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POCANTICO HILLS CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
In the event that we are forced to close or delay the opening of the district or school you will receive a notification explaining the situation and providing specific guidance.
School/District Delays and Closures:
In general, emergency notifications are categorized into two main areas: delays and closures.
Delays:
When a school is delayed this will impact both the start of school and associated transportation times. For example, if there is a 2-hour delay, school will start 2 hours later than normal. Additionally, for students that receive transportation services either to Pocantico or other schools, your pick-up time will be impacted by 2 hours. Students who would normally be picked up at 7:00am would now be picked up at 9:00am, etc.
Closures:
When the Pocantico Hills Central School DISTRICT is closed, all activities, including all transportation services are cancelled.
If there is an event that is localized, such as a power outage on our campus, school will be closed, but transportation services to partner schools might still occur. When this happens, you will receive specific information regarding pick-up and drop-off times directly from Pocantico.
Partner schools will communicate directly with impacted families if they are delayed or closed.
How Will You Receive The Message?
When an emergency occurs, you will be notified of the situation through a variety of communication channels. You will receive an automated call, as well as an e-mail, directly from the school, and the information will be posted on our website. Additionally, if you have opted to receive text messages and/or if you have the Pocantico Hills app, you will receive the notification through those channels as well. District specific weather-related closing information is also shared with News 12 Westchester, WABC-tv7, the Patch, WHUD 100.7. and Instagram: “superintendent.calkins” forgive the shameless promotionJ.
When Will Closing Information Be Disseminated?
This information will be communicated to families in as timely a fashion as possible. Sometimes it may be feasible to notify you the night before the event takes place. Other times you will receive notifications in the morning. We will try to communicate this information to you between 5:30am and 6:00am.
Other Emergency Situations:
We will also utilize the aforementioned communication methodologies to communicate other emergency information to you. A good example of this would be if we were forced to close school and send our students home early.
The second annual One World Evening was a huge success. The event started with student performances of taekwondo, Indian and African dancing, and Chinese harp music.
One World Evening celebrates Pocantico's cultural diversity. In a school of about 320 students, families’ cultural roots span more than 100 countries.
So many families cooked and set up displays to share their culture. Some of the countries represented include Brazil, France, Colombia, India, Japan and Chile.
“This is a night to truly celebrate each other, our diversity, our cultural roots and just appreciate and enjoy and learn from each other and this most wonderful way,” said Principal Adam Brown, a Diversity Committee member.
In addition to sampling food from many cultures, many people tried arts and crafts such as origami, sand art and calligraphy.
Many thanks to everyone who participated in One World Evening!
Duke's first day of school! Teacher Mario Suarez started introducing Duke on Feb. 10. Duke is the school's new therapeutic care dog. Children learned that he loves Cheerios.
Duke has been making the rounds of elementary school classrooms during his first week of school. Mr. Suarez will be introducing him to older students after February break.
Duke is very friendly and excited to meet everyone at Poco. Please remember not to pet him when he's wearing his red, "Do not pet" bandanna.
Many middle school students participated in the sixth annual Operation Valentine by making cards for residents of Atria Senior Living in Briarcliff Manor.
On Feb. 9, a group of students and parents delivered the cards to Atria Senior Living.
Thanks to everyone who took part in this special event! Happy Valentine's Day!
Congratulations to eighth-grader Maryum F. and sixth-grader Zayd R. for placing first and second in Pocantico's 10th annual National Geographic Bee Jan. 16! Maryum's younger sister, fourth-grader Tasnim F., won third place. Maryum, who also won last year, will take an online geography test to see if she qualifies for the New York State GeoBee.
Kudos to all 10 students in grades 4-8 who competed as finalists in the school's National Geographic Bee. From left to right: Saad I., Max S., Emily A., Maryum F., Zach M., Meadow G., Serena X., Zayd R., Tasnim F. and Adya T.
The first and second grades sang beautifully at their Winter Concert on Dec. 4. Thanks to vocal/music teacher Sheila DePaola for her great work helping students prepare!
The Fifth and Sixth Grade Chorus pictured here sang "Windy Nights," "The Rock Island Line" and "Al Shlosha D'Varim" during the concert on December 11.
Congratulations to all our middle school students who performed during the Winter Concert! The Seventh and Eighth Grade Chorus pictured here sang "Let It Snow/Winter Wonderland," "I Hear America Singing" and "Everlasting Melody."
The Sixth Grade Band performed "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" and "Dance of the Jabberwocky" during the Winter Concert.
The Fifth Grade Band played "First Holiday Concert Medley" during the concert, which was its first performance on stage. The Jazz Ensemble also performed, playing "Jingle All the Way."
After the combined choruses performed "When the Lights All Shine," students thanked Sheila DePaola, choral director, and Michael Murray, band director, and gave them gifts.
Third- and fourth-graders also gave a wonderful performance at their Winter Concert on Dec. 4. Students in grades 5-8 will perform on Dec. 11.
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.
