Please be advised that the Board of Education will meet on Thursday, April 2 at 7 p.m.
This meeting can be viewed online. Check the District Clerk box at the bottom of the page for the link.
Travel Channel personality and local resident Don Wildman spent National Read Aloud Day with his friends at Austin Road.
Author Wendy Mass surprised students with a visit to Austin Road to congratulate them on completing the One Author One School reading project.
Career Day!
When Dr. Seuss' birthday and the 100th day of school coincide Austin Road celebrates!
Dear Austin Road Parents and Students,
Welcome to 2020! There are many exciting things planned for the next 6 months at Austin Road. We will begin the new year with our PTO sponsored One School/One Author program. This will certainly be an exciting event throughout January. This semester will also be filled with exciting assemblies, field trips, and special learning projects. We hope that all of our students take full advantage of all of the wonderful things happening this winter and spring at Austin Road. Lastly, we want to wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year!
Mr. Gardineer and Mr. Gilligan
For the second year in a row, Greg Tang, Jr., math guru, and international mathematics-thought leader, facilitated Family Math Night at Mahopac High School earlier this month.
Students in all elementary schools have been exposed to “Tangy” activities and challenges throughout the course of the school year, which promote an excitement for math while encouraging students to think critically and creatively.
Throughout the day (Tuesday, Feb. 11), students at Lakeview Elementary took part in activities led by Tang and their teachers (last year this event was held at Austin Road and next year it is scheduled to happen at Fulmar Road), before all the elementary school students headed off to the main event at the high school.
The evenings’ activities were coordinated by 70 Mahopac teachers, led by Sharon Foreman and 40 members of the MHS Math Honor Society (Mu Alpha Theta) and helped provide parents with a peek inside the Mahopac math program and a chance to see exactly what happens in the classrooms.
During the lead up to the event, Tang posted a comment on Twitter regarding Math Night saying, “I have never seen a district so excited about math. Students, teachers, administrators, parents, and siblings! The world needs more of this excitement, encouragement, teamwork, community. It’s just terrific!”
There was even a special edition of Spotlight on Mahopac Schools taped all bout the evening. It can be viewed online at https://youtu.be/e52PD3gL1UQ.
Does you child turn five years old on or before 12/01/2020? Then it's time to register!
Registration is by appointment only on January 13, 15 and 30; February 5 and 13
Please contact the Office of Central Registration at 845-621-0656, ext. 13506 or 13905 to schedule an appointment and request a registration packet. Registration packets are also available on the District website under Departments/Registration/Registration Packets/Grades K-12.
The Office of Central Registration at The Falls District Office is located at 100 Myrtle Avenue Mahopac, NY.
Austin Road Elementary fifth graders elevated their status from students to field scientists earlier this fall when teachers Mary Jean Cerbini and Beth Doré tasked their classes with conducting a water-health study of the Water Pound Ridge Reservation stream in Pound Ridge, NY.
More than 50 students examined the stream water and surrounding area for macroinvertebrates to determine if whether there were signs of pollution. “Macroinvertebrates are creatures that do not have a spine like a crayfish, snail, and insects like dragonflies,” said Paige Bonder, a student in Mrs. Ceribini’s class. “Many macroinvertebrates cannot survive if the water is polluted,” she added.
The testing was done by kicknetting. A kicknet is a square mesh net about one meter wide and long with a pole handle on each side that is used to collect aquatic macroinvertebrates in a stream. “The students then classified them right in the stream by using placing their macrovertebrate findings in ice cube trays and using dichotomous keys and to determine what level indicator species they are,” said Cerbini.
The students were able to determine that the stream water was not polluted, and the trout eggs could be released when they reach the fingerling stage in the Spring. “I found a Dobsonfly in the stream which confirmed the water was healthy for the trout. By just finding one Dobsonfly out of 100 macroverabrates means the stream is not polluted,” said Sully Hunter, a student in Mrs. Dore’s class.
A crawfish with a missing claw was one of the many macroverabrates the students found and examined. “We learned that crawfish are somewhat sensitive to pollution and often time will fight with each other over territory,” said Hunter. Cerbini kept the injured crawfish as a pet for her classroom which her students named “Captain Hook.” “We get to see the claw back a little every day,” said Bounder.
The students’ study supports a grant from the Candreva Environmental Foundation. This New York state-based organization provides funding for local environmental education initiatives and projects that involve young people in environmental service.
The foundation was created in 1974 in memory of Dr. George Candreva, a Yorktown educator, journalist and visionary environmentalist. Since then, thousands of students in the region have participated in grant-supported activities that range from studying forest and aquatic ecosystems to developing a hands-on and student-run weather station.
A group of teachers from Mahopac’s elementary schools spent this summer learning a new literacy program with the Teachers College Reading and Phonics project at Columbia University.
Each kindergarten and first grade class room is equipped with a library totaling 600 new books. Since the first week school, teachers are reporting their students as empowered to make new friends, discovering they are readers and building independence!
