WINTER 2020-21
From the Heart Mount Pleasant — The Heart of Westchester County
The Mount Pleasant Central School District Newsletter
Volume 20, Issue 2
Welcome Back!
Mount Pleasant Welcomes All Students Back for In-Person Instruction
create barriers alleviate concerns about staff contracting between desks, the virus as more people returned to the everyone wears buildings. School district employees a mask at all were categorized as a priority group to times and receive the vaccine back in January and elementary many jumped at the opportunity. At the students must time of printing, about 85% of Mount stay with their Pleasant employees who wished to get classroom the vaccine have received at least the c o h o r t first dose. throughout the Another key factor was statistical day, including information that showed the virus was Westlake High School students arrive to goodies from the WHS PTA on their at lunch and not spreading at school, most likely first day back to full, in-person instruction. recess. “We due to all the efforts to keep students have worked very and staff safe. Every single case of After this incredibly challenging and hard with Westchester Department Covid reported has been tracked very tumultuous year, it seems as if there of Health and Westchester Medical carefully. Contact tracing and daily might finally be a little light at the end of Center to make sure that we have health check questionnaires helped a very long tunnel. This month, almost done everything we can do,” notes the administration and nursing staff exactly one year to the day that New Superintendent Dr. Kurtis Kotes. “There analyze data which showed that even York schools closed their doors to inwas a great deal of effort that went into person instruction, all Mount Pleasant Continued on page 2 making sure this would students were welcomed back for full be a success.” in-person learning. The excitement in There were several the hallways and the classrooms was factors that helped palpable. Children were almost giddy schools decide that it as they greeted friends they hadn’t been was time to take action in class with in what felt like forever and and put a plan in place teachers seemed relieved to finally have to get kids back in the all their students under one roof at the classroom. First and same time. foremost, the availability Of course, school doesn’t look quite of vaccines to any and all Westlake Middle School students wait to enter the building before the same as it did the last time everyone school personnel helped the morning bell rings. was all together. Plastic dividers
Oh What a Year It’s Been! Students reflect on remote learning.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since our world was turned upside down. No one could have possibly imagined what was to come. From canceled classes, to asynchronous learning and finally hybrid school. It’s been a challenging year academically, not to mention socially! But now, it seems that there finally might be an end in sight. With school returning to full time inperson learning, students were asked to share their reflections on the past year. They had quite a lot to say! Turn the page to get some insiders’ perspective on the hybrid school year.
SAVE THE DATE Virtual Westlake STEAM Symposium Thursday, August 12, 2021
Featuring new and exciting workshops! Students entering grades 7 - 10
FROM THE HEART • Winter 2020-21
We’re All In This Together
As we begin to head into the Spring months, we continue to closely monitor the health conditions in our region. As many more adults are receiving the Covid -19 vaccination shot, we have now taken the exciting step of fully reopening all of our school buildings for full time, in-person learning. I want to offer my most sincere thanks to our administrators, teachers, nurses, aides, monitors, clerical and Kurtis Kotes, maintenance workers for everything that they have Ed.D. done to get us safely to this point. We have worked Superintendent hard, together, to ensure for the health, safety and well being of our students and staff. As we undertake these measures to fully reopen our schools, I ask our families to please exercise caution in regards to activities outside of school in helping to continue to slow the spread of Covid-19 and potentially causing disruption to the learning process in our schools. I am confident that, together, we can continue to work towards ending the health crisis. Each of our buildings is also working towards planning for an exciting end to the school year. While there is still much research to be done, we are hoping to be able to hold in-person moving up ceremonies for Hawthorne, Columbus, Westlake Middle School and Westlake High School. Obviously, the ceremonies will look different than they have in the past, but we hope to be able to hold these celebrations safely for our students. As we continue to get closer to the end of the year, we will be certain to continue to share important information on this planning process. Please stay tuned. During the Board of Education Work Session and monthly Business Meeting, both the non
instructional and instructional budget presentations were presented to the public. The proposed budget can be found on the district website. This budget seeks to provide end-of-pandemic and postpandemic support to our students and staff. It allows for classroom teachers to have the appropriate resources to help measure for any learning gaps that may have occurred and use targeted interventions to address those issues. The district is also closely monitoring what resources may be available under the American Rescue Plan Act recently passed by the federal government. These resources may be used to provide additional intervention services to our students. As more information and clarity take shape surrounding federal resources, we will be certain to communicate with the community. Finally, I would like to thank the entire Mount Pleasant community. The health crisis has placed an exceptional burden on everyone. As a district we have worked to be supportive and proactive while making every effort to protect the health and safety of every student and staff member. We have been forced to pivot and change so many times through all of this. The district could not have reached this point without the support of the entire community. You have supported your children and the district through some of the most challenging times ever. Please know how truly grateful we are for everything you have done and we will continue to do everything possible to support our students and families as we work together towards doing our part to end the pandemic. Together, we are Wildcat strong!
Welcome Back
Continued from page 1
when students were in the same room as someone who tested positive, the likelihood of contracting the virus was very minimal for someone else who was following protocols. Finally, having the ability to outfit the buildings with proper PPE, providing dividers for every desk and making sure staff have appropriate training will help to ensure that the transition will be successful. Dr. Kotes was quick to give credit to all the hard working staff that made these updates possible, “We couldn’t have done it without our tremendous maintenance staff who worked tirelessly to get all the dividers set up, adding new desks and removing furniture to create adequate space. It truly was a team effort.” While there has been some trepidation 2 among staff over concerns of having
large numbers of students back in the classrooms again, the general consensus is relief that we are finally taking steps to get back to normal. It has been one of the most difficult years professionally for anyone in education, with teachers having to prepare lesson plans in ways they never imagined possible. It seems that everyone agrees that while virtual learning served its purpose, nothing can compare to the personal connections made inside the classroom. With a little bit of luck, and an enormous amount of behind the scenes work, kids might just get to feel like normal students again. Columbus School Principal Michael Cunzio agrees, “It’s great to be here. We are so excited. We’re just happy to get the students back to some normalcy for the last couple of months of the year. ”
Students at Columbus (above) and Hawthorne (below) sit behind the clear barriers which outfit each desk in the classroom.
Continued from page 1
How did you feel this year about logging into class virtually? •
The experience has been enjoyable and a little bit difficult, but I was able to work past the technical issues and have a good school year. AP, grade 7 When the teachers are talking to the in-person students it is hard to follow along with the class. RB, grade 8 I felt it was hard to pay attention, but overall it was better than no instruction at all. KB, grade 7 I had to learn how to be more responsible than ever to get a solid education from learning at home. CD, grade 6 I honestly don’t like it. I’m very happy that we will be going back full time. NN, grade 7 I liked being virtual because its safer and I don’t have to wear a mask. LP, grade 6 I do think it made learning a lot harder especially with all the distractions at home. AC, grade 10 I didn’t mind logging into class, I just absolutely hated sitting in front of a screen for almost 6 hours every other day. GS, grade 11 I honestly did not enjoy it & felt the most lazy I have ever felt about school. SF, grade 11
• • • • • • • •
79% of survey respondents said “seeing friends” is what they were most looking forward to upon returning to school full time.
FROM THE HEART • Winter 2020-21
The Best and Worst of Hybrid Learning
Do you feel you understood the material and learned new concepts in your classes? • • • • • • • •
Yes because the teachers were very specific and gave us many references to refer back to if we needed any help. They also provided us with extra help in case we needed some extra guidance with a topic. AP, grade 7 No, I don’t feel that I understood new concepts because I couldn’t ask in-depth questions. GM, grade 7 Understanding material and new concepts was definitely harder online then in-person. There are many distractions at home, so it is hard to concentrate. KD, grade 8 I feel like the material was much harder to learn online. Anonymous, grade 11 At times I found myself having to teach myself weeks worth of content. MK, grade 12 With asynchronous days, I felt I had more time to take my knowledge from the previous day and make sure I fully understood it before the next class day. Anonymous, grade 12 Receiving a virtual lecture has proven to be ineffective for me. Anonymous, grade 11 I was able to understand the material, but probably not as well as I would have in class. Anonymous, grade 11
What was the best part about hybrid school? • • • • • •
It resembles some normalcy, unlike asynchronous learning. RB, grade 8 I could play video games during recess and go to school in pj’s. CF, grade 8 One good thing about hybrid school was getting the chance to become more familiar with technology from home. LA, grade 7 I didn’t have to wake up as early and rush to catch a bus. HM, grade 7 Going to school in person. Anonymous, grade 11 Having less kids in person made it easier to learn. I could ask teachers for help and get more attention. AC, grade 10
What would you have changed about the experience? • • • • • •
I would like teachers to incorporate the online students into activities more. KR, grade 8 Not having to be on a meet for every single class. SP grade 7 A bit of asynchronous work along with meets. AA, grade 7 I would have changed going to each class for that amount of time because sometimes I get a headache from staring at the screen for too long. AD grade 8 I would have liked for classes to remain one day in person and following day spent on worksheets and assignments to practice that lesson. Anonymous, grade 12 I would change the way teachers administer tests because it’s not fair that full remote kids can stay home with their notes while in person students can’t. Anonymous, grade 11
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FROM THE HEART • Winter 2020-21
The Show Must Go On! The theater is a magical place. It’s an escape from reality; a place to forget your troubles for an evening. It’s also home away from home for an eclectic group of creative students. The Westlake High School and Middle School shows are arguably two of the most anticipated events of the year. Unfortunately, live theater performances were yet another victim of Covid. With only half the students in school on any given day, a limited number of students on stage and required mask wearing and social distancing, it seemed as if it would be impossible to pull off any sort of performance. However, the teachers and adults that make these shows happen every year were determined to give the students some sort of experience. Westlake music teacher Zander Meisner wasn’t deterred by the limitations, “I instantly realized these are the general components of producing a night of one-act plays. One-act plays present a wonderful opportunity for a student-actor.” With a cast of over 20 actors and a crew of about a dozen, The Westlake Players were able to pull together a showcase of short scenes by a variety of contemporary playwrights, appropriately entitled “The Masks We Wear”. Students were given individualized rehearsal times, allowing each small group to fully develop their character. Mr. Meisner notes, “A covered face requires each actor to demonstrate feelings or emphasize a line in ways other
than using facial expressions. The students have achieved amazing heights in dramatic expression simply using their bodies and voices.” When show weekend came, the students took turns presenting their short scenes to a live audience of each other and a virtual audience of hundreds more. The themes of the plays ranged from funny to poignant to thought provoking. By all accounts, it was a successful alternative to the real thing. At the middle school, directors Toni and Mike Williams did things a little differently. Having directed WMS musicals together for the last four years, the husband and wife team knew that the kids craved to put on the typical big production. Knowing it wouldn’t be possible, they decided to do what the rest of the world has been doing this past year and take it online. They chose the ever-popular High School Musical Jr. The format limited the number of actors they had roles for, but the small cast knocked it out of the park. The students rehearsed and then performed their lines over zoom and the directors edited the footage together to create an amazing piece of cinematography. Mrs. Williams enthused, “Day in and day out, after virtual learning came to a close, the virtual theatre would open and these kids would show up. Through internet glitches, WiFi issues, Zoom fatigue and the like, they came. And they always came with a smile.” So many milestones that students look forward to have been missed this year. But these professionals made it their mission to make the annual school performance one less thing to mourn. Kudos to all involved!
High School Musical, Jr.
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KLEA BLAKA ADRIANA ESCOBEDO CALEIGH FINCK LUCAS FINKEL BRADY FITZGERALD TYCHO FORCE KAREN MOSQUERA GUZMAN JASON KRAUS JILLIAN LYDEN GIULIANA MALAJ
ASHLEY MCKIERNAN KOLBY MOODY DYLAN PAUL AVA RAGUSO EMILY ROEMMELT REGINA SICA HENRY SLISS CONNOR SMITH LAUREN VINCI
The Masks We Wear STARRING: SAMANTHA DE LOUISE EMMA DELAU ELEANOR DEMPSEY KRISTA DRONZEK ALAURA HURDIS ISABELLA KALAVACI MOSES KHAN JORDYN KRATZ RYAN LIEBOWITZ SAMI LUBART JESSICA MOTTA EDDIE OLSZEWSKI JANE OLSZEWSKI VALENTINA RUBIO KENDALL SPEARMAN MICHAEL STRAFACE MAC VARGA NAYA VULAJ DEAN WILLIAMS MIA WILLIAMS CREW: ALYSSA BANGE ROBBIE BERENGER DANNY DIERSSEN RYAN DIERSSEN MIKE DESIMONE SEAN GRAY DAVID GREEN JULIE LUMORNO JOE MORRONE SAL PAPARELLA BENNY WILCHES
As with most groups this year, the Westlake High School Tech Crew has had to get creative to continue with their mission of helping others with all things tech. In the past, the group of high school students, under the guidance of Westlake Librarian Mary Knopp, met in person on a bi-weekly basis to provide assistance to teachers, students and parents with things ranging from setting up a Google Classroom to helping with classroom technology. This year, with hybrid schooling and restrictions on group gatherings, the group of 12 students didn’t let the fact that they couldn’t meet in person slow them down. It was a natural transition for these tech savvy teens to begin meeting virtually so they could lay out plans to continue offering their hugely popular services. They agreed that because of everyone’s expanded reliance on technology this year, it would be useful to create some Howto video tutorials. Some of the videos created by the students include “How to Use the Parent Portal”, “How to Connect to the School WiFi” and “How to Use the Google Classroom Calendar and To-Do Features”. Mrs. Knopp reports that “these videos have been so helpful for students, parents and teachers.” One of the highlights of being part of
the tech crew is working regularly with senior citizens to teach them how to use technology. Since the initiative began five years ago, they have helped countless local seniors figure out their iPhones, iPads and PCs. This year more than ever before, those skills have become essential to stay connected to family and friends. Undeterred by the challenge of working with them virtually, the students sent out invitations offering their services for anyone that was interested. They were pleasantly surprised at how well it went. Each senior citizen was matched with a student based on what application they needed help with and had 45 minutes of undivided attention. The Tech Crew students created follow-up video tutorials for the senior citizens so they could review what they learned during the session. Many participants gave rave reviews of their time with the students. Theresa Westmoreland, a local resident who enjoyed attending the sessions in person before Covid, remarked “I see it as connecting different generations in the community. [It] feels like heaven to have a one-on-one with a student for almost an hour.” Mrs. Knopp and the Tech Crew are thrilled that they can get back to
A Note from the Board of Ed President Spring is a time of renewal and excitement as we look forward to blooming flowers, warm weather and longer days. This Spring however comes with greater optimism as all of nature’s wonders are occurring, plus we are beginning to emerge from the restrictions put on us as a result of the pandemic. I’m looking forward to the conclusion of another successful school year with many of the traditions and celebrations we typically enjoy at this time of year. As most of you are aware of by now, our Superintendent, Dr. Kotes, gave his resignation to the Board of Education in January. We have partnered with Hazard, Young and Attea (HYA) Consultants to assist in the search for our next leader and are excited by the number of qualified candidates that have applied for the position so far. We want to thank our staff, parents, high school students and community for participating in our focus groups to help us establish a leadership profile. By involving the school and greater community in this way, we can ensure that our leadership profile will embody the characteristics and expertise that we wish to see in Mt. Pleasant’s next Superintendent of Schools. This profile is being used to identify candidates, shape the
FROM THE HEART • Winter 2020-21
Helping “Seniors” Stay Connected
doing what they love, sharing their knowledge with others, even if it isn’t exactly like it was before. Now that they know what is possible, there are sure to be more sessions in the near future. If you would like more information about the Westlake High School Tech Crew, please contact Mary Knopp at mknopp@mtplcsd.org. WHS Tech Crew Lynn Cappa David Green Colin Higham Manpreet Kauf Marina Kidangen Kieran Mullin
Timothy Pagano Matthew Pena Katie Summers Kristian Shkreli Ethan Skinner Michael Straface
recruitment process and guide the Board of Education during the interview process. By now, all of our students have returned to our buildings for full-time, in-person instruction. For many of you, this last year has been a struggle to adapt to working from home or returning to work while also helping your children in their hybrid or fully virtual learning model. Everyone agrees that students learn best in their classroom with their teachers and peers. We know that this decision makes many families excited and also makes some families apprehensive. I want to recognize all the hard work that Dr. Kotes, the Administrative team, faculty and staff have put in to make this return to school possible. Our custodial staff has worked very diligently to prepare our buildings for the return of all our students. Our teachers have been asked to continue to teach in many different environments and have had to alter their lesson plans on a continual basis to provide the best education possible for our students. The Board of Education is grateful for all the hard work and planning that has gone into this last year.
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FROM THE HEART • Winter 2020-21
Congratulations to …
Top Scholars
Congratulations to Olivia Cartano and Pranav Vadapalli for being named the Class of 2021 Valedictorian and Salutatorian, respectively. These students ranked number one and number two in their class academically. Not only did they earn the top marks at Westlake, but both students were also named National Merit Finalists. Of the 1.5 million students who take the PSAT in junior year, only 15,000, or about 1%, of the top scorers are designated with this honor. Approximately half of the finalists will be selected as Merit Scholarship winners on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
Lions Club Students of the Month
Nicholas Farrell, Samantha Lubart and Raine Spearman have been chosen as “Thornwood Lions Club Student of the Month” for December, January and February respectively. Students are chosen for putting “service above self.” The seniors were nominated by their teachers and guidance counselors who cited exceptional service to their school and/or community. The students of the month are recognized at a Lions Club dinner in their honor at the end of the year.
Science Saturdays
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Student Ambassador
Sophomore Christina Kelly was chosen as this year’s Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Student Ambassador. One sophomore is chosen each year to represent Westlake at a three-day HOBY Leadership Seminar to be held in June. Christina will participate in leadership skill development with other sophomores from New York State. She was nominated by members of the faculty for her outstanding leadership, positive attitude, sensitivity to others and excellent communication skills.
Artistic Honors
Stephanie Rosenberg was one of 5 winners in the Regional High School Art Exhibition award show sponsored by the O’Silas Gallery at Concordia College. The show featured the artwork of the 53 talented high school students representing 21 high schools from around the region. Her work, entitled “Identity”, received high scores and praise from the judges and faculty.
State Representatives
C ongratulations to Nicolas Bauco, Michael Mangione and Michael Melillo who were nominated to attend Boys State and to Catherine Cavazzini who was chosen for Girls State (Charlotte Catarina was selected as an alternate.) The programs, sponsored by the American Legion, are week-long immersive learning experiences where participants take part in a nonpartisan curriculum focusing on Americanism and the political process. It aims to give high school students leadership skills and an action-based understanding of the government process. Both Girls and Boys State, which usually take place on upstate college campuses, will be held virtually this year.
Most great educators know that to get a child excited about a new subject, it’s best to engage them; allow them to explore, discover, ask questions. In this new world of virtual education it’s been challenging to find ways to allow students to take part in hands-on learning, but with a little creativity and some help from local experts, dozens of Columbus families spent their Saturday mornings this winter conducting scientific experiments in the comfort of their own home. The mission of IBM Science Family Saturdays is to show elementary age students that science is fun and part of everyday life. IBM volunteers hold engaging, interactive lessons every week for 8 weeks covering subjects such as kitchen chemistry and polymer science. Families gathered materials ahead of time and volunteers took them through step by step labs. One week’s experiment had them learning about computers from the inside out, then the next week they built their own water filter. The program is a great way
Digital Art
It’s not easy teaching art in a virtual environment. Lack of access to a variety of supplies for students at home limits the options. So WMS art teacher Melissa Mancini decided to use technology to make art. Using Google Draw as a starting point, students created colorful pop-art soup labels inspired by personal experiences. Each label includes a QR code for observers to scan so they can learn a more about the creative process of each artist. The artwork is on display in the Westlake Middle School lobby.
to get kids to see themselves as future scientists. In the past, this program was only offered to a small number of students in person. When IBM took it virtual, they were able to open it up to more students. Nearly 50 fourth and fifth graders from Columbus signed up for the lessons. The feedback was enthusiastic. One student said “I learned a lot of new stuff that I didn’t know before.” IBM encourages each student to take what they learned and spread the knowledge. They provide printouts that kids can share with their friends and family so that others can get in on the fun and become passionate about science too. Dr. Adam Bronstein, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Mount Pleasant, noted, “With so many restrictions on the way that we can teach our students this year, this program was especially welcomed. When kids have a chance to discover and actually do something, it’s much more powerful and helps them retain the learning long term.”
Most parents of teenage boys wouldn’t be surprised to see charges on their monthly bill for downloads of online video games. It’s practically a rite of passage. However, there probably aren’t too many kids who get paid to be on these sites. If Matthew Pena has his way, he will be one of the lucky few. Matthew, a junior at Westlake High School, recently released his first video game, The Astronomy Game, to the popular gaming site STEAM. STEAM is an online gaming website with over 30,000 available downloads and 150 million users. It is the go-to source to buy, play, discuss and create video games. To have a game accepted on the STEAM platform for distribution is quite an accomplishment in itself. The journey of creating The Astronomy Game started when Matthew was still in
middle school. As an 8th grader in Earth Science, he particularly enjoyed the unit on astronomy. So much so, in fact, that he based his year-end community leadership project on the same subject. His teacher, Mr. Lawrence McIntyre, was impressed with Matthew’s project on black holes and encouraged him to join the Science Research program once he was in 10th grade. Fast forward several years and Matthew did just that. The first year of the three year commitment requires students to pick an area of interest and conduct in-depth analysis of published research. Naturally, Matthew focused his studies on astronomy. He worked with a mentor and together they came up with the idea to create a game that would be a fun and simple way to teach younger students about this complex subject that both shared a passion
IB Learner Profile Recognition
The IB Learner Profile fosters a distinct set of attributes that students are encouraged to embody. IB students are: inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective.
“The International Baccalaureate Learner Profile represents our mission in action, aiming to develop learners who are knowledgeable, principled and caring, among other traits.” David Weis, Head of IB US Public Schools, 2020 Never has the IB Learner Profile been more relevant to students than now. This year, recognition was given to students who showed a strength of character and demonstrated the IB Learner Profile Characteristics while helping others in their community during the COVID 19 crisis. The IB Learner Profile provides a tangible model for students to use for self-growth. To be eligible, students had to write a one-page personal statement with examples of their actions, connecting those actions to one or more of the learner profile attributes. By internalizing these traits to help out family, friends, and neighbors, our students have gone above and beyond. Students were awarded a certificate for their participation in this challenge.
Brian Cappa Connor Smith Elizabeth McCluskey Isabelle Chacko
Justin Jativa Nathaniel Nolan Sukhsimran Kaur
for. While Matthew admits he had plenty of experience playing video games, he didn’t really have much knowledge about how to build one. The Computer Science Principles course he was taking in school gave him a good start, but he spent dozens of hours teaching himself how to code. From there, he spent hundreds more hours over several months laying out the details of the game: gathering the astronomy facts to be included, creating the artwork (including over 1000 animation frames) and writing the actual code. He hopes that the game becomes the go-to source for students looking to learn more about astronomy. Perhaps future generations of Earth Science students at Westlake will be inspired to follow in his footsteps and pursue their interest in studying other galaxies. You can find and download the game by Googling “The Astronomy Game”.
FROM THE HEART • Winter 2020-21
Shooting for the Stars
Spanish Honor Society Inducts 24 in virtual ceremony The Lazarillo de Tormes chapter of the WHS Spanish Honor Society is a national high school organization which recognizes high-achieving Spanish language students in advanced level classes. Twenty-four new members were inducted in a virtual ceremony in February. Induction is based on Spanish scholarship, cultural leadership and integrity. New members are:
Glen Ahern Shaye Ahern Kyla Anderson Kelly Andrews Pierce Auquilla Ashley Avella Zachary Bach Charlotte Catarina Madelyn Davis Emma Finkel Owen Hegarty Marabel Jamie
Manpreet Kaur Isabella Leite Elisabeth Lilly Jorge Lopez Kylie Lyden Elizabeth Pagan Kalyna Raguso Valentina Rubio Emily Salazar Scott Sanders John Vita Renzo Vivar
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FROM THE HEART • Winter 2020-21
Save the Date
2021-22 Budget Vote & Board of Ed Election May 18, 2021 7am - 9pm Westlake High School More details to follow.
Mount Pleasant Central School District West Lake Drive, Thornwood, NY 10594 Board of Education Colleen Scaglione Neglia, President Michael Horan, Vice President Sara Beaty Vincent Graci Michael Griffin Laura Michalec Olszewski Chris Pinchiaroli Superintendent Dr. Kurtis Kotes Correspondence Phone: 769-5500 • Fax 769-3733 Web: www.mtplcsd.org Editor/email contributions Alyson Walsh/awalsh@mtplcsd.org
Wildcat Athletics
Varsity Track and Field
Varsity Hockey
Varsity Cheer 4th Place - Regional Championship
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Varsity Girls Basketball
Non-Profit Organization US Postage Paid White Plains, NY Permit No. 9415
It Takes a Village
The average spectator would be surprised to learn how much work goes into pulling off a successful high school athletic season. In a normal year, the planning starts months in advance. It takes hundreds of hours to coordinate practice and game schedules, arrange travel, secure facilities, uniforms and equipment and meet with coaching staff. All this needs to be done not for just one team, but for the varsity, jv and modified teams of multiple sports. These efforts take quite a bit of time and energy, but are necessary to ensure that hundreds of athletes are able to compete in the sports that they love. Throw in a global pandemic and hybrid schooling and all bets are off. Donna Pirro, Mount Pleasant’s Director of Athletics, Health and Physical Education likens the current situation to building the plane as you are flying it. This year, there was little information given to athletic directors across the state as far as what sports could be played and what guidelines would need to be followed until just a week or two before season kick-off. “Everything is tentative and things change constantly. Not just changes because of regulations, but quarantines of our teams and other teams. The only consistency is inconsistency.” Implementation of so many new protocols, including enforcing social distancing during training, ensuring proper mask wearing, sanitizing and disinfecting of equipment, and double checking that daily health forms are submitted for everyone in attendance, has become a full time job. Fortunately, Ms. Pirro’s assistant, Michelle Kopicki, who has been the gatekeeper in the athletics office for 12 years and Westlake’s Athletic Trainer, Hilary Piccoli have stepped up to the challenge. Together, the three of them have managed to get through two seasons of sports and hundreds of games. They all agree that all their efforts are completely worth it. Ms. Pirro gets a little emotional as she explains, “To see them get back out there competing, just smiling and laughing. I haven’t seen a lot of that. The focus is not about winning this year. It’s just about kids enjoying themselves and making connections they so desperately need right now.”
Varsity Boys Basketball
Congrats to the Varsity Boys Basketball team led by coach Chad Charney and Assistant Jeff Charney. Despite a shortened season and quarantine challenges, they finished the season 12-2 and were crowned the Section One Southern Westchester Regional Champs after defeating Bronxville in the championship game. Hamad Azhar, Carter Falkenberg, Evan O’Brien and Justin Silva earned All-League Honors. Carter Falkenberg was named All Section and voted Player of the Year for the league.