001Thank you. President of Line. Thank you. It's great to see the trustees today, and it is so wonderful to see so many family members and community members here today to celebrate this important moment in our community and in our nation as well. So let's give all of yourselves a round of applause for coming on now. We're excited to have you all. And with that, I'm going to have our trustees if you can make your way to the front row. Uh, we're going to lower the screen. Uh, begin a short presentation, and then we have a very special surprise from our Woodside Singers. Right here. Okay. While the screen comes down and the projector turns on, I would like to recognize and I'll do that throughout the evening, but I would like to recognize some of
002our, uh, guests that we have here today. We have our very own mayor. Mayor McKenzie, if she can please stand. Let's give her a round of applause. Council. Ramon Fernandez is here. Please stand and applause. So. Representing New York State. We have Assemblywoman Levin Berke, who has been a great supporter of our school district. And we have members I saw in the audience from our parent teacher organization, past and present. Please stand if you're part of the PTO or part of the PTO. Leadership. Megan, I'm going to have you stand up one more time. And that is our Peekskill Education Foundation. We have Mr. and Mrs. Prager here. Megan. Sheldon. Brandon, thank you for your partnership. Gracias. And, um, uh, David, Mauricio, the very proud superintendent here in the Peekskill City School District and very
003excited to share some highlights about our schools at this time. First of all, it is also school board recognition week. And so I want to take the opportunity to recognize our wonderful trustees. Let us have them stand up. Stand up. When I, uh, when I have our trustees, president Joe, uh, Jillian Valon, vice president. Yes. Amy Valley. Trustee Mary Angel Flores. Mr. Allan Jenkins, jr. Graham. Wynn McDonald. Frank Robinson, jr. And Christina Washington. And then we have, uh, a student trustee as well, Ella morrell. She's one of our juniors in the high school. And thank you, board trustees and student trustee as well, for all that you do. Everything we make happen in our school district is because of your leadership. We say thank you. One more round of applause for our school board. Last
004night we had a wonderful general membership meeting at the Administration building. I want to thank Jane Cabell and, uh, all of her executive team members of the PTO, parents, you all members of the PTO, let us give our PTO, Jane Corbo, the entire team, big round of applause. It was a wonderful turnout and it represented our community. We had, uh, bilingual translation in Spanish as well. So thank you again to our PTO for all that you do. And we're going to share that first activity that's coming up soon. Uh, for those of you who would like to join, uh, the movement, this is Walk Like Mad. Uh, mothers, it began as Mothers Against Drunk Driving. If any of you would like to join our efforts, uh, locally, uh, or in the school district as well,
005please join us. Uh, this event will take place Saturday, October 18th, 9 a.m., at the FDR State Park. And so if you're interested in doing that, we will put the link again in our Friday letter. It was in my last Friday letter. So if you're interested in doing that, uh, please do. So I want to say a very special thank you to Maria Leff. Let's give her a round of applause. She's one of our family members who was impacted by this unfortunate event. Uh, Peekskill, uh, special education parent teacher organization, uh, is having their event October 22nd on Wednesday, and it is a meet and greet. Uh, but also they will be making IEP binders. So if your children have a, an IEP or 5 or 4 plan and would like to be part of
006this, uh, please join us. And again, that is at our Family Resource Center on October 22nd. And we thank our staff and volunteers for doing that work as well. Let's give them a round of applause. As I mentioned, our first PTO and Saturday Academy event is coming up October 25th. This is a favorite for the entire community, in particular our children, where we have over a thousand people come to our October Saturday Academy. That is October 25th, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the middle school. It is part of our trunk or treat. It will actually be in the inside of the, um, gymnasium and that will take place at our school. We're very excited about that opportunity. So make sure you mark your calendars. Parents. And we have parents here from Woodside. We have
007parents here from Woodside. Please stand up. Let us recognize you for coming out tonight. Thank you for being here. And we began this effort as a PTO. And then we joined efforts with Saturday Academy for you. We wanted to make sure we have a safe place for our children to trick or treat. And so Saturday Academy is exactly that opportunity. And make sure you get your money's worth of your costumes. Have them wear it that day. And, uh, you can wear your costume as well. So thank you again. Let's give our Saturday Academy team a big round of applause. Mr. Melendez is here as well. And this is the trunk or treat there. There's a QR code if anyone would like to be set up a table. Uh, as a family member, you can certainly
008do that. That'll be in my Friday letter as well. Uh, we will also be collecting candy for the trunk or treat. Again, over 1000 people will be there. So if you'd like to donate candy, parents and staff, you can bring that, uh, candy to, uh, any of our schools or the administration building. There'll be a special box, and the PTO will collect that. Hillcrest will also have their multicultural night, uh, obviously celebrating, uh, Hispanic heritage and other heritage as well. And that is taking place, uh, at our, uh, Oaks, um, Hillcrest Elementary School, October 16th, 6:30 p.m. And we invite all of our families to come and join that as well. Let's give Krystal Hernandez and her team big round of applause. So tonight we're going to have a wonderful, um. Uh, gallery walk. Uh,
009but next board meeting. I'll talk a little bit more about that in a moment. Next board meeting, October 21st at 7 p.m. at the high school. Reason we're going to the high school is that we are opening our, uh, professional, state of the art music studio donated by the Peekskill Rotary and the Peekskill Education Foundation. And that is going to happen. We're going to have a live recording from students, and you're going to be able to see this wonderful music studio, right in our high school in the music lab. And so very excited about that. Let's give our Peekskill Rotary Fund raising over $17,000, Peekskill Education Foundation for bringing that to our schools. And so very excited about, uh, where we're going to head to now. Uh, and let me just make sure we have
010oh, uh, you're going to see an opportunity. And where is, uh, Miss Belfiore and keep me on track? I'm good here. Okay. Uh, today you're going to hear from Trustee Valley and and, uh, her family and friends. They're going to do a very special performance. Uh, just in a little bit. And before we go later, she's going to come up and say a few words as well. And so, uh, let's give her a round of applause. And her family as well. You will see later. Um, we will have, uh, two students, Eliana and Leon, players who were invited. This is the president of the Dominican Republic. And he invited, not me, but he invited two of our students and students from across the state. And you see them here, and they got to meet the
011Congress. They got to meet, uh, the president of the Dominican Republic. Uh, Doctor Bedi and others went to be chaperons, and they were working from the morning to the evening hours, going and learning about the, uh, the structure there from how laws are made and, uh, the governmental structure. Very, uh, well done. And you'll see them and they'll talk about the experience. Let's give Eliana and Eliana there's a big round of applause. And you'll also learn about high school students. And they were part of the changemakers program. And these students, this is one of our, uh, staff members from last year. They went you can see they were caught. They were, uh, on rafts in the river as they camped out. They got to be together. And, uh, it was a women empowerment girls empowerment
012initiative. Let's give them a big round applause. Thank you to the change maker organization. And you will meet them later. At this time. Uh, we're going to. Is Miss Woodley here? Uh, where she at? Where's Mrs. Woodley at? She's. Oh, there she is. Stand on out, Mrs. Woodley. She is our wonderful, amazing principal at Woodside Elementary School. And Miss Pena and Miss Camacho are going to be joining us. And we have a special treat for you for Hispanic heritage. And so without further ado, we are going to bring our students up and let's give them a big round of applause. We'll turn off the projector and let us what we got to do. Better than that, let's give our students a big round. Buenos notches. Gracias por. We need we. Nombre es la hora pena.
013Pinyin de primero. Buenos notches. Yo soy la senora Jennifer Camacho. EEOC, le ministre de la zona de English. My name is Jennifer Camacho, and I am the English zone teacher. Me nombre es. And you what? I would chang soy le ministre de inglese Como um Como nueva idioma. We are very happy and proud to be here today celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, bilingualism and the fall season. Estamos we believe is your cojo says that aqui dando el mas de la espina El bilingualism illustration. Yo, Tonio. Or let me know what it is. Alberto e vamos a contar will not consume. Mexicana is a yama. Bacolod is. They got it back by faith and love. Come forth and love be. Other than. I my my my my my body. Um. Hey. Good morning. Good morning. There's a
014lot of. There was no see. What is Vegas gonna be for? I know. I think we're just gonna like this. It's gonna be. Come back. I know that guy from the kitty. He loved. I. I got. I. Um. Us. I love those. I'll be happy. Happy. Happy. Happy. Anybody? I just thought it was gonna be. I think it's gonna be. He. Hi, my name is Cleo and we are singing songs about the fall karma act on. And then not your. Laugh. Oh, yeah. Yeah. When autumn come. Uh, let me start. Died in a car. And three of them in the assembly. And then this. Let's see. The. It's more like they. Yak yak yak. I see. For the. Like things. And then then go for. Oh, romance can at least change color. But all around
015us from. Taking some fun. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. As you guys get guys open. Honestly. Both of. If you're like this. GA GA GA. See. Love of the. For like this. Yak yak yak. See. Baa baa baa baa. I think. Yeah, guy. Guy got love. Anything. And I don't know. And then I saw his guy. His. We. Hi, my name is Sylvia. Thank you for coming and have a great night. When or where? Near a good thing I know when. Um, me no less than perennially getting an unknown unlocking. Before they leave, let's give Mrs. Pena, Miss Camacho, miss three, watching a big round of applause. And let's give our scholars a big round of applause as well. And by the way, I think that sentado for, um, you know, those, uh, students are
016going to make their way up. Parents, if you could just stay seated just for, uh, a few moments, I'm going to call up Assemblywoman Levin Burke, who's going to give us, uh, brief greetings, uh, for the evening. And so, miss, uh, Levin Burke, if you can come on up and let's give her a round of applause and welcome her to the stage. Doctor. Maurizio. Yes. That's not fair. That's just not fair. You have me, Paolo, those kids. And there's. Is there a dry eye in the audience? I don't know. I don't, I know I don't have one. This is just so awesome. And I couldn't help but turn to the mayor and just say. I wish this was our world every day. This was so beautiful. What better place than to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month?
017And here in Peekskill, in a school district where we have such a phenomenal staff, so many incredible parents, so many. Everybody's dedicated to making sure that our students learn and thrive. And right now it's not such an easy time. And that's what I hear from our educators. And that's what I hear from people who are involved. And we know that it is such a tough time. But I am so grateful to everything that you do here. Doctor Mauricio, your incredible staff, incredible teachers, everybody. Is friendly and welcoming. And I know that you have some special recognitions tonight as well. Um, I have some extra little bits for them. I just want to say, couldn't do it without all of you. This is a team effort. Let's continue to work together to make sure that our
018students thrive. Because when our students thrive, our community thrives. This is where it all begins. This is where we teach the lessons of inclusion, of welcoming, and of learning two languages. This dual language class, I mean, this is something that you take on for life. I know that, you know, a lot of people, um, try to keep their kids just learning English. And ultimately, I know that when the kids get a little older that they wish they learned Spanish. And those kids who are actually, um, uh, Spanish language learners have a second language I know from, you know, working in, uh, being on the school board in Ossining for so many years. And my son just missed the cut off for the first dual language program that the kids who came in the year after
019him are fluent in Spanish. Because they spoke it for so many years. They learned in it and it really, really is incredible. So let's continue to celebrate that our Hispanic heritage, our Spanish, our Latino community and all that is beautiful of of all of the things that we have to offer one another through our differences and also through our similarities. Thank you again for the opportunity, Doctor Mauricio. Thank you. Thank you again Assembly Levin very for all that you do for our school community at this time. I'm going to go to the county level and have county Legislator Colin Smith give brief greetings as well. Let's give him a big round of applause. And while he does that, we have some principals and staff and administrators in the audience. Please stand. Let's give them a
020round of applause. Say thank you for being here. You are associate administrator. That's my stress. You trabajadores. Thank you for all you do each and every day. Thank you, Doctor Mauricio. And, uh, it's it's a it's a pleasure to be here this evening to, um, you know, to, uh, to sell it, to continue our celebration of, uh, Hispanic Heritage Month. And while I'm looking for the, uh, remarks I prepared, um, I just want to say that as a, uh, as a former school board member and also as a, uh, Peekskill School district alum. Uh, it's it always brings joy and pleasure to my soul to be able to come back and participate in these wonderful events with our, uh, with our beautiful and amazing community. And so tonight, I bring you greetings on behalf of
021the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Um, and, uh, we support all that you do here in the city of Peekskill. Um, and as we like I said, as we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I just want to take a moment to pause and reflect on why recognizing this time matters, especially here in Peekskill, and why it must tie in to our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, particularly for our immigrant communities. Peekskill strength has always come from its people, and the majority of our residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. Many of us, uh, many of our families came here from across Latin America, bringing languages and traditions and values that enrich every classroom and every street in this city. And so as we affirm our Hispanic heritage, Hispanic Heritage Month here in our schools,
022we do more than teach history. We send a message that you belong here. We create a space where bilingual voices are honored, where students who juggle two or more cultures feel seen, and where immigrant families know that their struggles and their dreams are not invisible. That's where diversity, equity, and inclusion move from ideals to daily practice. Diversity reminds us that every background adds value. It equity ensures that every student, regardless of zip code or language, has a fair chance to succeed. And inclusion means that all voices are heard, not just welcomed for a season, but woven into the life of our schools year round to our immigrant community. Your courage, resilience and hope remind us what education is for creating opportunity. So let's carry this month forward not only through celebration, but through commitment to
023teach wider histories, to listen with empathy, and to build classrooms where every child knows that they belong. Thank you. Thank you, County Legislator, for bringing county resources to our district as well. And your representation at the county table is very important to us here in Peekskill as well. And uh, lastly, we're going to bring up our amazing mayor, mayor McKenzie, who in her own right, as the first black mayor, female mayor in the city of Peekskill and also a strong advocate of our schools, we want to welcome her to the stage. Let's give her a big round of applause. Good evening everyone. I don't have prepared remarks, but I do have to say what county legislator said is absolutely where we are in the city of Peekskill. This is an inclusive community, and we know
024that we all belong to be here, and we know that our children are here. I want to thank our school district because there is no better school district than the Peekskill School District, and there are no better. Then. Now. And when I sit here and Dana assembly woman I we looked at each other and we just like we could just close the walls and live in here. And this is what the world is supposed to be. And you can't get any more pure than seeing young children presenting to you, and with pride and with spirit and with happiness. And if we could all take that home and live our lives that way, we'd be a much better community. So I'd like to say thank you again for inviting me here this evening. Thank you again
025for all that you do and for parents. Thank you for being here because you are the most important part of your children's lives, because they are in school, and we are so happy that you are participating in here. Enjoy the evening. Thank you, mayor McKenzie. And, uh, at this time, we have, uh, an award that we are going to present to one of our community leaders and another award to a community organization as well. Parents, I do know that you have five year olds and six year olds, uh, in the, uh, cafeteria waiting for you. So if you, uh, have to leave, we're going to take a short, uh, 32nd break so that you can go ahead and leave and, uh, pick up your children, uh, to get home and ready for tomorrow. And so
026Barbara Sydney Kimball Scott associates and Esther momentos of what they need. Uh, AC no, c c so getting, uh, that vamos a tener un uh reconocimiento the those leaders in its, uh, community that so at this time will take a short break. Yes. And thank you. Let's give our parents another round for. Thank you for coming out tonight. Okay. At this time, it gives me great pleasure, uh, to recognize one of our amazing partners in our community. They're here for us. They're here for the families. They're here for the children. Uh, they, uh, specifically focus on supporting our Latino community. But they are here for the Peekskill, uh, community at large. Um, this individual who I've had the pleasure of knowing for seven years now has been a strong force. He is, uh, um, an
027amazing leader for her organization. She's also there in times when we need her. She is there when parents needed. The community needs her. She organizes food events, she pantries, she makes sure that we have support in a variety of different ways. And she has just shown up in so many different spaces and has been truly a remarkable partner for Peekskill City School District and the entire community. So without further ado, I would like to bring up the, you know, the echo from the Hispanic community for. Let us give her a round of applause. And welcome to many of us, Allison. I take one. Yeah, yeah. Winners notice that those who stay, they go with them. Uh, yeah, I, I don't have nothing to say. Everybody say everything. Mr. president, Hispanic-American organizaciones puerta para nosotros poder.
028Facilitators. Uh, la comunidad necessidades KPN imediatamente es Como siempre you de las emergencia esperan para manana. So let's bring in a Spanish community. Siempre asi siempre. You're the soil, Shakira. Trust me, I handle solo. Impossible that I do that. De la comunidad is the star viendo Los home and is cantar aqui. Yes, I eat on the inside. El futuro inside. On the commensal for two and for tudo Q noise here. Por qué nosotros somos para asegurar? No so ho cantando aqui El dia de manana. Sang with Rosalia. Sang locality. Who sang bingo? Familia fuerte Venga familia Sana khan. Sino de la mission impossible. Nosotros todos okay. Estamos para Portales a la a la comunidad a Los padres a Los amigos y el scandal. Lo mejor es Como calling a lot of dual language kill the
029other manana with no separate. Oh, no, live with. Um. That is the cue. No surprise arises bases with on the aqui. Frutos a lago tiempo frutos muchos ninos understudy aqui in English class A the best Spaniard. Porque binky alto lingua is more Kevin, don't say a thing. So I get to say English a little bit. So my name is Dinara Pacheco and the president of the Hispanic Community Corp. Nor can call on nonprofit organization that he here for the emergency. The emergency cannot wait into tomorrow. The emergency is in this moment and we are always is. That is the end of the emergency when the people need it, we are there. And the the face of the organization behind me is a lot of people working that make it possible that we can help the
030community. And, um, we have issues that we can not deal with. But that's why the school district this year, when I cannot do anything with Freedom or Alicia and I knock the door, this won't happen. Can we go? Can we do this? We need the one thing on the other end is the many people that they have to hope. So this k that thing into their. Here they are the future. Uh, we think it is no future. No, that's not true. This is going to be the the future for tomorrow. And we are here to make sure this won't happen. And tomorrow. Thank you so much for having me here and God bless you. So we have a special recognition for your exceptional leadership and distinguished service from Senator Harckham. We have a certificate of
031recognition and appreciation to the Nora Pacheco and the Hispanic Community Corps, as well, from the Peekskill City School District. And I know Mrs. Leavenworth also has something, uh, for you as well. And I know you have to leave. Uh, but we're going to take a picture with you in just one moment. And that is a certificate of merit from the New York State Assembly. Uh, to you and the organization. Let us give her another big round of. At this time? Yes. Well deserved. Well deserved. At this time. I'm going to have, um, Mrs. Uh, I check out we're going to have you, uh, Laura Wood on stage or on stage would be best. We could have our board trustees, our administrative team, our, uh, elected officials. Please join us on stage. You have center stage
032and. We are. All right. I'm. Now the. All right at this time. It also gives me great pleasure to recognize another wonderful organization that has been a amazing partner for us. Um, if I had to share with you just about a year and a half or so, uh, after moving to Peekskill, uh, a huge pandemic hit, uh, the entire world. And during that time, uh, the world turned upside down. We didn't know where we were headed, how we would get there, and what resources we would have to safeguard our children, our families, our staff, and to continue to educate children. Unprecedented in my lifetime was sending all of our children home. And luckily, we had the foresight with the board support to provide technology and Wi-Fi and make sure that our teachers could teach them
033from home. And this was, uh, a huge feat of everyone's part. I will share with you that the most important part was keeping everyone safe. And so we turned to an amazing partner within our community, and that was Sunriver Health. And we asked them for support at a time when people were afraid to leave their homes to come out and bring your staff together and bring them, uh, to our gymnasium, where we set up clinics, where we set up testing stations, where we provided PPE equipment to keep everyone safe. And sun River was there for us. They helped us every step of the way. And so we were immensely grateful for all their support in moving that work forward. And then vaccines from New York state, which are mandated, they provide support to our families
034whenever we have families that need health care and they don't have access to that, they are a partner that will say, send them my way. We have staff to support them. We have bilingual staff to to be able to communicate with them. And they again, another wonderful partner when we need book bags, when we need volunteerism, when Three Kings Day comes up. They do an amazing job and they will fill this auditorium and then some for all the wonderful community work that they do. And so, uh, with that, and certainly he will speak to more of the efforts and, uh, support that they provide, but they are a huge partner of ours. Let's give Wilfredo Morrell who's going to come up, and he can bring anyone he needs to. Sun River health has been an
035amazing partner and we want to thank him. Thank you and thank you to organization for all that you do. Yeah. With him and I know [INAUDIBLE] introduce her is Jaslyn Sessions, who's an amazing. Let's give her another big round of applause as well. And with that, Wilfrid. Thank you. Thank you. Well, when I know, just how does he does? Good evening to everyone. Um, it is really humbling to be here in front of you as we celebrate Hispanic heritage. But we celebrate the health, celebrate every culture that there is. And tonight, tonight, it is important that we come from somewhere we starred in somehow. And tonight I definitely want to dedicate this to our founding mother. You know, I adored creating. I say central and I'm talking about William Jackson. Right. And I talked about
036her woods. And I talk about Mary Woods and that I'm talking about the Reverend Jeanette Phillips. Folks, we had to keep it real of Kim Antonello. Real mehendi porque todo minimo. Then they all trace this women. 50 years ago this year, folks cincuenta and we celebrating 50 years. And I really commend you to go on to read more about who we are and that we are there for the community. But I don't think that they knew what was going to happen to have today over 50, 50 sites all throughout New York State, the second largest community health center serving more than 250,000 nation state viendo mother of siento seemed quaint to me. Pazienti cincuenta lo Cassidy I, you know, Creole savvy NSO. But one thing that they knew was that health care is for all
037you understand, it is the right. It is not a privilege. Privileged here it is, said Rachel. They cannot say Romano. They have a severe Asegura Nieto Latina. This women are remarkable, amazing. But then we had the board and then we have our fierce leader, which is Anne Coffman Nolan, which I thank her for really taking us to the next level. La la la présidente. I could be any Kanojo outro lugar. But more important folks, for the next couple of years, it is not about going it alone, it's about going it together. Por el proximo those three assignment. Si. No, no. Nimo. Si. No I mean I know we're going to lose you know life. You know Peekskill I call it the tapestry of the Hudson Valley. LAPD Del Vidal Hudson and El cual todo cholerae
038Lang was able to write him Peekskill language, color and everything. Let's unite. Let's keep working together. Because that's that's what we got, folks. Some river health care did it. Those women did it. And they continue. But then from there is the legacy that we continue to have that legacy. I could tenemos this up more that new Harris. So tonight it is extremely important to acknowledge them to make sure that what they did, we continue. And I really would like to say thank you to Jocelyn because she said, no, we got to be here. Gracia. Thank you, School District, for the acknowledgment. Thank you. Well, I'm not sure. Good evening everybody. It is an honor to stand up here today with Wolf Rito. Um, and everyone else who's up here. It's my first time being up
039here being recognized. Um, I do this work with a big joy in my heart because I love serving this community. Um, and also working together with all the administrators in the school. So on behalf of sun River health, thank you for allowing me the privilege to serve you guys. Thanks. So we have three recognitions. We have a recognition from the New York State Assembly as well, Certificate of Merit for freedom around and some very healthy capital that, uh, Senator Pete Hachem has a certificate of recognition as well. Uh, exceptional leadership and distinguished service. And finally, the city, uh, school, city school district, a certificate of, uh, appreciation presented to Wilfredo Morale and the sun River health community organization. And we say thank you. Another big round of applause. And with that, I have that board
040and elected officials join us. One more. And that. Okay. At this time, we are going to head and take a look at some of the artifacts from our, uh, Hispanic Heritage Latino gallery. And this is an opportunity for us to, uh, see, uh, the wonderful tapestry of the Latino community from Caribbean, South America, Central America and all that it brings, uh, with it, we view it as a as a positive aspect in our community. It is an attribute. And, uh, having our individuals, our students represented and feeling heard and feeling, uh, like they are part of this, uh, community is a wonderful aspect. And we want to make sure they have that as well. I do want to recognize Sherry Mayo from West Chester Community College, our director at at the extension site. Thank you
041for being here as well. And, uh, with that, uh, uh, Amy has left a great. So at this time, if you can make your way to the, uh, center, uh, landing over here, please take a moment. We're going to take a recess at this time. And, uh, and please enjoy while you do, if you take a look, these are the individuals who are part of the gallery committee, and we want to say thank you. Let's give them a round of applause on your way. Yeah. Okay. Clear. Good. Thank you very much. Thank you all for having us. All. Let me. Gonna love. I. Thank you. Be. 80. I. Thank you everyone. Work with. Yeah. You know. New York. My wonder. We. Do not change from. Yeah. Thank you so much. Could you. Please take advantage
042of our various exhibitions? Yeah, we'll have some. We have refreshments. We have this exhibition there. And one thing that I want to thank you. These days, professor. Be careful. Do you think you have a very. Please try to change who you think you are based. I see some board members in VR headsets on. And, uh, these circulate in secret and again. And please take. This is my monkey. And he's. How? Dollars and cents. Do you know what this is? How it is. I don't want to wait for him to come and visit me. You know, I went to high school and visited. I see more people with VR headsets on. That's a beautiful thing. You also have door. Costume. Please. Your. You. Please. Certain? Okay. Okay. We're going to resume our Board of Education meeting
043in the business portion of it. Uh, but two things I wanted to say. First, uh, and foremost, I want to recognize Melissa mack and Laura Cruz, who is, uh, amazing reading teacher. I hired her, uh, years ago with Doctor Vilas Rodriguez at Woodside Elementary School. She's been phenomenal. She has, uh, coaching background from special education, reading background, special education teacher. She has been an amazing hire. And we just, uh, promoted her to interim director of special education instruction at the last board meeting. So welcome to the team of administration. We are so happy that you'll be leading this very important work along with your colleagues. And, uh, thank you again for, um, stepping up and taking on this very important role. And we know you have to get up very early to get ready for
044your teaching assignments in the morning. So we thank you. Another big round of applause. And you have a wonderful evening. And then secondly, I just want to say, uh, that was an amazing experience. And uh, uh, thank you again to Doctor Margie Daniels and to her entire team. And thank you to the board, uh, for allowing us to have the space to recognize Hispanic and Latino heritage. That's a very important, uh, aspect of our community. And, uh, this this is very important to us. And you as a board have been supportive of this. And making it, um, a space for us to be able to celebrate our cultures, uh, variety aspects. And so we thank you for that. Thank you. I'll turn it back over to Mrs. Villa. I wanted to second those, uh, opinions,
045but from the board perspective, I wanted to thank the district for bringing forward members of the community who you work with so that we have a little bit more, um, ability to see what we're doing outside of our classrooms to reach out to our community because it takes a it takes a village to raise kids and to make those connections is essential. And, um, so I'm really thankful that we're not only making those connections, but letting the community as a whole know that we're open to every connection available. And then I also really wanted to thank Bringing Students. I absolutely love seeing students at the board meeting. So not only did we hear students sing for us and perform, we also had students discussing what they've done as students in the hallway, and we had
046previous students doing presentations and performing for us as well. So I'm really thankful to the district for doing that and making our board meeting that much more interactive. And that way to show what the education means beyond just what the four walls of a classroom do for our students. So I want to thank you for that. Absolutely. Um, to the team. Does anybody want to share anything before I move on? Can I just, um, mention that one of, um, they also thank you to the the board in the school district for allowing my family and I, uh, to do a small performance here at the school for this opening. Um, it was really such a beautiful experience for me, having struggled a lot with my identity. Um, when I was much younger. Um, I went
047to Buchanan schools, and so at the time, I was one of maybe five people of color or students of color. Um, so for me to be able to perform in front of the school district, um, for other students is is really such a beautiful, full circle moment for me. Um, but really, it feels so wonderful to see other students like Brianna, who's part of our group, who is also in the high school in 10th grade. So to be able to continue that kind of legacy, um, and that momentum of, um, not only preserving but, um, moving forward, our vision and where we come from and being so embraces with who we are is, is a beautiful thing. And I think seeing the our youngest students to also perform for us was, um, a beautiful representation
048of, of the kind of work that we're doing in this district. Um, and what that means, you know, for me, as someone who's older, just being able, just knowing that our students have that kind of representation and that welcoming feeling is, is going to make such a huge difference for them in the future. So I thank all of you for, for really what you've done over the past number of years. So thank you. Yeah. Great. Uh, now I'm going to hear and move on to the hearing of the citizens. Any citizens wishing to be heard? No. Well, we continue to welcome anybody who would like to come out to a board meeting to come and speak. Um, policy readings. We have no policy. Readings at this time. Consent agenda. Do we have any comments, questions
049or thoughts? Now. Okay, then I. Can I please have a motion to approve consent agenda items six a through six. Oh. So. Moved. Moved by Angel. Second. Second by Allen. All in favor? Aye. Any nays? Any abstentions? Okay. If there's no further action, can I please have a motion to adjourn the meeting? So moved. Moved by Brandon. Second. Second by Amy. All in favor? Aye. Any nays? Any abstentions. Good night. Peekskill.