District News

For White Plains High School junior Savannah MacLeish, a seventh-grade introduction to American Sign Language has transformed into a passion that she hopes will lead to a career teaching children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The ASL club she joined at Highlands Middle School helped set Savannah on a career path supported by her parents, teachers and mentors in the White Plains City School District.

The youngest White Plains Tigers stole the show Friday night, Oct. 9 as hundreds of excited elementary school students stormed Loucks Field during halftime of the White Plains High School varsity football game against Roy C. Ketcham. The annual “Tigers in Training” celebration brought together children from all five White Plains City School District elementary schools: Church Street, George Washington, Mamaroneck Avenue, Post Road and Ridgeway.

Students at Post Road Elementary School packed the auditorium Friday to enjoy spirited performances that celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month, cheering and clapping wildly to the music, dancing and presentations that showcased the richness and diversity of the culture. The colorful program featured singing, traditional dances, theatrical skits and a mariachi band from White Plains High School. Even Principal Jesimae Ossorio got into the act, teaming up with computer specialist Dennis Halpern for a lively dance performance.

Highlands Middle School teacher Erica Villalba has been selected as the very first recipient of the school's Torchbearer Award! The Highlands Torchbearer Award recognizes teachers who lead by example, inspire others, make a meaningful impact on students, support their colleagues and help strengthen the school community.

White Plains High School is proud to celebrate students who earned academic honors through the College Board National Recognition Program, available through BigFuture. This year, WPHS students received 71 awards, the largest number in school history, as part of a record-setting year in which more than 300,000 students nationwide earned recognition. Awardees are among the highest-achieving students in their communities. The program helps colleges and scholarship organizations identify accomplished students, including those whose achievements might otherwise receive less visibility in the recruitment process.

In one White Plains High School classroom, students assumed the roles of investigators as they discussed diagrams of crime scenes. In another, seniors stepped into the roles of characters from Aesop’s fables, delivering speeches and drawing out the moral of each story. The subjects could hardly be more different. What connects them is Syracuse University Project Advance, or SUPA, a dual-enrollment program that gives WPHS students the opportunity to experience the demands of university coursework and earn Syracuse University credits that may transfer to other institutions.

White Plains High School students heard personal stories Friday morning from a panel of educators who shared their varied experiences as Hispanics living, learning and working in the United States. The Hispanic Heritage Month panel, held in the packed Media Center, was moderated by seniors Camila Delgado and Yajaira Palacios, who posed questions about the panelists' cultural backgrounds, their experiences growing up and the ways those experiences influence their work with students today.

There was plenty of learning, music and picture-day fun happening at Ridgway School on Thursday! In Amy Pedulla’s fifth-grade class, students put their creativity to work as they wrapped up a unit on ancient civilizations by designing shields inspired by Aztec art. After researching, presenting and working in groups, students created their own designs, outlined them with glue and covered them with foil to produce an embossed effect.

White Plains High School senior Richa Patel, who took three years of American Sign Language, used her skills to help a young deaf student communicate, learn and connect with his classmates during summer camp. She was so good, in fact, that she turned the volunteer opportunity into a paid gig with the 10-year-old George Washington Elementary School student at the six-week camp held at Church Street Elementary School.

Tables packed with colorful displays, sign-up sheets and plenty of sweet treats drew hundreds of White Plains High School students to the first Club Fair of the school year on Thursday. Dozens of organizations throughout the school introduced themselves to prospective members. Students moved from table to table, chatting with club members, grabbing informational materials and sampling goodies while discovering the many ways to get involved at WPHS.