Principals's Page
Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome to a new school year! It is with great pride and pleasure that I welcome back our 7th and 8th grade students, as well as open our doors to this year’s incoming 6th grade students. As Principal of Joseph B. Cavallaro I.S. 281, it is my hope that together we will provide each student with a nurturing and educationally challenging school year. Please join us in setting high standards of excellence and expectations for each and every child aligned to the Chancellor’s 4 pillars: 1. Reimagining the student experience; 2. Scaling, sustaining and restoring what works; 3. Prioritizing wellness and its link to student success; 4. Engaging families to be our true partners.
Our mission statement reads, “As the magnet school for STEAM, we at Joseph B. Cavallaro will provide every child with the support to grow intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally. In an advanced inquiry based learning environment, we will serve as leaders for the 21st Century, in both technology and the arts.” As a school that prides itself on offering our students an educationally and culturally rich environment, it will be our goal to continue forward in that direction. This year’s Instructional Focus reads, “Students will engage in targeted instruction using advanced literacy and high level questioning to meet the individual needs of all learners, as determined by unified, data based assessments tracking students’ progress towards proficiency within each standard.” Our emphasis will be placed on advanced literacy, physical and emotional well-being and family engagement.
In partnership with the entire school community, it is my vision to provide every child with a safe, nurturing and educationally equitable learning environment complete with a rigorously challenging curriculum setting all students on the road to college and career readiness. If together we hold true to the values of equity, integrity, communication, perseverance and trust, it will ultimately permeate into the hearts and minds of our students through our example. Please feel free to join us in the many events we hold throughout the year. Thus, our mission of preparing each and every child on a successful path will be attained with your involvement. I look forward to a promising school year.
Sincerely,
Maria Bender
Principal, Joseph B. Cavallaro I.S. 281
Principal’s Educational Philosophy:
“I believe that it is crucial to provide students with a safe and nurturing learning environment, whereby consistent goals are set and monitored, pedagogy is coherent, standards-based and data-driven, activity is motivating (relevant), engaging and measurable, and education is equitably distributed to promote the success and progress of each and every child.”
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - June 2nd:
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” - John F. Kennedy
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - May 26th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - May 20th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - May 12th:
"It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome." -
William James
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - May 5th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Apr 28th:
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Apr 14th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Apr 3rd:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Mar 27th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Mar 20th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Mar 13th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Mar 6th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Feb 27th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Feb 13th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Feb 6th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Jan 30th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Jan 23rd:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Jan 17th:
“We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Jan 9th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Jan 3rd:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Dec 19th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Dec 12th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Dec 5th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Nov 28th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Nov 21st:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Nov 14th:
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -- John F. Kennedy
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Nov 4th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Oct 31st:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Oct 24th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Oct 17th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Oct 11th:
“Do not be afraid to ask a question or be curious. It is curiosity at the end of the day that solves the problem. Things will take longer, be harder, and be full of times when you think you have solved a problem when in fact you have to start over.” – Nancy Brinker, Founder of Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Oct 3rd:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Sept 28th:
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Sept 19th:
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Ms. Bender’s Quote of the Week - Sept 5th: