IN HONOR OF
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
THE FIELD LIBRARY PRESENTS

A Living History
Essay Contest

Choose an African-American that has inspired you and discuss in 250-300 words his or her contributions to this country, and how this person has influenced your life.

Two winners will be chosen: one from grades 6-9, and one from grades 10-12.  Each winner will receive two passes to the UA Cortlandt Stadium 11 Movie Theatre in  the Cortlandt Town Center.*

 Winners will be chosen based on essay content and form.

 Entries may be submitted in person at the reference desk or via email to: jdaddio@westchesterlibraries.org.  Include your name, age, grade, and contact information on your submission.

 The deadline is Saturday, February 18th.

*Many thanks to Jose Almonte, Manager, UA Cortlandt Stadium 11, for generously donating the passes.

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Comment and let us know!

1. Rolling in the Deep: Adele

2. Party Rock Anthem: LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock

3. Firework: Katy Perry

4. E.T.: Katy Perry ft. Kanye West

5. Give Me Everything: Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer

6. Grenade: Bruno Mars

7. F**K You (Forget You): Cee Lo Green

8. Super Bass: Nicki Minaj

9. Moves Like Jagger: Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera

10. Just Can’t Get Enough: Black Eyed Peas

11. On  the Floor: Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull

12. S & M: Rihanna

13. Pumped Up Kicks: Foster the People

14. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.): Katy Perry

15. Just The Way You Are: Bruno Mars

16. Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You): Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris & DJ Frank E

17. Raise Your Glass: (P!nk)

18. Born This Way: Lady Gaga

19. F**kin’ Perfect: P!nk

20. What’s My Name: Rihanna ft. Drake

Being on time  for class can be rewarding. Not only will you be able to be ready for when your teacher begins the lesson, you may win something too.

Last week  tickets were given out to acknowledge students for being on time. All students who had a ticket were entitled to a treat and some lucky students also won cash prizes.

The winners of this month’s raffle were:

Adrianna Lawrence

Justin Hayes

Damian Macao

Erik Santander

Anfernee Weston

Brianna Torres

Erik Panama

Kyle Glickert

Ryan Corley

Vanessa Guaman

Not on the list? Read the article below to see how you can become  an on time winner:

Do you seem to be late for school a lot? Do people tease you about it? Being on time is so important for academic success! Learn to improve your reputation and your chances for academic success with these tips for being right on time–all the time!

1. Rethink the meaning of “on time.” People who are always on time are really people who arrive early every day–and acknowledge that things can go wrong to set them back several minutes. When things do “go wrong” these students arrive on time!
2. Understand the importance of being on time. Students who are always on time are the people who earn the best grades, win scholarships, and get into great colleges. In the working world, the people who are always on time are the people who get promotions.
3. Get enough sleep. If you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, then make a serious effort to get to bed earlier. Sufficient sleep is essential for maximum brain function anyway, so you really don’t want to ignore this aspect of your scholastic habits.
4. Give yourself a realistic amount of time to dress and groom. You can do this with a simple exercise: Get up early one morning and time yourself (moving at a normal pace) to see how long it takes you to get ready. You may be surprised at the time it takes, especially if you find you have been trying to squeeze forty minutes worth of grooming into fifteen minutes each morning.
5. Know exactly when you need to be at your destination and subtract ten or fifteen minutes to establish your arrival time.This will give you time to go to the restroom or chat with friends.What time are you expected to be seated in your home room or your first class? If class begins at 7:45, you should arrive at the school by 7:30 and be in your seat at 7:40.
6. Be open to your teacher’s preferences. Does your teacher want you to be seated early? If your teacher wants you to be in class before the bell rings, then do so if it’s possible-even if you don’t agree. Don’t get angry and blame others if you aren’t meeting the teacher’s expectations. Why cause trouble for yourself?
7. Communicate any problems. If your bus is always late or you have to take your little brother to school and it always makes you late, just explain this to your teacher.
8. Listen to traffic news. If you depend on public transportation to get to school, always keep an eye on schedule interruptions.
9. Have a backup plan for your transportation. If you normally ride to school with a friend, think ahead and plan what to do if your friend gets sick.
10. Set your clocks forward by ten minutes. This is a dirty little psychological trick that many people play on themselves. The funny thing is, it really works

JOINT INTERVENTION TEAM (JIT)

  Many of you might have thought that you saw some unknown people visiting your classes the other week, and you would be right. For three days, from November 28- 30, Peeksill High School was the subject of  a JIT Review. “JIT” stands for Joint Intervention Team and the purpose of the visit was to make an assessment of  Peekskill High School. The reason for the visit is that Peekskill High School was found to be one of the 1,300 schools in New York State that was not making adequate yearly progress according to NYS standards. The simplest way to look at the problem is that not enough PHS students are passing Regents and not enough are graduating on time, but  the review looks at many other factors. The team looked specifically at our  school by breaking it down to the different populations that make up the whole school. They looked  at the success rates of  African American students, English Language Learners, Special Education students, Hispanic students, White students, and students form low income households,  as well as the school as a whole.

According to the State Education  website,  members of the JIT have expertise and/or certification  in such areas as: school organization, leadership, curriculum content,  assessment, instruction, special education, English as a second language and/or  cultural relevancy. They review schools in the following areas:

• Collection, Analysis and Utilization of Data;
• Teaching and Learning;
• School Leadership;
• Infrastructure for Student Success;
• Professional Development; and
• District Support;

While the team will be reporting a full report  to the School Board on December 20th, Superintendent Willis shared some of the team’s comments with the PHS staff  after the visit. Mr. Willis said that the JIT reported that they observed a positive attitude between staff and students at PHS. The team also reported that PHS staff was open to sharing information and appeared earnest in looking for ways to improve our school. Some of the  areas which the JIT intimated that might need to be addressed included: reducing the amount of lectures in class and utilizing  innovative ways to encourage student involvement,updating curriculum and technology, and  developing improved programs for our English Language Learning students and students receiving special education support. The JIT recommendations carry a lot of weight and while our school is not in jeopardy of being closed, some  changes will be made in the very near future.

Mercury reporter, Angelique Santiago, spoke to some teachers about the JIT review, here is what the teachers had to say:

Ms. Mannion ( 9th Grade Social Studies)

Q: How do you feel about having the state here?

A: Welcomed them; hoped for constructive criticism and help  for us to  keep what we have that’s working.

Malcom

Q: How do you feel about having the state here?

A: Great, that they see what we are doing; hope they would analyze our weaknesses and make recommendations that will make things better; then maybe student performance will get better.

9^TH GRADE

Archila, Ricardo

Barreto, Diana

Carchi, Michelle

Collins, Keanu Equane

Cummings, Lillyann

Diaz, Danielle

Draper III, Alvin

Gordineer, Brooke

Hayward, Johnna

Hill, Courtney

Landry, Christine

Markley, Amanda

McMillan, Gabrielle

Nube, Nancy

Ossa-Munoz, Nicole

Santiago, Angelique

Shillingford, Trent

Vele, Jonathan

Vele, Katie

Warmbrand, Emmett

____

10^TH GRADE

Burgos Ynoa, Joel

Cseh, Barbara

Curtin, Jennilyn

Guaman, Vanessa

Guardado, Luis

Henson, Autumn

Hill, Paige

Iton, Shaina

Martinez, Andy

Molina, Sergio

Murray, David

Narvaez, Sandra

Nova, Herlin

Piliero, Marc

Quezada, Christina

Sanchez, Dyani

Stern, Sarah

Torres, Lindsey

Wise, Andrew

Yeboah, Afua

____

11^TH GRADE

Abdul Azim, Mikyla

Archampong, Sylvia

Conlon, Aleah

Cunningham, Lailaa

Glickert, Kyle

Hernandez Piedra, Karla

Mcintosh, Taylor

Mercado, Nolan

Michitsch, Jasmine

Nielsen, Gwenna

Perricelli, Frank

Quezada, Jerry

Ricciardi, Brian

Sacasari, Byron

Shaw, Catherine

Shaw, Elizabeth

Vele, Cynthia

Zeboris, Jason

TWELFTH GRADE

Abdul Azim, Elijah

Anzola, Daniel

Balow, Molly

Castro, Vanessa

Gallego, Jenesis

Gallego, Jennifer

Gil, Stephanie

Johnson, Dalila

Kerschus, Kayla

Krapish, Margaret

Kropf, Valerie

Mendello, David

Nauratan, Chelsea

Navarro, Shaina

Orhelein, Caitlin

Pagan, Robert

Sacasari, Steve

Sacasari, Steve

Slocum, Kevin

Solis Garcia, Mark

Soto, Nicolas

Vega Vega, Dirynoshka

Veras, Diorky

Wood, Michelle

HONOR ROLL

9^TH GRADE

Anguisaca, Diego

Battle, Tiana

Bennett, Adasa

Cabrera, Elwin

Clark, Gregory

Cureton Jr., Brian

Dabbs, Aubrey

Dos Remedios, Leon

Fong-Tom, Anna

Gentile, Anthony

Godbee, Kayla

Granda, Elizabeth

Granda, Juan

Greene, Mykayla

Guevara, Marta

Hill, Ruchana

Lawrence, Adrianna

Lopez, London

Monge, Heidy

Morley, Faith

Nguyen, Huyen-Uyen

Novoa, Benny

Pauta, Jessica

Pirone, Kelly

Powell, Kadejha

Richburg II, Ronald

Searight Jr, Tyrone

Simpkins, Nia

TENTH GRADE

Apuango, John

Baker, Shakeria

Barragan, Diana

Bonafide, Sophia

Clark, Latisha

Clarke, Jacobi

DeMuro, Joanie

Fernandez Lojano, Sandra

Gaillard, Joshua

Garcia, Denyse

Graham, Jaylyn

Guerrero, Miriam

Hahn, Joseph

Hernandez, Saul

Hill, Rochelle

Jackson, Morgan

Jacobs, Isaiah

Jimerson, Somoya

Jimerson, Somoya

Johnson, Kalifa

Jones, Ursala

Kaur, Harsimran

Kaur, Harsimran

King, Keeshawn

Lopez, Brandi

Machizaca, Jacquelyn

Memoli, Vincent

Morocco, Salvatore

Sarwar, Sulamaan

Zambrano, Vicente

ELEVENTH GRADE

Archila, Karen

Britt, Tyler

Bunyavong, Christine

Bussum, Stephen

Carchi, Jessica

Casey, Daniel

Criollo, Carlos

Crisostomo, Steven

Gonzalez, Vanessa

Hahn, John

Hamid, Abdulla

Iyekegbe, Nosazena

Jegede, Ayomide

McHayle, John

Rubio Reyes, Mirian

Sales, Vivienne

Sanchez, Ricky

Sanchez, Sarai

Searight, Ramon

Simmons, Richard

Singleton, Aliyah

Snell, Michael

Stern, Hannah

Vele, Christian

Wangthammanoon, Supawit

Wood, Isabella

TWELFTH GRADE

Alvarez, Dinarelys

Aponte, Diego

Bristow-Dolman, Jamil

Caraballo, Dahyana

Carlo, Kimberly

Cruz Urena, Ana

Davila Rivas, Solmary

Henry, Joseph

James, Titziana

Joseph, Z’phea

Knowles, Sonya

Leone, Evan

Leone, Evan

Lyles, Ashley

Mapp, Courtney

Martinez, Genesis

Moseley, Christopher

Nolan, Troi

Panza-Vejarano, Darwin

Pirone, Tyler

Quiles, Lynnette

Rivera, Adam

Rivera, Adam

Ronca, Christopher

Semple, Catherine

Sibrizzi, Danielle

Sinchi-Jimbo, Sandra

Skaggs, Annabella

Spencer, Michaela

Travis, Brett

Zhinin-Joyasaca, Blanca

Peekskill Holiday Drama Presentation
December 2 and 3

PHS Student Council at Barnes and Noble on December 13 The Peekskill High School Student Council will hold a Book Fair at Barnes and Noble Bookstore in the Cortlandt Shopping Center on Tuesday, December 13. Stop by in the afternoon or evening for music, art, and giftwrapping! Proceeds benefit the Student Council Scholarship Funds.       Winter Sports Are Underway There are many exciting sports contest coming up from December through February. The boys’ varsity basketball team has their first home game on Friday, December 2 at 4:30 and the State Champion girls’ varsity basketball team debut at home on Saturday, December 3 at 10:00 a.m. There’s also swimming, wrestling, indoor track, and bowling. Click on this link for the complete schedule

Last week  tickets were given out to acknowledge students for being on time. All students who had a ticket were entitled to a treat and some lucky students also won cash prizes. In all, over 1,200 tickets were collected.

The winners of the raffle were:

Dianna Barreto

Isaiah Crisp

Ashley Harrison

Kimmone Isaacs

Mariuxi Moreira

Myles Parks

Jhanelle Rahim

Richie Simmons

Leon Simpson

Solimar Soto

Misbah Tooran

Michelle Woods

So PLEASE: Be Safe, Be Responsible,and Be Respectful

                          It can be rewarding

Be Safe

Be Responsible

Be Respectful

and you will Be Successful !

 Tuesday &  Wednesday: Be On Time and You will Be Rewarded!

Thursday: Dress for Success. Dress like you are going on a job interview. Learn about getting a job  at lunch time. Get a Reward !

Friday: Music in the Morning  &  Dance your way home!

On Friday November 4^th, a fund raiser for a  community service program known as Peekskill Boat Works (which is affiliated with the
Peekskill Youth Bureau) was held at the Peekskill  Yacht Club. The reason for  the event was to raffle off a one of a kind, hand made, kayak. The program’s instructor (and Retired PHS Assistant Principal), Mr James Taylor, and his two boat building assistants who are also Peekskil lHigh School students and  go by the names of Frank Perricelli and Justin Hayes
had worked at building the kayak for a number of months. The raffle tickets for the
boat were $25 each.  Other items were also raffled off  and the price of
those tickets were  $10 for 10 tickets and $20 for 25 tickets. In addition to the raffle, the people who  attended the event enjoyed other festivities such as music and food. There was a Spanish Guitar player who was very talented.  The crowd of supporters was made up of mostly local Peekskill people who  talked to  their friends  andit seemed to have  a good time. The kayak was won by mayoral candidate, Mr. Anthony Washington.

As far as the fundraising part goes,the program  made about $800 from this  event and these funds will go to new
supplies for future boat projects that the program will be doing.