Poughkeepsie Day School Head of School Letters

News and Events >Press Releases > September - October 2003

Meet the Candidates Night Brings Dutchess County Officeseekers to Poughkeepsie Day School

October 17, 2003
Contact: Sandra Moore, Director of Communications

Poughkeepsie, NY-Students in Poughkeepsie Day School's Model Congress program are sponsoring a Meet the Candidates' Night on Wednesday, October 22. The event, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled for 7 pm in the school's James Earl Jones Theater. All candidates running for county-wide office in Dutchess County as well as local county legislature candidates have been invited to attend. Among those planning to participate to date are: Colette LaFuente, County Clerk; Richard Anderson, County Clerk; Fred Bunnell, County Executive; Kim Dsouza, County Family Judge; Adrian B. Anderson, County Sheriff; Patrick Nesbitt, District 1 Legislature; and Barbara Lindsey-District 8 Legislature.

Sophomore Ella Wise, from Stone Ridge, a member of the school's award-winning Model Congress delegation, and an organizer of the event, says that the program will conform to the League of Women Voters' format, which allows candidates to present their views as well as for members of the audience to ask questions.

Following the discussion, a special reception with the candidates will be held. The fee for the reception is $10/person. The proceeds from this reception will benefit qualified PDS students on a financial-needs basis who wish to attend the next Model Congress session at Yale University in November. Students also plan to hold a raffle, with many area restaurants contributing gift certificates for it.

To buy tickets to the reception and raffle, call 845-687-9652. Tickets will also be available at the door. For more information on the event, call the communications office at 845-462-7600, extension 110.

Best-selling Author to Speak at PDS

September 20, 2003
Contact: Sandra Moore, Director of Communications

Poughkeepsie, NY-Poughkeepsie Day School, in conjunction with Vassar College, will host pediatric neurologist and New York Times best-selling author Mel Levine, M.D., on October 8. Two presentations are scheduled. The first, to be held in the Day School's James Earl Jones Theater, is designed specifically for the school's faculty and parents and slated for 9:00 am-noon. Session II will be held at Vassar in the Villard Room of the college's Main building from 1:30-3:30 p.m. and is open only to members of the Vassar and Poughkeepsie Day School communities.

Dr. Levine is professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School and director of the university's Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning. He is co-founder of All Kinds of Minds, a nonprofit institute that develops products and programs to help parents, teachers, clinicians and children address differences in learning. Author of A Mind at a Time, The Myth of Laziness and many other books and articles on neurological development and learning, Dr. Levine is a popular speaker at schools and colleges across the country and also has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey television show.

Mary Jane Yurchak, Ed.D., head of Poughkeepsie Day School, said, "We are privileged to have Dr. Levine on campus and excited to be once again collaborating with Vassar College, whose child study department was instrumental in the founding of the school in 1934." She noted that Dr. Levine's visit is the first in a series of faculty development opportunities planned for this academic year. In the spring, Day School faculty will attend training workshops at Dr. Levine's All Kinds of Minds institute in Durham, NC, supported by an anonymous $40,000 grant received by the school in August.

Although, due to space constraints, Dr. Levine's presentations are not open to the general public, very limited guest seating for area educators will be available for the session at Poughkeepsie Day School and only by advance reservation. For more information, call the school's office of communications at 845-462-7600, extension 110.

Founded in 1934, Poughkeepsie Day School enrolls 350 students in grades pre-kindergarten through grade 12 from 48 communities in the mid-Hudson Valley. It is distinguished by its interactive and interdisciplinary approach to learning and emphasis on the development of creative and critical thinking skills.

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