The School Budget and Board of Education Elections vote will be held Tuesday, May 21, 2019 in Pearl River High School Pirate Cove from 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM. Please click the following link for more information: 2019-20 School Budget Vote & Board of Education Elections
The Board of Education approved the 2019-20 District Calendar at their March 26th meeting. The first Superintendent's Conference Day is scheduledfor Tuesday, September 3, 2019. The first day of school for students will be Wednesday, September 4, 2019.
The Pearl River School District calendar is based on 184 school days: 181 days of pupil instruction plus 3 Superintendent's Conference Days. In anticipation of emergency closings, we designate potential vacation days as snow make-up days. Given the likelihood of snow days, everyone is respectfully reminded that irreversible vacation plans should not be made
for the following:
2019-20 Snow Make-up Days
Day 1 - May 27, 2020
Day 2 - May 21, 2020
Day 3 - May 26, 2020
Day 4 - May 22, 2020
As a result of the Regents examination schedule, the last day of school will be Friday, June 26, 2020.
Please click the following link to view the one-page calendar for the 2019-20 school year: 2019-20 District Calendar
Please click on the following link for a letter from Marco Pochintesta, Superintendent of Schools, regarding the New York State assessments for grade 3 through 8.
NYS Gr.3-8 Assessments
No Non-Public Pupil Transportation on Friday, April 19th.
Passover ends at sundown.
Mental Health & Wellness 101
Wear your LA or PR spirit wear or colors!
Upcoming BOE Meeting
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
at 7:00 PM
District Administration Bldg
For Agenda: Board Docs
School Budget Vote & Board of Education Elections
May 21, 2019
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Pearl River High School's Pirate Cove
2019-20 School Budget Vote & BOE Elections Information
The 27th Annual Déjà Vu Senior Citizen Prom took place on Saturday afternoon. Nearly 200 seniors citizens were treated to lunch, dessert and dancing, all made possible by the donations of faculty, staff administration, BOE and PTAs of the Pearl River School District. Thank you to the the employees, students, and Board of Education members who volunteered their time to plan and carry out this amazing event! Please click on the following link for photos: Déjà Vu Photos
Recently, the Youth & Government club attended the statewide conference in Albany where student legislators Alanah Fitzgerald and Colleen Griffin-Turk presented their bill to require voters to present photo ID at polling stations before voting which not only successfully passed but was chosen out of over 200 bills to be the basis of next year’s conference topic. This was a hard earned achievement and great honor! Pearl River is the only club in three counties that brought Judicial members to the state conference. Teige Beaudry successfully argued his case to a panel of Justices, one of whom was Liam Fitzpatrick. Ciara Timoney and Marissa Anselmi were members of the Press reporting not only on the happenings of the conference, but also created insightful interviews of attendees.
Baseball: Our Varsity Baseball team is off to a great start, winning 4 out of our first 5 games. Senior center fielder Brendan Tarsnane has been on fire, leading our team in BA (.722), HR (2), and RBI (12). On the mound, our pitchers have been solid with an impressive overall team ERA of 2.84. Senior captain Liam Fitzgerald is now 2-0 after pitching a complete game win over Class AA Clarkstown North.
Softball: Pearl River Softball is off to a 3-1 start on the season. They beat Harrison on the road 3-0. Timely hitting and solid fielding are winning games for the Lady Pirates.
Girls' Track & Field: The girls team has won their first two dual meets of the season against Sleepy Hollow and Nanuet (2-0). Our next dual meet will be home on Monday against TZ. In the Pirate Relays, Maeve Loughran and Erin Dowling won the Frosh/Soph Pole vault. They also competed in Varsity and took 3rd. Molly McCormack and Wenka Vil took 3rd in the Varisty High Jump. Allie Ritchie ran a personal best and placed 4th in the 400 Intermediate Hurdles. We had many relays take 3rd and 4th place as well. Ciara Durcan racewalked a 14:38 in the 3000m walk. This time qualifies her for Penn Relays and Nationals. It is also currently the fastest time in the United States!
Boys' Track & Field: Pirate Relays was a huge success with over 33 teams in attendance and the most beautiful day in our 30 years of running the meet. During the Relays, the boys team had their oldest school record broken. The team of Gabe Luczaj, John Conway, and hurdle star Nick Malfitano broke the shuttle hurdle record. The record had stood since 1977! The boys team is undefeated in dual meets and travels to North Rockland High school this Thursday for The Red Raider Relays.
Boys' Lacrosse: We have an extremely young team that has beaten one of the top teams in the County (Clarkstown South) and we’ve lost a few close ones due to our young team. We are 3-4 and hoping to win our next few games to go above .500.
Girls' Lacrosse: Our girls lacrosse team is 3-6. They have a young team and look forward to success as the season unfolds.
Boys' Golf: Right now we are 0-4, with 3 matches this week. We have a young team with much room for growth.
Each year, Rockland County Historical Society organizes a History Day conference around a central theme. This year’s theme was Immigration. Students from schools across the county participated by researching and presenting at the conference which was held at St. Thomas Aquinas this year. Pearl River High School students Annie Arnold, Alanah Fitzgerald, Marguerite McAree, Vickie Pahl, and Kate Pittignano presented to the PRSD Board of Education their History Day presentation: The Impact of Irish Immigration to the Pearl River Community. Thank you to PRHS social studies teachers, Ms. Finnican and Ms. Fortunato, who served as advisors. Click the link below to view the presentation: https://youtu.be/-hN-SrtN4dc
On Thursday, March 7th, PRHS’s Girl’s Learn International Club, with advisor Bonnie Caul, sponsored a self-defense night in the Pirate’s Cove. 35 girls in grades 6 - 12 participated. It was a very fun and informative evening. A special thank you to the staff of Tiger Schulman of Nanuet who volunteered their time.
Pearl River High School held their National English Honor Society, Rho Kappa (Social Studies) Honor Society, NYS Science Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta (Mathematics) Honor Society induction ceremony this week. A total of 119 students were inducted into one or more of these Honor Societies. PRHS English teacher, Mrs. Eileen Shepard, and the student officers from each of the academic societies, served as emcees for the event. Thank you to advisors, Mrs. Shepard, Ms. Finnican, Ms. King and Ms. Solicito for organizing the event.
PRHS Seniors who have committed to continuing playing sports at the collegiate level were honored at a signing ceremony yesterday in Pirate Cove. Interim Athletic Director, Stewart Hanson, emcee, Damon O'Keefe, and numerous coaches proudly spoke about the 14 students who were recognized in front of their families, friends, faculty, staff and administration. Congratulations to all! Click on the following link to view more photos from the event : Senior Signing Day 2019
A team of students representing Pearl River High School won high honors in this year’s second WordWright Challenge, a national competition for high school students. Participating with 693 school teams from all across the country, the Pearl River High School’s AP English Literature/English 11 Class tied for twelfth place in the nation amongst all teams competing at this grade level. The students answered challenging questions about two poems: William Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 and Anthony Hecht's "Sarabande on Attaining the Age of 77."
Pearl River students who achieved outstanding individual results in the meet included freshman Alexander Cacas; sophomore Kaileigh O’Sullivan; and juniors Karsem Chiamprasert, Rachel Ding, Marguerite McAree and Victoria Pahl.
Congratulations to the Blue and Gold WordWright teams for these great results!!
PRHS held their annual International Night and Empty Bowls project last week. It was a terrific turnout. Money raised at this event will benefit the California Fire Foundation and the proceeds from the Empty Bowls project will be donated to local food pantries. Thank you to International Club advisor, Beth Kurzawa, and PRHS art teacher, Andrea Della Cava, for organizing the event. We especially thank all of the families, staff, and community members who came out to enjoy a delicious meal or purchased a handmade bowl.
Yesterday evening, we celebrated National Girls & Women in Sports Day by honoring the members of the girls’ basketball team and presenting The Lauren Buonocore National Girls & Women in Sports Day Award to PRHS teacher and coach, Eileen McCaffrey, for her example and dedication to the Girls Swimming and Golf teams. Congratulations, Mrs. McCaffrey!
8 PRHS students were recognized by the Board of Education and administration for receiving the Rockland Community College Hispanic Heritage Awards which recognizes students of Hispanic descent for their outstanding academic accomplishments. Congratulations to Catalina Cheung, Johnathan Conway, Sara Daly, Gabriella Franzese, Catherine Funes, Michael Gaglio, James Hughes, and Olivia Tricano!
Congratulations to the cast and crew of this year's PRHS fall drama production of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Remarkable performances and a beautiful set made for a memorable weekend! Thank you to Director, Thomas Hoetzl, Assistant Director, Beth Carter, Set Construction and Stage Crew Supervisor, Jean Beckerle, and everyone involved with the show! Click on the following link for pictures from the show: The Tempest
Alumni from Pearl River High School’s Class of 1958 visited Mr. Houston’s 8th grade social studies class today to share what student life was like in the 1950’s. While many things may have changed, Pirate Pride has not!
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March Update: The architects presented the BOE with a capital project update for the high school and middle school. Click here to review the presentation.
January 2019 Update: Phase II of the $32 million Capital Bond Project, which includes major renovations at the High School and Middle School, is in the final stages of review NYSED. We continue to be on track with going out for public bid this month, with plans to have the Board of Education award successful bids by March 2019. This work is scheduled to begin in the Spring 2019.
The Capital Project work at the Elementary Schools is now substantially complete.
Completion of Phase I of the Field Project is still on track for May 2019. Phase II of the Field Project, which includes new Bleachers, Press Box, Bathrooms and Concession Stand, are being reviewed by NYSED.
November 2018 Update: During November we continued to move toward completion for the elementary projects. The contractors continue to put the finishing touches on the "punch list" items and are installing the air handlers and completing work on the new boilers. We have targeted Thanksgiving weekend for the final touches by our contractors.
Weather has effected our field project. The rain of the summer pushed back the final installation of the rubberized top on the track. We have made arrangements to line the track for immediate use and are scheduling the final rubberized install for next May/June.
Middle School and High School plans, Phase 2, have been returned by NYSED with comments and are currently being updated by the architects and will be re-submitted to NYSED shortly. We anticipate that the bids will be put out to the public in January with a bid opening in early February and work scheduled for 2019. The second phase of the field work is currently in the NYSED offices awaiting review.
October 2018 Update: October has been a transition month in the bond project. The elementary and field projects started in June are now heading toward completion. The elementary projects are being completed by the contractors as “punch list” items. For the security portion of the jobs, the school front entrances have been the source of much of this final work. Equipment, particularly the air handlers, are being put in place and the final connections are scheduled for the next two weeks. Work for next year at the high school and middle school is in Albany awaiting final plan approvals. We will then set up the bid process for this work; it is anticipated that the bids should go to the public later this year. The second phase of the field work has been forwarded to NYSED and we are in the process of completing some of the forms that are required. We will continue to move forward with this work.
September 2018 Update: A very busy summer of construction projects in the elementary schools came to a very positive conclusion with the successful opening of the schools on September 5th. New security at the front doors, relocated office space and nurse's office in both Evans Park and Lincoln Ave, and a new classroom at Franklin Ave were all completed in time for the opening of school.
Some equipment remains on order and will be installed during weekends or the second shift, but the vast majority of all that was planned was completed on time. The major contractors, Fanshawe Electric and Pearl River Plumbing, worked closely with the district to get the job done and worked weekends and some nights in an effort to get the schools open on time.
The field, track and tennis court projects continue to move forward. Unfortunately, the weather over the summer hurt the schedule and we now anticipate that the field will be completed by 10/5. The track will follow in mid-October. The Tennis Courts could be completed by 10/1.
Looking forward, plans for the high school and middle school are now at SED awaiting approval and we are looking forward to a February bid date. The three additional field projects are currently scheduled to be submitted to SED within the next few weeks.
August 2018 Update: In all school districts August is a very busy month – custodians are cleaning and teachers are getting classrooms ready for the new school year. In addition to these things this year, we have been adding major alterations to the three elementary schools and adding a turf field, new tennis courts and a new track at the high school. With two weeks to go in the summer and Labor Day rapidly approaching, all is beginning to come into focus.
The elementary work is progressing and only the delay of some equipment deliveries will hold up 100% completion. Office changes and security pieces will be in place for the first day of school. Minor work will remain and be completed as second-shift work during September.
Our field project, hampered in part by the weather, is moving forward with partial completion dates scheduled for the middle to end of September. Tennis court work is also progressing, with early October as the current estimate for completion.
July 2018 Update: Beginning with the end of the school year, the district bond project moved into full swing with four active projects scheduled for the July/August time-frame. By the time school re-opens after Labor Day, each of the three elementary schools will have major upgrades aimed at both security and the updating of older infrastructure. All three schools will have new entrances featuring higher levels of security and better entry control. Both Lincoln Ave and Evans Park will have the main office moved to the front of the building and an upgraded security window for accepting deliveries. Franklin Ave will have its vestibule updated and will add an additional Kindergarten classroom. With six weeks to go, all of the elementary projects are currently on target for completion by 8/30/18.
The fourth project, a new turf field, track and tennis courts at the high school, is also on target with partial completion in late September and final completion scheduled for mid-October. At present, the old field has been stripped, drainage assembled, and the tennis courts are being re-measured and leveled.
June 2018 Update: We have received permits and contracts for fields and tennis courts. Work will first begin on the tennis courts, with field work beginning after high school graduation. Elementary schools are moving forward, with contracts having been awarded. High school and middle school plans are being submitted to NYSED later this month.
April/May 2018 Update: On Wednesday, May 2nd, the district opened bids for the first four of several projects included in the 2017 Capital Improvement Bond. The projects included in this first phase were for the three elementary schools and phase one of the field work. Elementary work will include new vestibules and the movement of several offices to be closer to the primary entrance for the buildings. A new classroom is also included in the work for Franklin Avenue. Mechanical and heating work included in the Building Conditions Report are also included in this project. The first phase of the field work includes a new turf field and track as well as renovation of the tennis courts at the high school. Now that the bids have been received we are in the process of reviewing requirements with the winning bidders and planning for the start of these projects. Elementary school work will begin on 6/22 and be completed by 8/31. We are still awaiting final permits from Facilities Planning for the elementary projects. The field work will also begin on or about 6/22 and will be completed in early October. Please note that all dates are being reviewed at the present time. Plans for the Middle and High School projects will be forwarded to Facilities Planning shortly. These much larger projects will be reviewed in the second half of this year which will allow for construction beginning in 2019.
March 2018 Update: As of the end of March, the district had received preliminary reviews for our three elementary projects. As a result, we have begun the bid solicitation process which we hope will culminate with active construction at the three elementary schools this summer. Although not fully approved as yet, we believe that we are well positioned to move forward on this phase of our work. The initial field work, including the installation of a turf field, is awaiting the preliminary approval. We are hopeful that we can also begin this work shortly. Detailed plans for the work at the high school and the middle school is progressing and we anticipate that these plans will be ready for delivery to State Ed by the end of April, beginning of May. At that point, the district will need to decide if we should apply for expedited review (at a price) or wait for the normal review process to proceed. The second phase of the field work, including the storage building, bleachers, bathroom and other finishing work, is currently being prepared for delivery to the state. Once the district has the bid amounts for the first phase and firm estimates for the second phase, we will be able to review with the Board of Education whether adequate funds are available to do all the work that has been proposed.
February 2018 Update: The plans for the three elementary schools have been accepted by SED. We are now in the process of applying for independent review in the hopes that we can move up the approval date and go forward with the various construction projects this summer. We should receive word within the next two weeks on this effort. Full and complete bid documents are due this Friday, March 2, 2018. The field project, part one, which includes the synthetic field, track and tennis courts, has been submitted to SED and is awaiting word regarding the independent review. If accepted in the next few weeks, we may be able to move forward before the summer on this phase of the project. Remaining portions of the field project will be addressed later in the year. Both High School and Middle School plans are being finalized and will be submitted shortly. These projects will face major construction in the spring/summer of 2019. Final cost estimates are being completed and should be available to the district for analysis during March.
December 2017 Update: Progress has slowed as we spend significant time dealing with New York State Education Dept (SED) and its Facilities Management Division. Plans for all three elementary schools have been submitted and re-submitted to SED. A new process of ‘pre-screening” has slowed the initial submission schedule. We are hopeful that this new procedure will ultimately speed things up for the district. Middle School and High School drawings, which are more complex and voluminous are being prepared for submission to SED and are on target for early 2018. The field project, which has been broken up into several projects is also in the process of being prepared for submission. Again, the hope is for early January for the first phase, field, track, and Tennis Courts. A complete review of cost estimates is also in progress so that we can evaluate our plans vs the $32 million approval of the voters.
November 2017 Update: Drawings have been completed for the three elementary schools and are currently in the process of resubmission to the State Education Department (SED). All three sets of plans were submitted in October and prelim reviews were completed in early November. SED returned the plans for adjustments and a next set of reviews is scheduled for early December. Submission for the field, which will include the synthetic field, track, tennis courts and some work within the high school, are scheduled to be submitted to SED in mid-December. We believe that the approval process for this project will be less than the time needed for approval of the elementary projects. Drawings for both the middle and high school continue to be developed. According to EI Associates, we are at the 50% level of completion. This level of completion now allows Savin (our construction consultants) to complete cost estimates for the entire project. These estimates will allow us to determine any adjustments to our construction plans.
October 2017 Update: As a very busy summer comes to an end, the district is well prepared to move into the first construction phase of this major project. Work planned for the three elementary schools is awaiting submission to the State Education Department. Preliminary plans for the high school field, track, and tennis courts is currently being viewed. On 9/26, the architects, EI Associates, gave a presentation at the Board of Education meeting which focused on the various choices the district has in choosing the type of synthetic turf and infill to be used on the field. Design drawings for the high school and middle school projects have been reviewed by the stakeholders and the architects are completing the drawings. Cost estimates for all project pieces are currently underway.
August 2017 Update: Significant progress has been made over the summer months. Final plans for the three elementary schools have been completed and reviewed by our staff and are being forwarded to State Ed. for review and approval. Detail drawings for both the middle and high school have been delivered to the district and will be reviewed with the principals and staff over the next two weeks. Final adjustments to each building’s plans will then be included in the plans and forwarded to SED. Work has also begun on the field with a significant amount of survey work being completed and the geo-tech work underway. Following these efforts, the engineers from EI Associates will be developing the plans for the first phase of the field work: tennis courts, track, and synthetic field. We hope to have these plans completed by mid to late October and then off to State Ed. for approval. The remaining portions of the field work, storage building, bathroom and bleachers will follow. In conjunction with all these plans we have asked our construction managers to work with both the district and EI Associates to develop up to date cost estimates. In all, a very busy summer!
July 2017 Update: The Board of Education has selected a construction management firm, Savin Engineering, to assist the district in the construction phase of the bond project. They have begun meetings at each of the schools to discuss projects and begin the required paperwork for NYSED approval.
