Newsletter: The Middle Years, Working Together for School Success

District Announcements

NRHS TheatreWorks Invites You to 'See Rock City'

Get ready to see Rock City.

The TheatreWorks performers at New Rochelle High School want to take you there and some other tourist-luring locales in the musical See Rock City and Other Destinations, playing this weekend (March 14-16) in the Linda E. Kelly Theater.

Never heard of the show? That's just fine with the actors, who are eager to be the first ones many audience members see performing it.

"It brings a new level of interest, because you don't know what to expect," said senior Chloe Werner, who plays a Niagara Falls tour guide.

Director Anthony Stirpe steered clear of the more famous musicals and chose this relatively unknown show of vignettes of self-exploration, each centered around a different landmark.

"This show is about community and taking chances while moving forward," Stirpe said. "That's what we need right now."

Showings are Thursday, March 14 through Saturday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee at 2 p.m. on March 16. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors.

Theater-goers will see the story of three sisters who travel together to scatter their father's ashes on Glacier Bay, and of Kate, a runaway bride, who is tempted to take a risk by the Niagara Falls guide.

"We're all trying to find something," said Anthony Johnson, who plays Jess, the character who heads to the titular Rock City with Dodi, played by fellow senior Melissa Ramondelli.

Students were enjoying the challenge.

"A lot of the harmonies are very complicated, and we tackle a lot of sensitive topics," said Donatello Immediato, a senior. He plays one of two friends who skip school to take a trip to Coney Island.

(The show also includes some slightly stronger-than-usual language, which Stirpe advises may be inappropriate for children under 13.)

The students also enjoyed putting on a show with plenty of substantive parts to play.

"There is no one character who's the lead," said junior Dylan Feldman, who plays Grampy. "Everyone gets to show their talent."
City School District of New Rochelle
Forensic Students Learn from Wrongfully Convicted Man

New Rochelle High School forensic science students had just learned about DNA evidence. Yesterday, they and some schoolmates gained perspective on the topic they could never get from science studies alone, when they heard the harrowing first-hand account of man wrongfully imprisoned for 16 years before DNA evidence proved that someone else committed the crime.

"I was a sophomore," Jeffrey Deskovic said of his wrongful conviction in 1990. "I was younger than most of you."

Despite the original DNA evidence in the case, Deskovic was convicted of murder on the strength of a confession he says was coerced. It wasn't until 2006 that Westchester County's then-District Attorney Janet DiFiore ordered another DNA test, which led to Deskovic's exoneration and release.

He spoke Thursday in the Whitney M. Young Jr. Auditorium to an audience of mostly juniors and seniors from two forensic science classes, the AP Government class, the Law in Government Class and others. He told them about starting the Deskovic Foundation to further his work on behalf of others who are in prison for crimes they did not commit.

"I wanted to take my work to the next level," he said. "I wanted to reach back into the prisons and free people - innocent people - who were in the same position I had been in."

He told them of the challenges of returning to society after 16 years - unfamiliar technology, lost friends and family members, the difficulty in finding a job. He received a master's degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is set to graduate with a law degree from Pace University in May.

Speaking with the experience of a former inmate, he urged the students to appreciate what they have, enjoy sunlight and the freedom to travel and to understand that they can overcome difficulties. For those entering law enforcement, science or the legal professions, he implored them to dedicate themselves to doing the job well.

"Take your job very, very seriously, and go that extra mile," he said.

It was a message received by students such as senior Kimberly Sanchez, who plans to become a police officer.

"It helps me to see how I should be as a cop," she said.
City School District of New Rochelle
Forrest, Manns Sign with Holy Cross, UMaine

Huguenot running back Jordan Forrest had already announced that he would attend College of the Holy Cross next year, but teammate Khairi Manns kept followers in suspense until the signing ceremony.

On Wednesday - National Signing Day - Manns, the football team's defensive end, revealed that he will attend the University of Maine. They held a ceremonial signing in the New Rochelle High School library, applauded by family, friends, teammates and supporters. Several reporters captured the event.

Forrest, Manns and the entire team have spent much of the year in the spotlight, mainly when they fought their way to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association state championship in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse in November. Ultimately, Aquinas Institute - a private school in Rochester - won the game, but the Huguenots' performance captured the hearts of New Rochelle.

Last month, Forrest was named Player of the Year for Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association. Last week, he was named one of the "Golden Dozen" by the Westchester Chapter of the National Football Foundation for his excellence on the field and in the classroom.
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
Volunteer New York! Provides Calming Neck Pillows

Students at Jefferson Elementary School received a calming gift on Wednesday when the organization Volunteer New York! donated 45 therapeutic neck pillows fashioned out of fluffy socks weighted with rice.

"I like it because you can take it anywhere, even on an airplane, and it will keep you calm," said fifth-grader Amira Bedell.

It was a thoughtful offering handmade by the organization's RISE job-readiness program with residents of Garito Manor, an independent living facility in New Rochelle. Each pillow is filled with two pounds of rice and can be microwaved for a warm neck comforter or lap band.

"They are calming and great for grounding," said school psychologist Dr. Michelle Memoli. "This helps our children re-focus and increase attention."
City School District of New Rochelle