Jefferson First Graders Explore Trees at Glen Island Park
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On a recent trip to Glen Island Park, Jefferson Elementary School first graders looked at trees from all sides, learned to tell an oak from a maple from a pine tree, and even found a round, spiky nut husk that bore an uncanny resemblance to a favorite Star Wars character.
The arboreal exploration supported the tree investigation unit in the grade's science curriculum. Also, while they learn to identify trees by the leaves, twigs and acorns they gathered and brought back to class, they also developed vocabulary to describe their finds as "rough," "smooth," "sharp" and so on.
The husk? They named it "Chewbacca" because it looks just like the Wookie's face.
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Chewbacca the nut husk. |
During their visit, they looked at trees up close, from underneath and from a distance. They were even given time to roam freely (under supervision), to view trees on their own.
That freedom, and the scene views of Long Island Sound, taught them more than academic matters.
"They learn the benefits of living near the water," said first grade teacher Elizabeth Marine. "They learn to think about nature and how it's beautiful on its own."
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Football Team Heads to Section Final in Mahopac Tomorrow
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Tomorrow, the New Rochelle High School varsity football team, still undefeated, heads to Mahopac to take on Carmel High School in the Class AA finals.
Having finished the regular season with a 7-0 record, the Huguenots won the quarterfinal playoff game, defeating Arlington 42-7. They then defeated John Jay East Fishkill 38-14 in the semifinal last Saturday. The Huguenots controlled that game from the start; they took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
Tomorrow's game begins at 7 p.m. at Mahopac High School, 421 Baldwin Place Road, Mahopac. Admission is $8 and $5 for children under 12 years old, senior citizens and veterans.
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Pancake Breakfast and Thanksgiving Parade Coming, with New Route
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The annual Pancake Breakfast and Thanksgiving Parade are coming - it all happens Nov. 23 - and there's a new route for the bands, the giant balloons and the school families who join in.
The parade will start, as always, at North Avenue and Eastchester Road at 10 a.m., by the Huguenot Children's Library. It will proceed 1.5 miles straight down North Avenue, through downtown to Bonnefoy Place. (It will not turn onto Main Street as in the past.) It is presented by the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce and the City of New Rochelle.
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* This link connects to an outside website
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Saturday, November 9:
NRHS College Goal NY, 9 a.m. to noon
Saturday, November 9:
NRHS Varsity Football Class AA Finals, Mahopac High School
Monday, November 11:
Veterans Day - District Closed
Monday, November 11:
New Rochelle Veterans Day Ceremony, Faneuil Park, 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, November 12:
ALMS Spirit Week #1 Begins
Tuesday, November 12:
Davis PTA Meeting, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, November 12:
Ward Fall Book Fair Begins
Tuesday, November 12:
Trinity PTA Meeting, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, November 12:
Ward PTA Meeting, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, November 13:
ALMS Principal's Luncheon
Wednesday, November 13:
Wall of Fame Induction, NRHS, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, November 13:
ALMS PTA Meeting, 7 p.m.
Thursday, November 14:
Webster Coffee with the Principal
Thursday, November 14:
Barnard PTA Meeting, 7 p.m.
Thursday, November 14:
Jefferson PTA Meeting, 7 p.m.
Thursday, November 14:
NRHS PTSA General Meeting, 7 p.m.
Thursday, November 14: ALMS Block It Out Day
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| Superintendent Dr. Laura Feijóo reads to pre-kindergarten students at Henry Barnard Early Childhood Center. |
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Dr. Feijóo's Visits Schools, Addresses Staff
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Superintendent Dr. Laura Feijóo spent her first week and a day on the job touring the City School District of New Rochelle, reading to pre-kindergarteners, congratulating new National Honor Society Inductees and visiting classrooms, playgrounds and cafeterias.
She also addressed the District staff on Tuesday in a convocation at New Rochelle High School.
"Across the District, I have seen students engaged in their activities and proud of their schools, devoted educators and wonderful staff who are all committed to our mission," she said.
She began last Friday touring NRHS, then followed that with visits to all nine other schools in the District. She enjoyed a Day of the Dead festival at Isaac E. Young Middle School and chatted with eagerly helpful students at Albert Leonard Middle School. On Tuesday, when classes were out for Election Day, she addressed the District employees in the Whitney M. Young Jr. Auditorium.
"I believe the answers are in this room," she told the educators and staff who filled the auditorium. "People are working each and every day for the students. The schools are supportive, caring places. We will look at the whole student environment, how we raise civic-minded students and how we engage them to become good citizens."
The following evening, she joined the dais for her first Board of Education meeting, sitting alongside the Board members.
She attended the honor society's fall induction ceremony at New Rochelle High School when 10 new members joined, and the school chapter's officers were named. She met with students romping in playground at Jefferson Elementary School. At Henry Barnard Early Childhood Center, she read the picture book Thank You Omu to pre-kindergarten students for Read for the Record, an international event in which educators around the world read the same book to their students.
"I came to the District with thirty years of experience, and I had gotten to know New Rochelle by visiting at least once a week for months before I took this position," she said.
"Visiting the schools and talking with our educators and students has shown me much more. It has given me a true feel for what is special about this District and this community. There is so much to build on, and that work has already begun."
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Honor Society Inducts 10, Names Officers
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Ten New Rochelle High School students joined the school's chapter of the National Honor Society on Monday in the fall induction ceremony at the school on Monday.
The honor society recognizes students for their demonstration of four values - scholarship, service, leadership and character.
"It's a great honor and it's also encouragement to keep up the good work and get even more involved,"
said senior Calvin Jackson, who was installed as president of the National Honor Society chapter at the same ceremony.
The inductees were: Cameron Burrell, Ciara McIvor, Marco Palomino, Maybelin Sanabria, Maya Schloss, Eric Falisi, Zachary Kornreich, Daniel Lin, Anthony LoCasto and Nicole Weiss.
The following officers were installed:
- Calvin Jackson, President
- Spencer Silverman, Vice President: Membership
- Joshua Berenbaum and Aidan Di Salvo, Vice Presidents: Service
- Lucy Kravitz, Vice President: Communications
- Eva Winston, Secretary
- Lyla Renwick-Archibold, Public Relations Officer
"National Honor Society members are hard-working, well-rounded students," said Superintendent Dr. Laura Feijóo. "We are proud of all of these students for showing diligence in their studies, leadership skills, strong character and commitment to their community."
Board of Education President Amy Moselhi encouraged the students to become resources for others.
"These very accomplished students received help in reaching this point from the supports and resources available to them in our District," she said. "Now they are able to offer support to other students so that they can succeed in the same way."
That approach fits well with new inductee McIvor's approach to service. The senior loves tutoring fellow high school students and mentoring in a nearby school.
"It's one of my favorite things to do," McIvor said. "I like making other's lives a little easier."
Jackson's service includes caring for the wooded area around Glenwood Lake, cleaning paths, spreading woodchips and marking the sides of paths with sticks, and planting saplings. A senior, Jackson served as acting president, organized 30 other National Honor Society members in two "sandwich brigade" activities, assembling peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches for a soup kitchen.
Becoming president steps up his commitment.
"I saw it as an opportunity to get more involved in the community," he said.
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| "City Vibe," one of eight murals around downtown for which New Rochelle High School students recorded descriptions. |
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NRHS Students Provide Voices for City Mural Project
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A group of international street artists have added a series of murals on buildings around downtown New Rochelle in splashes of color that depict a rainy city street, an astronaut floating weightless and a woman exhaling a swirl of stars, among others.
If you'd like to learn more about the eight bold and colorful works, now you can - thanks to New Rochelle High School students who recorded notes about the works for
an app connected to the mural project.
The series, #NRNYMurals, was curated by Street Art for Mankind (SAM) in collaboration with the City of New Rochelle and the New Rochelle Council on the Arts (NRCA.) NRCA asked eight students to record the notes. You can find them by downloading the app "Behind the wall," (look for the hummingbird) and holding your cellphone up to one of the paintings.
Danny Long talks about New Rochelle's proximity to Manhattan in "City Vibe" by English artist Dan Kitchener. Grace Francella describes "New Rochelle 2050," a 60-foot-tall mural of an astronaut by Danish artist Victor Ash. Lily Benedict talks about "Diversity," the depiction of the woman and the stars by British artist Mr Cenz.
Other murals and the students who recorded the descriptions of them are:
- "Artistic Creativity," by Loic Ercolessi, a French street artist based in Miami. Voice recording by Jaya Jacob.
- "Harmony by the Sea," by Lula Goce of Spain. Voice recording by Ella Bamberger.
- "Gender Equality," by Elle, an American street artist based in Australia. Voice recording by Joanna Fishman.
- "Mother Nature," by AEC (Aec Interesni Kazki) of Ukraine. Voice recording by Vittoria Lazzarini.
- "Connecting" by JDL, a street artist from the Netherlands. Voice recording by Aiden Riebe.
"We love to connect local students with stories that highlight the uniqueness of their community," said Audrey Decker, co-founder of SAM. "It makes them proud and gives them the ability to inspire others, because they represent the future."
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