Columbia Secondary School Newsletter
January/February 2015
Volume 3, Issue 3
Miriam Nightengale, Principal
Lenice Nelson, Assistant Principal
Dan Novak, Assistant Principal
Andi Velasquez, Parent Coordinator
Letter from Our Principal
Dear CSS Community,
M362 – CSS
Columbia Secondary School
for Math, Science & Engineering
Mark Your
Calendars
Philosophy Roundtable
on Zero and Infinity
Weds, 2/4, 6 pm, 6th fl.
College Financial Aid
Presentation in Spanish
for 12th & 11th grade families
Thurs., 2/5, 6:30 pm, 6th fl.
11th Grade College Night
Thurs., 2/5, 6 pm, 4th fl.
Also Saturday, 2/7, 10 am
Guys & Dolls
Fri, Sat. & Sun, 2/6, 7 & 8
See article for details
Black History Month
Celebration
Thurs., February 12
Potluck: 5–6:30, West Gym
Show: 7-8:30, Auditorium
To donate food, funds or
volunteer at the potluck,
contact: marisolweiner@
columbiasecondary.org
PTA Valentine Bake Sale
Friday, February 13
Bring donations to the OSS
To volunteer, contact: Leslie
Brown, poopsypu@yahoo.com
Mid-Winter Recess
Monday–Friday
.
February 16–20
School Closed
As we reach midwinter, we are starting to
gear up for the midyear activities. Right on
our doorstep is our beloved annual
musical. Please don't miss Guys and Dolls
-- it promises to be an amazing show, as
always! The show will be closely followed
by our 8th grade trip to Frost Valley next
week and then by our annual Black
History Month festivities. If you attend just
one potluck in February -- make it this
one! We promise good food, good
company and good entertainment.
As the festivities and our usual level of
enriching activities continue as a
backdrop, we are also working to
strengthen and support our academic
program and facilities. The new PA
system is installed but not yet activated we hope to be able to use it by the end of
the school year. Meanwhile, stay up-todate with CSS announcements on a daily
basis through the homeroom
announcements posted on our website,
and the weekly email announcements
sent out by Assistant Principal Lenice
Nelson and Parent Coordinator Andi
Velasquez. By March 2, we, along with all
the public schools in New York City, will
have posted our cell phone policy. This
policy is being developed with input from
the School Leadership Team and will be
distributed in early February to parents
and students. Lastly, with the change of
semester comes a change of director for
our after school programming. Sadly,
Sarah Gonek is stepping down, but we
were fortunate to find a talented new
director, Donizetti Gonzalez, who will be
stepping into Sarah's shoes in February.
I look forward to seeing you all this month,
during Guys and Dolls, the PTA meeting
and the Black History Month celebration!
Sincerely,
Miriam Nightengale
CSS to present Guys and Dolls February 6, 7 & 8
Humor! Romance! The New York
underworld! Gambling! A night out in
Havana! Tap dancing! You can
experience all this and more when the
classic musical “Guys and Dolls” comes
to the CSS stage the first weekend in
February.
With a cast of about 60 CSSers in
grades 7–12 and a crew of 20 including
students taking a theater tech elective,
this year’s musical production will for
the first time have a live pit band
featuring members of the CSS
community: Cory Lewis (7th grade) on
trumpet, Jeremy Espinal (10th grade)
on bass, Othello Olisa (11th grade) on
drums, Arden Strasser (parent) on
piano, Daniel Attridge (musical director
CSS-MSE Newsletter
Page 2
Show times are Friday, February 6, at
7 pm; Saturday, February 7, at 2 pm
and 7 pm; and Sunday, February 8, at
5 pm. The Friday show is filled by CSS
students, staff and families and
Both veterans of the CSS stage and first usually sells out. Saturday and
Sunday’s performances are open to
time performers make up the brand
members of the CSS community and
new cast of principals playing title
anyone else wanting to attend. CSS
roles this year, including seniors Paula
community members may purchase
Schicchi, Jesus Robles, Anthony Lewis,
tickets in advance for any of the
Ron Guncler and Faith Flowers and
sophomores Sabrina Villalva, Jed Nash, performances for $6 from Prof. Bosch
in the OSS/Room 503. Individuals not
Eli Taylor-Kerman, Attash Nassiri,
affiliated with CSS may reserve $8
Marcus Miller-Moore and Jean Franco
tickets for Saturday and Sunday’s
Molina. “We love that this show has
shows by emailing Andi Velasquez
many numbers that highlight the
ensemble, as well as beautiful songs by (andivelasquez@columbiasecondary.org).
All tickets sold at the door,
featured principals,” said co-Director
th
Meredith Hill, CSS 6 grade ELA teacher regardless of CSS affiliation, cost $8.
and CSS’s garden coordinator. “There
Donations of snacks, baked goods
are parts to allow many different
and drinks are needed for all shows.
personalities and talents to shine.”
For Friday’s performance, drop off
contributions in the OSS. On Saturday
Also making its debut at the
and Sunday you can drop off directly
performances is the upgraded
in the hallway in front of the
auditorium sound system thanks to
funding from the PTA and the efforts of auditorium. If you are able to help
sell or work back-stage, please
parent Elliot Kerman and Eric
contact volunteer coordinator Daisy
Nightengale, Principal Miriam
Gonzalez, daisygonzalez316@aol.com
Nightengale's brother and a Broadway
artistic director, among others.
Upgrades include a new improved
antenna for the wireless system, two
Early college acceptances for
new wireless mics, mic stands and
members of our second graduating
music stand lights. The PTA also funded class have started to come in from
set construction, prop benches which
schools including Bates College,
can also be used in the gym to watch
Columbia University (four students)
home games, and new behind-theGeorge Mason University, Johns
scenes shelving for musical program's
Hopkins, MIT and SUNY Binghamton.
storage of costumes and props.
Several have received full four-year
tuition scholarships. Way to go
In addition to the PTA, Friends of CSS
students, college office and CSS!
contributed to the production by
covering teacher salaries for musical
and musical-related electives. The
support of these two parent groups in
combination with the cast and crew's
fundraising is what makes it possible to
9th grader Yunxiang “Tony”
put on the shows.
Song was chosen as one of two
Manhattan winners of the Association
Guys and Dolls was selected in part
of Black Educators of New York’s
because it contrasts with what has
been done at CSS in the past. Hill noted Black History Essay Contest 2015. The
topic was to compare and contrast
that while the show has some similar
two heads of state of African
themes to last year’s High School
ancestry.
Musical in that it highlights unlikely
romance, “the time period, characters
and concept are all quite different.”
and 10th grade ELA teacher) on
percussion and flute, and Justin Hicks
(NYC program manager of Yes Scholars)
conducting.
Good News…
Introducing…
Donizetti Gonzalez
The new SONYC afterschool director
comes to CSS from the Harlem
Children’s Zone, where he was
promoted three times in four years,
with a master’s degree in
psychology and a diverse
professional background working
with children and families.
Gonzalez has a “personal devotion
to Upper Manhattan” because it is
the community where he grew up.
He is seeking to utilize his
experience to “continue to enhance
the Y's CSS SONYC program and
support our future leaders in
reaching their maximum potential”
According to Alan Scher, managing
director of Youth and Family
Services of the YM & YWHA of
Washington Heights & Inwood,
which runs CSS’s SONYC program,
Gonzalez was hired after a “very
comprehensive and thorough
interview process” at the end of
which both he and Principal
Nightengale were definitive that he
was the best candidate. Scher said
that in coming to CSS, Gonzalez is
“coming full circle because he
began his career running an
afterschool program.”
Gonzalez will begin at CSS on
Monday, February 9. He is replacing
founding Director Sarah Gonek, who
is pursuing her art career. Until his
arrival, CSS SONYC Assistant
Director Maxine Mahugu
(mmahugo@ywashhts.org) will be
supervising the afterschool program,
which is in session February 3–6.
SONYC students will have an
assembly from 3:23–4 pm. in the
auditorium on Feb. 3 to collect their
schedules; programming will
continue afterwards until 6 pm.