NEWS
Congratulations to All 2011 Retiree's: Richard Albonizio, Eileen Allen, Melody Anderson, Stacey Bonagura, Mary Alice Carrajat, Judith Cascio, Jeffrey Charney, Tom Corbia, Ruth Ann Cosgrove, Donna DeAngelo, Sandra Dunigan, Sheila Flynn, Barry Fraioli, Marian Fritzsche, Joan Goldsmith, Rafe Gradia, Carol Green, Alan Horowitz, David Karaffa, Neil Nostro, Mary Ellen Onofrio, Cruz Otero-Stephens, Mary Romanello, Leslie Salvatore, Laurence Siena, Krystyna Sweeney, Andrew Verebes,. Congratulations also goes to Joe Puglia and Dolores Obuch who will retire in 2012. |
Rachel's Challenge:
March, 2011
Rachel's Challenge Objectives for Schools:
Rachel's Challenge was a huge success and the students were so quiet that you can hear a pin drop. There were many tears in the house. |
JFK School in Port Chester Celebrates New Garden,
"Blue Ribbon"
2010
The John F. Kennedy School in Port Chester is having a big year already. First came the news that it was chosen for a blue ribbon from the federal government. Then came word third graders, on a field trip to Stone Barns next Friday, will get to meet First Lady Michelle Obama. Today, administrators and teachers got together to celebrate a year old garden in the courtyard, a volunteer effort funded by the Tamarack Tower Foundation. The garden germinated from the vision of science teacher Mary Ellen Onofrio, who looked out on the empty courtyard from her classroom and thought about the possibilites. The foundation put $3,000 toward the effort, and the result is a set of raised beds full of tomatoes, basil, eggplant, sunflowers, lettuce and radishes. There is also a memorial for a little boy name Markell Smith Jr., who died after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Teacher Shawna Squillace had the boy in her class in first and third grades. "Every child is influenced by this space, "Principal Lou Cuglietto said. As people stood about admiring the courtyard, Superintendent Don Carlisle joked that he felt like he should be holding a glass of wine. There is a certain elegance to the space. Bishop Nowotnik, president of the Tamarack Tower Foundation, said the organization funds the "little things" that are not exactly budget priorities but that do make a difference. The garden reminded him of his youth, he said, when his father, a farmer originally from Poland, had a garden wherever he lived.