Newsletter: The Middle Years, Working Together for School Success

District Announcements

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Registration for 2020-2021 is open!

Registration is now open for Pre-K, kindergarten and students who are new to the City School District of New Rochelle. It will continue through July 31. Visit this page for all information about the registration process, which has been modified for the COVID-19 crisis.

City School District of New Rochelle
COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS
The following letter was sent to New Rochelle families by Superintendent Dr. Laura Feijóo on February 27, 2020

Dear Families,

There have been a number of questions about the recent warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for schools to prepare to protect against the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

Our administrative team and Medical Director are closely monitoring the local and global situation. While no confirmed cases of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) have been confirmed in New York State, we have been notified by Mr. Latimer, Westchester County Executive, that there may be nine (9) suspected cases in Westchester. We must stay calm. We have a plan. Yesterday, we collaborated with principals to go over procedures in place in the school district to safeguard each other and our community from the spread of this and other diseases. The safety and security of our students is a top priority.

Collaborative planning has yielded the following plan in The City School District of New Rochelle to prevent the spread of disease:

Masks are available in health offices throughout the district to cover adults or students who have fever and are coughing when they come to the medical office. These masks will have to stay on until the individual has left the school.

Any student out for periods of time due to illness should contact the school to ensure access to ongoing curriculum and instruction.

Having handwashing facilities available throughout all of our buildings and ensuring that all soap dispensers are regularly refilled.

Providing a teaching segment on handwashing practices for students and staff in all buildings.

Increasing each school building’s disinfection program for cleaning student desks, horizontal surfaces and touch points such as doorknobs, drinking fountains, phone receivers and handrails.

We are asking anyone with fever and/or flu-like symptoms to stay home. Anyone who presents with fever and/or flu-like symptoms in our schools will be provided a mask, screened for a recent travel history and asked to go home. Students can only return to class after meeting with the school nurse upon their return to the building.

Reporting any at-risk patients and their clinical status to the Westchester County Department of Health.

The NYS Department of Health reports that while there is currently no vaccine to prevent the COVID-19 virus, these simple steps can help stop the spread of this and other respiratory viruses:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Click here for a video on proper handwashing.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Stay home when you are sick.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

We ask, as always, that children, staff or visitors with fever and severe cold or flu-like symptoms remain home until they feel better and are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication. Contact your medical provider if you have any questions.

For additional information about COVID-19, you may contact the NYSDOH Coronavirus Hotline at 1-800-364-3065, or visit https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/coronavirus/. If you have questions, please call the health office at your school or Dr. Brooke Balchan, District Medical Director, at 914-576-4264.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Dr. Laura Feijóo

Superintendent
City School District of New Rochelle
FREE MEALS AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS AFFECTED BY COVID-19 CLOSURES

March 10, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The City School District of New Rochelle is pleased to announce that local community organizations have stepped up to help mitigate the food shortage that will be experienced by some students during the two-week closure of three schools in the state-designated Coronavirus (COVID-19) “containment area.”

We understand that some of our students are food-dependent on the district. As we await support from the state government to help provide these students with food support, we are very thankful to local organizations who have stepped up in this critical time.

Additionally, we will share information about the 2,822 students who are food dependent with Governor Cuomo’s office. We anticipate that the National Guard will help distribute food to these students in need.

As we have made clear, the choice to close specific schools came from the Governor's office in consultation with federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health professionals. The Governor chose to close schools within the containment area – within one mile of the impacted synagogue. The impacted schools are New Rochelle High School, Albert Leonard Middle School and William B. Ward Elementary School.

The impacted schools MUST close based on the latest guidance from the Governor. In addition, the CSDNR PREP Plan, which aligns with the plan provided by the NYS Department of Health and the NYS Education Department, contemplates closing schools when there is a confirmed case of COVID-19. We will continue to be guided by these documents.

At this time, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our schools. We are closing the three schools from March 11 to March 25 in compliance with the Governor’s directive.

Sincerely,

Dr. Laura Feijóo

Superintendent

City School District of New Rochelle
City School District of New Rochelle
BUDGET VOTE AND ELECTION DELAYED UNTIL AT LEAST JUNE 1

IMPORTANT ELECTION NOTICE:

Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.13, issued on March 30, 2020, delays school district elections until a date in June, reserving for future action the adjourned election date and voting methodology. The Executive Order specifically states: “Any school board, library board, or village election scheduled to take place in April or May of 2020 is hereby postponed until at least June 1, 2020, and subject to further directive as to the timing, location or manner of voting for such elections.” The Executive Order does not specifically reference the budget vote, but it is our understanding that since the budget vote occurs on the same date as the election, that too is postponed. Also, the circulation, filing, and collection of nominating petitions has likewise been postponed.

AVISO IMPORTANTE DE ELECCIÓN:

La Orden Ejecutiva 202.13 del Gobernador Cuomo, emitida el 30 de marzo de 2020, retrasa las elecciones del distrito escolar hasta una fecha en junio, reservando para acciones futuras la fecha de la elección aplazada y la metodología de votación. La Orden Ejecutiva establece específicamente: “Cualquier elección de junta escolar, junta de biblioteca o aldea programada para abril o mayo de 2020 se aplaza al menos hasta el 1 de junio de 2020, y está sujeta a directivas adicionales en cuanto al horario, ubicación o manera de votar por tales elecciones ". La Orden Ejecutiva no hace referencia específica al voto del presupuesto, pero entendemos que dado que el voto del presupuesto ocurre en la misma fecha que la elección, eso también se pospone. Además, la circulación, la presentación y la recolección de peticiones de nominación también se ha pospuesto.

Lisdalia I. Saraiva

Clerk and Secretary to the Board of Education

City School District of New Rochelle
New Sports Calendar!

The District has moved its sports calendar to a new platform. View the Athletics Schedule here.

City School District of New Rochelle
NRHS AP Government Class Visits Washington

New Rochelle High School's AP Government class, led by teacher Debbie Minchin, took a four-day trip to Washington D.C. to learn about the workings of our government.

Also accompanied by teachers Timothy Kuklis and Timothy Orlando, they toured the Capitol and met with U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, whose Congressional district includes New Rochelle. They visited the U.S. Supreme Court, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Library of Congress and the United States Holocaust Museum.

They also took a nighttime tour of the monuments and placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. The trip included a performance of "Twelve Angry Men" in Ford's Theatre, where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865.

"Sitting in the gallery of the House of Representatives made me tear up," said senior Dylan Klein. "I want to be there as a legislator one day."

Student Alexander Gonzalez said; "The trip was a wonderful opportunity to learn and explore in an exciting new environment, and to enjoy being with my friends to experience a place where many of us have never been before."
City School District of New Rochelle

Food Ed Students Serve Schoolmates 'Mindful' Lunch

Forty New Rochelle High School students were treated to healthy dishes including beet bruschetta with hummus and sweet potato and parsnip soup served by their schoolmates recently.

The student cooks in the Science of Food class whipped up dishes from their own recipes with farm-to-table, sustainable ingredients as the culmination of a semester-long "Food Ed" program with the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.

They studied personal and cultural connections to food as well as topics of sustainability. The lessons focused on many facets of agriculture, even caring for the soil itself.

"They studied how to maintain healthy soil, how to restore depleted soil and how the foods that you choose to grow have an impact on that living skin of the earth," teacher Julia Chillemi Kouyoumdjian said.

For the lunch event, Chillemi Kouyoumdjian's 30 students prepared, cooked and served the meal to two other classes in Room 207. The focus was "mindful eating," which "increases your awareness of the positive and nurturing opportunities that are available through food selection and preparation," their menu explains. It continues, "Eating mindfully is a practice that uses all your senses in choosing to eat food that is both satisfying to you and nourishing to your body."

They chose ingredients from the Stone Barns farm; others were sustainably sourced. In addition to the bruschetta and the sweet potato soup, there was kale risotto, "classic farm soup" and a seasonal salad. With each course came a story about how people can share their cultures by sharing foods, how food can be a form of medicine and how healthy soil leads to more nutritious ingredients.

Students who took the class said they planned to eat healthier and to spread the word about the connection between how we grow food and the world around us.

"I commit to eating healthy foods and staying away from bad foods that may be detrimental to my health," Gillian Okaiteye wrote in an action plan questionnaire.

Several said they would start their own gardens or join a community garden. Nick Calderone said he would like to help his mother cook and perhaps even make the family dinner on his own. Colin Logan, like many others, said he would let others know what he had learned.

"I will spread awareness about issues with the food system, such as unfair distribution and non-ethical production practices," Logan said.

City School District of New Rochelle

Jake Logan Wins Con Edison Athlete of Week

New Rochelle High School senior wrestler Jake Logan won last week's Con Edison Westchester Scholar Athlete of the Week. Logan won the County Championship on Jan. 19, going 3-0 and being named Most Outstanding Senior at the event. He also had a victory in a dual match win vs. lona Prep.

Logan won the Eastern States Wrestling Tournament's 182-pound class on Jan. 12. It is the second year he has won that tournament. He also won the Shoreline Tournament earlier in January.

His record for the season is 26-0. He has a career record of 161-29 and is 67-0 the last two years. As a junior, he went 41-0 and won the state championship in the 182-pound class. He has not given up a takedown since his sophomore year.

He has earned a scholarship to Lehigh University, one of the top Division I wrestling programs in the nation.

"Jake has outstanding character and leads by example in every practice," Wrestling Coach Eddie Ortiz said. "He consistently demonstrated a positive attitude and work ethic that the younger kids on the team look up to. It is for these reasons that he was named captain of the team his junior year."

Listen to an interview with Logan on 100.7 WHUD.
City School District of New Rochelle
Meteorologist Teaches Students Science of Weather

While many of us complain about bad weather, the third-graders at Daniel Webster Magnet School can talk about it more knowledgably, thanks to meteorologist Erica Grow of NBC TV's Storm Team 4.

Grow and a team of helpers stopped by the school on a recent (very rainy) day to teach the students about hurricanes, tornadoes and flash floods.

"Flood water, when it's in motion, is more powerful than a tornado," Grow said. "Just six inches of water can knock you right off your feet if it's moving fast enough."

With a can of shaving cream, Grow sprayed depictions of clouds on the arms of students who had volunteered to help with the demonstration. She created horizontal stratus clouds, puffy cumulous clouds, tall cumulonimbus clouds and, finally, high-in-the-sky cirrus clouds, which are "very thin, delicate, wispy even."

"Our approach is to get students excited about science, to create lifelong learners," Grow said before the lesson. "It's important to bring STEM education to students in a way that they might not get otherwise, and that will hopefully spark a newfound interest."

Principal Melissa Passarelli added, "This fits perfectly with our strategy of offering inquiry-based learning centered on real-world applications."

Consider that interest sparked.

"It's fun to explore what it feels like to be in that weather," said student Addison Kurtin.

"When it's over," schoolmate Clara Garcia-Gallet added, "you can see what's left from the bad weather and you can study it."
City School District of New Rochelle
Alumni Join Choral Students in NRHS WinterFest Tradition

It's a tradition in the New Rochelle High School WinterFest Choral Concert for alumni to return and join the students on stage in singing the climactic number, the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. The song raised the roof last night in the Whitney M. Young Jr. Auditorium and capped two days of concerts - instrumental on Wednesday, choral last night. Over the two evenings, audiences enjoyed music celebrating the season's holidays and other joys. (And other songs and instrumental pieces that are just fun.)

"Our students are simply amazing," said Interim Superintendent Dr. Magda Parvey. "These concerts really showcase the diversity, the talent and the dedication that make the New Rochelle community so special."

Watch the performance of the Hallelujah Chorus, conducted by Choral Director Jeremy Barbaro with piano accompaniment by Co-Director David Jutt here.
City School District of New Rochelle
Trinity Love Committee Knows Everything You Do Matters

At Trinity Elementary School, the holiday season is the perfect time for the Love Committee to spring into action.

Not that this group of teachers waits for winter before spreading their message of appreciation for all. The committee was formed during a school book fair last February, when Physical Education teacher Troy Millings saw the need to make books available for all students, even those whose families could not easily afford them.

Soon, he was working with several other teachers - Ivette Herrera, Kelly Hawkins, Patricia Thomas and Jillian Ritacco.

They made books accessible to everyone in a subsequent sale, and they continued to spread random acts of kindness to colleagues and others to keep school spirit high. For Mother's Day, all female teachers received lollipop flowers. On Father's Day, it was construction paper bow ties with candy centers for the male teachers.

"If we love our students and we love what we do, we need to reach out," Millings said.

"The Love Committee has become part of the fabric of our school," said Principal Michael Hilderbrand.

Just this morning, the committee held a surprise breakfast for school monitors, the unsung heroes of the school, with carol singers, a photo booth and more. With the holidays arriving, they started an "Amazon Toy Drive" that brought in more than 100 wrapped presents - which was so many that they were able to donate 25 to a local church and to families that were affected by recent fires in New Rochelle.

"Whether it's Christmas or Hanukkah - whatever they celebrate - these kids need gifts," Hawkins said.

The committee's initiatives have also expanded, with outside organizations joining in.

"It has spread to the entire community. It's more than just Trinity," said Herrera.

At one point, the members may have been easy to identify with their distinctive Trinity blue T-shirts. But the shirts caught on, and now many others have them as well. On the front of the shirt is a paw with heart in the center. The back sports the words "Everything you do matters," something Hilderbrand is known for saying.

"It's now the school mantra," Millings said.
City School District of New Rochelle

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