Our Monthly News & Updates |
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Hello, New Haven Public Schools Learning Community:
We are two months into the new school year.
Things are beginning to look almost normal, almost pre-pandemic.
Classes have resumed in-person, sports activities are happening,
and life is coming back.
This issue of our newsletter is about new faces in our department.
We are proud to report that we have some quite remarkable individuals.
You will also learn about the good "old" program being brought back to life,
and what itinerant health teachers do in your schools.
Enjoy reading our newsletter!
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ERIK PATCHKOFSKY,
Physical Education, Health, and Athletics Department Director
FALL 2021:
Elm City Bowl Is Back!
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Last year, because of the pandemic, we had no football at all, no volleyball, except outside. We were able to go to a full sports schedule this fall for all our teams.
The kids playing volleyball still have to wear masks inside, and we still have to follow mitigation strategies, but all the fall sports are played on a regular schedule. No exceptions.
Covid protocols have been updated every season based on the situation. The new rules are outlined in the CIAC Fall Guidance.
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For example, outdoor athletes don't have to wear masks anymore. They do need to wear them indoors though. There are changes in protocols for vaccinated students: they do not have to quarantine if exposed to Covid-19.
We are currently working on the winter guidance, and the mask mandate may change requiring only athletes on the bench wear them. All active players won’t have to wear masks.
One of the major events that is coming back is the Elm City Bowl. It will be its 36th season (it was not held last year because of the pandemic). It takes place on Thanksgiving Day on Bowen Field. The only thing that is going to be different this year - no breakfast, as we still have to follow Covid-19 protocols, but everything else will be the same. Kickoff is at 10:30 AM. We open the gates at 9:00 AM. We typically get between 2,500 and 4,000 people who attend this event.
The department is still recovering from the pandemic, and one of the remaining challenges is a school bus driver shortage. We had to reschedule game times to accommodate for that. We might see more of this problem going into the winter when several teams play on one day. We might have to work out an alternative plan for that.
Other than that, I expect to have a normal sports season in 2021-2022.
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New Teachers, New Forces
This school year, five new physical education teachers joined the New Haven Public school community. They are: Amil John (New Haven Academy), Talia Loda (Nathan Hale School), Marykate Van Sant (Truman School), Nicholas Moshier (John Daniels School), and Jacob Weisslender (Beecher School). Please welcome them to the district, and let’s see who they are:
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I have a passion for sports and competitive play. In high school, I played on several sports teams including basketball, volleyball, bowling, and baseball teams. As I transitioned to college, I had the opportunity to play college basketball for four years for which I received several accolades.
I chose to be an educator not only to teach students the mechanics and fundamentals of sports but to also have students create a life-long goal of fitness that helps them grow mentally, physically and emotionally.
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I graduated from Southern Connecticut University in 2016 with a degree in Exercise Science. Since then, I have been a long-term PE sub in the Westport School district as well as a special education paraprofessional. I am also a travel basketball coach for the town of Westport for young girls in 4th and 5th grades.
In my spare time I like to go on hikes with my eight-month-old Wheaten Terrier and workout at the gym.
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My name is Nick Moshier. I grew up in Plainville, CT and attended Plainville High School. There, I was a three-sport athlete and was a member of the baseball team that won the CT class “M” state championship in 2012. After high school, I attended Southern Connecticut State University and majored in Physical Education.
Shortly after I graduated from SCSU, I got a job as a building substitute in the Plainville School system working at the elementary and high school levels.
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I am from East Haven, CT. I graduated from Springfield College with my Bachelors in Exercise Science in 2018 and my Masters in Physical Education in 2020. For four years at college I played softball as a pitcher and was named the 2017 NEWMAC and ECAC Pitcher of the Year. I am excited to start my teaching career with New Haven Public Schools, to learn from my colleagues, and to meet each student in hopes of teaching them the skills while having fun and staying active outside of the classroom.
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Nate Russell: Former Dropout, Now Three Times Champion |
The best teachers lead by example. The example that Nathan Russell sets for his students at Riverside Academy is rather remarkable. Besides being a physical education teacher, he is also a mixed martial arts champion. He recently won his 3rd belt at Cage Titans 49, one of the biggest MMA promotions in New England, and has 2 other championship belts from other promotions. He is the number one ranked amateur fighter in his weight class in the northeast. We met with Nate in his office at Riverside, and here is his story.
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N. R. I grew up in Hartford in a very poor family. We were moving every three months, living in abandoned houses sometimes, sometimes with no heat, hot water, and electricity. My father died of AIDS and my mom was heavily addicted to crack. As a result, I was kicked out of eighth grade for drinking and smoking. Luckily, I was able to enroll in the alternative school at the Boys and Girls Club in Hartford and got involved in sports. I ended up receiving a scholarship and was able to go to college, graduate school, and to become a teacher.
L. G. What a fascinating story! Obviously, these changes did not happen overnight.
N. R. It took time and patience. I set up goals, and I was slowly but steadily moving towards them. Although there were many good times, I often spent days and months in misery before I started seeing positive changes. I had a very good PE teacher who helped me to turn my life around. He talked to me every day. He believed in me and wanted me to have a better life.
L. G. For how long have you been a school teacher?
N. R. This is my fifth year. I started in the summer camps, then I was subbing for a long time before I became a full-time PE teacher.
L. G. You came to NHPS two years ago. What are your impressions of Riverside Academy?
N. R. This is the same type of alternative school I went to. And these are the same type of kids I grew up around. What is considered a norm for the students in the regular schools, could be quite challenging for kids here. But I have been through these challenges, and I can tell them that they don’t have to do drugs, don’t have to be involved in crime, that they can do better, that they have a choice.
Today, for example, I had a health education class, and we spoke about crime and a felony, specifically for what type of things a person can be charged with a felony. A lot of kids don’t think about it when they are driving in a stolen car. They have no idea how it's going to impact their life, what kind of job or apartment they would be able to find after having a felony…
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Martial arts are not allowed in school for safety reasons. But Nate found a creative way to incorporate some of its elements in his lessons. They aim to develop movement coordination, rhythm, and to improve muscular strength. The students in his class are very excited about learning these techniques. Watch it: |
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Covid-19 Contact Tracing: Who, When and Why |
Covid-19 has had devastating consequences on the economy and human lives, eliminating thousands of jobs. Ironically, it also created brand new ones. Although, according to the CDC, the job of a pandemic contact tracer is not necessarily new, admittedly, most of us never heard about it before the pandemic.
Currently, NHPS employs two part-time contact tracers: Maureen Honan and Rhonda Geffert. Both started last spring and were funded by the CT Association of Schools at that time. They continue their work this school year connecting the “dots” in Covid-19 cases in the district. Their primary duty is to do the follow up work once a new case is documented in the system (Veoci). They investigate its details by calling nurses, school administrators and parents. The idea is to quickly assess the scope of a case: who was affected, how badly, whom to quarantine and for how long, what information or help is needed to provide advisory support to the involved parties.
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Health Education: Things To Remember This Year
This school year we continue to teach the Michigan Model for Health curriculum. All the materials (teacher manuals, worksheets and videos) had been posted on Google Drive for ease of access; please visit this page to see the links.
The health lessons taught by homeroom teachers need to be documented in the SurveyMonkey form - just like it was done last year. Remember, when documenting a lesson in this form, try not to abandon it half way through and start anew. Please delete all the erroneous entries first, and only then start a new entry. If you pressed “Submit” and then realized you made an error - just email liliya.garipova@nhboe.net to fix it. A tally of the lessons taught is being emailed to the school principles at the end of each marking period.
Health in 7th-8th grades is taught by PE and itinerant teachers. In the video below, Naa Lomoley Sahin, one of the itinerant health education teachers, gives a refresher on the curriculum and the requirements in the video below.
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Project Pride: Look Who’s Back! |
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New Haven Public Schools and the Physical Education department are excited to announce that Project Pride will be making its return, following a three-year shutdown.
Project Pride is a cooperative learning, adventure-based program offered to selected 7th and 8th grade students through the New Haven Physical Education Department.
Project Pride programming will be in recommended schools working with students in physical education class and be participating in offsite field experiences on scheduled Fridays.
Project Pride is Social Emotional Learning
Project Pride is a program that provides the students with the opportunity to challenge themselves, socially and emotionally. Students are placed in a positive supporting atmosphere and are guided to discover they are more capable than they perceive themselves to be, discovering the excellence within. The Project Pride program will be implementing lessons and activities directly addressing the Social Emotional Learning Standards identified by New Haven Public Schools.
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What are we?
Adventure education is most successful when placing students in unfamiliar environments and situations. With guidance from instructor’s and peers, students challenge themselves to exit their comfort zones and achieve beyond what they believed capable. Field experiences provide students the opportunity to learn the importance of teamwork, communication, and relationship skills needed to support social emotional growth. Our hope is all students will improve relationship skills through the program, leading to lifelong friendships.
Where is Project Pride?
Project Pride home base is located at Camp Cedarcrest in Orange, CT. Cedarcrest offers Project Pride students 43 wooded acres including, orienteering, high and low ropes course, hiking trails and overnight camping opportunities.
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Interested in collaboration?
Have ideas and suggestions?
Drop us a line!
Liliya Garipova
Phone: 475-220-1107
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