Valley Central honors retirees
Wallkill Valley Times , Wednesday , June 15 , 2016 3
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Valley Central School District honored long-time employees and retirees at a recent meeting . Front row ( l . – r ) Marie Viviano ( High School , Food Service Helper ), Janina Couto ( Cook Manager , Middle School ), Marie Fasulo ( High School , Family and Consumer Science Teacher ). Debra Sinclair ( East Coldenham , Paraprofessional ), Mariellen Murphy O ’ Connor ( East Coldenham , School Nurse ), Carol Vogel ( Middle School , Remedial Reading Teacher ), Diane Colangelo , ( Middle School , 6th grade Teacher ), Nancy DeSole ( Walden , Computer Teacher ), Suzanne Eastwood ( Walden , Remedial Reading Teacher ), John Fisher ( Walden , Elementary Teacher ), Gail Skahen ( Berea , Elementary Teacher ), Elizabeth Papesca ( High School , Foreign Language Teacher ), Kathleen Manning ( High School , Math Teacher ), Terri Campbell ( High School , Science Teacher ), Beverly Risco ( High School , Math Teacher ), Carolyn Lahue ( Music Teacher , East Coldenham / Berea ).
By TED REMSNYDER
The lifeblood of any school district are the teachers and staff members who inspire the hundreds of kids who make their way through the instructors ’ classrooms over the years , and Valley Central bid farewell to 25 long-time employees at a retirement ceremony held on June 6 at Berea Elementary School . The reception , which was held just prior to the district ’ s school board meeting , saw Valley Central Superintendent John Xanthis and Assistant Superintendent Sheila Lease-Murphy hand out small gifts , and large doses of gratitude , to the departing employees . The group of two dozen retirees included Berea Elementary teacher Gail Skahen , East Coldenham music teacher Carolyn Lahue and Walden Elementary teacher John Fisher .
The ceremony also represented something of a circle of life for the district , as eight teachers who had just been granted tenure at the district were also honored at the event . Elementary school teachers Susan Walker and Janet Ganzer are joined by Traci Sick , Gail DeNicola , Michelle Wittman , Jessica Filangeri , Kristinna Crowe and Rebekah Stoll in the new crop of tenure recipients . It was a bittersweet night for the administration to see so many experienced staff members heading off into retirement . “ It ’ s a great profession . I don ’ t know if people always understand how hard teachers work ,” Xanthis said after the ceremony . “ Everybody in the district , the support staff , works so hard . When you ’ re a part of it , and you witness it , you can see their love and commitment to kids . What they give is really amazing to view . To be at the end of a career where they ’ ve given so much , they walk out and there ’ s no golden parachute and that ’ s not what they expect . We really appreciate them and their families for coming out tonight .”
The subsequent school board meeting was centered around a handful of teacher presentations , as first and second-year instructors from the district gave detailed Powerpoint lectures about special projects they initiated this year to improve their teaching skills . The programs included lunch-hour group learning sessions for students and the foundation of a comprehensive floor hockey league in a gym class that had students assuming all of the roles found in a professional sports league . Middle school music teacher Ryan Cerullo established a music newsletter entitled VCMS Music News to engage his general music students who may not even
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