With a Few Glitches, Students are Back in School

Lessons learned by students during the first week of school are often logistical ones.

Where to wait for the school bus, which classroom to report to and where friends are seated take up ample space in the minds of students, parents and teachers alike.

Then there are the emotional lessons. Getting over first-day jitters, coping with confusion and facing change.

All were at play in Riverdale/Kingsbridge this year, as the new school year brought students dressed and pressed as neatly as ever to their homes away from home, to the places where they will spend their days until school lets out next summer.

At the entrance of PS 7 in Kingsbridge, administrators stood with clipboards, giving students dressed in navy uniforms their classroom numbers. As the news landed, students did little to mask their feelings about the assignments.

First grader Nandi Conte stood at one set of school doors, putting her game face on. Dressed with a red bow in her short hair and blue heart shaped earrings, she described her feelings.

“I was nervous in the past but now I’m feeling much better,” she said. “I was so nervous I cried.”

“It was the first day of school and there was a lot of pressure,” she added.

Signs of confusion

There were signs in several places that the new school year wasn’t quite ready for primetime.

According to District 10 Community Education Council President Marvin Shelton, school buses left kindergarteners behind at the end of their first full day of school at PS 24 on Friday, before doubling back to pick the youngest students up.

Back at PS 7, confusion even extended to which students were supposed to be at what school.

Michelle Massey, a Marble Hill resident, waited with her daughter for an answer to why they were being sent away to The Multiple Intelligence School, PS/MS 37.

Her daughter, Lamia Sinclair, who had previously attended PS 7’s feeder school, PS 207, had taken solace in the idea that her first year at a new school would be buffered by the presence of her sister and three friends there.

PS 37’s principal, Ken Patriccione, said over the summer the district superintendent asked his school to accommodate about 15 extra students who would have otherwise gone to PS 7.

But first week perplexity — or what Mr. Shelton called “growing pains” — was not limited to those schools.

Local schools also unveiled new spaces for students to learn and play in.

This year, the start of the school year closely coincided with primary election day, and projects funded or advanced by New York City Councilman Oliver Koppell were on full display.

PS 24, which had been fighting along with local politicians, including Mr. Koppell, for more space, opened up the Whitehall Annex — a leased space in a luxury building — to fifthgrade students this year. The event was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

On Monday, along with Mr. Koppell, The Robert J. Christen School, PS 81, unveiled its new playground. The space was designed in part by last year’s fifth graders and received $100,00 in discretionary funds from Mr. Koppell’s office. The changes were made under the guidance of Out2Play, a non-profit group dedicated to transforming the previously barren playground there. The yard is now equipped with slides, monkey bars, a track and a hopscotch court.

The Ittelson Center, run by the Jewish Board of Children’s and Family Services, broke ground on its gym and school building last week. The center, located at 5050 Iselin Ave., offers day and residential treatment programs for children with “emotionally challenging conditions” and will get new space to do it in. Mr. Koppell provided $500,000 in discretionary funds for the project.

Overall, despite some hitches, kids got where they needed to go, put the joys of summer behind them, and were brought back into a routine new only to the very youngest.

PS 7

One of the central focuses for the school year will be increasing parental involvement, Principal Rene Cloutier said. Once a month, the school will hold what she described as academic showcases, with parents invited to come to the school, walk the halls and even participate in classroom activities.

Additionally, they are working with a group called learning leaders to train parent volunteers to help in several aspects of school life, including time spent in classrooms, hallways and offices. Every class will select two parents who will be responsible for coordinating parental involvement in various activities.

This is also the first year that the school will have classes ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade, and marks the beginning of a gifted and talented program at the school in both kindergarten and first grade.

PS 24

This is the year of the Hudson River at PS 24.

Aspects of the Hudson River celebration will be integrated into several courses, making it a springboard for enrichment.

The quadricentennial celebration of the river will provide many teachable moments and a number of new renovations around the school promise a spruced-up environment in which to learn.

City Councilman Oliver Koppell allocated $74,000 for new SMART Boards — electronic blackboards — and the school also received a capital budget allocation for $378,000, which will be used for many things including science, technology, and the school’s playground. Joan Schwartz, a music teacher, wrote the proposal for the allocation. The school also has new windows and new curtains in the auditorium.

Though the school is still missing a permanent principal and Dierdre Burke, the interim-acting principal, welcomed students back to school this fall, there were some positive changes to welcome.

The school opened up the Whitehall Annex — a leased space in a luxury building — to house fifth-grade students, bringing long-awaited relief for the overcrowded school.

Other changes include three teachers who retired last year, including Leola Atkins of special education and Leah Froelich, who taught kindergarten for many years.

The Multiple Intelligence School, PS/MS 37

Principal Ken Petriccione has a lot to brag about this year.

His school was not only taken off the list of schools in need of improvement last year, but it also received an A on its progress report card given by the Department of Education.

If that wasn’t enough, it has a brand-new science lab in the middle school that includes gas and electrical updates, an ice machine and refrigerator, as well as a prep room for experiments.

“It really looks great, it was completely redone,” said Mr. Petriccione, who said he got to pick out tiles and paint.

“It was fun,” he said.

Other changes expected this year include a full renovation of the library and an upgrade to the school’s technology labs that was funded by $74,000 from City Councilman Oliver Koppell.

The Department of Ed’s hiring freeze was lifted for special-education teachers and the school has one new teacher, Christina Liguori, who will lead the school’s first special-education kindergarten class. One middle school teacher, Alexis Carrero, has left after five years with the school.

The school also took 15 third graders who would have normally been zoned for PS 7 this year, something Mr. Petriccione said he was asked to do by the district superintendent.

“We’re looking forward to a great year,” he said.

Bronx New School, PS 51

The administration at PS 51 is boasting an A on its progress report card this year and invites parents to go to the Board of Ed Web site to check out the top-notch rating.

According to Parent Coordinator Helena Ortiz, the school is looking forward to an apple-picking field trip to the Orchards of Concord in upstate New York and another trip to Clear Pool, a science center in Carmel, N.Y.

The school will continue to facilitate a full band using new donated instruments. This year the chance to join will be extended to fourth and fifth graders.

Connie Moi, who has taught for 11 years, comes to the school as a new kindergarten teacher.

The Robert J. Christen School, PS 81

Recess has some new bells and whistles for PS 81 students this year.

The yard will be flush with new equipment as the school’s new playground is used for the first time.

Annual summer reading awards — prizes given out for a program in which each student reads five books over the summer, fills out a reading log and turns it in to their classroom teacher — will take place in October. Fall Fun Day — a Parents’ Association fundraising carnival in the yard — will also take place that month. The Parents’ Association will continue to sponsor second through fifth grade choral program and other activities.

The school revamped its planetarium at the end of the last school year, and students will now get a chance to enjoy it, as well as use it in their science curriculums.

Nina Velazquez, the school’s parent coordinator, will lead family field trips to fun places in the five boroughs some Saturdays and will continue to run parent networking meetings for parents going back to work, embarking on new careers or looking to hire people. These meetings take place on the first Monday of every month beginning Monday, Nov. 2.

PA events and information are also available at the PA Web site: www. ps81pa.org.

The Sheila Mencher Van Cortlandt School, PS/MS 95

The school will continue with its dance, music and band programs, as well as its arts residency program with DreamYard, an arts-in-education organization. It will also continue its on-site after school program run by Mosholu Montefiore Community Center.

The David A. Stein Riverdale/ Kingsbridge Academy, MS/HS 141

After giving birth last school year, Principal Lori O’Mara is back and changing some things around this year.

There will be a mandatory research class which all ninth graders will be enrolled in at one point during the year and which is aimed at helping them build a stronger foundation in non-fiction writing and a uniform understanding of research.

Freshmen will also be able to receive tutoring by their teachers in an after-school program set in the library thanks to a partnership with Riverdale Community Center to make the transition to high school smoother.

The service learning class has been changed and is called “Students as Mentors.” Students will learn about mentoring in class and will get to apply the lessons by mentoring students in the RCC’s after-school program.

Ongoing programs like the school newspaper and yearbook, athletics programs and Advanced Placement courses will continue, Ms. O’Mara said.

PS 207

There’s not much new around PS 207 this year, according to a school staffer.

There were some staff changes over the summer: a new bilingual second grade teacher replacing Adriana Fasano, who left the school, along with Noelle Lloyd.

The New School for Leadership and Journalism, MS 244

This year, MS 244 will focus on adding social and emotional components by devoting attention to its health and counseling division by upgrading and adding to it. The school will also focus on improving student’s test scores.

PS 360

A couple of teachers moved over from non-classroom positions to cover for attrition, according to a school staffer.

Teachers who left the school have not been replaced due to a hiring freeze.

The after-school program for helping kids with math or reading will be in place again this year for four days a week.

The IN-Tech Academy MS/HS 368

Grant money will pay for several new programs at the school this year.

The Middle School Success Grant, which allocated $242,876 in implementation grants, serves to help schools improve student achievement, engagement and social and emotional development. The school will use it to create a large community for teacher professional development, including workshops and other learning experiences.

No teachers have decided to leave but due to budget constraints, five outof- classroom employees, including one gym teacher, were let go.

Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy

The Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy is adding two additional Advanced Placement science courses this year to the nine previously offered. The new courses are in micro-economics and environmental science.

This year, the school also plans on focusing on faculty development with a school leadership program that will work in conjunction with Baruch College to give teachers the tools they need to become administrators.

There are new Macintosh computers available for student use at the school, thanks to a grant provided by City Councilman Oliver Koppell, and more computers for use in classroom instruction as well.

Other news is less positive. A drop in funding that’s affecting city schools will force the school to reduce class schedules to a nine period day from 10 periods last year, and to cut back on some of the academic enrichment previously offered. Tutoring programs that have traditionally started in September have been pushed back a month.

E.L.L.I.S.

The school for new immigrants now in its second year will be home to the only YMCA New Americans Welcome Center in the Bronx starting this year.

The center provides English as a Second Language and computer literacy training to any immigrant family looking for counseling along with support services. Principal Norma Vega also hopes to have a childcare center up and running by the spring.

Bronx High School of Science

Summertime renovations made possible by grants from alumnus and City Councilman John Liu, as well as Councilman Oliver Koppell, include two new physics labs and new seating in the auditorium.

The alumni endowment fund will provide the money needed to air-condition the auditorium, something the school’s Principal Valerie Reidy hopes will happen soon.

The school is also carving out some time to give students more time with their teachers. Four days a week, small groups will get a chance to get more intimate instruction and one-on-one meetings with teachers during a period at the end of the day.

The school’s student population has grown to 3,000 this year. Twenty teachers have left the school and 29 new teachers have replaced them, according to Ms. Reidy.

Though the school’s focus is science, students are encouraged to get involved in its chorus, drama group and debate team.

Bronx School of Law and Finance

Students got a brand new courtroom over the summer.

According to Principal Evan Schwartz, it is equipped with real courtroom furniture — a judge’s bench, a witness stand, a jury box and benches. There will be a ribbon cutting during “principal for a day” on Wednesday, Oct. 14. All of this was made possible by a $100,000 grant from City Councilman Oliver Koppell.

The school will also team up with Monroe College, which also has a justice program, and will offer a college course to the high school students this year.

Plans are in place to visit the United Nations and the Federal Reserve once again this year, and some students recently visited Yankee Stadium and met with players and officials through what’s called the Career Explorers Program. Students will take a tour of the Museum of American Finance in January, and in October will participate in CPA Day, which will engage students in accounting-related activities in which they will get help with resumes and other guidance.

Other partnerships include the one with Dress for Success, which will supply professional clothing for women. Administrators are still looking into a program that can provide male students with professional clothes.

Bronx Theatre High School

Bronx Theatre High School is gearing up for a year filled with performing arts.

Plans are already in the works for two plays to be performed by students. One will be based on the Roman poet Ovid’s great work, Metamorphoses. The other, more modern work being used as inspiration this year will be Tijan and His Brother.

The school continues to work with the Roundabout Theatre Company, with actors and directors coming to the school regularly, and reading works written by students at the high school. Additionally, an assistant principal at the school, Jean Gismervik, says that participation in an independent theater company created by students has grown enormously this year over last.

Ms. Gismervik said the school is hoping to send the whole freshman class to see a new production of the musical Bye Bye Birdie, in Manhattan.

The school also received a grant for an enlarged science lab, though plans have not been finalized on exactly what tools will be needed for instruction. Students will be encouraged to spend more time at the school’s Secret Garden, shared and kept up along with other schools on the Kennedy Campus and used to teach students about plant life and biology.

High School of American Studies at Lehman

The school is introducing some exciting new programs this year.

It offered an internship with the Lehman College Art Gallery over the summer and students created art based on Works Progress Administration projects. The glass mosaic they created, once unveiled, will be hung in the school.

Students will get the chance to work in conjunction with the Woodlawn cemetery this year to research and write biographies of people who are buried there.

New electives at the school include diagnosing disease and human pathology; environmental science research; contemporary American foreign policy; and American intellectual history.

The school also got some new, wallmounted SMART boards — electronic whiteboards — over the summer.

There are two new members to the schools faculty: a biology teacher, Eugene Palatulan and a physics teacher, Raphael Uziel. One teacher, Jonathan Rockfeld, left to enroll in a medical program. He taught at the school for three years.

The first PTA meeting will take place at the school on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m.

John F. Kennedy High School

No information provided.

Marble Hill High School for International Studies

Big changes are in store for this school year, and will expand some programs and shift focus to others.

The school will add three new Advanced Placement courses this year: English literature, Spanish literature and physics. Along with expanding courses, the main goal for the school this year will be to strengthen college preparedness and help students to excel and get into top-notch colleges.

The school also hopes to put together a computer room thanks to funding from City Councilman Oliver Koppell. Other changes include an exchange program with a sister school in China and the departure of three faculty members.

Math teacher Rebecca Bell, economics and government teacher Rick Weller and Science Teacher Eugene Palatulan have left and been replaced by new teachers. Science teacher Nancy Cox, social studies and special education teacher Don Nichols and a returning teacher, Kelly Gavin will be seen around the halls this year.

Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy

The theme of this year at SAR will be “Midor L’Dor: From Generation to Generation.”

Students will be urged to reach out to grandparents and relatives across generations to help foster familial pride in their “mesorah” or Jewish Heritage, according to the school.

Eight Israeli fellows will this year serve as assistant teachers in Judaic Studies and lead Israeli and holiday programming for students.

Adult classes will continue this year, beginning in September.

SAR High School

According to Assistant Principal CB Neugroschl, the school is welcoming Mark Shinar, its new director of general studies, as well the largest group of enrolled students (415) ever.

The school will host Israeli fellows, with the aim of helping students improve their Judaic studies skills, and a new Adult Ed program will be offered during school days and certain weekday evenings.

An after school program, FLASH, which stands for fellows learning after school hours, is also being introduced.

Kinneret Day School

This year will be marked by delving deep into history and the arts, with new programs that present exciting opportunities for students there.

The school will collaborate with the Lincoln Center Institute, an arts institute focused on aesthetic education that will help students learn about art by focusing on individual works. Students will be exposed to dance, theater, music and poetry and teachers will also get lessons on how to incorporate various art forms into their curriculums.

“It will be an enriching and collaborative kind of experience between students and artists,” said Principal Asher Abramovitz of Kinneret Day School.

“It will all be hands on,” he said.

Students will also for the first time participate in a program with the Jewish Heritage Museum. Students will get to study their roots in a curriculum that culminates with each student creating artifacts from their family’s history. The project will involve school visits from museum curators who will guide students in how to research and develop and find artifacts as well as present them. It will also mean student visits to the museum.

The school received a grant through the Waterford Institute and will this year be working online with early grades specializing in improving math and science skills on an individualized basis, tailoring lessons to each student.

Estelle Kellner, a first grade teacher, retired after more than 30 years teaching at Kinneret, according to Mr. Abramovitz, who said she was both beloved and admired.

There will be a new first grade teacher, Deena Friedman, who comes from the Ramaz School and has two master’s degrees.

St. Gabriel’s School

Over the summer, St. Gabriel’s upgraded its computer networks and installed a handful of SMART boards — electronic whiteboards — in some classrooms and in the science/math lab.

“We’re going to be integrating technology much more than we had been, so we’re really excited,” said Principal Deborah Pitula.

All teachers who taught last year have returned, including a computer teacher who had an accident and took leave last winter.

Wednesday, Sept. 30 is high school information night, when about 24 Catholic high schools will present their curriculums .

International Sunday, a potluck, is an opportunity for families to bring in dishes indicative of their heritage and will take place Sunday, Sept. 27 in the gym. There will be a school fund-raiser walkathon in the fall and another potluck, as well as a family karaoke night in the winter.

“Families will just get up there and entertain us all,” Ms. Pitula said.

St. Margaret of Cortona

The principal here says the school’s renovations may not sound like much, but were badly needed.

Summertime renovations to the school included plastering and painting in the more than 80-year-old middle school building using a grant received by the Archdiocese in the form of a YESS grant for a little more than $14,000.

“So everything looks very nice and new and exciting,” Sister Kathleen Marie said.

This year the school has more than 40 new students, more than in years past

Last year’s revamping of the technology program, including SMART boards — electronic whiteboards — installed at the end of the school year, gave teachers a reason to learn.

Teachers have worked closely with a tech coach that the school hired last year. “He’s worked miracles with them,” the principal said.

Teachers have been working hard to implement the new technical tools in the classrooms and have started to incorporate them regularly, she said.

The theme for the year is leadership, which includes working together and making responsible choices.

One teacher left and was replaced by Abby Benedetti. There is also a new Spanish teacher from Peru, Raquel De- Marco.

The Athletic Committee, a group of parents, raised funds to refinish the gym floor and repaint it. It also paid for new closets to be built in the gym, trophy cases to be put in the entryway and a new stove for the school’s kitchen.

St. John’s School

A new fifth grade homeroom teacher, Whitney Gardner, Eleni Alexandrou, the new library and art teacher; and a new kindergarten teacher, Jill Fontan, will be seen around the halls this year.

Confirmation will be held for the eighth graders on Sunday, Oct. 18, and the school will hold its annual PTA Halloween party on Saturday, Oct. 24

Visitation School

According to Sister Rosemarie Connell, the school is in the process of upgrading its technology and will this year employ a coach to guide teachers on how to use three new SMART boards, which are electronic whiteboards.

Visitation has also launched a Web site to help families keep in better touch with what’s happening at school. The site, www.visitationschoolbronx. org will provide periodically updated information from teachers about what’s going in the classrooms.

Passersby might notice the scaffolding that’s up on the school building. Work has not yet begun, but soon the bricks will be re-pointed to give them a cleaner look.

Christopher White will be teaching fourth grade this year, replacing Nora Haggerty, who retired after about 20 years. April DeBard is the new school secretary, replacing Sue Bachman.

Our Lady of Angels

No information provided.

Horace Mann

New and returning parents and students will find extensive renovations on campus.

In the Katz Library, that includes five enclosed and soundproof spaces for groups of students to study in. In the Middle Division, a play deck, which was completed in the spring, as well as two newly created ones, will be available. There will also be renovations to the Dorr Nature Laboratory in Connecticut, which is used by students on the Riverdale campus.

Plans to embrace “green technology” are also being continued. Automatic hand driers were installed to replace paper dispensers in bathrooms. Recycling bins for papers, bottles and cans have been placed in every classroom.

The Middle and Upper Divisions now report attendance, grades checklists and narratives electronically. The school’s administrators are studying the effect of this technology and are planning to adapt features for specific divisions. The school now has a You- Tube Channel, an online photo gallery with Google Picasa and a Twitter news feed.

Horace Mann is again hosting the Sanctuary Dinner for Families and Children in December, the All-School Chess tournaments on Saturday, Nov. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 27, and the third Sounds in Motion conference on Saturday, Sept. 26, for speech-language pathologists and kindergarten and first grade teachers from the tri-state area.

Plans for the 2009/10 Service Learning Day are in the works and Horace Mann is also excited that in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity, Horace Mann students will be building homes over spring recess in New Orleans, La. under this newly formed alliance.

Ethical Culture Fieldston School

This year Fieldston is expanding its recycling program in the high school with big new recycling bins with lids in the hallways and recycling bins in every classroom.

The school hopes to have solar panels in use later this school year, thanks to a gift from the Class of 2009.

Changes over the summer include some painting and general repairs as well as some new academic choices on offer.

At Fieldston Upper, a film-making class (Introduction to Film Production) and some new history electives (Settlement: The West Bronx Story, which is an interdisciplinary course) and The Past Keeps Changing: Great Debates in U.S. Historiography) will be offered.

Riverdale Country School

The upper school is in the process of completing conversion of Bertino Field, used for football, boys and girls lacrosse, soccer and field hockey. They are replacing the bleachers, fencing and scoreboard and are building a concession stand and bathrooms, while replacing the entire surface of the field with modern and environmentally “green” synthetic.

“Once you have a synthetic surface, you don’t have to worry about wear and tear,” said Principal Kent Kildahl.

Now, he said, the school will be more willing than ever to allow community use of the field.

The school has expanded its upper school electives, especially in French, Spanish and science. There will be more use of contemporary literature and film in languages and greater emphasis on research in a number of new science electives. Seniors will for the first time be allowed to end classes in mid-May and do a three-week senior project, during which they won’t have to report to school.

One of the reasons for expanding electives is the phasing out of Advanced Placement exams. This is the last year the school will offer AP courses because administrators think they can create better courses and not have to teach to an AP exam, which is in May, effectively ending the school year early in those classes.

The lower school opened this year with a harvest. Last spring, the school undertook a major planting initiative under the leadership of Jonina Herter, Ella Pastor and Debbie Wing. Every class in the school was given an aboveground box to grow flowers, herbs and vegetables as part of an ongoing initiative to use the school’s country campus while enhancing classroom curriculum.

The Alvin Ailey School, with whom Riverdale has formed an ongoing educational relationship, will also be welcomed back. Its second annual residency at the Lower School will teach dance to students and teachers, and offer a parents evening.

Middle school Community Day will be themed “From Roots to Trees” this year since students will focus on issues of the environment and sustainability. As part of a Thanksgiving celebration in November, the school will host a dinner on campus for a local homeless shelter in the Bronx and will bring folks from the shelter to campus to be served by students, faculty and parents.