Wednesday, February 8, 2012
A visit from a talented young musician.
Age: 19 School: The Special Music School of America This Sunday, February 12, 2012, you can witness the talented Matthew Fishteyn as he performs at the Suffern Library. Fishteyn has been playing piano for over 13 years. He is a very talented musician as well as composer. Fishteyn enjoys travelling around the New York/New Jersey area performing for different audiences. "Every place I perform at is extraordinary and special. It gives me the ability to introduce myself, as well as my idea on music, to a new crowd each time. People have different perspectives on music, as it should be. Since my music can sound very foreign and novel, I try to instill a feeling of familiarity into my audience. In the summer of 2011, I performed at a library…
District administrators reviewing principals’ lists of needed repairs and items
About 20 community members and three Board of Education trustees showed up for Tuesday night’s 2012-2013 budget input session to share their thoughts on the district’s needs. Since many of the parents in attendance had children enrolled at Clarkstown North High School much of the discussion centered on its maintenance issues. Superintendent Margaret Keller-Cogan said there were no budget figures or documents to share yet. “We’re in the process of creating a budget draft,” she said. The district must stay within the state cap of 2 percent. In order to have a budget increase of more than two percent, a super majority of voters in the district, 60 percent, would have to approve the spending plan. Keller-Cogan said she was not aware of …
41.12557
-74.00416
Clarkstown Central School District
62 Old Middletown Rd, New City, NY
/articles/2012-2013-clarkstown-school-budget-process-in-progress
2050946
/locations/6336541
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Community member filed complaints about three specific meetings
Rhea Vogel of New City filed complaints about three Clarkstown Board of Education meetings with the New York State Committee on Open Government on December 8. Vogel said she felt the action was necessary. “There was an ongoing pattern of improperly convened executive sessions,” said Vogel, a former board member. “And there were just meetings not accessible to the public. It seemed to me they were doing things that were prohibiting people to access these meetings.” The three meetings Vogel is seeking opinions on whether they violated the Open Meetings Law (OML) were held on October 25, November 3 and November 22, 2011. In addition to her requests for advisory opinions, other materials concerning the October 25 and November 3 meetings …
Monday, February 6, 2012
Clarkstown School District takes advantage of low interest rates
The Clarkstown Central School District stands to start saving on its bond debt beginning with the 2012-2013 school year due to a restructuring. Assistant Superintendent for Business, Facilities & Fiscal Management John LaNave and Accountant I Bill Molloy began work on the process known as “refunding,” in the fall. As a result, the district will save $1,360,000 over the course of 12 years on $14.3 million worth of bonds. LaNave explained the process known, as refunding is similar to refinancing. The district’s has $55 million of outstanding bonds. Of those, $14.3 million, about 25 percent of the district’s overall debt, were close enough to the 10-year mark that LaNave and Molloy began conducting analysis to determine whether it made …
41.12557
-74.00416
Clarkstown Central School District
62 Old Middletown Rd, New City, NY
/articles/school-district-to-save-almost-1-4-million-by-refunding-bonds
2050946
/locations/6335977
Open Enrollment for district employees begins Tuesday
A steady stream of parents, some with infants, others with toddlers toured the Clarkstown School District’s Childcare and Early Learning Program during its recent Open House. The children happily played with the large assortment of colorful toys while their parents looked around and asked questions about the daily schedule, number of enrolled children and what types of items had to be brought in after enrollment. Open registration begins Tuesday for the 2012 – 2013 school year for Clarkstown School District employees’ children or grandchildren. The first of three possible childcare centers opened at the Chestnut Grove District Offices. This is the last day that enrollment is limited to current students. Carolyn and Tristan Locke …
41.12557
-74.00416
Clarkstown Central School District Board of Education
62 Old Middletown Rd, New City, NY
/articles/open-house-at-district-childcare-center-draws-interested-parents
73215
/locations/6320229
The county’s best student musicians and singers display their skills at annual two-part concert
Rockland’s student musicians treated friends and family to a two-part music festival at Nanuet HS on Saturday afternoon. The event was run by the Rockland County Music Educators Association (RCMEA) and is one of the season’s highlights. Playing and singing in the Festival were 289 students who represent 13 schools across the county. Nanuet’s Director of Music and this year’s Site Chair, Dr. Jack Gremli, noted that in addition to RCMEA staff, the festival is an undertaking that requires the help and participation of Nanuet’s whole music faculty. “The entire music department is sharing the responsibility of Site Chair, although I get the title, and Mr. Mark Skaba is actually the go-to guy on site because I’m doubling as the Women’s Chorus …
41.089625
-74.004519
Nanuet Senior High School
103 Church St, Nanuet, NY
/articles/senior-all-county-music-festival-held-at-nanuet-hs
1363638
/locations/6321501
Students dressed up in costumes from nations around the world
Neither Aideen Farry nor Leanne Karnbad have any family members who were born in Spain, yet when the two were thinking about what country to pick for Link Elementary School’s International Night, they both thought it’d be fun to pick Spain. And so on Friday night at Link, the two wore red and black dresses along with necklace that had a rose on it for International Night. “When we looked up information about Spain, we saw that they wear red and black a lot,” said Karnbad, 10, of New City. She added that they learned about flamenco dresses and some traditional Spanish dances while doing research. In the past, they’ve dressed up in native clothing from places like Ireland and Scotland. “It’s just fun to learn about a new culture and dress …
41.13516
-74.00569
Link Elementary School
51 Red Hill Rd, New City, NY
/articles/link-elementary-school-hosts-annual-international-night
472899
/locations/6319763
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Clarkstown School District advised parents
The Clarkstown School District sent out notification that a registered Level 3 sex offender is living in Nanuet. Anthony Carleo is currently residing at 150 Main Street, #9 in Nanuet. The designation of Level 3 Sex Offender means he is considered a high risk to reoffend. Carleo, 47 years old, was convicted in Rockland County Court on Aug. 11, 2008 of Sexual Abuse first degree and sentenced to two years in prison. Carleo's victim was a 10-year old girl, who has an order of protection. He is on parole until Jan. 18, 2013 and must abide by case specific parole conditions. Carleo cannot operate a motor vehicle or frequent places selling alcohol. He is not permitted to have unsupervised contact with children under 18 years old. He is 5’…
Dean’s List and other honors for locals
Several more New City residents had their names added to their respective college’s Dean’s List. Massachusetts Tufts University recently announced the Dean's List for the Fall 2011 semester. Two local members of the class of 2014 are among them: Kara Goldstein and Lauren Krouskoff. Dean's List honors at Tufts University require a semester grade point average of 3.4 or greater. Tufts University is located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville, and Grafton. New Hampshire Samantha Marks has earned Highest Honors for the fall semester of the 2011-2012 academic year at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Highest Honors are awarded to students who earn a semester grade point average of 3.7 or better out of a …
Friday, February 3, 2012
The concert is Saturday, Feb 4 at 3 p.m. for Band & Women’s Chorus and 5 p.m. for Orchestra and Mixed Chorus at Nanuet HS; $8 gets you into both performances
The Rockland County Music Educators Association will hold its annual Senior All County Music Festival at Nanuet High School on Saturday afternoon following an intense two days of rehearsal. The Senior All County Band, Women’s Chorus, Orchestra and Mixed Chorus will be performing. This year the position of Orchestra Chair is held by Nanuet’s Katherine Rife. The position can be challenging as it’s time intensive and requires a lot of effort in addition to her regular duties. The Chair is responsible for, among other things, finding a conductor, producing a list of students that are eligible to participate, selecting music and fitting everyone’s schedule together. In the end, Rife says it’s her job to “make it pleasant for the conductor …
41.089625
-74.004519
Nanuet Senior High School
103 Church St, Nanuet, NY
/articles/nanuet-hs-prepares-to-host-senior-all-county-music-festival
1363638
/locations/6306573
Mike Hirsch
9:50 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
I understand. I did not suggest that they close the Congers school. I just used it as an example. In the 80's, two schools were closed due to declining enrollment. We are facing the same situation today. It is my personal opinion that it is simply good management to close one of the elementary schools. If the board agrees, I am sure there will be alot of community input as to which school makes … more ›