Putnam Valley Central School District

Newsletter

Building a Foundation for the Future

Letter from Dr. Luft

Dear Putnam Valley Community:

As we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, I am reminded of all that I am grateful for this year.

I am especially thankful for my friends and family both at home and in school. I am thankful to be part of the Putnam Valley School community, surrounded by talented and passionate staff members, doing whatever is needed to support our students. I am thankful to work in a community that supports our schools, our students, and our staff, and I am thankful for the fantastic students that attend our schools.

I hope you had a chance to see The Play That Goes Wrong a few weekends ago. I laughed out loud and enjoyed seeing our hardworking students on stage and those behind the stage who made it all come together. Our fall season student-athletes enjoyed great success and the season culminated with a sectional title for volleyball and a state championship for Game Day Cheerleading.

On Monday, I had the pleasure of attending the Gratitude Festival at the High School. This annual event, hosted by our Music Honor Society provides a special opportunity for our students to share their talents. On Tuesday, we welcomed our state championship cheerleading team into the Elementary School, and they may have performed to their most enthusiastic audience yet.

We certainly have much to be thankful for, and I am so proud of the leadership and compassion of our students and staff who consistently pay it forward. Each of our buildings participated in Thanksgiving food drives to support the Putnam Valley Food Pantry. The response from our community was wonderful and is deeply appreciated by the pantry, which helps to support families across our area. The United For The Troops collection also received generous donations and will provide some comforts of home to troops currently serving overseas. These acts of kindness continue to bring us together as a community.

Currently, our High School’s National Honor Society is holding their annual toy drive with all donations going directly to the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. Additionally, the National Honor Society along with both the Middle School and Elementary School will be holding coat drives, and drop boxes can be found in the entrances of our buildings.

I hope you all find some time to reflect on what makes you thankful and find opportunities to share your gratitude. Enjoy the Thanksgiving break.

Take care and stay well.

Dr. Jeremy Luft

Superintendent of Schools

Grateful for our First Responders!

Click HERE for pictures from our First Responder Events

Thank you to all those who joined us and provided our school community

an opportunity to celebrate you.

Fall Excitement at PVES!

We have had an incredible fall of learning at PVES, from students engaged in small group instruction to our teachers working collaboratively to examine our writing practices to parents helping us with Pumpkin Math! The building is always buzzing with incredible conversations and great opportunities to further our learning!

Our fourth graders displayed incredible feats of skill and strength in the annual Gym Show this month. From cup stacking to relay racing, our students demonstrated their Tiger abilities and delighted audiences of all ages! Thanks to Ms. Aurigemma and Mr. Heitman for their dedication to this annual event and to all the ways they prepare our students to be their physical best!

A huge thank you to our PTA for bringing the Book Fair back this year and for providing such a great opportunity for our students to explore great new reads they can enjoy throughout the holiday season! We love when the Book Fair comes to PVES, and we are lucky to have such great partners in the PTA to make it happen!

Follow PutnamValleyPTA on Facebook

After reading Balloons Over Broadway our fourth graders learned all about how STEM Master and Engineer Tony Sarg helped to create the ideas behind Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Following the Engineering Design Process, students imagined, planned, and designed their own balloon prototype and then shared their creations with a parade through the building.

Hands-on Learning at PVMS

PVMS had an excellent fall season, including a visit from Nick "Sunshine" Tokman of Deadliest Catch, a great Halloween party, and a day with our incredible First Responders showcasing the tools and vehicles from their line of duty. We are so fortunate to have so many great partners in our community to give our students experiences they will always remember!

Exploring Destination Imagination at PVMS

PVMS is excited to share that it is looking to restart Destination Imagination this year. In an effort to inform families about this program, Mr. McCarty and Ms. Zecca held an informational evening to showcase the program. We were joined by 20 families in October, and Mr. Josh Diamond, who represents Destination Imagination for New York, led the group through two exciting challenge activities. Our very own BOE president Barbara Parmly was also present to share her experience leading groups in this program in the past. We are looking for groups of 7 to start teams so if you are a parent that is interested, please contact Mr. Travis McCarty.

Taconic Outdoor Education Center

All of our middle school students recently enjoyed a fantastic trip to

the Taconic Outdoor Education Center in Cold Spring. This was a great opportunity to get students outside and engaged in

team-building activities. The goal was to strengthen their problem-solving, communication, and cooperation skills and the trips were a great success.

See more pictures here..

Save the Date:

Working with Anxiety

Thursday, November 30, 7pm - 9pm

We are thrilled to have Dr. Micera once again leading Working with Anxiety as part of our Parent Learning Series. This is a great opportunity to learn alongside other parents and discover strategies to support your students. We welcome parents to join us in the PVHS Library on November 30 from 7pm - 9pm.

RSVP to this event here. We look forward to seeing you there!

PVHS Tigers Lead!

Putnam Valley High School is thriving with academic, athletic, and artistic success, and we have so much to celebrate! Our Theaterworks production of the Play That Goes Wrong was a hit, delighting audiences during the first weekend of November. The play-within-a-play showcases what happens when things go from bad to worse on opening night. Laughter ensues as the actors trip, slip, and fall out of character left and right! Our talented cast and crew continue to bring excellence to the stage and impress us every season! Congratulations to all! Well done!

Leon Aguilar-Lando received a National Recognition from the College Board for success on his AP® exams. He received the National Hispanic Recognition Award (NHRA) distinction. The College Board National Recognition Programs award academic honors to sophomores and juniors who take eligible administrations of AP®, PSAT/NMSQT®, or PSAT™ 10 exams, have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and identify as African American or Black, Hispanic or Latino, Indigenous or Native, or attend high school in a rural area or small town. Students can apply on BigFuture® during the second semester of 10th or 11th grade. We are so proud of Lando for this recognition and all of his accomplishments!

We are thrilled to announce that our very own Eduardo Recinos is a finalist for the Heart of a Giant Award. USA Football's Heart Of A Giant is presented by Hospital for Special Surgery and the New York Giants. This special award program highlights Tri-State high school team members who exhibit "a relentless work ethic and unmatched love for the game." Nominees are known for special values like teamwork, character, and commitment, and there is a multistep process to becoming a finalist, which includes daily voting by the school community. Support for Eduardo has brought him to the final step in this process, with a chance to win a $10,000 equipment grant for PVCSD's team. As part of this last step, PV needed to submit a video highlighting Eduardo and his dedication. Check out our video below and help us cheer Eduardo on to victory! We are so #TigerProud of you, Eduardo!

#TigerPride News:

Three Cheers for our Fall Athletes and our Game Day Cheer State Champs!

Congratulations to our NY State Game Day Cheer Champions! This was a well-deserved victory, and we can't stop cheering! As a matter of fact,

Mr. Mello declared Tuesday, November 21 as a Day of Cheer. Our cheerleading team was celebrated in each of our buildings. Check out our high school Facebook page to see the routine performed at the elementary school.

facebook.com/PutnamValleyHS/ What a great day!

Our volleyball team had a tremendous, history-making season by becoming the first volleyball team to win the section championship! We were so impressed by the hard work, skill, and commitment of this team!

Girls Swim won the divisional championship.

Boys Cross Country won the league championship and Jonathan Duraes placed 42nd in NY State.

Field Hockey won the league championship and were Section 1 finalists.

Football were Section 1 quarterfinalists.

99 student-athletes earned the NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award;

a PV single-season record! The award recognizes student-athletes who maintain an average of 90% or above during the season.

We are so proud of all of our Tigers!

'Tis the Season of Gratitude and Giving

Each of our buildings organized food drives to support the Putnam Valley Food Pantry. We are so proud of the leadership and compassion of our students and staff.

Thank you to our PV community for your generosity.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at PVCSD!

Our Mission

The PVCSD, in partnership with our families and community, will ensure that all students are engaged in a challenging, student-focused educational program, understand and assume their responsibility for life-long learning, work to achieve their personal best and become productive citizens in a diverse global society.

Putnam Valley Central School District

(845) 528-8143

171 Oscawana Lake Rd

Putnam Valley, NY 10579

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