All 53 students in Seward’s senior class made their post-high school plans after participating in the annual Decision Day held May 1, 2025.

About 53% of the seniors will attend four-year colleges, while 23% will attend two-year colleges. 12% will join the workforce, while 6% each will enlist in the military and attend a trade/technical school.  

Amy Hernandez, who is interested in becoming a pharmacy technician, will join the Air Force because it gives her the opportunity to travel the world and then pursue nursing or medical school afterwards. She is grateful for the next chapter.

“It feels really good, I never expected to get to senior year,” Hernandez said. “During COVID, I became inspired to focus more on academics so I could achieve more.”

For Hernandez, it is the friendships and teachers that she will miss the most. She encourages next year’s seniors to take school seriously.

“Don’t fall behind, because it matters when you’re trying to apply to colleges,” Hernandez said. “Take the chance to do any opportunity that is given to you.”

Izzet Sarki plans to study construction management at SUNY Delhi after his math teacher Joseph O’Connor suggested it because Sarki expressed an interest in pursuing heavy machinery. Sarki hopes to build strong relationships while at school, both through extra curricular activities and professional networking.

“I want to mainly graduate but also find friendships and connections for my future job,” Sarki explained.

Sarki will miss the tight knit Florida community and encourages future seniors to keep this in mind if they want to play college sports.

“Remember, it may be the last time you do it, so do what you can with it,” Sarki said.

Kaylee Krawcyk is attending SUNY Delhi to pursue architecture and is excited to expand her horizon. She hopes to get into the college’s honor program and is excited to make new friends.

“I hear that college is where you meet your people and I’m looking forward to that,” Krawcyk said. “Hopefully, I graduate with honors and make it through school with good grades.”

The outgoing senior had this simple piece of advice for the class of 2026.

“Don’t let senioritis get to you,” Krawcyk said. “Keep your grades up, you’re almost there.”

After months of winter snow and continuous spring rain, senior Elizabeth Scheuermann was elated when the first day of sunshine arrived. While many jumped at the chance to spend leisure time outside, Scheuermann was finally able to finish her Individual Senior Project of replanting the FUFSD memorial garden. 

Every year at S.S. Seward seniors can seize the chance to make the changes they want to see in their community by completing an Individual Senior Projects (ISP). ISPs are completely voluntary and completed at the student’s own pace over the course of senior year. Students who elect to participate can choose any topic for their ISP ranging from a cause related to their career goals to expanding upon their personal interests and using those skills to benefit the community.

“Planting with my dad is something we have always done together. It was so nice to have that family experience benefit others,” said Scheuermann. “In such a tight knit community, service is so important. It’s good to let people know you can do good for others.”

While Scheuermann ensured the outside of S.S. Seward received some attention and care, Malina Grove saw to it that the halls received the same treatment. Grove, who hopes to be a librarian in the future, designed, built and installed shelving and organizers throughout the school to hold and advertise the school newspaper. 

“Being able to see the impacts in the community and see your impact is really cool.” Grove said. “Seeing it up in the school and talking to people in the club and hearing how excited they were about it and the ideas they had for what they can do next year was cool.”

Teacher Barbra Scheibling who is a mentor and guide for students completing an ISP shared that this is something she looks forward to every year. “What the students come up with…it’s just amazing. They do everything on their own, of course I meet with them along the way to make sure they’re on the right track, but everything is up to them.”

Fifth graders filed down the hallway towards the cafeteria where they were instructed to arrive at 2:15 p.m. to receive instructions for a persuasive essay assignment. Little did they know they were walking into a surprise party!

“It has been such a joy watching this group of fifth graders grow throughout the year. Their energy, kindness, and curiosity have made our school a brighter place,” shared Principal Starla Ciarelli who organized the surprise on June 11, 2025. “As they head off to middle school, my hope is that they continue to believe in themselves and never stop learning. We’re so proud of them!”

“So…there is no essay!” Teacher Noreen Meehan said to her class as they took in the celebration set up in the cafeteria. Gasps and squeals of excitement filled the air when the fifth graders saw cupcakes frosted with FUFSD colors and a cart of yearbooks! Students were then congratulated on a fantastic year and the celebration began! Lining up for cupcakes, students were grinning and asking one another if they were expecting something so special.

“I was so surprised, but also not really. Our teachers are so fun. They do stuff like this all the time.” said Ryleigh Bonita. She shared her favorite memories from fifth grade: participating in Toys for Tots, going to NYSSMA Majors and being in class with her best friends.

Jasmine Gonzalez, who loves desserts and shared that you can never go wrong with a vanilla cupcake, had no trouble deciding on her favorite fifth grade memory. “There were a lot of great moments. I just love the first day of school. I love meeting the teachers and seeing who is in my class. Everyone is always so nice because we all feel the same way on the first day!” 

Students were encouraged to mingle and exchange their yearbooks to write sweet notes and wishes for one another moving forward. 

When asked what she is looking forward to Gonzalez said, “I know everyone is going to be amazing. I’m so excited!”

The Kindergarten classes took an exciting field trip to the beautiful Hudson Highlands Nature Center. The Hudson Highlands Nature Center is a nonprofit center for nature, with a focus on Nature Education and Nature Play.  They were guided by Mr. Carl, an expert on all things plants, trees, and animals.  

“The hike was up and down a hilly path, over rocks, logs, tree roots and bridges,” said Camille Tutko. “The children learned that a pond is a muddy, big puddle, where frogs and salamanders live. [Mr. Carl] also showed them deer tracks and, as luck would have it, they spotted a white tail deer on the hike!”

The students then visited the museum where they were able to see turtles, snakes, mice, a crow ( that said 'hello'), a rabbit and salamanders and learn about their functions in nature.  

“He showed us a frog up close and shared how its tongue and its eyes help with eating. Mr. Carl showed us frog eggs and how they are black, no bigger than the tip of a nail head and how they float in water,” shared Tutko. They also learned how to tell if a box turtle is a boy or a girl by looking at the color of its eyes, red meaning it is a boy and brown or yellow meaning it is a girl.  

The Kindergarten classes had a blast learning about the animals in nature!

The saying, “it’s so hot you could cook an egg on the sidewalk!,” while an accurate idiom to describe the weather on June 11, 2025, was a real warning of what could happen at the annual egg drop! Every year, second and fifth grade classes gather with anticipation and their custom contraptions with one goal in mind: keep the egg safe!

The egg drop project falls under ELA Next Gen Standard 5SL1, which states that students should be able to “engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners; express ideas clearly and persuasively, and build on those of others."

First, students are asked to start thinking about what types of things may keep an egg safe from breaking. They began to collect and bring in recycled materials three weeks before the official drop day. 

When it was time to meet with their teammates, many of the skills they learned in ELA came into practice. Students had to work as a team, actively listening, collaborating and compromising. 

“An obstacle that often comes up is the second graders are not as patient and the fifth graders struggle with giving up the control, so myself and the second grade teacher will walk around checking in with the groups,” Fifth grade teacher Noreen Meehan shared. “Sometimes a student doesn't feel they are being heard by the group and we will help navigate that situation.” 

Before they know it, it’s drop day! The fifth and second graders meet outside and get ready for their contraptions to go through three drops with an egg tucked safely inside of it: from the top of the slide, from a ledge at the top of a staircase, and lastly, from a second story rescue window (where one teacher may have performed an “egg throw” rather than an “egg drop”).

“3, 2, 1: drop that egg!” the students yelled over and over again, each time just as excited as the last. Then, everyone held their breath as they waited for the reveal…did the egg crack on the pavement? Or did their contraption do its job?

When Sametria Blaise realized her team’s egg cracked, she immediately started brainstorming. “We could’ve made it more sturdy.” She said right away, strategizing for next time rather than being disappointed in the broken egg.

Aurora Jenkins said the hardest part was practicing collaboration. “Our team was four people and everyone had good ideas. But we couldn’t use everyone’s ideas fully because that would’ve been four different projects. We had to find the best bits of everyone’s ideas and see what could change to make everything fit.”

After all the eggs had been dropped, the students gathered to discuss what went right, wrong, and other comments. One student related the structure of his contraption that was perfectly fit to the egg to a helmet and padding he would wear on a bike or skateboard. 

“The fifth graders remember it from when they were in second grade and always ask if they will be doing it again as fifth graders as early as September,” shared Meehan. “I always feel the students love this activity and I don't see a time when I will not do it.”