February 16, 2012
From the
Superintendent: -Major (Ret.) Jeffrey Coverdale
Open/Closed Weekend: This is a long open
weekend. All eligible day and boarding
cadets who do not have more than 10 conduct tours may begin leaving campus
after classes or athletics on Friday. Cadets with more than 10 conduct tours
will not be allowed to leave campus for the open weekend. Return time for all cadets is 7 p.m. Monday
the 20th. Any cadet
returning late will be assessed 15 tours and will forfeit their next open
weekend. All day cadets with athletic
contests Saturday are reminded they must be on campus no later than 2 hours
before departure time of an away contest, or 2 hours prior to the start of a
home contest. Cadets with contests on
Saturday may depart campus for the weekend at the conclusion of their contest
or upon returning to campus. No cadets
will be permitted to take public transportation home after 9 p.m. on any day. Parents choosing to pick up their cadets
from an away contest must send written notice to the Superintendent no later
than 4 p.m. Friday afternoon so coaches and the athletic director can be
notified. Again, all cadets are due
back on campus no later than Monday the 20th at 7 p.m. We ask parents to please take into consideration
public transportation schedules and/or possible traffic delays when deciding
what time to bring your cadets back to campus.
Please do not be the cause of your cadet receiving consequences or
forfeiting an open weekend due to returning to campus late.
Maintenance Upgrades and
Status: The maintenance crews
continue to work on upgrades and renovations in Dickinson and Jones
Barracks. Sections 6, 7 and 8 in Jones
Barracks are receiving complete fixes and makeovers as we continue to upgrade
our dorms so our cadets will have modern up-to-date facilities to live and
study in next year. The anticipated
completion of these sections is sometime around May 20th. Once these are completed, it will allow us
to move our cadets into those sections next year so we can upgrade sections
2,3,4 and 5. By the end of 1st
semester next year, we anticipate all dorm rooms in both Jones Barracks and
Pattillo Hall will have quality makeovers.
Cadet Numbers and Referrals: As we wind down the
enrollment for the second semester, we now have 113 cadets on board which means
we’ve added 66 new cadets this year with another three cadets expected in next
week. This is a tremendous job by the
folks in the admissions office to bring in that many new cadets this year.
While we continue to actively recruit cadets for the second semester, we will
begin to wind this year’s recruiting down in a couple of weeks and focus on
September of next year. We will
continue to consider any student who applies on a case-by-case basis, until the
start of Spring Break in March. To
date we have two cadets enrolled that were recommended by alums. I know there are more out there and we
encourage alums to send us those referrals.
Remember, the best gift you can give to the school is a cadet referral. You are our best recruiters so let’s get
those referrals in to Alisa Southwell our Director of Admissions.
Updated Yearly Calendar: Parents are
reminded the annual calendar is updated as needed for the major events
happening throughout the school year.
The latest update is as of February 1, 2012. Please insure you have this version of the yearly calendar for
planning purposes for the remainder of the 2011-2012 school year. The staff is currently providing input to
the 2012-2013 school year calendar, which we expect to be out no later than May
15th.
Spring Break: A reminder to all parents
that Spring Break is March 23rd through April 9th. We have already started to receive requests from parents for
cadets to leave school early or return late. I must remind parents that our cadets enjoy a number of long
breaks from school each year, so every class day our cadets are scheduled to be
in class is both necessary and important.
Please understand why we will not allow cadets to leave earlier than the
release date March 23rd, nor will we allow cadets to return later
than the April 9th without penalty.
We do understand that international cadets taking flights overseas may
have to leave early or return late to take advantage of the limited flights in
and out of the country, and we will consider those on a case-by-case basis.
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
Sergeant George Gutierrez, (mornings)
Staff Sgt. Shelly Brockington,
(afternoons/evenings)
Sergeant
(NYMA) Mario Espinosa (nights)
Staff
Sgt. James Haynes (evenings)
Lieutenant
Patrick Shuart (weekends)
Corporal
William Tresnen (weekends/nights)
Pattillo
Hall – (All Female Cadets) ext. 4243 Ms.
Kathy Eason, (mornings)
Ms.
Debby Murphy, (afternoons/evenings)
Sergeant
(NYMA) Penny Kantarot, (nights)
Sergeant
(NYMA) Heather Gutierrez, (weekends)
Lieutenant
Carrie Estrada (weekend nights)
From the
Academic Dean/Headmaster: -Mr. John Phillips
Next Tuesday (21 February) marks the interim period
for the 3rd quarter. This means that interim term grades will be
issued and available to parents on FA WEB by 24 February. These interim grades
will give a snapshot of your child’s progress since the beginning of the 3rd
quarter, which started 23 January. Put another way, these grades reflect the
academic progress in the last four weeks. Grades show work in progress, meaning
that no student can rest on their laurels for high achievement in classes to
date. By the same token no student should panic in classes where they are not
meeting full expectations. For those students who are struggling in a
particular class at this point in the term there is time to turn things around.
Any student having challenges will be assigned mandatory tutorials so
they can get extra help from their teacher.
Next Thursday, 23 February at 3.00 PM in Scarborough Auditorium, NYMA will host a special assembly that will be attended by all cadets and faculty, but is open to parents and members of the community. “Breaking the Cycle” is a program that emphasizes non-violent conflict resolution through forgiveness. This organization has visited NYMA and the past and we are pleased they are able to have them on campus to address our school community.
Mark your calendars for the spring Parent-Teacher
Conferences. On Saturday, 3 March between 8.00 AM – 12.00 PM, teachers will be
available to meet with parents for one-on-one meetings to discuss the academic
progress of their child. If you would like to arrange a 10-minute meeting with
a teacher, please contact Ms. Madaia (tmadaia@nyma.org).
Ms. Madaia will be making all appointments and that appointments will
taken on a first-come, first-served basis.
SAT, ACT & PSAT News:
All juniors are strongly encouraged to take the SAT being administered on 5 May. Any questions about the registration process for the SAT please contact Ms. Maria Reeves (mreeves@nyma.org)
Students wishing to sit for an AP exam this spring
will need to contact the Academic Office soon. NYMA orders exams for only those
students who register to take an AP exam. The cost of each AP exam is
approximately $100.
There will be a special assembly on non-violent
conflict resolution that is open to the school community. It will be held on
Thursday, 23 Feb. at 3.00 PM in Scarborough Auditorium. Parents welcome to
attend.
Conferences will be held Saturday, 3 March (8.00 AM
– 12.00 PM). Please contact Ms. Madaia (tmadaia@nyma.org)
to make an appointment to meet with your child’s teachers.
From
The Bandmaster -Jason Furman
The
2012 Military Band Festival will be taking place next week from the 24th
until the 26th at Culver Military Academy in Culver, IN.
Representing NYMA this year we have Cadets Kevin Mackey, James Maggio, Michael
Regan, Ekeely Lew, David Watkis, and Jill Hammelbacher. They are all working
very hard to prepare for their placement auditions, and are also looking
forward to sharing music with fellow cadets from other schools.
From the Head
Nurse: -Ms. Melissa D’Altilio
Please be aware that recently some of the Cadets here at NYMA have been experiencing Gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis is commonly known as the “Stomach Flu” or “Stomach Virus.” The Stomach flu is usually caused by rotovirus or norovirus and is not caused by an influenza virus, which does not normally affect the gastrointestinal system and causes the Flu. Gastroenteritis is most commonly viral, but could also be caused by bacteria, parasites, or food-borne illnesses. During illness with gastroenteritis there is inflammation and irritation found in the stomach and small intestines, this causes symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, cramping abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Usually the virus is self-limiting and will resolve over the course of 2-3 days. Treatment is aimed at relieving the symptoms through rest and the use of pepto bismol or Imodium. Antibiotics are not usually used unless a bacterium is the suspected cause, as they would be ineffective against a viral infection. Those who are ill are also encouraged to drink plenty of fluids such as water and electrolyte replacement drinks like Gatorade to prevent dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. Gastroenteritis is contagious and is transmitted through close contact with someone who is infected or ill.
To prevent further spread of Gastroenteritis at NYMA all Staff, Faculty, and Students are requested to practice good hygiene including frequent hand washing with soap and warm water, using alcohol based hand sanitizer only when soap and water are unavailable, avoiding sharing drinks, avoid activities which involve close contact with others such as kissing and handholding, increase the frequency of cleaning common areas and items that are frequently touched by others such as doorknobs with a disinfectant. If you are feeling symptoms, you should report to the infirmary. Please contact the infirmary with any questions or concerns that you may have via email at mdaltilio@nyma.org or extension 4236.
From the Athletic Director: -Mr. Les McMillen
Transportation:
On Open Weekends we will provide train station
pick-ups starting at 5:00 p.m. from the Beacon Train Station for the 5:10 p.m.
and 6:10 p.m. trains.
Results:
Boys’ Varsity
Basketball – Away – Williams School – Lost by the score of 49 – 39. Leading the
Knights were Jabari Wells with 11 points and 5 assists. Larry Donald with 8
points and 7 rebounds. Abdou Tall with 8 points and 3 steals, and Jonathan
Peralta with 7 points and 7 rebounds.
Girls’ Basketball – Home – Wooster School – Lost
by the score of 33 – 18. Leading the Knights were Kaitlyn Simone with 14 points
and Olivia Porter with 4 points.
Boys’ Third Basketball – Home – Marvelwood School
– Lost by the score of 30 – 24.
Girls’ Basketball – Away – Poughkeepsie Day School
– Lost by the score of 31 – 10. Leading the Knights were Kaitlyn Simone with 8
points and Olivia Porter with 2 points.
Wrestling – Away – Greens Farms School – Lost by
the score of 52 – 18.
Boys’ Varsity Basketball – Away – Poughkeepsie Day
School – Won by the score of 51 – 20. Leading the Knights were Jabari Wells
with 11 points and 7 assists. Abdou Tall with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5
steals. Playing well for the Knights were Vincent Luongo, Fabio Massa, Jonathan
Peralta, Henry Ying and Larry Donald.
Upcoming Events:
Fencing – Away – Junior Olympics – Salt Lake City,
Utah
February 18
Boys’ Third Basketball – Home – Trinity Pawling
School – 230 pm
Boys’ Varsity Basketball – Away – Darrow School –
New Lebanon, NY – 230 pm
Girls’ Basketball – HVAL Playoffs – Away – Darrow
School – New Lebanon, NY – 400 pm
Boys’ Third Basketball – Away – Forman School –
Litchfield, Ct – 400 pm
Boys’ JV Basketball – HVAL Playoffs - Home –
Oakwood Friends School – 330 pm
Boys’ Varsity Basketball – HVAL Playoffs – Home –
TBA – 500 pm
Girls’ Basketball – HVAL Playoffs – Away – TBA
Boys’ JV Basketball – HVAL Playoffs – Home – TBA –
230 pm
Girls’ Basketball – HVAL Playoffs – Away – TBA
Boys’ Varsity Basketball – HVAL
Playoffs – Home – TBA – 400 pm