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Dear Spackenkill Community,
At Tuesday night's Board meeting, I will present my recommended budget for the 2019-2020 school year. The budget will be under the tax cap and will continue to build upon our District Strategic Plan.
Thank you IBM and Global Foundries and those volunteers who assisted in recognizing National Engineers Week. Our country needs more well-trained engineers to meet our workforce requirements. So much has been said in the news concerning cyber-security and cyber-warfare. Our country needs to be competitive by developing young people like the students at Spackenkill, as new technologies have such a dramatic impact both on defense and the national and regional economies. Again, I thank you for inspiring and encouraging our students in the STEM field.
Administrators and I have been very busy recruiting the next wave of teachers in the District to continue the legacy of outstanding teaching. We attended a college fair yesterday and will attend another on Saturday and two more in the near future.
My best,
Mark Villanti, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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ANNUAL VOTE & ELECTION:
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Click here for information about upcoming vote
Click here to download Absentee Ballot Application
Board Seat Petitions:
A seat is available on the Board of Education beginning July 1, 2019 for a five-year term ending June 30, 2024. Petitions for the Board of Education are available in the District Office at 15 Croft Road, Poughkeepsie. Election of School Board Members is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21st. Petitions must be received by the District Clerk by 5 pm on April 22, 2019. For more information, please contact District Clerk Sandra Barbieri in the District Office. Call 845-463-7800 or e-mail [email protected].
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Come to Parent Tech Academy: Part 2
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| Learn how to navigate Google Apps for Education and how to access student accounts from home at this two-part workshop geared to elementary school parents and guardians. Please RSVP by clicking here. |
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| Every spring, the Grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Tests are administered to students across New York State. These annual ELA and math tests for students in grades 3-8 are required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. The tests are designed to measure how well students are mastering the learning standards that guide classroom instruction and help to ensure that students are on track to graduate from high school with the critical thinking, problem solving, and reasoning skills needed for success in college and the modern workplace. The tests also show how schools and districts are progressing with the learning standards and can support professional development for teachers. Click here for the Parent Toolkit for the 2019 tests. |
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Transportation Requests
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Parents and guardians must have requests for private providers for the 2019-20 school year to the Spackenkill UFSD Transportation Department by April 1, 2019. Requests must be filed every year. For more information, please call Doreen Wright, Director of Transportation: 463-7800.
Print a Request for Private/Parochial School Transportation
Print a Request for Daycare Transportation
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Upcoming PTSA Meetings
April 8th High School
May 13th Todd
June No meeting
All meetings at 7 PM in middle or high school library
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College Acceptances Are Rolling In
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It's that time of year when high school seniors are hearing from colleges they hope to attend in the fall. Click here for a list of acceptances so far. We will keep you updated over the coming weeks. Congratulations to the Class of 2019! Students, please let your guidance counselor know where you have been accepted so we can add the school to the list.
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Engineers Visit Elementary Schools
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For National Engineers Week 2019, with the assistance of Mr. Giorgio and Mr. Schwager, the children in Mrs. Goodwill's class created robot arms. The first graders worked with their team to design a project to pick up a variety of materials in a plastic bin. Every team was given the following materials to create their designs: six wooden sticks, 10 brass fasteners, four rubber bands, two binder clips, and one Dixie cup. The students learned that engineers need to work collaboratively to update their designs to solve problems.
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| Above: Nassau students work collaboratively on robot arm designs. |
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On Tuesday, March 19th, a team of engineers from IBM and Global Foundries visited Hagan and worked with students in each grade. The team talked about the role of engineers in everyday life. “One of the things we do at IBM every day is solve problems,” said Doris Conti, Director, Watson and Cloud Platform Delivery at IBM. The students were challenged to solve a toxic waste removal problem using rulers, grippers, fasteners, and cups. Using these materials, they created devices to pick up the “toxic waste,” represented by small objects in a container. Teams tried to pick up as many objects as possible in 30 seconds. The idea was to test and improve on an idea, to build something and change it around to make it work better. The students were encouraged to talk their way through problems and bounce around ideas. Photos below show students in Mrs. Burlingame's fourth grade hard at work.
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Above: Students in Mrs. Burlingame's classroom explore solutions to an everyday problem.
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF A TEAM IN ACTION
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Todd Teacher Awarded Field Trip Grant
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Kudos to Todd science teacher Elyse Joy for securing a $1,900 grant from the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley to take seventh grade students on a trip to Esopus Meadows Preserve.
For 15 years, Mrs. Joy has taken students on the trip and has been receiving grants for the last eight. The grant will be used to offset costs associated with the trip. This year, the students will focus on on interdependent relationships, biodiversity, and ecosystems.
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Pi Party
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Todd recently observed Pi Day, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π. It is observed on March 14th because 3, 1, and 4 comprise the numbers of this date as well as the first three significant digits of π. Sixth graders had fun engaging in math-themed activities like hula hooping (π represents the diameter of a circle against that circle's circumference). They also enjoyed a smorgasbord of pies that parents generously donated.
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Students Put Their Hearts Into PE
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Last week at Nassau, students participated in The American Heart Association’s Kids Heart Challenge (previously known as Jump Rope for Heart). In PE classes, they enjoyed fun activities and also raised money for the association. Ms. Spiegel’s PE classes have been participating in this event for 14 years and have earned many rewards for the elementary program. Stay tuned for the final fundraising tally!
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OM Successes
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Congratulations to the Third and Fourth Grade Hagan Odyssey of the Mind teams for their participation in the meet on March 9th in Goshen! OM encourages out-of-the-box thinking and learning from others.
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Music Is In the Air
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To kick off Nassau’s Music In Our Schools Month celebration, students and staff wore music-themed shirts to celebrate! Teacher Kody Andreas photographed students throughout the day. Next week, there will be a Music in Our Schools assembly at Nassau on Wednesday, followed by an Early Childhood Music Class on Saturday, March 30. Nassau families also look forward to Family Folk Dance Night on April 9th.
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..jpg "Music In Our Schools T Shirt Day")
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