Clarkstown Central School District
November 17, 2020
Carol Pilla Announces Retirement Following 56 Years of Service to the District
Dear Clarkstown School Community:
I hope this communication finds you and your family members in good health and spirits.
I am writing to share with you that Principal Carol Pilla has announced her retirement to the Laurel Plains Elementary school community, effective the end of the school year. Ms. Pilla has served the Clarkstown Central School District for 56 years! This outstanding achievement includes 29 years as Principal at Laurel Plains Elementary and 27 years as a Teacher at Bardonia Elementary.
In all, Ms. Pilla has served three generations of students, teachers, staff and parents. Her 56 years of service and dedication to Laurel Plains Elementary, Bardonia Elementary and the entire Clarkstown Central School District is inspiring and heartwarming. When addressing students during assemblies, Ms. Pilla often states “Be the Best We Can Be!”
On that note, let’s all thank Ms. Pilla for being her best while putting the well being of students first as she led, taught, guided and inspired students during her lengthy career as a Principal and Teacher.
Congratulations to Ms. Pilla, and I wish her the best during her retirement!
Thank you.
Stay strong! Stay healthy!
Sincerely,
Martin D. Cox, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Felix Festa D School Principal Jonathan Schatz Announces Retirement
Jonathan Schatz has announced his retirement with the Felix Festa Middle School Faculty and staff today, effective the end of the school year.
Mr. Schatz has been Principal at Festa D School for 14 years and an educator for a total of 34 years, and I thank him for his service to students, staff and parents in our District. Prior to coming to Clarkstown, Mr. Schatz was an Assistant Principal at Pearl River Middle School and an English Teacher at Tappan Zee High School.
In addition to his daily work while leading D School in the role of Principal, I am also appreciative of Mr. Schatz sharing the gift of music while performing on the guitar every year as a member of the orchestra for the Middle School Musicals and with the Faculty and Friends Band that performs an annual fundraiser concert. I enjoyed listening to Mr. Schatz’s inspiring speeches to motivate the 8th Grade graduates during the Moving Up Ceremony in June at Felix Festa Middle School.
Congratulations to Mr. Schatz, and I wish him the best during his retirement!
Hybrid Model Continues During the Holiday Season
Some members of the school community have recently inquired with Superintendent Cox about the possibility of a “pause” to hybrid instruction during the holiday season with a shift to 100% remote instruction.
The circumstances involved with the closing of our schools, a total of 21 closings across the district to date, are challenging to say the least. Nonetheless, at this moment in time, it is the Superintendent’s intention to continue to keep our schools open in a hybrid model to the best of our abilities while meeting the needs of students in person, and at home.
Superintendent Cox has stated that he is open-minded in knowing that such circumstances can change depending on the uptick with the infection rate of the health crisis. In summary, he will continue to assess matters one day at a time and celebrate each day a school is open in a safe and healthy environment.
Link Elementary - Yellow Zone Lifted
On November 13, 2020, Yellow Zone Restrictions under Governor Cuomo’s Cluster Initiative were lifted for the area encompassing Link Elementary School. Link Elementary will no longer be required to complete mandatory testing of 20 percent of their students and staff, as they have for the past two weeks.
Many thanks to the students, parents and staff who volunteered for testing to allow the school to remain open, as well as to Sue Sherlock, Coordinator of Health Services and the nursing staff for conducting the testings.
North and South Girls Meet in Rockland County Field Hockey Semifinals
The field hockey teams at North and South High Schools have advanced to the Rockland County Regional Semifinals and will meet each other tomorrow at South High School beginning at 3:30 p.m.
South defeated Albertus Magnus yesterday by a score of 4-0. Ella St. Louis, Aine Keaney and Nicole DiFalco all had a goal and an assist and Erin Bowes also scored. Aisling Donnelly also had an assist. South’s record improved to 9-1-1 with this win.
North, meanwhile, improved its record to 5-3-4 with a 3-1 win yesterday over visiting Nanuet High School. Goals were scored by Caroline Purcell, Rachel Sobel and Sinead Downes. Kate Devlin had 2 assists and Sofie Dwyer recorded 12 saves in goal.
North Rockland and Suffern will be playing in the other semifinals game with the winners from both games advancing to the championship game.
The Boys Regional County Soccer Championships are set to play tomorrow with North at home facing Suffern. Girls Soccer begins their playoff tournament on Thursday with North against North Rockland at home and South taking on Suffern also at home.
Winter Athletics Update
Clarkstown Central School District Athletic Director Dr. Chris Serra reports that winter sports will occur on November 30th or soon after for the following: Gymnastics, Bowling, Alpine Skiing, Winter Track and Field, and Fencing. The start date for practices will be determined shortly.
Members of the Section I Executive Committee will be meeting this Friday for further discussion about Boys Swimming along with dialogue pertaining to three high-risk sports: Boys and Girls Basketball, Wrestling, and Boys and Girls Ice Hockey and competitive cheerleading.
Congratulations to all of our student-athletes and their coaches who participated during the Fall I Sports Season and best wishes to those set to play during the Winter Season.
Winter Ventilation Update
As you may know, on October 15th the Board of Education approved a $600K expenditure for the purchase of air purification equipment to provide HEPA filtration at all our buildings. Our Facilities Department has begun the process of deploying these units and will continue this work over the coming weeks.
These units were chosen in consultation with CSArch, our architect and engineering firm of record, and sized appropriately for the various spaces throughout the buildings.
With regard to classrooms, each will be equipped with an Alen 75i air purification unit. Please see the following link if you would like to learn more about this system.
Subscribe To Our Website Calendar For Easy Access to Cohort Schedules
Cohort Days and Cycle Days are included on all of our website school calendars. Visit any of our homepages to:
view that school’s calendar including the Cohort and Cycle Days
download a pdf of the Cohort and Cycle Day calendars
sync that school’s calendar to your own personal calendar by clicking the link icon on the top right of any website calendar and following the instructions.
All school calendar are also easily accessible through the calendar icon on our CCSD App. Download the CCSD App on Google Play or the App Store and search for "Clarkstown."
The Clarkstown Central School District
Website: www.ccsd.edu
Location: 62 Old Middletown Rd, New City
Phone: 845-639-6300
Facebook: facebook.com/ccsdschools
Twitter: @ccsdschools