THE NEWSLETTER FOR NORTHVILLE CENTRAL SCHOOL

Northville Together V O L U M E

I ,

I S S U E

6

M A Y

8 ,

2 0 1 5

Author Steve Sheinkin Visits, Delivers Unique Perspective on History

Award-winning author Steve Sheinkin answering one of the many questions posed by the audience of middle and high school social studies students.

Middle and high school social studies students were treated to a visit from awardwinning historical author Steve Sheinkin on May 7th. Sheinkin, recent winner of the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction for Young Adults for his book Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon, informed and entertained with humorous anecdotes and compelling stories from history. Sheinkin detailed his career path, from amateur cartoonist to independent filmmaker to textbook writer, noting how each stop on the way, despite the occasional failure, gave him valuable experience and helped him realize his lifelong ambition of becoming an author. He also made the kids laugh

with a self-deprecating slideshow of his own history, complete with photos of his childhood wardrobe and pictures from the “Benedict Arnold Road Trip” he and his wife took during their first year of marriage. A self-described history geek, Sheinken told the students his textbook-writing job was an important “blessing in disguise,” as it was somewhat tedious but forced him to practice writing every single day. His work also led him to amass a collection of fascinating yet untold stories from history, including tales of women dressing as men to enlist in the army during the Civil War; the oft-forgotten heroic first half of Benedict Arnold’s career as a soldier during the American Revolution; the group of turn-of-the-century criminals who attempted to steal Abraham Lincoln’s entombed corpse; a group of Norwegian spies trained to parachute into Europe and cross-country ski to remote bomb-building factories in order to destroy them; and so on. Sheinkin’s literary career was the direct result of his desire to tell the stories his editors didn’t have space to include in the textbooks. Sheinkin ended his talk with advice and encouragement for history buffs and aspiring writers alike, then answered several student questions. The Northville Media Center, the district and the students are grateful to Mr. Sheinkin for sharing his knowledge and experiences and to the Northville Public Library and the Friends of the Northville Public Library for making this event happen.

Northville Public Library Director Michael Burnett introducing Steve Sheinkin to the assembled students. Sheinkin’s visit to the school was sponsored by the Northville Public Library, and generously funded by the Friends of the Northville Public Library.

Please visit our website, sites.google.com/a/northvillecsd.org/ncsd/home for event details and for a digital version of this newsletter.

Upcoming Events

Work Complete on Newly-Updated Softball Field The Girls’ Modified Softball team opened play at home this season on a real softball field, thanks to efforts from the dedicated building and grounds crew and an assist from the Northville village crew. The field now features an all-clay infield and protective fly-ball netting along the first– and third– base lines. The softball teams previously played on an all-grass, non -regulation field with dirt surrounding the bases. Due to the long snow season, school maintenance employees were unable to even begin work on the field until after April break. A broken tractor further delayed the project. A piece of equipment borrowed from the village crew allowed school workers to properly skim the field in preparation for the tons of clay that brought our ‘field of dreams’ to fruition. The girls responded, claiming a victory against Mayfield in their first home game.

Below: A look down the first-base path; the Girls’ Modified Softball team recording an out during their first home game on the new field.

After missing out on a spring musical during the 2013-14 school year due to a lack of interest, the runaway success of this year’s production of Little Shop of Horrors was a very welcome sight - and sound to behold. Videos of each performance are available on the website’s April Photos of the Day page. Above left: The chorus of “urchins” performing the opening number, “Skid Row (Downtown)”. Below left: The four leads during the post-play “I Will Survive” dance number.

May 8: V. Track at J’town, Mod. Track at Fonda, Softball vs. Saratoga Catholic May 8-9: NYSSMA Solo Festival May 9: “Enchanted Evening” Prom - Promenade @ 6:00 May 11: Softball at Duanesburg, Mod. Track at Galway May 12: Varsity Track vs. Canjo harie at Mayfield May 12: BOE Meeting and Budg et Hearing, 6:00, audito rium May 12-13: Kindergarten screenings May 13: Softball vs. Sharon Springs May 13: PTO Family Dinner/ Reading Night, 5:00 May 14: STEAM Fair and awards ceremony, 12:30-2:30 May 15: V. Track at Fonda May 16: V. Track - Eddy Meet May 18: National Honor Society Induction, 6:30 May 19: Half-day for all students, 11:30 dismissal May 19: Budget vote, noon-8:00 p.m., school gymnasium May 19: V. Track at Ft. Plain, 2:00 May 19: NCS Art Show, 6-8 p.m., gymnasium hallways May 20: Softball vs. Schoharie May 20: Science 4 Performance Test (make-ups 5-21) May 20-21: Pre-Kindergarten screenings May 22: No school, unused snow day applied May 25: No school - Memorial Day May 26: No school, final unused snow day applied May 27: Science 8 Performance Test (make-ups 5-28) May 27: MS/HS Academic Awards, 7:00 p.m. May 28: National Honor Society Red Cross Blood Drive, 9-2 in the gymnasium May 28: 6th Annual Science Re search Symposium May 29: V. Track Sectionals at Stillwater June 1: Science 4 and Science 8 Written Tests The public is welcome to events!

Our District Mission “Our mission is to cultivate a highly qualified staff that provides rigorous, differentiated instruction to challenge and ignite the potential of each student’s educational path. The school and community at large, in a safe and secure environment, will share the responsibility of developing life-long learners, equipped for success in a global society.”