English-language learners offer thanks to
Board of Education for learning opportunities

Six English language learners attended the June 25 HFM BOCES Board of Education meeting to say thanks and to tell board members a little bit about themselves.

The six adult learners shared some of their personal histories --explaining why they want to improve their abilities to speak English -- while also saying thank you for the opportunities provided by HFM's English as a Second Language program. [more]

HFM's Closing Day program focuses
on celebrations and challenges

Staff praised for their teamwork, accomplishments

The annual HFM BOCES closing day program in June was both a happy and sad affair -- with colleagues honoring four retirees and six co-workers who reached their 20-years-of-service mark while also pausing to remember three members of the HFM BOCES "family" who passed away during the school year. [more]

Closing Day explores 21st Century learning

The world is flat!

The 350-plus participants at HFM BOCES’ Closing Day program perked up when they were told the world is no longer round, as they were taught in school.

Author Thomas L. Friedman’s observation that the world is flat is actually the title of his best-selling book that analyzes the progress of globalization and its impact on the 21st century. That impact, on education, is the focus of HFM BOCES’ Professional Development Plan for 2008-09. [more]

Laughs and tears as four retire from HFM BOCES

Colleagues paid tribute and offered fond remembrances for four co-workers who are embarking on the adventures of retirement, including Joseph Cirillo, Thomas Hart, Donna Picciocca and John Evans.

Four other former HFM BOCES employees who retired earlier in the school year were also acknowledged during the HFM BOCES Closing Day program on June 26, including SETRC Trainer Susan Naple and three Career & Technical Education teachers: Business Computer Applications teacher Rodger Schultz, Graphic Communications teacher John Synakowski, and Technology teacher Donald Martel. [more]

Josie Watts retires after 24 years on HFM BOCES board

During the June 26 Closing Day program, HFM BOCES staff members bid farewell to HFM BOCES Board of Education Vice President Josephine "Josie" Watts who retired effective June 30 after serving 24 years on the BOCES board.

Mrs. Watts also previously served 11 years on the Gloversville Enlarged School District Board of Education.

A retired secretary and former school bus driver, Mrs. Watts said she "was privileged to have the opportunity to appoint some of the best directors, teachers and other instructors" during her tenure on the HFM BOCES board. [more]

Six BOCES colleagues honored for
120 years of combined service

The people that study such things tell us that the average American worker stays in any one job slightly less than five years. So it is a distinction worth noting when a staff member reaches a milestone of 20 years' of service.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lorraine Hohenforst honored six staff members for reaching that significant mark during HFM BOCES' Closing Day program, including:

• Physical education teacher Karen Edwards

• Alternative High School English-language arts teacher Sally Fancher

• Occupational therapist Eveline Hoefinger

• Special education teacher Louise Huth

• Multiply disabled program teaching assistant Anolla Rogers

• Career Assessment senior typist Sally Wock

Growing Career and Technical Center graduates its largest class

The largest class to ever graduate from the HFM BOCES Career & Technical Center gathered with family, friends, teachers and staff to celebrate the completion of their studies during a program in their honor in Fulton-Montgomery Community College’s gymnasium on June 24.

On a clear summer evening, the class of 260 students was recognized for their participation in 17 different technical programs. High school seniors and adult learners shared the stage as they were recognized for their achievements. [more]

Special Education program graduates
its largest multiply disabled class

Students receive diplomas and awards during
special end-of-the-year celebration

The trappings of graduation were all there: caps and gowns, excited and proud parents, photo arrays of the students’ school years, speeches and special presentations of awards and diplomas. The 2008 End of the Year Celebration for students in the HFM BOCES Special Education 12:1:4 program was held June 19 in Mayfield Central School’s auditorium.

Brooke Caraco, Andy Loveless, Chris Phelps, Rene Rando, Dan Romano, Janice Seeley and Samantha Simzer made up the procession of graduates, accompanied by the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance.” They are the largest graduating class from the 12:1:4 program. [more]

Project Read workshops set for July

Comprehensive language arts program designed
for middle and high school teachers

Two multi-day training sessions are being offered at HFM BOCES this summer. "Reading Comprehension with Story Form" will be held on July 7-8, while "Written Expression" is scheduled for July 9-11. Both sessions run from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. in the HFM BOCES Conference Center.

Project Read is a comprehensive language arts program designed to provide explicit instruction in a structured reading curriculum. The goal of the program is to help all students become thoughtful, purposeful, and independent readers. [more]

Construction students win scholarships

New York State Builders Association recognizes seniors pursuing careers in construction

Two seniors from HFM BOCES’ Construction Technology program are getting extra help with their college expenses. Alicia Brown and Schuyler Duross were each awarded $1,000 as recipients of the William Morehouse Scholarship, sponsored by the New York State Builders Association (NYSBA). They received their scholarships at a recent awards dinner hosted by NYSBA in Saratoga Springs.

The scholarship is designed to assist students pursuing careers in construction or a construction-related field. Both students plan to seek college degrees in Construction Management. [more]

Crash course offered for GED exam prep

Summer class at HFM BOCES reviews
five core subjects needed for GED success 

HFM BOCES will offer a Fast Track course this summer for adult learners ready to prepare for the General Educational Development (GED) exam. Fast Track is an intensive review of the five subject areas of the GED Tests: reading, writing, math, science and social studies. [more]

New plants enhance main entrance

The next time you're at HFM BOCES, take a minute to stop and smell the flowers, or at least appreciate the addition of several beds of plants neatly arranged around the main entrance. The raised beds were constructed by groundskeeper John Walrath, with students from Ben Conte and Don Lucas’ Environmental Conservation class pitching in to plant the perennials.

Sharon Marie Perrella honored with
Ken Smith School Library System Award

Sharon Marie Perrella, Media Specialist in the Northville Central School District, became only the third person in 17 years to be honored with the Ken Smith School Library System Regional Award. She was recognized for her significant contributions at a luncheon on May 21 at HFM BOCES. [more]

Summer literacy institute equips teachers to guide students to higher-level thinking

Literacy across the Content Areas Summer Institute will be offered August 18-20 at HFM BOCES

A three-day institute focused on literacy will give middle and high school teachers in the HFM BOCES region the chance to learn how to help their students develop high-level thinking and literacy skills. [more]

Summer Institute explores assessment

How can professional educators judge if students are making progress in their ability to think and learn?

A three-day, collaborative workshop conducted by data analysts from the BOCES Joint Management Team (JMT) will answer this question and help develop tools that district leaders can use to accurately assess student thinking skills and transform teaching.

The Summer Assessment Institute will be held on July 23-25, 2008 at Mechanicville Middle School. The three-day program is designed for teachers and administrators who are familiar with the 21st Century Skills research and are ready to review and develop assessment tools. [more]

HFM students are on the road to new career thanks to CDL training program

Almost every item you see at your local store arrived there by truck. Trucks deliver everything from automobiles to canned food. According to the American Trucking Association, 70 percent of all freight tonnage in the U.S. is moved by truck. This huge industry supports more than nine million jobs, including nearly three and a half million truck drivers.

If you are interested in pursuing a career as a truck driver, consider the HFM BOCES CDL course, which offers 35 hours of comprehensive hands-on training.

Click here to read more about the CDL program.

Area BOCES work together to help prepare students for 21st Century learning

HFM BOCES has partnered with three other BOCES to develop resources and programs that will help area students prepare for the educational and employment demands of the 21st century.

Known collectively as the Joint Management Team (JMT), the four BOCES and their 93 component school districts fall within the geographic area known as “New York’s Tech Valley.”

New York’s Tech Valley may seem synonymous with Advanced Micro Devices' chip fabrication plant that has been proposed for the Luther Forest Technology Park near Saratoga Springs. However, Tech Valley also includes the Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, IBM, Sematech, Map Info, and more.

Tech Valley also refers to the accompanying development of support and related businesses. [more]

HFM establishes new FAX phone numbers

All FAX numbers at the HFM BOCES campus on Route 67 in Johnstown were changed, effective April 15, to accommodate updates to the campus telephone system.

Click here for a list of new FAX numbers by department.

HFM BOCES wins $650,000 state grant
to build network of technology mentors

Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES has been awarded a $650,000, two-year Enhancing Education Through Technology grant that in part will give middle school students the chance to teach their teachers about technology.

Area teachers and students from 30 public and private middle schools in the HFM BOCES and WSWHE BOCES region will collaborate to use technology as a tool to improve student performance in English language arts, mathematics and science. The state is offering this grant to help meet the federal goal that all students will demonstrate technology literacy by the end of eighth grade. [more]

Schools can now access TeachingBooks.net

Online service is designed to boost interest in reading

Every student, teacher, parent and school library media specialist in the HFM BOCES service area now has free online access to see and hear the best creators of books for children and teens - thanks to the HFM BOCES School Library System providing TeachingBooks.net for the entire school community.

TeachingBooks.net is an online service designed to generate enthusiasm for books and reading by compiling original content and the best of the Web's book and author resources all in one place. Original author programs from TeachingBooks.net bring award-winning authors and illustrators directly into libraries and classrooms, allowing students to learn first hand how ideas, art and text come together to create a book. [more]

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