Community calendar

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

RAVENA — An exhibit on display at the RCS Community Library pairs two unexpected elements — art and nature.

Workshops held at the library in October and November had aspiring artists use natural materials that are native to the area to create artwork, which is now on display in the library’s entrance.

The exhibit will be on display at the library through the end of this week.

The program was supported by a grant from the Art Center of the Capital Region and led by local residents Sara Pruiksma-Rizzo and Barbara Heinzen.

“When Sara and I got to know each other we started to share a passion for native plants,” Heinzen said at the exhibit’s open house Saturday. “The fashion has been that exotics are better than American native plants, but the natives are absolutely amazing.”

Pruiksma-Rizzo is an artist and came up with the idea to use natural materials to create art. She applied for and was awarded the grant and then signed up people to participate in the two workshops in the fall.

“We got people to first create little blocks to use as canvases, and then to create sculptures on the second day using materials like dried leaves, stems, dried flowers, feathers that we picked up on the ground — all sorts of things that were just found in our gardens.”

The program was intergenerational and open to both children and adults.

“The first workshop was in October and the second was in November, and then we wanted to have all the finished products on view so the community could enjoy seeing what is possible made out of native plants,” Pruiksma-Rizzo said. “There are a few non-native plants that we incorporated, and that was part of the program as well. We spoke about the value of native plants and how destructive non-native plants can be.”

Non-native plants, also known as invasive plants, were brought to North America from elsewhere and can be destructive in the local ecosystem.

“Native plants evolved here on our continent, essentially from the beginning of time,” Pruiksma-Rizzo said. “Non-native plants are something that would be brought over from other places like India or Asia, such as knotweed and bittersweet. The reason they are invasive is they have no natural predators here — nothing eats them and nothing keeps them in check, so they can run rampant here without anything keeping them under control. That’s devastating because nothing uses that plant for its lifecycle, and they get out of control quickly.”

Native plants also support and feed the wildlife that lives here, including bugs, birds, amphibians and the like.

“Planting natives is a really important thing to do and that’s why we are promoting it,” Heinzen said.

They want to increase awareness of and appreciation for the importance of native plants, but there are other benefits, too, she added.

“The other part of it is that we have become a society that views the world through a screen, and we wanted people to reconnect with the work of their hands and with the natural world, and to remind them that we are not separate from nature, we are a part of nature,” Heinzen said. “We want people to learn to live with nature, appreciate it and see how we connect with it.”

There are plans in the works to offer future workshops that pair art and nature, and expand the offerings, Pruiksma-Rizzo said.

“The inspiration for the class was my love for gardening and my love for art and wanting to make art in a more sustainable way,” she said. “So often art materials can be toxic or unnatural, so I have been doing more natural things in my own art and then starting to explore healthier ways to make art. This is a great way to connect all of my passions, and have fun, too.”

The workshops also shined a light on the ecological diversity of the local area, Heinzen said.

“People don’t appreciate how rich Coeymans is in terms of the natural world,” she said. “We have some of the best resources in the whole of New York state, between the river, the Hollow, and we have wonderful forests. Let’s learn to appreciate it and protect it.”

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

RAVENA-COEYMANS-SELKIRK — They’re back at it again — students, teachers and staff were back in school beginning Thursday for the first day of a new academic year.

There were lots of smiling faces as old friends got together again and new friendships were formed.

The younger students had the chance to enjoy their new playground equipment at Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School.

New staff members joined the district for their first official day of school and some veterans shuffled around to new posts. Districtwide, 18 new teachers joined the ranks of their fellow educators.

Former assistant principal at the middle school Steve Doran starts the new school year as the new principal at A.W. Becker Elementary School. He was appointed to the post in July after former principal Debra Neubart retired.

Doran introduced himself to the A.W. Becker community in an opening day welcome letter.

“I’m thrilled to be working with your children for this school year and beyond,” Doran wrote. “I spent the last two years as the assistant principal of RCS Middle School, and I’ve become dedicated to this community.”

New staff members at the elementary school include teachers Laura Jones (grade 4) and Tiffany Valentin (special education), as well as speech and language pathologist Danielle Larlee and fifth-grade integrated co-teacher Jennifer Mapes.

Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School is also welcoming new faculty this year — instructional coach in special education Nicole Kirk, third-grade teacher Sadie Lambert, fifth-grade teacher Darian Wood, speech teacher Cara Rogan and teaching assistant Paula Newell.

At RCS Middle School, Brian Garrity is the new assistant principal, taking Doran’s post. He comes to the district from HFM BOCES, where he was the assistant principal for four years and an English and social studies teacher for more than six years.

There’s also a new interim assistant principal at RCS High School — John Thorsen will serve in the role through December while the district conducts its search for a permanent replacement. He was formerly the principal at Chatham High School for 16 years and an assistant principal for seven years before that.

Several additional teachers have also joined both the middle and high schools.

MORE CHANGES

This academic year all reimbursable school meals, both breakfast and lunch, will be free to all students in the four schools in the district — the two elementary schools and the middle and high schools. That is because the schools have qualified under USDA and State Education Department guidelines for the Community Eligibility Provision, which provides meal service to schools in low-income areas.

The program provides free meals to all enrolled students regardless of the family’s individual income status.

District families this year can also access the Stopfinder app, which enables them to receive information on school bus routes and other transportation issues. For instance, instead of waiting outside for the school bus, families can use the app to find out when the bus will be at their stop and go outside at that time.

The Stopfinder app also provides information on school closings and delays, early dismissal reminders, and can be used to contact the district’s Transportation Department.

The district is still short on bus drivers, so anyone interested in becoming a school bus driver can contact the district office for more information.

Here are more photos from the first day of school.