Dear Eastchester Families and Community,

As we begin the holiday break, I look back on the past months with gratitude and amazement for all the work and dedication that exists in the Eastchester Schools Community. Our administrators and teachers continue to work in our school buildings providing educational opportunities to students learning remotely and in person, adapting to the uncertainties that mark our times. Our Technology Department has worked nonstop throughout the pandemic to provide students and staff with technological assistance while our Facilities and Maintenance teams clean and sanitize our buildings each and every day for the health and safety of students and staff.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the work of our administrative assistants who offer day-to-day support in all our buildings to keep the District up and running. Our nurses and health office staff have also taken on even greater responsibilities during the pandemic and I express deep gratitude for their commitment. Of course, I thank our parents and guardians who guide our students at home.

As we continue to work through these difficult times, we also look to the future and other opportunities that await us. I am excited to renew our focus on strategic planning in the coming months and work toward common goals to provide your children with the best educational experiences possible.

I hope that this break offers you moments of enjoyment and renewal with your family. We remind you that Eagles SOAR: 

Please avoid large indoor gatherings to prevent the spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control offers advice to spend the winter holidays safely.

If you are traveling during the Holiday Break, please follow the New York State mandates. If you travel to a state that does not border New York, as well as international travel, you must quarantine for 14 days when reentering the state, unless your travel is complete within a 24-hour period.

Travelers to a non-contiguous state, US territory or CDC level 2 or level 3 country can “test out” of the 14-day restriction by testing within 72 hours of departing for NY, followed by a quarantine of three days upon arrival home. On the fourth day after arrival, the traveler must test again and is no longer required to quarantine with a negative test result. Travelers to a CDC level 4 country cannot test out of the 14-day quarantine requirement. Here is a link to the CDC website outlining each level.

Please follow these guidelines as we take the health and safety of our community seriously.

I wish you much joy and peace this holiday season and l look forward to continuing our journey together in 2021.

Yours in partnership,

Superintendent of Schools

Eastchester students, faculty and staff enjoyed the holiday season wearing ugly sweaters, holiday pajamas, writing letters to senior citizens and enjoying the first snow of the season.

Eastchester students can now access SORA, a digital library experience for grades K-12. Please log onto the following link where Director of Humanities Susan Chester provides parents with a step-by-step guide for its use. CLICK HERE

Waverly music teacher Katherine Ness gave instructions to kindergarten students as she taught them a new dance. "Kick, one, two, three, stop. Slide, slide and jump," said Ness. She continues to teach music during the COVID-19 crisis. "They are excited and hungry for this enrichment and it offers a variety in their routines."

Ness and music instructors across the District have adapted music lessons to meet safety guidelines. For example, students are not singing in class; instead, at Waverly, they speak the words to traditional songs like "This Old Man." The adaptation allows students to become familiar with songs and the concept of keeping a beat. Ness also records her voice and plays it back to students so they can hear the melodies.

Anne Hutchinson music teacher Joanna Giordano has also made some changes. Students wear their masks, sit socially distanced and do not work in pairs as they have in prior years in their general music classes. Although they cannot sing, Giordano focuses on listening activities and composing activities where students write their own music and movement activities.

Recently, students expressed their feelings after listening to different compositions. "It sounds like someone is angry at you," commented one student. "The first song made me sleepy," said another student.

At Greenvale, music teacher Ann Marie Smith teaches general music theory to students in a hybrid cohort and to those learning remotely. Smith said, "We are learning about musical genres and the composers who excelled in those genres. I do miss singing with my students, but I enjoy seeing them every day."

Band Director Doug Zantay utilizes technology to teach fourth and fifth graders instrumental music. He records alternate lines of musical pieces and the students follow along. This allows the students to play independently, modeling an ensemble. Fourth graders who are new to this type of music instruction also received a recorded video for their instrument that explained assembly and finger placement to create sounds.

Both Zantay and Ness planned virtual concerts during the holidays this year since they could not meet in person.

Teachers worldwide engage students in coding throughout the school year and spend additional time studying the concept during Computer Science Education Week, which took place this year during the week of Dec. 7. A highlight of the week is the Hour of Code. The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computers and developed into a tool to demystify the coding process.

Students in Eastchester High School’s AP Computer Science Principles class took on the challenge when they participated in a coding project. The class used computer languages that are not part of their typical classwork to create games and analyze data.

“I wanted them to try something new, to dabble in a new (computer) language,” said Mathematics and Computer Science teacher Erin Glindmyer. “This lets them step out of the course and realize what they are capable of doing in the larger context of computer science.”

Glindmyer’s class uses Python, Javascript and Java. Student Eloic Lacomme experimented with PHP and HTML when he studied the languages that power websites.

Student John Fahy created a game called Toxic Jungle where a figure moves through a maze-like structure. “We used familiar skills in a different application,” said John.

Glindmyer reminded the class that coding supports many of the apps that people use in their everyday lives for both entertainment and organizing tasks.

More than likely, you have heard of the Chicken Dance. At Waverly, students performed a Turkey Trot to keep moving and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. The students stood apart from each other in short lines and performed one of six exercises to reach a cone with a picture of a turkey on it. The activities included toe touches, lunges, one-foot balance, sit and reach, raise the roof, and plank position hold.

This is just one approach physical education teachers in the Eastchester School District have taken to modify their programs due to COVID-19. The large dimensions of the Waverly gym allow students and teachers to remain socially distanced throughout the lesson.

During the fall, many physical education classes were conducted outside in the fresh air. Eastchester Middle School and High School students walked around the track and elementary students participated in outdoor fitness activities without equipment. During rainy days, Greenvale students enjoyed a series of socially distanced line dancing in the gymnasium.

Anne Hutchinson students are also moving. “The students are excited to be here and bring enthusiasm with them,” said P.E Instructor Amanda Carlson. “We remain as active as possible but in a safe environment.”

Students enrolled in the hybrid model receive taped lessons when they are not in school and are assigned to physical education. Fully remote students receive video lessons geared to smaller spaces so they can remain active.

Instructors are now permitted to use some equipment at school if they choose - soccer balls can be kicked but not touched. Learning and perfecting such moves improves balance and other skills.

During physical education classes, students can appreciate time away from screens while participating in many activities that include running, jumping or dancing.