The New Rochelle High School Planetarium will present four sessions of the "Season of Light" planetarium show free for the community. In addition to the recorded program, high school Astronomy teacher Mr. Bruce Zeller will point out the highlights of the December sky, which include a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve, the Winter Solstice on December 21, the Geminid meteor showers on December 13 and 14, and the return of the bright stars of Winter. Doors open 15 minutes before the show. Once the show begins, there is no admittance. "Season of Light" will be shown Saturday, December 19 at 4:00 PM, and Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, December 21, 22, and 23, at 7:00 PM. The New Rochelle High School Planetarium entrance is located at the corner of Flandreau and Argyll Roads at the corner of McKenna Field. For more information call Bruce Zeller at the high school planetarium, 576-4589.
2009DECPlanetariumShow.pdf

The Classic fairy tale-ballet, "The Nutcracker" comes to life this season in a production by the Ajkun Ballet Theatre and student dancers in the PAVE (Performing and Visual Arts Education) program. Performances will be Friday, December 4 at 7:30 PM, and Saturday, December 5 at 2:00 PM, in the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Auditorium at New Rochelle High School. The ballet remains a fixture in the repertoire much as it was at its premier in December 1892. The story is retold each December about a young German girl who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince and a fierce battle against a Mouse King with seven heads. The traditional dances are heard including some of Tchaikovsky's most enchanted music: "The Russian Dance," "Waltz of the Flowers," and "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies." Begin the holiday season by attending a spirited performance from the Ajkun Ballet and the children of New Rochelle Public Schools. Tickets are $10, general admission. Tickets can be purchased at www.SmartTix.com, or call 212-868-4444 (mention New Rochelle Nutcracker).
2009 Dec Ajlun Nutcracker Ballet Print Flyer.pdf

Acclaimed author and New Rochelle resident Cynthia Ozick and Molly-Thomas Hicks, Literature Specialist at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), held a discussion about the novella, The Shawl, before an audience of students in eleventh and twelfth grades at New Rochelle High School on Tuesday, November 17. The classes have been reading Ozick's the book The Shawl as part of New Rochelle’s Big Read. Audience members had the opportunity to pose questions to the engaging author and Ms. Thomas-Hicks, who has facilitated similar Big Read events in communities across the country. Cynthia Ozick reminisced of her high school days. Her advice to potential writers was to also be readers. She discussed the "seed" for the novella, as well as historical context, and character symbolism. New Rochelle is one of 269 communities nationwide participating in The Big Read which began in September 2009. New Rochelle began its focus on The Shawl on October 18. The lunch-hour discussion at New Rochelle High School was one of many events hosted by the New Rochelle Public Library that have been taking place throughout New Rochelle during the project, which will conclude at the end of November.

The New Rochelle High School Planetarium will present "Astronaut", a fulldome experience like nothing on Earth. The free planetarium show is Thursday, November 12. Doors open at 6:45 pm. The show begins promptly at 7pm. Come to the New Rochelle High School planetarium and get a "heads up" view of the November sky as seen from New Rochelle. Mr. Zeller, his crew and Irving, the planetarium projector will point out all the important celestial events coming up, as Jupiter still dominates the evening sky as the Sun sets earlier and earlier. For star gazers, the Leonid meteor showers should be a good show this year during the early hours of November 17.

The Bersaglieri Military Marching Band from Italy performed for students at the Jefferson and William B. Ward Elementary Schools and the Isaac E Young Middle School on Friday, October 16. Students gathered for an Italian-American Cultural Day Celebration where the visiting marching band make a running entrance while playing their brass instruments. Once in standing formation, the band performed traditional classic pieces, as well as the national anthems for both Italy and the United States. At Jefferson Elementary School, students in the CILA Italian classes made Italian flags for the occasion.

Family University is a new model program established with the goal to provide insight and information about important topics of specific interest and relevance to middle and high school students and their parents. An inaugural Family University event joining these constituencies in New Rochelle is set for April 27.
Discussions on substance abuse prevention, family communication, healthy life style choices, and parenting strategies will take place throughout the evening, which is co-sponsored by Project FOCUS (Families Organized to Curb the Use of Substances), the New Rochelle High School PTSA, and the PTAs of Albert Leonard and Isaac E. Young middle schools, with the support of the City School District of New Rochelle.
The format includes keynote presentations by acclaimed experts, workshops for parents and students, and a light dinner. Family University is a model successfully used in other communities to promote awareness and foster dialogue within families, and provide them with the opportunity to learn and communicate about topics that are often difficult to discuss. For details, contact Lisa Dorman 235-0703 ldorman@optonline.net.

A unique Life Skills Culinary Arts Program was recently recognized by FOX Broadcasting Teen News as a newsworthy feature, and was highlight in a broadcast by Teen News in March. Since the 2005-2006 school year, through a unique collaboration with Chefworks, the City School District of New Rochelle has offered a program using a modified curriculum of Life Skills Culinary Arts instruction tailored specifically for students with Special Needs. The program is remarkably successful. Outcomes include increased job readiness, increased kitchen skills, and improved social functioning. This exemplary program meets the needs of students with moderate to severe disabilities, providing the environment for them to gain vocational skills, life skills and through the shared friendship of the community, a better quality of life. In order to continue offering Life Skills Culinary Arts instructional program next Fall, the District plans to issue Requests For Proposals to develop a comparable community-based program in collaboration with a educational facility and business partnership.

Martin Daly, teacher at Isaac Young Middle School and President of the New Rochelle F.U.S.E. and Nona Grady, a retired New Rochelle educator, are featured in a new documentary film "No Teacher Left Behind" produced and directed by Dr. Maurice M. Martinez of the University of North Carolina - Wilimington. Dr. Martinez is a formerly New Rochelle resident. Executive producer is Mae Gamble, Ed.D., professor emeritus of Hunter College. A New York premiere screening was held March 14 at Hunter College's Lang Recital Hall.

Fifty students from the National Honor Society spent March 1 raking up leaves, cutting down vines and doing other clean-up work on the Scott Perdew Memorial Field in New Rochelle. The NHS President initiated the project with the goal of “having the Honor Society make a noticeable difference in the lives of the young people of New Rochelle.” Two students brought the project to the attention of the chapter and convinced other members to take on the project.
Students coordinated work days with Rick Perdew, League President, and Kenny McLean, a League Commissioner. Perdew, impressed by the energy and dedication of the high school seniors, remarked, “I was taken aback by how hard the kids worked and how much they got done. The field is transformed.” The students will continue to repair the infield, paint railings, remove graffiti, and even create a mural for the outfield wall.

Two New Rochelle High School students were runners-up in the Manhattanville College Scholarship Essay Contest open to select high school students in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester and Rockland counties who meet grade point requirements. On Feb. 25, 180 students from the region also participated in the college sponsored daylong program, “Invest in Success: A Partnership for Access to Higher Education” designed to increase collaboration between community organizations and college, as well as encourage high school students to pursue a college education. Workshops included “Finding Your Fit: Choosing the Right College,” “Campus Life, Getting Involved,” and “The Importance of Service & Volunteering.”

New Rochelle High School served as the regional site for College Goal Sunday on February 8, which was a free nation-wide program to help college bound seniors complete the forms required to apply for federal and state financial aid. Students who attended College Goal Sunday received personal assistance in submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) applications online.

Students from the City School District of New Rochelle presented a 'Theatrical Walk through History,' featuring performances and readings in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream and President Barack Obama’s message of hope. The third annual “Celebration of Hope,” co-sponsored by the district, the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle, and B. LOVED Productions, was staged in the auditorium of the Isaac E. Young Middle School. Scores of students participated in ensembles of duets and trios. The event also included readers, actors, and involved a number of students from schools throughout the School District . Students prepared for the stage event by taking part in four evening and weekend rehearsals prior to the performance.
"Celebration of Hope" was co-produced by Quay Watkins, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle, and co-produced and directed by Angelique Francis. The musical director was Archie Manning, a choral teacher at Albert Leonard Middle School.

Paolo Corvino, an artist who has painted several Presidential portraits now housed in several Presidential Libraries, demonstrated his craft and made a painting with fourth and fifth grade students in Dr. Sandy Edmonds’ lunchtime Poster Club at the Daniel Webster Elementary School on the Friday before Inauguration Day. During the art class Paolo Corvino completed a painting, and guided students as they each added color strokes in acrylic to a group canvas, which he donated to the school. Mr. Corvino recently painted a portrait of President Barack Obama, which has been accepted by the White House, and will be shipped in February. In addition, Mr. Corvino (right), shown here with Webster School Principal Joseph Williams (left), donated a framed printed poster of the Presidential portrait to each public school in New Rochelle.

Errol Louis, radio host on WWRL, columnist for the New York Daily News, who makes frequent guest appearances on CNN and other major network TV news programs, broadcast his morning radio program on December 3 live from New Rochelle High School. Following his broadcast, Errol Louis was among the guest panelist for the "Civics Week" Symposium, an annual event sponsored by the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence. Panelists included New Rochelle Mayor, Noam Bramson, Leslie Demus, Co-president of the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation and President of the African American Art & Cultural Appreciation Council, and Alex Eodice of Iona College. Westchester County Clerk Timothy Idoni moderated the panel, whose members heard selected essays by students in AP Government and AP Economics classes. Shown is News12 Westchester reporting on the live Broadcast.