Pictured left to right are Middle/High School House Principal Daniel McNeill, student Spring Thing planners Emma Daigle, Mia Fanara, and Catie Russell, along with Elementary House Principal Matthew Fredrick. Missing in the picture is another student planner Mya Cusimano. Submitted photo

SINCLAIRVILLE — Graduates of Cassadaga Valley Central School from the 1970s and ’80s may remember the school-wide community showcase event that was known as Spring Thing.

The event has not been held in many years, but Cassadaga Valley administrators and students have been working to bring it back, with the official return set for today and Saturday.

“The Spring Thing event was a big, school-wide event here probably in the late 1970s into the 1980s,” said Dan McNeill, Cassadaga Valley Central School middle and high school house principal. “It is essentially the community showcase of everything that is Cassadaga Valley Central School. A lot of tremendous events and different clubs host featuring obviously student work. From my understanding it was presented as a wellness fair type of situation.”

The event is guided by students and McNeill said it is meant to have the classic showcase feeling of student work at the school. McNeill and Matthew Fredrick, elementary house principal, are overseeing the student event planners for the Spring Thing. The student event planners are Emma Daigle, Mia Fanara, Catie Russell and Mya Cusimano.

“I think it’s a nice way to bring a small community even more together,” Fredrick said. “District-wide we are under 900 students. It’s a very small community, and especially in the roles that Dan and I play as house principals, culture is very important. I think this is a good way to continue improving the school community, the environment, the culture, and the collaboration between everybody coming together to celebrate the great things happening at Cassadaga.”

McNeill added that the Spring Thing event also falls directly in line with the goals of the district’s Board of Education and is a wonderful opportunity for students to showcase not only their work from an academic standpoint but also as volunteers for the event to help put the event together.

The Spring Thing will be two separate events with the Middle/High School event showcase happening Friday and the elementary school event happening Saturday. Friday night at 6 p.m. there will be a talent show in the Middle/High School auditorium. Students Emma Daigle and Mya Cusimano have been the student planners and organizers for the Middle/High School event, in charge of logistics, along with organizing and recruiting for the show.

“It’s a great opportunity that has been open not only to students but to staff as well,” McNeill said. “Even community members I think at some point will be a part of this showcase of talent. We have a number of acts and have had the opportunity to sit in on a number of rehearsals and listen and see what they’re coming up with.”

Additionally, McNeill said there are many talented students at the school and they are looking forward to seeing them do the show and to see the acts one by one from start to finish. There will also be fundraising opportunities for the PTO, such as basket raffles.

The Elementary Spring Thing event will be on Saturday, with two different rounds of activities. Fredrick said the morning round is from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the evening runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Morning events include face painting, a color run on the Elementary track, visits from the sheriff’s department and Cassadaga Fire Company, and the Middle/High School FFA will have demonstrations and a petting zoo. There will also be a kickball tournament, with an adult, middle/high school and elementary bracket if enough teams sign up. Food vendors will also be around in the morning event until 12:30 p.m., carrying items including kettle corn, ice cream and more.

The evening event will have an opening act from Cassadaga Valley senior Cameron Katilis followed by the main event of the band Ion Sky. Zootopia will be playing in the cafeteria for the kids and there will also be a prize basket for the best outfit, as Fredrick said students have been asked to dress up like their favorite animal.

He noted that some things will be adjusted in case of rain, though if everything goes well with the weather there will be two bus runs, as Saturday’s participants have been asked to park at the Middle/High School and will then be shuttled down to the Elementary school. This will happen during both time frames on Saturday.

In case of rain, Fredrick said plan B is that the decision to change things will be made by Friday at noon, and all activities will be moved to the Middle/High School except for the color run, which will still take place at the Elementary school. A callout will go out by 4 p.m. Friday, recorded by the student organizers for the Elementary event, Mia Fanara and Catie Russell. The digital Middle/High School sign will also be updated, along with the Elementary sign and if needed changes will be communicated on the school’s website, Facebook page, and class dojo. If these adjustments happen there would also be no shuttle runs, and the morning FFA petting zoo would be in the small gym and the kickball tournament in the large gym, with the food trucks outside the Cougar entrance. The sheriff’s department would be in the cafeteria and the Cassadaga Fire Company would still bring their engine in front of the building. Rain changes for the evening would see the food trucks still outside the Cougar entrance, with the movie in the auditorium and the band in the large gym. Hot dogs may also be potentially sold in the concession stand. Any potential rain changes will be communicated out on Friday before Saturday’s event.

“Schools are the heart of every community and the opportunity to showcase the things that our kids do is a nice event in general, but this event also showcases our campuses and connects communities and family members together,” McNeill said.

McNeill said that the event is primarily led by students, who have been hired by the district as student planners, given the lead and charge to plan and put together the event and everything that has entailed. He added that the administrators have been providing support, but the event has been put together and is run by the students.

“The opportunity for the community to see and recognize the work of the kids is, I think, what really makes this event special and worth coming to see here,” McNeill said.

Fredrick added to that, saying that as a small community Cassadaga Valley has a lot to offer and they always put students first. He said the district is very proud of the culture and rich history they have, and are trying to continue on the legacy of this event.

“We want to make sure that community members recognize we have a lot of great things happening at Cassadaga and we want other districts to see all the great things and hopefully they can offer these things to their students as well,” Fredrick said. “This has been a lot of steps in the making. We’re very excited for the final result. The time is here and I know the students especially that have been in charge of this are very excited to show all of the work they put in, and they should be very proud of that.”