Erika Backus and class and Darci Ackerman have been working hard on the Backpack Program this school year! The Backpack program serves both Robert W. Harrold Campus and Alan D. Pole Campus, sending home some much needed essentials for students enrolled in the program. Thank you to our local businesses, employees and members of the community for their generous donations!
DCMO BOCES Alan D. Pole Campus held a graduation ceremony Thursday for their full-day students. The event, which was attended by family, friends, teachers, administrators and other staff, celebrated students Brooke DeMuth, Cherokee Hall, and Ariel Rios, Oxford Academy CSD; Taylor Jenkins, Shane Lewis and Ryan McIntyre, Norwich City Schools; Katie Kenyon, Otselic Valley CSD; and Anthony Yang, Greene CSD. Katie Kenyon and Cherokee Hall received the BOCES Administrators Award, Brooke DeMuth and Ariel Rios received the BOCES Teacher Association Award, and Brooke DeMuth received the Jeff Meade Memorial Scholarship, given for the greatest improvements in physical education. We are so proud of all their accomplishments!
Friday was Graduation/Moving Up Day for our preschool students at the Alan D. Pole Campus in Norwich. The children processed and performed several songs for an appreciative audience before receiving their special certificates. There were even cupcakes and other treats to enjoy at the end! Thank you to preschool teacher and coordinator Janet Tumminia and classroom aides Rena Frayer and Savanah Clarkson. It was a great year, and a fun event!
Our graduating CTE students take the skilled trades they’ve learned and apply them in the local workforce after graduation, helping meet the demand of the local economy. This week, DCMO BOCES helped celebrate this important milestone with a signing ceremony at the Alan D. Pole campus in Norwich. Employers, family, teachers and administrators from both DCMO BOCES and students’ home schools gathered and watched as 26 students signed certificates commemorating their agreement to begin their careers with 11 different employers or trade unions. Local businesses were recognized for providing internships, shadowing, co-op experiences, field trips, and job opportunities. Attendees were welcomed by Jennifer Lawrence, Director of CTE at DCMO BOCES, and closing remarks were by Pole Campus Principal Ryan DeMars. Refreshments were prepared by students in the Culinary Arts program. We are so proud of our CTE students accomplishments, and look forward to their continuing contribution to our region! Here are some photos from Wednesday's signing ceremony.
The DCMO BOCES School Library System hosted a School Library and Administrator Recognition Celebration Wednesday at the Canasawacta Country Club in Norwich. Attendees from Afton CSD, Bainbridge-Guilford CSD, Delaware Academy CSD at Delhi, DCMO BOCES, Franklin CSD, Gilbertsville-Mount Upton CSD, Greene CSD, Otselic Valley CSD, Oxford CSD, Sherburne-Earlville CSD, Sidney CSD and Walton CSD heard a keynote presentation from Jennifer LaGarde, a renowned library and literacy leader and co-author the books Fact vs. Fiction: teaching Critical Thinking in the Age of Fake News and Developing Digital Detectives. Tina Cruikshank, Library Aide at Otselic Valley CSD; Marie Gray, Library Clerk, Sidney CSD; and Kris McDermott, Library Aide, Greene CSD Primary and Intermediate Schools all received awards. Oxford Academy CSD Librarian Margaret Cox and Bainbridge-Guilford CSD administrator Linda Maynard were recognized for their service as they prepare to retire.
The DCMO BOCES School Library System provides public and non-public schools in our region with support for automation, Interlibrary loan, cooperative purchasing for digital student resources, and access to a wide selection of Ebooks and audiobooks. Services also include professional learning workshops, grant writing support, consultation, mini-grant funding opportunities and resource and curriculum development. To find out more, visit www.dcmoboces.com /o/dcmo-boces/page/school-library-system.
An entrepreneurship project delegation visited Chenango County on May 14 and 15 to explore the feasibility of including the area in a multi-state network of entrepreneurial hubs. The visit was arranged by Martha Ryan, DCMO BOCES Public and School Liaison, who co-wrote the $189,720 grant from ARISE (Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies) supporting the initial phase of the project. The team was in Chenango County to conduct interviews, focus groups, and tours to identify resources and opportunities that could be included in this initiative. Pamela Lankford, from Building Bridges 2 Careers, an economic development organization based in Marietta, Ohio, and Denny Hummer, Assistant Director, Business Incubation at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, toured local businesses including Chobani and Golden Artist Colors in Columbus, Rentals To Go (RTG) in Norwich, and also met with David Hayes, an owner of multiple businesses in Norwich. They also met at the DCMO BOCES Support Services Center with a group of government, business and non-profit agency leaders, including Jen Gregory, Executive Director of Southern Tier 8; Brendan Hannan, Senior Business Banking Officer at NBT Bank; Chris Hulbert, Sidney Federal Credit Union Chief of Staff; Hillary Wilcox, Visions Federal Credit Union Branch Manager; Shane Butler, Chenango County Director of Planning; manufacturing consultant Steve Palmatier; Simona David from Western Catskills Community Revitalization Council Inc.; Commerce Chenango President and CEO Salvatore Testani; and DCMO BOCES District Superintendent Michael Rullo, Deputy Superintendent Patti Gallaher, Alan D. Pole Campus Principal Ryan DeMars, and Public and School Liaison Martha Ryan.
T&K Harrington, a construction contractor based in Greene, awarded two scholarships to seniors at DCMO BOCES Alan D. Pole Campus Tuesday. This award is to recognize seniors from a Chenango County school who will be going directly into the workforce after graduation. Kara and Brad Harrington from T&K Harrington presented awards to Kameran Franklin (Norwich City Schools), enrolled in the Carpentry Program, and Jaden Webb (Sherburne-Earlville CSD), enrolled in the Conservation and Heavy Equipment Program. They each received a $500 award, which can be used toward tools for their trade and transportation needs to get to and from work. The presenters noted T&K Harrington’s commitment to supporting students entering the workforce, and offered advice to “walk toward a job when others walk away” and to always “show up.” Congratulations, Kameran and Jaden, and thank you T&K Harrington!
Students in Mrs. Acunto's class began presenting their end-of-the-year projects last week. They were able to select any topic they wanted, then researched it, wrote text and illustrated their stories. Some students chose to document their research in a book format, and others chose to document in a slideshow presentation to share with the class. The presentations were very interesting– great work, class!
Harrold Campus held its annual Senior Spotlight and Open House Thursday night. There was a delicious chicken barbeque prepared by the Culinary Arts program, and displays of student work and demonstrations throughout the campus. Students from the Security and Law Enforcement program provided helped direct parking for the event. Thanks to all the family and friends who came out to celebrate our students and their accomplishments!
The annual Senior Showcase and Open House took place Wednesday at the Alan D. Pole Campus. There was a chicken and pulled pork barbeque (and lots of baked goods!) prepared by the Culinary Arts program, and plenty of displays and demonstrations from all the programs as our seniors took the spotlight. Thanks to all the family and friends who came out to celebrate our seniors and their accomplishments!
DCMO BOCES will be joining Airport Day at the Lt. Warren E. Eaton Airport in Norwich. Middle and high school students can learn more about careers in aviation, with presenters from two area colleges with aviation-related programs and other aviation organizations. Find out more here: https://secure.smore.com/n/xfsz9b
With the word "anosognosia," Regional Spelling Bee champion Margot Fieni successfully completed the spelling and the vocabulary preliminary competition round at the 2025 National Spelling Bee Competition. Fieni, an Oneonta Central School eighth grader, now moves to the Round Three Test that determines which competitors advance to the quarterfinals level. Congratulations, Margot!
DCMO BOCES is proud to celebrate the winner of our Regional Spelling Bee, Margot Fieni from Oneonta High School. She is competing today at the National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. Her lucky number, 148, takes her to the stage at 11:00 am this morning. Good luck, Margot!
Students from both DCMO BOCES campuses traveled to SUNY Cobleskill on May 15 to participate in the New York State Conservation Contest, an annual event bringing together students from BOCES Conservation and Heavy Equipment programs all across the state. Events took place on the SUNY Cobleskill campus. The students were accompanied by Harrold Campus Principal Roula Ragusa, SkillsUSA advisor Nanette LaTourette, and Conservation instructors from both campuses, including Zack Whittaker, Amanda Larsen and Ken Larsen from Harrold Campus and Braeden Williams, Jacob Sweet and Tim Crumb from Pole Campus. DCMO BOCES students did quite well in the competition, winning or placing in many of them. Here’s a list of those who placed, by campus:
ALAN D. POLE CAMPUS:
Fire Building: 1st Place - Kelcie Tefft (Oxford) & Pasley French (Sherburne)
Female Pulp Throw: 4th Place - Kelcie Tefft (Oxford)
Male Cross Cut: 1st Place - Wyatt Meade (UV) & Tanner Sullivan (UV)
Axe Throw: 2nd Place - Duncan McNicol (Norwich)
Tree Felling: 4th Place - Tanner Sullivan (UV) place all over the
Tree Climbing: 1st Place -Tanner Sullivan (UV) , 4th Place Dominick Howe (Oxford)
Skid Steer Competition: 5th Place - Brian Mills (Greene) & David Palmer (OV)
Dozer Log Roll: 1st Place - Riley Jones (Sherburne)
Robert W. Harrold CAMPUS:
Dozer Log Roll: Xander Tyrell- Senior (Franklin), 3rd Place
Mini Excavator: Connor Borowski- Senior (BG), 1st Place
Skid Steer Team: Derek Jordan- Junior (Unatego), Tyler King- Junior (Unatego), 2nd Place
Maple ID & Knowledge- Olivir Hilts- Junior (BG),1st Place; Hailey Brandenburg- Junior (Delhi), 2nd Place; Kevin Conklin- Senior (Hancock), 3rd Place; Landon Ruling- Senior (Sidney), 4th Place (that's a sweep of the top 4 places!)
Tree Felling- Kevin Conklin- Senior (Hancock), 2nd Place
Axe Throw- Kaedin VanEchaute- Junior (Otsego Christian Academy-OCA), 1st Place
2-Man Peavy Log Roll- Abraham George- Senior (Franklin) & Trevor Thayer- Senior (Unatego), 3rd Place
Jack & Jill 2- Person Log Roll- Alivia Plows- Junior (GMU) & Bryce Seymour- Junior (Unatego)- 3rd Place; Hailey Brandenburg- Junior (Delhi) & Graham Picinich- Senior (Walton)- 4th Place
Bow Saw- Kevin Conklin- Senior (Hancock), 1st Place; Jacob Lyle- Senior (BG), 3rd Place
Jack & Jill 2-Person Crosscut- Hailey Brandenburg- Junior (Delhi) & Olivir Hilts- Junior (BG), 2nd Place; Alvia Plows- Junior (GMU) & Tyler King- Junior (Unatego), 4th Place
Female Pulp Throw- Hailey Brandenburg- Junior (Delhi), 2nd Place
The Pole Campus Cosmetology program participated in a prom clinic this past Saturday. The students helped each other get ready for their proms by doing hairstyles, nails, make-up and even hair extensions. They turned out beautifully!
Members of the Information Technology Team from NBT bank visited the Computer Technology classroom at DCMO BOCES Pole Campus recently. Michael Longo, Senior Vice President-Information Technology, Andrew Frisbie, Vice President and Director of Information Security, and David Utter, Assistant Vice President and System Administrator III, talked to the students about their careers in the information technology field, explaining their day-to-day tasks as well as the unexpected troubleshooting that frequently occurs.
Mr. Utter returned to do a hand-on lab exploring servers with the students. He had them do a variety of setups and tasks with the server, and the students were able to get a sense of what managing a server was like. Thanks to the team from NBT Bank for offering real-world insights to our CTE students!
Students from Pre-K classroom at the Alan D. Pole Campus visited the CTE Computer Technology classroom to learn about programming. Computer Technology students were paired with a pre-k student and taught them how to use a mouse, and how to block code. Pre-k students got a tour of the classroom, where they saw the inside of a computer and watched the 3D printer in action. What a great experience for both classes!
Here's an opportunity to join our Extended School Year Summer School team, July 7 – August 15! We're looking for a niumber of different positions. Find out more at www.dcmoboces.com/o/dcmo-boces/page/current-vacancies
Reminder– all DCMO BOCES instructional programs will be closed for students and staff on Friday, May 23rd.
Last week, Culinary Arts students at the Pole Campus participated in a New York National Guard “Chopped” Challenge, the challenge being to create a compelling main course and dessert using the ingredients of Army MREs (“meals-ready-to-eat”). The challenge was led by Staff Sargeant Wightman and Sargeant Veale, New York National Guard Recruiting & Retention NCOs. Under the watchful eyes of Chef MacLeman, Culinary Arts LTA Jamie Milk and Career Counselor Megan Scrivener, students in both the morning and afternoon classes competed as teams. They evaluated the ingredients, developed plans and recipes on the fly, and collaboratively created new unique meals out of the standard MRE ingredients. Panels of judges evaluated the entrees and desserts, selecting a winning team in each class. The students wowed the judges with both their teamwork and the imaginative use of ingredients. Challenge met!
