Stories from

Daisy Girl Scouts Alyssa Ognibene, Lidia Pehrson, Brooklynn Pariso, Arianna Armstrong and Kelsey Verton (front, left to right) were on Thomas Avenue in the city today along with troupe co-leader Tara Pariso (back).

They were collecting cans to raise money for Brooklyn Sputore, a baby girl who suffers from a life-threatening condition called Vein of Galen Brain Malformation. Click on the following link for previous coverage: www.thebatavian.com/tags/brooklyn-sputore

Tara attends Northgate Free Methodist Church along with the Sputore family. She wanted to do something to help Brooklyn while at the same time giving the Daisies a community service project.

As of noon today, the girls had been to 25 houses in Batavia and collected more than 2,000 cans and bottles. They will present their proceeds to the family tomorrow at a fundraiser for Brooklyn, which will take place at St. Joseph's School, 2 Summit St. in Batavia and include a spaghetti dinner, Chinese auction and other raffles.

Pre-sale tickets to tomorrow's fundraiser can be purchased from Paul Sputore, 781-8138, or at the door. Cost is $8 for adults and $4 for children 12 and younger. But you might want to hurry, because there are less than 50 tickets left.

For more information on Brooklyn and the fundraiser, please visit the family's Facebook page via the following link: www.facebook.com/pages/Brooklyn-Grace-Sputore/122679241137680?sk=info#!/pages/Brooklyn-Grace-Sputore/122679241137680?sk=wall

March was Arts Month and it was a busy one. Here are some snapshots of Harvester Center activities, as well as arts-related activities elsewhere in Batavia.

The Batavia Players' production of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" (Friday, March 18)

Garrison Starr performance at the Harvester 56 Theater (Thursday, March 31)

Photos submitted by Loren Penman

Starr (pictured with a wool cap) socializes during the champagne reception.

OATKA School of Glass

Photos submitted by Amanda Taylor

People learn how to manipulate glass in a kiln with the help of instructor Lance Taylor (left).

A guest instructor shows people how it's done.

A sample of a student's work.

Leadership Genesee members try their hands at glass art.

For previous coverage, see OATKA School of Glass one of Batavia's best-kept secrets.

"Anything Goes: Books and More"

Proprietor Mary Holmes showed me the above space, which she acquired this past month and which will be used for auctions, craft shows, etc.

For previous coverage of "Anything Goes," click on the following links:

Batavia siblings make a good team selling 'books and more'

Local woman opens retail store in Harvester Center

Coming Soon -- The "Moon Java Café"

(Sorry about the glare.) This is the sign for "Moon Java Café," which will be opening soon in the Harvester Center.

Meanwhile...

Student artwork display -- Richmond Memorial Library Gallery Room

The following are samples of art from Batavia students in grades K-12.

'Music in Our Schools' concert at Batavia High School (Thursday, March 31)

These songs are arranged in the order presented on Thursday night. My apologies -- it was hard to get good pictures from where I was sitting at some points.

Students at Le Roy's Wolcott St. School spent the last two weeks raising money for those less fortunate. They did this as part of the Pennies for Peace campaign, a program of the Central Asia Institute.

It is designed to raise funds for community-based education and literacy programs -- esepcially for girls -- in remote, Central Asian mountain communities.

The grand total raised by Wolcott St. School -- calculated with the help of the Bank of Castile -- was $1,600. Here is a grade-by-grade count:

Pre K -- $52
K -- $149
Grade 1 -- $183
Grade 2 -- $210
Grade 3 -- $157
Grade 4 -- $325
Grade 5 -- $275
Grade 6 -- $241

Kids collected and brought in pennies over a two-week period. Pictured above are the graphed results as of Friday morning (each jar represents $10 in pennies).

What is particularly impressive about this is that the students were not rewarded for the number of pennies they brought in. From the very beginning, there was an understanding that the class that collected the most pennies would not get a pizza party or anything like that.

"What we're looking to do is help the students become intrinsically motivated," said Principal Casey Kosiorek.

He said the overall goal as it pertained to the kids was to help them grow into good citizens who will want to do the right thing without being rewarded.

"I never expected it to have such an impact," said Carol Messura, assistant principal and chair of the project. She said that the students were "extremely enthusiastic" about the whole deal.

"If you were here earlier this morning, you could hear little hoots and hollers with the sound of change being poured into the buckets (pictured at the top)."

Kosiorek said that the money will go toward supplies, teachers' salaries and the building of schools in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"They have pretty much nothing," he commented.

In a letter to parents, Kosiorek and Messura asked that the kids perform "an extra chore or two" in order "to make a meaningful connection to the money they bring in."

Each letter came with a pencil-shaped slip on which parents were to describe the chores their kids performed and (the kids') hopes for the children of Afghanistan and Pakistan. All "pencils" were returned to homeroom teachers and used in the display above.

"Pennies for Peace" was this year's service learning project for the students. The school does two projects every year: one in-school project, and one to benefit folks outside the school community.

This year's service project started when Cindy Frisch, the school librarian, read Greg Mortenson's "Listen to the Wind" to all of the students.

Mortenson, the founder of Pennies for Peace and author of The New York Times bestseller "Three Cups of Tea," wrote "Listen to the Wind" in order to relate his first building experience in Pakistan. At the end of the book, he talks about how far a penny can go in Pakistan/Afghanistan.

"(A penny) doesn't buy much in our community," Kosiorek and Messura said in their letter to parents. "However, in the villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan, a penny can buy a pencil, start an education, and transform a life." 

Examples of how much certain small amounts of money could buy for kids in those countries were included on this chart:

Kosiorek describes service learning as an "offshoot" of the school's Character Education Committee, of which Messura is the chair. It is part of an overall environment in which core values and qualities that will help make the students good citizens are nurtured.

"We want to make sure we're educating the whole child," Kosiorek said. "They're kind of desensitized (to certain things) because of the media and the 'age of rage' (reality TV, etc). If we teach them to be good citizens, the rest will follow."

Character education has been a big part of Wolcott St. School's mission for some time; in fact, they were recognized with an honorable mention by the Academy for Character Education at the Sage Colleges in January.

One of the major components of character education at Wolcott is "Words of the Month." Each month, teachers focus on a particular word describing a positive character trait (for example, the Word of the Month for March was honesty), and on how it is used in the classroom. Teachers keep an eye out for and nominate students who display that trait in class, and at the end of the month their names go under the "Good Character" tree near the school's entrance.

This is part of the school's "Catching Kids Being Good" policy.

And now, as Kosiorek and Messura said in their letter to parents, Wolcott students have joined "tens of thousands of students around the world . . . who are working together to become members of a global family dedicated to peace."

For more information on the Pennies for Peace program, visit their Web site: www.penniesforpeace.org.

The Statue of Liberty by Oatka Creek.

Howard and I both had a chance to stop over at Genesee Community College for Tech Wars 2011 on Thursday. Howard took some photos, I took some video.

Many thanks to the NXT Lego team members and their coaches for sharing their work with The Batavian.

Here is the video (with a scenic view of the space behind the college to close it out):

For previous coverage, see:

Float in Elba Onion Festival parade gives a 'FIRST' look at LEGO League

Elba students build robots one Lego at a time  

Elba's FIRST Lego League invites robot fans to a maze race at GCC

Photos by Howard Owens

Lights were dimming for the beginning of dress rehearsal when I took this picture -- it's of the poster for Le Roy Jr./Sr. High School's 2011 musical production, "Little Shop of Horrors."

Based on the Broadway rock musical by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, "Little Shop" is the story of a shy, nervous store clerk who dreams of finding a way out of the lousy job and circumstances he's stuck in, a young girl with low self-worth and an abusive boyfriend, and a plant that talks, sings and eats people.

This is the latest performance in a district known for its high standards for school musicals. Le Roy has been selected as one of the top 100 communities for music education in the country on multiple occasions, according to Bradley Meholick, director of music for the district.

He attributes this honor to the high level of dedication on the part of students, staff, administrators and parents, all working together in support of music in the schools.

Directed by Batavia High School graduate Jackie McLean, who teaches general music and chorus in the Le Roy schools, "Little Shop" stars students in grades nine through 12, with seventh- through 12th-graders in the crew and in the orchestra (aka "the pit").

Meholick, who is also the orchestra director for the show, describes it as witty and having a "soul feel to it (as far as the music goes)."

"The music is '50's style, but in this version it's freshened up a bit," he said. "The general style resembles '50's doo-wop, but there's a little bit of everything -- even some rock and R&B."

Senior Stephen Rudman, who plays Seymour, says this is a "real upbeat, great show."

"It has plenty of fun interaction between the characters that people of all ages will love," he said. "And the plants are just great."

The "plants" he referred to are part of a unique and innovative feature of this performance. Four puppets will be used to portray Seymour's man-eating plant, which grows with each person it eats. Meholick said that the puppets being used are of the same make and type as those used in the original Broadway performance.

The first and smallest of the "plant puppets" is pictured below. In the first picture, Seymour (Rudman) begs it to grow so that he can finally attract customers to the store in which he works; in the next two photos, the plant sprouts up and opens its mouth, in that order.

All four puppets are operated by puppeteer Kaleb Miller, a student at Le Roy Jr./Sr. High whom McLean describes as "very talented."

"We always try to give the audience something big to look forward to," Meholick said. "A couple years ago we did 'Beauty and the Beast' (which had scenes where the characters flew), and we hired a company to come in and fly the actors around the stage. Last year we did 'Curtains,' and we actually had one of the leads from the Broadway performance come and work with the kids."

Not only does "Little Shop" have yet another "something big" to give to its audience, it also presents some unique challenges and opportunities to the actors -- perhaps especially to Jake Bortle, who provides the voice of the plant.

Bortle, a senior, has been in Le Roy Jr./Sr. High musicals since seventh grade, and this is the first time he has done something like this.

"It's a complete change for me as an actor," Bortle said. "It's been a challenge having to act without using my body and to coordinate what I'm saying with what Kaleb is doing. But we work well together." 

In spite of the challenges, these young actors have been able to deliver what Meholick called "the cleanest performance to date."

"The kids have been prepared earlier than ever before, and they've been very motivated. And I think the result is going to be one of our finest productions."

McLean, who has been heavily involved in school and community theater for years, agreed totally with this assessment.

"The kids are awesome," she said. "With two weeks to develop their characters, they've been very professional -- more so than most young people with whom I've worked in the past. It's phenomenal."

"I'm hoping people in the audience forget it's kids putting on this show once it's over," Meholick said.

Senior Brogan O'Halloran, student conductor of the show's orchestra, echoed this sentiment.

"I think the community will be proud of its students and the hard work and talent they show," she said. "We're happy to be part of this musical."

Here are a couple more photos of the actors on stage:

PICS FROM THE PIT

Showtimes for "Little Shop" are tonight at 7:30 p.m., and tomorrow (March 19) at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. All performances are in the high school auditorium, at 9300 South St. Road in Le Roy. Tickets are $10 (flat fee) at the door and $8 presale.

For more information on tickets, click here.

As promised last week (see Friday's article, "Mancuso's hosts Holy Family School, of Le Roy, for Catholic Schools Week"), here are some photos of staff and students from Holy Family and St. Joseph schools celebrating Catholic Schools Week.

Our site has been experiencing some technical difficulties, otherwise they would have been posted sooner.

Holy Family at Mancuso Bowling Center:

The kids have just finished Mass at Notre Dame and are ready to hit the lanes!

Principal Kevin Robertson (aka "Mr. Rob") with Sister Bridget.

Amy Drakes, physical education teacher and chief organizer of this event.

"Representatives" from across the grade span. They are, left to right in the back, Ariba (fifth grade), Chris (eighth grade),  Drakes and Collin (fifth grade); left to right in the front, Annarose (kindergarten), Sam (third grade) and Nathaniel (first grade).

St. Joe's kids at the YMCA -- games and workouts:

 

Pictured fifth-grade teacher Todd Bowman, who did push-ups with some of his students.

The Batavia Players present:

...an original play, written and directed by Patrick D. Burk. 

Starring:

Nikki Lanich as the Young Girl

Nick Russo as the Southern Preacher

Brittaney Lang as the Emily Bronte Girl

E. Jane Burk as Mrs. Davenport

Shellene Bailey as the Jane Austen Girl

Norm Argulsky as Mr. Fisher

Caryn Burk as Honourine

Tiffany Widrick as Nancy Reagan

Ben Liebrand as the Young Boy

 

Matthew Mayne as Russell

Amanda Taylor as the Dance Hall Girl

Burk as the Older Man

Jeffrey Fischer as the Movie Man and Pianist

and David Porter as Robert

See Gretel Kauffman's article, "A romantic debut for the Harvester Theater," for background.

This first Batavia Players performance at the new Harvester 56 Theater kicked off Valentine's Day weekend with a series of monologues on a variety of experiences with love and infatuation.

With memorable dialogue and well-developed characters, "Love Lines" takes a look at ideas about and experiences with love and lust across time -- from Shakespeare to Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, love letters from the 1940s and modern day text-messaging.

It also spans the age spectrum, from a teenage boy and girl -- who attend an all boys' and all girls' school, respectively, of course -- meeting on a bus to an old man whose marriage is "not the same anymore...but what the heck? It's still love."

As the play opens, all of the characters gather on the set, each taking a seat. As the show progresses, relationships among the characters are revealed, attesting to Burk's talent as an imaginative playwright.

The actors did a superb job, especially considering the short time they had to memorize lines and rehearse.

Just a couple caveats:

• The theater's three-quarter round space and black-box format require some getting used to, depending on where you're sitting. It isn't like the typical theater experience, where everything is laid out before your eyes no matter where you're sitting.
• As can happen with plays for adults, there are some moments, words and opinions (expressed by characters) in the show that might upset people's moral sensibilities. 

All in all, "Love Lines" was a pretty impressive freshmen effort on the part of the Players as they settle into their new home.

Holy Family School of Le Roy celebrated Catholic Schools Week with a trip to Mancuso Bowling Center this week, following a Mass at Notre Dame High School.

Here is some footage of the students getting their games on -- and thank you to Lorie Longhany, who teaches art at the school, for indirectly providing the title of part four:

Catholic Schools Week -- which has been observed annually for many years (at least since 1889 at Holy Family) -- was actually last week, but the bowling outing and the Mass at Notre Dame were rescheduled due to bad weather. Pictures of the Holy Family crew at Mancuso's will be posted soon, along with photos of St. Joe's kids celebrating at the YMCA.

The purpose of Catholic Schools Week, according to Holy Family Principal Kevin Robertson (affectionately known as "Mr. Rob" to the students), is to give kids and staff the chance to celebrate their Catholic identity "in a way they don't get to the rest of the school year."

Kids, teachers and parents in Catholic education celebrate this annual, weeklong tradition with fun events at the schools and out in the community.

"A lot of these activities are geared toward teamwork," Robertson said. "It gives the kids a chance to work together and just have fun."

This is the third year in a row Mancuso's has welcomed Holy Family students in for Catholic Schools Week, according to physical education teacher Amy Drakes.

Drakes was in charge of coordinating this event, which she sees as a valuable opportunity to mix the different grade levels so that they can work together. She feels it's a great way to showcase the tight-knit bond between students for the community.

"The great thing about our school is that everyone knows each other," Drakes said. "Having all the (elementary and middle school) grades together is nice, too. You see a different side of the seventh- and eighth-graders when they're working with the little kids."

"There's a great sense of family and community (in the Catholic school setting)," Robertson said. "The kids get a strong foundation for morals and values, and they're conscious of the need to treat others with respect, and to be fair and productive."

Though most Holy Family students are Catholic, the school welcomes and includes students who are not Catholic as well.

"We have non-Catholic students, and we include them in everything we do," Robertson said, "but we also respect their beliefs. They can participate in the activities we have outside of school if they choose to do so -- but if they choose not to, that's understandable."

Education at Holy Family, as at other Catholic schools, goes beyond the classroom. Recently, the kids worked on fundraising efforts for Catholic Appeal's Week (see Feb. 7 announcement). Robertson said they will continue to have many activities through Catholic Appeal's Week, which is April 10 through 17.

Visit the Holy Family School website for more information.

SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEO:

St. Joseph School students enjoy the "bouncy house" at the YMCA:

It was the end of a very hectic day at St. Joseph School in Batavia. The building was nearly empty, and teachers John and Margaret Volpe were finally on their way home when Principal Karen Green approached them and said: "Oh by the way, you know that award (NBC newsman) Tim Russert started that they give out every year? You two won it this year."

Who and what

Russert, who died in 2008, was a former Catholic school student. He created the Making a Difference Award for the purpose of honoring former teachers who had an impact on his life. It is given annually to a Catholic school teacher in the diocese of Buffalo.

"We had no idea we were even being considred," John said.

Green's announcement that they had won this award was a surprise for another reason as well: It's only supposed to go to one person each year.

This is the first time two teachers are receiving the award together. Green nominated both John and Margaret, who teach sixth- through eighth-graders at the Summit Street school, after finding herself unable to choose between them.

"After working with John and Margaret as a teacher and then observing them as a principal," she said, "I can say that when it comes to making a difference in students' lives, that's exactly what they do. It's a daily occurrence, and you can see it in how the kids relate to them."

High expectations

John and Margaret teach social studies and English, respectively. Green commented that they spend a lot of extra time preparing for each week's lessons and always make sure to update their teaching tools and styles to make learning more exciting for the kids (using the latest classroom technology, etc).

Academically, the kids in John and Margaret's classes are held to high standards and, in Green's words, are "always busy."

In Mrs. Volpe's English class, students are continually honing their writing skills with weekly literature logs and various writing assignments throughout each grading period. As a result, they typically leave St. Joe's with excellent writing skills and high expectations for their academic performances.

"I like to see the students desire and expect a lot of themselves, and not just settle for crummy work," Margaret said.

In Mr. Volpe's social studies class, students become engaged in the material by discussing it in relation to current events -- which is one area of instruction where new technology comes in handy.

Commenting on the availability of news online, John said: "An event can happen on, say, Thursday morning, and I can present it to the class by that afternoon."

He enjoys the "give-and-take" relationship he has with his students, who are still young enough to question things rather than being strictly "goal-oriented."

"My hope for them is that they will ask questions and pursue the answers," he said. "And I hope they'll explore things a bit instead of just automatically accepting the obvious answers."

Not only do John and Margaret have expectations for their students in terms of academics and conduct, they also consistently follow through with those expectations.

"I've seen very few discipline problems on their side of the hall," Green said. "Their students know they need to behave a certain way, and that there will be consequences if they don't."

Beyond the books...

The Volpes' committment to their students extends beyond the classroom. Margaret oversees the school newspaper staff. John is in charge of the student debate team (both of which meet every week), and the couple spends a lot of time with students who need extra help after school.

Additionally, Margaret serves on the school's Academic Excellence Committee, which is designed to offer students educational opportunities that they would not get in the classroom. It also helps provide particularly gifted students with more opportunities to challenge themselves. Activities the committee sponsors include the annual spelling bee, Career Day, and peer tutoring.

Colleagues have benefitted from the Volpes' presence at St. Joe's as well as the students. John, for example, acts as assistant principal on days when Green is out of the building, serves as a "backup" for the other teachers and helps with discipline when needed.

Even as their boss, Green goes to the Volpes for advice every now and again.

Formerly a St. Joe's teacher, Green's experience is mostly with younger students. When she started her job as principal, she was a bit...well, green when it came to working with the older kids.

"John and Margaret have so much experience, so I always go to them for help and trust their judgment."

A great team

The Volpes have worked in Catholic education together for more than 40 years, and have taught at St. Joe's for more than 20 years. They met in the early 1970s as teachers at the Cathedral School in Buffalo, and were married not long after.

While combining professional and personal relationships can be awkward, the Volpes have found that, in their case, the two reinforce one another.

"There's that kind of natural trust you have going into the job (when you work with your spouse)," John said. "I know that if I have a problem, I can talk to Margaret about it. And as a teacher, I think I've learned more working with Margaret than anyone else. She's very inventive and creative, and she's helped me all along."

Likewise, Margaret has always had tremendous respect for her husband on a professional level.

"Since before we were married, I've noticed that John has an unusual rapport with the kids," she said. "He has a certain warmth (with his students) that I notice right up to today, and I've learned from that."

Without wanting to "overstate (the) influence" she and her husband have on the kids' lives, Margaret said that working with the students at St. Joe's is almost like raising a family.

"I notice that in eighth-grade, the kids form even closer friendships than before," she said. "And I really think John helps to foster that."

From Green's perspective, the Volpes' working relationship as husband and wife sets a positive example for their students.

"To see a married couple working side-by-side and having such a healthy relationship is good for the kids, especially in an age when a lot of families seem to be falling apart."

In the right place

St. Joseph School offers the Volpes an environment in which they feel they are able to "flourish" more than any place else. For one thing, the majority of kids who attend St. Joe's come from what Margaret called "very solid families."

The students themselves, according to Green, are what "make St. Joe's such a wonderful place to work," to which Margaret replied, "Amen!"

John, for his part, talked about how impressed he has been with the way in which the kids welcome and accept new students.

"Each year, within a very short time, new students are assimilated and welcomed."

Teaching at a Catholic school is also very important to both John and Margaret, the latter having come from a family of six children who attended Catholic schools from grade school all the way through college.

"I remember my father would work two or three jobs to put us all through Catholic school," she said, "and he never let up. That always left a big impression on me."

Margaret has always felt that Catholic education should be a choice for parents and families. And she always knew that if no one was willing to accept the sacrifice of a smaller salary (compared to a public school teacher's salary) and teach at a Catholic school, then that option would be gone.

In terms of how things are done, John and Margaret like the discipline and focus on values that Catholic education offers, while at the same time emphasizing the development of skills.

"There's a basic emphasis on value (in Catholic education) instead of just fact and procedure," John said. "And it's nice that we're able to talk about religion. (As a Catholic school teacher), you incorporate the values of religion into your lessons without 'preaching' religion."

John and his students talk about current events with concern for ethical issues and implications. 

"I enjoy being able to do that, rather than having to stay neutral on everything."

Margaret's students explore Catholic values in many of their writing assignments. After a visit to Genesee ARC, for example, they wrote an essay about how their faith teaches compassion toward, and acceptance of, people with special needs.

Faith also comes into play with the teaching of literature. Margaret and her students discuss the books they read with religion in mind, asking what a practicing Christian would do in a given character's situation. Margaret also works with parents in determining which books are good for the kids to read, and which are not.

"There are books out there that promote the wrong values and glorify bad behavior," Margaret said. "I tell the kids that certain books they might be reading (on their own time) aren't good for them, and I work with parents to determine what's appropriate. And the parents are right on board with it."

A fitting tribute

John and Margaret will receive their award at the 2011 Making a Difference Dinner, which is next Thursday -- Jan. 27 -- at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Buffalo.

Two tables will be filled by those coming to support them, including family members, parents and faculty (including Batavia City Council President Marianne Clattenberg, who teaches third-grade at St. Joe's).

Green was very happy that the Volpes will be recognized for their work with the students.

"'The school wouldn't run as well as it does without them," she said. "They do an amazing job here, and I don't think they're told that often enough."

Some of our readers had questions after reading Thursday's, "Opening gala showcases Batavia players' new theater on Harvester."

Here's some more information:

• Seating/Capacity: The new theater seats between 100-140 people.
• Ticket prices: These will vary depending on the show. The first play to be performed in the Harvester location will be an Honesty Theatre performance (click here for more information on this group) on Jan. 22; admission will be $10 per adult, $8 for children and seniors.
• Theater hours: At this time, according to Batavia Players' Board President Patrick Burk, the space is only open for rehearsals and performances. Burk hopes, eventually, to have people working there "around the clock" on various projects. 
• To read more about the new theater space, visit www.bataviaplayers.org/new-theater-space.

• To see the lineup for the 2011 Season -- including descriptions of each show -- visit www.bataviaplayers.org/2011-season.

(Please note additional information added on Jan. 10 below the story and pictures.)

Ever since he was a 10-year-old boy putting on plays with his friends in the basement of a church -- with no audience but themselves -- Patrick Burk dreamed of having his own theater.

"I asked my grandpa for $500 to set up a theater in Mumford," Burk said. "Because for some reason I thought that was how much it would cost."

Grandpa said no, so he had to wait 44 years.

Fast forward to the present day: Burk is board president for the Batavia Players, which are 95 percent finished establishing their new theater in the historic Batavia Industrial Center on Harvester Avenue (see last year's story for background information).

An opening gala was held at the new theater last night. Attendees got to tour the grounds, listen to some music, and enjoy some refreshments. 

Burk is pictured above, addressing those in attendance from the stage of the three-quarter round theater. He said that while there is still work to be done, "we did pass inspection (which is a big deal in Batavia)."

This met with laughter and applause.

The following are pictures of the new theater space, including the black-box stage, the costume storage room, meeting room (where actors can gather to rehearse) and refreshment room.

There is also a box office at the front of the building.

By all accounts, this was (and still is) a labor of love. A total of roughly 30 volunteers spent, according to Burk, "literally hundreds of hours" -- sometimes working from 8 a.m. until midnight -- to convert this industrial space into what it is now.

Just to give you an idea of how much work was required in this endeavor, here are a couple pictures of a part of the building resembling what the space looked like before:

The first performance set to take place at the new theater is "Love Lines," a play that Burk wrote himself. 

"It consists of a series of vignettes dealing with how different people have experienced falling in love," Burk said.

Characters range from Nancy Reagan to Burk's own parents, and from couples who write love letters to one another for years to couple's who don't even know one another until they've gotten married.

Performances are set for Feb. 11-14.

"Love Lines" will be followed by:

• Shakespeare's "The Tempest," set to be performed March 17-19
• "Rent," May 19-21
• "On Broadway" -- featuring music from "The Lion King," "Aida," "Sweeney Todd" and "Spring Awakenings" -- June 23-25
• "Cats" Aug. 18-20
• "Three from Tennessee" Sept. 15-17
• Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" Dec. 14-16.

APPENDIX: The Artisan Center

The new theater is part of Harvester's Artisan Center, which is home to others with similarly artistic interests. Some of them were at the gala last night, including:

Susan Meir, of Susan Meier Photography

Colin Dentino, of En Garde Fencing.

(UPDATE Jan. 10): Some of our readers had questions after reading Thursday's, "Opening gala showcases Batavia players' new theater on Harvester."

Here's some more information:

• Seating/Capacity: The new theater seats between 100-140 people.
• Ticket prices: These will vary depending on the show. The first play to be performed in the Harvester location will be an Honesty Theatre performance (click here for more information on this group) on Jan. 22; admission will be $10 per adult, $8 for children and seniors.
• Theater hours: At this time, according to Batavia Players' Board President Patrick Burk, the space is only open for rehearsals and performances. Burk hopes, eventually, to have people working there "around the clock" on various projects. 
• To read more about the new theater space, visit www.bataviaplayers.org/new-theater-space.

• To see the lineup for the 2011 Season -- including descriptions of each show -- visit www.bataviaplayers.org/2011-season.

Representatives of Arcadia Publishing have been traveling to communities across the country for at least 10 years for their "Images of America" series, and last winter they approached Larry D. Barnes, Batavia's resident historian.

According to Barnes, the South Carolina-based publishing company, which published another book on Batavia -- simply titled "Batavia" -- about 10 years ago, wanted to "take another look" at the city and its history.

Barnes' book, "Batavia Revisited," will explore different topics and feature different photos -- of which there are about 220 in all -- from the first book. It covers many of the major events that reshaped the city's appearance, including:

• The relocation of the railroad tracks to the outskirts of town;

• The construction of the Oak Street Bridge; and

• The Urban Renewal of the 1960s and early 1970s

As a book that relies heavily on the use of photographs, "Batavia Revisited" is mainly focused on the period from 1860 onward. However, Barnes includes an introduction dealing with Batavia's earlier history, which goes back to the early 1800s.

"I also try to straighten out some misinformation over the years (about Batavia's history)," Barnes said. "For example, I've found over and over again in my research, that the person most people think built the Old City Hall had been dead for two years (before it was built). It was his son who built it."

Barnes is a retired Genesee Community College professor and a volunteer with the Genesee County History Department. He taught psychology, but describes history as a "second career."

"It's a personal interest of mine," he said. "I do a lot of (historical) writing and research."

The book will be on sale starting Jan. 17, and will be available for purchase at Present Tense books on Wasington Avenue (and probably at the Holland Land Office Museum as well).

For more information on the book, please visit its page on Arcadia Publishing.

The third and final "Christmas in the Schools" video features students from Holy Family School (Le Roy), Batavia Middle School and St. Joseph School (I was going to go to Oakfield Elementary, but the weather prevented me -- St. Joe's was having the official holiday concert at the same time that evening, so I figured this would give me the chance to film those St. Joe's students who weren't caroling at the City Centre).

I have to warn you, the video quality is not quite as good as the other two installments.  I was having some unexpected camera troubles -- some of this was my fault, some of it the fault of circumstances. But I hope that the quality of the students' performances will make up for this.

Finally, I just need to correct a quick error in the first video: "Santa's Playlist" was written by John Jacobson and Roger (not Robert) Emerson; you will notice that these two wrote one of the songs appearing in this video.

Thank you to all of the schools for allowing me to see and showcase the students' hard work and talent, and congratulations to the kids on a job well done.

My second Christmas video features the talented students of John Kennedy, Robert Morris, Alexander elementary and Pembroke Intermediate schools.

Some quick background on Pembroke Intermediate: For several years, chorus teacher Andy Clark has made a yearly tradition of reserving a spot in Pembroke Choralier Christmas concerts for "Christmas Sing-alongs," during which former choraliers are invited to come up and sing with the group. You will be able to see them up on the stage, behind all of the current choraliers, during the sing-along segments.

Stay tuned for part 3!

If you missed part 1, click here.

Shoppers have until Dec. 24 to enter for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree in downtown Batavia.

The Business Improvement District -- better known as the BID -- Promotions Committee started "Shop in the Zone for the Holidays" on Dec. 1. Participating downtown businesses will be handing out shopper's cards to anyone who asks for them. No purchase is necessary.

Shoppers have to visit at least 12 of the 30 participating businesses, and then deposit their tickets at one of the following drop-box locations:

• Adam Miller's Toys & Bicycle, 8 Center St.

• Marchese Computer Products, 220 Ellicott St.

• O'Lacy's Irish Pub, 5 School St.

• The Daily Grind, 85 Main St.

• Valle Jewelers, 21 Jackson St.

On Dec. 27, a lucky winner will get $500 to spend at the participating businesses.

BID officials see this as a two-way benefit. Executive Director Don Burkel said that it attracts business in the downtown area while familiarizing people with available services.

"I encourage people to participate," Burkel said. "500 dollars is a fair amount of money, and there are a lot of goods and services (at downtown Batavia businesses) that everyone can use."

Krysia Mager, a member of the BID Promotion Committee, calls this " a chance to get people to shop and dine in downtown for the holiday season."

You can find all of the businesses taking part in "Shop in the Zone for the Holiday Season" at www.downtownbataviany.com.

Again, shoppers must visit at least 12 of them and collect a shopper's card from each one.

For more details, contact Burkel at 344-0900.

I'm on another trip around the county, this time for footage of school Christmas concerts.

I decided to do three or four shorter videos this time, instead of one big video with all the school concerts packed together (see Spring concerts article). This way, I can include more of the performances from each school.

The first video includes concert footage from Notre Dame High School, Dorothy B. Dunce Elementary (Pavilion), Jackson and St. Joseph schools. Jackson and St. Joe's performed at "Christmas in the City" on Friday.

My apologies to Jackson for only including a few songs. This was a shorter concert.

More to come!

This story has been updated, see below.

Robert Morris Elementary School is among 1,000 competitors in the Pepsi Refresh Project this month -- and if all goes well, they'll be one of the grant recipients. They want you to cast votes for them -- that's how the winners are chosen.

The school, located at 80 Union St. in Batavia, submitted a project idea to build a better, environmentally friendly playground there.

Each month, Pepsi ponies up $1.2 million in grant funds for worthy projects in the United States. Thus, there are 12 submission periods. If a project doesn't win one month, it can be resubmitted, according to the website rules. And if it made the top 100, it will automatically be rolled into the next month's competition.

This month, there were 1,096 ideas submitted. But only the first 1,000 are considered and only 32 will win money. It breaks down like this: two get $250,000; 10 get $50,000; 10 get $25,000; and 10 get $5,000.

The grants fall into six categories: health and fitness; food and shelter, education; The Planet; neighborhoods; and arts and culture.

People can go online and vote up to 10 times a day per person, per IP address/account. Voting ends at the end of December. Potential winners will be notified within the first week of January. Actual winners will be posted online by mid-month.

UPDATE:

Robert Morris School Principal Diane Bonarigo said that playground improvements -- designed by Parkitects -- are based on surveys filled out by parents, teachers and students.

Some features of the new playground would include safer and more usable equipment for kids with disabilities, equipment that is more suited for younger children, solar lighting in the evening for safety, more trees and mulch, and more opportunities for kids to get active.

Teacher Jerry Sloan said that the Playground Committee, of which he is the faculty leader, wanted this project to extend "beyond the scope of our school."

"The playground is used by the community," said teacher Jerry Sloan of the Playground Committee. "And for a lot of kids, it's one of the few available means of recreation."

"We're not just doing this for us," Bonarigo said. "We're doing it for the community. We think it will benefit (Batavia) for years to come."

1. You can go to refresheverything.com/robertmorrisplagyround, where you can find more information -- including a video made by students, staff and parents -- and vote by clicking the "Vote for this idea" tab (upper right).

2. You can also vote via text messaging. Simply text to 73774 and enter 104607 in the message.

3. If you have a Facebook account, you can enter your Facebook username and password to cast your vote (and also share with friends).