Pajama Program Annual Fall Drive
Springhurst Elementary School along with Dobbs Ferry Middle School and Dobbs Ferry High School participated in the Pajama Program's annual Westchester Fall Drive, collecting PJs and books for children (newborn-18) who need these items most. Springhurst alone donated 303 sets of pajamas and 325 books.
Good nights are good days!
Dear Dobbs Ferry Parents and Community Members,
Can holiday time be here already?
The year is progressing so quickly and many exciting things are happening in the Dobbs Ferry schools. If you follow us on Twitter or other social media, you might be intrigued by the number of teachers across the District who are incorporating a variety of mindfulness activities in their classrooms this year. Through the generosity of the Dobbs Ferry PTSA and the Dobbs Ferry Schools Foundation, our teachers are receiving mindfulness training and our students are learning techniques to help them focus better and manage stress. During the school day, the teachers and students are taking a few moments here and there for meditation to create a calmer tenor in their classes. We are excited that this work will be expanding as the year unfolds since this is an area that is strongly aligned with social and emotional learning, an important focus in our new strategic plan.
I am also excited to share the extraordinary conversations we are having in our staff/student book discussions in November and December. Our book choice this fall is Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. We are talking about how easily we condemn people in our country, and the injustice that we create when we allow fear, anger, and distance to shape the way we treat the most vulnerable among us. These shared reading experiences among staff and students are important strategies that we use to challenge ourselves to explore difficult topics, and engage in discussions where we entertain competing points of view. The role of schools in shaping the conditions for civil discourse has never been more critical than it is today.
There are exciting changes ahead for all three schools as the new year approaches. The Middle and High Schools will be rolling out a proposal for a change in the school schedule for 2019-2020. Discussions about designing school schedules that better optimize instructional time in ways that support our curricular goals for more project-based learning opportunities are also embedded in our new strategic plan. Giving students more flexibility and choice in the classroom requires more time than allowed within the current schedule. Issues related to homework can also be mitigated by longer instructional blocks. Stay tuned for information that will be shared come January.
We encourage you to check out our new Instagram at www.instagram.com/dobbschools for lots of fun photos of all that is happening in our Dobbs Ferry schools. You can also find a link on the District/School websites home pages.
On behalf of all of us - best wishes for the holidays!
Sincerely,
Lisa Brady, Ed.D.
Superintendent
