April 30, 2012

Microsoft Deal Adds to Battle Over E-Books

Employees at a Barnes & Noble in Emeryville, Calif.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg NewsEmployees at a Barnes & Noble in Emeryville, Calif.
 
Microsoft agreed to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Barnes & Noble’s Nook division on Monday, giving the bookstore chain stronger footing in the hotly contested electronic book market and creating an alliance that could intensify the fight over the future of digital reading.
The deal, which gives Microsoft a 17.6 percent stake, values the Nook unit at $1.7 billion — roughly double Barnes & Noble’s entire market value as of last Friday — and bolsters the bookseller’s efforts to make its digital business the linchpin of its future growth.

Schodack Central School News

Schodack School News

Merger Feasibility Study

Draft Merger Feasibility Study to Be Presented to Committee – Wednesday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m.

Consultants will provide a presentation on the draft merger feasibility study to the Community Advisory Committee on Wednesday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m. in Maple Hill High School library. Interested community members are also invited to attend. Please note, the State Education Department insists that hard copies of the draft study cannot be provided to the public until it approves the study. However, copies of the final report will be available to the public when the district holds community forums scheduled for May 21 at 7:00 p.m. in Maple Hill High School auditorium and May 22 at 7:00 p.m. at Ichabod Crane High School auditorium. The final report will also be posted to the districts' websites. Once the community forums are held, the districts' Boards of Education will hold meetings to decide whether to move forward with community votes on a possible merger.

Tomorrow Career Expo at Birch Hill

Career Expo 2012 – Tuesday, May 1 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

In an effort to help students in grades 7-12 explore careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), Schodack CSD will co-host a Career Expo on Tuesday, May 1 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Birch Hill in Schodack. This free, interactive event will feature representatives from dozens of careers in STEM that students and parents can speak with to learn about their fields. There also will be panel discussions on careers in health care and emerging technologies. This event is paid for by a grant and is at no cost to school districts.

Share your favorite Spring Photos


 

April 28, 2012

Is Nothing Sacred?

The proposed demolition of historic St. Patrick’s Church in Watervliet raises quality of life issues for its neighboring community—and for the region
by Ann Morrow on April 26, 2012 · 

St. Patrick's Church, photo by Julia Zave
It was picture perfect: A young family enjoying the balmy spring weather with an evening stroll. Heading down the sidewalk of 19th Street in Watervliet, Eric Fagan, Jill Fagan, and their daughter Amber walked toward the tree-lined front lawn of St. Patrick’s, turning to look at the stately, soaring church. When asked if they knew about the vacated church’s possible fate, Jill answers firmly, “We don’t want it torn down. No one does.” 

April 27, 2012

Romney would not have killed bin Laden

 Romney would not have killed bin Laden, implies new Obama campaign ad

By Olivier Knox | The Ticket – 9 hrs ago

Ever since Vice President Joe Biden boiled down Obama's 2012 slogan to "bin Laden is dead, GM is alive," it has been clear that the embattled incumbent would not hesitate to use the May 2, 2011, Navy SEAL strike as a political weapon. See the video here

Romney has taken pains to praise Obama for the raid. On Friday, Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul bristled at the video.
"It's now sad to see the Obama campaign seek to use an event that unified our country to once again divide us, in order to try to distract voters' attention from the failures of his administration. 


What do you think of this campaign strategy?
Leave a comment.

April 26, 2012

VFW Ham Dinner

Don't forget!

Saturday

  • Castleton Fire House
    11 Green Avenue
    Castleton, NY

    Two Seatings --- 4:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.


    All proceeds go to the VFW- so come on out and
    support our Veterans!!!

    Please RSVP by calling 732-4694

    Please don't forget the VFW ham dinner this Saturday, 4/28/12 at the Castleton Fire House. Please help us raise $$$ for veterans. Seating is at 4 and 6:30. $10 family style. Call 732-4694 for reservations. Support the veterans.
             






SCCP Rx Take Back Day

Prescription Drug Take Back Day-Saturday, 4/28

As part of a national effort to address the problem of misused prescription drugs, the Schodack Castleton Community Partnership is sponsoring a prescription drug take back day on Saturday, April 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Schodack Police Department. Residents are invited to bring potentially dangerous expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs for safe disposal.  
Posted 4/25/12

Schodack Adopts a Budget

The Board of Education adopted a 2012-13 budget. The proposed 2012-13 budget increases spending $114,916 over the current year.
2012-13 Budget Newsletter
Read more...

2012 Artritis Walk


Craig Wilkinson

Join me in my efforts to support 
the Arthritis Foundation!
17 surgeries to date and my 18th scheduled for the early fall. Arthritis has made my life difficult, but it hasn't taken over my life.
I'm asking you to support my team "Wildcat Pride" as we raise money to help find a cure for arthritis.
You don't even have to walk, just join my team and get involved.

Arthritis is the #1 cause of disability and it hurts to be #1

 Read more...

April 24, 2012

Congratulations Alec Hicks

Alec Hicks Selected for Capital District Youth Chorale

MHHS junior Alec Hicks was selected for the Capital District Youth Chorale this year after auditioning. Alec is an active member of the music department, participating in Band, Jazz Band, Chorus and Swing Choir. As a member of the Chorale, Alec performed on April 21 at the Palace Theatre in Albany, on May 1 at the Massry Center Auditorium in Albany, and on May 20 at Union College Memorial Chapel in Schenectady. Congratulations!  
Posted 4/09/12.

Alumni Webpage

Schodack Alumni

“Last year, we talked about looking at alternative ways of providing opportunities for students. We can’t keep doing things the same way,” said Superintendent Robert Horan.

Ex-BP engineer arrested in Gulf oil spill case

Posted: Apr 24, 2012 1:15 PM EDT Updated: Apr 24, 2012 6:15 PM EDT

By CAIN BURDEAU and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press

 
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Federal prosecutors brought the first criminal charges Tuesday in the Gulf oil spill, accusing a former BP engineer of deleting more than 300 text messages that indicated the blown-out well was spewing far more crude than the company was telling the public at the time.

April 23, 2012

Standardized Testing....Pineapples don't have sleeves

When Pineapple Races Hare, Students Lose, Critics of Standardized Tests Say

Metro Twitter Logo. A reading passage included this week in one of New York’s standardized English tests has become the talk of the eighth grade, with students walking around saying, “Pineapples don’t have sleeves,” as if it were the code for admission to a secret society.
The passage is a parody of the tortoise and the hare story, the Aesop’s fable that almost every child learns in elementary school. Only instead of a tortoise, the hare races a talking pineapple, and the moral of the story — more on that later — is the part about the sleeves.
In the world of testing, she said, it does not really matter whether an answer is right or wrong; the “right” answer is the one that field testing has shown to be the consensus answer of the “smart” kids. “It’s a psychometric concept,” she said. 
In the original version a rabbit races an eggplant, and children speculated Friday that the eggplant had been changed to a pineapple because some kids might not know what an eggplant was. Why the rabbit was changed to a hare was harder to explain. There is no mention of sleeves.


Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times

A story by the children’s book author Daniel Pinkwater, above, was adapted for an English test in a way that baffled students 

and caused officials to say that the questions wouldn’t be counted.

Have you Checked the Gold Box today?



Gold Box Deals of The Day

Update from CBS 6

Woman dead, driver charged with DWI after NY crash

SCHODACK, N.Y. (AP) -- State police say a pickup truck driven by a woman who was later charged with drunken driving smashed into a tree, killing a passenger.

Read more...

Update on Fatal Crash

Rensselaer County DA's office says Lisa Hartigan, driver in today's fatal Schodack DWI crash, to face a charge of vehicular manslaughter. Hartigan, 48, is already facing a DWI charge in connection with the crash which killed her passenger, 47-year old Darlene Walter

Serious Accident in Castleton

Posted at: 04/23/2012 7:05 AM
By: WNYT Staff 

A serious accident in Castleton this morning leaves one person seriously injured. A caller reported the incident when they came upon a car into a tree. The accident occurred around 5 AM at 2388 River Road.
Two people were in the vehicle, one with serious injuries.

April 22, 2012

Schodack Girl Scouts Earth Day 2012

EARTH DAY, Sunday, April 22, Main Street will be filled with Girl Scouts in "safety" green shirts as they pick up trash and maintain the planters.

 "Working by the road is hazardous, but with the donation of green safety shirts by Professional Services Industry, the girls will be easy to see as they give Castleton an Earth Day spruce up," said Kathy Misiaszek.

April 20, 2012

Earth Day Tip

Dangers of Curly Fluorescent Light Bulbs 

Fluorescent light bulbs, with their distinctive curly shape, save energy and reduce pollution.