Fall 2019 the o-gram News, Honors & Achievements from Inside the Ossining School District Ossining High School Ossining Expands AVID College-Readiness Program at High School Better organizational and study skills. Valentin is part of the first generation of A higher grade point average. Less his family to attend college. procrastination. Planning for college “We started our college essay last year,” and career. said Valentin, who is in Nicholas Cook’s Those are some of the ways the AVID AVID class. “It was good because I know program, which stands for Advancement I would have procrastinated. Now I just Via Individual Determination, has helped have to revise and everything.” students at Ossining High School. Ossining established the AVID program AVID is a college-readiness system for in the 2016-17 school year, starting students who have potential but are with one class of sophomores taught by not achieving at their highest level. Lutvija Frljuckic. All of the 13 seniors who “It is embedded in the program that Without AVID, OHS senior Valentin graduated in 2019 are attending four-year every child can succeed and learn and take Fernandez would not have known how colleges. This year, there are six classes with higher-level classes,” said Brian Alm, director to begin the college search process. A a total of about 115 students, including the of secondary teaching and learning for the counselor meets regularly with each AVID first class of ninth-graders. The district plans Ossining School District. “We grab those class to plan college visits and offer advice to expand AVID to Anne M. Dorner Middle students and we show them that, hey, on essays, scholarships, financial aid and School in the future. you can do it.” recommendations. Like many AVID students, AVID, continues on page 4 District Families Explore Reading, the Arts and More at Enrichment Program At a recent Saturday Explore & Learn “Architectural Adventures” and “Destination Edgar Guallpa ate a quick breakfast in session at Ossining High School, 5-year-old Imagination STEAM Basics.” the OHS cafeteria with his family before Johnny Tacuri was focused on writing his first The free program’s next cycle is Jan. 11, taking his daughter, Amy, to the Destination book. It was about his pet rabbit, Lucio, who 18 and 25 and Feb. 1 and 8, and there Imagination class. “It gets us out of the loves eating some of the same house for a good reason,” food he does, like lettuce, he said. “They learn and broccoli and carrots. they enjoy it, the kids.” Johnny and his mother, Ossining teachers, Olga Tacuri, were part of the members of community “Raising a Reader” interactive groups, parent volunteers class for families. On that day, and high school students have they wrote a story based on been teaching classes. their own lives. OHS senior Sebastian Morel, Johnny dedicated each page 17, volunteered to help with the to a different activity with Lucio, like playing will be a spring semester. The program program as part of his community service. with the 4-year-old bunny, feeding him and is supported by the Ossining MATTERS He assisted with the “Futsal and Soccer” watching him sleep. “I like books and I like foundation. class during a few of the sessions. that we make and illustrate books,” he said. Ms. Tacuri said Saturday Explore & “My goal is not just to teach these The class was one of many offerings in Learn is a rich experience for her children. kids how to play soccer. I want them to the first cycle of the new Saturday program. “I love to share in these programs,” she have fun,” he said. Others included “Yes, You can Play Ukulele,” said. “I love this environment.” EXPLORE & LEARN, continues on page 5 page 2 the o-gram Roosevelt School BioBus Magnifies the World of Scientists for Roosevelt Fifth-Graders Is it a crab? Is it a spider? Why is it jiggling so much? The questions came rapid-fire as excited fifth-graders looked at samples of pond water under a powerful microscope in the BioBus on Oct. 25. They observed that the creature was translucent, had a fast-beating heart and had legs that are partly housed in its shell. “It’s so closely related to shrimp and crabs,” said BioBus scientist Mollie Thurman, a marine biologist. “It is In the microbiology lab, the children lead fifth-graders in hands-on activities. called a Daphnia.” helped Ms. Thurman create a slide with In one exercise, students created their own On another microscope in the BioBus, a few drops of pond water and put it on “beat sheets” out of netting, rubber bands, students saw creatures that looked like an electron microscope. “Oh, that’s wild,” wood sticks and tape. Scientists use them worms or little snakes – one was a yellowish one student said as she increased the to collect insects from trees. color and another was red. They learned magnification to 400x. But beat sheets don’t work for all kinds of they were observing fly larvae. “It looked really interesting and it looked insects, Hina Zafar, a Regeneron research “I think it’s very creepy and it’s going to like it was really organisms,” fifth-grader specialist, therapeutic proteins, told one give me nightmares,” said Carter Longville, Jayden Amparo said. class. She showed them an aspirator used who had never used a microscope before. Regeneron, which held its Day of Doing to suck up insects that are on vegetation The BioBus travels throughout New Good on Oct. 25, and Volunteer NY or tree bark. Instead of bugs, though, the York City and the metropolitan region to partnered with the BioBus to make the students used sprinkles. expose children to scientific exploration and visit possible. Nearly 30 Regeneron staff “It was pretty cool. It got a sprinkle in discovery and spark interest in STEM fields members were at Roosevelt that day. my mouth,” said Juan Pablo DeJesus. – science, technology, engineering and math. “We want kids to see a scientist and “If you were doing it with a bug, ugh!” Two buses, with two labs in each, parked say, ‘I met a scientist,’” said Courtney As she finished making her beat sheet, behind the school from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Williams, a scientist in Regeneron’s oncology student Alisha Valdez reflected on her The fifth-graders observed the Daphnia department. “If you don’t know that (career) BioBus experience. “It’s getting me and fly larvae in one lab, and tiny organisms exists, you’re not going to become that.” interested more in studying animals that are invisible to the naked eye in Employees of Regeneron, which is a and stuff,” she said. the other lab. BioBus sponsor, visited classrooms to Brookside School Families Enjoy Inaugural Harvest Festival at Brookside From bobbing for powdered doughnuts would not have to travel far to attend, said Education Trustee Aaron Spring judged the and making pinecone bird feeders to Paige Chavez, co-president of the OUEPTA apple pie contest, which had six entries. pumpkin-rolling races and pie-eating and vice president of the OECPTA. Parent Ashley Covelli won the blue ribbon contests, there was something for everyone “People leave the town all the time to go for her Dutch apple pie. at the Harvest Festival at The Ossining High School girls Brookside School. volleyball team volunteered, as Best friends Analia Martinez, did other high school students who is in third grade, and Star and Girl Scouts. They assisted Aponte, a fifth-grader, raced to with face-painting, temporary see who could eat a whipped tattoos, making pinecone cream and Jell-O pie faster. They birdfeeders and other activities. finished with smiles and “pie” David Priego, 7, said his on their faces. favorite activities at the festival “I wanted to see if I was better than to harvest festivals,” she said. “We’re were playing miniature golf and making a her, but obviously I wasn’t,” Star said after just thrilled at how much the community Halloween necklace. losing. “Honestly, I really don’t like Jell-O.” rallied around it.” His cousin Luis Priego, also 7, was eyeing The Ossining Early Childhood PTA and the The event was open to Park, Brookside, the bobbing for doughnuts station. “I’m Ossining Upper Elementary PTA sponsored Claremont and Roosevelt families. going to go to the doughnut contest,” he the inaugural event on Oct. 26. They wanted Park School Principal Cynthia Bardwell, said. “They’re super, super good.” to create a fun event that Ossining families parent Jessica Vecchiarelli and Board of the o-gram page 3 Claremont & Anne M. Dorner Middle School Ossining and Pace Students Learn from One Another through Reading After reading aloud a passage about the The Pace University Reading Program main reasons why children are referred Greek hero Odysseus and the Sirens as is one of several partnerships between for special education services is reading part of the Pace University Reading Program the college and the school district. In the below grade level. in the Ossining schools, Henri Mondragon Saturday Explore & Learn program this fall, “In special education, we’re looking wanted more. What happened to Odysseus Pace Professor Francine Falk-Ross and at it from a preventive perspective,” after he passed the Island of the Sirens her students taught one of the classes for she said. “What can we do to bridge the while tied to his ship’s mast? younger children, which included activities gap and prevent children from entering “I want the whole story,” he told Pace like book discussions, writing and reading- special education?” mentor Brian Marello of Mahopac.