1. education
2. school

 Thursday Packet
November 6, 2014
Garrison Union Free School
1100 Rte. 9D, Garrison, NY 10524
Dear Parents and Friends in the Community, We hope you enjoy our Thursday packet this week with a pictorial view of some wonderful examples of what is happening at the Garrison School. Through the years, there are always many volunteers that help our school and during this time of Thanksgiving we offer our thanks to many community and school based groups. We thank our PTA, Board of Education, Garrison Children’s Education Fund and The Philipstown Garden Club. Throughout the Fall, our gardens have been exquisite and the grounds of the school really shine and sparkle as we observe the changing season right before our eyes. We will be showing our thanks and gratitude to these groups at a Board of Education Meeting which will be determined at a later date. We offer Thanks to our 8th graders and their parents for organizing the Fall Talent Show. We’ve got talent and this show proved our ability to rock the house and gather together for a night of fun and laughter. A very big shout out goes to Claudine Struck who orchestrated this event and allowed for shining stars to share their talent. Our 8th graders were amazing as they participated and helped in every aspect of the show. But the night, I must say, belonged to the Garrison Dancers, our own faculty who surprised us with an outstanding invigorating, amazing dance routine. Who knows??? This group may show up again. We will keep you posted. On another beautiful autumn day, we enjoyed the wonders of the Fall Festival and congratulate our PTA for sponsoring this event again this year. Children’s smiles, milking cows, riding the bull, painting faces, participating in the chili cook off or baking a cake, whatever you did, we appreciate your support as this yearly event makes us all so appreciative of school and community involvement. We thank the PTA and Angela Smith for making this happen, and we are grateful for all the hard work that was done to make this day a memory for so many. One signature program that we support every year is our 5th grade/Kindergarten buddy program. Once again this year, you can tell by the smiles in these pictures how rich and rewarding this program is. Monthly, the students gather together to work on curriculum related projects while building a relationship with their buddy who ends up becoming a best friend. The spirit of cooperation, respect and unity is witnessed as the children work together. Both ages gain a tremendous amount from this program. In closing, we want to point out a few very important dates: MARK YOUR CALENDARS November 7 at 9:15 ‐ PTA meeting followed by the Veterans Day Ceremony at 10:00 am November 11th ‐ No School ‐ Veterans Day November 20th and November 21st Parent Teacher Conferences ‐ dismissal for all children is at 11:15 am, November 26th ½ day for Thanksgiving Break (11:15 am dismissal) School reopens on December 1st December 3 ‐ Superintendent’s Conference Day (½ day) ‐ dismissal for all children is at 11:15 am Have a great weekend and remember to show your Cougar Pride! Mrs. I GCEF 2014 Fall Appeal Update
o Raised to date as of November 5, 2014:
$7,747.21
o Days left until appeal ends:
9
o Reasons to give:
 To show your support of our school.
 To broaden your child’s education and to help fire his or her imagination with memorable
out-of-classroom learning experiences such as Hudson Valley Seed, Library Connection
purchase of over 400 new books, Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Constitution Marsh
Eagles Program, and PTA After School Programming. (For more details go to www.gcef.net .)
 To leave a small mark on the school with a bookplate bearing your child's or family's name in
one of the new library books—for gifts of $25 or more.
 To help your child's class win a pizza party as one of the two classes with the highest percent
parent participation. A gift of any size per family counts for all that family’s children at the
school. The two classes currently leading are Ricci/Giacomantonio (71%) and Mrs. A (50%).
Kindergarten
Green
43%
Ricci/Giacomantonio
71%
First Grade
Timmons
21%
D’Onofrio
43%
Second Grade
Rastelli
28%
Third Grade
Earle
22%
Fourth Grade
Kuchera
36%
Kirkpatrick
31%
Fifth Grade
Waters (Davis)
25%
Sixth Grade
Keegan
30%
Seventh Grade
Berger
26%
Caliendo
24%
Eighth Grade
Akhondzadeh
50%
o What to do? Please help make the Fall Appeal a success by giving at a level that works for you!
GARRISON CHILDREN’S EDUCATION FUND
Fall Appeal 2014 – October 15 through November 15
Gift Levels:
Payment Information:
____$1,000
____$500
____$250
____$100
____$75
____$50
____$25 *
____Other
____I made my family’s gift online at www.gcef.net
____My, or my spouse’s, employer, ________________________________________will match.
____My check, payable to GCEF, is enclosed.
Children/Family bookplate name____________________________________________________.
Return Via Post:
Return Via Backpack Mail:
Garrison Children’s Education Fund
In envelope addressed to
P.O. Box 262
GCEF, Fall Appeal
Garrison, NY 10524
* Gifts of $25 or more can be recognized on bookplates in one of the new library books.
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STARTING ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD AND
GOING THROUGH NOVEMBER 26th, THE KNIGHTS
OF COLUMBUS WILL BE HOLDING THEIR ANNUAL
WINTER COAT DRIVE.
BINS WILL BE LOCATED IN THE LOBBIES OF THE
HALDANE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL.
A BIN WILL ALSO BE LOCATED AT THE GARRISON
SCHOOL.
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK HALDANE, GARRISON
AND THE COMMUNITY FOR ALL OF THEIR SUPPORT.
OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE DONATED OVER 3000
COATS TO PUTNAM COUNTY.
Loretto Council, No. 536
Cold Spring, New York
Who: We are Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), a national leadership society sponsored through the United States Military Academy at West Point. ODK’s mission is to give back to society through West Point sponsored events and to build relationships between cadets and their surrounding communities. What: The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program looks to collect unwrapped, new toys for all age levels during the holiday season and distribute these toys as gifts to less fortunate children in the local community. When: Donations will be accepted from now until 05 December 2014. Cadets from West Point will collect the toys from each participating school and will then personally deliver them to children of the Newburgh Boys and Girls Club. Late donations will still be accepted through your respective school. Where: Toy and monetary donations will be collected at your local school. There will be collection bins/boxes designated for the toys. ODK will collect monetary donations directly and will compile the total amount as one large donation to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Why: ODK believes in the importance of assisting those around us in our local communities. By collecting through local schools, we hope to inspire others to create a unified community willing to provide a helping hand to those less fortunate. How: Drop off toys at your local school. Monetary donations must be sent directly to ODK at West Point. Checks must be made payable to “OMICRON DELTA KAPPA WEST POINT – LTC TODD WOODRUFF”. Send all monetary donations to: United States Military Academy MADN‐BSL 601 Cullum Road, Room 281 West Point, NY 10996 _____________________________________________________________________________ POC: CDT Alexander S Clark Email: alexander.clark@usma.edu Phone: 636‐875‐8262 HUDSON VALLEY WRITING PROJECT
Upcoming Event
SATURDAY WRITING WORKSHOP
For Students and their Families
November 15th at SUNY NEW PALTZ
Register Now
Space is limited
Date: November 15, 2014
Time: 8:30 am-12:00 pm
Location: SUNY New Paltz,
Old Main Building, 1907
Room (on the ground
floor, next to Studley
Theater).
Join HVWP's community of writers!
Campus map
We are delighted to offer a morning program that
Cost:
$25: Student workshop
$35: Student and
parent
workshop
For more information:
hvwp@newpaltz.edu
(845) 257-2836
provides young writers and their caregivers time and
creative inspiration to write and share their work (if they
wish) in a supportive workshop setting. Adults are
invited to attend an hour-long workshop while students
participate in two sessions.
Workshops:
For students ages 7-9 and 10-12:
a
YOGA STORY
We will practice yoga and use our
imaginations as we hear a wonderful
Native American tale and then use
writing and movement to retell it.
a
A WORLD OF COLOR
Learning and taking inspiration from
the great artists Georgia O'Keefe and
Henri Matisse, we will explore our
own creativity through writing and
drawing.
a
For students ages 13-15 and 16-18:
ADDING RICHNESS TO WRITING
Together we will strengthen our
powers of observation and see how
the addition of rich, sensory details
can transform our writing.
a
THE MAGICAL MEMOIR
Come explore various ways we can
imaginatively reconstruct
our memories and experiences into
vivid prose.
For adults:
a
WRITING FROM PLENTY
While our children are writing, we can too! In this writing
workshop for adults, we will use maps and mentor texts
to mine our pasts to inspire to our writing.
Schedule:
8:30 - 9:00
Registration
9:00 - 9:15
Welcome & Introductions
9:15 - 10:15
Adult workshop
9:15 - 10:30
10:30 - 10:45
10:45 - Noon
Workshop #1
Snack
Workshop #2
Kindergarten
1st grade
2nd grade
3rd grade
4th & 5th grade
HURRY…….
There’s still time to have fun with us this year!
Boys 5-10 years old or Kindergarten thru 4th grade
are invited to join Cub Scout Pack 137
Contact:
Tel:
Email:
Gary Gunther, Cubmaster
(845) 265-9199
cubmaster@cubscoutpack137.org