South Orangetown Central School District

Helping students to become critical media consumers in an information-saturated world requires ongoing instruction and practice over the course of their K-12 experience. At William O. Schaefer Elementary School, we work with our youngest reading detectives as they explore fiction and nonfiction, along with wonders and opinions, to determine what is a true story and what is fictional. As we read biographies and books about various cultures and tradition, our learners begin ...Continue reading

Senior parents: Tappan Zee High School is running a #TZThrowbacks Instagram campaign and inviting members of the Class of 2021 to share a favorite photo of themselves in elementary school along with a current pic to share on the school feed. Encourage your senior to submit their photos via Instagram or via email to Principal Rudy Arietta at [email protected]. Please note that students must submit their own photos. Stay tuned in the days ahead to the TZHS Instagram channel (@tappan_zee_hs) for Class of 2021 #TZThrowbacks photos!

Congratulations to Tappan Zee High School science teacher Nicole Farish on being awarded a Zeiss Science Classroom Outreach Program for Educators (SCOPEs) Grant, which provides the school with laboratory equipment valued at $3,800! Delivery of a brand-new Zeiss Primo Star microscope, an Axiocam 208 Color Microscope camera and software is scheduled for this month. Farish plans to use the equipment with her Honors Living Environment and Anatomy and Physiology students. These ...are excellent tools to help students see microscopic images while learning remotely--and even when we are all face-to-face again! she says. It has been challenging to educate students during our hybrid model because students don’t have access to classroom microscopes. For the past several months, Farish has used her cell phone to take photos of images using the traditional, non-digital microscopes which she then uploaded to share with students via Zoom--a cumbersome process. This new digital upgrade allows for more vivid, clear images and the technology connects to my laptop so that I can easily show images during class Zoom sessions. Students can even download image files and use them as part of their data when completing labs and lab reports. I’ll be integrating this more effective and engaging component into all lessons that cover cells, tissue types, muscles and muscle fibers and body systems, she adds. Providing students with the best experience possible is a priority, despite the pandemic. I believe that you cannot really learn biology unless you DO biology. With this new technology, I come a little closer to offering students a more authentic experience while they learn from home, explains Farish. #SOCSDengages #educatorgrant #zeiss #teachersrock #hybridlearning #stem

In case you missed the original post last week, here's a re-share of the holiday mental health tip sheet our school support teams developed for our students and families.

Just a reminder that in-person hybrid learning resumes tomorrow, January 11, with Cohort B students. Return to school requirements are posted at: https://blogs.socsd.org//return-to-in-person-hybrid-learn/ We look forward to seeing you!

We wish our entire South Orangetown community a healthy and joyous holiday season! Enjoy the December Recess and we'll see you back for remote learning on January 4 and in-person hybrid learning on January 11.

The SOCSD Food Pantry is currently serving 86 South Orangetown families in need. We reopen for the new year next week. Please click on the link below for donation details; items needed most are milk, butter, fresh bread and canned vegetables. Also check out the Friends of SOCSD FEC Food Pantry Facebook page, which is managed by community volunteers.

REMINDER: Tomorrow, December 23, is a half-day for all students and staff. Early dismissal times are 11:30AM for SOMS and TZHS, 12:30PM for WOS and CLE.

Award-winning author Ellen Potter shared writing tips with Cottage Lane Elementary School fourth- and fifth-grade writers during a virtual visit yesterday! The best way to turn a reluctant reader into a voracious reader is to have them fall in love with a series, noted K-5 Instructional Literacy Coach Kristy Nadler. Ellen Potter is a series writer who primarily writes limited number series, which allows students to complete the series and grow as readers. Ellen has also wr...itten two books for young writers to improve their skills. One is focused on how she deals with problems all writers face. It is important for students to know that writing can be an arduous task for even accomplished writers. She shared strategies to overcome those challenges which our students can also use. Students filled the chat with questions for Potter, ranging from how long it takes to write a book to what type of research goes into a new project. Research is one of my favorite parts of writing, Potter said, recounting a lobster fishing expedition she took for the Piper Green and the Fairy Tree series. I like to research things I’m not familiar with so that I can learn about them. You can find information on the internet, but there’s nothing like experiencing something in person. Daily life experience can also be a great source of material. Nearly all the characters in her Olivia Kidney series are based on Potter’s own neighbors in the apartment building where she grew up. I wrote descriptions of people I knew in journals when I was a kid, she explained. Keep journals! You are living through these unusual times. It’s special and strange, so write about it. It’s easy to forget things when time goes by.

The Tappan Zee High School National Honor Society inducted 51 new members and recognized its 48 seniors in a December 18 video ceremony. Inductees selected by the chapter's faculty council met high standards of scholarship, service, leadership and character. Six seniors--Adith V., Hannah L., Gabriella P., Hayden R., Dylan M. and Casey K.--earned special recognition for their exemplary contributions. "National Honor Society members are chosen for their exemplary contributions ...to the school and community. We are very proud to recognize these outstanding members of our student body," said Nicole Farish, who serves as co-advisor with fellow science teacher Nicole Lai. In her speech, NHS President and senior Neve H. addressed the power of scholarship. To be considered a scholar, one must express a genuine desire to learn and grow, not for their GPA, but for their own benefit because they want to seize every opportunity to learn and understand the world around them...And what a scholar does with this knowledge is even more important, she noted. I implore all of you here tonight to continue to use your academic talents to make the world a better place. Use what you have learned to serve your community and your peers. Always look for opportunities to challenge yourself and your others academically because knowledge is the most powerful tool that we can possess. Principal Rudy Arietta encouraged NHS members to remember those who had contributed to their success. "It is important that we remember that we did not achieve these goals alone," he said. In this spirit, the chapter recognized two high school teachers for fostering a love of learning. World language teacher Claudia Arietta was honored for her great enthusiasm and efforts to form personal connections with her students and English teacher Sarah McMane was recognized for challenging students to learn skills beyond the curriculum and reach their full potential. Congratulations, inductees and honorees!

Although the annual EASO Ugly Holiday Sweater Scholarship fundraiser looked a little different this year, staff members donned their finest festive gear to raise more than $600 for student scholarships! And yesterday afternoon, staff members packed the SOCSD Food Pantry with generous donations of food, gift cards and gifts for school district families in need. Thank you to the students who joined our staff volunteers by braving the chilly weather to help unload cars and to pe...rform holiday music for the event. Thanks are also due to the Palisades Community Center and Neighborhood Pantry - NY for contributing donations they'd collected, too! View the Ugly Holiday Sweater + Food Pantry Drive slideshow here: https://docs.google.com//2PACX-1vT83q-oAFe2zwO3Fa5z3I/pub #SOCSDinspires #SOCSDengages #dedicatedstaff #studentcentered #wholechild #teachersrock

While the holiday season brings joy and excitement to many, it can also be time of stress, loneliness and sadness. With this in mind, our school psychologists, social workers and prevention counselors developed this holiday mental health tip sheet for students and families. Special thanks to South Orangetown Middle School Prevention Counselor Bobbie-Angela Wong and Tappan Zee High School School Psychologist Bradley Hercman for coordinating this effort.