November 16, 2012

 

SIWANOY EXPRESS

school

Siwanoy

Express Deadline

The Siwanoy Express is a weekly newsletter emailed to the Siwanoy community each Friday. We welcome school-related content from students, teachers and parents. If you've got any announcements, news or photos from class trips, projects, parties, etc., please feel free to email me details by Tuesday, 5pm.
Thank you!
-Amie Hughes

Looking Ahead.....



Mon., Nov. 19, 8:00pm, BOE Meeting, Alumni Hall, PMHS 

Wed., Nov. 21, 12:00pm dismissal

Thurs., Nov. 22, NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Recess 

Fri., Nov. 23, NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Recess  

Mon., Nov. 26, UNICEF Collection Boxes Due  

Mon., Dec. 3, Picture Re-Take Day 

Mon., Dec. 3, 8:00pm, BOE Meeting, Alumni Hall, PMHS 

Mon., Dec. 3, 8:00pm, Dad's Club Meeting, Rockwell's 

Wed., Dec. 12, 3:15-7:45pm, Blood Drive, Colonial School

Quick Links

In this Issue...

 .

Click on Heading for Quick Links!
Principal Note
Siwanoy Express Deadlines
Not Too Late to Collect for UNICEF
Getting to Know Our Teachers
Details on Upcoming Winter Concerts
Picture Re-Take Day is December 3
District Calendar
October-November Lunch Menu
Details About Upcoming BOE Meetings
Defining APPR & Its Implications
September PTA Meeting: Get Informed!
October Site-Based Council Meeting Minutes
Local Relief Team Seeking Volunteers to Help Hurricane Sandy Vicitims
Pelham Picture House's Wildlife Film Festival This Sunday
Donate Blood on December 12
Free Homework Help Available at Library on Wednesdays

 .

Siwanoy News

 .

Expressly Yours from the Principal:

 

 

I want to wish you all a wonderful and bountiful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for this year. I know some of you are still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and will be for months to come. I know, too, that the school community and the town have come together to help neighbors but also to help those who lost so much more in the coastal areas that have been devastated. Please let us know if you need anything.

Thinking of you all at this start to the holiday season.

With warm regards,

Susan

 

SPECIAL NOTICE:

STAGING FOR EVACUATION DRILL:

 

On Wednesday, November 21, 2012, the district in association with the Pelham Manor Police Department will conduct a staging/evacuation drill at 11:30 am. This drill is a required rehearsal of procedures that we would follow if we had to stage and prepare to evacuate our school building and transport students to an emergency facility. Our staging/evacuation drill on Wednesday will include our teachers and students first reporting to designated fire drill locations.

 

At 11:30 am on Wednesday, November 21, The Pelham Manor Police Department will close access routes to the school and you will not be able to travel near the school building until the drill is completed at 12 noon.

 

When our drill is completed, the children will be escorted by their teachers to their usual dismissal locations where our regular dismissal procedures will begin at 12 noon.

 

In order to facilitate the conducting of our drill, you are advised not to try to access the school or the school neighborhood until 12 noon and to car pool or walk, if possible. Students and parents will not be permitted into our building once the staging-evacuation drill has commenced and there will not be access to our building once the drill is completed.

 

The rehearsal drill will be explained to the children on Wednesday morning in calm and assuring language. We will do everything we routinely do to maintain calm and to have the children feel safe during this practice drill. For our students, our staging area is the same as our fire drill location, so children would always know what to do and where to go in event they hear the fire alarm.

 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at the school office.

 

 NO EXPRESS THANKSGIVING WEEK.

 

 .

Siwanoy Express Deadline
Please Submit Your News by TUESDAY Each Week! 
The deadline to submit announcements to the Siwanoy Express is 5pm on Tuesday. The Express is emailed each Friday.  PTA members, teachers and parents are all encouraged to submit school-related news, announcements and photos. If you have any questions, please contact Amie Hughes. If you would like a school-related event photographed please contact
Erin O'Neil  or Karen Teller .    

 .

  Fifth Graders Celebrating the Success of 'Stuff-a-Bus:'
187 Pairs of Pajamas and 170 new Books Were Collected for Needy Children 

 

Sarah Jane O'Connor, Grace Liberatore, Julia O'Neil, Ellie Bryan, Justin O'Beirne, Bernadette Russo, Rosie Spagnuolo & Cassie Ventura

 .

It's Not Too Late to Collect For UNICEF  
Return Your Boxes by Monday, November 26 
Your children received boxes from UNICEF today. Thanksgiving break is a wonderful time to show gratitude for all we have in our lives by helping others not as fortunate. With this spirit in mind, we ask that you fill the boxes with spare change and return to your child's classroom on Monday, November 26. 
 
UNICEF strives to protect and improve the lives of children around the world through clean water, nutrition and health care initiatives.  Let's help our children help these children. Email
Erin Apmann or Becky Ross with any questions.

 .

The Express' New Feature:
'Getting to Know Our Teachers & Staff' 
We've created this new feature as a way to showcase the great credentials of our wonderful Siwanoy teachers and staff -- and also to give you a glimpse into who they are and what they are doing when they are NOT teaching our children. This week we are featuring...
                
GAIL SIDER, FOURTH GRADE TEACHER ~
Mrs. Sider lives with her family in Briarcliff Manor, and    enjoys listening to books on CD during her scenic drive to and from Pelham. She is delighted to have found her way to teaching, considering that she graduated from college with a degree in social psychology intent on becoming a social worker and then wound up with a couple of law degrees.  When she's not at the library selecting new CDs to listen to, Mrs. Sider can be found at the Tarrytown Music Hall, where she is a volunteer usher, at the Jacob Burns Film Center catching the latest independent flick, sharing a meal with family or friends, or bargain hunting with her daughters (Marielle--24, and Jacqueline--21).
                      
LAURA PELIN, THIRD GRADE TEACHER ~
Laura Pelin is in her seventh year at Siwanoy School. She has taught both first and third grade while here. Mrs. Pelin grew up in Scarsdale, NY. She majored in Elementary Education and Spanish at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, and also spent a semester studying abroad in Seville, Spain. She has received two Masters degrees from Pace University in Special Education and Literacy. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, cooking, reading on her Kindle and taking zumba classes. She resides in Manhattan with her husband, John.

*If you've got some additional ideas (i.e. for articles/design, etc.) on how to make the Express more interesting, please send them to Amie Hughes. We'd like to see our readership DOUBLE by the end of the year. 

 .

Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Winter Concerts 
Despite some missed lessons and rehearsals due to the hurricane, the show must go on! Students will need black and white concert attire for their performances, so now is the time to check to see if last year's clothes still fit.

*The Fourth and Fifth Grade Chorus, Fourth and Fifth Grade Orchestra and Fifth Grade Band will be performing for their parents on December 14, 9:15am. 

*The Third Grade Orchestra will perform their first recital on January 30, 9:00am. 

 .

Picture Re-take Day Rescheduled for Monday, December 3 
If you signed up your child to have their picture retaken, please remember to send 
them in appropriate dress:  Fifth grade boys, jacket and tie; fifth grade girls, dress/skirt. 
 
If you have not yet signed up and want your child's picture re-taken you must contact 
Julianna at [email protected]. Your child's picture will not be taken unless you 
are signed up in advance.

 .

 
Fourth Grader Liz Epes Stands Beside Surplus Halloween Candy
Collected for US Troops
 

 .

DISTRICT NEWS 
District Calendar
The district calendar is available:
  • On the Pelham School District website: pelhamschools.org  
  •  In the  "Quick Links" section of the Siwanoy Express, below "Looking Ahead" 

 .

Click on OCTOBER-NOVEMBER LUNCH MENU 

 .

Next BOE Meeting: Monday, November 19 
At four upcoming Board of Education meetings, reports will be presented on topics to provide background information to assist Board members in finalizing a budget for next year. The topics and meeting dates are:

Nov. 19: Technology: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going? 
Dec. 17:  Status of Pupil Personnel Services: Costs, Trends, Programs and the Future 
Jan. 7:  Non-Instructional Staff: Who Are They and What Do They Do? And...What Is the Procurement Process for Goods and Services 
 
Meetings take place at 8:00pm in Alumni Hall which is opposite the Main Gym.

 .

What Is 'APPR'? How Does it Affect Our Students and Staff? 
New State Requirements for Evaluating Teachers/Principals Discussed

PTA Council President Tom Imperato and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dennis Lauro, Jr. and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Instruction and Personnel Peter Giarrizzo talked about new State regulations regarding the evaluation of teachers and principals -- commonly referred to as the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR). They talked about how the new regulations are affecting what goes on in our classrooms in Pelham.
 
The conversation can be viewed online here. You can also read some background info and highlights from the conversation by clicking here.

 .

PTA NEWS 

 .

September PTA Meeting Minutes: Get informed!
Click on here  to read the Minutes from the September 11 PTA Meeting.  

 .

October Site-Based Council Meeting Minutes 
Click here  to read the minutes from the SBC's October 23 meeting. The next meeting is Wednesday, November 14 at noon in the school library. SBC's meetings are open to the public.   

 .

Community News

 .

Local Relief Team Helps Those Effected by Hurricane Sandy-

Looking for Volunteers!

A local Pelham Community Sandy Relief Team (PCSRT) is making regular trips to affected areas and needs volunteers and donations!
 
Work-focused half-day and full-day trips are planned for this weekend (Saturday and Sunday). If you're able to donate your time please contact Eric Smith. (Note: these trips are not appropriate for children.) 

We're taking donated goods on each relief trip, and accepting donations at Huguenot Church, corner of Pelhamdale Road & Boston Post Rd. Urgently needed items include:

�         Work gloves, face masks
�         Batteries, flashlights
�         Thick black contractor bags
�         Heavy-duty power & extension cords, power strips
�         Cleaning supplies - especially bleach & push brooms
�         Generators, water pumps
�         Baby cough medicine
�         Band-Aids   
�         Neosporin, Advil, Tylenol, aspirin (in clearly labeled containers)
�         Toiletries (razors, toothpaste/brushes, personal wipes, hand sanitizer, deodorant, etc) 
�         Jars of baby food
�         Baby formula
�         Baby bottles
�         Diapers
�         Baby wipes
�         Juice boxes
�         Granola bars
�         Powdered milk
�         Peanut butter, jelly, bread, soup
�         Pet food (including hamster food!)    


For more information, click here and ask to join the mailing list. You can also contact Tina Constable, Kristin Bidwell, Kathie O'Callaghan or you can email the Huguenot Memorial Church. Tel:
(914) 738-3488.
 
If you would like to receive updates about relief runs, donations and other ways to help the victims of Sandy, become a member of Google groups by clicking here and then clicking on "get on the mailing list."

 .

It's For a Good Cause - and it's Fun,Too!
Wildlife Film Festival this Sunday, Nov. 18
The Wildlife Conservation Society is proud to partner with Thirteen/WNET-Nature and Nat Geo WILD this weekend to present REEL WILD, a showcase for the best in wildlife filmmaking on Sunday at The Picture House. A thrilling mix of family-friendly and thought provoking films, REEL WILD provides an up-close look at how we can save wildlife and wild places around the globe. Passes for the day-long festival are $15,  your ticket goes towards a diverse array of shorts and documentaries, informative chats and world premieres. For more information or to get tickets click here

 .

Please Consider Donating Your Blood on December 12
Hurricane Sandy Has Created a Major Blood Bank Shortfall
The Little Doctors Colonial School Blood drive was originally scheduled for Thursday, November 1 at the Colonial School Gym. The event had to be postponed because the school was still closed on that date and the gym was instead being used as a haven for those looking for power and warmth. Hurricane Sandy had a similar effect on blood drives throughout the region, which has led to a projected shortfall of 12,000 units over the next 30 days. Please help restore the NY blood supply and save three lives by donating blood on Wednesday, December 12 at the Colonial School gym, 3:15 to 7:45pm.

It's fine to just walk in, you don't have to make an appointment (but feel free to make one if you'd like - it helps the NY Blood Center staff appropriately). For everyone: please make sure to have your ID with you, eat and drink ahead of time (try to have some spinach or steak in the days prior to bulk up your iron) and if you have any concerns about your eligibility to donate, please click here.

To make an appointment or for more information, please email Louise Kelly or send her a text at 914-275-5356.

 .

Free Homework Help Available!  
Pelham Library Invites Students to Drop by Wednesdays, 3:30-5:00 
Volunteers are on hand to help students study for tests, answer questions, provide homework help and explain topics. Students in grades 1 through 8 are welcome. Snacks will be provided and there is no sign-up required. So please have your kids bring their homework, projects and assignments to the library any Wednesday after school until 5:00pm.  

 .

Siwanoy School
Pelham Manor NY, 10803
(914) 738-7650
Fax:738-8199 
Principal: Susan Gilbert  [email protected]                 
PTA  Co-President: Romina Levy  [email protected]          
PTA Co-President: Clay Bushong [email protected]    
Siwanoy Express Editor: Amie Hughes [email protected]              
Express Photographers: Erin O'Neil [email protected] & Karen Teller  [email protected]