WVCSD EdTalk & Photo of the Week: October 29, 2025

Students in the Warwick Valley Central School District continue to amaze us — in the classroom, on the stage, on the field, and in our community.

Now that we’re nearly two months into the 2025–26 school year, we’ve already featured several outstanding Wildcats in our weekly Superintendent’s Spotlight and Superintendent’s Artist of the Week series. These stories celebrate students who strive for excellence in academics, the arts, athletics, and civic life — young people who set goals, take on challenges, and make a positive difference for others.

From scholars and student leaders to musicians, athletes, and volunteers, our students remind us every day what it means to learn with purpose and lead with heart. You can read their full stories on our website, warwickvalleyschools.com, and follow along as we continue to share more throughout the year.

Here are just a few of the inspiring Wildcats we’ve featured so far — along with some highlights from our schools this week.

Leadership means empathy and connection for Warwick Valley High School senior Reagan Smith. As vice president of the Class of 2026, tutoring coordinator for Mu Alpha Theta, and one of three student liaisons to the Warwick Valley Board of Education, Reagan makes sure student voices are heard. She’s also a track captain, a volleyball player, and a member of several clubs — including SADD and Creative Calm. Reagan’s dedication to service and personal growth makes her a true role model.

Seventh grader Gia Spadaccini is a rising star in the performing arts. A singer, songwriter, actor, and budding playwright, Gia has performed as a soloist in All-County choirs and with the Warwick Valley Middle School Ukulele Club. She’s active in the Drama Club and local theater troupes, and her confidence and creativity light up every stage she steps on.

Sixth grader Patrick MacFarlane is making his mark as a writer. His short story Escape!!! earned runner-up honors in the national Katherine Applegate Color Your World Writing Contest — judged by librarians and the award-winning author herself. Patrick also contributes regularly to the WVMS Literary Magazine. His love for storytelling promises a bright future in the literary world.

Warwick Valley Middle School fifth grader Victoria Kuklov is a powerhouse of talent and determination. She’s earned perfect NYSSMA piano scores two years in a row, plays saxophone in the school band, and sings in chorus. And that’s just the beginning — she also trained this summer at an Olympic-level figure skating academy, and took first place at the Garden State Games, qualifying for the 2026 State Games of America. Victoria’s passion for growth knows no bounds.

Senior Sovanny Kuklis continues to seize every opportunity to give back. She’s been selected to receive the 2025 Youth Achievement Award from the Pine Island Chamber of Commerce, and has served as a Wildcat Ambassador for three years — helping new students feel at home. Sovanny hopes to build on these experiences as she works toward becoming a pediatric occupational therapist.

I encourage everyone to visit our website, warwickvalleyschools.com, to read these stories — and the many others we’ve shared online and on social media. Keep an eye out for more throughout the year, because there’s never any shortage of amazing news to share about our students and their accomplishments.

Park Avenue Elementary School
Student Council members recently met with Village of Warwick Mayor Michael Newhard, who visited their before-school meeting to discuss the village’s efforts to secure a grant that would enhance local life. Mayor Newhard invited students to share their own ideas for inclusion in the application process, using prompts such as:

What’s the most interesting thing about downtown Warwick?

What’s your favorite street — and why?

If you had a million dollars, what would you do to make Warwick even better?

Student Council Vice President Charles Valentino shared, “I really love how friendly everyone is here. There are so many fun places to go. It’s great that people can enjoy being outside, spending time with family, and supporting local businesses. I know some people don’t like the noise, but I think it’s important to support small businesses because they make our town special.”

A big thank-you to our Student Council members for their civic-minded spirit — one of the hallmarks of our Portrait of a Graduate — and to Mayor Newhard for including our students in this authentic learning experience.

Sanfordville Elementary School
Students continue to strengthen their reading and writing skills as we move through the second half of the first trimester.

PIE Kindergartners are learning alphabet letter names and sounds, currently focusing on the letter Oo and its short vowel sound. Students practice reading and writing words with Oo by blending and segmenting sounds on their individual whiteboards — an engaging and effective way for teachers to assess their progress.

Third graders are mastering words that contain double consonants in the middle, a key phonics skill for accurate decoding and spelling. To make practice fun, students play games like Double Consonant BINGO, which reinforces fluency while keeping motivation high.

Fourth graders are immersed in their personal narrative unit, setting goals for improvement using the classroom’s “Bump It Up” wall — a display of exemplary writing. By comparing their own drafts to model pieces, students identify areas for growth and draw inspiration from the books they’re reading to enhance their final narratives.

Families are invited to Parent-Teacher Conferences on the evening of November 12 and the afternoon and evening of November 19. Conference sign-ups were sent via email; please contact the main office with any scheduling questions.

Warwick Valley Middle School
In the spirit of Halloween, WVMS students have infused the halls with creativity and color. The Unified Arts hallway now glows with student-made Neon Skeletons — imaginative, modern takes on traditional skeleton art. Each piece, bursting with bright hues and bold contrasts, reflects humor, individuality, and a vibrant artistic spirit.

Meanwhile, fifth- and sixth-grade MAC students are conjuring chills with their Flash Fiction Horror Stories — brief but suspenseful tales paired with haunting illustrations. Displayed on dark paper with vivid accents, stories like The Whisper, Gone, and Not Paint! showcase students’ command of tone, mood, and descriptive language.

Together, these art and writing projects celebrate the creativity and Wildcat pride that define WVMS. This October, the hallways aren’t just decorated for Halloween — they’re alive with imagination, energy, and storytelling brilliance.

Warwick Valley High School
The high school, along with every school in the district, came together once again for Pink Out Day, a beloved annual tradition that fills the halls with pink to raise awareness and show support for those affected by breast cancer.

Students, faculty, and staff donned pink shirts, ribbons, and accessories to honor survivors, remember loved ones, and promote early detection and education. Pink Out Day serves as a reminder that even small acts — wearing pink, spreading awareness, offering kindness — can make a meaningful difference. It remains a powerful expression of Warwick Valley’s compassion and community spirit.

In addition, high school teachers recently engaged in professional learning focused on clarity in instruction, a cornerstone of the district’s Visible Learning initiative. Working in departmental cohorts, educators explored strategies to help students understand what they are learning, why it matters, and how to recognize success. They also examined learning progressions, intentional sequences of skills that move students from foundational understanding to mastery.

This work reflects Warwick Valley’s ongoing commitment to instructional excellence, collaboration, and empowering every Wildcat to reach their fullest potential.

As always, I’m so proud of our students, staff, and families for the energy and heart they bring to everything they do. Every classroom visit, performance, and conversation reminds me that Warwick Valley’s strength lies in our shared commitment to learning, kindness, and continuous growth.

Thank you for supporting our schools and for celebrating the many ways our Wildcats make us proud every week, all year long.

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Photo of the Week

Warwick Valley High School students in a Principles of Biomedical Science class practice measuring liquids with micropipettes on Oct. 20, 2025. The students worked on measuring small volumes of liquid by placing different amounts of colored dyes in small circles on a piece of paper. The goal of the lab was for students to use micropipettes with different tips to accurately measure and dispense liquids to form a rainbow.