By Robert L. Chakar, Jr., Ed.D,

Superintendent

Our Drama Production of Beauty & the Beast, which was held on Friday, November 30^th, Saturday, December 1^st and Sunday, December 2^nd was a wonderful presentation of the talents of our children, faculty, and community members.  The production took some time in the making under the leadership of Mr. Ed Sanford who oversaw the production, along with Ms. Eloise Harris.

We would also like to thank James Litaker, Pete Valkavich, Luke Dougherty, Ray Kole, Donna Spencer, Sharon Tucker and her Art classes for their set design and construction.  Also, Kathy Whittaker, Juliette Consigny and Sharon Tucker provided direction for our costume design.  Lisa Valkavich assisted with the choreography; John Bernhardt supported the line prompting; Michael Mercurio and Mary Davis contributed to the leadership of the stage crew.  Lastly, Misty LeRoux helped with make-up; and a cameo appearance by Tom Little.

The play would not have been as successful without the help of all of the above volunteers, and we, at Andes Central School, feel very fortunate to have so many community members willing to give of their time to help our students.

Also, on Wednesday, December 5^th, we again hosted our Annual Senior Citizen’s Christmas Dinner.  Nearly 60 Andes residents over the age of 55 joined us for a wonderful turkey dinner prepared by Mrs. Laurie Day and her cafeteria staff.  Mrs. Barbara Cole, our FACS (Family and Consumer Sciences) teacher, organized her students to greet and serve our visitors. Mrs. Sandra Reynolds, our vocal music teacher, and her elementary students entertained everyone with some Christmas music.  We always enjoy being able to give back to our senior citizens for their support throughout the year, and hope that they all enjoyed the afternoon as well.

On another note, this spring we will be moving forward with upgrading our Main Building Fire Alarm system to be in compliance with NYSED, as well as financially planning future NYSED compliance upgrades in our Bus Garage.  In closing, know that this will be the second year that school districts across the state will have to plan their budgets for the following year under the two-percent adjusted tax cap limit.   As we move further into the budget season this winter and spring, your Board of Education and I will be again closely monitoring our expenditures and revenues to provide Andes children with the best educational opportunities feasible.  ~