For three years in a row now, Snyder students have worked together to raise money and contribute to our local Special Olympics! Teacher, Miss Schwenk has helped run this event in our school each year to combine a little friendly competition with the end goal of raising money for this community event. one thousand five hundred dollars were raised from this year's Polar Pop donations and activities! To make this year's Polar Pop a success, money was raised through middle school dances, faculty dress down days, homeroom collections, as well as generous donations. 

“Five years ago I did the Polar Plunge, which is where I jumped into a cold lake, but once the pandemic happened I couldn’t so that's when I brought the idea of the Polar Pop to the principal so our school could have extra fun,” explained Miss Schwenk.

The Polar Pop dance was held for grades 5 and 6 at Snyder to provide a night of dancing and fun with friends. Miss Schwenk, along with other staff members, helped this dance along with a photo prop station to capture memories through photographs.

“The music and dancing was very eventful, and I love school events because I get to hang out with my friends,” said Scarlett Lattimer.

At Snyder, each homeroom raises money toward the goal of being the homeroom who raises the most money. The homeroom that raises the most money, gets to pop cold water balloons over adult heads in the “Polar Pop." This friendly competition is widely spoken about and looked forward to by both faculty and staff each year.

“It was fun to be able to experience being able to pop a balloon over a teacher’s head,” said Jaxon Hoffman.

The money raised from this event all goes to the Bradford County Special Olympics, where some students compete in Olympic-like sports. The Special Olympics is starting on June 1st, 2024. Some events that happen at the Special Olympics are the 50 meter run, 100 meter run, softball throw, long jump, and basketball shoot. Along with these competitive events, fun activities are also provided for the participants while waiting for their event.

“It's my favorite day of the year since I get to see different friends from schools. It's also a good opportunity for students to watch and cheer on their peers,” said Miss Schwenk.

Snyder Elementary was well represented in the regional and state level stem competition called Odyssey of the Mind. The regional competition took place in March where Snyder’s Division 2 team of students advanced to the state competition along with other districts. The state competition took place in April where Snyder’s team took 7th place. The team consisted of Second Grader Norah Hadlock, Third Grader Alyssa Mosier, and Fifth Grader Ada Mosier. The team also consisted of Sixth graders Kaylee Kmetz, Daniel Vupoutic, Caleb Conden and Clyde Bleiler. These students were led and advised by Mrs. Lezak.

“Competing In Odyssey of the Mind was fun. I enjoyed the competition and working with my friends while solving a problem,” said 6th grader Kaylee Kmetz.

 Odyssey of the mind is a competition where a team of students is given a problem and needs to come up with a solution as a team. The competition this year for the Snyder team was to create a Deep Space Structure out of specific materials. This structure has to follow specific criteria to be entered and then is tested to determine how well the structure withstands weight placed upon it. 

The students also are instructed to create and perform a skit relating to the theme problem. There are 5 different problems in the competition and different divisions for age levels.   Scoring for your team is based on areas such as style, performance, creativity, and structure, as well as problem solving and teamwork.

“Students learned a lot about working as a team. It was challenging yet fun and I am so proud of the team for competing in the middle school division,” said Mrs. Lezak.

Snyder’s team may not have won states but their hours of practice and creativity certainly represented our school well. Earning the place to compete at the state level is something that students have to work hard for, and Snyder’s team proved that hard work pays off. 

“The Odyssey of the Mind Competition is something that you have to work hard for. We had to make a skit together and props. Our team had to remember our lines, work together, and think outside the box,” Sixth Grader Caleb Conden said.

This year, Snyder hosted a spelling bee for grades 4th, 5th, and 6th. Fifth grade teacher Mrs. Lathrop was inspired to host a spelling bee for our school, so she organized the Snyder Spelling Bee.

“There are a lot of students who are interested in practicing and learning really hard words and like to be challenged. It’s a good opportunity for those students to be recognized for their talents,” said Mrs. Lathrop.

 Many kids from grades 4-6 were interested in this opportunity and participated in the first spelling bee in March and April. Two students were chosen from Snyder Elementary to represent Sayre at the regional spelling bee, which took place in Towanda with other students from local schools.

“I signed up for the spelling bee because I like going to competitions and challenging myself,” Ada said, “I learned a lot about spelling from it.” 

Ada Mosier, a fifth grade student in Miss Higley's class, and Ashlynn Johnson, a 6th grade student in Ms. Ameigh’s class were the students from Snyder Elementary that made it to the regional spelling bee to compete with students from other schools. 

“Competing was scary because we had to stand in front of a huge crowd and judges, but it was really fun,” said Ashlynn Johnson.

If you have been to Snyder Elementary lately, you may have noticed some new furniture in both our cafeteria and our school library. Both the library and cafeteria furniture were old and outdated. The update was budgeted to replace the old with something new, practical, and inviting for students.

“I like the new equipment because it is spacious and we have separate seats in the cafeteria so people are not on top of each other, " said fifth grader, Regan Thompson.

Before the new cafeteria tables arrived, the old ones sported benches attached to the table that students could slide down to sit on. The new tables feature individual seats and space for students to sit and feel more comfortable.

“I'm so excited for my students to be in this newly designed space. Each week, students can't wait to check out a book and read on the comfortable seating,” said Snyder Librarian Mrs. Leonard. 

The Snyder Library looks like a totally different room by moving bookshelves around and adding in new flexible seating throughout the space. Students now have different options to sit at regular-height tables, high-top tables, or couches while in class. Walking by, you may see some students working in small groups participating in discussions at the high top tables or students sitting on the couches reading a book they recently checked out.

“I like the new library equipment because it is comfortable and it gives us something to do when reading books,” said Brayleigh Stroud.