February 2008--From the Office of Public Information, Mamaroneck Union Free School District/ 914-220-3070 
BOARD BRIEFS
Topics included below:
High School Student Report
Private donations to the district
Tax certioraris
Staff Honors
Student Honors
Student Music Honors
Study Session Report
Communication Committee Report
Report from Dr. Fried
Special Education Report
Future Meeting Dates

§         MHS Student Report by Jodi Miller and Charlotte Gardiner: Students are hosting a prom for Senior Citizens on 3/5 and will hold their own COAST dance later in March; the hypnotist event was a huge success with over 900 students in attendance; the History Dept held a Super Tuesday election (Obama 79%; McCain 67%) and students organized a voter registration drive this week. Upcoming events: PACE New Plays (2/27-3/1), PACE 1 Show, Concentration AP Art Show (open to 3/7), a new alumni performance sponsored by Planning Council (3/29) and the Semi-Royal Shakespeare performances (3/6-3/9).

§         The board expressed its thanks for two donations: $1000 from the Lucy Harayda for the MHS Consulting Transition Services program; and $1205 from Clearview Cinemas for the MAS Pre-K program.

§         Tax Certioraris: The board approved these court-ordered tax certioraris: $29,067.53 and $205,942.24.

§         Staff Honors: Two staff members were each awarded $1000 Activate America School Wellness grants from the RYE YMCA. Chatsworth PE teacher Pat Romano’s grant is “Jump Rope for Heart Program and Central School nurse Vicky Ruggiero’s grant is “Aerobic Dance Program”.

§         Student Honors: Winners of the final local round of the National Geographic Bee held at Hommocks were: first place, Jesse Kling, a 7^th grade student of Ms. Dancy; and second place, Ben Marchiony, 6^th grade student of Ms. Nandlal. Two Hommocks students in Ms. McCurdy-Little’s class won a poetry contest run by Creative Communication: Jake Danehy and Audrey Owens. Their poems will be published in a book entitled “A Celebration of Young Poets”. At the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) District meeting, these MHS students won competitions making them eligible to compete at the State level: Elias Everett, 1^st place, Public Speaking II; Emily Weitzman, 2^nd place, Public Speaking I; Ben Silverstein, 1^st place, Basic Decision Making; Giancarlo Riso, 2^nd place, Impromptu Speaking; Grace Novikoff, 3^rd place, Job Interview.
Congratulations to Ms. Staudinger’s fifth grade class at Murray who collectively finished reading 1,197 books since the first day of school. The class will hold a reading celebration on February 29.

§         Student Music Honors: These students will be participating in the 2008 All-County Elementary and Intermediate Band, Orchestra and Chorus festival in March at SUNY Purchase: Elementary Choir: Adriana Pryor, Leela Mitra, Molly Leitner, Mickaella Nugent, Erin O’Rourke, Isabel Banta, Isabel Gitlin, Miranda Lee, Margo McClave, Elizabeth Engel, Kristy Miyashita, Jill Obalde; Intermediate Choir: Jenna Frances Dorthery, Victoria Dieck, Sarah Alexrad, MacKenzie Lesser-Roy, Alison Wagman, Emmanuel Saavedra, Lucy Coplin, Sarah Cummings, Maria Friere, Hannah Sheehan, Jordan Lesser-Roy, Avriel Diaz, Vineeth Paniker, Jessica Damiano, Gabrielle French, Hannah Balkin. Elementary Band & Orchestra: Charlotte Hoffman, Simone Van Taylor, Jessica Kogan, Katie Goodman, Henri Roque, Alexandra Patti, Kellin Jansen, Daniella Koller, Surin Ahn, Ellie Seid; Intermediate Band & Orchestra: Lauren Pfeffer, Morrall Imogen, Max Gersh, Sam Kupferberg, Laura Gerkis, Danny Fiddelman, David Cruikshank, Nina Kumar, Lyra Harada, Sarah Blunt, Evan Garwood, Jake Forsyth, Matthew Bialo.

§         Report on February study session by Linnet Tse: (1) Safety and Security: The work of the safety and security committee are linked to the high school building goals: establishing a culture of student accountability and developing and strengthening programs for at-risk students. Plans are being developed to create a Learning Center to provide more academic support and personalization for at risk students. Regarding the security, an increase in graffiti and costly vandalism was noted, often at times of the day when supervision is minimal. Several measures were proposed including an expandable surveillance system with remote cameras and hiring additional security personnel.
(2) Code of Conduct: While the code applies to the behavior of all students, athletes sign an additional contract that is more stringent with penalties for misconduct off school grounds. There was discussion about the inequity of holding athletes to a stricter standard than others, potential negative impact of putting up barriers to extracurricular involvement, practicality of enforcing this kind of code and whether a district has the right to oversee student conduct outside school activities. See the full report on the website, www.mamkschools.org

§         Report of Communications Committee by Nancy Pierson: Since last month the board has made presentations at all six schools about the capital projects and fields and learned much from the feedback. One more presentation is scheduled for the broader community on Wednesday, February 27 from 9:30 to 11am in the Weaver Street Firehouse. Please call Joan Rosen at 220-3070 for more information. With the approval of a contract for web design and hosting, the district gets closer to having a new website. The committee shared several ideas for increased communication around the budget this year including the use of cable TV, the website and holding additional meetings for community members in community venues. 

§         2008-2009 School Calendar was adopted by the board and is posted on the website. 

§         Report from Dr. Fried on two related initiatives: Last week, Meryl Rubinstein and Dr. Fried attended the ChildSafe Leadership Conference which addressed environmental factors at schools that can impact children’s health. The district can, for little cost, adopt some proposed initiatives. This week the district, working with the PTAs, will participate in a program called Child Safety/Safe Routes to School, sponsored by Westchester County and the Rye YMCA to look at ways to decrease traffic around schools by working to increase walking and biking. 

§         Special Education Report Presentation: In October the district commissioned an extensive study of the K-12 special education program. The study was funded by a grant from IDEA. The consultants presented a short summary of their 70 page report which includes an extensive inventory of the services provided by the district, their observations about particular programs, and their recommendations for improvement. One recommendation called for combining the population of two of our elementary schools and reorganizing them into a different structure. Dr. Minotti, Assistant Superintendent for Support Services, stated after the meeting that the district will not be considering this recommendation but will look to implement some of the other practices suggested by the consultants in the report. Copies of the report are available from Dr. Minotti’s office.

§         Future Meeting Dates:
Wednesday, February 27 at 9:30am at Weaver Street Firehouse: Presentation for the Community about the Capital Plan Projects and Field Improvement Plans. Call Joan Rosen, 220-3070, for information.
Wednesday, February 27 at 7:30pm- Study Session to discuss proposed capital plan and fields (Tiered Classroom)
Wednesday, March 12 at 7:30pm- Regular Meeting including Health Services Presentation and The ChildSafe School (Tiered Classroom)