HFCS: First Day Of School
Hoosick School Dist.
HFCS: First Day Of School
HFCS Golfers Defeat Cambridge
Hoosick Falls Golf team defeated Cambridge 4-1 at the Hoosick Falls Country Club on Thursday, August 28. Taylor Bellemare and Corey Callahan were co-medalists with 37.
Patrick Fisher (C) def Taylor Bellemare 1 up
Joe Wirmusky (HF) def Jordan Hastings 3 & 2
Corey Callahan (HF) def Logan Niles 4 & 3
Kevin Gorman (HF) def Chris Crucetti 2 up
Zack Hall (HF) def Phil James 3 up
James Lynch (HF) def Nick Jepson 4 & 3
Hoosick Falls is now 3-0, and Cambridge is 0-2.
The golfers will compete in the following matches this week:
Thu., Sept. 4, HOME vs. Tamarac
Mon., Sept. 8, HOME vs. Greenwich
Wed., Sept. 10, vs. Stillwater at Saratoga Lake (Saratoga)
Thu., Sept, 11, HOME vs. Hoosic Valley
The Legacy Lives On! – Tribute To Football Coach Legend Baker To Be Shared By Rival Schools
by Irene Baldwin
Longtime sports rivals and neighboring schools, Cambridge Central and Hoosick Falls Central, will begin a new football tradition on September 5 at 7 pm, a Friday evening under the lights on the football field on the campus of HFCS. The Indians and Panthers varsity football teams will face off and, as usual, play hard, the victors taking home a tangible reward for winning, The Ken Baker Jug. The Jug will remain on display throughout the coming school year inside the victorious school’s trophy case. Next year the KBJ may or may not make a trip up or down Route 22. Wherever the Ken Baker Jug holds court, the honor it represents will be a coveted one.
Although Coach Baker will not be physically present for the auspicious football match-up, his indomitable spirit, which has imbued the CCS and HFCS football programs since 1972, will surely be felt on this night by all who knew and loved him. Former students and players of Coach Baker are invited to assemble on the football field during the game’s half time to offer a solemn moment of silence in his memory. Ken Baker, a member of the State High School Football Hall of Fame, is known and respected as one of the best coaches Section II has ever produced.
Since the unexpected, untimely and sad passing of Coach Ken Baker in the spring of 2008, HFCS Superintendent Ken Facin and CCS Superintendent Dan Severson have collaborated to create a special and meaningful way to offer tribute to the man who was integral in creating success within both schools’ football programs.
Coach Baker was the varsity football coach at Hoosick Falls from 1972 to 1986 and then at Cambridge from 1986 to 1995. Baker’s philosophy, which both schools continue to follow in their programs, is a simple but powerful one – respect your opponent; be physical; hustle.
The Jug, produced in the area over 110 years ago, has been donated by Jack’s Outback Antiques of Main Street, Cambridge. The large ceramic vessel features paintings of the two school mascots, a fearsome black panther on one side and a majestic Indian on the other, symbolizing two diverse but connected teams. Around the top of the vessel are emblazoned the words, Ken Baker Jug.
Each football player will be given a commemorative Route 22 Rivalry T-shirt featuring both the blue and white Panthers and the orange and black Indians. How fitting that Ken Baker’s love of healthy competition and positive play will be exemplified in the yearly awarding of The Ken Baker Jug.
HFCS PTA Kicks Off The New School Year
The Hoosick Falls Central School Parent Teacher Association (PTA), a group of involved, caring and committed moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, teachers, administrators and alumni, is underway with the new school year. The PTA has been active all summer preparing for the year, and they’re helping to ease students and teachers back to school at the open houses and other activities.
The PTA will continue to make a difference in 2008-2009 by giving $100 to each grade level for extra supplies, by hosting several family-oriented events such as Fall Festival, Family Fun Bingo, appreciation days, the monthly food coop and a holiday giftshop, by volunteering time and offering funding for countless programs and events.
The PTA holds business meetings seven times a year. Meetings this year will be held in the HFCS Elementary School Library from 6:30 to 8 pm on September 10, October 15, November 19, January 21, March 18 and May 20, with a year end meeting/celebration on June 10. The Executive Officers are excited about what PTA members can do for the school and the children in our school district, and want to remind people that although attending meetings is beneficial, having involvement away from the meetings is most important. Members who aren’t able to join the meetings help in other ways, too. They volunteer their time at events, donate gifts and supplies and are financially supportive with their $5 membership dues.
The team of officers leading with lots of enthusiasm this year is President Sherri Stevenson, Vice President Sharon Sigot, Treasurer Amy Jeskie, Secretary Rhonda Rosenberg and Teacher Representatives Gina Harrison (Junior/Senior High School) and Sarah Fleming (Elementary School).
If you’d like to become a member or to learn more about PTA and its programs, please attend the first meeting on September 10 or contact Membership Chair Heather St. Hilaire at 518-686-7649.
Twenty-Two New Teachers At HFCS
by Bea Peterson
Friday and Tuesday HFCS was abuzz with excitement. Twenty-two teachers were learning what their responsibilities will be and what will be expected of them as they teach at Hoosick Falls for the first
time. Mentors, long time teachers at the school, were on hand to be helpful. The high school and the elementary school have new principals. Students and teachers alike will be learning a lot this year.
HFCS Pre-Licensing Course
Hoosick Falls Central School is again offering the NYS 5-hour pre-licensing course at its High School on River Road on the first Thursday of each month. Registration is held from 4:30 to 5 pm each first Thursday in the HS office. The first class is on Thursday, September 4. A $35 fee and a valid learner’s permit are required. For more information, call Terri Burdick at 686-7851 or email tburdick022000@yahoo.
The New Season Will Be A Challenge For HF Girls Soccer
by Bea Peterson
HFCS Girls Soccer Coach Tom Husser said, “We lost nine of 16 players from last year. Many of them were really good. Six are playing soccer in college.” Husser said, “I don’t like to use the word rebuilding, but we have holes to fill. Some of the players we lost had been around a long time. That’s why we took so many tournaments.” Last season, when it came time for the sectionals Husser brought several girls up from the JV squad to “get a taste” of playing Varsity. “Most Hoosick Falls girls play soccer year around and that helps,” he said. He has already selected the 15 girls for the Varsity squad. They had a scrimmage in Glens Falls on Wednesday and on Friday five teams will scrimmage with Hoosick Falls at the Hoosick Soccer Field starting at 10 am. “The scrimmages will give us an idea of how well we will do,” said Husser. The team’s first game is a home game under the lights on Tuesday, September 9, at 7 pm against Granville. “We’ve won 24 in a row,” Husser said. “We’d like to keep the streak going.”
“They’re a young team, a good mix. They get along well. The seniors are showing good leadership,” he said. “I’m always lucky. I always seem to get a good group of kids.”
European Trip
In July Coach Husser took 32 girl soccer players and 16 adults from Hoosick, Cambridge, Bennington and Manchester, VT, to Europe to sightsee and participate in a soccer tournament. “The trip was awesome!” Husser said. They flew into Rome, visited the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. In Pisa they saw the leaning tower and went to a soccer club where the girls spent two hours working with Italian trainers. Then it was on to Florence to visit the beautiful Duomo (cathedral), shop at the Old Bridge and taste some gelato (Italian ice cream). They enjoyed a hilltop view of the city and then moved on to Venice for gondola rides and sightseeing.
Soccer Tournament
In the Alps, at the Italian, Austrian and Swiss border, 45 teams from 18 countries participated in a soccer tournament. Both of Husser’s teams won their brackets. The playing altitude was 4,000 feet. Their hotel, however, was at 7,000 feet.
Next the group went to the glacier in Switzerland and took a three hour white water raft ride with some class four rapids. In Munich, Germany, the group had a bike tour of the old city and then went swimming. The tour ended at a soccer club where they enjoyed a cookout and where the girls played two German teams. It was certainly a trip to remember!
2008 Hoosick Falls Varsity Golf Schedule
All Regular Season matches will start at 4 pm unless noted.
All home matches are at the Hoosick Falls Country Club.
Tue. Aug 26, vs. Hoosic Valley at Battenkill (Greenwich) W 5-0
Wed. Aug 27, vs. Schuylerville at Windy Hills (Greenwich) W 4-1
Thu. Aug 28, HOME vs. Cambridge at 11 am
Wed. Sep 3, vs. Granville at Lake St. Catherine (Poultney, VT)
Thu. Sep 4, HOME vs. Tamarac
Mon. Sep 8, HOME vs. Greenwich
Wed. Sep 10, vs. Stillwater at Saratoga Lake (Saratoga)
Thu. Sep 11, HOME vs. Hoosic Valley
Mon. Sep 15, HOME vs. Schuylerville
Wed. Sep 1, vs. Cambridge at Windy Hills (Greenwich)
Thu. Sep 18, HOME vs. Granville
Mon. Sep 22, vs. Tamarac at Frear Park (Troy)
Wed. Sep 24, vs. Greenwich at Battenkill (Greenwich)
Thu. Sep 25, HOME vs. Stillwater
Mon. Sep. 29, Wasaren Tournament at Kingswood (Hudson Falls)
Wed Oct 1, AWAY, Section 2 Class C/D – TBA
Mon Oct 6, AWAY, Section 2 A/B/C/D State Qualifier, 1st Round TBA
Thu Oct 9, AWAY, Section 2 A/B/C/D State Qualifier, Final Round TBA
Head Coach: Kyle DeGraaf Asst. Coach: Chris Marsh
HFCS Golfers Win Opening Matches
Coach Kyle DeGraaf reports, “The team has everyone returning from the 2007 team that finished second in the Wasaren League with an 11-3 record. Taylor Bellemare (junior), Corey Callahan (senior), Kevin Gorman (senior) and Joe Wirmusky (senior transfer from Cambridge) were all Wasaren League All Stars and Sectional Qualifiers. Zack Hall (senior), James Lynch (sophomore), Justin Carter (senior) and Nick Hunt (senior) are returning letter winners and have looked very good in pre-season.”
“Also looking to break into the starting line-up will be senior newcomer Ethan Myers, juniors Joe Nusca and Nate Cain and freshmen Jordan Colvin, Todd Rogers, Mitchell Andrew and Michael Merwin.”
“We should be very competitive in the Wasaren League this year,” DeGraaf said. “I think that defending Wasaren League Champions Stillwater is the team to beat. Greenwich and Schuylerville will be very tough and Mike Barrato always puts together very good teams in Cambridge.
HFCS Defeats Hoosic Valley In Opener
The Hoosick Falls golf team defeated Hoosic Valley on Tuesday at the Battenkill Country Club, 5-0. Kevin Gorman was medalist with 38.
Bellemare HF def White 1 up
Wirmusky HF def Catone 2&1
Callahan HF def Huston 4&2
Gorman HF def Cook 5&4
Hall HF def McLaughlin 5&4
Lynch HF def Anderson 5&4
HFCS Defeats Schuylerville
The Hoosick Falls golf team defeated Schuylerville at Windy Hills Golf Club, 4-1, on Wednesday, Chris Braim of Schuylerville was medalist with 35.
Braim Sch def Bellemare 3&2
Wirmusky HF def Vargus 2 up
Callahan HF def Seymour 3&2
Gorman HF def Delaney 2&1
Hall HF def Stark 5&4
Kelly Sch def Lynch 2&1