The Board of Education will hold a Special Meeting at 8:00 p.m. in the Board Room. It is anticipated that the Board will immediately convene into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the Executive search. No public action is anticipated.
For information about Summer Camp and to access the online registration click here.
For information on registering your child, please click here.
Would you like to help us with the Board Room project by donating school memorabilia? Click here for more information.
The New York State Education Department is requiring that school districts develop an AIS policy for the 2016/2017 school year. This policy must include a second measure and must be uniformly applied to all grade levels. Please see attached for more details.
The Board of Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Richard Calkins as the the new school superintendent. He will replace outgoing superintendent Carol Conklin-Spillane on July 1.
Mr. Calkins met parents, community members and school district staff during a reception following his appointment by the school board. He is currently superintendent of the Alfred-Almond Central School District in Allegany County.
Students took a "selfie" with renowned primatologist Jane Goodall after a Skype in the Classroom event with her on April 9.
Students from all over the world had a chance to ask Dr. Goodall questions in video messages and on Twitter.
Dr. Goodall told children that her life's dream was to observe and write about wild animals in Africa. Her institute helps to protect chimpanzees and other great apes against disease transmission, illegal hunting and human-wildlife conflict.
Dr. Goodall said children can join the her institute's Roots and Shoots service program, which empowers youth to work for a better future for people, animals and the environment.
Dr. Mary Lane Cobb of Tarrytown, a retired family physician who was educated in a segregated school system in Kentucky, spoke with seventh-graders during Women's History Month.
Dr. Lane said she was inspired by an uncle who was a physician to become a doctor. She entered the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1950 and was the only black woman in a class of 50.
The author encouraged students to love themselves as they are and be kind to others. She gave high-fives, and a few "air" high-fives, when children said something positive about a classmate.
Dr. Lane retired 26 years ago and has been involved in many community activities, including as a member of the Choral Arts Society of Westchester and the Westchester Region NAACP. Teacher Joy Scantlebury and library media specialist Anne Gordon organized her visit.
Julia Davis, author of the "I Love Me!" book series, visited the school in late February. She is the aunt of fifth-grader Ty'Asia Carver, and sister of Ty'Asia's mother, June.
The Atlanta-based author has written eight picture books and one chapter book. She signed books for students during her visit, which was made possible by the PTA, the Diversity Committee and the library.
Kindergarteners celebrated the 100th day of school by wearing special crowns and shirts they designed, and eating a snack that made the shape of 100.
Classroom activities included writing how they would spend $100, guessing which of three bags had 100 pieces of candy in it, and stringing beads.
Thanks to teachers Christina Povemba and Lindsey Wiley for making the 100th day of school so special!
A few dozen middle school students made cards for senior citizens during the fifth annual Operation Valentine.
The students delivered them to residents of the Atria Briarcliff Manor assisted living facility.
Students brought in candy, cookies and other treats from home to enjoy during Operation Valentine.
Pocantico Hills Central School celebrated the customs, traditions and food of many cultures during “One World Evening” Jan. 29.
The event included three student performances in the auditorium followed by the "One World Walk" in the cafeteria.
Many families brought traditional food and drink for others to sample, such as chai tea, samosas, kielbasa, empanadas, sushi and pierogi.
Students spent two weeks learning about Yoga in physical education class.
They found out that yoga has many benefits, including relaxation, increased flexibility and stress reduction.
Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh brought instruction to the school. It was a great experience for all!
Adam Brown, director of curriculum and technology, offered contestants last-minute advice at the school's National Geographic GeoBee Jan. 24.
Contestants had about 15 seconds to write down their answers on a whiteboard before showing the audience.
GeoBee contestants shared their answers with the audience.
Adam Brown presented seventh-grader Maryum with the winner’s medal.
Maryum celebrated her victory with Principal Brent Harrington.
Third-graders went on a field trip to the New York Botanical Garden in November.
The highlight of the day was a tour of the annual Holiday Train Show.
Students made mandalas from natural materials.
They explored rain forests, deserts and other environments in the garden's conservatory.
The train show featured model trains and trolleys moving through magical landscapes of historic New York buildings.
The weather was perfect for the students' Halloween parade Oct. 31.
Inflatable costumes were popular this year, as were unicorns, the Incredibles characters, princesses and superheroes.
Some teachers dressed up too, including as Play-Doh, M&M's and a rain cloud.
Children had parties in their classrooms after the parade.
Students picked carrots, squash, corn and other vegetables for the annual Harvest Soup Festival.
Staffers Jose Zamora, who tended the garden, and Kassie Arcate, school chef, helped with harvesting, cleaning, chopping and cooking.
The whole school enjoyed the harvest soup the next day, along with herb butter and carrot leaf pesto they put on rolls.
The largest vegetable grown in the garden was the Italian zucchini, which required many hands to safely carry it to the chopping table.
Children picked, washed and peeled the vegetables, and they peeled and grated garlic.
The school has held the event for about 10 years.
The school launched a new Makerspace this year to foster creativity and develop children’s skills in science, technology, engineering and math.
In their second class, first-graders had a chance to work with any of the supplies they wanted, from Styrofoam balls and felt to markers.
The Pocantico Hills Foundation is a sponsor of the Makerspace and raised money to help start the program.
On Thursday, April 11, the Pocantico Hills Board of Education appointed Richard Calkins as its next superintendent of schools.
Mr. Calkins will take over for retiring Superintendent Carol Conklin-Spillane July 1. He will be joining Pocantico Hills from the Alfred-Almond Central School District in Allegany County, where he has been superintendent of schools for nearly a decade. Prior to that, he was principal of the district’s Jr./Sr. High School, chairman of the Committee on Special Education and a special education teacher.
The Board of Education selected Mr. Calkins following a comprehensive search led by Bob Christmann of NYS Leadership Group. The search process, which was confidential until Thursday’s announcement, resulted in a large and highly competitive pool of candidates from throughout the state of New York and beyond.
Board of Education President Al Pacile said the district is thrilled to welcome Mr. Calkins as its next leader.
“We are confident Rich is going to be a tremendous fit for our community and school,” he said. “Not only is he a top-notch educator and administrator with a long track record of success, he embodies the spirit of commitment and service to community that we envisioned at the start of our search.”
The Pocantico Hills School staff believes that each student is a complex and unique person. We are committed to helping our children realize their complete personal potential – academic, creative, physical and emotional. We will ask the students to stretch themselves and help them to discover the rewards of working hard.
We will treat the students with respect and understanding and encourage them to be caring and contributing members of society, students who are thoughtful, honest, fair, kind and self-disciplined.
The ability to recognize, understand, label, express and when necessary, regulate our emotions is critical to our emotional health and success in school. Understanding these skills using the RULER approach provides our students with an opportunity to utilize the Mood Meter—an important component to the Anchors of Emotional Intelligence. Our Mood Meter Mondays allow students to utilize this resource to self-identify their emotion prior to lunch. This provides one data point to assess our students’ emotional well-being and our overall culture and climate at Pocantico at the beginning of each week.
As part of our successful transition back to school, our 8th grade students were charged with creating a school-wide character pledge that reflects our core values—kindness, respect and perseverance. Their successful work was chronicled throughout the week and captured on video Pocantico Character. Our Pocantico Character Pledge is recited each morning following the Pledge of Allegiance as a school community. Again, a special thank you to the class of 2019 and Mr. Murray, Mrs. Carruth and Mrs. Hongell, who facilitated this important work with our students.
As a student of character at Pocantico Hills …
I pledge to not give up when obstacles are in the way. I will persevere.
I will listen to others and use careful words. I will be respectful.
I will smile and greet people in the hallways. I will be kind.
