SCHOOL SCENE A Special Supplement to the Sullivan County Democrat
A look inside the Sullivan West Central School District
SECTION S, DECEMBER 8, 2015 • CALLICOON, NY
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School district enlists community to help save student lives STORY AND PHOTOS BY KATHY DALEY
SULLIVAN WEST SCHOOL SCENE
pledging their support, said Haberli. “It was very moving,” he said. Task force members include businesspeople such as Dominique Jenkins of Matthew's on Main restaurant in Callicoon, District Attorney James Farrell, and numerous Sullivan West teachers, administrators, staff and parents. The group broke into committees to begin to discuss how to access the latest research, how to get the message out to kids, and how to keep the wider community informed. Since then, the school district has
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begun to take action. The Save-A-Life Tour of Grand Rapids, Michigan arrived at Sullivan West to work with ninth graders, alerting them to the devastating effects of drunk driving and to driving while distracted by texting. The program provided interactive driving simulators that allowed students to experience the grim reality of destructive decision-making while driving. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5S
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ach time teenage tragedy struck, Scott Haberli would hear of it. Haberli, Assistant Principal at Sullivan West High School, grew up in Sullivan County, and people know him and his family well. “All my life, I've been approached in Peck's Market by people asking ‘What are we going to do about this?' whenever a young person died in a car crash or of drug or alcohol abuse,” he said. Now, says Haberli, he doesn't have to shrug his shoulders in sheer helplessness. As of October, a robust Community Task Force is up and running to brainstorm ways to help teens live out their lives in safety and to put those ideas into action. “Our mission is to keep kids safe,” said Haberli, noting that not only drug and alcohol use will be addressed, but also mental health, wellness and safe driving. Galvanized after the drug-related deaths of former Sullivan West students Rebecca Pisall and Derrick Clarke, the task force held its first meeting with over 30 people earnestly
Sullivan West students use driving simulators that mimic the challenges and dire consequences of driving under the influence or while texting.
School Scene: A Look at Activities in Sullivan West Central School Published by
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(845) 887-5200 Callicoon, NY 12723 December 8, 2015 • Vol. CXXV, No. 50
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Sullivan West Assistant Principal Scott Haberli leads a newly-organized Community Task Force to come up with ways to keep students from the dangers of drugs, alcohol and unsafe driving that can cause accidents and deaths.
to the ACS. At their next meeting, scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 3, task force members will address strategies for educating adults to the signs of kids in trouble, as well as ensuring that teens know who to turn to for help or how to advocate for a friend who may be abusing drugs or alcohol. The young people must understand
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that help is near. “We have to do a good job of letting kids know that they can come to us,” Haberli said. What will stop student tragedies? “The answers are not going to come until we do the work,” said Haberli, “until we devise concrete plans for the safety of kids and then implement those plans. That is our purpose.”
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“They learned how a driver's reaction time slows down as blood alcohol rises and how hard it is then to manipulate a car even on simple turns,” Haberli said. The students also experienced the effect on driving of a person attempting to read and respond to text messages. As they were “driving,” a beep would go off, and they had to read the text and answer it, Haberli said. “They experienced the car heading right off the road,” the assistant principal said. The District also asked Lynn Baron, community educator for the Catholic Charities Recovery Center in Monticello, to speak at Parent-Teacher Conference night about the signs and symptoms of drug and alcohol abuse and how the teenage brain is affected by using such substances. Baron also spoke to students about the Great American Smokeout, a nationwide event in November organized by the American Cancer Society. The Smokeout challenges smokers to quit and alerts them and others to the health dangers of smoking. Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States, according
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At the high school: Robots and drones and students, oh my! STORY AND PHOTOS BY KATHY DALEY
In Robotics class, High School students Charles Nystrom, Nathaniel Edwards and Calvin Heaney learn about mechanical devices programmed to perform tasks. Here, they study the District's drone, a kind of flying robot that takes photos and videos from the air.
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inth grader Nathaniel Edwards is a hands-on learner, and Robotics class helps him understand the inner workings of today's technologies like iPhones, iPads and laptops. Twelfth grader Charles Nystrom plans to go into electrical engineering in college, and Robotics class is a
step in that direction, he says. “Robotics ... it's our new generation, a new thing,” reflects fellow student Calvin Heaney. He's working in class on a shoe box-sized robot that looks like a tractor but that “knows” how to follow an oval-shaped black line on a white background. “You know,” said Calvin, a ninth grader, “today people get out of college, can't find jobs and end up working at Starbucks. But that's not what I want. There are a lot of tech jobs opening up and Robotics is a part of that.” Sullivan West High School teacher Lionel Billard notes that robots are used today for assembly line work in factories and are expected to attract more manufacturing jobs onto U.S. soil in fields such as engineering, design and technical work. Robots are also proliferating in situations that are dangerous or onerous for humans – for example, in cleaning toxic waste, defusing bombs or something as simple but annoying as mowing grass or vacuum cleaning a floor. Billard's Robotics class is offered to ninth through 12th graders as a half-year elective where “students learn programming, inputs and outputs of different systems, and how to solve problems in today's society,” the teacher said. The newest robot in the family is the District-purchased Phantom 3 drone, a kind of flying robot that takes videos and photographs from up in the air. About a foot high, the drone is a slim, white contraption with four propellers and a camera attached to it. “The plan is to use the drone in many subject areas,' said Billard, “in technology class, in science to study aerospace, in music to create a music-backed video of school facilities and in the
DECEMBER, 2015
Audiovisual Club, where the video will be edited.” Drones are most famously used by the military. For example, this year so far, the CIA has used drone strikes against Pakistani terror sites 15 times. Like the drones with inauspicious reputations, the one at Sullivan West can be remotely controlled or can hover in place autonomously. The next step for Billard will be to design drones for different purposes such as to carry a rope to a person stuck in a flood so the victim can be towed to safety. In the meantime, robotics students value their exposure to math, engineering, physics, and logic as they learn hands-on science skills linked to the real world. “Making stuff is so cool,” said Charles Nystrom. “You do the work, make changes here and there to make it more efficient, you change measurements. This is one of my most enjoyable classes of the day. I go to classes, eat lunch and then fly a drone.”
Student Calvin Heaney tinkers with his original robot, which is able to circle around a black line inscribed on a white poster.
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Moving around a lively class of 4-year-olds at Sullivan West
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STORY AND PHOTOS BY KATHY DALEY
t first glance, the pre-kindergarten classes look like nothing more than a bunch of cute 4-year-olds bouncing, leaping and dashing. But, say the children's teachers, there's method behind the motion. “Running, jumping, crawling, dancing makes more neurons in the brain, makes more brain connections,” says pre-k teacher Lisa Hoffmann. “It makes learning and remembering easier.” Brain research reveals that movement is important for every age group, but that the brain-body connection is easier to achieve in prekindergarten where jumping in place is socially acceptable, Hoffman said with a smile. Pre-kindergarten is all about movement in other ways as well. “The rigor of the kindergarten program has changed,” said Sullivan West's second pre-k teacher Jenny O'Brien, “and the [State Education Department] expects more in terms of academics. Pre-kindergarten does now what kindergarten used to do – it prepares our youngest children for learning.”
Hoffmann and O'Brien, accompanied by teacher aides Darleen Weyandt and Darlene Bingham, handle two classes of pre-kindergartners, 32 children in total. Each May, the District tests all children who apply for pre-kindergarten and then chooses the students whose results show them most in need. “We take the students who would benefit the most,” explained Susan Barsky, assistant principal of the elementary school. “We take the lower kids and build them up.” For 11 years, the District has paid for its one pre-k class out of the operating budget. This year, thanks to a state grant, a second class was offered, making acceptance possible for all children who applied. For many of the little students, it's their first experience with teachers and groups of children. Gradually, they learn how to stand in a line and how to follow instructions. In their cheery classrooms, they learn social skills such as how to share and what it means to take turns. Through play and hands-on learning, they work on their receptive language skills, that is what they hear and understand, and on expressive language, which is how they communicate to others.
Teacher Lisa Hoffmann, at right, and teacher aide Darleen Weyandt get their pre-kindergarten class up and moving, and the kids love it.
By means of what would seem like play, they learn fine-motor skills. For example, small fingers learn how to hold a pen or a pair of scissors by means of manipulating Play-doh. Unlike fine-motor skills, which work the small muscles of the hands, gross-motor skills work the large muscles of the body. Students need those skills to participate in classroom activities that require body control, such as walking into a crowded room or sitting to listen to a story. Hoffmann and O'Brien say grossmotor skills get a work out through marching, dancing, running, climbing – anything using the arms and legs. “They're learning and having fun at the same time,” said O'Brien. “It's learning through fun.” Children have fun with building blocks and connecting wheels. They play with sand and with water, developing eye-hand coordination as they pour and sift, continuing work on their small muscle control. Four-year-olds are curious and observant, and it's not long before they begin to learn some basic math skills like counting aloud. “We use games, puzzles and manipulatives to enhance their skills,” said O'Brien. Before long, they are learning to match, sort and classify, and discovering sequences and patterns. There are classroom read-alouds and book discussions and the timehonored “show and tell” that enhances students' speaking and listening skills. Phonemic awareness activities introduce children to the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words. By means of music and poetry, they learn to recognize the letters that make words and to make their numbers. For example, the class chants as it writes the number “3” by saying in little sing-song voices: “Around the tree, around the tree, that's how we make a 3!” They also experience, as much older kids do, the thrill of leaving the classroom for the “specials,” which are music, technology, library, art and
Teacher Jenny O'Brien points out that today's pre-kindergarten work is crucially important in ensuring that children are academically and socially ready for kindergarten.
physical education. The teachers say there's never a dull day in pre-k. “I love working with children,” said Hoffman. “I get real joy out of eliciting that excitement of learning, which they all naturally have.” The skills of the Sullivan West professionals are reaping rewards that are quantifiable, says Assistant Principal Barsky. “We screen the students a second time at the end of the school year,” Barsky said. “The jump in their scores is 80 percent. It's off the charts.”
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Back to school, back to sleep C hildren spend a substantial part of their lives asleep. In fact, in early childhood, the developing brain seems to need more time asleep than awake. This underscores the importance of sleep to the overall well-being of a child. Teenagers need between 8.50 and 9.25 hours of sleep each night – much more than commonly believed.
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the evening, even if forced to their bedrooms. Although the scientific literature on childhood sleep disorders is advancing rapidly, gaps remain in the delivery of this knowledge to the end user: the child. For instance, only about half the physicians who care for children address sleeprelated issues in their clinics, and well-trained pediatric sleep specialists are still a rarity. Dr. El Zarif is a physician with Orange Regional Medical Group and is a member of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), American Thoracic Society (ATS), American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society (SRC). He can be reached at 845-333-7575. For more information visit www.orangeregionalmedicalgroup .org
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Adolescents and older children may suffer from lack of sleep simply by not sleeping an adequate number of hours, or they may lack goodquality sleep. With the typical school and afterschool activities, homework and evening activities (e.g., TV watching and Internet involvement), a lot goes on in the older child’s life. Add weekend social obligations and, perhaps, a job, and you have a recipe for sleep deprivation. Late bedtime hours are not, however, due solely to these activities. With the onset of puberty, adolescents begin to experience a delay in the “phase� of their biological clock. As a result, they fall asleep later in the evening, which makes it more difficult for them to wake up in time for school. In fact, the timing of the release of the sleep hormone, melatonin, is delayed. No wonder then, despite being sleep deprived, adolescents cannot seem to fall asleep earlier in
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All that’s new, great and smart at Sullivan West School District STORY AND PHOTOS BY KATHY DALEY
T
he start of an August working retreat for Sullivan West administrators invited all 12 District leaders to paddle kayaks down the riffles, rapids and calm pools of the Delaware River, from just south of Callicoon to Skinners Falls. The watery kickoff to a day of intensive work planned by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nancy Hackett might serve as an apt metaphor for where Sullivan West Central School District positions itself, that is, pulling together in a focused direction through the turbulent waters of the educational landscape. COMMON CORE? NO SWEAT Comparatively speaking, the ruckus over implementation of the Common Core – the learning goals for what students should know and be able to do at each grade level – hasn't hit Sullivan West. The District was prepared. “Five years ago, teachers and I had a sense of the way the state was moving, even before the Common Core was put in place,” said Elementary School Principal Rod McLaughlin. Gradually, the school began aligning its curriculum, which is the detailed plan for what students must learn and how they will learn it, with the New York State Learning Standards that were already in place. “We aligned year by year so that the curriculum would be seamless from one grade to another, pre-kindergarten through sixth grade,” said McLaughlin. The elementary school then began “curriculum mapping,” constructing yearly calendars of the student skills and knowledge of content expected in the core areas of English Language Arts and math. “We then transitioned our report cards to be standards-based as well,” McLaughlin recounted. A few years later, when the state transitioned to the Common Core, “we just adapted what we were doing,” the principal said. “When the Common Core came out, a lot of people had to make great swings, but we were ahead of the game. It made life here a lot less
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nancy Hackett takes part in a teaching moment with second grader Nancy Lin and new English as a Second Language teacher Kai Murray.
chaotic.” Still, the Common Core does make significant demands, one of which is its expectation that all children will have access to pre-kindergarten class. SECOND PRE-K ADDED With research revealing that prekindergarten affords children the opportunities to learn and practice the social-emotional, problem solving, and academic skills they will need throughout their school years, Sullivan West aggressively sought a state grant to expand its program for four-yearolds. “We went to State Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and asked her to help us fund a second pre-k section,” said Superintendent Hackett. Gunther found the needed funds, $150,000, and the second section is up and running. “Our teachers (Lisa Hoffmann and Jenny O'Brien) are passionate, and we're so proud of our kids,” Hackett said. “Our Board is very supportive of pre-k, and after this year, we'll look to fund it with state aid if we can, or else we'll build into the budget.” NEW AT SCHOOL School opened this year by welcoming new High School Principal Mark
Plescia. A seasoned administrator, Plescia worked as principal at the Fallsburg and Hyde Park school districts. “The kids and faculty have embraced Mark,” said Hackett with enthusiasm, “and he works well on our team of administators.” Other new hires this year were School Resource Officer Jack Harb of the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, and Kai Murray as the District's first English as a Second Language teacher. Murray worked as a bilingual teacher for 10 years in New York City before arriving at Sullivan West in September. “I identify with the English as a Second Language student population,” he said, “because I was born and raised in Europe where the majority of people are multilingual. It's rewarding to observe how quickly ESL students acquire English.” Three of Murray's students are Chinese speaking, and the rest come from Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Mexico and El Salvador. “It's an interesting schedule because I teach from kindergarten to 11th grade,” Murray said. “One day I'm teaching phonetics and the next I'm explaining the variable group in a mold spore experiment, but I love it because it keeps me on my toes.”
Newcomer Deputy Sheriff Jack Harb is also making his presence known. “He's everywhere,” said Hackett. “He's at emergency drills, at recess, in the cafeteria, and he's doing presentations on cyber bullying. Harb is thrilled with his new post. Writing for the District's newsletter, he shared that he had once thought of teaching math, so that working in education is right up his alley. On the horizon for the District this year is start of design work on the $3 million project approved by voters in October: new elementary school athletic fields and sidewalks and stairs. Hackett noted the District is also focused on finalizing both a new teacher evaluation plan and a five-year labor contract for teacher assistants, teacher aides, custodians, clerical staff and buildings and grounds workers. It's all about caring and commitment at the District, which was recognized for excellence by U.S. News & World Report in 2015. “My entire faculty and staff is dedicated and works hard each and everyday,” the Superintendent said. “And the people of this district are dedicated, family centered and have their children's best interests in the forefront. That's what it's all about – people and community.”
DECEMBER, 2015
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The wild world of after-school science, gardening and running STORY AND PHOTOS BY KATHY DALEY
Winter hikes on the nature trail behind Sullivan West Elementary reveal the beauty of the season and fascinating animal tracks. Teachers Kelly Erlwein and Suzy Mullally co-advise the Science & Nature Club.
few months ago, the mother of a student at Sullivan West Elementary School confided to teacher Sheila Schultz that her child would rather attend Garden Club than go trick or treating. “Fortunately, Garden Club meets on Fridays, and Halloween this year was on Saturday, so she didn't need to miss either one,” said Schultz with a grin. The elementary school in Jeffersonville boasts no fewer than nine afterschool clubs, enriching children's experiences and allowing them to boost their social skills as well.
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weed the beds and introduce composting.” As the school year moves on, students harvest the growing tomatoes, tomatilloes, peppers and onions and make soup and salsa. With October as Farm to School Month, the Rural Health Network and Sullivan Renaissance sponsor a chef to speak at the club's meeting. As winter approaches, the students remove the plants that would be affected by frost. They compost and layer straw on the beds – ready for Garden Club gear-up in springtime.
GAINING GARDENING TOOLS Schultz's three-year-old Garden Club is supported not only by the District but also by Cornell Cooperative Extension and Catskill Mountainkeeper. Students learn about healthy eating, where their food comes from, working with others, soil and composting and maintaining the school's garden. Garden Club meets every Friday from September to November, and then every Friday from April to June. “First we introduce children to the garden, tools, behavior expectations and the chores involved in working the garden,” said Schultz. “We water and
NATURE-ALLY SPEAKING Suzy Mullally and Kelly Erlwein, coadvisors for the school's Science & Nature Club, point out that the regular school day doesn’t concentrate on “just for fun” types of things but that clubs can – with an educational piece hidden at times. Topics change with the seasons in the Science and Nature Club. About 20 students from grades 4 through 6 meet once each month to hike in the woods and on the school’s nature trail, often accompanied by their nature journals. Or they go snowshoeing looking for animal tracks. They've planted seeds and acorns, performed experiments,
RUNNING FOR FUN When the weather cooperates, Sara Jahrling is outside on Tuesday and
Thursday afternoons, supervising running form, stretching, coordination, team building, sprinting, hill work-outs and mid-distance pacing. As advisor to the 31 fourth through sixth grade students in the elementary school's two-year-old Running Club, teacher Jahrling loves her after-school “job.” “The students learn to work as a team, how to compete and to be good sportsmen,” she said. “Every time the running club meets I am reminded why I do it,” Jahrling added. “I’m happy to help gain interest in our future cross country and track teams. Watching the students grow through the season is uplifting. There are a handful of students who are not strong runners and I’m starting to see their stamina increase. To see them having fun, working together, improving their running – that’s what it’s all about!”
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Student Xaria Sennett picks strawberries from school garden, one of the great delights of Garden Club members.
and had a variety of outside professionals give advice. The club receives a good deal of community support from local volunteers and from the Sullivan County Audubon Society, Upper Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited, National Park Service, Delaware Highlands Conservancy and local governments. “Environmental stewardship is important, and our club has been responsible for planting milkweed for the disappearing monarch population, among other things,” said Erlwein. “Having students who repeatedly sign up from 4th, 5th and then 6th grade help us to know how much they’re enjoying the club’s activities,” adds Mullally.
SULLIVAN WEST SCHOOL SCENE
SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT
DECEMBER, 2015
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