DECEMBER 16, 2022

Dear Pleasantville Families,

Tuesday was Student Recognition Night at our Board of Education meeting, and it was an amazing night. One of the things that continues to impress me about Pleasantville students is how eager they are to take advantage of the many diverse opportunities the district affords them. 

Students who are musicians are also artists, athletes and scholars. That is not always the case in every school district, and I think it says a lot about our community. The support and encouragement that the students here get from their teachers, families, neighbors and friends has created a group of dedicated and talented students who are interested in many things. I am very proud of our students and know they are on their way to becoming well-rounded adults. 

On another note, now that the weather is getting wintery, please be sure your K-12 Alert contact information is up to date. That is the system we will use for emergency notifications. 

The season has also brought many illnesses to our schools. Please remember to keep children home if they are not well. We have stocked each building and the District Office with COVID test kits. Please stop by if you need any.

Have a great weekend. 

For the youth,

Dr. Tina DeSa 

College-Level Research in High School 

Sofia Zucker was already well along in her investigation into how listening to different genres of music affects the speed of running when her AP Research class took a trip to the New York Public Library in December to learn about specialized research databases. 

“The databases are like Google, with access to blogs and news articles, but you can use a filter so that you just get academic databases,” said Sofia, an 11th grader. “I used the Oxford Academic database.” 

Sofia is one of the Pleasantville High School students taking the second year of the AP (Advanced Placement) Capstone experience, which starts as AP Seminar in 10th grade and then progresses to academic research in 11th grade. This year is the first time the class has been offered.

 “AP Research demands that students complete a yearlong investigation into a topic of personal interest,” said James Finnan, who teaches the class. “Each student conducts background research, performs their own novel research, and reports on their findings in an academic paper and presentation in front of a panel of educators.”

The students’ topics ranged from the impact of racial bias in artificial intelligence to the effect of sleep deprivation on the grade point averages of Pleasantville High School students. 

The role of research libraries may have changed in the internet age, but the students found that going to the library had value. 

“I’d already done a lot of research, but the databases the library offers aren’t available to everyone so that makes it worthwhile,” said Miriam Gold, who is studying the impact of drug trafficking on foreign policy.

Next up for the students is to present their research question to a three-member panel known as the Institutional Review Board, which will make sure the research does not cross ethical boundaries. Then, by the end of the school year, each student will submit a 5,000-word research paper and give an oral presentation on their topic. Compared to those tough hurdles, the trip to the library might have seemed like a day in the park. 

“We visited the New York Public Library to gain skills in navigating research databases to support independent research,” Finnan said. “Students met with library researchers and learned how to conduct purposeful searches and identify sources that could impact their own investigations. Student topics/questions are diverse, and so it was helpful for some to receive one-on-one guidance from these library professionals.”

Character Building at Bedford Road School

As anyone who saw the bulletin board by the entrance to Bedford Road Elementary School might guess, December is kindness month.

“We Are ‘Snow’ Full of Kindness” the board announces, over a collection of sayings from each class. Some of the children’s kindness recommendations are specific: share your glue stick; help pick up crayons; tell someone ‘I love your mittens.’ Others, more general: be a good listener; give hugs.”  

Character building does not stop at the door in the Pleasantville schools, it is emphasized as part of a child-centered education. 

On Monday, the entire school was treated to a performance of “The b Great Show with Brian Richards”

Richards had a gymnasium full of kids laughing at his magic and storytelling, all while teaching them about what he called the “six pillars of good character” -- trustworthiness, using caring words, respect, responsibility, citizenship and fairness. 

“He made me laugh every single time,” said Orion, a nine-year-old in Christine Harris’s class. “My favorite part was when he used the optical illusion that made his head grow and shrink.”

Then Richards called up Natalie, a third grader, for a card trick. After amazing the audience by somehow finding the queen of hearts Natalie had carefully slipped into the deck, Richards delivered his message. 

“Like a deck of cards, we are each unique and different,” he said. “But if you turn the deck of cards around, they are all the same, and we all share some of the same things too.”  

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