielle Corbett Great job ladies!

On Friday, May 31, 2024, eighth grade students attended the annual WAVE Fair to learn more about how to get their community service hours as high school students. They become freshmen on July 1, 2024, and can start to earn those hours over the summer. Each student is required to have a minimum of forty hours of community service to meet our graduation requirement. A special thank you to the following:  Centaur Stride, Absolut of Westfield, Union Relief, North Lake Recreation, Patterson Library, Westfield Fire Department, Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, Lakeshore Assembly of God, and WACS Student Government, Band, and Chorus. If you have any questions about Community Service, please contact the Community Service Program Coordinator, Laura Wilson at 326-2151 ext. 234.

This May the Westfield High School Chorus participated in the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) major organization festival at Chautauqua Lake High School. High school choirs, bands and orchestras can be evaluated at one of six difficulty levels, with one being the easiest and six being the most difficult. The Westfield Senior High Chorus song for two NYSSMA adjudicators and received a special honor, that being the Gold With Distinction award for their performance that day. This is the highest honor a school music group of any kind can receive from NYSSMA. “I was just so proud of our students” state Westfield music teacher, Kent Knappenberger “It’s almost unheard of high school our size receiving this rating, and with a group that is non-auditioned and open to any student in the Westfield High School population. They are a super-talented group. Normally school music ensembles that receive this honor are from suburban schools. Being a product of a rural school myself, I love the fact that we can show the rest of the state what great things go on in rural schools. It is estimated that only 6-10 singing groups in the entire state will receive this honor this year, and that is not dependent on school size, but only their performance that day.” The Westfield High School Senior Chorus previously received this honor in 2002. Picture: Members of the Westfield High School Senior Chorus proudly display their level 6, Gold with Distinction award from the New York State School Music Association.

WACS: Sharing an updated link from the previous message regarding Mixed Competition. https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1560/WACS/4415861/The_New_York_State_Education_Department.pdf

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has proposed amendments to sections of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education relating to Mixed Competition and Extra Class Athletic Activities. Our District encourages parents, guardians, and community members to carefully review the proposed amendments, as well as the letters of opposition from various local and state athletic organizations, and submit comments during the 60-day public comment period which began on May 22, 2024. Use this link to learn more. https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1560/WACS/4413631/NYSED_proposes_amendments_to_Mixed_Competition_and_Extra_Class_Athletic_Activities.pdf

Congratulations to our Elementary Girls on the Run team for a very successful spring season. These girls have given it their all and have so much to be proud of for their dedication. Today they ran their culminating 5k at the UB North Campus and they crushed it! Girls on The Run 3rd Grade: Ava Olguin 4th Grade: Piper Burgess Meadow Grismore Luz Luna-Lopez Amiyah Palos Allison Tunison 5th Grade: Alisia Boyd Parker Cooney Nina Kapple Aviana Matos Charli Palmer Ayla Roets Isla Zakrajsek Skyleigh Zeluff A special THANK YOU to their encouraging and motivating coaches Deann Shelters, Shannon Bills, and Brianna Hunt. 💙

The Westfield High School Westwinds singing group recently completed a concert tour of the Colorado Springs, CO area. While in Colorado, they were hosted by Shawna McQueen, of Vista Ridge High School, and Wes Sparkes, of Eagle View Middle School, who are both Grammy Music Educator Quarter Finalists. The Westwinds were given an opportunity to sing a concert for students at the two schools. They were also treated to performances of the host school’s singing groups, including the Vista Ridge High School Show Choir, which had just the day before won the Colorado State Show Choir Championship. The Westwinds made other performances at various venues in the Colorado Springs area, including being able to sing in Polaris Hall, at the United States Air Force Academy, hosted by Air Force band oboist, Monica Ding, a friend of the Knappenbergers. Their itinerary also included some mountain hiking and horseback riding. They were also hosted by former Westfield residents, Dave and Hope Taylor and Mariah Taylor Bradford, who now live in Westcliffe, Colorado. “Mariah was a member of our group and it is always wonderful to re-connect with former students. It’s so exciting to take our kids to literally a different world in the mountains. They sang so well, and just blew everyone away with their talent and their personalities!” states Westfield music teacher and conductor, Kent Knappenberger. The Westwinds had fund-raised for two years to be able to pay for their tour. “This is one of the finest ensembles I’ve ever conducted at Westfield. It was truly a joy to show them off to another part of the country!” states Knappenberger.

The seventy-third annual CCMTA All-County Music Festival was held last night at the Chautauqua Institution Ampitheater. Westfield was well represented, and the musical performances were nothing short of incredible. Congratulations to the following students on selection for this event: Elementary Chorus ~Soprano~ Charlotte Babcock Miah Dobson Aurora Maring Blyss Orazio Audrey Swank Isla Zakrasjek ~Alto~ Bennett Campbell Mykel Douglas Lennon Foote Mason Kaiser Grady Kelley Levi Kinderman Michael Montalbano Braxtyn Paddock Junior Chorus ~Soprano~ Kalie DeGolier Liberty Maring Damelix Rosado ~Alto~ Grace Wolfe Sage Zachmann Luvlee Zastrow ~Baritone~ Nolan Anderson Tristan Backstrom Logan Baum Langston Bias Noah Tuah Johante Wells Seth Zielinski Junior Band ~Percussion~ Ella Chagnon Senior Chorus ~Soprano~ Debbie Dougan Gianna Douglas Angelle Knappenberger ~Alto~ McKenna Campbell Kimberly Delcamp Hannah Tenamore ~Tenor~ Kameron Cady Micah Heim Devon Hood Landon Jasinski Mihir Patel Cameron Paternosh Tristen Phillips Mathew Schuster ~Bass~ Mason Baum Daniel Bratton Aaron Fuller Paolo Lescano Tanner Stow Senior Band ~Flue~ Addison Luce ~Oboe~ Bretton Shreve ~Alto Sax~ David Hoebener ~Trumpet~ Zachary Wolfe ~Trombone~ Jarek Montalban Thank you to Miss Bena, Mr. Chagnon, Mr. Knappenberger, and Mr. Tramontana for their critical role in preparing students for this special event. Bravo Westfield!