Dear Parent/Guardians,

I hope spring weather is rapidly approaching.

Some great news we want to share:

·         We had 90 students participate in the Holiday Reading Challenge in December.  The students who engaged in reading activities for over 300 minutes received a Reading Certificate, two grade-level books, and a bag ofTakis.  For the February break, we had over 150 students partake in the activities!!!  Thanks to aides Ms. Beaver and Ms. Benitez, all of the participants received the same three prizes.   Thank you parents for continuing to stress the importance of reading by setting aside time for children to be away from the electronic devices and read a book.   We hope to have even more students (we have 380 children in our school) engage in reading for the upcoming spring break.

·         Our fourth year of spring track practice has begun.  Practices are on Wednesday and Thursdays either at the Vark Street Park or at Van Cortland Park.  Please contact me if you need more details.  The spring track meets start Saturday, May 4^th at Lincoln High School and Sunday, May 5^th at Roosevelt HS.  Meets begin at 8:30.  All students from PreK to Grade 6 and invited and encouraged to participate.  There are also meets on Saturdays May 11^th and 18^th both at Lincoln High School.

·         Students in Grades 5 and 6 will participate in the Katonah Arts Museum (KAM) Residency Grant starting in May after the NY State Math assessments.  This program consists of two visits to the KAM and eight classroom sessions devoted to poetry and dance.  Our 3^rd and 4^th Graders participated in the fall.  It is a great program!

·         Our Dual Language program continues to grow.  This year all three Pre-K classes are Dual Language with one section of DL in K and Grades 1 and 2.   In September 2019, both sections of Kindergarten will be Dual Language with an additional 3^rd Grade class.  The plan is for our entire school to join the Dual Language schools in various districts in Westchester and throughout New York City by September 2026.

Monday, April 15^th is now a full day of school due to the snow days.  Schools will be closed from April 16 to April 23.  Classes resume on Tuesday, April 23.

If anyone has any questions on any of these topics or any other item, please let me know.  If you do not see me at dismissal time, feel free to send me an email at ebeglane@yonkerspublicschools.org or call me at 376-8315.

Keep preaching the gospel of reading with your children!

Edward T. Beglane, Ed.D.

Principal

Dignity For All Act Coordinator

Thomas Cornell Academy

15 St. Mary’s Street

Yonkers, NY 10701

914 376-8315

“We persevere at home and in school…”