School Snapshots

Top left, clockwise: LEAD JJ explores teamwork on ropes course. Suzanne Guziec's seventh graders create eclipse models. Congrats to the KES fifth grade production of "The Lion King KIDS." Amy Hoaglund's MPES fourth grade class rocks vocab with lead singer of Goose. Donna Dooley's IMES kindergarten observes No Trash Tuesday.

Increase Miller Elementary students planted the school garden in mid-April with vegetables they can harvest before school lets out. 

Jennifer Noonan’s kindergarten class worked in pairs to fill and pour buckets of soil into the raised beds. The students dropped tiny radish seeds onto one bed. Near the fence, they planted peas as big as marbles. The hands on, satisfying experience is the first step towards pulling a radish out of the ground and tasting a sugar snap pea right off the vine.

This is the first growing season for Increase Miller Elementary’s new garden—it was built earlier this year with IMES PTO funding as an accessible space with flat, wide paths and wheelchair-height beds. It is close enough to the playground that students will be able to check in on their plants each day.

Captain America, Wonder Woman and Superman have nothing on Katonah Elementary School kindergarteners. The students are reading superheroes!

They recently celebrated their reading superpowers such as slider power, pointer power, think power and reread power, to name a few.

Teacher Sheryl Carini said that the children created and dressed up as their own superheroes for the celebration. “We had a few Pajama Protectors who had the ability to put people to sleep,” said Carini. “We had a Dinocorn, who could speak to dinosaurs and unicorns, and Captain Sports, who excelled at all sports! Rainbow Boy was able to change all things to rainbow colors, and Heart Girl spread love everywhere she went!"

Bus tours aren’t only for tourists … just ask Meadow Pond kindergarteners who enjoyed one on April 16! The students took a hyperlocal history tour of Lewisboro led by Maureen Koehl, Town Historian.

The school bus took a scenic eight-mile loop—never more than a few minutes away from Meadow Pond—bringing students to six sites including Indian Rock and the Lewisboro Town Hall. 

Koehl pointed out facts to catch the children’s interest. Teachers including Marisa Donaghy and Lina Foncello helped students follow the route on a simple map, putting skills taught in social studies into practice. MORE

I'm writing a personal narrative about my baseball season.

That sounds like a home run of an idea! To start, how did you feel during the season? Maybe think about a specific game that was really exciting. Can you tell me about it?

It’s a typical idea development conversation, the type that teachers have with students all the time. Except it’s not. This sixth grader is being coached by a chatbot.

The conversation took place in Kerrie Ghiozzi’s sixth grade English language arts class. She’s one of several teachers at John Jay Middle School who is using SchoolAI—an artificial intelligence tool created for schools. She's enthusiastic about the platform's ability to provide students with one-on-one feedback. “Look around the room,” Ghiozzi motions towards students reading and writing on their laptops. “They’re all being coached.” MORE

The scoreboard buzzer kicks off the action—but instead of a tipoff, groups of students scramble to put on fire fighters’ gear.

In one group, Grant Vialardi, John Jay Class of 2023 and an EMT with Vista Fire Department, guides students through the technique of stepping into boots then pulling up the pants. Classmates help senior Megan Flynn hoist the oxygen tank onto her back; Vialardi snaps on her helmet. She picks up a water can, turns towards the bleachers, and starts towards the top. Altogether, the gear weighs about 65 pounds.

This is Trial by Fire, an innovative obstacle course brought to John Jay High School’s physical education classes on April 24 and 25 by the fire departments that serve the Katonah-Lewisboro Schools community. MORE

The hum of the Katonah-Lewisboro Sustainability Celebration could be heard as soon as you stepped into John Jay High School. Laughter and conversation mixed with live music. It was the sound of the community connecting.

The April 16 celebration, the third annual, has become the crossroads for positive and impactful earth-related initiatives of classes and clubs throughout the district, as well as local organizations. When brought together, the small pieces became a mosaic of conservation and innovation. MORE

From pickleball to picnicking and musical chairs to live music on the lawn, JayFest, an all-school celebration created by students in LEAD JJ, brimmed with belonging. MORE

The District's Budget Newsletter will be mailed to all Katonah-Lewisboro residents in mid-May. The Budget Vote is Tuesday, May 21, 6 am - 9 pm, at all three KLSD elementary schools.

Please note that since the petition filing window has been extended until May 14, 2024, at 5 pm, it is possible that candidates may appear on the ballot who are not included in Candidates’ Night.

An engaging and active way to introduce girls in grades 1 - 6 to the sports offered at John Jay and to its supportive community of athletes. The event is free; please register here.

Want more news? Follow Katonah-Lewisboro School District on Facebook and Instagram for daily updates. You can also find frequently updated articles about KLSD on our website at klschools.org.

Katonah-Lewisboro School District | 60 North Salem Road

Cross River, NY 10518 | (914) 763-7001