Springville-Griffith Institute

We are counting down the Class of 2026 Top 10! We continue our celebration with No. 6, Emily Schwanekamp, daughter of Joseph Schwanekamp and Sarah Schwanekamp. She served as Captain of the soccer and bowling teams. She is involved in Bowling, Soccer, FFA and National Honor Society. Outside of school, she enjoys Painting and raising chickens. She earned the Empire degree for FFA, MVP and MIP for soccer and bowling. Emily plans to attend Ohio Northern University, majoring in Veterinary Science. She hopes to become a veterinarian and start a hatchery.

Three 11th-grade students have been recognized for their writing! Earlier this year, Mrs. Odden's students worked hard on a piece of writing to submit to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, a prestigious contest with a long history of winners who have gone on to be extremely successful. Three students were chosen as recipients of the Regional Scholastic Writing Awards.

The winners are:
Gold Key Award: Carrielyn Kehr for her personal memoir "The Road My Mother Walked so I Could Run"
Gold Key Award: David Janora for his poem "Arrow Between Us"
Silver Key Award: Hailey Palmowski for her play "The Revealing Trip"

Their recognition letters said: "Your work was recognized by a panel of creative professionals for its outstanding merit in originality, skill, and the emergence of your personal voice and vision. Since 1923, the Awards have recognized some of the nation’s most celebrated artists and writers while they were teenagers, including Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, José Parlá, Amanda Gorman, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andy Warhol. We are proud to count you among these esteemed Scholastic Awards alumni!"

Earlier this week, Springville Elementary students biked their way to school! The first-ever SES Bike to School Day had a great turnout and a beautiful morning! The students and volunteers met near the high school football field and made their way to the school on their bikes! A huge thank you to our staff, volunteers and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office for their support in making the event possible.
#Wellness #RedefiningRural

We are counting down the Class of 2026 Top 10! We continue our celebration with No. 8, Kevan P. Ridder, son of Joanne Ridder and Vernon Ridder. He served as the HS Wellness Committee co-chair. He is involved in Powerlifting, Orchard Park Rugby, Varsity Tennis, National Honor Society, Investment Club, SADD and was Student Representative of the Wellness Pillar. Outside of school, he works at Steelbound Brewery and Springville Health and Fitness and enjoys Powerlifting, tennis, golf, collecting fragrances, and hanging out with friends. He earned the Mayflower Award, Positive Athlete OPERATE award, first place at the SUNY Fredonia Shark Tank competition, seven state records in the USAPL, Best Lifter Award at USPA NYS championship. Kevan plans to attend Butler University, majoring in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Pre-Physical Therapy. He hopes to open his own physical therapy clinic to develop, practice, and research injury-preventative training methods for athletes.

For the first time, Springville Middle School held a schoolwide Wellness Day! Each grade level rotated through outdoor, exploratory and pod activities. The students got their hearts racing with speedball, yard games, gym activities and fitness BINGO! On the calmer side of things, they painted plant pots, belted out karaoke, created signs for the upcoming senior walk and enjoyed some healthy snacks! Thank you to the staff and the Wellness Committee who made the event a fun and positive experience centered on wellness!
#Wellness #RedefiningRural

SGI Families & Community: As we continue the work for our Strategic Plan, a critical component is the feedback we receive each year from our stakeholder groups. We ask that you take a few minutes to take part in this survey. Your input will help us continue working to make SGI the best school system it can be!

Additionally, this survey is also designed to be completed by the SGI community at large, so please feel free to share with friends and family who live in our area.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeZ1TpRIzqR-xicawBGkir2OCLBBORmXZcw2pqQmUgCKaFURQ/viewform

Springville Middle School students and Colden Student Council members recently enjoyed a Buffalo Bison game on School Kids Day at Bison's Stadium!

We are counting down the Class of 2026 Top 10! We continue our celebration with No. 7, Nevaeh M. Watson, daughter of Bonnie Runyon-Martinez and Phillip Martinez. She is involved in National Honor Society, Science Club, Key Club and SADD. Outside of school, she works at TJMaxx and enjoys fishing. Nevaeh plans to attend college for nursing. She hopes to become a nurse so she can help care for others, improve patients' health, and make a positive difference in my community.

The Reynolds Battery, a group of local Civil War re-enactors, recently returned to Springville Middle School for "Civil War Day." Students learned firsthand about life during this time in history, from clothes and equipment to marching and naval movements. Seventh-grader Chase also had the chance to signal the firing of the cannon and received the firing pin as a souvenir! Thanks to these incredible volunteers for bringing history to life for our students!
#ExperientialLearning #RedefiningRural

We are excited to announce updates to the Summer Food Service Program for 2026 at SGI! This program provides nutritious, no-cost meals to all students under 18 (and up to 21 for those with special health care needs).

New this year, SGI was able to add a second pick-up site at Colden Elementary thanks to a $5,000 grant from Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign! Meals will be available every Tuesday and Thursday from July 6 to August 13 from 11:30-12:30 PM. Pick-up locations include Springville Middle School, 267 Newton St, Springville (Door G) and Colden Elementary School, 8263 Boston Colden Rd, Colden (Main Door). Pick up for all of the students in your household in one trip!

Register for the Summer Food Service Program here. Please fill out a separate form for each child.

The traditional Drive Your Tractor to School Day continued this year and was well attended by students in all different sizes and types of tractors. The tractors were on display in front of the high school until school let out. Then they were driven through the Springville Elementary bus loop to the delight of the younger students!

We are counting down the Class of 2026 Top 10! We continue our celebration with No. 9, Jillian Levakoff, daughter of Jim Levakoff and Beth Levakoff. She served as Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Class President, Soccer Captain, Science Club Secretary, and Student Representative of the Agency Pillar. She is involved in Student Council, Class President, National Honor Society, Agency Pillar, Superintendent's Cabinet, Soccer, Track and Field, Lacrosse, Science Club, Envirothon, SADD, Future Business Leaders of America, FFA, Math League, Musical, Spanish Club, and Tuesday Night Strings. She also enjoys music, playing piano and violin, traveling, playing soccer, creative arts, hiking and camping. She earned Excellence in Spanish 2, Excellence in Spanish 3, Frederick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony Award, University of Rochester, President’s Award for Educational Excellence, United States Marine Corps Scholastic Excellence Award and Student of the Month: Spanish, Global 9, Introduction to Business, Spanish, Character: Positivity, Character: Supportive, and Music. Jillian plans to attend SUNY Geneseo, majoring in Adolescent History Education. She plans to earn a Master's degree in education and then obtain an administrative license, while also traveling and continuing to play the piano.

We are counting down the Class of 2026 Top 10! We begin our celebration with No. 10, Kathryn Greene, daughter of Carisa Turner and Keith Turner. She served as Class Vice President (10th-11th grade), Student Council President (12th grade), and President of SADD. She is involved in National Honor Society, the Blood Drive Committee, Math League, Key Club, Polar Plunge, French Club, and was the Student Rep for the SGI School Board. She earned the President's Education Awards Program for Outstanding Academic Excellence and two Mathematic Achievements for Math League. Kathryn plans to attend Northeast State, majoring in Cardiovascular Technology. She hopes to become a Cardiovascular Technician and help treat heart disease.

Students can register for this free First Aid Training for Babysitters, which will be held Saturday, June 13 from 8 AM to 2 PM at Bertrand Chaffee Hospital. Register by calling 716-592-2871 ext 1221.

Please join us in congratulating all of our student artists on a wonderful SGI District Art Show at UNOVA! There is still time to see the show this weekend from 11-2 and Monday from 4-7 PM.

Recently, the Middle School Tech Wars team traveled to Buffalo to compete in ECC’s 2026 Tech Wars. Springville was one of 31 schools participating in this year’s competition. In the “Robot Drag Race”, 7th grader Ty Jordan took 2nd place, and 8th grader Ethan Healy took 3rd! Emery Hilliker placed 1st in the photography contest, which focused on industrial architecture. In “Bridge Building”, 8th grader Michael Bailey earned 3rd place! Congratulations to all of our SGI MS competitors!

Attention 6th Grade Families: Beginning in 7th grade, students may choose between Spanish 7 and French 7. In 8th grade, they will continue into French I or Spanish I, both high school-level courses that, upon successful completion, earn students one unit of required high school credit. A letter outlining these options was sent home with your child. Please take some time to review it together and discuss which language your child would like to pursue. If you have questions or would like more information, don't hesitate to reach out to your child's assigned school counselor.
To indicate your child's choice, please return the form on the back of the letter to the Middle School Student Services Office, or email Mrs. Sullivan at lsullivan@springvillegi.org no later than Thursday, June 11, 2026. A few important notes to keep in mind: students who have not selected a language by June 11th will be assigned one. Additionally, once a student begins a language, they will continue in that language throughout their high school career, and once a selection is made, changes cannot be accommodated. We appreciate your understanding.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Student Services Office at 716-592-3271.

Spingville Middle School will once again host Civil War re-enactors on Friday, June 5. Please be aware that this will include a loud, blank cannon firing in the afternoon at approximately 1:30 PM. We thank our surrounding neighbors for their cooperation with this annual tradition.

In Case You Missed It: Watch the All-Orchestra Concert performance online now:
https://youtu.be/nSudYnhiEAk

The 1st Annual Math Family Fun Night was held at the end of May! SES teachers, staff, and high school student volunteers came together with families for a fun-filled and interactive night focused on building math skills and community connections.

Families enjoyed a variety of engaging activities, including puzzles, board games, dice games, logic puzzles, learning a card trick with Mr. Gesing, and even an exciting escape room challenge. The event gave students and families the opportunity to experience math in a hands-on, enjoyable way while spending quality time together.

A huge thank you to the Springville Community Education Foundation for funding and supporting this event. Their generosity helped make this special evening possible for our students and families. Each student also went home with a large bag of math games and activities to continue practicing and having fun with math at home alongside their families.

Thank you as well to everyone who helped make the night such a success. We are already looking forward to making Math Family Fun Night an annual tradition and continuing to build a strong sense of community along the way.