News

Faculty and students were among thousands of participants from across the country who participated in the Read Across America initiative on March 2.

Originally created as a one-day event to celebrate the joy of reading, and in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, the initiative has become the nation’s largest reading celebration, providing children with the motivation to read and delivering an important message that kids who read on a regular basis and are read to succeed in school and in life.

Mayra Bloom, Head of the Children’s School, stated, “Dr. Seuss is perhaps the best known and best loved author-illustrator ever. He is often associated with loony characters and clever rhymes, but his books also deal with important issues. Dr. Seuss teaches children about the environment, justice, morality, imagination – and even the arms race in The Butter Battle Book. There is every reason for families to go beyond the familiar titles to some of his lesser-known work.”

On March 2, the Children’s School dedicated their weekly Community Sing to an appreciation of Dr. Seuss. Under the direction of music teachers Maria Rocco and Matt Hilgenberg, the entire Children’s School gathered to create a dramatic reading of Dr. Seuss’ classic, Green Eggs and Ham. First grade teacher, Karen Tull, played “Sam I am,” the persistently hopeful creature who tries to entice his grumpy friend,” Bob” (so named by third-grader, Jola Obe), to just try a bite of Green Eggs and Ham. Jacob McCallion and Astrid Neblung also had leading parts.

Multiage groups of students took turns refusing to try the dish with thunderous renditions of the famous chorus, “I do not like Green Eggs and Ham, I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.” The finale occurred when Bob finally gave up, tried the new dish and discovered that he liked it.

The activity concluded with a round of “Happy Birthday“ and a platter of green cookies decorated by the Kindergarten.

For the past 12 years, Rockland Community College and the Rockland Art Educators Association has celebrated Youth Art Month. Once again they are presenting “Young Artists at Work,” an exhibit by K-12 art students in Rockland County. This exhibit will feature a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic design, ceramics and jewelry. This exhibit will be on view in the College’s Library Media Center from March 8 to 28. A reception for the artists will be held on Thursday, March 11, 5:30 – 7:30 PM in the library.

The following students’ artwork will be on exhibit: Heather Mulholland (Kindergarten) of New Hempstead, Quincy Monney (Grade 3) of Spring Valley, Josh Yanko (Grade 5) of South Nyack, AnaMaria Garcia (Grade of Stony Point, Briana Gwin (Grade 9) of Pomona, Yun Soo Kim (Grade 10) of New City, Nicole Timpone (Grade 11) of Old Tappan, NJ, Young Hyun Yang (Grade 11) of Fort Lee, NJ, Claire Pagano (Grade 12) of Congers

10:00 AM to 12:00 PM:  Earth’s Theater – A free program open to children and their families where we will get to play, act, dance, sing and think theatrically in the world around us.  Trees, stumps, stones and streams will be characters and contributors along with the program participants, and Samuel Harps, Summer Studio’s dramatic man of magical mummery will lead us all in this example of Summer Studio’s week of “On Stage with Nature“.

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Our free drama program will lead into an open house where parents and their children are invited to tour the Summer Studio’s campus, hear about the upcoming summer, ask us any questions and get a feel for what Summer Studios is all about.  Refreshments will be provided.

Please RSVP to Lorraine Greenwell-845-268-6802 ext. 201 or  lgreenwell@rocklandcds.org

March 2, 2010

Please save the date of May 15 and join us on campus for our school auction and benefit.  This event will be both a friend-raiser and fundraiser for RCDS and tickets will be priced accordingly to achieve our goal of 100% attendance from our parent community.  This will be a joyful and family-oriented event celebrating the best of RCDS.  A formal invitation will follow.

The “kickoff” of this exciting event will be held at the Parents Association meeting at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, March 9,  in the Pennypacker Library.  At this meeting I will ask for volunteers to serve on various committees.  I’m pleased to announce that Mrs. Cindy Miller has offered to help RCDS organize this event.   Cindy has years of experience running school and charity auctions and is excited to help make our event successful.

The event on May 15 will truly be wonderful.   Please save the date and plan to join us in an evening that will bring the entire RCDS community together to have fun and raise funds for our unique school.

For RCDS,

Brian Mahoney, Ed.D.
Head of School

P.S.  The April 24 storytelling event is being postponed. We plan to continue the wonderful RCDS tradition of a celebrity storytelling event in the 2010-2011 school year.

Beginning in March, the Children’s School will institute an ongoing professional development program led by Terese Dana, a well-known expert in social/ emotional development.

Ms. Dana, a behavioral specialist who has been a leader in her field for seventeen years, helps children implement effective strategies to address social and emotional learning. She writes, “I love RCDS. Its small classes and beautiful campus provide an ideal atmosphere to foster social and emotional competence, which is a strong predictor of happiness and success.”

She will assist the faculty in using consistent language, developing observational skills, and implementing approaches that help children cope with issues like making friends, resolving conflicts and regulating strong emotions.

As schools pay increasing attention to testing and accountability, the importance of interpersonal relationships often lags. According to Mayra Bloom, Head of the Children’s School, “Children who struggle with social and emotional issues are sometimes too stressed or distracted to focus on academic work. “EQ” (emotional intelligence) can be developed, and Ms. Dana has an almost magical ability to help children succeed in these areas.”

For more information contact Mayra Bloom, Children’s School Head, at mbloom@rocklandcds.org