Kudos to the High School clubs and groups which created beautiful Valentine’s Day cards and which were sent to local veteran’s organizations. Your kindness matters and is appreciated: History Club, Archaeology Club, Film Society, Art Club, Key Club and students who created cards while visiting the library.
There’s lots of love coming home today from our younger students as they get ready for Valentine’s Day, such as beautiful, heartfelt cards and crafts to share with their families!
This includes Angela Dombal’s ES kindergarteners, who made wonderful Valentine cards featuring hand-heart designs and personalized messages. This art activity doubled as a meaningful ELA and penmanship lesson, too, as students were encouraged to write whatever loving thoughts they wished to share.
Many of these little writers also proudly showed off their knowledge of a new punctuation symbol they learned this week: The exclamation mark! By using it at the end of their sentences, students learned how punctuation helps writing show excitement, joy, and strong feelings — perfect for Valentine’s Day. This lesson helped connect spoken expression to written words, builds reading comprehension and encourages expressive writing as they continue to grow as confident writers.
This includes Angela Dombal’s ES kindergarteners, who made wonderful Valentine cards featuring hand-heart designs and personalized messages. This art activity doubled as a meaningful ELA and penmanship lesson, too, as students were encouraged to write whatever loving thoughts they wished to share.
Many of these little writers also proudly showed off their knowledge of a new punctuation symbol they learned this week: The exclamation mark! By using it at the end of their sentences, students learned how punctuation helps writing show excitement, joy, and strong feelings — perfect for Valentine’s Day. This lesson helped connect spoken expression to written words, builds reading comprehension and encourages expressive writing as they continue to grow as confident writers.
Who doesn’t love a great book? Otisville Elementary students certainly do! Our readers had an absolute blast exploring new stories, discovering favorite authors, and stocking up on exciting reads at the Scholastic Book Fair over the past few days, which also included last evening's Family Night!
THANK YOU to the amazing Otisville PTO for organizing and hosting this time-honored tradition that continues to spark a love of reading in our school community!
Posted as
THANK YOU to the amazing Otisville PTO for organizing and hosting this time-honored tradition that continues to spark a love of reading in our school community!
Posted as
Like other district fourth-graders, Kristen Gallo’s IS fourth-graders have been exploring volcanoes through an integrated approach to their science and ELA work. Students strengthened their research skills and applied their learning by writing informational pieces based on their findings.
To enhance classroom engagement, students recently participated in a hands-on volcano experiment using an apple, baking soda, food coloring, and vinegar. Students enjoyed observing the “volcano” erupt and making connections between the experiment and real volcanic eruptions. This engaging activity provided a meaningful way to bring learning to life!
•The apple, baking soda, food coloring and vinegar volcano experiment is a fun way to show how a chemical reaction works. First, an apple is hollowed out to make a small “volcano” crater. Baking soda is placed inside the apple, and a few drops of food coloring are added to make the reaction easier to see. The apple acts as a natural container, helping students visualize how a volcano holds magma before it erupts.
•When vinegar is poured into the apple, it reacts with the baking soda. Baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid, and when they mix, they produce carbon dioxide gas. This gas builds up and escapes as bubbly foam, pushing the colored liquid out of the apple like lava flowing from a volcano. The experiment demonstrates acid–base reactions and gas formation in a simple, safe, and exciting way.
To enhance classroom engagement, students recently participated in a hands-on volcano experiment using an apple, baking soda, food coloring, and vinegar. Students enjoyed observing the “volcano” erupt and making connections between the experiment and real volcanic eruptions. This engaging activity provided a meaningful way to bring learning to life!
•The apple, baking soda, food coloring and vinegar volcano experiment is a fun way to show how a chemical reaction works. First, an apple is hollowed out to make a small “volcano” crater. Baking soda is placed inside the apple, and a few drops of food coloring are added to make the reaction easier to see. The apple acts as a natural container, helping students visualize how a volcano holds magma before it erupts.
•When vinegar is poured into the apple, it reacts with the baking soda. Baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid, and when they mix, they produce carbon dioxide gas. This gas builds up and escapes as bubbly foam, pushing the colored liquid out of the apple like lava flowing from a volcano. The experiment demonstrates acid–base reactions and gas formation in a simple, safe, and exciting way.
ES second-graders have been learning about the history of the Olympics, the different sports which are a part of the Olympics and famous Olympians! That included watching a special video messages from Minisink alumni and Olympians Stefanie Dolson and Nick Abruzzese and, of course, their recent Opening Ceremony Parade of Nations.!
The Varsity Wrestling Team and Mat Maid seniors were honored during the recent Senior Night for both groups. Thank you to the Mat Maid seniors for their ongoing support of the team and to the senior wrestlers for their hard work, grit and dedication to make Minisink Valley wrestling such a powerhouse! Best wishes to all!
Mat maids
Camila Calle
Alyssa Hendershot
Jazlin Sessoms Luna
Sofia Udasco
Wrestlers
Alexandro Cepeda, Jr.
Ramon Colon
Timothy Duke
Cody Dul
Tyler Dul
Antonio Felix
Zachary Filip
Leonardo Gangi
Shaheed Mitchell
Alex Nigro
Jayden Pressley
Nathanial Racz
Gabriel Simpson
Mat maids
Camila Calle
Alyssa Hendershot
Jazlin Sessoms Luna
Sofia Udasco
Wrestlers
Alexandro Cepeda, Jr.
Ramon Colon
Timothy Duke
Cody Dul
Tyler Dul
Antonio Felix
Zachary Filip
Leonardo Gangi
Shaheed Mitchell
Alex Nigro
Jayden Pressley
Nathanial Racz
Gabriel Simpson
AMAZING! Congratulations to the Otisville Elementary students who have been recognized as PBIS-STAR students for Quarter 2! We bet you'll recognize many faces!
Otisville's PBIS-STAR program focuses on creating and sustaining a positive school environment which embraces educationally sound methods that foster student character, safety, academic excellence and individual citizenship.
Otisville's PBIS-STAR program focuses on creating and sustaining a positive school environment which embraces educationally sound methods that foster student character, safety, academic excellence and individual citizenship.
Congratulations to the Boys Varsity Swimming and Diving team, which finished in sixth-place at the Feb. 6 OCIAA Championships! Varsity Head Coach Samantha Woodward is proud to share that 80% of individual performances resulted in personal best times!
Seven swimmers qualified for the Feb. 19 to 21 Section IX Championships, based on their cut times:
•Senior Caleb Decker got 2 cuts in the 200 freestyle and 50 freestyle
•Senior Owen Skinner got a cut in the 200 IM
•Junior Eddie Edwards got cut times in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke in a previous meet.
•Sophomore William Monahan got his first 2 cuts in the 200 and 500 yard freestyle
•Freshman Jacob Yourman got a cut in the 200 freestyle
•Eighth-grader Marcus Earl got a Section cut time in the 100 breaststroke
•Seventh-grader Alex Marincenko got a cut in the 200 freestyle
Seven swimmers qualified for the Feb. 19 to 21 Section IX Championships, based on their cut times:
•Senior Caleb Decker got 2 cuts in the 200 freestyle and 50 freestyle
•Senior Owen Skinner got a cut in the 200 IM
•Junior Eddie Edwards got cut times in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke in a previous meet.
•Sophomore William Monahan got his first 2 cuts in the 200 and 500 yard freestyle
•Freshman Jacob Yourman got a cut in the 200 freestyle
•Eighth-grader Marcus Earl got a Section cut time in the 100 breaststroke
•Seventh-grader Alex Marincenko got a cut in the 200 freestyle
Otisville Elementary’s Odyssey of the Mind is hard at work getting ready for the Feb. 28 Region 5 tournament at Orange-Ulster BOCES!
Otisville Coach Jenna Coleman’s team will be presenting a response to Problem 5: “Taller Tales of John Jivery.” We’re not sharing “all” they’re doing to prepare, but it’s going to be a great performance!
The team will create and present a humorous performance about an original tall tale.
The tale will include a team-created hero or heroine that performs an incredible feat, a unique explanation of how something began or came to be and a surprise for the audience.
Each event will be accompanied by a visual weather effect that represents an emotion.
The original characters and unusual situations this team is creating will show their tremendous “out of the box” thinking!
Otisville Coach Jenna Coleman’s team will be presenting a response to Problem 5: “Taller Tales of John Jivery.” We’re not sharing “all” they’re doing to prepare, but it’s going to be a great performance!
The team will create and present a humorous performance about an original tall tale.
The tale will include a team-created hero or heroine that performs an incredible feat, a unique explanation of how something began or came to be and a surprise for the audience.
Each event will be accompanied by a visual weather effect that represents an emotion.
The original characters and unusual situations this team is creating will show their tremendous “out of the box” thinking!
Some football fans are still riding the Super Bowl high, while others are… well… already looking ahead to next season. But there’s a very special group of fans who had a win no matter what—the creative pigskin artists of Jenn DiSimone’s ES first-grade class!
This past Friday, and in preparation for last night's big game, these students "tackled" a different kind of challenge: Reimagining the shape of a football as something totally unexpected. And wow—did they deliver! Touchdowns for everyones! Their “something elses” are bursting with imagination, originality and first-grade brilliance.
This past Friday, and in preparation for last night's big game, these students "tackled" a different kind of challenge: Reimagining the shape of a football as something totally unexpected. And wow—did they deliver! Touchdowns for everyones! Their “something elses” are bursting with imagination, originality and first-grade brilliance.
PLAY BALL! Support the PTO and have a great time at a New York Yankees game at this fun PTO fundraiser!
New York Yankees vs. Miami Marlins!
--- Saturday, April 4
--- 7:05 p.m. at Yankee Stadium
--- Tickets: $45 each for Terrace Level seating
--- Online ticket sales close March 1
--- Tickets will be delivered digitally to the email address provided.
--- Transportation is NOT provided.
Purchase tickets here: https://minisink-pto-yankee-game.square.site/
New York Yankees vs. Miami Marlins!
--- Saturday, April 4
--- 7:05 p.m. at Yankee Stadium
--- Tickets: $45 each for Terrace Level seating
--- Online ticket sales close March 1
--- Tickets will be delivered digitally to the email address provided.
--- Transportation is NOT provided.
Purchase tickets here: https://minisink-pto-yankee-game.square.site/
VOLLEYBALL FUN!
Heather Cardena's and Dan Gallo's Middle School physical education students' volleyball matchups are a lot of fun! It's a great physical education unit because volleyball develops key physical skills like coordination, agility, and strength through full-body movements like jumping or diving.
PLUS: There's also other important life skills like teamwork, communication and strategic thinking involved. Volleyball is a fun, adaptable, and often low-contact sport, making it accessible for many students.
Heather Cardena's and Dan Gallo's Middle School physical education students' volleyball matchups are a lot of fun! It's a great physical education unit because volleyball develops key physical skills like coordination, agility, and strength through full-body movements like jumping or diving.
PLUS: There's also other important life skills like teamwork, communication and strategic thinking involved. Volleyball is a fun, adaptable, and often low-contact sport, making it accessible for many students.
ART FANS!
Back by request! Sign up today for the High School Art Club’s Feb. 10 “Paint & Snack” fundraiser! Have a wonderful afternoon painting a beautiful spring design under the guidance of a talented upperclassman art student! And, of course, there will be fabulous snacks! Open to all ages, but space is limited. Cost is $12 per adult, $10 per student and $5 for student siblings.
Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejmdJqNRluBrCttWfiMsXZ8Cu5-xqk0U9wP3GPo7oXlMKASw/viewform
Back by request! Sign up today for the High School Art Club’s Feb. 10 “Paint & Snack” fundraiser! Have a wonderful afternoon painting a beautiful spring design under the guidance of a talented upperclassman art student! And, of course, there will be fabulous snacks! Open to all ages, but space is limited. Cost is $12 per adult, $10 per student and $5 for student siblings.
Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejmdJqNRluBrCttWfiMsXZ8Cu5-xqk0U9wP3GPo7oXlMKASw/viewform
Please join us in congratulating the winners of the the Intermediate School's Kindness Week Poster Contest! Their colorful and vibrant designs contain important messages for all of us!
--- Fifth-Grade: Tyler Sturge
--- Fourth- Grade: Hailey Barry
--- Third-Grade: Ansharah Usman, Leilani Romero Marin and Yaretzi Vazquez
--- Fifth-Grade: Tyler Sturge
--- Fourth- Grade: Hailey Barry
--- Third-Grade: Ansharah Usman, Leilani Romero Marin and Yaretzi Vazquez
Congratulations to Senior Varsity Football Running Back and Linebacker Zach Filip, who has been named the 2025 Section IX Large school Player of the Year! Large schools consist of both Class AA and Class A with 15 teams represented!
Varsity Football Coach Kevin Gallagher said this is only the second time in program history that a Minisink Valley football player has won this award. Tom Redmond won it in the early 1970s.
“Zach Filip is a coach’s dream,” Coach Gallagher said. “He is a great athlete with good speed, a very smart athlete, strong, a great teammate, with an incredible will to get better and to win! Zach was our heart and soul and is as tough as anyone in the state, but off the field he is a great kid well-respected by everyone. Zach is also a very good student and is looking to play football in college and become a physical education teacher and coach.”
Varsity Football Coach Kevin Gallagher said this is only the second time in program history that a Minisink Valley football player has won this award. Tom Redmond won it in the early 1970s.
“Zach Filip is a coach’s dream,” Coach Gallagher said. “He is a great athlete with good speed, a very smart athlete, strong, a great teammate, with an incredible will to get better and to win! Zach was our heart and soul and is as tough as anyone in the state, but off the field he is a great kid well-respected by everyone. Zach is also a very good student and is looking to play football in college and become a physical education teacher and coach.”
LET THE GAMES BEGIN! The Opening Ceremony for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics is tonight, Feb. 6, at Stadio San Siro in Milan, Italy. Will you be watching? We want to give a huge shout out to two alumni who are OLYMPIANS!
Class of 2010 alumnus Stefanie Dolson competed in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (held in 2021 due to the pandemic), winning a GOLD MEDAL with Team USA in women’s 3×3 basketball! The 3x3 sport debuted in the 2020 games, with Team USA defeating the Russian Olympic Committee team 18–15 in the final! Ms. Dolson was a key contributor, leading her team in scoring with seven points and pulling down nine rebounds in the gold medal game!
After graduating from Minisink Valley, Ms. Dolson played collegiately at the University of Connecticut and plays professionally in the WNBA, currently as a center with the Washington Mystics.
Class of 2017 alumnus Nicholas Abruzzese competed in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, representing Team USA in men’s ice hockey! In his Olympic appearance, Mr. Abruzzese played four games, recording four points (one goal and three assists) for Team USA. The team competed strongly in the tournament, but ultimately didn't medal.
After graduating from Minisink Valley, Mr. Abruzzese played collegiate hockey at Harvard University, where he was among the nation’s top point producers and served as team captain. He's is currently a center with the American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch!
We’re so proud to have two ALUMNI OLYMPIANS!
Class of 2010 alumnus Stefanie Dolson competed in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (held in 2021 due to the pandemic), winning a GOLD MEDAL with Team USA in women’s 3×3 basketball! The 3x3 sport debuted in the 2020 games, with Team USA defeating the Russian Olympic Committee team 18–15 in the final! Ms. Dolson was a key contributor, leading her team in scoring with seven points and pulling down nine rebounds in the gold medal game!
After graduating from Minisink Valley, Ms. Dolson played collegiately at the University of Connecticut and plays professionally in the WNBA, currently as a center with the Washington Mystics.
Class of 2017 alumnus Nicholas Abruzzese competed in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, representing Team USA in men’s ice hockey! In his Olympic appearance, Mr. Abruzzese played four games, recording four points (one goal and three assists) for Team USA. The team competed strongly in the tournament, but ultimately didn't medal.
After graduating from Minisink Valley, Mr. Abruzzese played collegiate hockey at Harvard University, where he was among the nation’s top point producers and served as team captain. He's is currently a center with the American Hockey League's Syracuse Crunch!
We’re so proud to have two ALUMNI OLYMPIANS!
Kudos to the Intermediate School’s “Kindness Ambassadors,” who recently visited our youngest students at the Elementary School to lead them in a kindness lesson. Students listened to Carol McCloud’s “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?”
Through simple prose and vivid illustrations, this her book encourages positive behavior by using the concept of an invisible bucket to show readers how easy and rewarding it is to express kindness, appreciation, and love by “filling buckets.” While using a simple metaphor of a bucket and a dipper, the book is a reminder that when we choose to be kind, we not only fill the buckets of those around us, but also fill our own buckets!
Afterward, the ambassadors oversaw kindness-themed activities for each grade level. This was another wonderful inter-school collaboration between both schools! WELL-DONE, everyone!
Through simple prose and vivid illustrations, this her book encourages positive behavior by using the concept of an invisible bucket to show readers how easy and rewarding it is to express kindness, appreciation, and love by “filling buckets.” While using a simple metaphor of a bucket and a dipper, the book is a reminder that when we choose to be kind, we not only fill the buckets of those around us, but also fill our own buckets!
Afterward, the ambassadors oversaw kindness-themed activities for each grade level. This was another wonderful inter-school collaboration between both schools! WELL-DONE, everyone!
Brian Maione’s eighth-grade art students are creating pop art sculptures inspired by Claes Oldenberg.
They choose their favorite candy, cookies, chips or other items… so long as it comes from a bag! First, students drafted a sketch of their snacks which focused on composition, design and layout. The finals are done on 12x18 paper with acrylic paint and Sharpies.
Claes Oldenburg was a Swedish-American Pop artist famous for transforming everyday objects, like hamburgers or lipsticks, into massive, whimsical sculptures, including his well-known “Spoonbridge and Cherry.”
AMAZING! Congratulations to the Varsity Girls Indoor Track 4x400 meter relay team of Chloe Beck, Ferrah Hill, Ella Michelitch and Salma Samdaoui, who proudly represented Minisink Valley in the prestigious Millrose Games, held Feb. 1, finishing fourth in the Suburban division (4:00.37) and besting local rivals Monroe-Woodbury and Warwick Valley in the process! PLUS: It's the first time in program history that a Minisink Valley team qualified for these games!
The Millrose Games is a major indoor track and field meet held every year in New York City. It's one of the oldest and most respected track meets in the world, starting in 1908. High school athletes often look up to the Millrose Games because it features the best runners and field athletes competing at an elite level, showing what is possible with hard work and dedication.
The meet includes many events including sprints, distance races, hurdles, and field events. For high school athletes, the Millrose Games is inspiring because it shows the highest level of competition and motivates young athletes to train, improve, and dream big in track and field.
For professional athletes, The Millrose Games is one of the most prestigious indoor track and field competitions in the world and is a cornerstone of the international athletics calendar. The event attracts elite athletes from around the globe who compete in a range of sprint, distance, hurdle, and field events, often producing record-breaking performances
McKayla Murphy’s IS third-graders have been having fun exploring multiplication using the associative property! (The associative property of math states that changing the grouping of numbers in an addition or multiplication problem does not change the result)
They used drawings and visual models to show different ways to group numbers, helping them solve multiplication problems and practice skip counting by 6s and 8s.
Using visuals made learning more hands-on and helped students build a deeper understanding of how multiplication works. That’s because it helps make abstract math ideas more concrete. Multiplication can be hard to grasp when it’s just numbers and symbols. Visuals like arrays, groups of objects, number lines, and pictures help students see what “8 × 4” actually means (8 groups of 4). Plus, visual models give them something tangible to reason with and help students to understand why multiplication works. Drawing objects can also make learning more hands-on and interactive, which increases focus and participation.
They used drawings and visual models to show different ways to group numbers, helping them solve multiplication problems and practice skip counting by 6s and 8s.
Using visuals made learning more hands-on and helped students build a deeper understanding of how multiplication works. That’s because it helps make abstract math ideas more concrete. Multiplication can be hard to grasp when it’s just numbers and symbols. Visuals like arrays, groups of objects, number lines, and pictures help students see what “8 × 4” actually means (8 groups of 4). Plus, visual models give them something tangible to reason with and help students to understand why multiplication works. Drawing objects can also make learning more hands-on and interactive, which increases focus and participation.
