OCTOBER 2022

Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Sailor's Knot, the brand-new district publication dedicated to Hendrick Hudson's three elementary schools. The knot is a symbolic nod to the district's nautical spirit, and the three intertwined cords represent the three elementary schools united as #OneHenHud.

Each month, we will highlight happenings at Frank G. Lindsey, Buchanan-Verplanck and Furnace Woods and celebrate what connects us all. We hope you enjoy this peek into life as a Hen Hud elementary student. Sail On!

There’s no other way to say it. At Hendrick Hudson’s three elementary schools, the 2022-23 school year is going strong!

A new and important acronym, S.T.R.O.N.G., has been introduced to the district’s elementary students at dedicated assemblies and presentations over the past two months. The letters stand for Safe, Team Player, Respectful, Organized, Neighborly, and Grit; they represent expected student behaviors and serve as a foundation for the schools’ character education program.

Over the summer, a team of teachers from the three elementary schools, along with the district’s elementary social workers and student counselors, met to deliberate on what this year’s new PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions Support) acronym would be.  

“I am very proud of the work that the team accomplished and the new acronym that is now being shared across all three schools,” said Dr. Margaret Ruller, executive director of curriculum and instruction. “The collaboration unified our approach to expectations for students and will certainly help our students as they grow and mature through their elementary years.”

S.T.R.O.N.G. was unveiled in a big way on September 23, when the high school cheerleading team visited each elementary school, not only to build up excitement for Homecoming Weekend, but to talk (and cheer!) about the acronym's meaning.  

“The cheerleaders talked with students about what it means to be Sailor S.T.R.O.N.G. and how to be safe, kind and respectful,” said junior varsity cheerleading coach and first grade teacher Alexis Albano. The team performed a variety of cheers about the new themes and discussed examples tailored to each school’s specific grades.

In the weeks that followed, the schools held their own S,T.R.O.N.G. assemblies.

At Frank G. Lindsey, Principal Cindy Kramer introduced the idea of being S.T.R.O.N.G. to the district’s youngest students. “We talked about how to behave in specific situations, such as being respectful toward others while riding the bus." The school’s S.T.R.O.N.G. Sailor of the Month initiative will allow one student from every class to be recognized each month for demonstrating the good behavior represented by the acronym. “The students will be awarded anchor tickets that they can redeem for prizes or experiences, such as having lunch with me!”said Dr. Kramer.

Buchanan-Verplanck teachers and staff introduced S.T.R.O.N.G. at a high-energy Town Hall meeting in the gym. Holding up large placards featuring each of the acronym’s letters, the staff role-played examples of positive behaviors, such as including others when on the playground (Neighborly) or helping out when someone drops something on the floor (Team Player). “BV students are embracing the new acronym and learning how to be ‘Sailor S.T.R.O.N.G., all day long!’” said Principal Donna Torrisi.

Furnace Woods students gathered outside on a beautiful fall day for their S.T.R.O.N.G. assembly, learning about the meaning behind the first two letters of the acronym: Safe and Team Player. “Breaking up the letters to review one or two at a time allows us to take a deeper dive into the concepts behind them,” said Principal Josh Cohen. During the assembly students also learned about "Superstar Sailor traits," to be recognized on a monthly basis.

The high school’s nationally recognized Project Lead the Way biomedical science, engineering and computer science classes; Advanced Placement science offerings; and rigorous Science Research program may be a long way off for the district’s elementary students. However, a newly dedicated focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) at all three elementary schools is creating foundational knowledge and skills that will serve students well, both now and all the way through to their post-secondary lives.

STEM/Science 21 has been added to the specials rotation, with students experiencing STEM class twice in the six-day cycle. Science 21 is an integrated K-5 science curriculum developed locally and used regionally through Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES. The curriculum is based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

At Furnace Woods, STEM classes, under the direction of teacher Megan Boyle, are focusing on science, computer science, coding, robotics, and technology.  

“The school year began with an overview of digital citizenship and internet safety, learning about the concept of a ‘digital footprint,’ and cyber bullying,” said Boyle. “In recent weeks, the students have been engaged in block-based coding, using Scratch, Spheros, and Lego Robotics.” 

With block-based coding, students guide a robot’s actions by connecting blocks of directional text on an iPad. The Spheros robots, purchased via an Entergy grant, have been an exciting addition to the school’s STEM classes, with students collaborating on teams to direct the rolling robots through mazes on the floor.

Buchanan-Verplanck STEM teacher Catherine Holzman introduced the school’s second and third graders to the concept of digital citizenship using the Codelicious curriculum. The classes then moved on to block coding lessons, in which second graders learned how to create the illusion of a rocket blasting off into space using Scratch Jr. on their iPads and third graders used Scratch to make their own sprites (objects) move around their backgrounds of choice. “Their creativity was boundless!”said Holzman.

During their STEM classes at Frank G. Lindsey, kindergartners and first graders have been learning how to think of themselves as scientists, meteorologists, astronomers and engineers, under the direction of teacher Heather Angelo. “We introduce the idea that science is everywhere around us,” she said. She recently used a flashlight to demonstrate how shadows are created and can appear different based on the direction of the sun. Students also learned about the tools scientists use, such as journals for recording observations.

“We are very excited to launch our K-5 Science/STEM classes this year, with our newly aligned Science 21 curriculum focusing on engineering and technology across life, physical and earth sciences,” said Dr. Margaret Ruller, the district’s executive director of curriculum and instruction. “The Codelicious program provides opportunities to address computer science standards through coding, robotics, and engineering for all elementary students. We are especially pleased that this experience will extend into the students’ middle school years.”

ABC classes have also been enjoying their dedicated STEM time. Over the past few weeks, students in Lindsay Giacomantonio’s class at Furnace Woods used Lego for Education kits to construct tabletop Ferris wheels. The students followed step-by-step directions to build the structures and then used iPads to code the Ferris wheels, adding color, sound, and movement. 

At Buchanan-Verplanck, ABC classes recently listened to the story “Ten Apples Up on Top” by Dr. Seuss and enjoyed several apple-focused activities, such as stacking pompom "apples," building "apples" with blocks, and creating apple trees out of a variety of classroom materials and determining how many “apples” the trees could hold.  



During their STEM time at Frank G. Lindsey, ABC classes have been learning about science through stories, songs and crafts. Students recently gathered materials from a nature walk and created leaf sculptures, inspired by the book, “Leaf Man” by Lois Ehlert.

“I know you!”

“We met each other at camp!”

“We love playing together!”

These comments could be heard on elementary school playgrounds across the district, as students in the same grade (but not necessarily the same class) enjoyed time especially set aside for them to get to know one another in a fun, unstructured setting.

With this year’s elementary school reorganization, students are seeing lots of new faces in their classrooms. Teachers and administrators say that building a sense of community at each school has been a priority.

At Furnace Woods, “Friday Funday with our Friends” allows all fourth graders to play outside for about 20 minutes on Fridays. “Students get to see their old friends and play with their new ones at the same time,” said teacher Dana Duffy. The fifth-grade team similarly launched “Fifth Grade Fun Fri-Yays,” during which all the fifth-grade classes enjoy some fun together. “The students are looking forward to many upcoming Fifth Grade Fun Fri-Yays!” said teacher Elisa Rosen.

Buchanan-Verplanck students can play together with their grade-level friends every morning, from 8:30 to 9:00 am, either on the playground on nice days or in the cafeteria or gym during inclement weather. The second-grade team enjoyed a grade-wide play date at the end of September, and plans are in place for more playdates at the end of each month. Third graders are enjoying First Friday playdates at the start of the month. 

“It is vital to create opportunities for all the students to interact and connect,” said second-grade teacher Sabrina Pereira. “These are positive playful experiences that let old friends reconnect and create moments for new friendships to develop.”

At Frank G. Lindsey, the district’s youngest students have also started enjoying grade-wide play dates. On September 9, the first grade had its first playdate as an entire grade level. All classes gathered outside to play on the blacktop, playground and swings together. Kindergarten students have joined in on the fun as well, with weekly playground meet ups. “Our students and teachers love starting our Friday mornings together on the playground,” said kindergarten teacher Marisa D’itri. “The students are learning and playing together, with both old and new friends.”

Getting to Know the SRO

“Officer Jesse is the best! He is so nice and brave and keeps us safe,” said Liam, a second grader in Nicole Fawcett’s class at Buchanan-Verplanck.

It may be early in the school year, but the district’s School Resource Officers (SROs), Jesse Maracallo and Briann Hurley, have been busy building bridges with students at the three elementary schools.

Officer Jesse recently dropped in on Fawcett’s class to read a story and share a little bit about himself with the students. 

“Officer Jesse introduced himself and told us about his life and his job and asked the students why they think he is here in our building,” said Fawcett. “It was such a great discussion.” He read the book, "Officer Buckle and Gloria” to the class and shared important safety tips, such as telling an adult when something doesn’t seem right.

“Seeing me reading a book helps normalize me for the students,” said Maracallo. “It also serves as a great ice breaker activity.”

“It was so cool that Officer Jesse came to our class to read and spend time with us,” said second grader Kelsie. “He even brought us cool bookmarks with safety tips on them.”

Maracallo made a similar visit to Frank G. Lindsey, and SRO Briann Hurley is planning a visit to Furnace Woods soon.

Counselor Corner: Healthy Tips for our Community 

With Halloween celebrations around the corner, the district's elementary school counselors offer the following tips:

• Plan Ahead! (make smart decisions about trick-or-treating and which friends you will go with)
• Practice Saying “No!” (role-play what to say if a friend wants to pull a mean prank)
• Listen to your gut (if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it!)
• Stay with an adult, don’t go alone! (older kids: use the buddy system!)
• Tell a trusted adult, if you don’t feel safe or see something dangerous

Click here to read the full October issue of Counselor Corner in English and Spanish.

#onehenhud

Frank G. Lindsey Elementary School (Pre-K through 1st Grade)

Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School (2nd and 3rd Grade)

Furnace Wood Elementary School (4th and 5th Grade)