Pocantico Hills Central School

Dear Community Members,

Thanks to all who have taken the time to attend one of our forums to discuss the proposed Capital Project, there is one more forum scheduled for TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9th from 7-9 PM in the LIBRARY.  Your feedback will inform the Board's decision regarding a resolution to proceed to a public vote on the project.

The public vote may include a Bond initiative.

Under consideration in the base project is:

• Renovation of the north end of campus (Gate 3), rebuilding four of the existing tennis courts, repairing and repurposing the remaining blacktop footprint to improve parking, provide improved ADA accessibility to the building, relocating the diesel and gas fuel tanks to the south end of the campus
• Repaving the parent drop-off circle and repairing sidewalks (Gate 2)
• Adding ADA parking for school and community pool access (Gate 1)
• Repairing and reconditioning structural components of the building (i.e. doors, stairs, chimneys)

The total cost of the base project is $4.7 million, part of which may be financed with a Bond issue, subject to Voter approval.

Also under consideration are two supplemental proposed projects:

• Reconditioning athletic fields and installing drainage
• Air conditioning the gymnasium

The total cost of the project with these two additional components is estimated to be $6.3 million.

The project components listed above will improve the health, safety and well-being of our students and community members for years to come. We anticipate the Board taking action on a resolution to adopt the project during the week of October 22^nd  with a vote tentatively scheduled for mid-December.   

Click Here to find details on the scope and budget for the proposed project, a detailed Q&A, site plan, timelines and the anticipated tax impact based on the market value of your home.

If you have comments or questions, please email them directly to:  facilityteam@pocaticohills.org by October 19^thand join us on October 9^th .

Sincerely,

Carol Conklin-Spillane, Superintendent

Pocantico Hills Board of Education Begins Executive Search

Dear Community Members:

The Pocantico Hills Board of Education has begun the process of searching for a Superintendent of Schools. We are committed to seeking your input into this process, and to keeping you apprised of progress along the way.

As a first step, we will involve diverse groups of community members to help us formulate a desired profile of the next school leader. While the Board of Education has the responsibility for selecting and appointing the Superintendent, we consider input and feedback from stakeholder groups an essential component in guiding our search and making our final selection. 

We have engaged Bob Christmann, lead consultant at NY State Leadership Group, to support our District throughout this process. Mr. Christmann will be leading and facilitating each of the input sessions.

Please review the list of engagements below, organized by stakeholder group, and feel free to attend the one that is most appropriate for you. You are welcome to attend any of the sessions. However, please keep in mind Mr. Christmann will tailor each session to the specific needs of each group. Additionally, we will arrange an online survey for community members to provide additional guidance (details forthcoming).

If you are unable to attend any of the sessions, or wish to provide further input, you are welcome to call Mr. Christmann directly: 716-777-0451. Also, you can also contact the Board of Education at any time via: boe@pocanticohills.org.

The sessions will be held in the School Library, and are as follows:

• Tuesday, October 23, 2018
  • 6:30-7:30 pm: Parents/Guardians of Students
  • 7:30-8:30 pm: Any Community Member (District Resident)
• Wednesday, October 24, 2018
  • 6:45-7:30pm: Pocantico Hills Foundation and PTA Members
  • 7:30-8:15pm: Parents with Pocantico Students in Partner High Schools
• Monday, November 5, 2018
  • 6:30-7:15 pm: Any Community Member (District Resident)
  • 7:30-8:15 pm: Parents/Guardians of Students

 Warmly,

Al Pacile, President, Pocantico Hills Board of Education

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.  

Link to our Middle School Mood Meter can be found here.  

As part of our successful transition back to school, our 8^th 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.   

Want information on events happening in our community?

LoHud

Westchester Magazine