Pawling High School

Since January, students from across the region have been engaged in an initiative that invites youth to design, prototype, and pitch solutions to challenges that directly impact their communities. Powerful, student-centered projects grounded in empathy, identity, and actionable change. Pawling School District unveiled their proposal titled RAIZH: Reunifying All Immigrants in Zones of Hispanic Heritage. With poise, Sophia Gomez, Marlene Ruiz, Nelson Cruz, and Wuesley Gomez stepped forward to present their vision: a program designed to support, uplift, and reunify immigrant families through cultural celebration and structural advocacy. The acronym RAIZH, rooted in the Spanish word raíz (meaning “root”), speaks directly to the group’s intent. The team’s polished presentation—backed by months of research, interviews, and peer feedback—offered tangible steps for school and community leaders to consider, including culturally responsive programs, mentorship opportunities, and inclusive communication systems for multilingual families. 

ENL students and ENL teacher Mr. Marmolejo attended the 4th and last meeting for the Student Initiative Fellowship at BOCES in Poughkeepsie. They received final feedback before their last presentation to administrators on Thursday, April 3rd. The students began working on their final presentation to get one more round of feedback by the end of the day. The students prepared three different prototypes to provide support to our community of immigrants in Pawling. The main goal of the presentation is to educate the community by providing useful, practical information as the main line of defense in the current political and social changes that are impacting immigrants negatively. 

Pawling High School is proud to announce that  David Villa and Dominik Dziurdzinski have been named Commended Students in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Commended Students are recognized for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their

outstanding performance on the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

 

Congratulations to both David and Dominik and their families on this achievement!

 

    

 Lisa Farrand, a Spanish Teacher at Pawling High School, has received a Fulbright Teacher Exchange award for the 2024-2025 cycle from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Farrand is among over 800 U.S. citizens who will teach, study, and/or conduct research abroad for the 2024-2025 academic year through the Fulbright Program.

Notable Fulbright alumni include 62 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, 78 MacArthur Fellows, and 41 who have served as a heads of state or government. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from over 160 countries – chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential – with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to challenges facing our communities and our world.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program.

More than 800 U.S. Fulbrighters – teachers, artists, and professionals from all backgrounds – teach, study, or conduct research overseas through the Fulbright Program annually. Approximately 400 master teachers and administrators participate in the Fulbright Teacher Exchanges each year.

The Pawling High School has five Honor Societies.  Please click on the links to see a description and the criteria.

• Spanish Honor Society - Advisor Ms. Farrand
• French Honor Society - Advisor Mrs. Spinelli
• National Honor Society - Advisor Mr. Ostyn
• Math Honor Society - CURRENTLY INACTIVE
• Science Honor Society - Advisor Mrs. Verhagen

Details on the criteria:

• French National Honor Society
• National Honor Society
• Mathematics National Honor Society   
• Science National Honor Society 

Dear Parent/Guardian/Rising Seniors: 

Due to the number of students who request parking and the limited availability of spaces, parking spaces will be issued to Seniors first for the 2024-2025 school year.  In order to accommodate seniors who may be getting their license/or car during the first semester, we will not accept applications from Juniors until January 2025.  At that time, depending on a variety of factors (Construction, # of approved Senior drivers, available spaces), Juniors may be considered for a parking space.   

Completed parking applications may be submitted via email to: Buccia@pcsdny.org or dropped off to the High School Main Office between 8:00am and 2:00pm by August 28, 2024. Students emailing or bringing in applications after this time will be placed on a waiting list in the order they are received.  Incomplete applications will not be accepted.  The following MUST be submitted along with application:

1. A copy of student’s driver’s license.
2. A copy of the Vehicle Registration.
3. A copy of current insurance.

Once a completed application is received, student will be assigned a numbered parking spot for the 2024-2025 school year and will be issued a parking sticker which must be displayed on the driver’s side of the rear window.  Students may only park in their own designated space.  Only students who drive daily will be considered for a parking space.  Spaces that are not being utilized on a consistent basis will be revoked. Spaces are non-transferable.

Parking stickers will be assigned and available for pick up in the Main Office to those students who submitted their application on time beginning August 29, 2024, between 8:00am and 2:00pm.

*IMPORTANT NOTE*

1. Students issued a parking sticker must arrive to school on time.
2. Student drivers should leave themselves enough time to ensure that they are arriving at school with enough time to be considered present in the classroom when the bell rings for their first class.
3. Students must be responsible and take into account weather related conditions, speed limits and the walk from their designated space into the school building when planning their morning drive to school.
4. If a student is late due to a medical appointment, a doctor’s note must be provided.
5. Students should check their phone for possible messages before entering the building. In the event of an emergency (drill or actual) student drivers will be contacted via the Remind app. On the student parking application, students should provide their cell phone number so they can stay informed with updates and which directions to follow.

 Any student not obeying the parking regulations will lose parking privileges for two (2) weeks.  A second offense will result in a loss of parking permit for an entire semester.         

 2024-2025 PARKING APPLICATION              

Sincerely,

Helen Callan, Principal

Ean Titus, Assistant Principal