Lisa Maffei-Fuentes, Principal PRINCIPAL'S NEWSLETTER #1 November 10, 2022 WELCOME NEW STAFF This year we have over 50 new staff members, including Assistant Principals, Guidance Counselors, teachers, LAB assistants, School Aides, Para Professionals and many others. These people come to us from the Fellows Program, the Excelsior Teaching Corp, the TOPS Program and many other programs from around the city. We welcome our new staff members to our school and hope they can make the same positive impact and contribution that many of us have made during our years at Columbus. Good Luck! COLUMBUS WINS BILINGUAL EXCEL GRANT The Second Language Department of Christopher Columbus High School is the proud recipient of a Bilingual Excel Grant of $17000. This grant will provide funding for after school and weekend tutoring for students and parents. Congratulations! SECURITY UPDATE Through the combined efforts of the Security Team and the administration, we have been able to install cameras overlooking the perimeter of the building including the parking lots and all exits. ARISTA On Sunday, September 14, 2003, members of ARISTA and Leadership joined Ms. Herman in the Susan B Komen Race for the Cure. The race was to raise money to find a cure for Breast Cancer. The students walked from 75th street and Central Park West for 5 K through the park. NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENTS ATTENDANCE We welcome Mr. Mallon to the attendance outreach program in our school. He is the new Attendance Teacher assigned to our building. Outreach activities are in full force. House personnel are doing phone calls and home visits, when necessary. We are following up the information that teachers are providing in the outreach logs. We are happy to inform that many students have returned to school and others are in the process of doing so. Thanks to every one of you! � The past Parent-Teacher Conference was a huge success. More than 1200 parents came to our school on those days. Thank you all for your participation. � I want to thank the students of the Leadership class for their participation during the Parent- Teacher Conference. � Attendance for September 2003 was 81.7%. This is almost 2% below the average for September 2002. CAPA We would like to welcome to the CAPA department our newest members, John Kellerher, Music Teacher and Tiffany Leon, Art Teacher. A welcome back to Claudia Giordano from her sabbatical and good luck to Ardys Benjamin who began her year sabbatical this September. Rocco Petrillo is participating in the National Board Teachers Certification Program this year. He is being mentored by Staff Developer, Christine Rowland. Rocco is the only high school teacher in the Bronx that is partaking in this certification. Ms. Laboy will be conducting a Beginner Instrumental Band Class with the small High School Campus Academy students at Columbus. We are sure that the students will enjoy this wonderful experience. The Town Hall Stage Craft Program will again begin a partnership with Christopher Columbus High School. The Jazz & Concert Bands under the direction of Carmen Laboy and the Gospel Choir under the direction of Blane Shaw will be preparing a music program for JHS students on November 16, 2022 at CCHS. This program seeks JHS students that are currently part of an instrumental/ vocal program that would like to attend schools that have strong academic and music program. On Thursday, September 25, 2003, we had our September 2003 Graduation Commencement Ceremony in the school library. We congratulate all our graduates. A special thank you to all staff members who attended this event. Your presence makes these special occasions very memorable. UPCOMING EVENTS: Solo Showcase November 20, 2022 Winter Concert December 18, 2022 BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY Liz Effinger will again be participating in the GEAR-UP Program this year. This is a one-credit course in Financial Information Processing. This course will include: Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, Investment Strategies, and Competition for prizes in the Stock Market ENGLISH � On September 3, 4, 22, 23 and 24, Kristina Kirtley and Arlene Yiadom attended training in Ramp Up, the 9th grade mandated curriculum. � 9th grader Shernette Richardson received the Chancellor�s Honor Roll Certificate reading over 25 books this summer. � Mark Silverman is teaching an S.A.T. course. Over 30 students are currently enrolled. Information about the course is posted around the school. � On Wednesday, September 17th, Mr. Manolios attended a network 7 meeting to discuss balanced literacy with teachers and administrators from other schools. � Joe Clausi, Lucy Chiarovano, Carolyn Yaffe, Norma Vega, Matt Molloy, James New, and Ruth Colton have all been designated as mentors for the new fellows. � Ms. Sherwood received a grant from Donors Choose for 150 copies of The 100 Best Loved Poems and one Wilson WCDB90-Red Sports Portable Boombox. � On Friday, September 26th, Mr. Manolios visited Morris High School, where he observed two Ramp Up classes in action. GUIDANCE Welcome two new guidance counselors to Columbus: Ms. Iolanda Fox to our Business Tech and Law and Justice Houses Ms. Sharon Balog to our Communications and Media House. Ms. Candice Werner transferred to the Astor Collegiate Academy housed in Columbus High School. We welcome back Ms. Maybruch to the College Now House. She is taking over for Ms. Stern-Beutler who is on sabbatical. Once again the Columbia University Asthma Education Research Group will be recruiting students into the asthma awareness program. Its purpose is to teach students what asthma is and how to control it. Also returning to Columbus is the Gear Up Program - Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs that provides encouragement and support for low-income students to achieve at a high academic level. The program is sponsored by Lehman College. There have been over 400 Over-The-Counter admits thus far. We welcomed 85 families at our Freshmen Orientation that took place on Tuesday evening, September 23. MATHEMATICS The Mathematics Department would like to welcome the following new members to Columbus High School. Ms. Fundo, Ms. Fiorentino,, Ms. Holmes, Ms. Kirka, Mr. Klass, Mr. Kershak, Mr. Lamphere, Mr. Lin, Mr. Markin, and Mr. O�Fiaich During the week of August 26, all the new teachers have participated in a five-day Professional Development workshop at Columbus High School concentrating on classroom management, teaching and learning styles. At the beginning of the month of September, the mathematics department has implemented a number of practices that proved quite effective in the past. We discussed all the new Region 2 initiatives and practices for 2003-2004 school year. We created a house buddy system for all new teachers and set up intervisitation schedule among different classes. Mr. Kosak, Ms auslander, Mr. Escudero , Ms. Herman, Mr. Buono, Ms. Dacillo and Mr. Tmimi have shared their best practices with all members of mathematics department as well as special Ed department from classroom management, teaching techniques, lesson plan design, the use of the overhead projector to the use of technology in the classroom. As part of the training offered by the Region, all mathematics teachers attended the New ninth grade curriculum concentrating on Balanced Approach of Mathematics and modeled the first lesson in the M$1 Curriculum using the �Point of Entry Model� workshop which will utilize the Point of Entry Model. This workshop took place at Christopher Columbus High School and was conducted by the Princeton Review . Mr. Buono, Ms. Dacillo, Ms. Kirka and Mr. Tmimi have been meeting on Tuesday and Thursday period 5 to discuss implementation of the Point of Entry Model in M$1 classes. Model lessons have been drawn up to days 1 to 14 of the four-semester pacing curriculum and circulated to all teachers of those students. The purpose of the meetings is to devise uniform lesson plans, which utilize all objectives of the new city-wide program and take full advantage of all resources at Christopher Columbus High School. The Mathematics Department has been providing ongoing PD workshops to the math and special education faculty on the implementation of the Math A curriculum using the Prentice Hall textbook and P.O.E.M. Under the leadership of Mr. Tmimi, the Math AP and with the help of Mrs. Theresa McCauley, the Math Consultant from the Princeton Review who is working here at Columbus High School and the Campus Schools on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the department will continue to work on developing and sharing lesson plans, techniques on classroom management and assessment. Mr. Tmimi and Mrs. McCauley are observing and meeting with teachers on a frequent basis. As the department continues this ongoing process it will focus efforts on strategies to help students who are repeating courses. All new teachers from the math and special Ed department attended a PD workshop � introduction to Low stakes Writing in the math classroom�, offered by Ms. Patsy Wooters from the Lehman College writing project. All new math teachers have participated in a PD workshop offered by Christine Rowland describing the role of the UFT center teacher services Congratulations to Ms. Susan Auslander on her new assignment as M.S.I. Coordinator. Congratulations to Ms. Heman, Mr. Gerold, Mr. Kosack on their assignments as Mentors. Many thanks to Mr. Salazar and Mr. Giamo for their time and continuous effort in providing on-going support to all new mathematics teachers. SCIENCE The Science Department welcomes all its new members: Rafael Alardo, Amit Kashi, Denise Williams, Suzanne Barrett, Saseedaran Koottala, Julia Chillemi, Gregory Malcolm, Silvia Delao, James Mularardelis, Michael Holmes, Michael Propper, You have our strongest wishes for a successful career at here C.C.H.S. This year we are engaged in a wonderful program (in partnership with CUNY, the College Board for Advanced Placement, and other Bronx High Schools) called the �The AP Fellows Program�. Six of our teachers and three doctoral students / fellows will work jointing in the classroom to foster the development of future A.P. teachers and successful A.P. science and math courses. We congratulate our teachers for their commitment to excellence: Dr. Ernie DeMarie, Dr. Robin Esser, Mr. David Griffin, Ms. Maudi Rodriguez, Ms. Colleen Ligonde, and Ms. Julia Chillemi. We also welcome our fellows to C.C.H.S.: Angela Stewart (Biology), Heather Glickman (Environmental Science), and Mary Rocco (Chemistry). We are very proud of David Griffin who recently swam across the Hudson River in support of Muscular Dystrophy research. SECOND LANGUAGE The Second Language Department welcomes our new teachers: Virna Feliciano (ESL), Olga Kosiv (Spanish), Jasmin Martinez (Spanish), Raphael Miranda (Spanish) and Harry Spencer (Spanish). We also congratulate Sandra Burgos, Second Language Department Coordinator, Benita Glickman, the new International House Coordinator, and Maritza Pe�a for passing the Spanish content area test; and Julissa Trinidad for passing the ATSW. We thank Jenifer Berenberg, Benita Glickman and Nunzia Manginelli for working on the Curriculum Framework for ESL/FBE/NLA over the summer. Currently, the Second Language Department has eight TIPS teachers. They are Sandra Burgos, Anita Bushi, Cari Gersh, Benita Glickman, Nunzia Manginelli, Nora Tiao, Marla Toscano and Julissa Trinidad. We wish the Christopher Columbus family a Happy School year!!!! SOCIAL STUDIES The Social Studies Department welcomes Ms. Kim, Ms. LoRusso, Ms. Medori, Ms. Muhammad, Mr. Rios, Mr. Walter, and Ms. Wright to the Department and wishes them a successful year. We have already seen the dedication and team effort of the new teachers. Veteran teachers have reached out to assist the new members of our staff. Mr. Gashi, the new head of the Social Studies Department who is affiliated with Lehman College as an adjunct professor, conducted professional development workshops for new teachers at the end of August. Some of the topics covered in the professional development workshops in the first week of September were: Point of entry model, approaches linked to writing in social studies, how can teachers strengthen assessment using standards and the internet, Methods of teaching social studies through the arts, Utilizing technology in the classroom, Document based questions, thematic essays, etc. Ms. Wright who has utilized technology in her previous profession to enhance learning, In addition, the Social Studies Department is pleased to announce the two new courses �Black History� taught by Ms. Dougherty and �America at War� taught by Mr. DeMasi. We will also be hosting a dozen of students of from Lehman College who will be doing field work. Also, a series of guest speakers from various colleges will be coming in October and November to talk to our juniors and seniors about plans for college. We have put in action the mentoring program. As part of the new initiatives, our teachers are implementing balanced literacy in the classroom, where all of our students are engaged in independent, guided, shared reading and writing. SPECIAL EDUCATION We would like to take this opportunity to introduce the following new members of our department and wish them much success: Mr. Steve Bodden Certified in Mathematics Ms. Pam Buder Certified in Special Education Ms. Ann Marie Maudio Certified in Special Education Ms. Linda Toscano Speech and Language teacher We would like to welcome back to our department! Mr. Samuel DeVeaux Returning from sabbatical Ms. Cheryl Shapiro Returning from the Math Department We would like to congratulate Ms. Marina Fundo, a former paraprofessional in the Special Education department, on accepting a teaching position in the Mathematics department here at Christopher Columbus High School. Once again, the cream rises to the top. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ms. Irene Milzoff, a teacher in our department, on the recent wedding of her daughter. We would like to announce that Ms. Linda Scott, a science teacher in our department, has been granted an educational sabbatical for this school year. We look forward to her return. We would like to announce that Ms. Drita Moschetti, a teacher in our department, and Mr. John Moschetti, a teacher in the Social Studies department, are expecting their second child in February. Mr. Michael Doherty has been assigned to teach a full day program for some of our test exempt students at the Riverdale Home for the Aged located in The Bronx. This is a great opportunity for Columbus H.S. test exempt students to receive certification as home care attendants. Eldercare is an expanded industry. In the future years to come Eldercare workers will be in greater demand since senior citizens will make up the majority of this country�s population. Ms. Marie DeLuccia and Mr. Lyndon George are presently enrolled in the ICP Program at Mercy College. They will be completing the program and receiving their Master�s degree in the summer 2004. We are happy to announce that Ms. Nayda Villaran, Mr. Henry Rajkowski, and Ms. Gail Small are once again collaborating with Lincoln Center Theater�s Open Stages High School Program to enrich the education of our students. We will keep you posted on the coming schedule of events. Diane N. Palma and Isnoella Olmeda were granted scholarships to pursue �Early Child Care� studies at Bank Street that will lead to National Certification in Child Care Studies. HOUSES AND ACADEMIES ASTOR COLLEGIATE ACADEMY September 24, 2023 - The Astor Collegiate Academy opened its doors as a new program at CCHS with flying success. Attendance for the first two weeks of school was 94% with students showing a great deal of interest in their classes. The school held its first town meeting last week so that faculty and students could all gets a chance to meet together as one family. We will be making plans at this meeting to form an informal parent association to help our parents stay involved in the planning process. All of this success is the direct result of the hard work that the faculty has done these past months to ensure that we started off on the right foot. Astor Collegiate Academy�s attendance has been an outstanding 95% for the month of October. For the month of September 50% percent of our students had perfect attendance and were rewarded with a pizza party. More then half of our students also passed all classes for the first marking period and 15 students made the principals honor roll. We will be going on a trip to Lehman College on November 5, where Mr. Minetti�s students will see the art gallery and Ms. Devall�s students will see the greenhouse. While the students are there they will have a tour of the campus and a brief lecture on early college awareness. Our entire school just began reading the book "Life Is Funny" By E.R Frank who will be visiting the school on December 12. The students were given a second copy for their parents to read and were encouraged to them invite to come to the school December 12 to meet with Ms. Frank. THE COLUMBUS INSTITUTE FOR MATH AND SCIENCE Estelle Hans, Program Director The Columbus Institute for Math and Science welcomes the class of 2007. We are delighted to be starting our program with: Eve Rittle as our Secretary Eva Lee as our Living Environment Teacher David Friedman as our Math Teacher Michelle Citrin as our English Teacher Duran Aman as our Social Studies Teacher Nohemi Salazar as our Spanish Teacher Nancy Trapido as our Guidance Counselor We have started off with great promise. We were very excited to host a �Meet the Staff Evening� for the families of our students on Wednesday September 24, 2003. Our families made an excellent showing with more than 100 people in attendance. It helped our staff to learn more about their students and our families to lean more about our school. Our students are excited to be a part of our small program, and are delighted to take part in activities that Christopher Columbus offers us such as PM School for the Arts, Beginning Band, and Junior Varsity Football along with other sports teams. Upcoming events include a visit from our CBO, The University of Vermont, a resume writing and internship program and visits from the staff of Jacobi Hospital adolescent medicine division. COLLEGE NOW Based on what we had heard in June, the expectation was that College Now as a funded program was being phased out. As it turns out, late funding did become available, and we have been directed to gather a new 9th grade cohort from existing 9th graders in the school. Of course the CN team was ecstatic, since we have appreciated the success of the program over the past three years. Based on stats and projections from 12th grade guidance counselor Liz Maybruch, the current CNow seniors will have a graduation rate of 90-95%. This is a result of the hard work of the entire CN team and the support of the CCHS administration. At this time we especially would like to thank Jerry Garfin for his past support and guidance, and look forward to the vowed continuing support from Lisa Maffei-Fuentes. One of the major philosophies of the College Now program is parental involvement. In this endeavor, we had our first parent meeting for �in doubt� 11th grade students, which was well attended. Anna Parra described to parents and each targeted student a battle plan -which, if followed, could insure a timely graduation. These meetings have always proven successful. Liz Maybruch and Anna Parra are holding special monthly college awareness prep courses for our seniors. These classes cover the in�s and out�s of college searches, applications, essay writing, Internet resources and many other facets of college applications. In anticipation to the September 2004 school year, College Now had a recent articulation open house breakfast for middle school counselors describing the program and inviting interest. It was well attended by close to 15 counselors. At one of our CN team meetings it was suggested that our current seniors visit the sophomore and junior classes to relay the importance of applying themselves more and the immediacy of changing bad habits. When this idea was first put before the seniors, they took hold of the idea with a vengeance and are planning these visits in the next weeks. Several seniors who had an especially rocky beginning, but who have since �come around�, are prepared to tell �their story� -in the hopes that mistakes and defeats will be avoided through their suggestions and warnings. Congratulations to all College Now students and team members who got into the Halloween spirit. Costumes were original and clever. (Seen adding to the disruption in the building on October 30th were Liz Maybruch, Anna Parra, Maureen Vieldandi and Paul Munsinger, who came as characters from the Wizard of Oz.) In early October, Mr. Minetti�s College Now Graphic Arts class was visited by Multimedia Coordinator Jackie Westermann, representing the Arts Institute in New York City. She spoke of the many opportunities in the various fields within graphic design such as culinary arts, portfolio development, video production, animation, interior design and multimedia. The students were very excited to have her. Several attended the open house on October 23rd. Mr. Minetti�s class will again be participating in the annual Coca-cola content portraying �harmony of Art.� Contest winners receive bonds from $1500-5000. The students are eagerly anticipating this great opportunity. COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA HOUSE A warm welcome to Ms. Sharon Balog, guidance counselor for the C students! Congratulations to the 176 students in the Communication and Media House who had perfect attendance for the month of September. Another congratulations to the 89 students in the House who passed all their classes for marking period 1. We are very proud of your achievements. On October 29, 2022 there was an assembly for all House 9th graders to introduce them to their guidance counselors and to the staff of the House. Awards were presented to those students who had passed all their classes for the 1st marking period. Mr. Manolios, the House A.P. and the staff welcomed the 9th grade class to Columbus and discussed course selections and after school sports and club activities. Mr. Patrick Connolly from Columbia University�s Journalism Program spoke to two classes in the House about journalism and broadcasting. Mr. Greshes� Law and Literature class will be visiting the NYC Supreme Court to tour the building, role play, and to experience the realities of our legal system by viewing an actual criminal trial on November 12, 2003. Mr. Clausi�s Film and Literature class and Ms. Colton�s Journalism class will visit the American Museum of the Moving Image on November 19,2003. The House Newsletter was distributed this month to all staff. We invite you to become a part of our OUTREACH PROGRAM. INTERNATIONAL HOUSE There was a freshman orientation for students and their families on September 23, 2023 from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. After a plenary session we broke out into houses. Members of the International HouseTeam (Ms. Burgos, Ms. Leon, Ms. Rukaj, Ms. Glickman and Ms. Ayala) held a discussion with parents of English Language Learners newly enrolled in Christopher Columbus High School. We distributed pamphlets describing the house and answered questions. The International House hosted an orientation for parents and guardians of English Language Learners new to the country on October 15, 2022 fro 7:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. Ms. Burgos, Ms. Leon, Ms. Torrente and Ms. Glickman showed a video in various languages and answered questions about the programs and opportunities available to students attending the NYC Public School System. The International House posted a bulletin board outside of Room 201. It lists the students who had perfect attendance for September 2003 and depicts the structure of the International House. The first International House Quarterly has been published and distributed to International House students and teachers. Our first writing competition is underway. Contest winners and prizes will be announced, and the winning entries will be published in the next newsletter. The following International House students made the Principal�s Honor Roll in June, 2003: Ilian Berberi (EE1A), Abul Hasnat (EE1A), Mam Lenna Forster(EE1A), Isis Sainthilaire (EE1A), Sazzad M. Hossain (EE1A), Ruhul Ikram (EE1A), Lilly Kahsay (EE1A), Jibal Ahmed (EE1A), Eneida Pollozi (EE1B), Paola A Ramirez (EE1C), Greiny Nunez (EE1C), Brigida Colon (EE3A), Abdual Monasar (EEJ0), Sunia Rana (GG3A), Soobok Kwak (GG3A), Albulena Gashi (GG3A), Shitara B. Joya (GG3A), Abdoulrahim Iallo (GG3A), Anila Gjinaj (GG3A), Cui Qin Zheng (GG3B), Joaquin E. Leal (GG3B), Anna Heo (GG5A), Floriand Lulaj (GG5A), Edvinas Vareika (GG5A), Hanna Heo (GG7A), Doris Rivera (GG7A), Naeema Anjum (GG7A), Mamadou A. Barry (GG7A), Ornela Ademaj (GG7A), Gifti Getachew (GG7A), Brunilda Naku (GG7A), Antoneta Turkaj ( GGA1), Xiao Dong Lin (GGJ0), Marjan Gjonaj (GGJ0), Zaid Zatar (GGJ0), Valter Ulaj (GGJ7), Eliana Vera (GGJ9), Jonathan Polanco (GGJ9) and Master Mintoo (GGJ9). The International House team congratulates them. MATH SCIENCE INSTITUTE Many of the MSI seniors went on the trip to University of Vermont in October. They visited classes and had a tour of the campus. They had the chance to stay in the dormitories too. They went up by bus but were flown back on Jet Blue. The MSI students are now applying to the Weill College of Cornell University Medical program. The program consists of 10 sessions in January, February, and March where the students attend lectures given by physicians at the college. The students will participate in small group workshops and then submit a research paper on an approved medical topic. MSI has a new coordinator, Susan B. Auslander and a new guidance counselor, Sandy Abrahams. Susan has taken over the role of coordinator since Estelle Hans is now the Director of the new program, Columbus Institute of Math and Science. Sandy took over the role of guidance since Barbara Ross retired. NEWS FROM THE COLLEGE OFFICE Students have been busy searching for colleges and scholarships and filling out applications. Please remind your students to visit the College Office and follow deadlines. Thank you. This year, seventy 11th graders are participating in the Peter J. Sharp PSAT/SAT Prep Program. They were selected based on grades and attendance. They receive test prep as well as the opportunity to attend college workshops, which are being planned by Joy Gralnick. Almost 40 students have been invited to take free College Now classes at Lehman College based on Regents scores. Joy Gralnick, Donald Comras, and Barbara Ross chaperoned a group of 27 students on a 3 day trip to the University of Vermont. The students attended class, admissions and financial aid workshops, and had a great time experiencing college life. Students are busy requesting letters of recommendations from teachers. The College Office would appreciate receiving a copy of letters for the student�s file. Even though Joy Gralnick is a relatively new counselor, she was given the honor to present a workshop on transcripts and graduation requirement at an in-service for college counselors. The College Office would like to congratulate Gerald Garfin, Mark Silverman and all other retirees on their retirement. The College & Guidance Offices would like to congratulate Laura on the engagement of her daughter, Donna. Many college representatives have visited the College Office. Our students have taken advantage of the opportunity to receive valuable information from these representatives. Welcome to Judy Boss, a Teaching Scholar from Gear-Up, who assists in the College Office 2 days a week providing outreach to 11th graders in Gear-Up. NEWS FROM THE SENIOR OFFICE Congratulations and Good Luck to Robert Cerami, our new Senior Advisor and to Monica Martin our new Yearbook Advisor. KEY DATES FOR FALL 2003 Nov. 4 - No Classes- Election Day-Professional Development Day Nov 11 - No Classes - Veteran�s Day Nov. 24 - 26 - Mid Term Exams Nov. 26 - End of 2nd Marking Period Nov 27 - 28 - Thanksgiving Dec. 10 - Distribution of Report Cards Dec. 18 - 23 - Pre Vacation Exams Jan. 5 - School Reopens after Holiday Vacation Jan 16 - 23 - Final Exams Jan. 20 - No Classes - Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan. 26 - 29 - Regents/RCT Exams Jan. 30 - Last Day of Fall Semester Feb 2 - 1st Day of Spring Semester Home Page |