Hancock Central School District

Important Update: School Vacation Days Added Due to Unused Snow Days Greetings Wildcat Families! We hope this message finds you well. As a result of unused snow days this school year, we are pleased to inform you that additional vacation days have been added to the school calendar. The following changes will take effect: Spring Recess will now begin on Thursday, April 17th and continue through Monday, April 28th. Memorial Day Weekend Break will be extended to include Friday, May 23rd through Monday, May 26th. These adjustments provide an opportunity for students and staff to enjoy a longer break this spring and early summer. We hope this will be a welcomed change for all! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further clarification. Thank you for your continued support!

ALL SCHOOL PLAY – DAYTIME PERFORMANCE A big thank you to our HCS students for being such a respectful and supportive audience as the cast of Wildcat Katie Brown performed for the school earlier today! Your encouragement meant the world to our performers. Here’s a sneak peek at some moments from the show to get you excited for tonight’s public performance! Wildcat Katie Brown - Tonight at 7:00 p.m. - MS-HS Auditorium We can't wait to see you there for an evening of laughter, talent, and Wildcat pride!

First Graders Make Their First Wildcat Buck Purchases! Exciting news from our elementary classrooms—our first-grade students recently made their very first purchases using Wildcat Bucks! These young Wildcats have been working hard, showing positive behavior, and saving up their bucks to earn fun classroom rewards! Wildcat Bucks are part of a positive behavior incentive program in the elementary school. Bucks are earned similarly to gold slips, but with a special twist—students can save them up and always have the opportunity to “purchase” rewards in their classroom. The more positive behavior they show, the more bucks they earn! It’s a fun and effective way to encourage great behavior while also teaching the value of saving for something special. Way to go, first graders—we're so proud of you!

HAPPY NATIONAL SCHOOL LIBRARIAN DAY! Today we celebrate Mrs. Phyllis Sanford, our incredible Library Media Specialist who is in her 30th year of teaching! Mrs. Sanford splits her time between Deposit and Hancock Central Schools, and we are very fortunate to have her as part of our HCS family. Reflecting on her first year shared between both schools, Mrs. Sanford shared: "This is the first year we are shared with library between Deposit and Hancock, and I must say that Hancock Central School has been very welcoming throughout the entire process. It has been really nice." Beyond her work in the library, Mrs. Sanford wears many hats: • Advisor for the National Junior Honor Society in Deposit • Co-chair of the Author Visit at DCS Elementary • Scorekeeper for the DH Eagles boys’ and girls’ basketball teams Outside of school, she’s an avid bicyclist, a passionate gardener, and a proud grandmother of 10 grandchildren! She’s also never far from her very devoted German Shepherd. One of her favorite quotes is by C.S. Lewis: “Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” Thank you, Mrs. Sanford, for inspiring our students, supporting our schools, and bringing such joy and dedication to everything you do. We appreciate you today and every day!

CBT TESTING NEXT WEEK Attention HCS families, Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for ELA begins next week! 3rd Grade ELA: April 8 & April 10 4th Grade ELA: April 9 & April 11 To help your child feel confident and prepared, check out these test-taking strategies from Stellar Teacher: Test-Taking Strategies for Elementary Students - https://www.stellarteacher.com/blog/test-taking-strategies-for-elementary/ This resource offers great tips on staying focused, managing time, and tackling tricky questions. A good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and a positive mindset go a long way! Let's support our students as they show what they know!

NY THURSDAYS We had another successful and delicious NY Thursdays lunch today at HCS, the students enjoyed their Philly cheese steaks! Thank you to our local food vendors, as well as our HCS food service department for all the hard work you do to make these tasty lunches for us!

HCS PRESENTS: WILDCAT KATIE BROWN Just a friendly reminder to join us tomorrow, Friday, April 4, at 7:00 p.m. in the MS-HS auditorium for this exciting all-school play! Follow Katie Brown as she fights to save her family's land in the wild and wacky Goldslinger Gulch. Admission is free, donations appreciated! Don't miss it!

MODIFIED SPRING SPORTS BEGIN ON MONDAY Modified spring sports will be starting up this Monday, April 7th! Our JV & Varsity spring sports have been working hard for the past few weeks, getting ready to start up their contests, we are looking forward to adding our 7th and 8th graders to the mix! Good luck to all of our student-athletes and let's hope the warmer weather is going to stick around!

HCS 11TH GRADERS EXPLORE SUNY DELHI FOR COLLEGE DAY Our Hancock Central School 11th graders had an exciting and informative day at SUNY Delhi for College Day! Students toured the campus, visiting dorms, the gym, classrooms, and the cafeteria, getting a real feel for college life. They also had the opportunity to speak with professors and connect with representatives from other colleges on hand. To top off the experience, all students received some awesome college swag! A huge thank you to SUNY Delhi for this incredible opportunity!

NY THURSDAYS TOMORROW We have another tasty NY Thursdays lunch tomorrow at HCS! Philly cheese-steaks are on the menu, with roasted garlic potatoes, coleslaw, apple slices and milk. See the poster below for vendor information!

STUDENT OF THE WEEK, GOLD SLIP WINNER We would like to congratulate this week’s student of the week at Hancock Elementary, Emma Frost! Emma was chosen by Ms. Milk because she is a great learner, great student, kind and always thinking of others. She enjoys making gifts for her teachers/classmates and has been creating her own books to read to other classes! Wonderful job, Emma!! We would also like to congratulate this week’s gold slip winner, Maja Noble! Maja is pictured with Mrs. Vasconi-Smith and her prize! Nice work by everyone!!

UPCOMING DATES Please see the flyer below for important, upcoming dates for the month of April at HCS!

SPIRIT WEEK Students, show us your school spirit next week as we will be having our spring spirit week April 7th through April 11th! See the flyer below for more information!

Thank You for Joining Us at Today’s Morning Program! Hancock Elementary would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who joined us for today’s Morning Program! It’s always great to start the day together, celebrating our students and reinforcing the values that make our school community strong. During today’s program, Mrs. Feeney recognized several students with Triple-B Awards, rewarding them with Wildcat Bucks for demonstrating what it means to Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. Congratulations to Everly Dufton, Night Mason, Zander Wahl, Natalia Tarbox, Landon Emerich and Cade Thomason for being selected as Triple-B award winners! Mrs. Feeney also led an engaging discussion on integrity, helping students understand the importance of doing the right thing—even when no one is watching. She shared different scenarios, and students participated by giving a thumbs-up for examples of integrity and a thumbs-down for those that were not. It was a fun and interactive way to reinforce this essential character trait! Thank you again to everyone who joined us for another great Morning Program. We look forward to seeing you next time!

SHAFFER EARNS ALL-AMERICAN STATUS AT NATIONALS Congratulations to HCS sophomore Landyn Shaffer! This past weekend, he competed at the NHSCA (National High School Coaches Association) Wrestling High School Nationals in Virginia Beach, where he battled his way to a 4th place finish at 132 lbs, earning All-American status! Way to represent, Landyn! Your hard work and dedication continue to make us proud!

DELAWARE OPPORTUNITIES 2025 FOOD DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION See the flyer below for food distribution dates through Delaware Opportunities. All food distributions will be from 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. on the dates listed.

APRIL MENUS Our April breakfast and lunch menus are available for you to view at the images below, as well as at our 'School Menu' page on the HCS Website! https://www.hancock.stier.org/documents/support/nutrition-services/current-menu/569166

MIDDLE-HIGH SCHOOL ARTISTS IN ACTION! March is Arts in Our Schools Month, and our talented students at HCS have been hard at work creating stunning artwork across a variety of mediums! Studio Art students have been refining their techniques through value studies, pencil still-life drawings, and personal expression paintings, pushing their creativity to new heights. 11th & 12th-grade painting students have been mastering watercolors and gouache paints, learning how to blend and layer for beautiful effects. Ceramics students have been crafting bowls, vessels and rattles, honing their pottery skills with intricate details. 8th-grade artists explored face jugs, learned about Mondrian and warm vs. cool colors, and experimented with various materials to understand the elements of art. They also repurposed playing cards, designing their own king, queen, or jack using balance and unity. 5th-grade students, inspired by Tim Burton, created self-portraits using charcoal and the two-crayon technique, exploring the element of value in their work. Our students are embracing creativity and technique in amazing ways!

SUBSTITUTE FOOD SERVICE WORKERS NEEDED We are looking for dependable individuals to join our team as Food Service Substitutes. This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys working with children and is looking for flexible, on-call work during school hours. If you’re interested in applying, please contact Nicole D'Elia at: nicole.delia@dcmoboces.com for more information.

HCS PRESENTS: WILDCAT KATIE BROWN – APRIL 4TH, 2025 Annie Oakley, move over! Wildcat Katie Brown is here, nicknamed for her temper as well as her oil ventures. When Wildcat’s luckless Pa loses all their property to shyster lawyer Thomas T. Tremaine in a crooked card game, Katie must fight for their land. But to make matters worse, her boyfriend, Big Bob Kelly, stalwart hero and solid oil driller, is being vamped by Tremaine’s sleazy partner in crime, Sashay del Rio, hostess of the local saloon. Goldslinger Gulch is home sweet home to a population of corny cowboys, silly saloon girls, a grizzled female prospector, and a pair of loony gossips. We hope you’re able to join us on Friday, April 4th, at 7:00 p.m. in the MS-HS auditorium for this all-school play performance! Admission is free, but donations are always welcome and appreciated!