The Art of Building School Spirit and Student Leaders at OIMS with Assistant Principal Rich DiMartino

Join us as we sit down with Rich DeMartino, assistant principal of Olean Intermediate Middle School (OIMS), to explore the transformative power of extracurriculars in student life. We're not just talking about after-school activities; we're diving into a world where clubs and sports become catalysts for personal growth, leadership development, and forging deep connections within the school community. Rich brings to light the significant strides the Student Activities Council made in boosting school spirit and outlines the eagerly anticipated end-of-year events that celebrate student achievements. Listen in for an enriching discussion on the multifaceted benefits of student engagement beyond the classroom and how it's shaping the vibrant culture at OIMS.

What does Batman have to do with educational leadership? Find out as we unpack the superhero qualities that make influential school leaders with our guest, Rich DeMartino. In a chapter that's sure to energize and motivate, we discuss the synergy between committed staff, passionate leaders, and the unstoppable energy of students. Through the lens of some of Gotham's finest traits, we examine the power of collective problem-solving and the resulting triumphs that define OIMS's unique environment. Tune in for a celebration of teamwork, camaraderie, and the shared journeys that empower every student to become their own version of a caped crusader.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Good afternoon everybody, and welcome to our
newest episode of the HuskyHuddle.
I am so happy to have with methe assistant principal from
OIMS, Rich DeMartino.
Thank you for joining me today,rich.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Thank you very much.
Happy to be here Awesome.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself,
and then we'll talk about OIMS?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Okay, that sounds great.
I grew up in a family full ofeducators, hence why I have
decided to make this a career ofmine.
I did start off as a physicaleducation teacher, but I went
through my master's program togo into leadership to see when

(00:49):
that would begin, and I'm happyto be starting my first full
year here at OIMS and at OleanCity School District.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Wonderful job at it.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
So thank you so much for giving us a little bit of
history about you.
So what would you like to tellus about our middle-intermediate
school, Williams, and thewonderful things that are
happening there?

Speaker 2 (01:26):
talk about academics and the eight to three school
day, but I'd like to touch onthe extracurricular
opportunities that we have andthe importance of those, because
I feel those can be just asvaluable as the academic side of
things.
So some of the things that youcan get from an extracurricular
opportunity such as a club andsports program or anything that

(01:48):
you can think of you have theopportunity to get to know some
individuals that maybe you havenever gotten the opportunity to
do so before, and I'm talkingabout maybe the teacher that is
in charge, or the advisor that'sin charge of the
extracurricular, or your coach.
You may have never met them, soyou get to know somebody, you

(02:08):
get to learn about them, you getto grow with them, but you also
get to grow with the otherstudents that you happen to be
with.
Those again can be students ofdifferent grade levels and you
can learn about them and youcould end up with a new friend
at the end of the day.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
By extracurricular.
Is that only athletics?
Are there other things that youcan do after school?

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Absolutely.
There are plenty of differentclubs and activities to get into
.
So one of the things that I'lltouch on will be our Student
Activities Council, wherestudents have the opportunity to
be a leader within the schoolbuilding.
And I do want to say our SACdoes a phenomenal job.
They meet monthly, they planthings monthly, they do weekly

(02:55):
spirit-themed weeks wherestudents get to dress up how
they would like.
They always lead our assemblies, our great rewards assemblies
with some type of cheer chant ormaybe even an impromptu speech
to get everybody involved.
So I do want to shout out theSAC and all of its members for
the phenomenal job that they do.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
I was able to do my very first assembly with you all
, and that was awesome, for thetheme of the month was
perseverance, and my gosh, therewas so much energy.
It was so fun.
So thank you to all of them forthat amazing experience.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
Absolutely.
We were happy that you wereable to attend, and that's just
one of the couple of optionsthat we have.
We do also have an allies club,where students have the ability
to meet after school withsimilar peers and just get to
know everybody better and justfeel that safe space around them
.
That's another great option.

(03:52):
We have some middle schoolerswho participate in our ski club,
which that could be looked atas an athletics, but it's
actually just a club where youget to go weekly during the
winter and ski with your friends.
So there's a lot more than justathletics where you can still
get that same vibe the teamwork,the accountability, the
responsibility, team camaraderieall of those things in order to

(04:16):
make your school career assuccessful and as happy as you
would like.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
That sounds like there's so much stuff for them
to do and so much stuff for themto access, and so, depending on
what, your interests are.
In the end, it's about havingfun, making friends and being
able to connect with your schoolcommunity, so that's fantastic.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yes, some of the best moments in life can come from
the opportunity to meet newpeople and learn and grow to
become a better self in thefuture.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yeah, yeah, that's amazing and that's awesome.
That's really good work, andI'm glad to hear about the
passion that our students havefor this and that you do as well
.
Yes, that's awesome.
So what else do you want totell us about BLAMES?

Speaker 2 (05:02):
So, as our school year is coming to a close, I
know we are having meetings andwe are planning for the end of
the year festivities.
So some of the things that ourstudents in our community can
look forward to is we host atrack and field day for our
fourth and fifth graders.
And that does not include theexceptional track and field day
that we do with our otherstudents day that we do with our

(05:28):
other students.
So that is yes, and that's away for the community and
parents to come in and supporttheir own athlete as they watch
them compete in one track eventand one field event.
So that's coming up in June.
We're also planning our JuneGreat Rewards Assembly.
We've been talking aboutassemblies, but that one's even
bigger, so we are starting towork on that also.

Speaker 1 (05:49):
yes, even a little bit longer yes yes do you know
what the date of the track andfield is?

Speaker 2 (05:57):
so we have a date of June 3rd and a rain date of the
4th okay, good calendar.
Yes, we're excited to do that.
I know I used to participatethat from the physical education
perspective.
It's a great way for everybodyto come together.
We have all the PE staff, or asmany that can come throughout

(06:17):
the district help supporteverybody as we go through that
morning, so I'm looking forwardto that as well.

Speaker 1 (06:23):
All right, and then, what other things do you guys
have planned?
You do a moving up ceremony,don't you?

Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yes, yeah, we do have that.
We work in conjunction with thehigh school.
Where the seventh grade comesup, they have an eighth grade
orientation day.
This past school year theyactually had a dinner that was
accompanied with that, so we'relooking forward to having that
set up again so there's no needto be apprehensive as a parent

(06:53):
or as a student moving frommiddle school to the high school
we do things to help makepeople feel comfortable and our
students feel okay with thattransition from middle school to
high school.
Yes, and even the third gradersgoing into fourth grade.
Oh, that's easy.
Yes, we have some tours that wedo over the summer.
We have plenty of opportunitiesfor parents to ask questions.

(07:17):
Come visit tour with one of ournew students and we try to help
them feel as safe as possible.
We are actually working withEastview and Washington West to
set up a time to have the thirdgraders come just as a group not
with their parents, but as agroup during the school day and
they'll get to tour with alltheir classes and their current
teachers.
So we're looking forward tothat as well.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
That's fantastic because if you were brand new to
the building, being in thatreally big building might be
intimidating, especially forincoming three third graders.
So that's great, you guys dothat and walk them through.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
They can do it and it will be okay that's where
looking forward to seeing ournew star students yes, it's
wonderful.

Speaker 1 (08:00):
And you guys can't you have to talk about the
amazing work that's being done?
Can't you have to talk aboutthe amazing work that's being
done outside your building onthat dirt field?
So how's?

Speaker 2 (08:10):
that going.
Absolutely.
It's been one of the myfavorite things to do looking
out the window and seeing theprogress we have the turf down,
the lines are down, it lookslike we are pretty soon going to
be complete with that project,and our playground that we've
been waiting for so long for wasactually delivered over spring

(08:32):
break and they are currentlythere at this time putting it in
.

Speaker 1 (08:37):
so yes, it's all coming yesterday and I saw doing
something foundationally there.
So it's great to know thatthere will be a playground here.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
Very, very yes, you'll have to check it out.
They're starting to buildthings and everything.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah and you guys have a really nice yes, we do
it's a really beautiful facilityyes just making it into a
world-class school.
Community access and ourstudents are really fortunate to
have.

Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yes, we do.
We also with that pool.
We also have a great lifeguardthat makes sure to man
everything and keep everybodysafe.
And one thing that I don't knowthat everybody realizes is
swimming is actually part of thephysical education curriculum
at OIMS, so students have theopportunity to learn how to swim

(09:28):
during their PE classes Alittle individual life sport
that they can do throughouttheir entire life.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
Fantastic, and not every school has a pool to do
that, so that's amazing.
Thank you, guys, for having aworld-class swim program over
there too.
So what else do we want tohighlight at ruins?

Speaker 2 (09:53):
and what?
I will say this we have a lotof visual representations going
up inside of the building.
Over the summer we did someexteriors where we wrapped some
poles and things like that, butinterior, we are putting up a
selfie wall currently is goingup on the second floor, yes, so

(10:13):
students are gonna have theopportunity to take some
pictures when they can, ofcourse, but we're doing a lot
inside of the school as well totry to make it feel like a home
base, a safe space, everybodywelcome.
So I'm looking forward to seehow all of that completes and a
shout out goes out to theBoese's Print Shop for all the

(10:34):
work they're doing.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
They are, along with you guys, responsible for seeing
that big emblazoned sign thisis a Husky Nation when you're
driving up the street.
Thank you to all of you for theconceptualization and to the
boces print shop for helping usmake that vision into a reality.
That's awesome.
Can't feel anything else buttrue husky pride walking and

(10:58):
seeing that right above you.

Speaker 2 (11:00):
That's always our goal.
Yeah, inspiration and kind offeel like you're part of the
family.

Speaker 1 (11:05):
And you guys even have the alma mater in there.

Speaker 2 (11:08):
Walk through the tunnel Bridge?

Speaker 1 (11:09):
Yes, Pretty cool.
Yeah, that's awesome.
Well, I loved hearing about thewonderful things that are
happening at.
Oys and things that are beingpassionately supported by your
leadership and the studentsthere and the staff there.
So thank you so much.
So I told you in advance lastyear we asked all of our

(11:34):
leadership team to think of asuperhero quality that they
superhero quality that theyembody.
So here's your opportunity toanswer that.

Speaker 2 (11:46):
All right.
Well, I was always a fan ofBatman growing up, so that's
where my mind always goes, andwhile he does a lot of different
things, he always has theability and is successful with
finding solutions to problemsand helping people as he's doing
that.
So I would say that's one ofthe superhero attributes that I

(12:09):
feel I have the ability to helpeverybody.
You take the time, figure out asolution, you move forward
together and the success willcome.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
I see that definitely in your leadership, so that's
an amazing answer.
Thank you so much.
Well, I appreciate you comingon.

Speaker 2 (12:26):
Absolutely.
Thank you for your time.

Speaker 1 (12:29):
And I can't wait to have you back.

Speaker 2 (12:31):
I'm looking forward to it.
All right, thank you, thank you.