Webutuck Board of Education seeking after-school activities

AMENIA — On Monday, Jan. 27, Webutuck’s Board of Education held a meeting to discuss the possibility of partnering with the Amenia Lions Club to find new after-school programs for students.

The president of Amenia’s Lions Club, Ann Sartori, attended the meeting to discuss potentially working with Webutuck District families through LionsSEE.

“We offer eye screening to children six months to six years,” Sartori said. “It doesn’t just do your vision. It goes deep into your eyes, your retinas, your cornea. It can pick up a lot more things than just your normal eye.”

According to the New York LionsSEE website, eye screening decreases childhood blindness through early detection and treatment for common vision impairments which cause Amblyopia, commonly known as a lazy eye.

Sartori mentioned how a different Lions Club, located in Red Hook, with the same program detected cancer in a four-year-old’s eye and was able to connect the child with an ophthalmologist to keep his eyesight.

“It’s a free program offered to anybody in the school. We also offer glasses,” Sartori said. “We have one child right now from Webutuck that is going to get his eyes screened, is getting glasses and our club pays for it, so it’s awesome.”

To have a child’s eyes evaluated, the Lions Club sends out a flyer, available in Spanish and English, which is then returned after the parents have filled it out. The evaluation process usually lasts about ten seconds per child, and takes place in a dark room to hone in on potential issues.

“I believe we’re interested,” said Raymond Castellani, Webutuck’s superintendent. “We’ll talk some more. I would like to get it down to the siblings that maybe aren’t in school yet … This is all good stuff. I’ve done this before, it’s been nothing but a great partnership.”

Webutuck gauged student interest in extracurricular activities with a free basketball clinic with limited registration slots.

“Today at 1 p.m. I put out a six-week after school [basketball] club, and by three o’clock, we were not only full, but we have a waiting list of at least five students,” said Amanda Coppola, the elementary school principal. “So the interest is definitely there.”

Webutuck is looking to find activities or hobbies that exist, not only in the school building, but within the surrounding community to get more enrichment for their students.

“We are going to pick other topics and work that in, someone was interested in gardening,” Coppola said, explaining how she was connected to the Millerton Library regarding a Lego club. “I reached out to see if we could get bussing over to the library,” Coppola said. “Anyone that has a skill that they want to share with our kids, just reach out to me.”

With Governor Hochul’s proposed budget, there will be a 2% standard increase, at a minimum, for all school districts. In Webutuck’s foundation aid, they were prepared for this slight increase, “which is good news.”

“Just as a reminder, the processes the governor presents for a budget proposal, and the legislative branch will then negotiate and eventually come to an agreed upon budget,” said Robert Farrier, Webutuck’s business administrator.

“We will continue to work the numbers, as we always do, in the next coming meeting we will do a public presentation after we have a chance to meet with the Budget and Finance Committee as a board,” he said.

The Board of Education accepted the retirement resignation of longtime teacher Michelle McLaughlin Smith.

“We thank her for her amazing service throughout the years, and she’ll be around for sure,” Castellani said, noting that Smith has interacted with almost every student that’s walked Webutuck’s halls in the past 30 years.

Webutuck recognized two students for their random acts of kindness throughout the school, showcasing what the school stands for.

“We celebrate our athletes. We celebrate people involved in arts and music, what about random acts of kindness?” said Castellani. “What can we do when we see a student or a group of students that are doing something that is not asked of them, and we talked about the Wildcat recognition is what we need.”

Intermediate student William Wessel, and senior Jake McGhee-Miller were honored at the board meeting for their notable acts of kindness. Wessel was unable to attend Monday night’s meeting to be honored in person, however the audience was able to hear McGhee-Miller’s story.

“Jake is a young man and I have always been impressed by this gentleman,” Castellani said. “A guidance secretary was carrying some boxes through the senior lounge and everyone was just sitting there, walking by and Jake went up there and said, ‘Can I help you with this?’ That is the type of people we want in our school district.”

“In the spirit of having this beautiful award, I thank every one of you,” McGhee-Miller said. Thanking his mother, he said “Every single one of you has made me the person I am, starting with her. I had the opportunity to utilize the district as one of my first paid job experiences, very much appreciated it, enjoyed it and hopefully in the future I can be a great asset to this district.”

For more information on the Webutuck Central School District, visit: www.webutuckschools.org.