DECEMBER 9, 2022

Dear Pleasantville Families,

I am looking for community involvement on the reunification safety task force which will develop and communicate a parent reunification plan. In the wake of a critical incident, the process of reuniting families with their children can be even more stressful and complicated without an organized system and clear expectations.  

If you are interested and able to commit to the following Mondays - January 10, 17, 24 and 31 from 4 - 6 PM, please apply here by December 16, 2022, 3 PM.

Health and safety 

With respiratory viruses including Flu, RSV, the common cold and COVID-19 on the rise in communities and schools statewide, the New York State Education Department and Department of Health released a joint letter this week.  

Please keep your children home if they have any symptoms of a respiratory illness. I would like to remind you that our requirement to return to school after a non-COVID illness includes being fever free without fever reducing medication for 24 hours and with symptoms improving including 24 hours without diarrhea or vomit. The District COVID-19 protocols remain unchanged. 

Stay healthy and have a good weekend. 

For the youth,

Dr. Tina DeSa 

Winter Concerts to Dazzle the Audience

Pleasantville Middle Schoolers kicked off the music season on Tuesday with the Sixth Grade Winter Concert, which gave the band, chorus, orchestra and jazz band the opportunity to perform on the big stage at Pleasantville High School.

“I love playing “Creatures in the Attic,” said Gionni, a sixth grader who plays the clarinet. “It’s the song that’s the most fun.”  

The excitement was repeated on Thursday, when the Fifth Grade Winter Concert amazed an audience full of parents and family members. The Seventh/Eighth Grade Winter Concert is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 14 and the High School Winter Concert will wrap up the events on the following Wednesday, Dec. 21. 

Playing in a concert is just one of the many opportunities that Pleasantville students have to perform on stage. 

Creating Engaged Global Citizens

A visit to the Jacob Burns Film Center gave 10th grade Global History students a close-up look at current events in Afghanistan and women’s rights issues, which they are studying in class.

Social Studies teachers Daria Papa and George LaMar partnered with the Jacob Burns Film Center and took 70 Global History students to the theater on December 6 to view the PBS Frontline documentary “Afghanistan Undercover,” an investigation into the Taliban’s crackdown on women in Afghanistan.

“One of the core missions of the Social Studies department at Pleasantville High School is to provide students with opportunities for learning that raise awareness to become engaged global citizens,” LaMar said. “This experience allowed students to engage in real world learning with those who have been on the front lines.”

The screening was followed by a Q & A with PBS Correspondent Ramita Navai, where students had the opportunity to ask questions about her research, fears, investigations and partnerships with organizations to improve the lives of Afghans who have been affected by the rise of the Taliban. 

“I found it so interesting that I had read and heard about similar events in the news, but I had never fully realized the emotional side effects until watching the documentary,” said 10th grader Joelle D’Aguanno. “The most striking part to me personally was the interviews with the men that were part of the Taliban. They were so calm but also very obviously uncomfortable with a woman asking them questions about the protection of women's rights. I don't think I have ever seen a person of the Taliban telling their side of what is going on. It definitely showed the very stressful and horrible situation that women and people that support women's rights are in right now. “

In Global History, students are examining enduring global issues such as women’s rights, child labor, poverty, poor working conditions and environmental concerns through case studies of modern countries. “Afghanistan Undercover” aligns with the curriculum and compliments the class's in-depth studies of these human rights violations by raising the profile of critical current worldly issues.

Books to Enjoy, Share and Donate 

Ellior and Cole, two third grade friends, walked through the Bedford Road School gymnasium on Friday picking up paperbacks, flipping through the pages and discussing which books they should buy and which they should pass on.  

“I like all kinds of books,” said Ellior, who was eyeing “The Last Kids on Earth” by Max Brallier. “I’m looking for chapter books right now.”  

The Bedford Road School Scholastic Book Fair, hosted in the fall each year by the PTA, brings out the reader in all students.  

“We plan it so that it coincides with parent-teacher conferences,” said Nicole Browand, a volunteer organizer of the PTA Book Fair. “It’s a perfect way to get people to come in with their children while they are visiting the school.”  

The exciting news this year, Browand said, is that the Book Fair’s sales will surpass even pre-COVID numbers. 

Some of the profits from the Book Fair are funneled to the teachers, who get to pick books from the fair for their classroom libraries.  

“We can also give teachers money to buy something for their classroom, but most of them take the books,” Browand said.  

In addition to buying books for themselves and for holiday gifts, many of the children who visited the fair with their parents bought books to donate to their classes.  

James, a fourth grader in Laura Twomey’s class, bought "Cat Kid Comic Club, Perspectives,” a book by Dav Pilkey, for his classroom. He said he thought his classmates would enjoy it.  

“I like to read his books,” James said. “They are so funny.” 

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