City Council man Andrew Liuzzo is organizing an ‘ask us’ event for residents to meet informally with local officials and discuss issues with them. It will take place Tuesday, Aug. 28 at Love School in Jamestown.

JAMESTOWN – A member of the Jamestown City Council is encouraging city residents to attend a public “Ask Us” event scheduled for next Tuesday night, Aug. 28.

City Councilman Andrew Liuzzo (At Large) has organized the event at Love School near the corner of Eighth and Main Streets.  He says the event will not only allow residents to meet with local officials and ask questions about various issues facing the community, but will also serve as a supply drive for students.

Liuzzo says he has invited public officials from the city, county, and state governments including Senator Cathy Young, Assemblyman Andy Goodell, County Executive George Borello, and members of the Chautauqua County Legislature and City Council, along with city department heads.

Liuzzo says there will not be speeches, microphone or podium at the event and it is not a campaign or political event. Instead, he’s describing it as an opportunity for residents to ask questions and concerns on a one-to-one basis.

The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 28 rain or shine.

An open house is scheduled Tuesday for Lincoln Elementary School, giving students and their families an opportunity to see all of the renovations that have taken place during the past year.

Lincoln Elementary School will reopen this week after more than a year of renovation work.

In addition to celebration the completion of the school renovation, Superintendent Tim Mains said the event will also give more than 200 students from Love School an opportunity to tour Lincoln, which will be their home for the new school year.

“There are a lot of new students coming in because students in kindergarten, first and second grades from Love Elementary School are going to be integrated with the other students, so they’re going to become Lincoln students for the year,” Mains said during a recent interview with WRFA. “So that school grows to a school of almost 700 students, and every available space is filled.”

As a result of having to relocate the Love school students, Jamestown will have additional bus routes to transfer them to Lincoln. Mains tells WRFA that those bus routes will begin trial runs tonight.

“For the Love students who are being bused, that will also be a night that we do a special bus run, so that will also be a trial,” Mains said. “A lot of those young people have never ridden a bus so we’re going to tell them when their buses are going to be there to pick them up. Of course, the parents can take them to Lincoln directly if they wish, but we want kids to practice riding the bus in advance of the first day.”

Due to a major renovation project at Love, Mains said those students will be at Lincoln throughout the entire 2015-16 school year.

“We expect that the construction will take place in a single year, so we expect that a summer-school year-summer should take care of all the school work needed at Love and we’ll be able to complete it in that confined time because we’re emptying the building.”

As part of the relocation, Love kindergarten through second graders will be relocated to Lincoln Elementary School, while third and fourth graders will be headed to Washington Middle School.

UPK students will be going to Ring Elementary, or another neighborhood school.

The district is working on maintaining after school programming opportunities for Love students and families while the relocation occurs. More information on options for after school programming will also be provided to Love parents at a later time.

The new school year begins on Thursday for all Jamestown schools. High school students should report to their homerooms by 8 a.m., Middle School doors open at 8:05 and homeroom begins at 8:10 a.m. and Elementary School starts at 8:20 a.m. It will be a half-day for all students with dismissal at 11:30 a.m. The first full day for all students will be Friday.

Fletcher Elementary School fourth graders Nivette Hunter, Sara Randolph and Coleson Barber worked on BrainWare Safari software during the Fletcher Advantage Afterschool Program. The award-winning software helps build 41 cognitive skills in six areas for third through sixth graders: attention, memory, thinking, visual processing, auditory processing and sensory integration in fun games. JPS currently uses BrainWare in fifth and sixth grade classrooms during the school day creating a school to afterschool academic connection. “I love playing the game because it helps me think of different ways to get through a maze and solve a problem and it’s so much fun,” said fourth grader Darius Freeney.

JAMESTOWN – Good news for some after school programming at Jamestown Public Schools.

Jamestown Public Schools was recently awarded a one-year extension to its New York State Education Department Extended School Day Grant. The district has received the grant since 2010. The newest extension will conserve existing after school programs and services through June 2016.

The district receives $342,078 annually to help provide a number of high-priority out-of-school time services, including elementary after school programs at Bush, Fletcher, Love and Ring schools, Chautauqua Striders tutoring, visual and performing arts experiences with Infinity Visual and Performing Arts, educational presentations with Chautauqua Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Council, literacy and family night events, after school robotics program in the middle schools, After School Amigos Family Literacy Program at Love School, and a “Literacy Café” middle school reading program.

“This extension is a welcome reprieve from our anticipated funding dilemma,” said JPS Director of After School Programs Julie Poppleton. “We were advised that the existing Extended School Day grant would definitely sunset this June, and were anxious about our chances of capturing another award in light of growing competition for shrinking dollars. We are constantly working hard to secure funding that supplements modest parent fees so that we can sustain service to our community. We know that after school programs not only keep kids safe, they can also inspire learning, help improve students’ academic performance, school attendance, behavior and health, and support working families.”

Jamestown Public Schools serves over 400 students each day in its after school programming. Jamestown Public Schools, in partnership with Chautauqua Striders, YWCA of Jamestown, The Y, and other community organizations, provides academic support, a wide array of youth development activities that complement the regular school day, and family involvement opportunities at four district elementary, and two middle schools.