VoyagesCONTENTS

Why I Teach: Mr. Chapeton .....7

Colonial Era Music ...................3

Author Dan Gutman ...............4

Winter Concerts .........................6

W I N T E R 2 0 1 9

Valhalla UFSD: Dedicated to every child... stimulating learning, developing values and cultivating understanding

www.valhallaschools.org

continued on page 2

continued on page 2

Kensico’s Lauren Capurso Is First Viking to Earn Elementary All-County Orchestra SeatFifth-grader Lauren Capurso is the first-ever Kensico School student to be selected for the Westchester County School Music Association’s Elementary All-County Orchestra on the cello.

When she learned of her accomplishment, in late November, Lauren “jumped up and down like a pogo stick,” said music teacher Laura Evans. The All-County Orchestra spotlights the best young musicians in Westchester.

“It feels really exciting to be in a different, professional orchestra outside of Kensico,” Lauren said. “I feel happy that I’m one of the people who was chosen. When I realized that I was the first from our school, I was really proud, happy and excited. I’m hoping that I can inspire others and start a trend here.”

Coding Celebrations Spark Interest in Prominent Field DistrictwideStudents lined the hallways and flooded the computer labs and library at Valhalla Middle/High School, eagerly using coding programs featuring “Star Wars,” “The Grinch” and “Minecraft” to learn new skills.

Approximately 200 teenagers participated in the international “Hour of Code” event on Dec. 4. It was created to demystify code and to show that anybody can learn its basic skills. The entire Valhalla School District participated in the event, ensuring that students at all schools receive fundamental knowledge in the field.

“We’re hoping that this interests more students in the computer science department and introduces them to more coding,” said VMHS teacher Amy Fox, who supported the schools’ joint event alongside STEAM

Voyages

2

continued from page 1

Coding Celebrations Spark Interest Districtwideteacher Michael Giordano. “It exposes them to the logic and computational thinking of problem-solving that is needed for coding. It was a really great and significant event.”

This year marked the largest “Hour of Code” event in Valhalla since its inception, which was encouraging as the district’s coding curriculum now spans from kindergarten through grade 12.

At Kensico School, teacher Pat Ward led his students through coding instructions during their STEAM classes. They used lessons from code.org and Tynker, which offer simple and comprehensive coding courses that align with student thinking.

The third- through fifth-graders were delighted that code.org’s theme was “Create Your Own Dance Party” this year. The children boogied and laughed together as they worked on the programs and advanced their computer science knowledge. They also had the chance to perform coding activities that featured other themes like sports, puzzles and popular children’s films.

At Virginia Road School, the youngsters participated in “Hour of Code” during their technology classes over a two-week period. That warm-up launched them into their coding and robotics unit. The kindergarten students used the Kodable app on the iPad, which offers easy-to-follow lessons for children. The first- and second-grade students used code.org, like their Kensico counterparts.

Along with learning how to code, they focused on being persistent and not giving up if they made mistakes. Additionally, they were introduced to coding vocabulary that they will continue to use during their education, like “algorithm,” “sequence” and “debugging.”

“I hope that each student learns how to problem solve and how to think like a programmer,” said teacher Jon Battista. “I want them all to be able to break big problems down into smaller pieces, which are easier to unravel and resolve.”

Over the past decade, coding has increasingly become a prevalent skill that will be a necessity for students’ future jobs. Studies have shown that there are currently more available STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) jobs than people to fill them. To help Valhalla students be successful, become fully literate learners and understand these indispensable skills, STEAM has become a ubiquitous part of education that is as intuitive and essential as any other part of the curriculum.

Lauren Capurso Earns Elementary All-County Orchestra Seatcontinued from page 1

Lauren’s selection to All-County is changing the narrative at Kensico, encouraging her schoolmates to dedicate themselves to an instrument. Lauren, herself, was inspired to begin playing the cello after seeing her cousin perform. She began to rehearse at school in the fall of 2017 as a fourth-grader and now also takes lessons with professional teacher Stephen Tjaden. In addition, Lauren has played the piano for nearly six years and has been a jazz dancer for two years.

The All-County Orchestra will hold its concert on March 3. Lauren will be one of 200 talented elementary school musicians in Westchester who will perform at SUNY Purchase College.

“It’s a lot of hard work but Lauren’s a very hard worker musically and academically,” said Dr. Evans, who selected Lauren for a new Kensico string quintet that features challenging work for dedicated students. “She’s a very strong section leader who can motivate her classmates.”

Of the songs that Lauren played this year, her two favorites were the holiday evergreen “Frosty the Snowman” and the ceremonial classic “Canon in D” by Johann Pachelbel. Both were performed by the fifth-grade orchestra at Kensico School’s Winter Wonderland Concert in December.

3

Voyages

First-Graders Review Learning at AquariumFollowing an eye-opening unit about oceans, Virginia Road School first-graders visited the Maritime Aquarium to see their curriculum come to life.

In mid-December, students traveled to Norwalk, Connecticut, for special activities designed to increase their interest and engage their curiosities in aquarium life.

The children watched “Our Blue Planet” in IMAX, learning about the largest and least

explored habitat in the world. The film discussed new technologies and ocean science that has allowed scientists to investigate deeper.

They also experienced maritime life first-hand as they took a self-guided tour of the aquarium and, with the help of scientists, learned about the different creatures that they had studied about in class.

Colonial Era Comes Alive at VMS Through Music with Cultural PerformerColonial musician Jim Keyes played the mountain dulcimer—a string instrument—and sang to a group of captivated 7th graders. His song told the story of two sisters—a blonde and a brunette—who were being courted by the same man. When the man chose the blonde, the brunette pushed her sister off of a cliff in revenge. It was a catchy yet somber melody that told tales of love, loss and retaliation.

The Valhalla Middle School students in teachers Brett Erenberg’s and Steve D’Ascoli’s social studies classes were treated to a special guest visitor on Dec. 19. Mr. Keyes, a multi-instrumentalist and performer who focuses on the Revolutionary War and New York State, played a variety of instruments—including some rare ones—and discussed the colonial era and how music and life have changed over time.

“There is a huge curriculum connection to what we do in class and what Mr. Keyes shared,” said Mr. Erenberg. “Music is a way for lots of kids to connect to the material. He really brought it to life and engaged the children.”

Mr. Keyes’ vivid musical talents were on display as he played delicate songs about love and war from the revolutionary period on a colonial guitar. He noted that while most songs nowadays are about the beat and feature repetition, back then the songs told stories as they were a main source of entertainment.

The children were focused on Mr. Keyes’ words as he sang a song about a woman who asked a soldier to marry her. At several points during the song, he paused to ensure that they understood the lyrics, ask them questions about the story and share tidbits about the time period.

During the class, Mr. Keyes played a mandolin. The students learned that it received its name because it is played by using the musician’s hand; the word “hand” is “main” in French and “mano” in Italian. Similarly, he said, the mandolin’s cousin is the violin, which was named after its Latin translation.

Children learned that the high-pitched fife, which is a wooden flute, was used primarily for military purposes in an outdoor setting.

During the war, it kept the soldiers in line and served as a warning that the enemy was approaching.

Mr. Keyes’ visit was funded by the Valhalla Schools Foundation, which sponsors academic programs that benefit students.

Voyages

4

Follow Us On Facebook @ValhallaSchools

Follow Us On Twitter @ValhallaSchools

Follow Our Teams ValhallaAthletics.org

Prolific Children’s Book Author Visits Kensico to Share Experiences, Answer QuestionsWhen popular children’s book author Dan Gutman was young, he hated reading and thought that it was boring. His mother bought comic books to increase his literary excitement, but he still had no interest. Years later, he realized that he could communicate well through writing, and sought to become an author without ever taking a writing class.

On Nov. 19, Mr. Gutman visited Kensico School to discuss his life as a writer. He spoke mostly of his “My Weird School” series, which will have published approximately 80 books by the end of 2019.

He noted that he began writing the series when his now-adult daughter was a second-grader who enjoyed the girl-centric “Junie B. Jones” series. Mr. Gutman sought to create stories that focused on a young boy and his friends. After he finished his first in the series, called “Miss Daisy is Crazy,” the publisher asked for more.

The Kensico children giggled and roared with laughter as he gave them a sneak peek of his newest book, “Dr. Snow Has Got to Go,” which was released in January. The book centers on a visiting scientist who helps A.J., the book’s protagonist, and his friends conduct experiments. The following book, slated for a June 2019 release, will be called “Miss Porter is Out of Order” and is about a substitute teacher who is an all-knowing Personal Digital Assistant.

The students had the opportunity to ask Mr. Gutman questions about his profession. They wanted to know how long it typically takes to write a book, how many he has written so far in his career and which is his favorite. The children also inquired about the hardest books to write, when his very first book was published and how many he works on over the course of a year.

Mr. Gutman also shared a presentation about his life as a writer. It took the students through his day from when he wakes up until he falls asleep. It revealed that he performs research, meets with editors and enjoys working in Central Park.

5

VoyagesBasketball Star Shelby Sekinski Scores 1,000th Point, Wins “Player of the Week” HonorAfter being fouled in the second quarter, Valhalla High School junior Shelby Sekinski stood at the free-throw line and focused. She knew that if she sunk her basket, she would reach a rare milestone.

On Dec. 6, the Vikings played against North Salem High School at the Keio Academy. With her teammates cheering her on, Shelby made her shot and scored the 1,000th point of her varsity basketball career.

“It’s exciting and I was really happy,” said Shelby, who is the captain of her team. “My friends were happy for me, too. I’ve had more faith in myself lately. And when I have more faith in myself,

my shots go in. So I stayed focused.”

Following her momentous achievement, The Journal News named her its “Player of the Week.” Battling five other standout basketball players from Westchester and Rockland counties, Shelby won with nearly 44 percent of the vote. In a story focused on her win, the media outlet noted that she scored at least 20 points in each of the Vikings’ three games that week.

The point guard, who wears jersey No. 25, is now part of an exceptional group of only three female Valhalla student-athletes

to score over 1,000 points in their varsity careers. “It feels pretty cool to be up there with great people,” she said.

Shelby began playing basketball in third grade at her father’s suggestion. He noted that she had confidence and a “tough” look for an elementary school student and could be a force on the court. While she practiced with teams and dedicated herself to improving, she met many friends along the way and enjoyed playing with her peers.

No stranger to playing on Viking teams, Shelby has been a varsity basketball player since 8th grade and played on the modified team in 7th grade. She also played lacrosse in 7th and 8th grade. Aside from sports, she participates in the yearbook club and the Valhalla International Fund.

OC21’s Architecture Elective Comes to Life at Field TripThe Valhalla students climbed up and down ladders, walked through maze-like structures and examined the construction site in wonder as they toured the Javits Convention Center’s areas of renovations.

The field trip to Manhattan was part of the “Architecture Across the Centuries” course that is offered through OC21, a collection of interactive and dynamic online classes for high school students.

OC21, which stands for “Online Courses for the 21st Century,” offers elective classes that are often not available in a school’s regular curriculum. Currently hosted by Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES, Valhalla High School students have the opportunity to choose between nine online classes throughout the year, including anthropology, programming, psychology and sports management.

Valhalla sophomores Dylan Van Bramer, Kathryn Ravano and Daniel Szlavik attended the trip to the construction site in

Midtown with counselor Barbara Wilson. She noted that she wanted the children to make the connection between learning about ancient architecture and how those theories are still used today, but with newer technologies. The students agreed.

“We learned the real-life application of what we studied in class,” Dylan said. “We had worked on it online and then were able to see it in real life—how they’re building it, why and the background behind it.”

Daniel enjoyed seeing the structure in person, saying that it was motivating to learn what programs the architects are using to help them accomplish the task. He noted that he would like to pursue a job in architecture, engineering or the

STEM field in the future.

“It was interesting to live in that job for the day,” Kathryn said. “It was all very intricate. We went both underground and on top of the building.”

Voyages

6

Valhalla Winter Concerts Delight Holiday-Ready AudiencesFrom “Jingle Bells” and “The First Noel” to “Light the Menorah” and “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies,” the talents of all Valhalla Schools students were on display during the four winter concerts.

Kensico’s concert was the first of the quartet, taking place on Dec. 13. Valhalla Middle School followed on Dec. 18, Valhalla High School on Dec. 20 and Virginia Road School on Dec. 21.

At Virginia Road School, the second-grade students put on a delightful show, filled with a variety of traditional and fun tunes. At the end of the performance, the children were visited by Santa Claus.

Kensico School students celebrated the holidays with a winter showcase that featured several holiday melodies, along with the popular “We Will Rock You” by Queen and the classical “Canon in D” by Johann Pachelbel.

During Valhalla Middle School’s performance, the jazz band shared their rendition of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas,” while the vocal ensemble sang “Feliz Navidad.” In addition, the concert band played Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Reed Flutes” and the chorus shared “Slow Dancing in the Snow.”

Valhalla High School’s concert highlighted the students’ best talents. The select vocal ensemble sang a holiday jazz trio, which was followed by the concert band playing Bruno Mars’ catchy pop hit “Uptown Funk.” The finale was the “Hallelujah Chorus,” which saw alumni and staff members invited on stage to perform with the student-musicians.

Smiling Alumni Return to Learn, Share Experiences In December and January, a host of Valhalla High School alumni visited the campus for events that allowed them to relive Viking memories and share their college experiences.

On Jan. 3, a trio of students returned for the annual Alumni Panel. Hosted by the PTSA, the panel was an opportunity for current high school students and their parents to learn from recent graduates about their college careers.

This year, the panel was led by the Class of 2018’s Vanna Bellantoni, Jillian Ramalho and Cameron Flynn. Vanna is currently studying nutrition at the University of New Hampshire, while Jillian is studying education at SUNY Cortland. Cameron is majoring in criminal justice and cyber security at Albany’s College of St. Rose, where he also plays on the school’s baseball team.

During the panel, the graduates discussed their familiarity with the college decision-making process, while also speaking about the application process, life on their new campuses and how they coped during the transition from high school.

On Dec. 20, teacher Joe Ferraro hosted the third annual Alumni Classroom. The event attracted approximately 75 alumni—nearly triple the amount of the first gathering in

2016. The young adults gathered in the library for an afternoon of bonding with former classmates and dove into the importance of life-long learning.

Alumni Classroom began a few years ago when a trio of then-recent graduates visited Valhalla High School. When they saw Mr. Ferraro, they expressed that they missed participating in his class and wanted to relive it. He agreed to organize a special class for alumni who wanted to join and learn about life lessons.

7

VoyagesWhy I Teach: John Chapeton—Valhalla Middle School math teacher

Q: What makes Valhalla special?A: When I joined Valhalla, I was told that the district is like a big family. The students, faculty and staff are kind, welcoming and supportive. There is a true sense of caring for everyone here.

Q: How many years have you been here and how long have you been an educator?

A: This is my second year, both, in Valhalla and as an educator.

Q: What courses are you teaching this year?A: I am teaching Math 6A, Math 7, Math 6 Lab, Academic Support and one Math 8 Project-Based Learning class at Valhalla Middle School.

Q: Discuss what you routinely do in class with your students.A: I typically start classes with a verbal or written “Do Now” to refresh previously learned concepts or to introduce a new one. The students engage in learning new topics through questioning, connecting prior knowledge and note-taking. In addition, they work collaboratively to learn and reinforce concepts through various activities, including stations and scavenger hunts that engage them in active learning.

Q: How are the courses you teach crucial to student development? What do you hope your students learn?A: Math is a huge part of our daily lives and we are constantly using it to solve everyday problems. My goal is for students to apply the concepts and skills they learn in class to real-world situations. In addition, aside from the specific content in class, math helps students develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. These are essential in all areas of life. I want my students to engage in authentic learning experiences that foster and cultivate all of these skills.

Q: What about mathematics and teaching interested you?

A: I knew that I wanted to be a middle school math teacher since I was in 6th grade. I’ve always loved math and I had a great experience with

my math teacher that year. He had a great personality, showed that he cared about us, and went above and beyond for all of his students to succeed. He inspired me to become a math teacher and to make students my priority. I’m the first person in my immediate family to become a teacher. My parents always said that this is what I was meant to do.

Q: Share some classroom memories that have stuck out to you.A: I always get satisfaction from those “lightbulb moments” when students say “Oh, I get it!” In particular, one moment involved a hardworking student who was struggling in class. He worked harder, became more engaged in class and stayed after school multiple times for extra help. On the next test, he did very well and received a high mark. He thanked me, but I told him that he should thank and be proud of himself for his dedicated efforts. That put a huge smile on his face.

Q: If you weren’t teaching, what would your profession be and why?A: Since I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, this is tough to answer. However, I believe that I would be a firefighter as I have always been interested in that career. I am currently a volunteer firefighter, and my uncle and cousin are both firefighters. When people call the fire department, they are often in need, and there is something rewarding about helping people during those difficult times.

Q: Share some fun facts about yourself.A: During the December holiday

break, I got engaged! During the school year, I coach Valhalla’s modified baseball team and am the assistant coach of the girls’ varsity soccer team. During the summer, I do carpentry work. I love the winter time, especially when I can snowmobile in the Adirondacks. I also love football and baseball.

Voyages

8

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDWhite Plains, NYPermit No.9501Board of Education

LaVerne Clark, President James Adams, Vice President John Baker Ronald Cavallo Michael Doran Eric Lederer Susan Martinez

Acting Superintendent andSchool Business OfficialChristina Howe

Newsletter Writer and EditorNatalia Baage-Lord

Contributing PhotographersSusan Rossi & Cindy Adams

This district does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, religion, maritalstatus, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability in its educational programs and employment practices.

Valhalla Union Free School District316 Columbus AvenueValhalla, NY 10595

Storytelling Skills Showcased During Tellabration EventFrom a story about a cold lady who swallowed snow to a not well-known Grimm’s fairytale, Valhalla Schools’ annual Tellabration was a hit with audience members.

Fourteen prepared student-tellers took turns standing in front of the crowd to share a story on Jan. 18 for the school district’s 21st annual Tellabration. The students from the Storytelling Club, in grades 4 through 8, had found stories that spoke to them and shared the accounts in their own words during the special night of storytelling.

“This gives the kids a sense of what storytelling is,” said teacher and club organizer Bill Wright. “They can do it. Anyone can. Communication and telling

stories is an important part of who we are as people. It’s wonderful that they want to participate and feel that this is important.”

Of the 14 tellers, a handful opted to work in pairs, while the others performed solo. The students had searched through several

children’s books and picture books to find stories that spoke to them. They selected a variety of tales, including the scary story “The Big Toe,” the folk tale “The Three Riddles” and the Native American narrative “The Legend of the No Face Doll.”

Mr. Wright noted that storytelling has spillover benefits. By giving students a positive attitude about sharing their work and opinions, it also helps them to feel comfortable presenting in class, participating in a discussion or running for the student council.

“It gives them the confidence to get up in front of a group, but they are learning more than confidence,” said Mr. Wright. “They know that this takes practice and effort. If they make a mistake, they know they can get back on track. It’s useful and helpful to them in so many ways.”