IN THIS ISSUE: Holiday Concerts
07 Everywhere!
A Letter from the
02 Superintendent
A Word from the
03 Board of Education AND MORE!
FALCONER
WINTER/SPRING 2018
THE
THE OFFICIAL GREENBURGH CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWSLETTER
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MBK Program helps Young Men Strive
On the last full day of former President Barack Obama’s presidency, in January 2017, Greenburgh School officials, students and community members gathered together at the Theodore D.Young Community Center (TDYCC) to celebrate the kickoff
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of My Brother’s Keeper (MBK), a national initiative to help young men of color achieve in their lives, and to wipe out stereotypes about themselves and others like them. (Continued on Page 6)
WHAT IS... The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme?
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Ballet Class Teaches Highview Students the Art of Dance
The 6th Annual Spelling Bee
Congratulations to the winners of our Greenburgh Central School District and Theodore D.Young Community Center’s 6th Annual Spelling Bee – sixth grader Nicolas Llorente Valin, first place, sixth grader Erik Fass, second place, and fifth grader Cassi Johnson, who came in third. (Continued on Page 9)
A WORD FROM THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
A LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
Dear Neighbors,
Dear Community Members, I hope that you all had an enjoyable fall and winter. As we head into the spring months, I am thinking about renewal. I hope that perhaps we have seen the last of the snowstorms and nor’easters! Of course, the winter months were marred by yet another school shooting in our country, this time at Parkland High School in Florida on Valentine’s Day. As a nation, we continue to hear about senseless acts of violence in our schools, but we must continue to work together to remain vigilant and not become numb to such senseless acts. Please be assured that the Greenburgh Central School District continues to keep safety as its top priority on a daily basis.While we believe the children of Greenburgh Central School District may have a variety of interpretations of what took place in Parkland, we want to remind you that our school-based Pupil Personnel Team is always available to meet with children who may need an outlet to discuss these events or speak freely about their own concerns for safety. The Greenburgh Central School District recently hired two 12-month school safety officers and will continue to hire one in each school. School safety officers receive specific training and must be credentialed to maintain their positions.We also recently created a new title and will hire school safety aides, and we are training our current school safety monitors for increased responsibilities and accountability for overall school safety. We installed a new Public Announcement system at Highview Elementary School and we have purchased new surveillance cameras at Woodlands Middle/High School. Our elementary schools will soon receive surveillance cameras as well. As a proactive measure, we also hired a security agency to conduct a safety assessment at every school and our administration building.The agency spent a considerable amount of time at each school and the administration building, interviewing school leaders and employees and examining the physical plant. A comprehensive report on their findings will help us to identify any unknown security risks and guide our future work in making safety improvements throughout the district. Emergency plans are fully in place at all schools and central office. All staff and faculty are trained to execute such plans if the need should arise. Furthermore, our students, staff, faculty, and administrators are required to exercise periodic emergency drills, conducted with the support and assistance from our partners, the Greenburgh Police Department.We are fortunate to have a positive working relationship with both the local police and fire departments. To further address the social and emotional needs of adolescents, we hired a new social worker at Woodlands Middle/High School and we restructured the assignments of our current secondary school psychologists. In a well-attended session earlier last month, we also hosted Dr.Teresa Taylor Williams, a psychotherapist, and professor at the City University of New York, who spoke to parents about recognizing signs of depression and PTSD in children.The session was so well-attended that our parents have requested that the District continue this conversation, which we intend to do. Should you see or hear about unusual behavior with your child or their friends, contact your child’s school immediately so that we may investigate or intervene, as appropriate. Our District and our students have been busy this year, and you’ll see some evidence of that in this newsletter. Among other things, we introduced Mandarin into our K-12 curriculum, adding three Mandarin teachers to our staff. Our students have been celebrating all things Mandarin by participating in the Lunar New Year and embracing both the customs of China and the language itself. Many of our students participated in the 6th Annual Greenburgh Spelling Bee this month, and the event was an unqualified success.We are so proud of the students who participated and successfully met the spelling
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The Falconer | The Official Greenburgh Central School District Newsletter
challenge. It’s not easy to spell in front of a crowded auditorium. Congratulations to sixth grader Nicolas Llorente Valin, our winner. He will move on to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May. We are well on our way to becoming a fully authorized K–12 International Baccalaureate (IB) school district, with our High School staff preparing to offer in 2019–20 our first IB diploma classes to our current freshmen when they enter junior year.You can read more about the highly-regarded IB Diploma Programme – and what it takes to get there – in this newsletter. Also on the horizon is the Advanced Learning Program (ALP), which was presented in a Parent Information Session this month. The ALP provides our accelerated learners with a full complement of classes geared toward their skills and knowledge with a curriculum up to two grade levels higher than what is currently offered. Students will be universally screened to participate in the ALP classes, which will be offered as an alternative beginning with first grade at Lee F. Jackson Elementary School and continuing through sixth grade at Richard J. Bailey Elementary School. We hope that as we enter the school budget season, you will choose to watch our school budget videos.We have videotaped our Draft 1 and 2 sessions and will continue to produce these videos so that you can understand the budget development process in our District. As part of our rebranding efforts, we are excited to launch the new design of our newsletter.We hope you will find the new look more illustrative of the great things happening at the Greenburgh Central School District. Thank you so much for your continued support of our schools, and let’s enjoy Spring when it finally arrives! Sincerely,
Dr.Tahira A. DuPree Chase Superintendent of Schools
We hope you enjoyed the holidays.We appreciate your support as we continue our journey toward becoming a World-Class school district.Together with Superintendent Chase, the Board of Education held its winter retreat, where we previewed the Advanced Learning Program (ALP) to be implemented for our elementary students and evaluated our progress in achieving our 2017–18 goals in the context of our strategic plan. Accomplishments so far this year include: • We are developing a district-wide facilities plan, an updated technology plan, and detailed technology curriculum goals. Currently, our students have 1:1 access to laptops or other devices from the second grade at the elementary level and in most departments at the secondary level. Our Wi-Fi upgrade has begun at Highview Elementary School.We will continue the process at Woodlands Middle/High School, Lee F. Jackson Elementary School, and the Early Childhood Program over the course of the spring, and we project completion during the summer at Richard J. Bailey Elementary School. • Other facility and technology enhancements include innovation rooms, robotics programs (i.e. Star Wars’ “R2-D2” kit), aerial drones, additional 3D printers, proposed Warburg pond science station, keyboarding instruction software, and Google application suite. • We have developed a timeline for a facilities
bond referendum for next December for muchneeded repairs, renovations, and progress toward district consolidation.We are continuing to negotiate with the state for increased facilities aid. Our proposal will be shared with the public through a series of live presentations, televised presentations, newsletters, online presentations and surveys using our website and social media. • We continue to work toward academic achievement for all students, as measured by our iReady results at the elementary level and our Regents results and graduation rate (currently 93%) at the secondary level.
• Our staff is completing the second year of training in the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) program. UDL is designed to help our students grow into expert learners by providing multiple means of engagement, instruction, and expression in lessons, and helping students understand how they learn best. • To promote fiscal stability and efficiency, we have developed a 5-year budget projection, and are continually seeking ways of streamlining costs and finding sources of funding in addition to our tax base.These include My Brother’s Keeper grant ($450K), facility rentals for movie shoots ($32K), teacher grants for small projects (total $10K), a pending Highview playground grant, and a National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grant for Highview Elementary School’s cafeteria ($18K). • Our World Languages program is providing dynamic instruction in Mandarin and Spanish for students in both elementary and secondary school. • Preparation continues for our International Baccalaureate Diploma Program rollout next Fall. We will continue to work together to promote academic success for our students throughout the school year. Sincerely,
David Warner
President, Greenburgh Central School District Board of Education
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
MAYA SAMMY
Congratulations to Maya Sammy, a Woodlands High School Senior who was honored by the AfricanAmerican Men of Westchester with its Peach and NonViolence Award at the organization’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Youth Awards brunch in January.
Held at the Doubletree Hotel in Tarrytown, the awards brunch annually recognizes a diverse group of young people for their commitment to the teachings of Dr. King. Ms. Sammy, who also serves as president of the senior class at Woodlands, is active in the high school band, the LINKS UN club, and works on the school’s yearbook staff.
She was recognized by the AfricanAmerican Men of Westchester for her work in her church, and for working with children in the church nursery school every Sunday. At the brunch, Maya also received certificates honoring her work from Yonkers Mayor Michael Spano and New York State Legislator Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
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STUDENTS CELEBRATE
ENGINEERS WEEK AT GREENBURGH
Students throughout the District spent a week in February learning about the profession and science behind engineering, participating in dozens of activities designed to help them learn, and have fun while doing so. Third graders at the Highview Elementary School in Greenburgh learned about nature’s engineering feats that are created by animals, such as spider’s webs, bird’s nests, ant colonies and beaver dams, in an Engineering Week activity with Rye’s Westchester Children’s Museum as part of their outreach program. By using paper plates and yarn, and equipped with scissors and hole punches, the students created their own spider webs, which are the spider’s ingenious way of building a
home that also captures prey. Other activities included a raucous Forces and Motion assembly at Woodlands Middle School, complete with the use of a giant slingshot, a presentation by an engineer and graduate to Woodlands High School classes, a look at the science behind how emperor penguin’s feathers work at the Early Childhood Center, and tons of other engineering activities and competitions in the District’s Innovation Labs.
BALLET CLASS TEACHES HIGHVIEW STUDENTS THE ART OF DANCE
R. J. BAILEY STUDENTS CELEBRATE CHINESE NEW YEAR AT LUNCHEON
Richard J. Bailey Elementary School students celebrated Chinese New Year the right way on February 12, enjoying an authentic Chinese luncheon and their own dragon dance, along with songs and a bit of dancing. Not to mention a bit of struggling with chopsticks – all part of the fun! The celebration began with the ceremonial dragon dance, which traditionally is performed in public with dancers holding sections of the Golden Dragon, made of bamboo, paper, and linen. At R. J. Bailey, two dragon dances were performed – one group using a red dragon made from individually decorated boxes and the other group using a traditional golden dragon costume.To the accompaniment of a
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ceremonial drum and gong, the dragon procession of students wound their way through the dining room at the Central Seafood Restaurant in Hartsdale, where waiters later served the group with traditional Chinese cuisine. The master of ceremonies for the event and the organizer was Ran Xiang, R. J. Bailey’s energetic Mandarin teacher. Also attending were R. J. Bailey Principal Kiana Washington, Arts Consultant Miriam Bernabei, and Brendan Gallivan, Director of World Languages, International Baccalaureate Programs & English as a New Language Programs.
The Falconer | The Official Greenburgh Central School District Newsletter
Each Wednesday afternoon, a contingent of little would-be ballerinas take the bus from Highview Elementary School to the dance studio at nearby Woodlands Middle/High School, where they don their tutus, leotards, and shoes – and learn from the best. The best is Mamie Duncan-Gibbs, a dancer with a long resume including being a member of the Broadway cast of “Chicago,” “Jelly’s Last Jam,” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” to name just a few of her credits. At Woodlands, she has been working for more than a month teaching the 24 Highview girls how to chasse, relieve, jete, and plie. But the program, thanks to outside funding, gives the girls a doorway into the arts. Ms. Duncan-Gibbs, who also ran a youth organization for 10 years, said she enjoys teaching the after-school program, even if it means sometimes corralling the girls, focusing their attention, and getting them to understand the discipline of dance. “They’re a cute bunch,” she said, “and they love looking in the mirror.” The ballet program represents the perfect merger of the district with two outside organizations – the New Professional Theatre in New York City and the Thompson Family Foundation – to bring dance to Greenburgh. Sheila Kay Davis of the New Professional Theatre (NPT), a theater veteran herself and a Yorktown resident who starred for five years in Broadway’s “Little Shop of Horrors,” started the NPT Westchester Project to give underserved public school students in Westchester an opportunity to attend private dance
and drama classes. All classes are offered after school free of charge. “I deeply believe that children must have access to the arts,” said Ms. Davis. “With classes like this one, children can express themselves and gain an understanding of dance, ballet, and drama.” Ms. Davis founded the New Professional Theatre to develop AfricanAmerican playwrights, a sorely underrepresented group. When the Highview project was conceived, she said, “I knew we needed to have the best teacher, and Mamie Duncan-Gibbs is top-notch. She has the skills and the patience necessary to work with young children.” The district, with the help of Arts Consultant Miriam Bernabei, arranged for busing for the 24 ballerinas from Highview to the WM/HS dance studio each Wednesday, and for busing home. It was important for the young dancers to have access to Woodlands’ dance studio, with its ballet barre, mirrored walls, and adequate dance floor. Amanda Riegel, who grew up in nearby Edgemont, is a principal with the Thompson Family Foundation, which donates to a variety of causes, including the program through the New Professional Theater. Ms. Riegel, who visited the ballet class in Greenburgh recently with Ms. Davis, said the Foundation, created in 1986 by her late father,Wade F.B.Thompson, Co-founder and CEO of Thor Industries, provides funding for both large-scale and small community projects. “It’s all about impact,” she said. “Some of our smallest grants have the largest impact. It all trickles down.” “It’s about planting those seeds,” agreed Ms. Bernabei, who noted that many of the young ballerinas in the after-school class are familiar with and inspired by Misty Copeland, who recently made history as the first African American female Principal Dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre.
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That’s what ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ is all about. Helping more of our young people stay on track. Providing the support they need to think more broadly about their future. Building on what works – when it works, in those critical life-changing moments.” President Barack Obama, February 27, 2014
MY BROTHER’S KEEPER PROGRAM HELPS YOUNG MEN STRIVE
HOLIDAY CONCERTS EVERYWHERE! MBK FOCUSES ON SIX MILESTONES: (Continued from Page 1) Since that kickoff, and since the District received its own MBK grant in May 2017, Anthony Gaines has been working to implement the program Districtwide in partnership with the TDYCC. This year, the District has chosen 25 students from each school building – a total of 125 – to participate in the MBK program. The My Brother’s Keeper program was launched to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people can reach their full potential.Through the initiative, cities & towns, businesses, and foundations were urged to take important steps to connect young people to mentoring, support networks, and the skills they need to find a good job or go to college and work their way into the middle class. Since receiving its grant and hiring Mr. Gaines, the District has already held a number of programs for families and students and has named MBK mentors to represent students in each school building impacted by the program.The program has already provided the selected students with a number of activities and events that encourage academic excellence, social/emotional learning, and family and community engagement, said Mr. Gaines. Over the winter, the District held a family Meet & Greet event to introduce the My Brother’s Keeper program to participating boys and their families at the TDYCC. At that event, more than 150 family members learned more about the program and were introduced to the program’s building mentors:Victoria Stellato and Veronica Henriques at Woodlands High School, Carlos Rodriguez at Woodlands Middle School, James Thorpe at R. J. Bailey, Francisco Polanco at Highview, and Tara Parker at Lee F. Jackson. Participating students were pinned with green ribbons at the ceremony, signifying their participation in MBK. In addition, the program has held 12 Family
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and Community Engagement outings with the Westchester Knicks at the Westchester County Center. In January, MBK students participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service sponsored by the Volunteers of New York, cutting and making blankets for needy children.The students, representing different grades, were accompanied by their class mentors and Greenburgh Commissioner of Community Services Andre Early from the TDYCC. Seventh graders in the program are working on a school beautification project, and ninth graders visited a nursing home during the holiday season, said Mr. Gaines. He said he hopes the program will inspire young boys and men to “feel good about themselves.We want them to strive for success.” The MBK program in Greenburgh works under a three-year plan, with grant funding, and each cohort of participating students is tracked on their progress and must maintain good grades in English and math, and behave as positive role models for others. Greenburgh is one of many Westchester school districts participating in the initiative, including Mount Vernon,Yonkers, Elmsford, Peekskill, and White Plains. “From my vantage point, looking at the My Brother’s Keeper program,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr.Tahira A. DuPree Chase, “I see positive young men who exhibit confidence in themselves.They want to be mentored through the program.This is what a true school and community partnership look like.” “I’m so thankful and appreciative that this program has been so well-received by the community and by our parents,” said Mr. Gaines. “Fathers especially have expressed interest in getting involved.” Anyone with questions about the program can contact Mr. Gaines at the Woodlands Middle/High School or any of the program mentors.
The Falconer | The Official Greenburgh Central School District Newsletter
1. GETTING A HEALTHY START AND ENTERING SCHOOL READY TO LEARN All children should have a healthy start and enter school ready – cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally. 2. READING AT GRADE LEVEL BY THIRD GRADE All children should be reading at grade level by age 8 – the age at which reading to learn becomes essential. 3. GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL READY FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER All youth should receive a quality high school education and graduate with the skills and tools needed to advance to postsecondary education or training. 4. COMPLETING POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION OR TRAINING Every American should have the option to attend postsecondary education and receive the education and training needed for the quality jobs of today and tomorrow. 5. SUCCESSFULLY ENTERING THE WORKFORCE Anyone who wants a job should be able to get a job that allows them to support themselves and their families. 6. KEEPING KIDS ON TRACK AND GIVING THEM SECOND CHANCES All youth and young adults should be safe from violent crime; and individuals who are confined should receive the education, training, and treatment they need for a second chance.
Music filled the air during the holiday season at all Greenburgh schools, as students spent the month of December tuning their instruments, rehearsing and putting on their best performances for family members. The Woodlands High School Winter Concert, with its huge Concert Band, Senior Vocal Ensemble, and Jazz Orchestra, tore up the place on December 20. Directed by Brian Kennedy, the Concert Band performed numbers including “At the Movies with John Williams” and “Michael Jackson Through the Years,” conducted by senior Diarra Mack, wearing a sequin white glove. Directed by Shirley Crabbe, the vocal ensemble performed holiday numbers including “Carol of the Bells,” and the emotional “Seasons of Love” from Rent.The Jazz Orchestra, also directed by Mr. Kennedy, brought down the house with numbers like “Fly Me to the Moon” and Chick Corea’s classic “Spain.”
Also on December 20, Highview Elementary School held its Winter Solstice performance, with numbers that included the Mummer’s Play, “the North Skelton Sword Dance,” a beautiful classic Indian dance performed by Aishwarya Punnoose, a King and Queen’s Folk Dance, and the instrumental “Hiccup’s Canon.” On December 18, families enjoyed a great night of music at the Woodlands Middle School Winter Concert, with performances by the seventh and eight grade Concert Band and the seventh and eight grade Jazz Band, both directed by Douglas Denniston, and by the seventh and eight grade Chorus, directed by Shirley Crabbe. And R. J. Bailey students showed off their musical abilities in two concerts – an instrumental winter concert and a chorus, dance and string concert.
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WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME? The curriculum is made up of six subject groups and the program’s core, which includes Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), and the Extended Essay. Through the core program, students reflect on the nature of knowledge, complete independent research and undertake a project that often involves community service, in which students reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know.
THE SIX SUBJECT GROUPS ARE: 1 2 3
WOODLANDS HIGH SCHOOL ROLLS OUT ITS INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PLANS Parents of eight and ninth grade students attended an information session in January designed to answer their questions and map out the Woodlands High School (WHS) plan to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma option to its students beginning in the 2019–20 school year. At the information session held at the end of January, parents and students heard from Brendan Gallivan, the District’s Director of World Languages, International Baccalaureate Programs & English as a New Language Programs, Steven Rounds and Dr. Joseph Foy, the two WHS IB Coordinators, and Michael Winsatt, a consultant for the International Baccalaureate Organization and a California high school English teacher, who each outlined how the internationally recognized diploma and IB program would work. Mr.Winsatt is assisting Woodlands through the authorization process. “This is the first of many conversations we’ll have about the IB program,” said Mr. Gallivan. “But we wanted to begin by explaining the primary components of IB and to discuss how Woodlands will become an IB-for-all school.” Once the IB program is initiated at Woodlands, he explained, some students may choose to pursue graduating with an IB diploma while others may choose to take certain IB courses but not opt for the full diploma curriculum. Current ninth graders are expected to be the first class whose members will be able to graduate with an IB diploma. Greenburgh’s elementary schools and middle school already offer an IBbased curriculum and activities, and the High School applied for IB status last year. In August,Woodlands was notified that its initial IB diploma application had been approved. Since that time, said Mr. Rounds, six teachers at WHS have been trained in the IB Program, taking a month-long series of training modules that have guided them through the creation of a curriculum map. Future teacher training will be curriculum specific, he said. The authorization process is continuing through the current school year, and Mr.Winsatt is helping Woodlands with its application for authorization. The final IB application is due in April, and authorization visits will take place after that. Woodlands, with its international student body comprising an estimated 60 different ethnicities, said Mr. Rounds, IB’s focus on international learning would
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be a perfect fit. “The entire IB curriculum focuses on the world around us, and the world within us,” he said. But both Mr. Rounds and Mr. Gallivan emphasized that continued meetings with interested parents and students will provide the program with momentum. “This lift can’t be done without the work of a lot of people,” said Mr. Gallivan, “and we hope to have all our boats pointing in the same direction with this mission.” The primary feature of an IB education, said Mr. Gallivan, is its focus on inquiry, research, and collaborative learning. “Our students already have access to tons of information,” he said. “We need to come to school to learn multiple perspectives and to think collaboratively.” The IB Diploma Programme is a set of courses with a curriculum that students will take over a two-year period as juniors and seniors, which explains why this year’s ninth graders are likely to be the first cohort in the program.The program is tied together under an over-arching class called Theory of Knowledge, a requirement called Creativity, Action, and Service, and six courses in Language and Literature, Spanish or Mandarin, History of the Americas, Environmental Systems and Societies, Math Studies and Visual Arts. Students also write a 4,000-word research paper called the Extended Essay over the two-year period of study. The IB diploma said Mr.Winsatt, “is the key to anywhere you want to go. It is highly transferable for graduates looking at colleges.” In fact, he said, studies have shown that IB students have a higher retention rate at colleges and universities than other college students. IB students have a 70 percent greater chance of being accepted at a university than their peers, he said and completing a degree in four years at a time when statistics show the majority of college students take longer than four years to earn a degree. While Advanced Placement courses will continue to be offered to students, colleges and universities are beginning to move away from the AP as an accurate measure of future students, he said, and an increasing number of colleges no longer provide credit for AP classes taken in high school.
The Falconer | The Official Greenburgh Central School District Newsletter
The IB diploma is the key to anywhere you want to go. It is highly transferable for graduates looking at colleges.” Mr. Michael Winsatt
Studies in Language and Literature Language Acquisition Individuals and Societies
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Sciences Mathematics The Arts
Students may opt to study an additional science, individuals, and societies, or language courses, instead of a course in the arts. Some subjects are offered at a higher level (HL) and some at a standard level (SL). HL and SL courses differ in scope but are measured according to the same grades, with students expected to demonstrate a greater body of knowledge, understanding, and skills at a higher level. Each IB diploma student takes at least three (but not more than four) subjects at higher level, and the remaining at standard level. Theory of knowledge (TOK) is a course about critical thinking and inquiring into the process of knowing, rather than about learning a specific body of knowledge. It plays a special role in the diploma program by providing an opportunity for students to reflect on the nature of knowledge, to make connections between subjects and to become aware of their own perspectives and those of the various groups whose knowledge they share. It is a core element undertaken by all IB diploma students, and schools are required to devote at least 100 hours of class time to the course.The overall aim of TOK is to encourage students to formulate answers to the question “how do you know?” in a variety of contexts and to see the value of that question.This allows students to develop a fascination with the richness of knowledge. The Extended Essay is a mandated piece of independent research into a topic chosen by the student and presented as a formal piece of academic
writing.The extended essay promotes high-level research and writing skills, intellectual discovery and creativity while engaging students in personal research.The work leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing of up to 4,000 words in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned, coherent and appropriate manner. Students are guided through the process of research and writing by an assigned teacher. All students undertake three mandatory reflection sessions with their supervisor, including a short interview following the completion of the essay.Topics may be chosen from a list of approved subjects—normally one of the student’s six chosen subjects for the IB diploma or the world studies option.World studies provide students with the opportunity to carry out an in-depth study of an issue of contemporary global significance, using two disciplines.The extended essay aims to provide students with the opportunity to engage in independent research with intellectual initiative and rigor, develop research, thinking, selfmanagement and communication skills, and reflect on what has been learned throughout the research and writing process. Each student taking on writing the Extended Essay will have a faculty advisor to assist and guide them through the process. Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) is at the heart of the IB Diploma Programme.With its holistic approach, CAS is designed to strengthen and extend students’ personal and interpersonal learning from the Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme, and is organized around the three strands of creativity, activity, and service: CREATIVITY: exploring and extending ideas leading to an original or interpretive product or performance. (Through participation in the theatrical or music performances, for example.)
ACTIVITY: physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, including participation on Woodlands sports teams. SERVICE: collaborative and reciprocal engagement with the community in response to an authentic need for community service. A CAS project is a collaborative series of experiences lasting at least one month.Typically, a student’s CAS project combines planned and unplanned singular and ongoing experiences. All are valuable and intended to lead to personal development.
DISTRICT HOLDS 6TH ANNUAL SPELLING BEE
(Continued from Page 1) These three set the pace during an intense spelling contest with 24 classmates from the Richard J. Bailey School and Woodlands Middle School on March 9. Nicolas will move on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in the spring.
Dozens of Greenburgh’s champion spellers competed in the spelling bee, held in three separate contests. Students at the Lee F. Jackson Elementary School participated during the day in classroom spelling bees, and students from Highview Elementary School competed in the afternoon “Worker Bees” contest, followed by Woodlands Middle School and Richard J. Bailey School students in the evening competition. A special thank you to our judges and announcers, all members of the community: Greenburgh Arts Consultant Miriam Bernabei, former teacher John MacLean,White Plains Youth Bureau Executive Director Frank Williams,Westchester County Legislator Alfreda Williams,TDYCC Board Chairperson Yzette Swavy-Lipton, Hartsdale Fire Chief Ed Rush, Fairview Fire Chief Howard Reiss, Greenburgh Police Sergeant Norman Hall, and Greenburgh Town Clerk Judith Beville. Many thanks to our official “huggers,” former Principal Edith Bly Jenkins and Mona Freitag and Bradley, the therapy dog.
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TEACHER’S CORNER
ANNIE JR. @ R. J. BAILEY IS A CERTIFIED HIT Congratulations to our talented thespians at R.J. Bailey, who put on a fantastic performance of “Annie Jr.” on March 22 and 23 to an admiring crowd of family members, senior citizens, and community members. The performances were a delight, including show-stopping numbers like “Tomorrow” and “Maybe.” Congratulations to director Carol Williams, pianist Kathy Kim, and technical director William McLee for a job well done! And to all of R. J. Bailey’s talented cast and crew members, who worked so hard memorizing lines, stage directions, costume changes and prop placement! Bravo!
LEE F. JACKSON ELEMENTARY CELEBRATES 100 DAYS February 14 wasn’t just Valentine’s Day at Lee F. Jackson Elementary School. It was also 100 days into the 2017–18 school year. So kindergarten students and teachers decided to dress appropriately – as 100-year-olds. The result was a fun day of pretending, with everything from fake horn-rimmed eyeglasses, to crocheted shawls, gray hair, mustaches, and beards. The youngsters wore wigs, carried big overstuffed purses, twirled long pearl necklaces, and just looked their best to look old. First graders went a little less conspicuous but wore 100-day paper crowns on their heads to mark the occasion. Oh, the joys of youth! Happy 100 Days, LFJ!
10 The Falconer | The Official Greenburgh Central School District Newsletter
KATHERINE TOVAR FURST
THE 2018 SCIENCE EXTRAVAGANZA
Congratulations to Woodlands Middle/ High School teacher Katherine Tovar Furst, who was recently chosen as one of the recipients of the 2018 Lower Hudson Regional Information Center’s TELL Award for Outstanding Innovative Teacher/Leader. Ms.Tovar Furst teaches English at the Middle/High School. Recipients of the heralded LHRIC award have been nominated by their peers or self-nominated and demonstrate an outstanding, innovative, and strategic approach to technology integration in their classrooms, schools, and/or district. TELL award recipients celebrated with students and supporters at the March 29 Celebration of Teaching and Learning TELL Award event at the Edith Macy Conference Center in Briarcliff, NY. Each awardee also led a 20-minute presentation to showcase their accomplishments as TELL Award recipient.
Hundreds of curious students, parents and family members turned out at Greenburgh Central School District’s 2018 Science Extravaganza at Woodlands Middle/High School on Thursday, March 15, enjoying a fascinating fair with presentations by students, companies, individual schools, and non-profits.
The Highview Elementary School’s Starlab planetarium was set up in the gymnasium, Lee F. Jackson Elementary students showed visitors how to build bridges out of recycled materials, and R. J. Bailey Elementary students invited visitors to see their geodesic dome. The fun-filled evening wrapped up with a student awards ceremony honoring our best student scientists, and a cool keynote presentation, Birds of Prey, by wildlife educators Bill and Brian Robison.
Encompassing half the Woodlands Middle/High School building, the Science Extravaganza featured hundreds of individual science fair exhibits created by Greenburgh’s students from every age group. Students explained their topics of study, ranging from Alzheimer’s Disease to diabetes to jellyfish to bacteria. More than 19 classrooms were set up with special exhibits from partners including Barnes & Noble, the Greenburgh Public Library, the Fairview and Hartsdale Fire Departments, BASF Corporation, and the Digital Arts Experience. Visitors could try their hand at knitting in the Code Knot Taken classroom, hear about the Psychology of Robots from WHS science teacher Dr. Charles Fritz, meet a humanoid robot called Johnny; tour the Woodlands Innovation Center, make slime in a popular slime-making class, and hold a snake or rub noses with a bunny in the Woodlands petting zoo classroom.
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The Falconer Newsletter
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Greenburgh Central School District 475 West Hartsdale Avenue Hartsdale, NY 10530 914.761.6000 Superintendent of Schools
Dr.Tahira A. DuPree Chase Board of Education
David Warner Antoinette Darden-Cintron Eric Bitterman Claudia Glaser Tracey Mairs Lloyd Newland Terry Williams Editor
Evelyn McCormack Graphic Designer
Miguel A. Berrios
WOODLANDS HOSTS TAIWAN DELEGATION OF PERFORMERS Woodlands Middle and High School students hosted more than 26 special guests on March 20 and were treated to a celebration of Taiwanese culture in a special assembly of fascinating music and dance. Organized by Woodlands Mandarin teacher Dr. Hui-Chin Yang and world languages Director Brendan Gallivan,Woodlands hosted performers sponsored by the Taiwanese/ Chinese Cultural Exhibition and Cultural Exchange, a New York City-based program that brings cultural activities to U.S. schools. Jack Huang, director of the Culture Center of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, explained to students that Taiwan is a country with a vibrant economy and a culture filled with beauty and music. Mr. Gallivan told students that he hopes the Mandarin program at Woodlands will help to “eliminate monolingualism” in the U.S., one of the very
few countries where fluency in more than one language is rare. Students attended an assortment of performances, including Hakka folk songs and an aboriginal song and dance number performed by the Taiwanese Musicians of New York, a beautiful springtime ribbon dance and a Chinese flag dance, both performed by the Chinese Cultural and Arts Institute. And who could forget the fun Lion Dance? In a hilarious send-off,Woodlands students and staff were invited to the stage to don the heavy and elaborate costumes of the Nezha Diety and dance to fast-moving techno music, including the popular Korean pop tune, Gangnam Style, which went viral in 2012 after being released by South Korean pop star Psy.
FALCONER
WINTER/SPRING 2018
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