I have been challenging students to recognize their potential for over 25 years. As an educator I have continuously maintained a standard of distinction for my scholars. My vision for the Mount Vernon City School District is to become a “world class” school district through shared purpose, ideology and expectations. I have had the gratification of working within the Mount Vernon City School District for over 10 years. During this time, I have worked as a Teacher, Assistant Principal, Acting Principal, Assistant Principal on Special Assignment and Director of Pupil Personnel Services. I embrace the challenge of being the Interim Superintendent of Schools.

In retrospect, my extensive educational background has afforded me the privilege of having a comprehensive understanding of what is essential to augment teaching and learning for all students. I have acquired a wealth of wisdom and understanding regarding the educational configuration within the Mount Vernon City School District. While my current station is that of the Interim Superintendent, I vow to make a long-standing commitment to school improvement leading to obtaining enhanced academic outcomes. However, I recognize that I cannot embark on laying the foundation for academic improvement without the assistance of all stakeholders. I need you to share my vision and respond to our children’s cry for an exemplary education that will enable them to compete in the international job market.

“If your plan is for one year, plant rice; If your plan is for ten years, plant trees;

If your plan is for a hundred years, Educate Children.” Confucius

It is the goal of the Mount Vernon City School District to build capacity of our teaching staff so that they can differentiate and modify instruction to meet the individual student needs. Using data analysis student achievement can be increased as reflected in improvement on NYSED assessments. Improving the level of staff performance is essential to ensuring student success and the key to improving staff performance is professional development. We realize the need to create a community of learners to increase student learning and achievement. We realizes that

professional development needs to be ongoing and continual, allowing teachers the chance to collaborate. Our teachers need time to learn what works and what doesn’t work.

We have shifted our approach from professional development that is based on isolated workshops to a model that provides a fuller range of professional development opportunities. The District is developing a stronger emphasis on the data-driven decision-making model to improve student achievement and this will include a well-defined connection to the professional development provided. Additionally, improved date collection and root cause analysis will support teachers and administrators in using assessment date to help identify strengths and weaknesses of students, assist in tracking student progress and plan teaching activities to meet student learning needs.

To this end, we strive to utilize a team approach in all district activities including all school staff, district staff, parents, community members and Board members. We have developed the Superintendent’s District Academic Improvement Plan, which includes:

Improving the Instructional Day Program

Targeting Performance on the Regents

Extending the School Day

Principal Leadership; and

Plan, Monitoring and Evaluation. Please support us as we restructure teaching and learning within the Mount Vernon City School District.

Message from the Superintendent Waveline Bennett-Conroy, Ed. D.

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Sports Section 3

Professional

Accomplishments 7

Spelling Bee 2

Education Lobby Day 4

POWA Awards 7

Inside the Schools 5-7

MVSCD Parent University 8

M O U N T V E R N O N C I T Y S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

Superintendent ’ s Corner

April 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1

The Mount Vernon City School District held its 5th Annual Spelling Bee on Tuesday, March 13th at Longfellow Elementary School. The event has grown dramatically since it first started in 2007. This year’s chief sponsor, the Mount Vernon Inquirer, along with a record number of merchants and organizations, helped to make the 2012 citywide Spelling Bee the most successful ever. MVCSD is the only Westchester County school district that has ever sent a representative to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee

Championship held in Washington, DC.

Dr. Tahira DuPree Chase, our Director of Curriculum and Instruction, has been the organizer of the popular event since 2007, and continues to work tirelessly every year, along with a long list of Spelling Bee Committee members, to ensure

that the yearly citywide Spelling Bee is a continuous success on a yearly basis.

Judges came from far and near, but there was one judge the children will never forget. This year in the Bumble Bee

competition former Super Ball Champion, Fred Baxter, formerly with the New England Patriots and NY Jets, provided

the spellers with an autographed photo of himself.

And the winner is ……………...

Honey Bees Winners [Kindergarten– 1st Grade]

1st Place ~ Darren Allen (Lincoln ES)

2nd Place ~ Cesar Aguilera (Lincoln ES) 3rd Place ~ Safiatou Nallo (Holmes ES)

Worker Bee Winners [Grades 2-3]

1st Place ~ Bria James (Hamilton ES)

2nd Place ~ Laura Nwaefuna (Grimes ES)

3rd Place ~ Cade Lambert (Pennington ES)

Bumble Bee Winner [Grades 4-8]

1st Place ~ Jabaal Allen (Longfellow MS)

2nd Place ~ Kali Palmer (Davis MS)

3rd Place ~ Shakirro Samuels ( Holmes ES)

Congratulations to our District Winner, Jabaal Allen (LMS) who will journey

to Washington, DC to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

April 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1

Spelling Bee

A group photo of the Honey Bees

Winners of the Worker Bees competition, 1st Place Bria James

(c), 2nd Place (r) Laura Nwaefuna, and Cade Lambert (l)

A group photo of the Bumble Bees

MVHS Girls Track Team under the direction of Coach Walter Hall participated in the

Walt Disney Invitational Track & Field meet. Congratulations to Lexus Harney and

Robbi Rodgers who won the 4 x 100 meter relay and Shanice Cameron & Tanya Yarde

who won and set a NEW school record and Section 1 record with a time of 47.09.

M V H S B o y s B a s k e t b a l l w i n s a g a i n

S P O T L I G H T O N

C O A C H B O B C I M M I N O

Coach Robert Cimmino has directed the

Mount Vernon Knights to 380 (and counting)

wins in 18 seasons. His teams have won five

State Championships and four Federation

Championships in addition to many Regional,

Sectional and League championships. Coach

Cimmino is an active member of the Basket-

ball Coaches’ Association of New York and has

served as President of BCANY.

Bob was the head coach of the USA Hoop

Summit Team (2010), the McDonald’s All-

American Game (2011), the Jordan All-

American Game (2006), and the New York/

Chicago Challenge (2003) and the “W” in each

of those games! However, his proudest accom-

plishment during his 18 year tenure is 94 out

of 96 Mount Vernon seniors went on to col-

lege.

On March 18, 2012, Coach Robert Cimmino

was inducted into the NYS Basketball Coaches

Hall of Fame. The Mount Vernon City School

District salutes Coach Cimmino on this great

accomplishment. We are grateful to you for

the impact you have on our students and the

City of Mount Vernon.

18 Year Coaching Record

Mount Vernon Knights

382-70

April 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1

S P O R T S

2012 NYSPHSAA Class AA Champions 10th State Crown

2012 Section 1 Champions 29th Title, 7 Years Straight

Hundreds of students from Parker Elementary, Graham Elementary,

Holmes Elementary, Longfellow Elementary, A.B. Davis Middle,

Thornton High and Mount Vernon High Schools along with staff, Board

Trustees, parents and members of the community were among the

thousands of students who participated in Education Lobby Day on

March 14, 2012 in Albany, NY. The rally was sponsored by the Alliance

for a Quality Education (AQE). Students received first hand experiences

into how State Government functions. Some of our students engaged

in sit-down visits with other local politicians including Senators Andrea

Stewart-Cousins and Ruth Hassell-Thompson; and Assemblyman Gary

Pretlow. Others engaged in letter-writing activities. Still other engaged

in rallies and carried posters asking for more funding for our schools.

News reporters, school board members and community activists were

in abundance to greet the students and ask them if they understood

the purpose of attending this event. Our Interim Superintendent of

Schools, Dr. Bennett-Conroy, was also there to salute students. We are

proud of our students who represented Mount Vernon with class.

April 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1

P a r e n t s & C o m m u n i t y : O u r P a r t n e r s i n E d u c a t i o n

The Money You Invest In Me Today ,

Means More Money Saved on Me

Later.

I Deserve The Best Education.

~ Signed A Students

A. B. Davis Middle School Math Department held a workshop entitled “Are You Smarter Than a 7th

Grader” on March 12, 2012. Parents and other family members were encouraged to attend with their

children to discuss many aspects of the upcoming NYS Assessments. There were games for parents to

participate in along with their children. Parents and students were so engaged with the math examples that

time got away from them. Congratulations to the Math Department under the Supervision of Ms. Marilyn

Anderson, Assistant Principal for Math.

Mandela High School students Quioni Simms and Kristina Doyle of the Great Potential Program were

among the high school students selected to attend the Liberty Partnership Program Empire Promise

Summit on April 27-29 in Albany, NY. The young ladies will be given the opportunity to partake in

leadership workshops throughout the weekend. Seniors Quioni and Alexus Taylor from the program are

the proud recipients of the Lanza Scholarship of Westchester of $5, 000.

Lincoln, Traphagen & Parker Elementary Schools participated in the Leukemia

& Lymphoma Society’s “Pennies for Patients” Program. The children at Lincoln

Elementary School have been bringing in their boxes of coins to school every day.

After one week, they have collected $2,649.80. They are pleased to be taking part

in this heart-warming, philanthropic endeavor. While at Parker Elementary

School, the children participated in a hands-on visual display of our students to

get an idea of how leukemia works. Traphagen students attended an assembly program to

learn how their donations would help patients and community services, research and health and

professional education. A special thank you must be extended to the staff who coordinated this program at

the various school.

Grimes Elementary School’s entire first grade team traveled to York College in Queens, NY to see a play

about Harriet Tubman. This play was in connection with Women’s History Month. All of the students

thoroughly enjoyed the play. To expand on this idea, students wrote short stories about Harriet Tubman as

well as their favorite female role model.

Omega Man & Friends recently visited Graham Elementary School. Omega

Man is a superhero who is anti-bullying and promotes the inclusion of

everyone. He talked to students about the importance of being a dream maker

not a dream breaker. He amazed the students with his display of great

strength and wisdom. Students were very engaged in the assemblies, which often called for student and

teacher participation. His anti-bullying message correlates directly with the PBIS initiative.

April 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1

Inside the Schools

Mount Vernon High School had 29 students who completed a six week bi-lingual Chinese program. The

students had a great time learning Mandarin and the highlight of the course was an aerobics class in

Chinese. The students celebrated the Chinese New Year with an authentic Chinese cuisine at a luncheon.

The event was a great success! Thank you Ms. Li, Asian Fusion and Mr. Charlie

Groove method Kids will be coming to Williams Elementary School.

The intended goal is to teach students how to dance, get active, have fun,

build community and help to foster life-long positive attitudes towards

physical activity.

Longfellow Middle School had forty students along with staff who toured the Tenement Museum in

Manhattan. The main purpose of this trip was to give students the primary source dealing with the

Progressive and Turn of the Century New York. They also had forty students to attend Medieval Times in

Lyndhurst, New Jersey. This trip afforded students an understanding of the Medieval Era and the

foundation of modern European countries cultural differences during Medieval Times.

Columbus Elementary School’s 5th grade classes visited Capital One Bank so students could have the

“Live Event” experience of visiting the Bank and seeing first-hand how transactions are handled on a daily

basis. They were treated to a tour of the branch and had the opportunity to find out “Money Matters” close

up. This experience will help them in the formation and running of our very own Columbus Kidz Bank!

Thank you to Ms. Bennett for facilitating this wonderful project.

Thornton High School held a forum on S.T.E.M., an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and

Math. This event was sponsored by Ms. Damia Harris, Director of the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau. The

S.T.E.M. program is designed for women to pursue careers in the area of science, technology, engineering

and mathematics careers which are historically dominated by men. Approximately forty female THS

students were in attendance. The students sat attentively listening to presentations by the professional

women who were on the dais. Principal Bradley encouraged the

students to reach for the stars and to follow their dreams.

Pennington Elementary School’s 2nd grade astronomers have been

studying about the solar system. They visited the Planetarium at the

Hudson River Museum in Yonkers and learned about gravity, planets

orbiting the sun and the moon’s phases. They researched facts about

each planet using library books and the internet in school. Each student

has written stories about “If I Were An Astronaut” and acrostic poems

about an Astronaut.

April 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1

Inside the Schools

“Children must be

taught how to think,

not what to think.”

Margaret Mead

American Anthropologist

April 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1

Inside the Schools At Hamilton Elementary School, Mr. Matanzo’s sixth grade students engaged in research activities in preparation for writing their own research papers. Each student selected a topic of interest . Working with the KWL graphic organizer, the students used the internet search engines to write about what they learned, filling in the “L” portion of the organizer. After completing the entire organizer, the students composed their very own research papers. Longfellow Elementary School Boys II Men continues to set the tone for excellence each week. This

month, they discussed the case in Florida that resulted in the death of young Trayvon. We are grateful

for our high school mentors, Derrick Lewis and Russell Stewart, both students at Thornton High School.

These gentlemen come weekly to support our young men by being positive role models and mentors.

Russell and Derrick are former LES students and members of the first Boys II Men cohort.

Poets Orators Writers Artists

Poets Orators Writers Artists of Mount Vernon High

School presented the Woman of Magnitude Awards

in conjunction with Women’s History Month. This

award was created to honor our women and young

women in our school community. The Women of

Magnitude Awards were presented to the following:

Educational Leadership Award was presented to

Dr. Waveline Bennett-Conroy, the Interim Superin-

tendent of Schools; Excellence in Education

Awards were presented to Ms. Kofo Coker, Ms. Con-

nie Fantini and Ms. Olga Weatherly; Excellence in

Music Education was presented to Mrs. Carmen

Nemeth; Maven Award was presented to Mrs.

Theresa Morana; Young Woman of Magnitude

Writers Award was presented to Ms. Melanie

Thompson; and the Young Woman of Magnitude

Academic Excellence Award was presented to Ms.

Ana Costa, Ms. Ala Lockhart, Ms. Jada Smith and Ms.

Jeleda Stewart. Congratulations to all the winners.

The POWA club is a gathering place for creative

expression where culture meets imagination.

Professional Accomplishments

On Friday Evening March 23, 2012, St. John’s

Fisher College held it’s inaugural Doctoral

Hooding and Awards Ceremony at the College

of New Rochelle. Of the 22 students in Cohort

1, Mount Vernon was well represented with 6

of our distinguished district employees who

received their doctoral hoods. These ladies

completed their studies towards the Ed.D.

Program in Executive Leadership.

Congratulations to :

Dr. Waveline Bennett-Conroy

Dr. Tahira Dupree-Chase

Dr. Natasha Hunter-McGregor

Dr. Cassandra Hyacinthe

Dr. Kim Smith

Dr. Gayle White-Wallace

What is the Parent University? The MVCSD Parent University is designed to offer parents and legal guardians free courses, family events and activities that will provide families with new or additional skills, knowledge, resources and confidence to raise children in the 21st Century.

We aim to further Educate parents, Engage them in meaningful workshops and activities and Empower them to become better advocates for their children. Parental involvement improves student morale, attitudes and academic achievement across all subject areas as well as community morale and support of the Mount Vernon City School District.

What is the goal of the Parent University? Our goals for Parent University are simple yet bold: To equip parents with skills necessary to raise children who are successful in school, and in life. To engage 5%-10% of the Mount Vernon City School District parents in at least 1 class during the 2011-2012 school year. To increase parental involvement in the local buildings by 10% of the average involvement from previous years. To host a minimum of 2 Parent University events in each local building to achieve greater parental involvement and foster a better

relationship with building staff. To partner with local Community Based Organizations to host and facilitate

Parent University events, courses or workshops. To develop Parent Resource Centers in every school over the next 3 years

Currently, classes are being conducted at Graham Elementary School, Longfellow Elementary School, Longfellow Middle School, and Mount Vernon High School. During the 2012-13 school year, MVCSD Parent University will be coming to a school near you~

M V C S D P a r e n t U n i v e r s i t y

Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day

Board of Education Michelle Walker, President

Marc Stuckey, Vice President Carol Ben Reuben Delia Farquharson

Elias Gootzeit Rosemarie Jarosz

Lynn McBride Leonard Sarver

Gerald Whiteside

Dr. Waveline Bennett-Conroy Interim Superintendent of Schools

Mr. Timothy Costello Asst. Superintendent for Business

Dr. Charles Plantz Asst. Superintendent for

Human Resources

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAID

White Plains, NY

Permit No.

Testing Schedule Grades 3-8

April 17-19 English Language Arts Test

April 25-27 Math State Test

Mount Vernon City School District 165 North Columbus Avenue Mount Vernon, NY 10553