Dear Nanuet Community,

Spring has sprung at last! The school year is inching toward end-of-year activities and celebrations, which we all look forward to with excitement.

In this month's edition of Nanuet News, we feature Highview Elementary and fourth-grade teacher Helene Collins’ idea—shared with her fourth-grade team—to combine a love of reading with the excitement of March Madness, which resulted in a true bracket-busting success! Students were thrilled to participate, and we know you’ll enjoy this creative approach to helping our elementary students develop a lifelong love of reading.

As always, we have fun and inspiring news from all of our schools. We hope you enjoy it!

Sincerely,
Lisa Brady, Ed.D.
Superintendent

Welcome to the April Golden Spotlight! This month, we head to Highview Elementary, where our fourth-grade students just wrapped up a monthlong book bracket tournament inspired by March Madness.

Music to our ears! Nanuet Senior High School senior Maren Savino has been selected for the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Eastern Division All-Eastern Honors Ensemble. This biennial event features 600 of the top-performing student musicians from 10 states who earned the highest scores in their respective All-State festivals. Read more in our Facebook post

Sixty-four students from Nanuet Senior High School were inducted into the National Honor Society (NHS) ahead of spring break. To be eligible, candidates must complete five semesters, maintain a cumulative average of 91.5 or higher and demonstrate the four pillars of NHS: scholarship, character, leadership and service. After receiving their certificates, the newly inducted members were addressed by current NHS students. Read more.

Congratulations to Nanuet Senior High School’s Model United Nations for hosting its first-ever conference this month! Led by advisor Mr. Andrasko, students tackled global issues and crafted resolutions, demonstrating outstanding dedication, diplomacy and leadership. Congratulations to Julia Guarascio, who won Best Delegate and Tarun Ravesanker for winning Best Position Paper.

National Library Week (April 7-13) is a time to celebrate the vital role libraries play in transforming lives and strengthening communities. Our school libraries are essential to student growth and discovery. “It’s a welcoming space for all students to develop abilities to think critically, evaluate and interact with information, embrace technology and pursue interests through reading,” says Dana Devita, Barr's Library/Media Specialist. Read More.

Our Golden Knights are going green! As part of a new English language arts unit focusing on plastic pollution, fifth grade students at A. MacArthur Barr Middle School are reading Trash Vortex by Danielle Smith-Llera. They are also going beyond the pages of books and taking environmental action with a bottle collection fundraising drive for Keep Rockland Beautiful. Read more in our Facebook post.

April is National Poetry Month — the perfect time for a visit from an award-winning poet and illustrator! Douglas Florian, known for his unique use of wordplay, rhythm and rhyme, spent time with students at George W. Miller and Highview Elementary schools this month during grade-wide assemblies. See photos and read more about his visit, which featured Florian's flair for humor and education.

It’s never too early to start saving! Ahead of spring break, the fourth grade class welcomed representatives from Orange Bank & Trust for a special lesson on the basics of money and the importance of building a rainy day fund. During the “Currency Academy” visit, students learned about the unique features of American paper currency, including the symbols found on each bill and how the U.S. Treasury works to prevent counterfeiting.

Yellow is where we land on the mood meter after George W. Miller Elementary’s Family RULER Knight. The event brought Miller students and their families together for an educational evening on the Yale RULER approach and how it is used in the classroom. Spread out across the school, RULER Knight consisted of several interactive activities and sessions, many tied to the Mood Meter.

“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” To celebrate Earth Day and Earth Month, Sondra Fizzinoglia’s kindergarten class learned about the importance of turning waste into something new. Using items such as cardboard, plastic and aluminum, these budding environmentalists created pencil holders, sculptures, vases—and even a shield! See the photos.