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We all know that students complain about their school’s cafeteria. But exactly how safe is the food being served there? Every year, Westchester County health inspectors visit local school cafeterias to grade them on everything from cleanliness to the temperatures of the refrigerators and freezers. My colleague, Ernie Garcia, has received inspection reports for three districts so far: New Rochelle, Yonkers and Pelham.

The most recent addition is New Rochelle, a district that had two “unacceptable” cafeteria ratings last year, one at William Ward Elementary School and the other at Jefferson Elementary School. New Rochelle officials said that they responded immediately after receiving the health department reports.

You can find the stories here:

New Rochelle

Pelham

Yonkers

We’ve also produced an interactive database so you can read the information provided in the actual health inspection report. You can find that database at www.LoHud.com/data or by clicking here:

Cafeteria inspection reports

We will be adding districts as we obtain the reports. In general, how do you feel about your school’s cafeteria? What do your children say about it?

YONKERS — The union representing 1,800 non-teaching school district employees will vote on a new contract on Tuesday, its leader announced today.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees released a statement this afternoon noting that members of the CSEA Yonkers School District Unit 9169 will receive a proposed memorandum of agreement at the Tuesday ratification vote at 6 p.m. in Lincoln High School.

Details of the contract will be released after the vote.

The union has been working without a contract since June 30.

In December, the union local’s president, Bobbie DiBattista, said that the main disagreement between the school district and the union was the payment for medical benefits. At the time, DiBattista argued that the it was unfair to make union members pay for their medical benefits when their average
salary was $25,000 a year.

A mediator began working on impasse between the union and the school earlier this year.

(Report courtesy of Ernie Garcia/LoHud.com)

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS – Teachers at The Tech Center of Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES celebrated their “best and brightest” students at a recent Student of Distinction ceremony, held in the amphitheater on BOCES’ Yorktown campus.

Cosmetology student Lindsay Rini (Mahopac) “participates wholeheartedly in everything our department does,” says her teacher Abigail Kapps;

Floral Design and Shop Management teacher Annmarie Santulli described Christine Salese (Mahopac) as having a “bright, bright future in window dressing”;

Gloria Zhingri (Mahopac), a Business and Information Systems student, has a high academic average at Tech as well as in her Advanced Placement courses at Mahopac High School, says teacher Josephine Scala;

Health Care student Collin Speed (Brewster) is a hit at the nursing home he is currently doing a rotation at, says teacher Leslie Green, “talking to the residents, dancing with the residents, speaking German with the residents”;

Kailyn Riefenhauser (Mahopac) is a “strong teacher, excellent lesson planner, and wonderful role model” in the Introduction to Teaching class, according to her teacher Darlene Merrill;

TV Production student Margaret Welch, a “remarkable young lady,” says teacher Liz Marques, has a high academic average, takes AP classes in Lakeland, and always goes “one step beyond” – she videotapes Scout troop visits to the TV Production studio, edits them, and gives copies to the parents of the Scouts;

Tim Joyce (North Salem), a student in Al Cotoia’s Carpentry class, has “a tremendous work ethic and goes over and above what he’s asked to do”;

Dennis Knapp (Peekskill) “asks questions, gets involved, and shows compassion and understanding” during his four-hour class in Auto Mechanics, says teacher Kevin Berge;

Pastry Arts teacher Jenn Guiffre could not say enough about student Chelsea Geyer (Mahopac) – she has “a strong work ethic and inspires us all to be the best we can be.”

Tech Center Students of Distinction, chosen quarterly because of their leadership qualities, academic performance, and positive attitude, are honored with a certificate and breakfast with family and friends.

Danbury teacher awakens student sleeping in class; student sues

Danbury officials have been notified they are being sued by a student who was awakened in class by a teacher who made a loud noise.

Documents filed with the Town Clerk, a prelude to a lawsuit, claim that a sleeping student suffered hearing damage when his teacher woke him up by slamming her hand down on the boy’s desk in December.

Attorney Alan Barry says 15-year-old Vinicios Robacher suffered pain and “very severe injuries to his left eardrum” when teacher Melissa Nadeau abruptly slammed the palm of her hand on his desk on Dec. 4.

A city official says the matter has been referred to Danbury’s insurance carrier.

(Report courtesy of Associated Press.) 

Students from Columbus Elementary School in Mount Vernon will spend the morning today quizzing some of the city’s elected officials and community leaders as part of a role model series at the school.

Fifth-grade teacher Irene Boykin reached out to state Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, Mayor Clinton
Young, school trustee Lynn McBride, city judge Samuel Walker and others and selected 12 students who will pepper them with questions.

The students will ask questions on how the community leaders are able to overcome challenges that come along with their jobs.

Sierra Bangari, a ninth-grade student at Riverside High School, has been honored for exemplary volunteer service with a President’s Volunteer Service Award from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.

The President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country. Sierra’s volunteer activities include Junior Docent at the Hudson River Museum, member of the Green Policy Task Force, and work at the food pantry at her church.

In 2003, President George Bush created the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation to find ways to recognize the valuable contributions volunteers are making in our Nation. The Council brings together leaders from the worlds of business, entertainment, sports, education, government, nonprofits, and the media.

The President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation created the President’s Volunteer Service Award program as a way to thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service.

“This is an amazing opportunity for one student from my district to attend SUNY Maritime free of tuition for four years. The Cadet Appointment Program is a wonderful program that will allow students who are very interested in attending the school to do so without the financial burdens that often come with higher education” Galef said. “There are students that would love this chance to attend SUNY Maritime under these conditions, and I am thrilled that the school offers this amazing program.”

Today’s students are immersed in mass media – from TV to My Space to YouTube to the Internet to cell phones and instant messaging.

That’s why Croton’s Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School teacher Johanna Mustacchi developed a curriculum to help students become informed consumers of mass media. Her work is currently showcased in the March issue of Educational Leadership, a publication of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, in a piece she wrote entitled “What’s Relevant for YouTubers?”

“Students need to develop a critical eye, and schools need to teach them how to become literate in the multimedia experiences that routinely bombard and sometimes exploit them,” Ms. Mustacchi writes.

Newspaper people are trivia experts by necessity, so it’s nice to be able to attend a competition of other trivia experts, which was what went on yesterday at Suffern High School.

Since 1976, the Rockland Academic League has held meets during the school year and then its Invitational on or about St. Patrick’s Day. Dave Silver, who helped start the League and has overseen most of it since then, called it March Madness for the not-necessarily-sports-minded kids who excel at school work.

Among the questions that stumped the high school teens during the rounds leading up to the finish were these: name the stars of the movie African Queen; Which book contained the phrase “the horror! the horror!” and who wrote it; the Bible says WHAT is the root of all evil; and what was Charles Dickens’s last book? All questions I knew the answer to.

(Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn,  Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” love of money, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”

Of course, while (figuratively) patting myself on the back over knowing these bits of information, I also was in awe of the teens, who could answer the math questions without blinking an eye: a triangle has sides of length 4, 8 and 8. The shortest side of a similar triangle has length 6. Determine the perimeter of the larger triangle. (answer: 30) … the diagonals of a rhmobus are 16 and 30. Determine the length of a side. (answer: 17).

While interviewing the Nanuet team, I asked the students how their season had been going. They were seventh of 10 teams, up from last year, when they were pretty nearly last, one of the students said.

They had figured out that if there was a three-way tie during the Invitational, they had a shot at the final round.  The chances of actually making the final? I asked the math whiz on the team.
“That’s a specific probability equation, and we don’t get that until we’re in college,” he answered with a smile.

…The Springhurst Elementary School Harmonaires, singing background vocals for a remake of Burt Bacharach’s “What The World Needs Now.” (Again, sorry for the delay.) Read the story about the record here.

The song, which features Dionne Warwick, Rod Stewart, James Taylor and others, will be featured on “Back To Bacharach,” an album being produced by Grammy-winner Steve Tyrell to raise money for Katie Couric’s National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance.

The one-minute clip is dominated by the voices of the lead singers, but listen closely and you’ll hear these talented fifth-graders piping up and holding their own.

So, without further ado…

Download:

Statement by NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi:

“I am personally saddened, as are all of us at New York State United Teachers, for Eliot Spitzer and especially for his family. As we move past the events of the last three days, we hope they will find strength and healing to move forward.”

“NYSUT has had a long and positive relationship with David Paterson as a senator and as lieutenant governor, and we know he has the experience, credentials and leadership to be an exemplary governor for New York state. When he takes office, we will work with him and the Legislature to keep Albany focused on forging a strong state budget, and we are confident that this essential work will go forward.”

Carmel High School’s Human Rights Club has organized a three-day film festival to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur, the problem of unfair trade, and the prolonged civil war in Uganda.

The event will take place on April 16-18, 2008. Admittance is free. However the event is limited to students age 14 and over. The festival is from 2:30 – 5:00 pm each day, and will be held in Casey Hall at Carmel High School.

A documentary will be screened each day of the festival. The Devil Came on Horseback, which exposes the atrocities occurring in Darfur, will be shown on April 16th. On April 17th, Black Gold, a film that focuses on unfair trade in the coffee industry, will be screened.

Statement by Timothy G. Kremer, Executive Director, New York State School Boards Association:

The tragic events of the last few days have shocked and paralyzed our state and resulted in this unprecedented day in New York State government.

But now there is hope on the horizon.

The ascension of David Paterson next week to the position of Governor disproves the notion that nice guys finish last.  Now, more than ever, we need Mr. Paterson’s steady leadership and friendly demeanor to calm the emergency situation in Albany, build consensus among diverse groups statewide and move New York forward in a thoughtful, ethical manner.

Mr. Paterson enjoys a reputation as a strong supporter of public education.  He now has to make key decisions, not just to appease a stunned populous, but to produce the best results for the people of New York.

The New York State School Boards Association, representing thousands of locally elected officials throughout the state, will do all that it can to support his efforts.

A new study in the Journal of School Nursing reports limiting soft drink and sugary drink consumption is key to reducing adolescent obesity. According to the study, soft drink consumption has increased by 300 percent in the past 20 years, and 56 to 85 percent of children in school consume at least one soft drink daily.

Since children spend a huge part of their day at school – being able to monitor what your kids are drinking – and eating – in the school cafeteria, where a lot of these calories may be consumed, is key. School lunches are an integral part of a child’s diet, but when children are offered Doritos or yogurt for lunch, or the option of skim milk or Gatorade, they don’t usually make the right choice. Schools are beginning to offer healthier lunch choices, but kids are not obligated to make those choices. MealpayPlus is helping parents in over 250 school districts make sure their children are making healthy choices at school.

MealpayPlus is an online prepayment system that also gives parents the opportunity to keep track of their kids’ food choices. With MealpayPlus, parents can view their child’s balance at any time, as well as check payment history. The history feature tracks students’ purchase choices for 30 days. Parents can log onto their child’s account and view what has been purchased on a specific day, and can see itemized lists of any snacks or a la carte items that have been purchased.

With the likelihood of child obesity increasing 1.6 times for each additional sugar-sweetened drink consumed beyond the child’s usual daily intake of the beverage, MealpayPlus is a great tool to open the lines of communication between parents, students and schools.

(Press release courtesy of Heidi Monroe Kroft/BLASTmedia; photo courtesy of The Journal News.)