Waching daily Apr 26 2017

Hi I'm Anthony Napoli and welcome to the

inaugural episode of RCK News for

the 2016-2017 school year. I'm here in

the newly renovated RCK cafeteria to

tell you about our new school year. At

tonight's program you will hear from our

new building principal, our two new

assistant principals, coverage on our

back-to-school night, and highlights from the Fall Spirit Week and Pep Rally.

Let's get right into it.

What do you see in the RCK students to

make you see potential in us?

The very first thing I've

noticed is the willingness for everyone

to get involved here at RCK. There are so

many clubs and so many different things

to do and just the students seem to be

all over it so I'm really enthused about

how involved everyone wants to be in my

job as an administrator here I want to

find the kids that that don't have

something they want to be a part of and

help them create that thing they want to

be a part of that everyone has a good

experience here at RCK how are you

planning to make a change in RCK?

Again this goes back to involving

the students and making sure that that

high school is a better place to be for everyone

I was that kid that didn't like school.

I was disengaged I'm not always saw the

value in what I was doing. As I got older

I learned that there is a reason why

we're here and the school really needs

to be a place that extends beyond

reading writing and arithmetic. So going

back to having opportunities for kids to

get involved into what they want to do

those are the changes I want to see here

and I want to be part of those changes

in making it so that everyone has

something they can do here that gives

them a skill they can take with them

elsewhere. Have to say I very much admire

how you choose to see potential in

children and make them feel welcome

at school because it's very hard to find

especially in other districts teachers

and administrators who will bring kids

to their office make sure that they're

feeling okay make sure that they're

going to class and having a good time

but they feel safe

that's very much important and very much

needed and I admire that well thank you

and you know we not just me we have a

very young fresh administrative team

here and all of us got into this

business because we care about students

and care about kids

Mr. Seipp loves the students that can

easily see that the students love him

Mr. Maffei is brilliant with his ninth

graders and Miss Brooks and Miss

D'Allesandro all of us are here to be

there for the students and I'm looking

forward to it's gonna be a great year

lastly welcome to RCK. What is your

favorite part about RCK so far? My

favorite part about RCK so far is the students

I am a big kid so to me this is sort of

like being a high school all over again

and everyone's made me feel very

welcomed here and I'm just looking

forward for whatever the rest of the

year is gonna bring. Great thank you for

RCK News. this is Cecil.

This is Thomas Pasano with RCK News

alright so what's your name? Mr. Maffei.

What brings to you to RCK? Well you know I left

Middletown Central School District and

i just saw a great

opportunity and applied for the job.

I met with the superintendent and the assistant

superintendent and Mr. Seipp. I just kind of

knew that this is the right place for me

What is your field in education?

Well I started out as a I have a

background in school counseling and then

I got my admin degree shortly thereafter.

I spent six years at beta the

alternative high school and then I went

I got hired in Middletown as a as a Dean

of Students and spent a few years there

and then Here I am.

What was your education before RCK?

Like I said the school

counseling and I was a coach for the

whole time I was doing my crisis

intervention work I coached football and

baseball and softball and track and I did it all.

You do track? Yeah I do track. What do you run?

I run the 100 and 200. Good for you. Hurdles?

No. I don't have the long legs for that.

what do you believe is the most of the

most important thing about RCK that you

bring to RCK ? That I bring

that I think I bring it a high level of

positivity to the building. I know I've

been dealing with this finishes for a

while. Even before getting into

administration my job as crisis

intervention was pretty wild

so I feel like i have that part of the

job down pat and I really like the that

can bring a lot of positive things to the

building being more proactive than

reactive which has been really good so far

What's the goal of... What's your goal for RCK?

I mean short-term we gotta get kids in class

you know kids are that have been in the

hallways a little too much shorter term

is that you know we have had ear buds

in the hallway present a safety issue so

we've been working on that but long-term

I mean I have a ton of things on my

board that I'm trying to do in the

building long-term to really make

Ketcham a great place for kids

What are your thoughts

behind the problem from the misbehaving

kids from like what your thoughts on them?

Misbehaving kids? yeah. I feel like kids

do well if they cannot if they want to

once you kind of get that through your

head you approach discipline with a

different attitude it's not I'm gonna

catch and I'm gonna do this this and

this and you're going to do this this

and this is you know let's work together

and figure out how we can make this

right and and really you know it doesn't

have to be as punitive is it as it was

in the past

What's your thoughts about the Mahopac

incident that just recently happened? It

was disrespectful. But what would have done

if like if that was

one of our kids doing that to their school

what would you have done?

wow I mean I it all goes I have to know

like the kids background and you know

what their history is but that is not

tolerated

that's a high level of disrespect but in

the long run you can't let you know the

actions of you know four or five kids

really dictate that whole building like

there are a lot of good kids in that

building to you know couple couple kids

make a couple dumb decisions and that's

that is going it is I school learn from

our mistakes that's right you gotta

learn you gotta grow out what do you see

in RCK students to make you know

when you see in them like what you seen

these RCK students if we had a lot of

good kids here a lot of good kids I'm

very pleased kids very respectful

I am really looking forward to doing working

hard and doing all these things that I

want to do that

Lastly welcome to RCK. What is your favorite part of RCK so far?

Football games. Football games?

Which one. The Arlington game. That was a good game.

I was there.

That was a close game.

A very close game. Lost by 7, but hey we pulled through.

We fought back and stayed in it.

It's hard to win hard games on the road.

You put the game in the heads of the ref on the road.

and it usually doesn't end well.

that's what happened

all right and thank you. Thank you. And it was nice to meet you.

Thank you. For RCK News this Thomas Pasano.

Hi. This is RCK News and I am here with Mr. Delany at Open House.

So mr. Delaney why do you feel that it is important that parents come to open house?

I feel that it is important that parents come to open house

because I think that they get an opportunity

to see who the teacher is as a person and maybe

connect with them a little more when I

have to talk to them on the phone and so on

Mr. Delaney what do you think the

parents got out of tonight?

Well I hope that they get out that their

children are going to a safe

environment, a fun environment they get

to meet people that care about their son

or daughter and and that they feel more

comfortable and they understand my

attitude. Me personally my attitude about

teaching and education.

Hi this is RCK News and I am here with Mr. Cancellari, my chem teacher.

mr. Cancellari, what is favorite part about open house?

My favorite part about open house is the

cookies that they sell downstairs

that is the best part open house but I

also do like getting the opportunity to

meet the parents and to kind of do a

little spiel and I light some magnesium on

fire and they see things burn and we get

the parents excited too about chemistry

because if the parents are excited

sometimes they can get the kids to be

excited but I really think it's

important that they come and just meet

me and know who I am so that if they do

need to contact me I do need to contact

them they can put a face to the name

Mr. Cancellari what brought you here to Ketcham?

You know it's a long story

Grace. My sister married Mr. Social

Studies Paino. His sister's brother and I

met Mr. Paino at the wedding when he was

just graduating high school and I was in

college and then whatever come down and

visit my sister he was finishing college

this is four years later

this is you know there's a chemistry job

opening up a Ketcham high school

what do you think and I'd already been

teaching for a year and I said if you stand me up an

application i'll fill it out so I fill

out this application. He had to mail it.

This was before email he physically

took an application put in it in an envelope

and mailed it to me so I'm like dude if

this guy took out the time to actually

mail me one I'm going to fill it out so

fill out the application i send it back

to call me for an interview

my interview is actually at John Jay I go

over there

I had a to teach a class. So I'm teaching a

class and then they sit me down for this

interview and the first question is how

do you think it went?

so like it went pretty good but I had

way too much stuff planned not enough

time and then he goes well and right

before he asks the second question the fire

alarm rings so we go outside and it

wasn't like a planned fire drill it was one

of those you know like dust in the smoke

head one that takes like forever to go

through so I'm out there I'm just

talking to you know the guy that was

hiring for the interview

committee and some other people just not

talking about anything just talking you

know making small talk and it comes in

and he goes you know we really like you

were going to offer you a job and you

ask me one question are you sure?

and he goes you know remember how you

memorized every kid's name within the

first five minutes of class and you were

able to call on them all the whole time

he goes I said yeah and he goes that

right there shows me a that you're smart

and be that you care enough to learn the

kids names and you may never see these

kids again and you took the time to

learn their names and that's really how

I ended up teaching here.

hi this is RCK News and I'm here with

Mrs. Andriola. So it's about 5th

period right now how do you feel open

house is going? I think it's going well. I

haven't gotten lost which is always a

plus and I think it's great you have

the people with the signs because

sometimes they don't have sign so you

don't really know who you're supposed to

ask I think that's a plus. The

teachers presentation have been very informative

and helpful so yeah I think it's been

going well.

Now is there anything you would fix or

improve or like... Well I never feel

there's enough time but I think if you

give the teachers more time we could be

here all night you know so that that's

the thing but the teachers always run

out of time

oh so that would be one thing I guess ok

Thank you Mrs. Andriola. That will be all.

Hello this is Gabby Pizano with RCK News. What made you want to be principal?

Well I have a true passion for helping and

supporting people you know so I love

kids and I just I just really enjoy you

know trying to help and support.

How long you been working in education?

I've been an education for 16 years.

I completed 16 this is my 17th year in

education. How is your new position

different from being an assistant

principal?

Well to be honest with you it's it's not

much different

Mr. Stella gave me and the APs a lot

of autonomy which I appreciated to have

helped me you know to learn and into

grow into this position I think the only

difference now as opposed to to the

previous years is you know when a final

decision is made it rest on on my

shoulders.

What's most challenging about your new

position? What is the most challenging

thing about my new position? Probably to

delegate. Right I have a very

difficult time sometimes delegating. I

like to be involved in everything

I'm not a micromanager but I like to be

involved in things and I need to learn

to to step back a little bit more and to

delegate I have excellent you know

assistant principals and who do

great work so I would think that's

probably my biggest area where I think I

need to work a little bit on. ok

Headphones rule seems to be pretty strict

and force constantly address in the

hallways what made you and the staff

enforce the headphone rule?

well I think it's a safety issue and

safety is very important to me and to all

of us here and we work very closely with

law enforcement and they've

indicated to us that is a

safety issue so that that's one of the

main reasons why we enforce that. What is

your main goal for the school year as a

as a principal? My main goal is I want

to move our school from good to great

I think we really have a the key

ingredients to be a great school I think

we have great kids we have a great staff

and I want us all to come together to be

a great school. What was one thing you would

like to say to the students, parents, and

guardians to help this year to be

successful?

well I wanted students to know that I

care and that you know I'm willing

to support them and I want the

parents to know that I'm

here to support them and to do whatever

it necessary to support them in their

child's success here at Ketcham.

How do you like RCK school year so

far and what's your favorite part of

this year? You know I think the school

year is off to a good start.

You know my favorite part is a lot

of things I'm first going to say that I

think you know spirit week you know is

always something that I enjoy you

know with our

homecoming and the festivities that

go on with that and then and as we go on

through the school year you know we have

plays and and going to sports teams and

our proms and then graduation

so it's really a culmination of

everything but the start of the school

year that spirit week with our pep rally

and the homecoming dance is always to me

very special.

State three words to describe you. Three words that describe me?

I want to say dedicated, collaborative, and

I think I'm fair. Right.

Lastly congrats on your new position

thank you for RCK News this is Gabby

Pizanno. Go RCK!