Southern Westchester BOCES

News and Announcements

• Southern Westchester BOCES Center for Special Services Celebrates 30th Annual American Dreamer Achievement Awards

  On May 24, the Southern Westchester BOCES Center for Special Services held the 30th Annual American Dreamer Achievement Awards, an event that honors individuals who perform outstanding works of service for, and on behalf of, students with special needs. The heartfelt awards luncheon recognizes of the exceptional work done by both students and community partners throughout the SWBOCES community.

  News Feed - Center for Special Services

• Street Fashion exhibit sparks creative designs, highlighted by video

  CTE students put their original inspirations on display

  Students in Carmen Galiano’s Fashion Design and Merchandising class punctuated the school year by staging an exhibit of their own original street fashions.

  The class partnered the TV/Video Production program to produce a video component aimed at marketing their designs. Street fashion was an easy choice for this culminating project, their instructor says.

  “They were in the mood for everyday clothing,” teacher Carmen Galiano said. “Where do you go for street clothes? You don’t see it so much in the suburbs.”

  News Feed - Center for Career Services 2022-23

• Expert consultants share how they support students in teachers

  NYSED officials tour Careers Campus, hear from educators

  Representatives from the New York State Education Department heard from expert consultants who provide academic support Southern Westchester BOCES Career Tech students.

  Presentations were made at the Career Services campus in Valhalla May 15 as part of a tour by NYSED officials ofBOCES programs in the region. State CTE representatives Kelli Grab, Nicole Hadsell and Cily Rueda heard from consultants who work to assist students to thrive and to help teachers whose students who may need special considerations.

  “I have a sense of pride for how far we’ve come,” Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services Jim Gratto said.  “This whole process has been great for our students.”

  News Feed - Center for Career Services 2022-23

• Special Services programs participate in wide range of wellness activities

  Student Wellness takes center stage with a week of fun activities

  Student wellness is always a priority, but it was at the forefront May 8-12 in the form of activities and programming designed to meet the needs, abilities and preferences of all students in all programs. All six program locations took part in the weeklong slate of events, which ranged from flower planting and yoga to sports skills competitions, hiking and even a dance party plus more. 

  “It was gratifying to see this collaborative effort come together across our programs and locations and to see our students engage in so many meaningful activities that benefited their wellness physically, mentally and emotionally,” Director of Special Services Andrea Byrne said.  

  News Feed - Center for Special Services

• Tappan Hill students take a mini golf field trip

  Tappan Hill School teacher Linda Liebman's class took a trip to play miniature golf at Saxon Woods Park May 11. The class has been practicing in the school gymnasium with Coach Diane to help get ready for this field trip.  Practice makes perfect, as they say, and the students all had a great time on the course! They had fun on the playground as well and enjoyed a picnic lunch and riding the bus with their classmates. 

  News Feed - Tappan Hill

• Standout Engineer student medals - again - at SkillsUSA

  Engineering student returns to Syracuse a year later and takes the podium one more time

  Southern Westchester BOCES Career and Technical Education student Ariel Novominski won the Silver medal for Related Technical Math at the prestigious SkillsUSA  Leadership and Skills Championships in late April.

  That very statement was also true one year ago when the then-junior from Edgemont first accomplished the feat.

  "As a CTE student who excelled on stage and emerged victorious after competing with my peers, the feeling of accomplishment was indescribable," she said. "It is imperative that we realize that there are no limits to what we can achieve and that we set our goals as high as possible."

  News Feed - Center for Career Services 2022-23

• Year-long Achilles Virtual Marathon provides opportunities to get fit and achieve

  St. Matthew's students go the distance

  Southern Westchester BOCES students at St. Matthew’s School in White Plains enthusiastically crossed the finish line of a school year-long journey of physical fitness and personal achievement. 

  “This is such a tremendous feeling of accomplishment for them,” said teacher Denise Hurvitz, who has been involved in the Achilles Virtual Marathon at SWBOCES programs for 15 years. “Their families can’t believe it when I tell them.”

  News Feed - St. Matthews

• RISE Volunteer Recognition Celebration shines a spotlight on SWBOCES partnership

  Volunteer New York! recognizes individuals who support Tappan Hill School students

  Nine volunteers with Volunteer New York!'s RISE program were honored by the organization for their work with Southern Westchester BOCES students at Tappan Hill School.

  RISE stands for Readiness thru Integrated Service Engagement. The program connects young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, so they can build skills while volunteering.

  The honors were announced at the Annual RISE Volunteer Recognition Celebration at the Greenburgh Library. The event was hosted in recognition of April being Global Volunteer Month

  The honorees have been volunteering weekly in the middle school and high school classrooms at Tappan Hill School as peer mentors throughout the 2022-23 school year.  These peer mentorships are part of their transition planning, in understanding how their older peers spend their day once they leave school. One of the RISE groups works with the students to do community service projects that give them a chance to volunteers as well. Other RISE volunteers offer self-advocacy support and resources, while the rest help in a physical education class or read to the students in the classroom.

  News Feed - Tappan Hill

• Visit to adult education classes continues yearlong tour of SWBOCES programs

  Board of Education members visit workforce preparation students and teachers

  Members of the Southern Westchester BOCES Board of Education had the opportunity to tour some of the workforce preparation programs offered by the Center for Adult & Community Services, learning firsthand how we prepare students for new careers and jumpstart existing ones with the skills and technical training needed to excel professionally. President John Filiberti and board members Dr. Sheryl Brady, Lynn Frazer-McBride and Nilesh Jain were joined April 26 by District Superintendent Dr. Harold Coles and several SWBOCES administrators.

  “It is always a welcome opportunity to meet with our Board of Education members, both to thank them for their continued support of our students and our programs but also to share with them our successes in providing cutting-edge training to adults in our region who are seeking to advance their careers,” Ms. Racicot said. 

  .News Feed - Southern Westchester BOCES

• Culinary Arts students enlist peers from Commercial Art as they bring concepts into reality

  CTE programs collaborate on food truck challenge

  Culinary Arts instructor John Damiani turned to Commercial Art instructor Damian Powers to make his students' food truck challenge project a reality.  Students from the two programs at the Career Services campus in Valhalla are collaborating to come up with the best original concept.

  Each Culinary Arts student must develop a business plan, including coming up with an artistic design, logo, menu, pricing plan and social media marketing plan. In the end they will apply their culinary skills to a cook-off challenge.

  Besides excellent cuisine, Culinary Arts is also about the business side and all that it takes to succeed in a competitive industry. That’s what Chef Damiani prepares his students to do. A food truck is a great way to build a successful business from the ground up.

  “This is yet another opportunity for our students to gain real-world-type work experience,” Mr.  Powers said. “These chefs are the clients, and it’s the responsibility of my designers to meet their needs. That’s a valuable lesson.”

  News Feed - Center for Career Services 2022-23

• Students judge their peers' technique and creativity, and the results never disappoint

  Color contest lets Cosmetology students showcase styling skills

  An annual hair coloring project staged by the Cosmetology program at SWBOCES' Careers campus allows students to showcase their mastery of the hair coloring techniques they learn as part of the curriculum.

  More than an assignment, this is a contest wherein second-year students are judged by their first-year peers next door. As expected, competition brings out the best from all who take part.

  “Every year we are pleasantly surprised at how well each and every one of the students work to achieve that final look,” Theresa Galitello, one of the Cosmetology instructors, said. 

  News Feed - Center for Career Services 2022-23

• Brianna Osorio of White Plains will lead New York HOSA in 2023-24

  SWBOCES Career Tech student elected president of statewide organization

  For a student who embraces challenges that take courage, Brianna Osorio admits she had trepidations about running for president of the statewide student organization she joined last fall.

  A student in the Emergency Medical Service program, Brianna plans to become a paramedic after high school. Long-term, her ambition is to become a trauma surgeon. Fear clearly does not dictate her choices. The presidency of New York HOSA, however, was an intimidating prospect. 

  “Hearing everybody else give their speeches, everybody’s so smart. They sound so confident. I thought I wasn’t going to make it,” the White Plains High School junior said. “When I made it, I thought, don’t let the fear control you.”

  HOSA Future Health Professionals, formerly Health Occupations Students of America, is an international career and technical student organization. Brianna was elected president for the 2023-24 school year at its Spring Leadership Conference in Syracuse last month.

  News Feed - Center for Career Services 2022-23