With balloons, music and words of praise, every school in the City District of New Rochelle celebrated their most senior students and wished them well in the next phases of their educations.

While the New Rochelle High School graduation is the largest ceremony, with its field of purple-robed seniors, each of the other schools holds its own celebration to mark the end of one phase and the beginning of another for its students who are moving to new schools.

Interim Superintendent Dr. Magda Parvey encouraged students in all of the schools to discover and to be their true selves.

"When you celebrate who you really are, you give a gift to the world," she said.

Isaac E. Young Middle School  Interim Principal Dr. Tawanda Robinson, presented the eighth-graders of her school to New Rochelle High School Interim Principal Joseph Starvaggi in their celebration on Wednesday.

"We are sending you a talented, smart, resourceful, caring group of students," Dr. Robinson said. "We know that you will continue to prepare them for success beyond the walls of New Rochelle High School."

Ava Mussolini, one of several ALMS eighth-graders to speak at that school's celebration on Tuesday, said she and her classmates had grown since arriving in the school as "tweens".

 

"As we leave as teens, we walked through the halls with more confidence and pride and we have become more responsible and are now ready to tackle high school," she said. "We are able to handle any academic challenges that we come across."

 

"A lifetime of firsts awaits you," ALMS Principal John Barnes told the eighth-graders. "A lifetime of successes, failures, opportunities for growth. The decisions you make over the next couple of years will determine the opportunities that come your way."

IEYMS Valedictorian Leah Shefferman gave encouragement and advice to her classmates leaving eighth grade with several pop culture references, quoting Dory the fish saying, "Just keep swimming," and Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man; "Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with." 

"Always remember," she said, "that this is your story and you get to write it."

The Board of Education will welcome its two newest members Tuesday night when Valarie D. Williams and William Iannuzzi in a swearing-in ceremony at the annual reorganizational meeting.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Board Room of the City School District of New Rochelle offices, 515 North Ave.

	Valarie D. Williams

Williams and Iannuzzi were elected to the nine-member board on May 22. Both lifelong New Rochelle residents and graduates of the District schools, they said they were excited to begin their five-year terms.

"I received a world class education in the New Rochelle public schools and I plan to collaborate with my colleagues on the Board to ensure that current students and future generations have the same opportunity," Williams said. Her motto is, "Public school is a jewel in the crown of the Queen City of the Sound and our children, families, and community benefit royally."

An e ducator with 25 years of experience, Williams is a k-12 reading specialist in the Greenburgh Central School District. She coordinates that district's prestigious International Baccalaureate Program, and was recruited to serve on the 2016 New York State Common Core Standards Review Committee.

 

She earned her Bachelor's degree from Iona College, and her Master of Science in Education in Reading and a Master of Science in Education in School Administration from the College of New Rochelle (CNR). She also completed doctoral coursework at St. John Fisher College at the CNR campus.

William Iannuzzi

Iannuzzi served the Board this past year as a member of its Advocacy & Community Outreach Committee. For seven years, he has worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs of New Rochelle, first as a Youth Development Professional and now as Director of Programs. He has worked closely with principals throughout the district to expand his organization's programming, which now serves more than 200 students.

 

"I always tell the kids here at the Boys and Girls Clubs that the saddest thing in life is wasted potential," he said. "I really want to make sure that every student is getting equitable access to opportunities and programs to help them succeed in life."

 

In 2015, Iannuzzi was one of 11 people recognized as a Boys & Girls Club of America Maytag Dependable Leader, an honor which also earned the New Rochelle Boys & Girls Club a $20,000 grant that went toward college scholarships. Iannuzzi holds a Bachelor's Degree in Public Accounting from Mercy College. He has also participated in Social/Emotional Development training at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.