From the Heart Spring 2016

SPRING 2016

From the Heart Mount Pleasant — The Heart of Westchester County

Volume 15, Issue 3

H2M Architect vice president Guy Page shared the Building Condition Survey at the Jan. 20 Board of Education meeting. Many deficiencies still plague district buildings and discussions on how to fund the improvements will be a priority in the coming year.

District facilities back on front burner

Funding for infrastructure upgrades to be explored With the presentation of the 2015 Building Condition Survey at the January 20, 2016 board of education meeting, the district’s facilities needs are once again a focal point as the district develops its next five-year strategic plan.

At the board meeting, vice president of H2M Architects, Guy Page gave a synopsis of the survey, explaining the Department of Education mandate and listing the most pressing deficiencies of the district’s facilities.

“The survey is done to ensure that each school district and its facilities are properly maintained and preserved, to provide suitable educational settings for each school district in New York State,” Mr. Page said to the audience

and board members.

The inspection, which was completed by H2M in November, 2015, rated every component of the district’s buildings. Their findings mirrored the 2010 survey and added some additional items that surfaced between the inspections. According to H2M, preliminary estimates of infrastructure repairs are in the vicinity of $36 million.

“Issues continue to deteriorate and worsen,” Superintendent Dr. Susan Guiney said of the new findings.

The district is faced with the task of remedying the issues as soon as feasibly possible. And, Continued on page 2

Residents of the district who wish to run for two open seats on the Board of Education should fill out a nominating petition available at the District Clerk’s office. Completed petitions must be submitted to the District Clerk no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, April 18.

WHS junior headed to international science fair For the second straight year, a Westlake High School science research student is headed to the International Sustainable World Energy Engineering & Environment Project Olympiad (ISWEEEP), the largest science fair dedicated exclusively to sustainability research.

Ryan Ryan Stasolla’s Stasolla research on the cost-effectiveness of using granite grit in chicken feed won a first place medal at the Westchester Science and Engineering Fair held on March 12 at Sleepy Hollow High School. He received a gold medal and $100 award from sponsor Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, his project was one of the six highest-scoring sustainability projects, which qualified him for ISWEEEP. The Westlake junior will receive an expense paid trip Houston, Texas, compliments Continued on page 4

WHS PRESENTS

Important Dates April 18: school board candidate petitions due

The Mount Pleasant Central School District Newsletter

April 28: Incoming K parent orientation

Parents of incoming kindergartners will be welcomed at Hawthorne Elementary at 3:30 p.m. where they will receive valuable information including: the K screening process, overview of the school day, PTA welcome, question and answer session and a tour of the building.

April 8-10, 15-16 J.S. Whearty Theater at Westlake High School For tickets and times, see westlakeplayers.com

FROM THE HEART • Spring 2016

Facilities

Continued from page 1

in fact, some work has already begun.

Incremental progress

The defeat of two previous bonds in 2014 and 2015 left the administration to address the most pressing facility issues through the annual budget. Allocations in the current 2015-16 budget were approved to replace the Columbus Elementary roof and the original 1950s boiler, along with exterior work at Hawthorne Elementary. Funding came from $1 million in new capital spending and a $2 million transfer from the tax certiorari reserve fund. Other improvements such as door hardening district-wide and renovation of the high school guidance office and lobby were done with funds from the operations and maintenance budget.

This year, the draft 2016-17 budget includes funds to replace the Westlake campus elevator and the original steam pipes and related HVAC work at Columbus. The work at CES will be done concurrently as the old boiler is replaced and will standardize the heating system throughout the building as well as eliminate the need to purchase costly equipment necessary for the current configuration.

Dr. Guiney said with steady capital infusion, stand-alone projects such as these can be handled through the annual budget. The problem she noted is that there is still a long list of projects to be tackled.

“At this point, everything on the list is a priority,” she said. “We’re going to chip away at it the best we can, but we cannot do the big projects through the budget.”

Preliminary thoughts

Director of Business, Andrew Lennon, recommends increasing investments in the annual capital projects budget so that the district can not only weather an emergency but also address maintenance and

Facilities priority list

Items from the 2015 Building Condition Survey listed as “Unsatisfactory” HES/CES: • Fresh air ventilation • HVAC control system (HES) • Lockers • Parking and roadways • Field renovation • Masonry • Ceilings (CES)

WHS/WMS: • Fresh air ventilation • Boilers • Parking and roadways • Roofs • Interior ceilings • Vinyl asbestos tile • Masonry/ chimney • Structural steel repairs (WHS)

replacement items required to have the facilities in optimal operating condition.

Building up the capital budget to approximately $2 million per year over the next five years will enable the district to complete $10 million in infrastructure upgrades through the annual budget and address items in a more timely manner.

“But that still leaves us $26 million in the hole for all the work that needs to get done today, not to mention new issues that arise,” Mr. Lennon stated.

The task ahead will be to prioritize the projects and decide how much can be done through the annual budget and how much the community will support in a bond. “Once we know we have a funding strategy then we can focus on scope,” he said.

Cyclical funding

For many districts, the strategy for bonding is accomplished by scheduling large-scale school improvements on a cyclical basis. When old construction bonds are retired, new projects with similar costs are slated to begin. This keeps the debt service constant and prevents peaks and

valleys in the tax levy.

Presently, Mount Pleasant’s situation is a bit different. With the elementary schools construction bond starting to fall off next year and ending in 2024 and tax certiorari bonds decreasing until they come off in 2028, Mr. Lennon says the strategy of waiting for bonds to completely fall off may not be possible.

“If we don’t start now, it’s not going to get any better,” he said.

With seemingly no way to avoid a bond, Dr. Guiney feels it’s important to propose a plan the community can support. If that can be achieved, a plan to phase in the debt service over a few years rather than all at once will lessen the tax impact on residents and enable the district to start addressing the issues.

School board president Eric Schulze said board members feel strongly that the facilities must be taken care of to ensure the buildings provide a safe learning environment for the children. He agrees that by doing some of the work through the annual budget the district can reduce the scope and cost of a bond and be able to also take care of the big projects such as the Westlake boilers and related projects.

“We need to make sure we’re fiscally responsible but also make sure the work we do all fits together,” he said With a lengthy wait time for project approvals at the state Education Department, Mr. Schulze hinted that a likely time frame for a bond referendum would be this coming fall.

“A bond is the only way we can ensure economies of scale and get the work done at a lower cost,” he said.

To make sure the public is informed of the projects, timeline and financing options, the board will hold community meetings on the topic starting this June.

“We need to target and prioritize first, before any referendum is developed. And we need community input,” Mr. Schulze said.

Visit mtplcsd.org and sign up for newsLINK email to receive further updates.

‘Alice’ delights audiences

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Despite a snowstorm that closed school on Feb. 5, the Westlake Middle School production of “Alice in Wonderland, Jr.” went on as scheduled and the budding thespians were able to get in all four performances of “Alice in Wonderland, Jr.” Feb. 4 through 7. Dual casts gave equally wonderful performances under the direction of Claudia Grispin, with musical direction by Liz Melito.

Susan Guiney, Ed.D Superintendent

A forum is planned for late April for community input into the upcoming strategic plan.

How will our schools meet the needs of our students five years from now?

Will our students learn in a way that prepares them for college, careers, and their future?

What kinds of resources and facilities will be available to our students?

What about activities and connections with the school community?

Over the past few months, the district has been considering these types of questions and will continue to discuss them and others as a strategic plan for the next five years begins to take shape. Fortunately we have a strong foundation on which to build.

Laying the groundwork

The current five-year plan laid the foundation to promote the achievement of excellence, with a focus on learner-centered classrooms that empowers students to take charge of their learning and use today’s educational tools to their advantage.

Technology has become ubiquitous in our classrooms with wireless access available in all of our schools. Mobile devices now abound in elementary and secondary classrooms as students are able to bring their own devices and use classroom technology to facilitate and increase their learning.

Socially and emotionally, our students have become “bucket fillers’, earn “warm fuzzies” and aspire to the IB learner profile and habits of mind, all of which are grounded in empathy and self actualization.

Facilities have been carefully reviewed and while a small portion of the work has been completed, the district continues to consider how aging facilities can be addressed to keep infrastructure operational

and meet the educational program needs of our 21st century learners.

• Adjustments to transportation has saved the district over $1 million.

• Other strategic plan initiatives that have helped the district build a solid education foundation are • Recruitment, hiring and tenure recommendations of outstanding faculty and administrators; • Improved instructional practice through teacher efficacy and professional development; • Revitalization of the science research program; • Preparation for IB school Middle Years Program; Additionally, communication has been enhanced to provide information when and where it is needed with a re-energized web presence, Twitter and Facebook pages, newsLINK email, newsletters, weekly bulletins from our schools, teacher class pages, texts, parent portal, phone calls, and of course, the traditional face to face meetings and conversations.

All of this has been accomplished in a tax cap landscape, with an annual average tax rate of 2.6%.

We have much to be proud of and plenty more work to do!

FROM THE HEART • Spring 2016

What will our district look like in 2021?

Steps to success

As we look toward the next five years, we will discuss how to prepare our students academically and with the skills and motivation they will need to create and thrive in their future. A community viewing of the highly-acclaimed film “Most Likely to Succeed” is planned for Wednesday, April 27 at 7 p.m. and again on Saturday, April 30 at 9:30 a.m. in the Westlake library. A discussion of the strategic plan will follow.

I look forward to your participation in this important next-step for our district.

Mount Pleasant teachers make their mark as educators World language teacher Adriana Aloia has been chosen by the Metropolitan New York chapter of the American Association of the Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese to receive the Ruth Bennett Award for outstanding contributions to Hispanic studies. The 37-year teaching veteran was nominated by her colleagues and unanimously chosen to receive Adriana Aloia this award.

Ms. Aloia serves on the board of directors of the Metro NYC chapter of the AATSP and has been the sponsor of three different chapters of the Sociedad Hispanica Honoraria (Spanish Honor Society). She has served as SHH state and regional director and national vice-president. She currently is the president of this national organization.

Her involvement in SHH has included chaperoning travel abroad experiences for juniors from all over the U.S. to Spanishspeaking countries including Costa Rica, Mexico and Puerto Rico and serving as adviser to the Westlake chapter of SHH. Over the years, many of her Spanish 4 and AP Spanish students have won travel and college scholarships through SHH. Ms. Aloia teaches both Spanish and Italian at Westlake High School.

Chemistry teacher Dr. Michael Epting is in his second year of item writing for the new state Regents exam in chemistry. Working with the New York State Education Department, Dr. Epting is part of a team of active and retired chemistry teachers throughout the state who develop items (questions) for the exam. Special training is required for this position, which he Michael Epting completed during the summer of 2014.

Dr. Epting said the questions he has written will not appear in any Regents exam for a couple of years as each question must go through a three-year process of thorough editing for consistency of style and format, as well as extensive field testing. “These field tests are very important because the results determine if the questions are good enough to make it into a real exam,” Dr. Epting said.

And he is well aware of that. For the past seven summers Dr. Epting has worked with a team of teachers as a rater of field test questions for the Chemistry Regents. He said being a rater has given him greater insight into the exam as well as a deeper understanding of the core curriculum. As for seeing his questions in a future exam, Dr. Epting said he will be extremely proud.

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FROM THE HEART • Spring 2016

Science fair

Continued from page 1

of Entergy Corporation, to showcase his research alongside top-ranking young researchers from around the world and compete for $400,000 in prizes and scholarships.

Ryan is conducting his research at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills. His work with mentor Craig Haney has enabled him to coauthor an article “Grit Trials Show Feed Conversion Ratio Gains and Higher Yields” that will be published in the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association’s March/April newsletter.

Even more medals for Westlake

Having one of your students be successful at a science competition such as WESEF is a great accomplishment, but Lawrence McIntyre is beyond thrilled at the showing of all of his students. For the second year in a row, every one of Westlake’s science research students who entered WESEF came away with awards.

At his second WESEF competition, senior Steven Brunetto took fourth place in the environmental science category for his research on possible new methods for detecting coastal contamination. He was awarded a medal and $25 from sponsor Westchester Academy of Medicine. Steven also won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for top water-related projects. The award qualifies him to enter the Stockholm Junior Water Prize state competition. In addition, Steven also received the American Meteorological Society Award for a project that applies the creative scientific study of atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences. He is working on his research with his mentor at SUNY Stony Brook.

Junior Peter Psaltakis took fourth place

Smiles of success for Lawrence McIntyre, left, and his science research students Ryan Stasolla, Meenu Mundackal, Steven Brunetto and Peter Psaltakis.

in the environmental science category for his research titled “The Effect of Dechlorination on the Formation of Free Cyanide in Chlorinated Wastewater Effluent.” He received a medal and $25 award from the Westchester Academy of Medicine. Adding to his winnings, Peter also received the NASA Earth System Science Award for projects that offer insight into Earth’s interconnected systems. Peter is conducting his research at Manhattan College.

In a heavily entered medical and health category, junior Meenu Mundackal came away from her first WESEF experience with the Think STEAM Award for her research that studied the correlation between allergies and Autism Spectrum Disorder. The certificate and $25 award went to female students for outstanding projects in science, technology, engineering or mathematics and was sponsored by Think STEAM. Meenu’s is working on her meta-analysis using a national medical database under the mentorship of a professional speech/language pathologist.

With a record 550 students competing at WESEF this year, their teacher was

floored by this second straight year of his students’ success.

“I’m inspired by how much grit these four students have shown as they faced numerous challenges while conducting their original research projects,” McIntyre said. “They are an inspiration to us all.”

With the major accomplishments of his students in this extremely young program, Mr. McIntyre hopes to build the county’s next science powerhouse at Westlake.

Seeking research mentors

If you are a professional in one of the fields below and are interested in overseeing a student’s original research project, contact Lawrence McIntyre at lmcintyre@mtplcsd.org.

Science fields: Animal Behavioral/Social Biochemistry Cellular Biology Molecular Biology Chemistry Computer Science

Earth/Planetary Engineering Environmental Mathematical Medicine/Health Microbiology Physics Plant

Science success starts early

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Students are being exposed to the scientific method starting as early as elementary school. Left, kindergartners use inquiry and observation to identify the parts of a live earthworm, while fifth graders, right, begin their foray into science research by conducting their own experiments and presenting them at the Celebration of Learning. Opportunities for deeper exploration abound at the upper grades with middle school Regents science courses, the high school’s highly successful science research class, many AP science classes, clubs and honor societies.

PHOTO BY NOELLE SCAPELHORN

For one lighthearted day, Columbus Elementary fourth graders stepped back in time and learned that living in the 1700’s was pretty serious business.

An in-school Colonial Day experience by Adventure Game, Inc, brought activity leaders who came in costume and “in character” to explain how life long ago was lived. With the help of many parent volunteers, they turned classrooms into historical stations that mirrored the daily work and play of early American settlers.

Dressed in period clothing, students took on the jobs and chores of real colonists. They tried their hand at churning butter, spinning wool and candle making — necessary tasks that would have taken up a good part of their day back then. Student colonists enjoyed learning the art of stenciling and tinsmithing, which they found much easier to master than writing their names with a quill pen. At dame school, a strict school marm kept even the most fidgety students in their seats and on their best behavior. There was time for fun too as the students played games and learned to dance Colonial style.

The Colonial Day program supports the current social studies curriculum as well as the state learning standards for the arts.

A fourth grader prepares wool for spinning during the school’s Colonial Day.

FROM THE HEART • Spring 2016

Fourth graders step back in time

The middle school Science Olympiad team is all smiles at their fifth place finish at regional competition on Feb. 27.

WMS science olympiad team takes 5th place at regionals Westlake Middle School’s Science Olympiad team placed fifth out of a field of 25 at the regional science competition held at Scarsdale Middle School Feb. 27. This was Westlake’s best showing at regionals. Eight medals were won in a variety of knowledge-based and construction events.

The team’s strong finish against schools such as Bronxville, Scarsdale, Ardsley, Harrison, Rye, John Jay, Pearl River, Nanuet, Pleasantville and Byram Hills was a testament to the students’ preparation, which has been ongoing since the fall.

Under the tutelage of advisers Tom Hall and Ray Szczerba, the club’s 16 members have been meeting after school to work on their research and building projects.

Many in the Science Olympiad club are seasoned team members, having one or two years under their belts. Others like eighth graders Taylor Chiera and Brianna Calamis joined just this year and unexpectedly found it to their liking.

“I do track, but hurt my knee so I’m here,” said Taylor, who built a balsa wood airplane in less than a week with Brianna after a last-minute decision to enter the elastic glider event. Taylor said that despite her affinity for running, she also happens to be a science fan. Joining the Science Olympiad club happily bailed her out of winter boredom.

Brianna, who was in the school’s robotics club last year, joined the club on a recommendation from her teacher Mr. Hall.

“It turned out to be really fun,” she said.

The girls entered three events together

Medal winners

1st place: Matheus Louzada and Olivia Cartano — Write It, Do It 2nd place: Kaitlyn Park and Olivia Eng — Green Generations 3rd place: Kaitlyn Park and Olivia Eng — Disease Detective 3rd place: Macarthur Varga and Vito Malaj — Air Trajectory 4th place: Macarthur Varga and Pranav Vadapalli — Fossils 5th place: Paul Gschneidner and Olivia Eng — Microbe Mission 5th place: Taylor Chiera and Brianna Calamis — Picture This 6th place: Paul Gschneidner and Olivia Cartano — Picture This

and were excited when they took fifth place in the “Picture This” challenge.

The number of Science Olympiad club members has grown steadily in the past few years and this year the club was able to field a full 15-member team — and more — to compete at regionals.

The fifth place showing for the middle school is something to build on, as the team was one place short of going to state competition. Club members were pumped.

Eighth grader Paul Gschneidner felt their preparation paid off and showed that with hard work and perseverance “we can accomplish anything.”

“It’s been fantastic,” echoed Mr. Hall.

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FROM THE HEART • Spring 2016

K-12 Visual Arts Festival wows the crowds

The third annual Mount Pleasant Schools Visual Art Festival held on March 22 was a celebration of experimentation and talent from the youngest elementary art students to seasoned high schoolers. Pieces in the festival were selected by the art teachers to represent the scope of learning of the district’s arts program. Hundreds of pieces of 2D and 3D art and video projects were displayed in the Westlake library and the festival drew hundreds of art appreciators. Art teachers Lauralee Chambers, Dr. Susan Cowles-Dumitru, Claudia Abate, Claudia Papazian-Moravec, Carolyn Frawley, Lauren Morris and Lara Anicchiarico curated the show, which was open to the public through March 24.

Left, Marc Studer (gr. 1), above, Elena DiDomizio (gr. 10), top right, Elisabeth Carpinelli (gr. 6), center right, Matt Marcella (gr. 11), bottom right, Mimi Bartolovic (gr. 4)

Westchester Community College Media Arts Award Winners Thirty-two high school art students were awarded Exemplary Awards in digital media, graphic design, darkroom and digital photography, and video media at the 47th Annual Media Arts Show held March 15 at Westchester Community College. President’s Awards were presented to Daniella Scampone (2D design) Marissa Carpentieri (Video) and Aidan Glendon (Video) for noteworthy, creative and technically outstanding work. Students garnering awards are:

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Exemplary Awards – 2D Design: Arianna Albino Taylor Karaqi Jillian Barbero Vanessa Lembo Talin Bedonian Angela Mangione Mikaela Birch Gabriella Maniscalco Annisa Camacho Caroline Mooney Jillian Cannata Katelyn Murphy Marissa Carpentieri Dean Perkins Liam Gibbons Laine Peterson Aidan Glendon Danielle Porco Jennifer Hutnik Susan Pinchiaroli

Emily Rubino Daniella Scampone* Noelle Scaplehorn Angelica Seigler Christine Sharabun Megi Syku Juliana Urrico Amanda Valencia * President’s Award

Exemplary Awards – Video: Arianna Albino Kaia Sherman (collaborators Cristina Marissa Carpentieri* Canlas, Delia Murphy) Danielle Walpole Alexa Irizarry Aidan Glendon * (collaborators: Jack Mulhare, (collaborators Nick Rivello, Vanessa DelDuca) Julia O’Connell, Tommy Kevin Julian (collaborators: Olszewski, Victoria Zefi) Alexa Irizarry, Jack Mulhare, Aidan Glendon Vanessa DelDuca) (collaborators: Arianna Albino, Christian Benitez) * President’s Award

HOBY leader

Sophomore Ariana Rich was chosen as this year’s Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Student Ambassador. One sophomore is chosen each year to represent Westlake High School at a three-day HOBY Leadership Seminar to be held in June at Adelphi University. Ariana will participate in leadership skill development with Ariana other sophomores from the Rich New York State area.

A magna cum laude honor roll student, Ariana is a member of the English Honor Society and Italian Club, a writer for the yearbook and Westlake Word school paper. She is vice president of the school’s Tech Club is active in Girl Scouting.

Ariana was nominated by members of the faculty for her outstanding leadership ability, positive attitude, sensitivity to others and excellent communication skills.

Italian Honor Society inducts 31 The Italian Honor Society introduced its new members in a ceremony on March 2. High-achieving Italian language students are inducted based Italian scholarship, cultural leadership and integrity. Congratulations to: Natalie Alfieri Jetmir Asllani Nick Barbero John Bastone Chloe Burns Caleigh Carr Kyle Dearborn Elena DiDomizio

Matthew Encarnacao Alexandra Falkenberg Deanna Frustaglio Julianna Galluccio Emily Giuseffi Kelli Kinlen Ruben Lara Mackenzie Maher

Young authors

Seventeen Westlake students joined with schools in the lower Hudson Valley to share and discuss their writing with authors and writers at the 29th annual Young Authors Conference held at Westchester Community College on March 14. The conference topic “Writing: Possibilities and Potential” paired student writers with novelists, poets, editors, journalists and screenwriters in a variety of workshops.

The following students were selected to participate based on their proficiency and interest in writing: Christopher Bauco, Katie Burns, Andrew DeBiase, George Doulos, Gianni Garritano, Kylie Gottlieb, Declan Hegarty, Kyra Higgins, Loren Iannucci, Frank Malandruccolo, Bryan Mesquita, Meghan Nuccio, Lauren Sala, Anthony Scaglione, Faith Summers, Freyja Varga, Kaylee Zheng.

Olivia Schettino Jenna Sputo Carlos Vallejo Francis Veltri Valeria Venturini Briana Zambardi

Social Studies Honor Society inducts 7 Westlake High School’s Rho Kappa chapter of the National Council for the Social Studies inducted seven new members on March 8. Criteria for membership include high honors in social studies with an overall GPA of 85 or better, community service and a completed community project. Inductees are: Brian Bennett Chloe Burns

Alexandra Falkenberg Angela Mangione

All-County festival performers

The All-County Music Festival, held on March 5 at SUNY Purchase, included musicians from our elementary and intermediate music levels. Elementary All-County band: Joseph Miele (baritone), Marco Graci (trombone) and Cara Curtin (french horn).

Intermediate All-County Band: Kate Ryan (trumpet), Roman Raguso (trombone), Shannon Cain (baritone) and Bryan Mesquita (tuba).

Mia Malandruccolo Julia Mancuso Angela Mangione Juliana Manzo Sofia Mastandrea Faith O’Briskie Michael Pullano Julianna Rush

FROM THE HEART • Spring 2016

And kudos to …

Matthew Orlander William Reeves

Ryan Stasolla

PE award recipients

Elaine Carey

George Ittan

Jonathan Alania

Rotary Students

Elaine Carey, George Ittan and Jonathan Alania have been chosen as Mount Pleasant Rotary’s “Student of the Month” for January, February and March respectively. The seniors were nominated by their teachers and guidance counselors for their exceptional service to their school and/or community.

They were recognized at Rotary luncheons and received a plaque for their “service above self.”

PTA ‘Reflections’ winners

The theme of this year’s Reflections visual arts contest was “Let Your Imagination Fly!” This year’s elementary schoolwide winners were: Grade 5: Music composition, Christina Czechel; Photography, Chloe Vigilio; Short Story, Michael Griffin; Drawing, Naya Vulaj; Dance, Kylie and Mackenzie Kaufmann(gr. 5 and 4). Grade 4: Film, Chase Sorby; Grade 1: Drawing, Oliver Wu.

Fifth graders Francesca DeMartino, Matthew Pipcinski, Luca Mulhare and Christina Kelly have been selected by their physical education teachers to receive the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance award.

The award recognizes students who demonstrate leadership, sportsmanship and good citizenship in physical education class.

The four will receive their awards at a ceremony at Beacon High School on May 14.

Scrap Paper magazine

Westlake High School’s literary magazine “Scrap Paper” received an Award of Excellence in the 2015 Student Literary Magazine contest sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English. The contest attracted 355 entries. The Award of Excellence is given to school magazines that demonstrate high quality in all ratings categories but in particular strong writing. It is the second highest honor behind a “superior” rating.

The Scrap Paper staff includes Chloe Burns, Jillian Cannata, Lauren Unger, Valeria Venturini and Blerina Verzivolli, Kyra Higgins, Sarita Servidio, Katie Burns and Denise Nguyen.

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FROM THE HEART • Spring 2016

April Calendar change

Thursday, April 21 will be a half day of school. Hawthorne Elementary’s Green Walk will take place in the morning.

Friday, April 22 Schools will be closed

Mount Pleasant Central School District

Non-Profit Organization US Postage Paid White Plains, NY Permit No. 9415

West Lake Drive, Thornwood, NY 10594 Board of Education Eric Schulze, President Laurie Donato, Vice President Theresa Fowler Thomas McCabe Colleen Scaglione Neglia John Piazza Christopher Pinchiaroli

* * * ECRWSS * * * POSTAL CUSTOMER THORNWOOD, NY 10594

Superintendent Dr. Susan Guiney Correspondence Phone: 769-5500 • Fax 769-3733 Web: www.mtplcsd.org Editor/email contributions Eileen Farrell/efarrell@mtplcsd.org

Wildcat News … Winter Season Recap There were many milestones this winter season as Westlake athletes excelled on the court, pool, rink, mat and track.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

(11-10)

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

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Big “1’s” for Westlake Wildcats

Scholar Athlete Team Coaches: Sam Honig, Asst. Chad Charney, Volunteer Charlie Britz All-Conference: Jesse Boyce (MVP AllConference game) All-League: Jesse Boyce, William Snyder

Scholar Athlete Team Sectionals: First round win vs. Dobbs Ferry Tournament Champs: Sacred Heart Kathy Mayer Classic Coach: Sean P. Mayer; Asst. Nicole Dacchille All-Section: Natalie Alfieri, (Section 1 Player of the Week, MVP Kathy Mayer Classic) All-League: Lauren Holzer All-League Honorable Mention: Jesi Oswald (All tournament team Kathy Mayer Classic), Jamie Perfito ICE HOCKEY

(11-11)

Second in Conference III League C Post-Season Results: Won opening round vs. Byram Hills 11-4, Lost Quarter finals to eventual champion Pelham 10-0 Coaches: Josh Isenberg, Brett Alcantara All-League: Michael Sala All-League Honorable Mention: Domenick Fensore, Shayan Farjam WINTER TRACK

Scholar Athlete Team Coach: Devon White League Champs: Boys 4x200 relay — Robert Soderquist, Oscar Mellado, Ryan Lewis, Kane Lyons BOYS SWIM/DIVE

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Scholar Athlete Team Divisionals: 4th place overall Coach: Anthony Pizzolla

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Megan O’Connor to play D1 soccer

Ryan Duffy notches 100 wins

Jesse Boyce hits 1,000 points

Megan O’Connor will play D1 soccer for the Manhattan College Jaspers in the fall. A four-year varsity forward/midfielder, Megan has been a dominant force on Westlake’s soccer field. The senior co-captain has been the team leader in assists the past two years and one of the Wildcat’s top goal scorers.

Senior Ryan Duffy ended his high school career on a high note, capturing his 100th win on the mat with a decision during tournament play. Ryan, who amassed a record of 101-37 is a four-year wrestler and tri-captain of this year’s team. He placed third in sectionals at the 152 lb. weight category.

Westlake High senior Jesse Boyce scored his 1,000th career point in a game on Feb. 2 against rival Pleasantville.

Jesse became the first Westlake boys basketball player to reach 1,000-point milestone in 50 years. Jesse was named All-Conference and was the MVP of the senior game with 23 points.

WRESTLING

(5-6)

Sectionals: 3rd place: Ryan Duffy (152), Robert DiNota (138); 5th place: Chris Abbate (170); 6th place: Nick Colabatistto (220) Coaches: Randy Rodriguez, John Lopez All-League: Ryan Duffy (100 wins), Brendan Birkelbach, Hewson Gomez, Robert DiNota, Ryan Donnery, Dylan Donnery

CHEERLEADING

Competition: 1st place Nanuet High School Competition and Bridgewater North East Championship; 2nd place Pocono Regional; 11th place National High School Cheerleading Championship Coaches: Lauren McNamara, David Kogut All-League: Sophia Falkenberg