Yorktown and Cortlandt region

The Ossining School District is going mobile. A new app will give users digital content about school activities and more. It appears to be the first one in Westchester.

Here’s the announcement from the district:

OSSINING, N.Y. – Want to know what time your child’s basketball game starts? Or maybe you need to check the dates for the spring recess? Or see what’s on the lunch menu tomorrow? Or see the latest news story about Ossining schools? Or check the district’s Facebook page?

There’s an app for that!

That’s right; students, parents, staff, and community members can now download a free app, or software application, from iTunes or Android Market directly to their smart phone that will make accessing information about Ossining schools as easy as making a phone call.

“This app is just another tool that we’re using to reach out to the community and make it easier for people to be informed and involved in the schools,” said Deputy Superintendent Ray Sanchez. “We know how busy people are today and this puts all of the district’s information in one, easily accessible place.”

Once you open the app on your phone, you can tap into the parent portal, staff links, quick links and stay connected sections on the district’s web page. You may also choose to check out special events, videos, photos, Just Ask or Frequently Asked Questions. . Unlike some apps that allow users to connect to specific content on a school website, Ossining’s app also provides users with a wide range of content of interest to the district and the community.

“We also have easier access to building contact information and social media as well as links for families such as parent portal, lunch menus, athletics schedules and news stories,” said Jennifer Forsberg, assistant director of Technology. “We will continually update the app to keep it current and periodically release updates of the software.

Community members can download and install the app at no cost from Android Market or iTunes by typing in OUFSD into the search bar. So, go ahead and give it a test drive!

Learning about Martin Luther King was more than a one-day event at the Frank G. Lindsey Elementary School. Here’s a write-up from the district about the activities surrounding the late civil-rights leader and a program to be better citizens.

“The students in Ms. Dana Duffy’s Second Grade Class at the Frank G. Lindsey Elementary School honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a unique way. During the weeks following his birthday, the boys and girls participated in the Kindness & Justice Challenge. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted peace and serenity throughout the world. He fought for justice in unfair situations, and stood up for what he believed in. He performed acts of kindness for people every day, to ensure a more peaceful world.

The Kindness and Justice Challenge is a national, school-based leadership program that invites students K-12 to learn about and perform Acts of Kindness (helping others) and Justice (standing up for what is right) for two weeks following the Martin Luther King holiday (January 17 – 28). The overall goal of the program is to inspire young people to believe that change is possible and to help them take action to strengthen their communities. The two weeks following MLK day seemed an appropriate time to participate in such an event, as it was Dr. King who embodied the ideals of kindness and justice, including equality for all, nonviolent resolution of issues, respect for differences and moral courage. This is an opportunity for all of us to try to keep his dream alive.”

As a class, we discussed and kept track of the acts of kindness and justice we performed over the course of the two weeks, starting on Martin Luther King Day. An act as simple as reading to a younger sibling or calling up an older relative was fantastic! Whenever a student performed an act of kindness or justice, they described their act on a paper “brick”, and added it to a wall we constructed. Overall the students performed over 100 acts of kindness. One person can make a DIFFERENCE and the children proudly displayed that just by doing a simple ACT OF KINDNESS!”

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, the spirit of love is in the air. If you’re looking for more than chocolates and flowers this year, consider a rare opportunity from Guiding Eyes for the Blind to become a volunteer as the international nonprofit is now accepting new puppy raisers in the Westchester region.

Guiding Eyes is one of the foremost guide dog schools in the world and its puppy raisers come from all walks of life and include couples, families with children, young adults, and senior citizens. The volunteers welcome 8 week old puppies into their homes and with full support from the nonprofit, love, nurture, and educate the puppies for a 14 to 16 month period before sending them off to their calling as a guide dog for a blind or visually impaired person.

Armonk residents Nancy and Ken Harbour have experienced firsthand the gifts and rewards that come from bringing a future guide dog into their home. The Harbours share their puppy raising responsibilities with daughter, Jessica, and her husband, Evan Harris, who live in Scarsdale. It was Jessica’s job at PepsiCo that piqued her own interest in Guiding Eyes. A specially designed program at PepsiCo’s global headquarters allows trained company employees to assist in the socialization of service puppies while at work. Yellow Labrador Ollie benefits from this unique partnership; he often accompanies Jessica to the office, where he practices the many skills he’ll need to master on his journey to becoming a guide dog.

“Our favorite part of puppy raising is the dogs,” said Ken Harbour. “Ollie is an amazing animal – smart, eager to please, confident, and a terrific soul. He will hopefully make a great companion and guide for a blind person. I’m also very impressed with Guiding Eyes as an organization. The staff is terrific and provides extensive training classes and support services.”

Cindy Kosacz, a Somers resident, veterinarian, and longtime Guiding Eyes volunteer, is currently raising 9 month old Calli. “Being a puppy raiser requires some work but it’s lots and lots of fun and has taught me the true meaning of living in the present,” says Kosacz. “I’ve learned to savor each day that I have with the pup I’m raising because the experience in itself is one of the greatest privileges I’ve felt in my life.”

Linda Damato, the program’s director, notes that, “without the extraordinary dedication of our puppy raisers, we would simply be unable to provide guide dogs to the blind and visually impaired.” Volunteers are always invited to attend the graduation ceremony of the dog that they helped to raise, which typically commences approximately six months after sending the puppy back to Guiding Eyes for formal training. It’s during this celebration that the raisers have the opportunity to meet the dog’s new partner and truly understand the impact that a guide dog has in the life of a person with vision loss.

The Guiding Eyes Puppy Raising Program is comprised of more than 400 volunteers from Maine to North Carolina. Some already have forever pets of their own while others commit to raising guide dogs as a way to give back. No matter the circumstance, all puppy raisers agree that the program is emotionally rewarding in a multitude of ways. Raisers live in urban, suburban, and rural areas, in apartments, townhomes, and single-family residences.

Puppy raising classes are held on Wednesday evenings at locations alternating between the Bedford Hills Community Center and the Guiding Eyes training school in Yorktown Heights. Orientation classes, designed to prepare you for raising a puppy to become someone’s Guiding Eyes, are on 2/28, 3/6, and 3/20 from 6pm-8pm at the Canine Development Center in Patterson, N.Y. MUST attend all three classes. RSVP required. To learn more prior to attending the class, please contact Nicole Guite at 845-230-6406 or nguite@guidingeyes.org. Please call 1-866-GEB-LABS or visit www.guidingeyes.org/volunteer/puppy-raising/ for additional information on the Puppy Raising Program.

New York Giants quarterback and two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning hosts Guiding Eyes annual blind golf classic in Westchester.

About Guiding Eyes for the Blind

Guiding Eyes for the Blind (www.guidingeyes.org ) is an internationally accredited nonprofit guide dog school founded in 1954. Since its inception, Guiding Eyes has grown to be one of the foremost guide dog schools in the world, known for its cutting-edge training programs, commitment to excellence, and dedication to its elite and superbly trained guide dogs. The school provides professional instruction and follow-up support services to the blind at no cost to them, and is dependent upon contributions to fulfill its mission as it does not receive government support. In 2011, Guiding Eyes launched its One Step Ahead campaign, a fundraising drive to raise $8 million to build a world class puppy training academy on its Patterson, N.Y. property. The new facility and redesigned grounds will comprise a unique campus that will set the standard for guide dog training facilities everywhere. Guiding Eyes for the Blind’s Headquarters and Training Center is located in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. and its Canine Development Center is in Patterson, N.Y.

CANCER SUPPORT AVAILABLE: Support Connection, Inc., a not-for profit organization that provides free, confidential support services for people affected by breast and ovarian cancer, offers a wide range of free support groups women with breast and ovarian cancer. Groups focus on topics pertaining to living with cancer through all stages of diagnosis, treatment and post-treatment. They are offered in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess, and by toll-free teleconference. For a complete calendar of groups at all locations, visit www.supportconnection.org. Advance registration is required for all groups; call 914-962-6402 or 800-532-4290.

The following support groups are scheduled in Westchester in March:

AT THE SUPPORT CONNECTION OFFICE IN YORKTOWN:

1) Breast and Ovarian Cancer Support Group: First Thursday of the month, March 1 at 10 am

2) Young Women’s Breast Cancer Support Group: For women who have or had breast cancer at a young age. Second Wednesday of the month, March 14 at 7 pm

3) Advanced Stage Women’s Cancers Support Group: Join a group of other women who are also living with recurrent, advanced stage or metastatic cancer. Open to women with breast, ovarian or gynecological cancer. Third Friday of the month, March 16 at 12:30 pm

4) Breast Cancer Support Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month, March 27 at 7 pm

AT NORTHERN WESTCHESTER HOSPITAL IN MOUNT KISCO: Breast Cancer Support Group: First Thursday of the month, March 1 at 7 pm

BY TELECONFERENCE: For those unable to attend groups in-person, there are monthly Telephone Support Groups via toll-free teleconference, enabling women to participate regardless of their location and from the comfort of their homes. Call a few days ahead to learn how to participate. The Ovarian Cancer Telephone Group will take place on Wednesday, March 14 at 8 pm. The Telephone Group for Women Recently Diagnosed or In Treatment for Breast Cancer will take place on Tuesday, March 20 8 p.m.

New Visions Engineering students from The Tech Center bowled over judges at the Hudson Valley FIRST Tech Challenge held recently at Pace University in Pleasantville

The four-person team took second place for designing and piloting a robot that could push a six-pound bowling ball up an incline.

“I installed a boost into the joy stick, so the pilots could use it to get the robot and the bowling ball up the incline,” said Horace Greeley senior Matthew Drucker. Matthew, who was the team’s “coach,” worked with fellow teammates and Hendrick Hudson seniors Sam Melnik, Jasper Syrig, and Steven Ruotolo, who “piloted” the robot.

Thirty-six teams from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts competed in the challenge, in which high school students design and build a robots using aluminum, polycarbonate, motors, sensors, and a variety of other materials. They then compete in a series of maneuvering challenges and tasks with their robots.

Though the day didn’t start out well for the Tech teammates — “Two of our remotes ended up breaking because the motors burned out,” said Steven, which made them do poorly in two phases of the competition — their sense of teamwork and tenacity kept them going enough to put them in second place.

“Team work was the most important thing that contributed to us doing well,” said Matthew. “The communication between the coach and the pilots was key.”

Tech teachers Carlo Vidrini, Michael Rattner and Gerry Markel began working with students on their robots in the fall, often coming in on weekends and after school, so the sense of team building began early.

All of the students agreed that knowing each other and being able to talk to each other is what made them succeed. “The experience really helped me see how important communication is,” said Sam.

And the fact that they get to indulge their passion for engineering every day at The Tech Center didn’t hurt their performance.

“I love the program at Tech,” said Steven. “I’ve been in Robotics programs before, and this is one of the best. We get hands-on experience here that we can apply later, and we are doing exactly what we want to do.”

Said Sam,“I’m getting to know people here at Tech who I wouldn’t have met. It’s given me one of the best educational experiences I could get in high school.”

In addition to Tech’s New Vision’s Engineering team, a team of students from Tech’s Introduction to Engineering class also entered the competition, placing eighth out of 36 competitors.

“This was an absolutely tremendous accomplishment,” said Tech Center director Cathy Balestrieri. “The time teachers and students spent over and above class time working to prepare for this event really paid off.”

Photo:  Tech students won second place in the First Tech Challenge at Pace. From left: Samuel Melnik, Jasper Syrig and Steven Ruotolo, all from Hendrick Hudson; Matthew Drucker, from Horace Greeley. Courtesy Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES

On Saturday, February 11th, at 8 PM, the Yorktown Jewish Center is having an evening of Wine Tasting, Music and Dessert. Please join us for fun and merriment. Price is $12 in advance, and $15 at the door.

Call 914-245-2324 to make a reservation. The Yorktown Jewish Center is located at 2966 Crompond Rd., Yorktown Heights, NY.

The Justin Veatch Fund is hosting a jazz workshop on Saturday, Feb. 11th at the Yorktown Community & Cultural Center featuring jazz performer, composer and teacher Rory Stuart. Stuart, who is a professor at the New School University Jazz Program in New York City has also taught clinics and workshops in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark and even Kazakhstan. Primarily a guitarist, Stuart specializes in advanced rhythmic concepts involving all instruments.

“This is a great opportunity for some of the Yorktown area’s young, talented musicians to be exposed to an artist with impeccable credentials in an intimate setting at very little cost,” says Jeffrey Veatch, The Fund president. “Thanks to Mr. Stuart’s agreement to wave his fee as a charitable contribution to The Fund, the fee will only be $10 per student.” The workshop will be held at the Yorktown Teen Center room at the YCCC from 11am to 2pm. Veatch says he expects about a dozen students who will be playing a variety of instruments including guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. The workshop is also open to vocalists. “I expect we’re going to have a lot of fun with some serious learning on the side,” says Veatch, “and we hope it will end up in a nice jam session”.

The Rory Stuart Quartet has most recently released a new CD titled “So Rise Up”. Coda Magazine calls Stuart “one of the freshest new guitarists in Jazz”. His quartet, says Coda, “has the energetic flow of the highly acclaimed Coltrane Quartet.”

The Saturday jazz workshop is designed for young musicians and vocalists who have already developed a certain amount of proficiency but want to rise to a new level. There is still limited space in the workshop. Those interested should contact Veatch by email at jeff@thejustinveatchfund.org or by telephone (914) 772-1254.

The Justin Veatch Fund is a non-profit 501©3 organization created following the death of 17 year old Justin Veatch from an accidental drug overdose in 2008. Veatch was an incredibly gifted singer, songwriter and musician whose music on the CD “Permagrin: The Music of Justin Veatch by the Ivoryton Piano Factory and Friends” has been enjoyed around the world. The Fund’s programs are designed to honor his legacy by nurturing talented teen musicians. The Fund will present its fourth annual music scholarship to a graduating high school senior in June and will conduct its third annual two day summer music workshop in August. Jeffrey Veatch also has traveled to schools throughout our region to present a 40-minute multi-media program that tells what happened to Justin and how young people can take better care of themselves. Information about the fund and all its programs are available on its website http://www.thejustinveatchfund.org.

Yorktown Smart Growth has rescheduled its to Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. at Peter Pratt’s Inn.

This new organization, formed to encourage development that will benefit the long-term quality of life in Yorktown, invites the community to join in the festivities. Wine will be served, along with an array of the award-winning restaurant’s hors d’oeuvres, such as Peking Duck Quesadillas, Lamb Sliders, Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese, Cuban Spring Rolls, Salmon Pizzeti, Chicken Shiitake Beggars, and Crudités with Artichoke Dip.

Guests can also participate in a silent auction, which will help raise funds for the new organization. Funds are needed to hire independent experts to carefully evaluate major planning proposals before the town. The auction will include numerous items and services donated by residents and local businesses. Among the highlights are a week at a condo on the Park City, Utah golf course; a weekend in a Manhattan apartment; original artwork; an alpaca shawl; horseback riding lessons; cases of wine; dog training; spa treatments and massages; jewelry; tickets to the New York Philharmonic; gift certificates and much more.

Tickets are $50 per person ($25 of which is a donation to Yorktown Smart Growth). They may be purchased online at www.yorktownsmartgrowth.myevent.com, or by sending a check, payable to Yorktown Smart Growth, to Patricia Peckham, 1300 Baptist Church Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598. In the event of inclement weather, the event will take place on Thursday, March 1. For more information or to donate items for the auction, contact smartgrowthyorktown@gmail.com.

Yorktown Smart Growth was formed in 2011 and is dedicated to providing information about major development projects and encouraging a wider participation of Yorktown residents in shaping them. The organization’s website may be accessed at www.wix.com/smartgrowth/yorktown.

Peter Pratt’s Inn is located at 673 Croton Heights Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598.

The following is the latest in a series of budget commentaries submitted by the administration and Board of Education of the Yorktown Central School District:

Today, the Administration presented the second part of the preliminary budget for the 2012-2013 school year, discussing operations and maintenance. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Napolitano reinforced the district’s budget philosophy to provide Yorktown students with a well-rounded and balanced educational experience that addresses the whole child. This is based on the district’s mission and core beliefs, found on the district website at www.yorktown.org. The Superintendent continues to emphasize sensitivity to the taxpayers and to the economic climate. He emphasized that the majority of budget funding is earmarked to the classroom. Yorktown is fifth of 46 districts in the area relative to percentage of budget spent on instruction, based on a BOCES 2010-2011 contract analysis. In light of today’s presentation on facilities and grounds, Dr. Napolitano also emphasized the importance of safe, code-compliant and updated facilities to meet the needs of the 21st century learner.

Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Tom Cole reviewed the proposed Operations and Maintenance (O & M) budget for the upcoming year. He provided an overview of the facilities, built between 1954 and 1969, representing over 500,000 square feet of building space; he reviewed staffing, including administration, clerical support, custodians, cleaners and tradesmen. The district has rightsized in-house staff to run and maintain all facilities, including buildings and grounds.

Thomas Jefferson Elementary School held an event Jan. 27 to benefit sick children and their families who are staying at the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital located in Valhalla. The hospital provides excellent care for children with all different types and severities of illnesses.

Thomas Jefferson collected items that are needed for the children and their families who are staying at the facilityduring the past few weeks. These items were placed in drop boxes located in the school’s lobby or brought and were brought in on the night of the event.

The event kicked off with a brief welcome and explanation of The Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital’s achievements followed by a sing-along led by teacher Lorraine Cich. Children then broke into small groups in classrooms, supervised by teachers/parents, to make crafts/decorations for the hospital’s walls and bulletin boards.

Photos courtesy Gina Monte, PTA Vice President