Scholastic Art Achievements 22-23
The Scholastic Arts competition is one that Tully students always excel in, and this year was no different. Several JSHS students submitted their work among 4000 other entries with the hopes of winning an award. With so much talent being recognized, freshman Bryce Keller was the only Tully student this year to secure a Gold Key for his stippling technique portrait of Mr. Paccia titled Coach Paccia. Keller was recognized, along with other CNY students, for receiving the Gold Key in this highly competitive field at the SRC Arena in January.
Several other students received Honorable Mentions for their pieces: Garrett Hand for his untitled piece in the sculpture category; Aurora Randall for her drawing Dad; Sean Mize for his mixed media Leaf Project; Andrew Polak for his drawing titled Cat ...
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Reciting Shakespeare: Choosing the (W)Right One
Each year, the Shakespeare Recitation Competition interests a handful of students and each year, the talent gets tougher to judge. This year, six students participated in front of four renowned judges, and all did exceptional jobs with their monologues. The emotion was palpable throughout the room and the students did not disappoint as their voices carried and their hand gestures were aplenty. Whenever competing, choosing the right character/monologue is important. Lucy Wright did just that. Wright took first by storm with her performance of Caliban from The Tempest. Her monologue was not only captivating and intriguing, but just about flawless as she knelt low performing the creature. Jack VanBeveren took second place with his strong rendition of Antony from Julius Caesar and Sarah Kuty took ...
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Safety Awareness with Mr. Wintermute
Mr. Wintermute, TES’s new SRO, has been busy on campus getting to know the kids. In addition to building rapport with them, he is giving them invaluable advice. During the gym classes of the 3rd through 6th graders, he gave a safety awareness speech going over situational awareness, internet safety, and the well-known adage “see something, say something.” He feels that students of this age can be aware of things or people that might seem out of place and can help when adults might not take notice, encouraging students to be brave and speak up if they think something is not right. He also stressed the importance of keeping information private when on the Internet or on social media. Not giving out personal information such as name, age, and address are important for all students ...
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Seniors Strike!
The annual senior holiday trip and service project took place in January this year with students collecting donations once again for the SPCA. Seniors collected toys, food, cleaning supplies, and other pet items a few weeks before the trip. Then they boarded the bus to enjoy some time at Cort-Lanes to bowl. Several students and teacher chaperones showed off their bowling skills, making strikes. After the fun time, they enjoyed a meal at the Hollywood diner before returning to school for dessert. Normally, the senior class would drop off their much-anticipated donations to the SPCA and to see the animals but with the SPCA building under construction, they were unable to this year. The donations were taken by senior class advisor, Dawn Bishop, at a later date. All in all, the seniors had fun, ...
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Spanish Art Walk
Students in Mrs. Dubos’s and Mrs. Cardoso’s Spanish A classes got to enjoy a twist in their assignments when they participated in a Spanish art walk. The teachers laminated and posted multiple pieces of artwork by Carmen Lomas Garza throughout the hall and classrooms, creating a “gallery.” This American artist dedicates her artwork to “depicting the lives of Mexican Americans based on memories and experiences in Texas'' (carmenlomasgarza.com). Students then browsed the “gallery” with questions that they were to answer regarding each piece of art. Some questions were designed for the students to analyze the artwork or create an opinion, while others were to put their Spanish vocabulary to the test. The Spanish teachers walked around observing ...
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Themed Baskets Given to PEACE
The Junior High Student Council is always brainstorming how to use their funds and what service projects they can complete to help their community out. This year, they chose to use a portion of their funds raised from the Craft Fair to benefit PEACE, which in turn benefits those in our community. After shopping for some of the most-needed items within the community, the council put together themed baskets for PEACE to give away. The themes of the baskets were “first-aid,” “cleaning,” “laundry,” “baby,” and “hygiene.” A total of twenty of the themed baskets were prepared and given to PEACE. The timing of this service was perfect as sometimes after the holidays, donations are at a low. What a great way to help our community!
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Tully Tempos Take on Syracuse Crunch
The Tully Tempos, comprised of 5th and 6th grade choir students, were invited to sing the National Anthem, opening for a Syracuse Crunch game in January. Whereas some past students have had this fun memory, this was the first time since Covid hit for our students to take on this honorable task. They practiced while in class and then shared their best singing voices with the Crunch team and their rivals looking on. Students performed very well and should be proud of their efforts. Some students joined their parents and friends in the crowd to watch the game afterward. Special thanks go out to Ms. Hill for making this a possibility for our students!
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Film Students View Avatar
Students in Ms. Oliver’s Film class were treated to an excursion to the Movie Tavern to watch the new Avatar movie. Where this was a fun excuse to leave the school grounds, lots of learning was taking place. The Film class is an overview of American film that delves into different aspects of film techniques, directors, and what goes into movie production. Students first watched the original Avatar in class and discussed the cinematography and theme of the movie. Their task was then to look for how those things carried on in the new movie and then write a comprehensive film review. Ms. Oliver was pleasantly surprised when the students chatted about the characters and Avatar franchise as a whole during the ride back to the school. While this class is different from traditional classes, ...
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Making a Break for It
The Senior High Student Council sponsored a new event this year - the Escape Room Adventure! Students in grades 9-12 could sign up with a team to challenge not only themselves to escape the room, but to challenge other teams on how fast they could escape. Students had to follow clues, answer riddles, and complete puzzles to unlock the door before their 15 minute time ran out. Three rooms with different themes were played: “Treasures from the Temple,” “Escape from College,” and “Survive the Zombie Attack.” While teams waited for their turn at a chance to be the fastest “escapee,” they enjoyed pizza, snacks, and gym time, playing cornhole, spike ball, basketball, and volleyball toss. In the end, the top three teams to escape the fastest were ...
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Mock Trial in the Classroom
The Intro to Law class got their chance to experience what trial proceedings could be like when Mrs. Mulondo had her students prepare and execute a mock trial “People vs. Taylor”. The prosecutors gathered their evidence and fought passionately for what they believed was justice and the defense team worked hard at tearing the evidence down. Both sides were thorough with their research and when presenting evidence. The jury, made up of teachers and staff, heard them battle it out with objections to their opposing counsel. Mrs. Mulondo kept the mock courtroom under control with her gavel and bailiff. In the end when both sides rested, the defense team came out on top. All students that participated got a small glimpse of how the justice system could work while some may just have found ...
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Second Graders Present Animal Projects
The 2nd graders worked hard this winter with their research projects. Each student chose an arctic animal to research and then watched videos, read slides, and took notes in a graphic organizer. Once they learned lots of neat facts about their animal choice, they put all of their information into a report. They then had a chance to present their report to not only their teacher and classmates, but to Mr. Kupiec as well. All the students learned lots of fun animal facts not only by researching but by listening to their peers. What a wonderful unit to help our younger students be learners and leaders!
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Holiday Concert Leads into Holiday Break
The 5th and 6th grade chorus and band members performed their concert in the TES auditorium the evening before the holiday break. With the weather being bad, it had been rescheduled from the week prior. They did a spectacular job creating holiday cheer for the audience. The band played “Jingle Bells,” “Dance of the Jabberwocky,” “Still, Still, Still,” “Colors of Christmas,” and “March of the Magical Toys” with student readers presenting information about the pieces beforehand. Then the chorus took the stage and sang “We’re Goin’ on a Sleigh Ride,” “Snowflakes,” “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree with Jingle Bell Rock,” and “Cold Snap.” Student readers also presented information ...
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Students Go Under the Sea at Syracuse Stage
Several of our students were fortunate enough to attend a field trip to Syracuse Stage to watch an amazing cast put on the production of The Little Mermaid. The 7th and 8th grade students attended a day play while the 5th and 6th grade chorus and band students attended a night play. Regardless of when the students went, they all seemed to enjoy the fun that came with the iconic characters of Ariel, Ursula, Sebastian, Scuttle, Flounder, Prince Eric, and King Triton. While “under the sea,” bubbles floated out into the audience and fog created atmosphere, making every age smile. Scuttle tapped his way into the audience’s heart and interacted with the crowd using his quick wit while Sebastian was quirky and sarcastic. Some actors used aerial silks and ropes to dazzle the ...
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Elf Jr. Creates Laughter among Audience Members Before Auditorium Renovations
Students and faculty that pulled together the TES musical this year did a fabulous job with the time constraints that they had. With the auditorium renovation on the calendar and holiday activities on the rise, there wasn’t a lot of wiggle room for these eager actors. They, however, found 90 hours to practice before the first curtain call while Miss Hill, Mrs. Moss, and Mrs. Biggar worked effortlessly to direct, choreograph, design, and prepare costumes. Cast and crew first got to run through their production during the school day where the younger students enjoyed the holiday treat of watching their older peers spread holiday cheer. Then, over 300 tickets sold during the parent night and the community day show, making Elf Jr. a major success with lots of laughter at all productions. ...
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Club Treasurers Learn About Finances
Mr. Sommer, Tully Business Administrator, conducted a few informal meetings with club treasurers and advisors at both the JSHS and the elementary. These meetings were to help clubs understand how to be financially responsible with their club’s finances. Students and advisors learned what to do with money accounted for after a fundraiser, the process of turning money in, payouts, and what information should be in their ledgers. This was a good lesson not only for those who account for their club’s finances but for students who are thinking about a career in finance. What a great first look into the world of finance!
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News for P2 Reboot
Continuing on with the JSHS reboot of P2, Self-Control was the second characteristic focused on. Homeroom teachers presented the idea of self-discipline and a video made by the Class of 2024 officers and the Digital media club which then facilitated discussion among peers. Tips for self-control were displayed on the monitors for light hallway reading. In addition, challenges like meditation and balancing helped highlight what self-control is really all about. Junior high students participated in a card tower challenge during Flex classes, and at the end of the week, the senior high students participated in a Jenga challenge using Giant Jenga blocks during lunches. Only those who had self-control, persevered, and kept their towers tall.
Students exert self-control building a tower.
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Senior to Represent Tully at Syracuse Delegation
Senior Emerson Santos has been a star student and athlete here at Tully since emigrating here from Guatemala. He was recently accepted to participate in the Puerto Rican Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute representing Tully under the Syracuse Delegation. This is an incredible opportunity for Emerson to learn and strengthen Hispanic and Latino influence in public policy. He will participate in multiple trainings on topics like the legislative process, creating and presenting persuasive arguments, and understanding parliamentary procedures. He will then travel to Albany and participate in a MOCK Assembly, where students will debate legislative bills in the NYS Assembly Chambers. Not only is Emerson participating in PRHYLI, he is also a Seal of Biliteracy ...
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Care by Composting
The Tully High School Environmental Club has begun their long-anticipated composting project. This project has been many years in the making, spanning several classes of students. Last year, the Environmental Club was able to purchase an at-home composter, and this year, club members have started collecting food scraps from students at lunches to process into compost. The composter takes only a few hours to turn the lunch scraps into compost, which can then be used immediately. The Environmental Club plans on using the compost in landscaping beds around the school and hopes to create a raised garden in the future, using the compost as added nutrients.
Lunch scraps gathered for composting.
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Feeding Our Community
The holiday season is always jam packed with activities and events but that never stops our junior high Student Council from helping their community when needed. Each year before Thanksgiving, the junior high Student Council conducts a food drive to help benefit St. Leo’s pantry. This in turn, helps those in our community. Because this can be such a chaotic time of year, the Student Council decided a few years back to give students a little incentive to participate in the drive. Whichever junior high homeroom brought in the most items would win a snack cake buffet. After some friendly competition, Mrs. Dubos’ 7th grade homeroom and Mrs. Sterritt’s 8th grade homeroom won the sweet treat. In total, 544 items were collected in a short amount of time, helping once again to feed ...
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Rocket Launch Success
This year’s Maker Space started off with successful rocket launches by the 5th and 6th graders. Fifteen students participated in the four-week course, planning and building their rockets to unique specifications. Students measured frames, mounted rockets, and glued launch lugs, among other necessary tasks. They then were able to paint their rocket in whatever design they chose. On two different days, parents were able to come and watch as the students fired their rockets off behind the school. It was exciting for the students to watch their creations go from a bunch of parts to a real rocket flying upwards of 150 feet in the air. The students cheered each other on as they ran to catch the parachute that came out of their rocket midair. For some, this Maker Space kindles a rocketry hobby ...
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