The closing months of this school year have been exciting on a number of fronts, certainly punctuated on June 10 by the beginning of demolition of Owego Elementary School.

Sad because so many of the community's families have ties to the school building, but at the same time, signifying real progress as the district moves forward in a tangible way toward recovery after the Flood of 2011. (FOX 40 VIDEO)

We've seen our Odyssey of the Mind team progress to the World Competition in Michigan, finishing 6th in their category. We've congratulated our valedictorian (Lauren Dewey-Wright) and salutatorian (Tommy West), as they led their class toward graduation. Some of our middle schoolers successfully launched a balloon, outfitted with a camera, capturing exciting images far into the Earth's atmosphere.

We saw the OA community overwhelmingly support our budget for the upcoming school year, as well as our bus replacement program, and we welcome one new member to our Board of Education (Buffie Arhbal) and thank another for several years of dedicated service (John Gatto).

We've had great wins in athletics, amazing productions in the traditional and performing arts. And this year our academics were celebrated with high rankings from U.S. News & World Report and the Buffalo-based publication Business First.

And finally, on June 22, the Class of 2013 will graduate and move on to a new chapter of their lives.

As we wind down these last couple weeks, we realize it's been a terrific year at OA Schools, and we're looking forward to a great summer that will renew us all and take us into a great 2013-14 school year.