The top three students at Kenmore East and Kenmore West were honored at the annual Erie-Niagara School Superintendents Association Scholastic Achievement Recognition Dinner at Salvatore’s on May 17. From Kenmore East, the students are Devon Eleey (Valedictorian), Alexander Russell (Salutatorian), and Helen Huang. From Kenmore West, the students are Sarah Coupal (Valedictorian), Sarah Metzler (Salutatorian), and Campbell Vogt. Click here to read the story .

On June 7, the Erie County Association of School Boards will honor Dr. Jill O’Malley, president of the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District Board of Education, with the 2018 Laura M. Burns Advocacy for Children Award. The award is presented to one individual annually in memory of the late Laura Burns, an educator, school board member and tireless advocate for children. Click here to read the story .

More than 100 students from Kenmore East and Kenmore West have been inducted into the National Honor Society for their academic achievements and contributions to the school communities. To qualify, students had to demonstrate the four NHS pillars: scholarship, character, leadership and service; maintain a GPA of 90 percent or higher through their junior year; and articulate their service to the school and community, an excellent record of behavior in and out of school, and leadership roles. Click here to read the story .

Four students received high honors at two major regional high school photography shows. At the 33rd annual Storrs All High Photo Show sponsored by the Kenan Center in Lockport, Noelle Eubanks was awarded Best Black and White photo, Anna Cryan received an Honorable Mention award, and Kristen Grodesky received a Merit Award. At the annual high school photography show hosted by Villa Maria College, Jade Valkwitch won second place. Click here to read the story .

State Sen. Chris Jacobs recently visited four classrooms at Kenmore East High School to get a glimpse of the outstanding high school programs offered by the Ken-Ton School District. Through the coordination of social studies teacher Nicole Pauly, Sen. Jacobs visited Advanced Algebra, IB English, design, and PLTW classes and spoke with student representatives Jenna Butler, Helen Huang, and McKinley Falkowski about issues important to students. Click here to read the story .

Two groups of students from Hoover Middle School teacher Kelly Bacon’s ELA classes were awarded a Platinum Honorable Mention in the national 2018 Speak Truth to Power video contest, the second highest distinction students can receive as part of the contest. The first video was created by Everett Gianni and Miles Ponivas and the second video was created by Angelino Petrilli and Brianna Hakes. Click here to read the story .

In April, Kenmore East High School alumnus Andrew Sturtz, the all-time leading goal scorer at Penn State and a member of the 2012 championship-winning Kenmore East hockey team, made his professional hockey debut after signing a two-year contract with the Ottawa Senators. Sturtz graduated from Kenmore East High School in 2012 and played for the Varsity Hockey Team through its spectacular 2012 season. Click here to read the story .

Pat Harper has a special role to play for students of Karen Kull at Holmes Elementary School. A longtime resident of the Ken-Ton School District, Pat Harper had four children attend Ken-Ton Schools and now has several grandchildren in attendance as well. She first began volunteering at Roosevelt Elementary and then at Holmes Elementary the past two years. Click here to read the story .

Kenmore East High School is celebrating the accomplishments of the Class of 2018 in the Collegiate Corridor. The Collegiate Corridor is an annual tradition at Kenmore East High School and is an impressive display of banners of all the colleges and universities the Class of 2018 has been accepted into, as well as photographs of the students who have been accepted into those institutions.

In April, 30 Kenmore East and Kenmore West German language students traveled to Germany for a 12-day stay. They were accompanied by their German teachers Frau Lucero, Frau Boehm, Frau Reimers and Herr Gabel. The trip brought the students to Berlin for three days and then the Cologne area to stay with guest families for 10 days near the town of Zülpich, attend German school, and visit the cities of Köln, Maastricht, Aachen and Bonn. This was the 11th year of the Kenmore-Zülpich partnership.

A total of 80 Kenmore West High School eighth-grade students explored Washington D.C. in late April to experience history first-hand. Led by eighth-grade teacher Paul Davies, Kenmore West teachers Darryl Swanson, Jessica Pielich, Valerie Palumbo, Ron Atkins, Arianna Troutman and Eric Troutman guided students through three Smithsonian Museums, the Capitol, Holocaust Museum, Mount Vernon, National Zoo, National Archives and countless memorials over three full days during the trip.

More than 20 Kenmore East students from the lacrosse team and Nicole Pauly's government classes took part in the annual Buffalo News Kids Day on April 24. The volunteers were out in front of Kenmore East from 6 to 8 a.m. that morning and sold approximately 300 papers, raising more than $325 to benefit the Variety Club of Buffalo, which serves the needs of sick, disabled and disadvantaged WNY children.

Students in third and fourth grade at Franklin Elementary School have been enjoying a variety of engaging events and activities: a visit by representatives of UNYTS to learn about staying safe and healthy, a career week activity with different community members coming to the school to talk with the students about how they are safe, respectful, and responsible in their jobs, K-Kids community service initiatives, and more. Click here to read the story .

Hoover Elementary students recently had the opportunity to enjoy a special visit by a representative of Shea’s Performing Arts Center and story time at Barnes & Noble. Jennifer Fitzery of Shea's Performing Arts Center presented 40-minute readings of “Skippy Jon Jones” paired with creative thinking and movement activities related to the story. And numerous Hoover Elementary faculty read for students and their families who attended the HSA-sponsored Barnes & Noble Night. Click here to read the story .

Approximately 30 students from the Kenmore West High School International Baccalaurate (IB) Art Class and Art Club recently took part in an educational trip to New York City. While there, students visited the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the Sept. 11 Memorial, and world famous architect Peter Marino. Chaperoning were Mr. Swanson, Mr. Davies and Mr. Tomasello, and the program plans to repeat the trip each year.

Instrumental music students at Franklin Middle School were recently treated to a very special concert event featuring the gypsy jazz band, the Rhythm Future Quartet. The Rhythm Future Quartet has been described as the premier gypsy jazz quartet in the world today performing music from the legendary group "The Hot Club of France” led by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. Click here to read the story .