Schools
New Families Learn about School Community at Newcomers Event
They visited with representatives of community organizations. In another event at Park School, families participated in a scavenger hunt.
Dozens of families recently attended a Family to Family welcome party for newcomers at Park School, where they met other parents and children, learned about local organizations and took a bus tour of Ossining.
They spoke with representatives of Open Door Family Medical Centers, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and other organizations. They signed up for library cards at the Ossining Public Library table.
Ossining Schools Superintendent Raymond Sanchez encouraged parents to let the district know how it can help them.
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“We want to make sure that the communication is open between all of us and you share things that you need so that we can support you as you support your child at home,” he said.
The next step in the Family to Family program is to match up new families with those that have experience in the district and can assist the newcomers.
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Cliff Neto and his daughter Ariana, 4, picked up fliers and learned about local programs at the Aug. 24 event. Mr. Neto, a teacher in New York City, said he is excited for his daughter to start pre-kindergarten. His hope for the year is “for her to come out of her shell,” he said.
Wilson Ortiz attended the newcomers event with his son, Matthew. The two also participated in a Scavenger Hunt for incoming pre-kindergarteners at Park School. Matthew is looking forward to pre-kindergarten, his dad said. “It’s the first time he’s coming out of the house” for an educational program.
Dozens of soon-to-be pre-kindergarteners took part in the scavenger hunt, learning where the cafeteria, gym and library are located, and easing any anxiety about starting their Ossining education.
Children and families gathered in Nelson Sitting Park, where Principal Cynthia Bardwell read them interactive stories. They received a page of clues about the locations of paper birds in the school. When they found each one, they added it to their paper bag “nest.”
Forty families also spent Aug. 21 to 23 at Park School in a program called “Countdown to Pre-K,” which helped them get acclimated to the new environment.
