Monday, April 1, 2013
Editor’s Note: In an email from CCSD through Infinite Campus, Superintendent Lyn McKay informed residents that Seven Bridges’ Principal Martha Zornow will leave her position at the end of the current school year. The search for a new principal, said McKay, will begin with an advertisement in this Sunday’s New York Times and postings in state and national educational journals. McKay’s email appears below in its entirety:
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Back to school today, April 1—no fooling!
• Tue. Apr. 2: Info session @ Bell M.S. Library on what it means to be a Board of Ed member – 7:30pm
• Tue. Apr. 2: Free CPR [email protected] Chappaqua Pediatrics: 7:30pm, call 238-8550
• Wed. Apr. 3: Board of Ed meeting: Budget work session – Revenue/Tax rates/Contingency 8:15pm HGHS
• Wed. Apr. 3: Warm-up for Green Fair—a double feature @ Chap Libr: “Wall E” @ 4:30pm, “Dear Gov. Cuomo” @ 7:00pm
• Thu. Apr. 4: Warm-up for Green Fair—Re-purposing Buildings: How Sustainable Design and Historical Preservation Meet 7-8pm @ Chap Libr
• Thu. Apr. 4: PTA presentation on Bullying and Cyberbullying 7:15pm @ Bell M.S. Auditorium
• Thu. Apr. 4: Millwood Task Force meeting 8pm @ Firehouse @ click HERE for agenda
• Sat. Apr. 6: Chappaqua Schools Green Fair 10am-2pm
• To see more events listings check out NCNOW’s Calendar page.
Read More—a partnership with the teachers’ union to overturn smaller mandates
Monday, April 1, 2013
by Christine Yeres
In a report to her fellow Board of Ed members last Wednesday, Karen Visser described a Westchester-Putnam School Boards Association (WPSBA) get-together with NYS elected representatives she attended at the end of February. The idea was for school board members to persuade legislators to dismantle State mandates that harm schools. She came away from the meeting angry that no change seemed possible. But later, Visser said, she thought of a way around the impasse: ask the teachers’ union to help.
Read MoreMarch 29, 2013
by Christine Yeres
Town Board members decided on Wednesday to schedule several hearings perhaps as soon as in late April on Summit Greenfield’s proposal for a change of zoning to create 120,000 square feet of grocery-plus-retail at Chappaqua Crossing.
Read MoreMarch 29, 2013
~ from Penny Paderewski
• New Castle maintains its Aaa from Moody’s
• DOT willing to screen its eyesore Millwood yard
• Con Ed pilot program to provide more info to town
• April 27: Town-wide Clean-up + Rotary Pancake Breakfast
March 29, 2013
by Christine Yeres
On March 19, Town Administrator Penelle Paderewski announced that the town had reached agreement with its police force on a four-year contract to run from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2017. Salaries will increase by 1.75% each year and the level of contribution to health insurance will remain unchanged from the current rate of 15%.
Read MoreMarch 29, 2013
~ from CCSD
Editor’s Note: In the Board of Education meeting of March 20, Superintendent Lyn McKay announced that CCSD had reached agreement on a two-year contract that would raise the salaries of principals and assistant principals and other administrators [see list below] by 1.7% each year; increase health insurance contributions from the current 15% to 16.25% the first year, 17.5% the second; and shift a $400 annual physical exam reimbursement into “Longevity” and “Tenure Stipend” categories of payment. The full text of the announcement follows.
Read More. . . with Chappaqua Library “Green Film Festival” showing of “Wall E” and “Dear Governor Cuomo” Wed. April 3
March 22, 2013
The Chappaqua Schools Green Fair, a collaborative effort of students and faculty from the Chappaqua School District and the Chappaqua PTA, takes place on Saturday, April 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Robert E. Bell Middle School. Admission to the Green Fair and to all pre-events such as the Green Film Festival on April 3 and “Re-purposing Buildings: How Sustainable Design and Historical Preservation Meet” on April 4 at the Chappaqua Library— are free for everyone!
Read MoreHandmade bowls created by local potters filled with delicious soups donated by local restaurants.
Soup, bread . . . and keep the bowl!
March 22, 2013
by Penny Vane
The potters of New Castle, in collaboration with local merchants and community groups, are hosting their second “Empty Bowls” event on Monday April 8, 2013 between 5 and 8 p.m. at the First Congregational Church on Bedford Road in Chappaqua.
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No new transactions for the week ending March 29
March 29, 2013
Editor’s Note: Recently, in the experience of several area real estate agents, New Castle houses priced between $700,000 and $1.2 million have been selling rather briskly—if they are in move-in condition and on property that is without peculiarities. In these case, sellers have reportedly been getting “close to asking price or over.”
Editor’s Note: Since October, 2007, NewCastleNOW.org has published every week in its real estate section information about houses sold in New Castle as that information has been released by Westchester County.
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Monday, April 1, 2013
by Matt Townsend
It’s time to examine the role sports drinks play in the Chappaqua community and our nation as a whole, and how their over-consumption may be hurting us.
Read MoreMarch 29, 2013
by Christine Yeres
In her Superintendent’s Report in Wednesday’s Board of Ed meeting Lyn McKay touched on the concerns raised by Greeley’s Student Council President “about the need for more student involvement and voice in decision-making in aspects of Greeley life such as ‘Seminar Day.’” Three days later, Principal Rhodes sent a letter to parents explaining that he had spoken with members of the Student Council.
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March 29, 2013
Editor’s Note: Since the Board of Education budget meetings often run long—and it is the Board’s habit is to hear multiple presentations, ask their own questions after each, then hear reports from the Superintendent and President—not many people are left by the time public comment is invited. Below is a video of the March 20 Board of Ed meeting covering Technology, Operations and Maintenance, and Fund Balance. It was 11:32 p.m. when Board President Vicky Tipp asked whether anyone from the audience had questions. There were none.
Read MoreKatchis will not run again; Mester still undecided
Monday, March 18, 2013
This year, the terms of two members of the elected five-member Board of Education expire in June 2013, so two Board positions will be up for election on Tuesday, May 21, 2013.
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Some heavy lifting for Interim Athletic Director Pete Kuczma
March 22, 2013
by Christine Yeres
In a budget presentation before the Board of Ed, the Interim AD talked of bringing in more tech, bringing back “modified” sports, bringing down student stress, and asked “Are we really serving our kids’ fitness needs?”
Read MoreMarch 29, 2013
~ from the Chappaqua PTA
On Thursday, April 4 at 7:15 p.m., Bell Auditorium, the Chappaqua PTA, Committee for Special Education and its R21K Committee are excited to bring to the Chappaqua K-12 parent community a presentation featuring Elizabeth Englander, nationally recognized researcher in the area of bullying and cyberbullying.
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Monday, April 1, 2013
~ from CCSD
Please join Lyn McKay, Superintendent of Schools, along with Eric Byrne, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, at a Knowledge Café on Wednesday, April 10, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Robert E. Bell Middle School Auditorium (50 Senter Street). This Knowledge Café will focus on the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR), which is the state’s new evaluation system for teachers and principals, It has been used for principals beginning last year, and will be used for teachers for the first time this year. (RSVP by Monday, April 8.)
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March 29, 2013
by Rob Greenstein
I headed to Susan Lawrence to treat myself to some wonderful foodstuffs—and a few samples.
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March 29, 2013
by Rob Greenstein
• “It’s from Me” brings Card-Making-for-Kids through “Healing Newtown”
• Music in Chappaqua show auditions Wed. Apr. 3
• Chappaqua Pediatrics is giving annual visit patients a free ice cream cone from LOCAL—and holding a FREE CPR course Tue. Apr. 2 @ 7:30pm
• Diaper Drive @ World Cup for “My Sister’s Place”
• Santa’s Hair Salon: Until Apr. 15, with a color service, get a free manicure!
March 22, 2013
by Athena Kanaris
What type of school district do we want for Chappaqua? I ask this because Chappaqua school district has changed direction since my family moved here.
Read MoreMarch 22, 2013
by Stanley Wong
What I find disturbing about the Town Board’s recent reaction to the Conifer Project is not necessarily that variances are needed – as architects, we go after variances on occasion- but the magnitude of this variance, the distance from one zoning use to another, one appropriate building type stretching to be another.
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Familiar sight? Call to report.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Report potholes on STATE roads such as Bedford Road (Route 117) and Routes 133 and 100 to the New York State Department of Transportation outpost at Millwood. The number is 914-941-2185. Their trucks are working lately on the Taconic (a priority right now), but call to get New Castle potholes (ON STATE ROADS ONLY) on their to-do list. Right now State crews are working with “cold patch,” which doesn’t have great staying power. But in April they’re able to switch to the hot asphalt. See more info from Town Administrator Penelle Paderewski below.
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