Watkins recognizes student debate team

Watkins recognizes student debate team

     WATKINS GLEN—The Watkins Glen school board recognized seven students who participated in the Ronald Reagan Great Communicator student debate at Boston College over the Columbus Day weekend.
    Most of the students, which included Natasha Patel, Elizabeth Reed, Joseph Roth, Lindsey Suddaby, Corey Flahive, Ryan Rondinaro and Justice Heiderich, were present during the Monday, Oct. 15, school board meeting.  The series, organized by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library, ran in coordination with the presidential debates.
    Teacher Travis Durfee explained the students faced “stiff competition from three states, including members of the Connecticut state champion debate team.”
    Junior Patel and sophomore Reed advanced to the quarter-final elimination round.  Patel, the lowest seeded debater made it into the elimination round, upseting the top-seeded competitor, a co-captain of the Joel Barlow Debate Team who is the reigning state champions in Connecticut. However, she was eliminated in the next round by the eventual champion of Saturday’s competition.
    Superintendent Tom Phillips said that while Watkins is “seen as ‘little league,’ every time we play in the ‘major league’ we do well.”
    In other business:
    • Elementary Principal Rod Weeden introduced the board to George Mendoza, a legally blind painter, who is the current artist in residence.  He has been holding special sessions with students this week, showing them how he paints.  Weeden also shared some assessment data from the tests students took at the start of the year.  Phillips said this is a positive aspect of the new state changes to curriculum: data that shows exactly where students need help.
    • Middle school Principal Kristine Somerville also spoke about the assessment testing.  She added that many of her teachers did not get done with testing until near the end of September.  High school Principal Dave Warren also said the amount of time spent testing made it a “very different start to the year.”
    • Michelle Clark, transportation supervisor, reported on the single bus run.  She said the goal was to get a between 50 and 55 kids on each bus, which is now the average.
    The next Watkins Glen school board meeting is Monday, Nov. 5.  It is expected to start at 6:30 p.m.