Wednesday, October 2, 2019—St. John's University admissions counselor, Tyree Vann, shared with the senior Atoms how St. John's University's legacy could be their own legacy. Offering over 100 undergraduate programs ranging from fashion studies to finance, students (or Johnnies) who contributed over 137,000 community service hours in one year, and three New York City campuses, Atoms learned how the Johnnies are leaders, innovators, explorers and top-level interns. Thank you, Tyree for sharing a day-in-the-life and providing great insight into the university.

Friday, September 27, 2019—Our story starts here with a special guest named Casey Rose Frank, an esteemed author and writer, who shares with the 7A middle school Atoms the wonderful world of fiction. Casey discusses with the students the many types of fiction that exist today. From novellas to short stories to flash fiction, and everything in between. In addition, she provided insight into the field of writing and reading by sharing some of her professional and personal experiences. Atoms enjoyed having Casey in class and learned new information about this creative industry. Thank you, Casey for inspiring our Atoms and for sharing your expertise with our students.

Friday, September 27, 2019—When you have one of the top apple orchards in the country in your backyard it is only natural to explore, pick apples, and have a very sweet time. Kindergarten Atoms are getting ready for their upcoming project of the Apple Life Cycle activity. To get a first-hand look at all things apples, they ventured out on a field trip to Beak and Skiff Apple Orchard. Atoms picked (and yes, sampled) apples, discussed the stages of an apple tree and bonded with fellow classmates on the 'Cool Play Zone.' Thank you, Beak and Skiff for such a memorable field trip.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019—Introducing our Atoms to the community leaders and teaching them the values of respecting and caring about their communities is just one of the many ways we continue to build success one Atoms at a time. We were honored to have Syracuse Mayor, Ben Walsh, come in as a guest speaker and share with our 6^th and 7^th grade students the importance of local government and the community. Mayor Walsh invited students to ask him question and voice their concerns following his presentation. Thank you, Mayor Walsh, for taking time out of your schedule to speak with our students!

Thursday, September 26, 2019—Elementary school Atoms or should we say treasure seekers, teamed up with their families at the Back to School Welcome scavenger hunt. Families work together to solve puzzles in efforts to find the treasure, which was a fabulous dress down pass! Following the scavenger hunt, students and their loved ones browsed the book fair.

Friday, September 20, 2019—A special visit from Dean of School, Mrs. Miller, story time, and a book fair that is right around the corner. Does it truly get any better than that? Mrs. Cusano's first grade class was thrilled when they found out that it was not only story time, but Mrs. Miller was going to be leading it. She read to the Atoms, How Rocket Learned to Read, a story written by Tad Hills, which highlights the importance of reading and its many benefits.

Friday, September 20, 2019—What type of change do you get when you combine water with a coffee filter? You probably don't notice too much of a change. But, let's say your coffee filter now has some colorful design created by a second grade Atom? Well, let's find out what happened, as Ms. Peryea's class did just that. After carefully putting their artistic skills to work, Atoms dove right into the scientific method to determine how a colorful coffee filter will stand up to the addition of water. The conclusion that our astute scientists drew was colors will begin to "climb" when water is added to the coffee filter. What a great experiment to receive a hands-on learning experience about chromatography.

Thursday, September 26, 2019—Owl in a days work, 7th grade PBL Atoms gear up for a project that is egg-sighting. Students will be tasked with researching and designing their own bird nesting box. To prepare for the project, we invited ornithology expert, Peter from Lime Hollow Nature Center who shared with the students information on native birds of New York who use bird boxes, various elements needed to make their own nesting box, as well as, bird predators and how to design the optimal box to ensure the safety of the birds. Thank you, Peter, for sharing your expertise with the Atoms.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019—Many of our elementary school Atoms enjoy visiting the Betts Branch Library for a field trip. However, today was much different. Instead, they received a special visit from one of their favorite librarians, Ms. Quinn, who joined them for story time. Ms. Quinn, shared with the kindergarten class her favorite book and she also made it come to life through the incorporation of various story book character stuffed animals. Thank you, Ms. Quinn, and we look forward to having you join us each month!

Wednesday, September 25, 2019—Each month we celebrate our Atom's character traits, accomplishments and achievements during our Student of the Month ceremony. The character trait for the month of September is responsibility. The students selected for the Student of the Month demonstrated responsibility throughout their daily school activities. Keep up the great work, Atoms!