winter 2019 vol. 67 no. 2 - pleasantville › district newsletters › 2018-2019 › 6… · school...

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Dear Neighbors, We would like to take this opportunity to share some of what is happening with our students in the three A’s: Academics, the Arts and Athletics. We would also like to discuss another very important A, Advocacy, and ask for your help. Artistically, our stu- dents always shine! Hundreds of students, staff and community volunteers are gearing up to stage the High School play, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, opening on Friday, March 8. Go to phsplay. org to get your tickets. Our seventh and eighth grade actors and crew are preparing for their production of Peter Pan, which will be performed on March 22 & 23. The Middle School Art Show was in residence at the Mt. Pleasant Public Library from February 6-14 and the artwork of ten of our High School students will be displayed at the Katonah Museum of Art in late February/early March. Our athletes have been hard at work. This fall, the girls soccer team won the Mt. Pleasant Cup for the fourth year in a row. The girls soccer, boys cross country and boys and girls winter track teams all won their leagues. The wrestling team won the dual meet championship for Section 1, which qualified the team to go to states. Congratulations to all! Winter 2019 Vol. 67 No. 2 Published by the Board of Education, Pleasantville Union Free School District, Pleasantville NY Board members Shane McGaffey, Angela Vella, and Emily Rubin Persons advocate for public education in Albany Academically, our students continue to rise to new challenges. The Technology for All program put a laptop into the hands of every fifth and ninth grader this year. Students and teachers are enjoying the expanded learning opportunities that have come with their new devices. This spring, each sixth and tenth grade teacher will be given a laptop so they can begin to leverage this technology to enhance their curriculum for next year. The administration and board have also been busy preparing for the next phase of the Strategic Plan and a potential bond to address various facili- ties upgrades. We look forward to working with students, staff, parents and community members to identify new strategies and prioritize improve- ments to our facilities. The new budget season presents new opportuni- ties and highlights the need for increased advocacy efforts. The governor’s initial budget includes a paltry $11,000 increase in Foundation Aid for our district despite the fact we are still owed $2.2 million based on the Foundation Aid formula. In addition, it proposes a cap on expense-driven aid, lowering building aid on future bonds, and mari- juana legalization. These are all issues that could have significant negative impacts on our district and children. We ask that you go to the District website at pleasantvilleschools.org and click on Advocacy under the Board of Education tab. There you will find letters ready to be sent to the governor and our legislators on behalf of our children. Please join us in this fight to preserve the quality of education in our district and keep our children safe. Thank you. Sincerely, The Pleasantville Board of Education

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Page 1: Winter 2019 Vol. 67 No. 2 - Pleasantville › District Newsletters › 2018-2019 › 6… · School News — Achievements & Awards Fall Varsity Awards *Boys Cross Country. All Section:

Dear Neighbors,We would like to take this opportunity to share some of what is happening with our students in the three A’s: Academics, the Arts and Athletics. We would also like to discuss another very important

A, Advocacy, and ask for your help. Artistically, our stu-dents always shine! Hundreds of students, staff and community volunteers are gearing up to stage the High School play, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, opening on Friday, March 8. Go to phsplay.org to get your tickets. Our seventh and eighth grade actors and crew

are preparing for their production of Peter Pan, which will be performed on March 22 & 23. The Middle School Art Show was in residence at the Mt. Pleasant Public Library from February 6-14 and the artwork of ten of our High School students will be displayed at the Katonah Museum of Art in late February/early March. Our athletes have been hard at work. This fall, the girls soccer team won the Mt. Pleasant Cup for the fourth year in a row. The girls soccer, boys cross country and boys and girls winter track teams all won their leagues. The wrestling team won the dual meet championship for Section 1, which qualified the team to go to states. Congratulations to all!

Winter 2019 Vol. 67 No. 2

Published by the Board of Education, Pleasantville Union Free School District, Pleasantville NY

Board members Shane McGaffey, Angela Vella, and Emily Rubin Persons advocate for public education in Albany

Academically, our students continue to rise to new challenges. The Technology for All program put a laptop into the hands of every fifth and ninth grader this year. Students and teachers are enjoying the expanded learning opportunities that have come with their new devices. This spring, each sixth and tenth grade teacher will be given a laptop so they can begin to leverage this technology to enhance their curriculum for next year.

The administration and board have also been busy preparing for the next phase of the Strategic Plan and a potential bond to address various facili-ties upgrades. We look forward to working with students, staff, parents and community members to identify new strategies and prioritize improve-ments to our facilities.

The new budget season presents new opportuni-ties and highlights the need for increased advocacy efforts. The governor’s initial budget includes a paltry $11,000 increase in Foundation Aid for our district despite the fact we are still owed $2.2 million based on the Foundation Aid formula. In addition, it proposes a cap on expense-driven aid, lowering building aid on future bonds, and mari-juana legalization. These are all issues that could have significant negative impacts on our district and children.

We ask that you go to the District website at pleasantvilleschools.org and click on Advocacy under the Board of Education tab. There you will find letters ready to be sent to the governor and our legislators on behalf of our children. Please join us in this fight to preserve the quality of education in our district and keep our children safe. Thank you.Sincerely,The Pleasantville Board of Education

Page 2: Winter 2019 Vol. 67 No. 2 - Pleasantville › District Newsletters › 2018-2019 › 6… · School News — Achievements & Awards Fall Varsity Awards *Boys Cross Country. All Section:

School News — Achievements & Awards

Three Honor Societies Inducted New Members

National English Honor Society, front: Lauren Drillock, Meghan McLane, Norah Foley, Isabella Shender, Elsa Ammirati, Amber Alirahi, Lucy Allen; middle: Claire O’Hara, Tom Merritts, Scott Castillo, Avery Manna, Kyle Largey, Katerina Gusarova, Devin O’Neill; standing: Advisor Dr. Staci Tedrow, Anahita Subramanya, Ryan Dirgins, Carly Vavolizza, Jason Sarner, Michael Rufino, Michael Promisel, Fiona Promisel, Owen Stone; not pictured: Maya Sauthoff.

National Honor Society, front: Lucas Lee, Phoebe Luciano, Meghan McLane, Amber Alirahi, Carly Vavolizza, Sophie Ruhl, Devon DelCastillo, Victoria Figueiredo, Maya Sauthoff, Elsa Ammirati, Fiona Promisel, Isabella Shender, Lauren Drillock; middle: Jack Roye, Cole Catalano, Riley Bates, Anahita Subramanya, Aidan Lynch, Christian DeJesus, Ryan Dirgins, Ryan Burton, Norah Foley, Francesca Gill, Alexandra Rippstein, Natalie Riccardi; standing: Scott Castillo, Adrian Ng, Owen Stone, Devin O’Neill, Edward Huerster, William Cahill, Jack Skopetos, Michael Rufino, Robert Marco Jr., Katherine Guttridge, Claire O’Hara, Riik Acharya, Jason Sarner, Gabriela Cervini; not pictured: Amber Alesawy, Daniel Schuster.

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Science National Honor Society, front: Amber Alirahi, Scott Castillo, Christian DeJesus, Ryan Dirgins, Lauren Drillock, Katerina Gusarova; middle: Edward Huerster, Kyle Largey, Lucas Lee, Owen McCarvill, Michael Rufino, Jason Sarner; standing: Maya Sauthoff, Jack Skopetos, Owen Stone, Anahita Subramanya, Aidan Lynch, Carly Vavolizza, Cole Catalano.

School News — Achievements & Awards

MS Geography BeeEight finalists — two winners per grade-level — vied for the school championship in the Middle School’s National Geographic Bee. Richik Acharya claimed the title and Alex Kylander-Kreiner was the runner-up. Richik took a qualifying test for the state-level competiton and is awaiting the results.

Front: Martin Blasdell & Hanifa Thein (5th); Erik Nanaj & Luke McGarry (6th). Back: Johann Mishto & Ella Munoz (7th); Richik Acharya & Alex Kylander-Kreiner (8th).

Regional Art Exhibition

Shane McBride, Brian Straus, and Laila Vedovino (above, with art teacher Jim Maron) represented Pleasantville High School in the 13th annual Regional High Schools Student Art Exhibition held in the Osilas Gallery of Concordia College in January. Over thirty regional public and private high schools from Westchester, Fairfield, Rockland, and Orange Counties and the Bronx participated. Each school was allowed to submit three pieces selected by its art faculty.

Page 4: Winter 2019 Vol. 67 No. 2 - Pleasantville › District Newsletters › 2018-2019 › 6… · School News — Achievements & Awards Fall Varsity Awards *Boys Cross Country. All Section:

NoteworthyAndrew Skrzyp-czak has been named one of 15,000 Final -ists in the 2019 National Mer-it Scholarship C o m p e t i t i o n . Approximately 7,500 scholar-

ships will be awarded.

Darleen Inter-vention, a play s u b m i t t e d t o t h e N Y S T E A Student Play-writing Contest by PHS senior Chloe Peters , was performed

at NYSTEA’s annual Theatre Conference in January.

School News — Achievements & Awards

The 12 Dancing Interns

In December, over sixty fifth and sixth graders participated in the world premiere of The 12 Dancing Interns, a musical written and directed by BRS music teacher Katherine Hughes. They were assisted by MS music teacher Rachel Heyman and a dedicated group of MS PTA volunteers.

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PHS Area All-State MusiciansSeventeen PHS students participated in the 2018 Area All-State Concert at SUNY Purchase. This annual event is a showcase for the top Westchester high school musicians in grades 10-12.

Front: Chorus members Meghan McLane, Amber Alirahi, Sarah Schuster, Scott Castillo, Ryan Burton; middle: Chorus members James Blasdell, Kyle Largey, Ryan Dirgins, Owen Stone, Lucas Lee; back: Band members Ethan Lin (trumpet), Daniel Schuster (trumpet), Andrew Skrzypczak (bassoon); Orchestra members Charlotte Berg (violin), Anahita Subramanya (cello); not pictured: Iman Behbehani (Chorus); Cecelia Kovatch (Orchestra, string bass).

Chloe Peters

Andrew Skrzypczak

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11th Grade Writing ContestAuthor Joe Wallace announced the results of the 11th Grade Writing Contest, an event he co-sponsors with The Village Bookstore. Short stories by An-nika Aikens (“The Farm”), Norah Foley (“Hunter’s Tale”), and Katerina Gusarova (“Sammy’s Story), a poem by Avery Manna (“Moments”) , and the first chapter of a novel by Chris Santos (“The Beginning after an End”) were the winners; short stories by Owen Stone (“Heart”) and Anahita Subramanya (“Hiraeth”) received Honorable Mentions.

Front: English teacher Leigh Meyer, Norah Foley, Katerina Gusarova, Annika Aikens; back: Joe Wallace, Anahita Subramanya, Owen Stone, Chris Santos; not pictured: Avery Manna.

School News — Achievements & Awards

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A Funny Thing Happened...

Principals. Standing, left: Ryan Burton (Marcus Lycus), Jordan Goodman (Miles Gloriosus), Collin Longo (Erronius). Standing, right: Victoria Craig (Domina), Owen Stone (Hysterium), Ryan Dirgins (Senex). Seated, front: Sam Selesnick (Pseudolus); middle: Lyndsey Minerva (Philia), Kyle Largey (Hero); back: Nate Graham, Jillian Frank, Anthony Parnizari (Proteans). Not pictured: Caroline Jiminez (Protean).

The cast and crews are busy preparing A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, the upcoming PHS Performing Arts musical production, for five performances in March – 7:30 p.m. on March 8, 9, 15, and 16; 2 p.m. on March 10. Tickets can be purchased online at phsplay.org and, if available, one hour prior to each performance.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Competi-tion, the “longest-running, most presti-gious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S.,” accepts submissions in 29 categories of art and writing. The entries are juried by “luminaries in the visual and literary arts” who look for works that “best exemplify originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.” Gold Keys are awarded to the “very best works”; Silver Keys to “stand-out works”; and Honor-able Mentions to “accomplished works.” All Gold Key winners are forwarded for consideration at the national level.

Scholastic Art and Writing Competition

Front: Katerina Gusarova (HM, Short Story), Iman Behbehani (2 Golds & HM, Photography), Devon DelCastillo (Silver, Comic Art; HM, Painting), Chloe Peters (HM, Film & Animation). Back: Avery Manna (HM, Poetry), Riley Bates (Silver & HM, Drawing & Illustration), Olivia Ashton (2 HMs, Drawing & Illustration), Andrei Captan (4 Silvers & 4 HMs, Digital Art; HM, Art Portfolio), Sarah Wike (Gold, Drawing & Illustration).

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School News — Achievements & Awards

Fall Varsity Awards*Boys Cross Country. All Section: Aidan Lynch. All League: Drew DiPietro, Ryan Dirgins, Aidan Lynch, Jack Minelli, Nevan Lewis, Andrew Scardina. All League Honorable Mention: Lucas Moran, Devin O’Neill. All State: Aidan Lynch. All County, 1st Team: Aidan Lynch; 3rd Team: Drew DiPietro.

*Girls Cross Country. All League: Brienna Ah-metaj, Kaylei Raefski. All League Honorable Men-tion: Molly Perrine, Mallory Watts.

*Field Hockey. All Section: Callie Sullivan. All Elite: Callie Sullivan. All Elite Honorable Mention: Charlotte Keane. All League: Delaney Cotter, Vic-toria Craig, Charlotte Keane, Sophie Ruhl, Callie Sullivan, Arielle Wilson. All League Honorable Mention: Charlotte Ball, Paola Castro, Meaghan Ennis, Ryan Sullivan.

Football. All Section: Jack Howe. All Conference: Nolan Egan, Jack Howe, Danny Melillo, Jared Wilens. All League: Nolan Egan, Harrison

Halesworth, Jack Howe, Jadan Kammer, Michael Matica, Danny Melillo, Danny Minerva, Jared Wilens. All League Honorable Mention: Lenny Balducci, Willie Cahill, Pat Doherty, Colin Finnegan, Jacob Graj, Brendan O’Neill, Victor Perlleshi, Justin Perlman, Cardel Robinson, Jude Safieh. All County: Jack Howe. Golden Dozen: Jack Howe.

*Boys Soccer. All Section: Marc Kyriakidis. All Section Honorable Mention: Devon Juros. All League: Jan Becerra, Devin Juros, Marc Kyriakidis, Adrian Rippstein, Luke Scopino. All League Honorable Mention: Christian DeJesus, John DiGilio, Nate Graham, Tom Merritts, Tim Peacock, Jack Roye, Jack Raffalli. League Co-MVP: Marc Kyriakidis.

*Girls Soccer. All Section: Lyndsey Minerva, Katie Moses, Allison Portera. All League: Catherine Kauber, Carolyn Lee, Lyndsey Minerva, Katie Moses, Analese Picart, Allison Portera. All League Honorable Mention: Grace Capko, Lila Donohue, Lauren Drillock, Isabelle Kapoor, Lauren Mathews, Amber Nanaj, Mary Grace O’Neill. League Player of the Year: Allison Portera. League Coach of the Year: Chris Osterhoudt. All State, 3rd Team: Allison Portera; 5th Team: Lyndsey Minerva.

*Swimming. All League: Lauren Arnold. State Qualifier: Lauren Arnold, Sunell Zorgman.

*Tennis. All Section: Olivia Ashton. All League: Olivia Ashton.

*Volleyball. All League: Allison Hogan. All League Honorable Mention: Jenna McAllister, Madison Schneeweiss, Sarah Whynott.

*NYS Scholar/Athlete Team — a team’s average GPA for 75% of the roster must be greater than or equal to 90.00

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Division I SigningsOlivia Ashton and Jack Howe signed Letters of Intent for Georgetown University, a Division I school. As “preferred athletes,” Olivia will be a member of the girls tennis team and Jack will join the boys lacrosse team.

Front: Jack Howe, Olivia Ashton. Back: Boys Lacrosse coaches Chris Kear (Head) and Bob Kear (Assistant), Girls Tennis coach Isabel Fernandez.

New Website Addresspleasantvilleschools.org

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6th Consecutive League Title for Boys Cross-Country

Kneeling: Nevan Lewis, Alex Searle, Joe Sdao, Theo Lynch, Liam Coyle, Lucas Moran, A.J. Moore, Aidan Sullivan, Sean Rapley, Brian Scopino; standing: Mike Marolda, Head Coach Tim Dirgins, Brendan Cooper, Scott Castillo, Ryan Dirgins, Drew DiPietro, Aidan Lynch, Ned Huerster, Brendan Connelly, Owen Stone, Ethan Spanierman, James Blasdell, Ian Cotter, Patrick Walsh, Assistant Coach Patrick Watts; not pictured: Matthew Mackanesi, Andrew Scardina. (Photo: PHS Yearbook)

Girls Soccer Earns League Championship

The team also won the Mt. Pleasant Cup for the fourth consecutive year.Seated: Allison Portera, Katie Moses, Emma Murphy, Katherine Guttridge, Grace Capko, Bethany Zacchio, Lila Donohue, Norah Foley, Jessica Mullane, Maddie Kelly, Elsa Ammirati, Carolyn Lee, Mary Grace O’Neill; standing: Head Coach Chris Osterhoudt, Lexie Rippstein, Izzy Kapoor, Catherine Kauber, Paige Long, Lauren Drillock, Analese Picart, Lauren Mathews, Avery Manna, Lyndsey Minerva, Charlotte Biggar, Erin Maloney, Maya Sauthoff, Amber Nanaj, Eliza Murphy, Assistant Coach Keith Gardener. (Photo: PHS Yearbook)

School News — Achievements & Awards

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School News

The Middle School Art Show, a biannual event held at the Mt. Pleasant Public Library, celebrated the artwork of all students in grades 5-8 who took art in the first two quarters of the school year.

A Sampling of Events: Curriculum, Creativity, Community

Senior Iman Behbehani, founder and president of the Pleasantville Environmental Club, organized a community clean-up. Approximately 30 High School students participated in the event. Future activies include building a composter next to the PHS Edible Garden (thanks to a $350 donation from the PHS Parent Council) and placing blue bins around the school to collect plastic bottles for recycling. (Photo: faculty advisor Deirdre Vedovino)

Teamwork Counts. Fourth graders worked together to complete a series of cooperative, problem-solving activities offered by the BRS PTA.

Holidays around the World. Kindergartners learned about Chinese New Year, Christmas, Dinali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Day.

Walk in My Shoes. BRS PTA and SEPTA volunteers provided fourth graders with the opportunity to experience several challenges, such as impairment of vision, that people face in their day-to-day lives.

Mathletics. Third graders exercised their math muscles on activities presented by the BRS PTA that involved addition/subtraction, geometric shapes, problem-solving, and fractions.

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Board News

Board Election/Budget Vote There will be one vacancy for the Office of Member of the Board of Education for one three-year term, July 1, 2019—June 30, 2022. Nominating petitions are available at the District Office. They require a minimum of twenty-five qualified voters’ signatures and must be returned to the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 22, 2019.

To be eligible to vote in the Annual Budget Vote and School Board Election on May 21, 2019, you must be:1. A citizen of the United States; 2. At least 18 years of age (by May 21, 2019);3. A Pleasantville UFSD resident at least 30 days

immediately prior to the day of the vote;4. Registered with the Westchester County Board

of Elections OR registered to vote with the school district no later than May 16, 2019.Registering at the District Office does not reg-

ister an individual with the Westchester County Board of Elections.

If you have previously registered and voted in either a school district or general election in the last four calendar years, re-registration is NOT required.

For more information, select Voter Registration under the Parents/Community tab on the District’s website (pleasantvilleschools.org).

Upcoming Board MeetingsUnless otherwise noted, all meetings of the Board of Education begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Pleasantville High School Library Media Center. Reports scheduled are subject to change. Information on the upcoming Board meeting is available at pleasantvilleschools.org (Board of Education>BoardDocs) and 741-1460. Every meeting provides an opportunity for comments and questions from the audience.

Tuesday, February 26• 2019-20 Budget Review (Technology,

Operations & Maintenance, Athletics, District-Wide, Tax Levy Cap)

Tuesday, March 12• 2019-20 Budget Review (Bedford Road

School, Middle School, High School, Special Education)

Tuesday, March 26• 2019-20 Budget Review (Projected Revenues

and Reserve Fund Balances)Tuesday, April 9• Winter Athletic Season Recap• Final 2019-20 Budget PresentationTuesday, April 23Board votes on adopting proposed 2019-20 BudgetTuesday, May 7Budget Hearing followed by Public MeetingTuesday, May 21Annual Budget Vote and School Board ElectionTuesday, June 4• Strategic Plan/2018-19 Board Goals Update Tuesday, June 20• Spring Athletic Season Recap • 2019-20 Board Goals

Board Policies Our Board Policies are now available via the District website (Board of Education>BoardDocs; on Board-Docs, click on Policies in the upper right corner). You can view policies by section or by entering a word in the “Search Active Policies” field.

The Board will continue to revise policies quarterly, as needed, to reflect changes in law and NYSED regulations.

Student Government at BOE

The Board of Education held its annual joint meet-ing with representatives of the High School Stu-dent Government in December. Topics discussed included technology, open campus for seniors, electives, and facility upgrades.

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District News

School Closings and DelaysSuperintendent Mary Fox-Alter describes the decision-making process behind school closings, delays, and early dismissals.Superintendents need to be prepared to make weather-related decisions throughout the school year regarding the operation of schools — do we open or close, do we delay or dismiss early, do we need to cancel after-school activities and events? Although students often plead for a “snow day” on the eve of a potential weather event, I also know that there are parents and families hoping for no change in the school schedule. All cancellations and early dismissals are taken very seriously and are based upon a lengthy decision-making process that includes many variables. Central to that process is safety — for students, staff and families.

A decision to close or delay typically starts one or two days ahead of a storm or weather event and is never made by myself alone. The process starts with a weather forecast review with Director of Facili-ties Steve Chamberlain, Assistant Superintendent for Business Tim Whipple and a regional group of superintendents. During the monitoring process, we gather data from DPW departments, bus com-panies, the NOAA radar system and other weather models. We study these models for a number of important indicators: amount of predicted snowfall, air temperature, ground temperature, wind speeds and other types of precipitation such as sleet, ice, hail or freezing rain. Will road surfaces warm up or stay below freezing during the early morning hours? Do we need to bring in our buildings and grounds

crew at 5 a.m.? (It takes our crew approximately one hour to clear each inch of snow from all park-ing areas, sidewalks and entrances; the amount of snowfall predicted determines whether there will be a delay or closing.)

On the day of a snow or weather event, I begin the decision-making process at 4:30 a.m., checking multiple media sources and websites to monitor the weather and reaching out to Mr. Chamberlain, Chappaqua Bus and my neighboring superinten-dents. We share and review updated information regarding local road conditions, conditions on our school campuses, and weather models as well as data from other school districts in different parts of Westchester and Putnam. Sometimes the indicators are clear — the snow and/or dangerous precipita-tion has started or the state and/or local authorities have restricted road access; more often than not, the indicators available between 4:30-6 a.m. are not that clear. A decision to close or delay is based upon the best estimates of the FORECAST data available at that moment in time and needs to be communicated no later than 6:30 a.m. A decision made earlier decreases the ability to estimate conditions and any later impacts the ability of families and staff to make alternative plans.

If the forecast calls for worsening conditions or for another band of wintry weather to travel through our region during school arrival times, a decision to an-nounce a delay with the possibility of closure is made. Those mornings require a two-tiered monitoring and decision-making process based upon the best estimates of weather conditions over the next several hours.

When unexpected changes in weather will make dismissal hazardous, I will make a decision to dismiss early. Again, timing is a big part of this decision. The call needs to be made early enough to allow families to prepare, but not so early as to decrease the ability to make the best estimate of the forecast.

Many High School and Middle School students participate in sports or after-school clubs and activities. As their safety is of primary importance, I typically will err on the side of caution and cancel after-school activities if the forecast calls for hazardous weather post-dismissal.

I communicate news of a closing or delay via K-12

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Photo: Donna Mueller

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Transportation RequestsRequests for transportation to private and paro-chial schools for the 2019-2020 school year must be submitted in writing to the District Office by Monday, April 1, 2019. A family moving into the District after this date must submit a written request to the District Office within 30 days of occupancy if transportation to a private or parochial school is required. These deadlines are strictly observed.

A new request must be submitted each year, even if transportation is currently being provided. A Transportation Request form is available on the District website under Departments>Business Of-fice/HR. For more information, contact the Business Office at 741-1400, x10521.

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New Staff Members

The District welcomed three new staff members after the school year was underway.

In November, Christine Flanagan assumed her duties as school nurse at the High School. She replaced Joann LaBarbera, who retired in October.

Julian Alpern, who joined the Business Office at the beginning of January, is in charge of Ac-counts Payable.

Leanne Benson joined the Middle School on January 31. She teaches seventh grade math and eighth grade STEM/STEAM. Ms. Benson was hired to fill the vacancy left by Dr. Kern Mojica, who is now assistant principal at Putnam Valley Middle School.

New Website Addresspleasantvilleschools.org

District News Alerts and then call each principal and Mr. Whipple, who contacts the various media outlets. At the same time, Dr. Fadjo posts the decision on our website and Facebook page.

Should the decision be to open, I understand that some families’ paths to school may not be as clear as ours. My decision to open schools does not preclude any parent from making a safety decision based upon individual circumstances. In those situations, no student will be penalized for missing school due to weather-related circumstances. Families with individual ques-tions are always welcome to call my office or speak with their school principal.

2019-2020 School CalendarFirst Day for Students

September 3, 2019Last Day for Students

June 26, 2020

SCHOOL HOLIDAYSSchools are closed on these days.

September 30 & October 1Rosh Hashanah

October 9Yom KippurOctober 14

Columbus DayNovember 5

Superintendent’s Conference DayNovember 11Veterans Day

November 28 & 29Thanksgiving Recess

December 23–January 3Holiday Recess

January 20Martin Luther King Jr. Day

February 17–21Winter Recess

March 20Superintendent’s Conference Day

April 6–10Spring Recess

May 25Memorial Day

Christine Flanagan, Julian Alpern, Leanne Benson

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Get ready for “Comedy Tonight” from this Tony award-winning mu-sical farce (music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart ) set in ancient Rome. Pictured: Pseudolus (Sam Selesnick) and Statues (Meghan McLane, Charlotte Berg, Lara Marks, Charlotte Harter)Performances: March 8, 9, 16, and 17 at 7:30 p.m. and March 10 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at phsplay.org, by phone at 1-866-967-8167, or, if available, at the door one hour prior to all performances.

The Board of EducationPresidentAngela Vella (769-5729)[email protected] PresidentEmily Rubin Persons (747-0136)[email protected] Boes (773-1882)[email protected] Conte (773-1532)[email protected] McGaffey (409-3487)[email protected] of Schools Mary Fox-AlterDistrict Websitepleasantvilleschools.orgBoard Meetings and School Closings: 741-1460Editor / PhotographerJulie Schwartz

Board of EducationPleasantville Union Free School District60 Romer AvenuePleasantville, New York 10570

NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDWHITE PLAINS, NYPERMIT NO. 7046

Kindergarten RegistrationA Letter of Intent was mailed to Bedford Road School’s list of households with children eligible to enter kindergarten in September 2019 (five-years-old on or before December 1, 2019). Those with eli-gible children who did not receive this letter can either print one from the District website (on the BRS home page, click on “Kindergarten Letter of Intent” under News and Announcements) or call the school (741-1440).Important Dates• March 19 at 7 p.m. in the BRS

Little Theater: “A Peek into Kindergarten,” an orientation program for incoming kinder-garten parents

• April 9 & 10, 7:45–11:30 a.m.: In-person registration (parents only)

• May 21–23 at BRS: Kindergar-ten screening, by appointment