December 2014 Edition Garrison and Cold Spring, NY YOUR EXCLUSIVE LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWS! Howling About Coyotes in Garrison By: Noula Garrison, NY Recent coyote sightings in Garrison have been a major concern for residents. A local teacher at the Garrison School, Mrs. Marsh, has seen and heard coyotes near her house. A student at the school, Nate, says, “During a sleepover at a friend’s house in Garrison, I heard some coyotes howling.” Sofia, who is another student at the Garrison School says she has seen fresh coyote scat outside her fence. The grandfather of Noula, says that while he was visiting in Garrison, he shoveled a dead coyote off the road. A reason why most citizens of Garrison believe there are coyotes is because of the disappearance of pets. A coyote howling in order to communicate with others in its pack. Two of these pets include some cats by the names of “Easy” and “Scooter.” Since Noula was familiar with these cats, she has a feeling that they were eaten. One night last year, Noula’s brother, Connor, was being driven home from basketball practice. “He said that he saw a ‘wolf,’” said Noula. According to the Wolf Conservatory, there are no wolves in New York State. Therefore, the animal on Noula’s driveway was a coyote. Noula’s no expert, but she knows her coyotes! Helping Birds in Our Community seasons you may just save a little animal’s life in our community. By Phelan Garrison, NY In the winter all the birds’ food goes frozen. If you wish to help, a simple process can save a bird’s life. “Bad bread” that is not well for you and your family does not mean a bird doesn`t like it. “I used mixed seed and dark sunflower seed,” stated Barbara Waldron, active bird watcher and lover of birds. “So remember, there is always something you can give them,” she added. These tiny flying animals help us in certain ways: they eat bugs, plants, and help keep the flow of green life in this world. You may have saved two birds: one tiny little twitter and maybe a large silent hunter of the sky. Eagles, Hawks, and Raptors may have had a feathery snack. You may have helped the food chain (a very important flow of life) keep its steady pattern. These tiny birds are also a nice, calming noise to the ears. If you need a feeder or seed, a pretty basic store may hold just what you need. You can always make your own too! Barbara Waldron currently has 3 feeders active and sees up to 30 birds a day. “I love them, they are so beautiful,” exclaimed Barbara. Barbara observes the bird’s feeding time and shares that the birds have a certain feeding time, which is similar to our feeding time. Remember in these frosty A thriving bird feeder in the winter in Garrison, NY (Photo by Jen Waldron). How GCEF Works By Aidan S-H. Garrison, NY Every school needs a group of fundraisers to support their extracurricular activities. For Garrison School, it’s GCEF. GCEF, also known as the Garrison Children’s Education Fund, works as hard as they can to raise money for Garrison School, also known as GUFS, because GUFS is in need of money. Marianne Sullivan, member of GCEF, was interviewed on this matter. When asked how she contributed to GCEF, she replied, “I work with Kyoko Gelber, also a member of GCEF, and we review grants that teachers submit for their great idea. Our job is to share these grants with the GCEF board. The board makes a decision to allocate the money we get from our fundraising to the community. We want to make sure that the money is fairly distributed throughout the school.” Sullivan hopes for a miracle in that GCEF would raise one million dollars without even working very hard and they could develop a sister school, a school created just for the purpose of the kids in the school to make friends. She was asked what she and the members of GCEF talked about at meetings, and she replied, “We talk about the best ways to raise money and distribute it fairly.” They raise money best from the Spring Thaw and the annual appeal. The GCEF members include Courtney Schacht, Kyoko Gelber, Marianne Sullivan, Lisa Rasic, Karen Nelson, Kristin Sorenson, Courtney McCarthy, and Liz Westphal. Members of the GCEF help raise money at the Spring Thaw each year. A Fun Musical Experience By Delaney Garrison, NY Do your children want to have a fun musical time? Bring them to visit St. Philips Church in the Highlands, located in Garrison, New York. Every Sunday your child or children, ages 6-14, can go to choir practice to be a part of the St. Philip’s Junior Choir. Beginning at 9:00 am, they will work on a song that they will sing for the church at Sunday mass. They will be there for 30-45 mins. There is a decent amount of kids thereabout 18 kids. The director is Amy Richter. Blaze the Trails By Lucas Garrison, NY When Lucas, fourth grade student at Garrison School and son of Trisha Mulligan, owner of Terra Flora Botanicals, blazed the trails they went through the forest. They cut down trees and hammered dead logs. The blazes are metal disks that get nailed on trees. Some are plastic ribbons that blow in the wind. All sorts of animals live there. If a flood struck, the animals would need to get to higher ground. “The length of the trail is about 181 acres long and the blazes would help us find someone if they are hurt,” Ms. Mulligan commented. At one Members of the St. Philip’s Junior point the trailblazers made an Choir singing. unnecessary loop, but they found the trail again. Every year, the Junior Choir ”When we moved to does a play based on a bible Garrison, I was pleased that the story. This year the play is school had a forest, Mulligan based on Moses’ journey and is added. “We do not know what titled, “Are We There Yet?” will happen when the lease “It would be nice if some expires in 2030. We are starting more kids would join,” remarked to have meetings to decide the Delaney, member of the choir. future of our forest.” St. Phillips Junior Choir is a Lucas responded, “If great activity for children of all Garrison School did not have ages. the school forest and did not take care of it, students would not be able to learn about nature and what is outside of our school.” Volunteers clear and mark trails in the Garrison School Forest. Slater Chemical is On Fire! By Aidan S. Garrison, NY The Slater Chemical soccer team is starting up in April and it will be a very good season. Two of the goalies are Aidan S. and Dylan H. All of the other players switch around everywhere. According to John Sabatini, the coach of the team, they have had 8 wins and lost 1 game. The team is part of a Pee Wee group in Beacon, NY and play between 9:00-12:30 pm. There is also a concession stand that has honey buns and mozzarella sticks. Coach Sabatini said, “all the teams the team faced were very challenging” and you should go see a game. Reading with Mrs. Reed By Caroline Garrison, NY Mary Reed loves to read and is the library teacher at the Garrison school. Mrs. Reed wanted to be a librarian because she loves to read and she loves books. Mrs. Reed said, “I helped the librarian when I was young.” Ever since Mrs. Reed was a little kid she wanted to be a librarian. Mrs. Reed also wanted to be a librarian because her library teacher was really nice. Mrs. Reed said, “Library was my favorite special when I was a kid.” Noula, a student at the Garrison School, enjoys library because Noula loves to read. wanted to be a librarian. Mrs. Reed also wanted to be a librarian because her By Henry library teacher Garrison, NY was really nice. At the beginning of this school year, the Desmond Fish Library loaned a 3D Printer to students and faculty at the Garrison School. Henry, a student at the Garrison School, interviewed Mr. Young, the Garrison School art teacher, and asked him a few questions. One of the questions Henry asked was, “Do you think 3D printing will help the students here learn?” Mr. Young answered, “Yes, the students like learning about how it works and what it does.” He also asked Mr. Young who made the 3D printer. He responded, “Mrs. McCluskey and some students from Haldane School and Garrison School.” Henry thinks it would be great for the Garrison School to try and raise enough money to buy their own 3D Printer for the students and faculty to use. Noula said, “I enjoy the teachers and I enjoy the books we read.” Caroline says, “The library is not only a fun place to be, but a lot of learning goes on there.” Printing in 3D at Garrison School Super Social Studies By Caitlin Garrison, NY Ms. Jennifer Kirkpatrick, one of the 4th grade teachers at the Garrison School in Garrison NY, both a Social Studies teacher and ELA teacher (English Language Arts), has some awesome projects in mind for her students. The first project that the 4th grade did was about the Native Americans, the Algonquians and the Iroquois. The 4th grade could make dream catchers, shell rattles, a wigwam, (a house that the Algonquians lived in) a long house, (a house that the Iroquois lived in) a headdress, and many more. “I love teaching ELA and Social Studies at Garrison. It is so exciting that I get to teach the subject that I love,” says Ms. Kirkpatrick. Ms. Kirkpatrick says she teaches because, “I really like the teachers and the students at Garrison.” Also, in Ms. Kirkpatrick’s opinion, the best thing about teaching here is, “The fact that we have so many neat events. One of my favorite events is the 4th grade band and chorus concert”, she says. The second project the 4th grade did so far, is the European explorer project. Native American projects made by the fourth graders at Garrison School. is the Fall Festival because I love the artwork that goes into it- decorating pumpkins and scarecrows!” The second project the 4th grade did so far, is the European explorer project. Students had to research facts about the explorer, and the others had to guess the explorer. They could pick Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Juan Ponce De Leon, Henry Hudson, and so many more explorers of their choice. The 4th grade is doing a brilliant job on all of their projects. Big Career Ideas for Mrs. Kuchera’s Students! 4th Grade students at the Garrison School pictured below. By Justyn Garrison, NY What do the fourth graders in Amy Kuchera’s fourth grade class want to be when they grow up? The students were asked what they wanted to be. The jobs they want to be when they are older are very interesting. Olivia wants to be an author when she is older. Dylan wants to be an owner of a candy store. Caitlin would like to be a soccer star and Ian would like to be an inventor. Nate would like to be a football star. Caroline would like to be a lacrosse player. Simon would like to be a car designer. Noula would like to be a zoologist. Aidan S. would like to be a fashion designer. Justyn would like to be a construction worker. Gianna would like to be a soccer player and a gymnastics coach. Henry is still thinking about his job. Grace would like to be an author and Sofia would like to be a horse trainer and a piano player. Keep tuned to find out more about these students! A Garrison Club By Nate Garrison, NY Garrison Explorers Club, led by Pete Salmonsohn, is a group of children that do hikes in Garrison to learn about nature. “I chose to host the Explorers Club because I love nature and enjoy sharing that passion with others, especially kids,” claims Pete. Explorers club is every Thursday at different periods of time. Pete loves to hike to the waterfall in Philips Brook, the North and South Rebouts, Storm King, Breakneck Ridge, and Constitution Marsh. In the Garrison Explorers Club, students can make shelters, roll over logs and identify what is under it, make fires, and much more. “I love doing cool activities, drinking hot chocolate, and Nate and Pete Salmonsohn walking in the woods,” says Ian, pictured above at Little Stony Point Explorers student. in Hudson Highlands State Park. Another yoga teacher who helps kids with asthma, Stan Woodman, said he uses the “breathing technique pranayama postures to open the rib cage” to help kids with asthma. When asked to name his favorite yoga pose, he described the pose pictured below. Andrea Maasik: Soccer Coach and More! By Matteo Garrison, NY The U10 Arsenal soccer team’s record is 3-4-3 thanks to coach Andrea Massik. The Arsenals practice two times a week and have 10 games per season. After being interviewed by fourth grade student Matteo, Mrs. Massik was asked why she wanted to become a soccer coach. She remarked, “I love the sport and teaching soccer especially. My son also needed a team.” She also was asked, how she became a soccer coach. She said, “I volunteered to make the team and I made it myself too.” Her son, Evan, also needed a soccer team to play on. Coach Maasik was asked what she would want to be if she wasn’t a soccer coach. She said, “I would probably help out at Haldane school [example P.T.A.]” Finally, she was asked one more question: How do you motivate kids who do not want to play? She expressed, “I challenge them and do it with fun games.” The Arsenal had a pretty good soccer season this year and hopefully have an even better soccer season next year, thanks to Coach Massik! Yf Yoga Helps Kids By Ian Garrison, NY Yoga can help kids with asthma. Some people like yoga because it makes their body feel good. Some people do it because they have an injury, not like a cut, but if they had a more serious issue, like a back injury. But all these lead down to one thing, asthma, especially when it’s with kids. Yoga breathing or “pranayama,” teaches kids how to use their rib cage, chest, diaphragm, throat and nasal cavity to bring oxygen into their body and to release harmful carbon dioxide. Proper breathing techniques make the lungs stronger and more effective. Lisa Bennett Matkin says, “Yoga makes my heart feel good and calms me.” The Deep Blue By Simon Garrison, NY A Garrison man named Waitek Okurowski adores the deep blue and discovers so many exciting, but deadly things through the world of diving. Waitek Okurowski is always going to random places to explore. For example, when he went to the Caribbean, he found a whole sunken ship! He also found a ball of fish being hunted by barracuda, a fast and very dangerous fish. He also tries to get in the water as much as he can. Mr. Okurowski also adores fishing and he pretty much never goes alone diving. The author, Simon, son of the diver, loves to hear his father’s stories from the sea. Mr. Okurowski states, “You should be careful and never mess up when diving!” Exploring the seas by deep sea diving. Is Butterfield Hospital No Longer a Hospital? By Chloe Garrison, NY The Butterfield Hospital in Philipstown might turn into senior homes. Many people have different opinions whether it should. What do you think? “When I think of the hospital, I imagine people getting helped in the hospital beds,” fellow student at Garrison school, Lucas, expresses. But we still have one question, why did the hospital close? Former day nurse at the hospital, Ann Zgolinskie, has the answer. “I think it was because the hospital wasn’t earning enough money to keep it running,” she comments. Mrs. Zgolinskie also states, “I was a day nurse at the hospital and there were 32 patients. Each nurse would get 8 patients. I would start out in the morning and tell them that I was their nurse. I would have to take care of them. I would prepare them for any medications and surgery. In the afternoon, it would get quiet.” It was mentioned that the hospital might turn into senior homes, but does everyone agree with that? Let’s see what people have to say. “I wouldn’t have it turn back into senior homes, but instead it should be turned back into a hospital because we don’t have many hospitals in Philipstown,” student at Garrison School, Phelan, shares. “I think it should become a hospital again because it would be faster and safer to get to,” Sofia, in 4th grade states. “I would like to see some sort of housing or senior homes,” expresses Mrs. Zgolinskie. Mrs. Zgolinskie has worked at the hospital for about a year and a half and accepted an interview about what she did. Hospital is now an abandoned building. “I loved to work with the patients because I would get to know them and meet their families. I like the feeling of being able to help people get better.” Mrs. Zgolinskie claims, “After I stopped working at the hospital, I became a Haldane nurse, but I’m retired now.” It seems that the hospital was a very amazing sight and no matter what the abandoned building turns out to be, hopefully it will be too. By Maya and Lorelei Garrison, NY April, in fifth grade, enjoys seeing her friends every day and likes art and gym. Being vegetarian, she would like a hot lunch selection for vegetarians. Have you ever wondered about the students’ opinions of Garrison School? Fourth grade students Maya and Lorelei recently interviewed other students about their thoughts of GUFS. Then, they brought their ideas to GUFS superintendent Laura Mitchell to see what she thinks. When they stopped by Mrs. Greene’s kindergarten classroom, they asked Charlie what her three favorite things about school are. She replied, “I like recess, art center, and learning how to count.” Then the girls asked her what she would change about this school. “I would like more writing time,” stated Charlie. When Maya and Lorelei paid a visit to Mrs. Timmons’ first grade class, Aiden stated that his three favorite things were gardening, recess and music. Aidan would like to add a class about trains. Second grader Jillian’s favorite things are recess, using rulers and art. She would like to have track as an after-school program. Jack, a third grader, enjoys gym, writing and science. He would like to learn about animals. When Maya and Lorelei popped into Mrs. Kuchera’s fourth grade class, Aidan S. remarked that he likes recess, gym and chemistry. He would like to have a class that teaches kids the skills you need at home. An example would be a cooking class or a sewing class. Here is what Ms. Laura says about their ideas: Q~ What are you enjoying about Garrison? A~ The community. It’s warm, welcoming, very safe and friendly. Q~ Charlie, a kindergartener, suggested more writing time for the kindergarteners. What do you think about this? A~ Thumbs up! It is an important way to express yourself! Q~ In first grade, Aiden said he would like to learn about trains. A~ It’s important to get everyone’s opinions about specific subjects. Q~ Jillian, a second grader, would like to have track. A~ I don’t really have an answer for that. The PTA is working on an after-school activity like that. I approve of a healthy body! Q~ Third grader, Jack, would like to learn about animals in science. A~ Good idea. Q~ Aidan S. (fourth grader) would like to have a class that teaches kids cooking, sewing and other skills you need at home. A~ I know the eighth grade has those kinds of classes. Maybe we could give some other grades it. Q~ April, in fifth grade, would like to have a vegetarian hot Pros and Cons of Garrison School lunch selection. A~ I feel that could happen right away. Maya and Lorelei ended the interview by stating they felt it was a good idea to add gardening to GUFS. Laura Mitchell, Superintendent of Garrison Union Free School District Charlie, a Kindergarten student at the Garrison School. Hawks Season Ends By Dylan Garrison, NY The Hawks football season ended Sunday, November 2nd at the Pioneers Stadium against the Ulster Jets in the Friendship Bowl. A player on the team, Dylan, thinks that “the season was rough, but all that matters is to have fun.” “ Justyn, another player on the team, says,” I played football because it’s fun and it is a time to get away from my brothers.” The Hawks football team feels that they had a great season. Dylan comments, ”the last game was great, even though we lost. I think we tried hard and wouldn’t give up. I want to play next year.” “Our team had a good season and we will never give up,” he adds. The Marshmallow Challenge By Jordan and Timothy Garrison, NY Students at the Garrison School enjoyed the exciting challenge to build creative structures out of spaghetti and marshmallows. Matteo and Aidan S-H. made a marshmallow structure using raw spaghetti and marshmallows. “Our marshmallow project was exactly 4 ft. tall,” said Matteo. “It took us 10-20 minutes to build our marshmallow structure,” said Aidan. Matteo and Aidan made their structure at Aidan’s house and they made their structure by sticking raw spaghetti into marshmallows and connecting them on the other side with another marshmallow. Their structure was very creative and they used ¼ of the spaghetti. They made it on the edge of the table that was there. “We had to keep restarting because it kept on falling down,“ said Matteo. “Nothing distracted us,” said Matteo. “We suggest that you should use Barilla spaghetti because it doesn’t break easily,” said Matteo. The exciting challenge of building structures at the Garrison School for fourth graders was a creative and fun experience. Examples of marshmallow structures made by Grade 4 students. Question # 3 was: What do you like best about your job? And apparently the answer was, ‘’visiting classrooms and spending time with the students and staff.’’ Olivia then asked what she thought the most challenging part of her job as superintendent is. Ms. Laura By Olivia said, ‘’Making sure that we are Garrison, NY in compliance, at hearing to state mandates, and that it Fourth grade student, Olivia doesn’t get in the way of what from Garrison Union Free know is teaching and School District, interviewed Ms. we learning.’’ Laura Mitchell, new Fifth, Olivia asked Ms. Laura superintendent of the school on what she thought was the most a few questions about her challenging thing for students opinion and new ideas for the in this school. She says that she school. thinks that “the biggest First, Olivia asked Ms. Laura challenge for students in this what were some of her ideas / school is gaining the skills and changes she had in mind for this knowledge needed to be ready school? And Mitchell replied, for the demands of the 20th ‘’Broadening how we communicate, such as updating century.” Last, but definitely not least, our website, and our new Olivia asked what Ms. Laura mobile app, as well as stronger Mitchell thought was the curriculums (broader and biggest challenge for teachers deeper) teaching students in this school Next, Olivia asked what she is. For the last question she thought one of Garrison School’s replied that she thinks that the strengths was. She responded biggest challenge for teachers with, ‘’Community. A caring, loving, supporting community.’’ teaching students in this school is, ‘”Meeting the needs of many different learners and to challenge everybody appropriately.’’ Interview with Superintendent of Garrison School, Ms. Laura Mitchell Gymnastics City because she loved to teach children. She wanted to be a gymnastics coach because she was a gymnast. She said, “Gymnastics is so fun!” The instructors at Gymnastics City have over one hundred years of teaching and coaching experience! They teach classes for kids from the ages of 5 and up. They also have classes for Tiny Tots (ages 35) and Mommy and Me (ages 18 months to 2 l/2 years). Gymnastics City has a Tumble Track. It is a long trampoline and one end is higher than the other. At the other end there is a foam pit. Gymnastics City also has bars, beams, and vaults. Gymnastics City is also available for parties and special occasions. For more information about Gymnastics City, go to www.gymnasticscity.com. You can have birthday parties complete with cake and even face paint! Gymnastics City By Gianna Garrison, NY (Picture of Laura Mitchell in Garrison School library) Elena Thompson and her parents, Vinny and Anita Savastano own a gymnastics place in Westchester called Gymnastics City. They began in 1980 and have celebrated their 35th anniversary this year. Elena wanted to work at Gymnasts at Gymnastics City Courtney McCarthy Pops up in Garrison By Sofia Garrison, NY Courtney McCarthy, pop-up artist in Garrison, NY, has written many pop-up books that appeal to people of all ages. They include Eye Magic, MC Escher Pop-ups, Gaudi Pop-ups, Pop-up numbers, Dali pop-ups, and Star Trek pop-ups. ”I like my mom’s work because it’s interesting to see pictures in 3D instead of drawn on paper,” says Lorelei McCarthy, daughter of Courtney and student at Garrison School. The McCarthy’s currently rent a house on Meadow View Farm. Courtney not only makes pop-up books, but collects them too! “She has A LOT! Roughly 50-75!” says Lorelei. Courtney is currently working on a book that does not have 1. a name yet. She has sent half of the book to publishers to see what they think of it. Courtney started this book when Lorelei was a baby. Courtney doesn’t just make popups immediately. She takes a picture and then makes a pop-up scene. Her first step is to pick a topic or idea for a book and make sketches of what she wants the spreads (paper) to look like. Then she starts to make the pop-ups out of plain white paper. These are usually very rough, maybe with even ripped paper, and lots of tape. Once she has figured out how the pop-up works, she takes it all apart and traces the shape of the paper pieces to scan it into her computer. Then she adds the art onto those shapes on the computer, prints it all out, cuts it out and puts the pop-ups together all over again. Once she’s done with the spreads, she sends her computer files to the printers, usually all the way in China. They print everything out and cut out all the shapes with giant cookie cutters designed to cut paper. Then they glue each spread of the book together. Courtney also uses her talent in times other than her book. ”I like doing art projects with my daughters and their classes. I also create art made out of paper that does not pop or fold.” Courtney also says that if she could not be a pop-up artist, “I would be a professional tap dancer, naturally!” Courtney thinks pop-ups are awesome because she has always liked making things out of paper and has always loved math so, it made sense to combine the two. “Isn’t it amazing that with all computers can do nowadays that popup books are still made by hand?” Gayle Watkins Training Class for Dogs By Grace Garrison, NY Gayle Watkins training class for dogs in Cold Spring is showing many dogs how to behave. Gayle was once an army officer, horse trainer, and breeder who traveled around the world. She decided to breed Golden Retrievers because they stood hot and cold. Also a wonderful Golden Retriever named Streaker inspired her. Finally, she settled into her hobby of training and breeding dogs. If you want to get a dog Gayle recommends, “Don’t get a dog based on its looks! We are a visual species and we think about appearance first and foremost. But we learn to love a dog that fits well into our lives so get a dog that will fit well. First, size, then coat, exercise, requirements, sociability, etc.” Gayle thinks for training your dog, ”Booklearning is one thing, but the best trainers are the dogs!” At Gayle’s training class she focuses on strong motives such as food and play. She also corrects the dog for not trying or choosing to not respond. One of her other main points is basic manners- coming when called, walking on leash and being polite around people and dogs. Other than Gayle’s training class, Gayle recommends these resources in the area for dogs: Skyline Agility Club, which offers agility classes. Port Chester Obedience Training, that offers obedience, rally, nose work, manners and, agility classes. Also, Hudson Valley Tracking Club offers tracking semesters. But of course you should go to Gayle’s Training Class first! Tasty Hot Lunch Brings Kid’s Attention By Giselle, Jovani, and Morgan Garrison, NY Want to guess which hot lunch is the favorite of Garrison School students? The favorite is pizza by far! Pizza had 8 more votes than the second favorite, tacos in a bowl. Mrs. Impellittiere, the principal of the Garrison School, provided us with information about hot lunch. “More than 35 years ago, all the moms would come cook for the kids. At some point the P.T.A decided to do it once a week. Hot lunch is now every Tuesday and is a fundraiser for the P.T.A.” Most kids love pizza. “The 8th grade parents decided to fund raise for the trip to Boston. That was once a week as well. It’s Tuesday for P.T.A, and Friday for 8th grade hot lunch,” stated Mrs. I. Chloe, one of the students at the Garrison School, states, “I think the food is good, but it could use some improvements.” Taco in a bowl was in 2nd place. Timothy, another student at the Garrison School, also quoted, “The food is delicious.” Delaney stated, “I do not have to get the food my parents give me and I like the dessert.”
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