23 September 2010
Open/Closed
Weekends: This
weekend is a Closed Weekend and all cadets, with the exception of day cadets,
will remain on campus. Day cadets may
leave campus immediately after completion of their athletic practices on
Friday, but are reminded they have Saturday school this weekend. Parents, please check the schedule for class
start times
We are well into the school year now and the cadets have adjusted to their new dorms and their new teachers. Most of the new cadets have completed three weeks of new cadet training and are gearing up for their testing so they can be admitted into the Corps October 3 during the New Cadet Recognition Ceremony. The sports program is in full swing now with the Cross Country and Soccer teams starting the year off in fine fashion last week. The girls’ volleyball and boys football teams will be in action this weekend. Each week it looks more like a regular school year and both the cadets, the teachers and the support staff are working hard to make this a successful year.
We continue to recruit cadets for the 2010-2011 school year. As more people are finding out that we are open, the number of applications and inquiries has risen greatly. Our goal is still to finish the year with at least 100 students so the admissions office is working hard to get there. Also, several alums have come forward with some real recruiting efforts to help the admissions office. This is greatly appreciated and shows that we are slowly, but surely coming together in our efforts to increase school enrollment and work together for our school.
I am especially appreciative of all of the Alumni activity on the campus the past few weeks with the first ever 1st Captains BBQ, which, thanks to the efforts of Alumnus Joe Branch, class of was attended by seven former first captains. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to travel here and share your insights with the new 1st Captain, Rhiel Samson, and offer him your support and words of wisdom. This will be an annual event and I look forward to watching this event grow in scope and participation level. I have been contacted by many of you who intend to attend the Homecoming events October 29-31, and I look forward to meeting and talking with a number of you at the first ever tail-gaiting party Saturday the 30th.
Snacks
and Drinks: Cadets are authorized to have one case
(maximum of 24 bottles) of water, juice or Gatorade stored underneath their
beds. They may also have snacks in
their room as long as they are stored in snap lock containers on the top shelf
of their wall lockers. This is to help
prevent insect and/or rodent infestation in the barracks. Please do not bring cadets more than the
allotted amount of drinks or snacks for them to store in their rooms.
Remember if you have any questions concerning your son/daughter’s health, safety or welfare during their stay here at NYMA please feel free to contact their individual TAC Officers, at 845-534-3710 and the following extensions:
Jones Barracks – (All Male Cadets) ext. 4274 – Staff
SGT Brockington
Pattillo Hall – (All Female Cadets) ext. 4243 – SGT
Gutierrez
Week
two is progressing well for the cadets.
The students are facing an increased level of challenge as the
curriculum develops, and are responding positively to the encouragement of the
teachers and staff. Our two-hour study hall has been a solid block of focused
work for the boarding students with instructors filtering through the barracks
offering help and encouragement.
Already teachers are reporting that some noteworthy work is being
submitted by our hard working cadets that shows evidence of real community
progress is being made on the level of critical thinking and depth of thought
students are bringing with them to class. This is a very important development
as these are precisely the kinds of skills that are going to be critical to the
future success of our children in the 21st century economy.
We
will encounter our first day of Saturday Co-curricular Programs this week. In the first semester, our two “Saturday
classes” options will provide skills that link to ideas and tasks students will
be working on in college and beyond,. Younger students will be exploring
environmental research methodologies and outdoor leadership techniques while
participating in ecosystem data collection and analysis around the NYMA campus.
Upperclassmen will be doing a four-week discovery seminar covering
Constitutional Law and the basics of how the legal system works in anticipation
of a mock trial/moot court competition we will be conducting in December (and
to which all parents will be welcome.) Saturday co-curricular programs take
place between 8 and noon on one Saturday per month and students are held
accountable for their learning and effort during these sessions through follow
up worksheets and quizzes in the week following the seminars. A notation is made on the cadet transcript
at the end of the year documenting their efforts in that class.
Our
SAT and ACT preparation classes also continue apace. (Juniors are currently
working hard preparing for the PSAT and their critical chance at National Merit
recognition and scholarships.) This
focused training conducted by Mr. Beach, Mr. Maguire, Ms. Lorigan and Maj.
Morningfire is focused on building lifetime skills that will make an immediate
impact on student standardized testing scores.
Finally, we are working hard to prepare our juniors and
seniors for the 2010 NYMA College Fair being offered on campus for students and
parents from throughout the Cornwall area on November 2. Ms Reeves and Ms.
Madaia are putting together an exciting program that will offer insight on
dozens of colleges and universities around the country, tips on the application
process, and information on Gap-Year programming. Parents are welcome to attend this event. Please RSVP to Ms.
Reeves.
From the Admissions Director:
It is so refreshing to see
our young men and women back on New York Military Academy’s campus. The new cadets are gradually receiving their
uniforms, so one by one you can’t tell the old cadets from the new cadets.
Our cadets know that effort
is expected, respect is earned, and achievement is admired. I am seeing confidence, success, leadership,
and service from our cadets. The
academic standard that is being set forth this year is truly inspiring and
encouraging to talk about and share with visiting, potential parents.
The goal in NYMA admissions is to help cadets
reach their full potential, develop the skills to prepare them for success in
life, and enable them to find that they have great leadership qualities.
This Saturday, September 25,
Admissions will be hosting an Open House at 1:00 p.m. If you know any family interested in having their child attend
NYMA, please let them know about this event.
Have a great
weekend.
From the Senior Army Instructor:
I am pleased with the first full week of classes and the tremendous effort by OUR cadets. As the new cadet training continued throughout the week, academics did not take a back seat. The cadet leaders responsible for the training have been able to balance the workload successfully. The week started out early Monday morning with the academic convocation in Davis Chapel at 0800. Words that come to mind are unity, motivation and ownership. From my observation on the stage I sense that every cadet fully understands that they have a key role in the development of the future success of NYMA.
As the week progressed the cadets have seen what a lively cadet life is in store for them. With the two activity periods before lunch on Tuesday and Friday combined with the longer period at the end of classes on Wednesday they have several events of choice to take a break from their academics. Some of the highlights for the remainder of the week included the bi-weekly Thursday afternoon drill and ceremony period. Mother Nature forced us inside where we were able to practice the often-neglected inclement weather ceremony for the New Cadet Recognition Parade scheduled for 3 October at 1400 (2:00 p.m.)
The week finished with two great events. On Friday the Cadet Corps formed on the Quad
for the evening retreat and at exactly 1800 (6:00 p.m.) The 1st
Captain called attention, which signified our observance of NYMA’s birthday.
The first formation was on 17 September 1889.
Seniors recited several passages of key events in NYMA’s history before
they moved into the mess hall. Keeping
with a NYMA tradition cadet leaders celebrated the birthday by collectively
doing 121 push-ups. The mess hall provided a fantastic birthday cake, which was
cut by the oldest and youngest cadet a long-standing military unit
tradition. Not to be outdone, 10 cadets
joined 75 Washingtonville High School JROTC cadets on Saturday for a rafting outing
on the Delaware River. Hosted by WHS this reflects an increased level of shared
JROTC events.
From the Athletic Director:
Results from September 18, 2010
Cross Country at The Oakwood Friends Invitational,
Attaphon Kaiya took 2nd place overall. Dalton Winternheimer led for the first
half of the race, but finished in 4th place. Rhiel Samson finished in 17th
place, David Watkis finished in 34th place and Jelani Martinez finished in 35th
place out of 65 runners. NYMA finished in 4th place out of eight schools.
Upcoming Events:
Boys’ Soccer vs. The Master School (West Simsbury,
CT) -away 4:00 p.m.
Cross Country vs. Wooster School -home
4:00 p.m.
Boys’ Soccer vs. Forman School (Litchfield, CT)
-away 4:00 p.m.
Girls’ Volleyball vs. The Master School –home 2:00
p.m.
Football vs. Horace Mann School –home 2:30 pm
Cross Country vs. Canterbury School (New Milford,
CT) –away 2:30 p.m.