Batavia Middle School

More than two dozen Batavia Middle School students visited offices in and around Batavia today for the school's annual "Give Back Day," when students deliver class-made presents to the people and organizations that have supported the school during the school year.

Among the stops pictured above was the State Police Batavia Barracks on West Saile Drive.

Other locations the students visited today included the Sheriff's Office, Batavia PD, the Fire Department, WBTA, DSS, and Family Court. After Family Court, they went to City Court to see Durin Rogers sworn in as the new full-time City Court judge.

Photos and information provided by Sarah Gahagan:

As part of the ongoing kindness project at Batavia Middle School (hashtag #makeKINDNESSloud), Kim Argenta, owner of Art Ah La Carte, followed suit with a random act of kindness.

Argenta volunteered her time and passion for art to help produce a set of wings that will be used as a display in the sixth-grade hallway of BMS.

The BMS kindness group wanted to create a set of wings to remind students to "lift each other up."

The girls' next step is to find inspirational quotes that fit this theme to be used with the wings as a photo background for students/teachers/support staff who participate in random acts of kindness to be displayed in the building proudly.

The Batavia Middle School Kindness Project is an effort by fifth- through eighth-graders at the school, led by teacher Sarah Gahagan, to spread a bit of warmth and joy.

The students look for opportunities to be kind to each other. 

Friday, Gahagan's class sent letters to a fifth-grader in Tennesee who is battling leukemia. The letter-writing effort followed a schoolwide "circle up" meeting on the theme of perseverance.

Gahagan said students discussed different levels of problems we have in our lives and successful coping strategies.

Principal Ashley John Grillo shared these photos from the first day of school this morning at Batavia Middle School.

If you have first-day-of-school photos to share, email them to howard@thebatavian.com.

It's a big step moving from fourth grade to fifth grade when Batavia students enter middle school and find they must now manage getting themselves to multiple classrooms and taking care of their books and belongings in a locker.

To help with the transition, Batavia Middle School hosts Connect Day on the day before classes officially begin, when teachers and eighth-graders help the new kids learn about their new school.

Continuing an annual tradition started by Frank Panepento five years ago, Batavia Middle School students wrote essays about what the American flag means to them and then three winners were chosen to read their essays today, Flag Day, at the VA Center in Batavia.

The winning essay was by Tosh Spillberg, who received a bike and a season pass to Darien Lake Theme Park. Second and third places were Landon Hamilton and Trevor Tryon, who also received season passes to Darien Lake. Panepento purchased the prizes.

Student Transportation of America provided the students with a free bus ride to and from the VA Center.

Students at Batavia Middle School made their annual civil rights presentations today for fellow students, teachers and parents.

Press release:

For the sixth year, Batavia Middle School will be hosting its Spring Family Night from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12.

Maureen Notaro, seventh and eighth grade assistant principal, said numerous activities planned for families to enjoy together throughout the evening. That school day will also include a special presentation for the students, with a visit from Corey the Dribbler, a former Harlem Globetrotter from Academic Entertainment.  Notaro said Corey has a positive message that he delivers to the students regarding perseverance, character traits and never giving up on your dreams.

In terms of the evening activities for families, there will be several community organizations, and local agencies present. Included in this list is Richmond Memorial Library, BMS parent-teacher group, Girl Scouts, Batavia Fire Department, GC Mental Health Services, Genesee County Business Education Alliance, Genesee County Youth Bureau, Genesee County Sheriff's Department, the Batavia Police Department, and Paul Kesler, high school principal, will be there to discuss class rank.

In addition, Fidelis Care will be present with the "Every Child Covered" campaign. They will speaking with families to ensure that they have health insurance for their children. The County Department of Social Services will be present seeking potential foster families. Harvester 56 Theater Dance Academy will be presenting Irish dance in the auditorium as entertainment for our families.

The goal for the evening is for our families to spend quality time together, from enjoying dinner and entertainment to persevering as a team to solve problems and complete tasks.

In the cafeteria, families can enjoy a Mexican-themed dinner of tacos and churros catered by Rancho Viejo.

Families will have an opportunity to visit rooms with activities and games, such as building a bridge to support a given object’s weight, playing bingo, and creating art work as a team. In addition, there will be a room for our students to decorate a bag and choose a few books to take home with them.

In the gym, we will host our basket raffle, featuring baskets prepared by our BMS staff, as well as a bike raffle which was made possible by the generous donation from the Police Benevolent Association and Batavia Firefighters Association.

Our hope is that as the evening ends with our basket raffle, our families will exit the building having had a positive night of community engagement.

Batavia Middle School students trekked all over Batavia today as part of the school's annual Give Back Field Trip, where they visit various business and agencies to thank those who have supported the school.

Today's visits included the Sheriff's Office, State Police, Fire Department, and this visit to Batavia PD.

Celia Murillo-Rios, left, and Michael Cook, students at Batavia Middle School came out the big winners Thursday night at the school's annual Family Night when their names were drawn in a giveaway of two bicycles.

The girl's bike was donated by the school's Parent-Teacher Association and the boy's bike was donated by the Batavia Police Benevolent Association.

Also pictured, Maureen Notaro, 7th and 8th grade VP, and Brian Sutton, 5th and 6th grade VP.

Batavia Middle School invited parents to an open house Thursday evening, after the first day of school, for a chance to meet teachers and find out about their children's classes and expectations. 

There were also activities and food trucks for the families.

Above, Tricia Grillo, with her son Dom, meet with teacher Gigi Dombrowski about his eighth-grade math class.

Spanish teacher Julie Trzaska with eighth-grader Hailey Smith, her father Charles Richmond, and her brother Noah, who is in fifth grade.

Long-term sub Kayleigh Meyers in the ELA class with the four books eighth-graders will read this year: "Inside Out and Back Again," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Omnivore's Dilemma," and "Unbroken."

Students arriving at Batavia Middle School for the first day of classes. 

Photos submitted by Principal Ashley John Grillo.

The boys participating in this year's B Squad, a running group coached by Sarah Gahagan and other Batavia Middle School teachers, celebrated their first year as a team with a pizza party and individual recognition for their accomplishments.

Each boy was nominated for an award by a teacher or administrator based on improvements or contributions they made throughout the school year.  There are 50 boys who participated this year.

The group runs as a team and often to locations where they learn about the community or local businesses.

Batavia Middle School was rockin' this morning with a visit from the rock band class at Batavia High School to help kickoff STEAM Day at the school.

The band's visit was intended to also give middle school students of another idea for a class they might take when they get to high school.

The band played The Ramones, Tom Petty, The Kinks (twice depending on how you count "You Really Got Me" with the Van Halen intro of "Eruption"), and Cream, among others.

During a Bryan Adams song, the students broke out their mobile phone flashlights and waved them in the air just like any other rock concert.

Today was the Holiday Give Back Day for students at Batavia Middle School who traveled throughout the community visiting more than a dozen organizations and businesses to thank them for their support of BMS and education.

Two of the visits were to Batavia PD and the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

The students presented a bag of gifts and cards made by the students.

Batavia Middle School held its first-ever pep rally this afternoon, celebrating the participation of students in sports and clubs. Teachers and students also participated in some fun competitions.

Photos and information submitted by Batavia City Schools:

As part of a school-wide STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) Day, all students in Batavia Middle School rotated through three grade-specific learning stations to participate in a variety of interactive STEAM-based activities.

Fifth-graders, at one station, used a Bloxel application and kit to design and build their own video game settings and characters, then upload them for virtual gaming adventures. At another, they created useful items -- such as wallets, bookmarks and lanyards -- using nothing but decorative duct tape and their imaginations. At the third, they tried different size wheels on a robotic car to determine how wheel size changed the amount of time it takes to travel a given distance.

Sixth-graders played challenging coding games at one station. At another, as part of learning about simple machines, they worked in groups to build a catapult and test its launching capabilities by hurling an eraser down a measured track. After each shot, they returned to their building table to make adjustments that would improve their machine’s performance. At their third learning station, the students made paper jack-o-lanterns lit by a small bulb that was powered by a circuit they had completed.

Seventh-graders also created circuits using copper tape and a battery laid out on a piece of paper and used the power to light a small bulb that completed a picture they had drawn on the reverse side of the paper. At another station, they simulated the popular Escape Experiences exercise and solved puzzles to discover the necessary information for unlocking a mystery box. At a third, they used several different apps to drive and design programs for driving robotic sphero balls. 

Eighth-grade students had the opportunity to program a robotic space-rover so it would move around to pick up and capture objects. At another station, the classroom became a live computer game with scenarios and situations being announced, then students determining what their next move should be. At their third station, students learned how to create a flip book out of index cards -- a book with a series of pictures that depict gradual changes from one page to the next, so that when the pages are flicked rapidly, it looks like a moving picture. 

The kits for these learning adventures were provided through the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership Library Services, which also helped to plan and facilitate the Middle School’s STEAM Day.

From Sarah Gahagan:

Yesterday's destination for B Squad was the Batavia Police Department. We ran 1.35 miles and met up with Detective Matt Wojaszczk and Assistant Police Chief Todd Crossett. Both men enjoy running and staying physically active. They spoke about how critically important it is to lead a healthy lifestyle, especially with their demanding jobs.

One of the highlights of this visit was discussing the importance of developing and maintaining a good reputation for yourself, one that you can be proud of. Remembering to surround yourself with positive individuals who are going to lift you up, rather than drag you down.

While job hunting and looking for college recommendations you want to stand out and shine. Outstanding qualities like honesty, punctuality and good decision making are all highly sought after. This starts with the choice of how you represent yourself in school, in public and even when you think no one else is watching.

Each of our B Squad boys practiced a firm handshake and graciously thanked our two local heros! It was a great opportunity!

As part of the lighting upgrades for Batavia City Schools included in the capital improvement project was a new exterior LED lighting system for Batavia Middle School. The LED lights are more energy efficient, but they also let school officials decorate the school in colored lights. Last night, the school was bathed in blue.

Photo courtesy Principal Ashley John Grillo.