February 2025 Newsletter

FEBRUARY 2025 NEWSLETTER

February is Black History Month, an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. This year’s theme, “African Americans and Labor,” focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people.

Here is a list of resources to commemorate Black History Month:

NYS PTA Supports the Rights of Immigrant Students

The NYS PTA "believes that all children, regardless of their immigration status, have the right of access to a quality public education, adequate food and shelter, and basic health care services." Read Full Message

The NYS Education Department and Commissioner Betty Rosa, together with NYS Attorney General Letitia James, and Governor Kathy Hochul issued this New York State Guidance on Safeguarding Immigrant Student to clearly outline many rights of immigrant students in our NYS schools.

Please click the following links for resources regarding the rights of immigrants, provided by the United Federation of Teachers and the New York Civil Liberties Union

Family BINGO Night is This Week!

Feb 7 | 5:30 - 6:30pm | Dows Lane Gym

Join us for our annual Family BINGO Night hosted by Dows Lane’s new Assistant Principal, Ms. Megan Hanson!

$15 Family Admission (One Bingo card per person). Snacks will be available for purchase and prizes will be awarded! Space is LIMITED. Advance purchase is required - walk-ins will not be permitted due to capacity and safety issues.

Reserve a Spot!

Come Meet Our New Dir. of Technology & Innovation

Dr. Jerrod Blair

Feb 13 | 9:00am - 9:45am

Dows Lane Multipurpose Room

Dows Lane Parents: Join us at our next Coffee with Principals event, Dr. Kantor and Ms. Hanson will welcome Dr. Jerrod Blair, our new Director of Technology and Innovation, to discuss the use of technology in the K - 3 classrooms.

PTSA General Membership Elects 2025 Nominating Committee

Every year, the PTSA general membership elects candidates for the Nominating Committee which recruits, interviews and proposes a slate of nominees to fill vacancies on the Executive Committee (EC) for the next two school years. According to the PTSA by-laws, the Nominating Committee consists of 7 current EC members and 4 non-EC volunteers who are PTSA members.

Please welcome the 2025 Nominating Committee who was elected by the PTSA EC and general membership in January:

Randi Bleichfeld-Sirota (Non-EC), Heather Bloom (EC Member), Danielle Cooper (Non-EC), Dympna Kenny (Non-EC), and Alexa Klein (Non-EC), Alison Lang (EC Member), Melissa Luye (EC Member), Rachael Maglienti (EC Member - NomComm Chair), Elizabeth O’Hanlon (EC Member), Oda Sham (EC Member), and Amy Suehnholz (EC Member).

The application period to fill the 7 vacancies on the EC for the 2025-2027 term opens after the mid-winter break. Questions? Email nomcomm@irvingtonnyptsa.org.

Judges & Helpers Needed at Irvington Science Fair!

March 15, 2025 | 10:30am - 12:30pm

Maher Gym - Irvington High School

We are looking for volunteers to help on the day of the Science Fair! To help with check-in, sell food, raffles, spirit wear, or help with set-up/clean up - click HERE to sign up.

If you have a scientific/medical background, volunteer to be a judge. Judges will be prepped to talk to participants and score projects. Click HERE to sign up.

Learn More!

HeadsUp Rivertowns Committee Monthly Meeting

Feb. 27, 2025 | 7:30pm

The Ark JCC | ZOOM

All are invited to the PTSA HeadsUp Rivertowns (HUR) Committee's monthly meeting on February 27th at 7:30PM in the Ark at the Shames JCC, or by Zoom.

This month’s agenda includes a discussion of the recently completed Smartphone at Schools survey and Governor Hochul’s legislative proposal to end smartphone use in NY State schools.

To get involved with HeadsUp, email headsup@irvingtonnyptsa.org and join the HeadsUp email list!

New Irvington Spirit Wear for the Winter!

Support Irvington schools and celebrate the Bulldogs by purchasing spirit wear for local pick-up!

A portion of the sales support the PTSA General Fund which brings grants and programs to our schools.

Shop Now

PTSA-Funded Grants - January 2025

A major focus of the Irvington PTSA is to support teacher- and administrator-driven projects/programs and provide the necessary resources for our schools. This past month, we approved the following grant(s):

MSS: World Read-Aloud Day Speaker Visit - $725

Your membership and donation is vital to helping the PTSA enrich and support our schools, and fund grants for programs and infrastructure. Please renew your annual membership today!

PTSA members can access our online student and parent directory. Here’s how to access the directory.

Join the Dows Lane

Birthday Book Club

Looking for a special way to mark your child’s birthday while commemorating their legacy at Dows Lane Elementary School?

Join the birthday book club to donate a book labeled with your child's name to the Dows Lane library.

Join Today!

Got a Question for School Administrators? Here's How!

All parents are encouraged to utilize the Parent Advisory Council or PAC, which is a forum to anonymously raise questions/concerns or share suggestions with school administrators about topics that impact the District, the school, the grade or a class. Each school (Dows Lane, Main Street School, Irvington Middle School and Irvington High School) has its own PAC which is composed of that school’s principal and assistant principal, and the PTSA Vice Presidents (VP) and Grade Parents. This group meets monthly to discuss the questions and concerns submitted by parents, and the PTSA representatives are there to be your voice and advocate.

Submit a PAC Inquiry

No Idea Whom to Contact? Here's Help!

Also, the school district's administration, teachers and staff can always be contacted directly. The IUFSD Board of Education has created a detailed communication resource matrix to help parents and guardians identify who, how and in what sequence to raise and escalate questions and concerns.

See the IUFSD School District Communications Matrix!