Draper Middle School Yearbook is on sale now at a discounted price of $25.
You can purchase your yearbook online at www.balfour.com.
The deadline is April 30, 2019. After that, the cost will be $30. If you have any questions, please call 518-356-8380.
MohonCARES recently received the first of two $2,000 grants for the 2020 school year thanks to Johnathan Wilsey and his company, Foresters Financial. These grants were established to provide funding for the Snack Attack program established through MohonCARES.
Through the first grant, the Snack Attack initiative was able to purchase more than 5,000 individual snacks to provide to students after school. So far, approximately 100 students have been provided with a treat each day after school throughout the school week.
“We are looking forward to continuing this program throughout the remainder of this school year and into the next,” Lori Giattino said. “We also look forward to continuing our partnership with Foresters Financial as they have been extremely generous in supporting the needs here at Mohonasen.” 
The second award will be used in July and the Snack Attack program will stock up on supplies for the school year beginning in the Fall.
Thank you to Foresters Financial for their hard work and contribution!
If you would like to learn more about MohonCARES, please visit https://www.mohonasen.org/student-services/mohoncares/
Draper Middle School will host its annual art show from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 13, in the Mohonasen High School art gallery.
The exhibit will showcase artwork by students in grades 6-8, including drawing, painting, collage, photography and more. 
The artwork will be on display through the end of the month.
On Saturday, January 11th, student musicians from both Mohonasen High School and Draper Middle School participated in the Suburban Council Music Festival. This selective festival featured top musicians from the various Suburban Council schools. The groups that performed in this year’s concert were High School Band, High School Orchestra, Middle School Chorus and Middle School Jazz Band.
Mohonasen High School students that were selected are Mary Kate Conway, Sarah Fish, Julianna Huba, Jenna Lester, Haden Popkowski, Jenna Stewart, and Zoe Thomas.
Draper Middle School students that were selected are Eli D’Alliard, Michael DeLaCruz, Togba Doe, Claudia Hetzer, Caleb Pachelli, Taylor Shults, Cael Sullivan, Madison Valentino and Julia Varga.
Congratulations to all of our Mohonasen music department participants!
The Mohonasen Board of Education wishes to thank parents and students who participated in a recent survey regarding High School Concert and Marching Band. The results of the survey may be viewed by clicking here.
Open ended comments were also carefully reviewed by the Board.
Currently, we are continuing to work with the Music Department to determine what opportunities best fit the needs of our students and appreciate the feedback provided by parents and students.
On Monday, January 13, the 4th annual Draper art show was held in the Mohonasen High School art gallery. The exhibit showcased artwork by students in grades 6-8.
Artwork including drawing, painting, collage, photography and more was on display for parents, friends and families to see.
For additional photos, please visit the district Facebook page.
Mohon Masque Jr. will present “Into the Woods Jr.” this Friday, Jan. 17 at 7PM and this Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3PM in the High School Auditorium.
With over sixty students, including cast and crew, the show is a mix of fairy tales including Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Ridinghood and Jack and the Beanstalk. The performance is meant for all ages.
Tickets are available to purchase at the door and are $10/adults, $8/students and kids 5 and under are free.
Mohonasen Girls Swimming Coach, Kate Streeter has been selected by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) as the 2018-19 New York Girls Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year. Kate was specifically nominated by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association as the most deserving recipient for this honor.
This year’s honorees were selected based upon their coaching performance in the 2018-19 school year, lifetime community involvement, school involvement and philosophy of coaching.
Kate has served as head coach of the girls swimming and diving team for 8 years.
Congratulations, Coach Streeter!
Please save the date and join us for Mohonasen’s Celebration of Cultures.
It is our tradition at Mohonasen to invite you to share a taste of your culture. Whether you feel like wearing the traditional dress of your country or sharing a dish of your favorite recipe, we look forward to celebrating the many cultures of Mohonasen with you.
Workforce development was the topic of conversation at Mohonasen’s first Business Advisory Board meeting of 2020, held last Thursday, Jan. 16.
Superintendent Shannon Shine opened the meeting of students, educators and local business leaders, with the purpose of the Business Advisory Board – to work together to act as a school resource by offering expertise, programs and services that support teaching and focus on student learning. 
“It’s been great to experience the positive force of collaboration,” said Graham MacBeth, Mohonasen’s work-based learning supervisor. MacBeth and Sue Petrosino, Mohonasen’s transition and Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) coordinator, both discussed the recent business connections they have made through the Business Advisory Board, which include:
These businesses and – Mohonasen students have both benefited from the partnerships. Through a recent trip to Graham’s Coffee Parlor, work based learning students were able to learn about running a coffee business from owner, Katryn Malen. Malen conducted a tour of the establishment while teaching students about customer service and work place safety, which are important skills for success in the workforce.
Guest speaker, Crickett Thomas-O’Dell, the Capital Region Regional Director from the Workforce Development Institute, shared current trends in the job market and the landscape of the current workforce in Schenectady. She also touched on the importance of soft skills in the workforce and how demographics in the workplace are evolving.
During the meeting, Assistant Superintendent Laurel Logan-King tasked board members with identifying the skills necessary for a student to succeed in the workforce. “As a school system, we want to focus on the development the whole child,” Laurel Logan-King said.
The Board’s collaboration on the topic will serve to inform instruction and guide future workforce development opportunities.
The Advisory Board meets again at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5.
If you are interested in learning more about the Mohonasen Business Advisory Board, please contact Graham MacBeth (gmacbeth@mohonasen.org) or Sue Petrosino (spetrosino@mohonasen.org) or by calling 518-356-8345.
The READ Bowl kicked off on January 17 in Pinewood Intermediate where students have been challenged to have the most minutes read by their class by Friday, January 31.
Students are developing their reading and teamwork skills through the READ Bowl as they read toward earning a pizza or ice cream party for their entire class.
Here are a few highlights from the READ Bowl so far:
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade
In addition to the party of their choice, winners from each grade will get to dye Principal Thompson’s hair orange and black at a school-wide assembly.
Pinewood students have a grand total of 45,729 minutes read school-wide so far and counting.
Are you an 8th grade student? Are you curious about the different courses and pathways offered at the high school? Do you want more information about the various course electives that you can take? Then come to the 8th grade information night on Wednesday, January 29th from 6:00-7:15 P.M. at the high school.
You will hear from several administrators, guidance counselors, and teachers about all that the high school has to offer. In addition, the 9th grade honors applications will be available for 8th grade students to pick up starting at this event. The Draper guidance office will have extra copies available.
We look forward to seeing you!
On Friday, Jan. 24, Mohonasen’s a cappella group, For Good Measure, placed first at the International Championship of High School A capella (IHCSA) northeast quarterfinals held at RPI.
In addition to taking first place in the competition, D’Sean Madison-Key won Outstanding Vocal Percussion, Anthony Mucci won Outstanding Soloist and the group was recognized for Outstanding Choreography.
For Good Measure has competed in the ICHSA tournament for five years.
The group will now advance to the semifinal round in Worcester, MA on March 22.
To purchase tickets for the event, please visit www.varsityvocals.com.
Balfour representatives will be available on Wednesday, Jan. 29 and Thursday, Jan. 30 for graduating seniors to purchase their cap and gown. Representatives will be in the gym lobby during lunch periods.
The cost of the cap and gown package is $24.00. The cost of an extra tassel is $6.00.
Mohonasen’s 6th Annual Family Fun Fair is scheduled for Thursday, April 2 from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M at the Draper Middle School.
Whether inside or outside of the classroom, the Family Fun Fair is an opportunity to see the talents and programs that our faculty and students have to offer.
All students in kindergarten through grade 12 are invited to attend the event with their families.
More than 30 Mohonasen student musicians participated in the Schenectady All County Festival.
This festival combined students from all of the Schenectady County schools who rehearsed together for two days, and then performed on Saturday, Jan. 25. 
This year’s concert featured Middle School Band, Middle School Orchestra and a High School Treble Chorus.
Congratulations to all those involved!
Dear Mohonasen Parents,
For the second year, Mohonasen School District is administering a Climate Survey for parents, students, teachers and staff and we want to hear from you! The benefits of a strong school climate include a positive impact on school safety, student self-esteem, emotional well-being and mental health, as well as lower incidence of substance abuse, student absenteeism, and suspensions. We want to know how we are doing currently and what areas could use improvement so that we can focus our improvement efforts accordingly. Our goal for climate is that students, teachers, staff and parents experience a superlative learning environment at Mohonasen; we want all stakeholders to feel Mohon Proud.
The Climate Survey we will be using has been developed by the US Department of Education so the results will enable us to compare ourselves to similar districts throughout the state and the country. The anonymous survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete and it may be accessed at the following links:
The links will be active through Feb. 28, 2020, so please consider providing us input at your earliest convenience.
The survey is completely anonymous and the results will be shared on the District website after the survey is complete. Thank you for contributing to this effort.
Mohon Proud,
Shannon Shine
Superintendent of Schools
The following students were recently accepted to the Mohonasen chapter of the NYS Mathematics Honor Society and/or the NYS Science Honor Society. The induction ceremony will be Thursday, February 6th at 3:30 in the LGI.
The Art in Three Dimensions show is back at Mohonasen High School’s Art Gallery for its 10th year.
This year 17 area high schools participated by submitting 200 pieces of art. There were 82 pieces selected to be part of the show that will be on display throughout the month of February, including work from Mohonasen High School students. Those students who will have their work on display are:
This year, student work was adjudicated by Dawn Dishaw and Abe Ferraro. Dishaw is a local ceramic artist from Mechanicville. Ferraro is a local sculptor and installation artist from Albany.
On Wednesday, Feb. 5, an opening reception will be held at the gallery from 6:30-8:00 P.M. The snow date reception is schedule for Feb. 7.
The artwork will be displayed Feb. 3 – Feb. 27.
