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Starpoint highlights music, arts and classroom technology; district named a top community for music education
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Croft and staff used the June board meeting to highlight student wins in music and visual arts, classroom tech projects including Makey Makey and 3D printing, and announced the district was named one of the best communities for music education for the third consecutive year.
Superintendent Dr. Croft opened the board’s presentations by celebrating student achievements in the district’s music, arts and technology programs, saying Starpoint was named “for the third straight year, … one of the best communities for music education.”
The district showed examples of classroom work across grades: third-graders using Makey Makey kits to create conductive controllers for Chromebooks, fourth-graders programming littleBits for lights and sounds, and fifth-graders producing objects on 3D printers in Mr. Lueck’s lab. Dr. Croft described the 3D printers as “going nonstop” making projects for every fifth grader.
The presentation included results from Tech Wars at SUNY Erie (formerly SUNY Niagara). Staff said Starpoint students placed across multiple events, with first-place finishes in an on-site engineering challenge and a video competition and other top-three finishes in game design and cardboard-boat challenges. The district noted students work on these projects after school; the competitions are not part of regular classroom hours.
Visual and performing arts were also highlighted. The board viewed student submissions that received nominations and scholarships in the Niagara County Art Awards; staff named student nominees and scholarship recipients (Sage, Avery and Mars among those singled out). The music program earned a separate certificate for a Bandorama concert, and music students who won a separate competition will sing with the rock group Foreigner on Aug. 7 — “tickets go on sale June 6,” a presenter said.
The board also recognized the work of GSA clubs, which marched in the Buffalo Pride parade with staff advisors Mrs. Cohan and Mrs. Naylor, and noted visiting-artist residencies and theater nominations. Board members acknowledged the programs and thanked staff and volunteers for supporting the extracurricular opportunities.
The presentation emphasized that much of the district’s technology and competitive work happens through after‑school clubs and partnerships: staff described the Starpoint Technology Clubs, post‑school Tech Wars preparation, and local BOCES competitions. Dr. Croft thanked the board for supporting those programs.
Staff and board members did not take formal action on the presentations; they served as informational items.
