Greenacres School Says Goodbye to Veteran Staffers

Greenacres will no longer be the place to be for six key staff members who plan to retire from the district at the end of the school year. In a true sea change, the school will lose its principal, music teacher, two long-time classroom teachers, speech and language teacher and the physical therapist.

A large crowd of colleagues turned out at the Scarsdale School Board meeting on April 22 to acknowledge the retirees and reminisce about their combined 225 years of service to the school. Principal Gerry Young, classroom teachers John (Jack) Dean and Oksana Slywka, School Psychologist Nancy Karagis, Music Teacher and STA President Trudy Moses, Speech and Language Teacher Eva Sax-Bolder and Physical Therapist Harriet Siegel will all say goodbye to Greenacres at the end of June.

Assistant Superintendent Joan Weber lauded each of the staff members and then Principal Gerry Young and Greenacres PTA President Dana Matsushita offered comments from the school community on these vital staffers.

Weber credited Dean for his "good nature, many aptitudes and inquiring mind." She said he had served on "every school committee imaginable," and also managed to volunteer as a docent at Kykuit and Lyndhurst. For his part, Dean said that "he was very grateful for his 26 years here" where he has enjoyed the "intellectual atmosphere."

Principal Young said that Jack told him early after his move from Canada to Scarsdale that "no one with any brains pays retail in New York." He called Dean a "positive presence at the school," and a man "of many talents with a kind heart." Quoting his students, Matsushita said Dean was "intelligent, tells funny stories, explains things really well and lets us watch CNN student news." Parents said that "Dean is a historian who knows everything that has happened at the school over two decades." He "focused on the arts and current events" and infused a love of reading in a student who learned English in Dean's class.

Oksana Slywka is another 26-year veteran of the Scarsdale Schools who started out at Quaker Ridge and then moved to Greenacres. Before coming to Scarsdale, she wrote for the Gannet Newspapers and taught at Hackley and the Master's School. Weber called Slywka "elegant and excellent."

Young said that Slywka "cuts a dashing figure." She is well known for her love of poetry and her annual poetry and punch celebration every spring where each student in the class recites a poem in front of the audience. He called her a "stickler for manners and etiquette," and also said she was a "rapier of sharp wit" who spouted "impressive zingers" and had a "sense of humor and style." Kids said she taught "tons of words in one week," was "hard on us" and "boosted our confidence to learn." One said, "She was my all-time favorite teacher," and added, "I love you and will miss you!"

School Psychologist Nancy Karagis has been at Greenacres since 1996 and served on the STA and PTA Executive Boards. She has been a key member of the school leadership team. Young called her "feisty, committed, outspoken, keen, caring, concerned and a tigress in defense of children." The kids said Dr. Karagist is "nice, friendly, listens, helps me get over my nightmares and is a great feelings doctor." Parents remarked on the girls' groups she ran for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders and hoped these would continue after her departure.

About music teacher and STA President Trudy Moses, Weber said, "How did a little girl from a small Southern town in Mississippi rise to fame and fortune in Scarsdale?" Weber called her, "highly effective and exceptionally fine," and said she had "outstanding rapport with students and parents." Moses led the STA for the past 12 years and demonstrated "integrity, intelligence, remarkable insight and perspective." She has "the ability to see the other person's point of view" and "knows when to thrust and when to parry." About her departure, Moses said, "You know when it's time and it's time."

Young said Moses' true love was music and said she was "amazingly good at training and shaping student voices. She has led second graders in 32 flag day assemblies." Kids said, "Ms. Moses ---you are the boss – you're the bomb. We love the flag day concert." Another said, "She puts on funny glasses and calls herself Madame Baboushka. If someone looks sad she lets them pick a song and sing it. She is a great music teacher." A parent said, "She is a class act. My whole family is sad about Ms. Moses' retirement."

Speech and Language Teacher Eva Sax-Bolder came to Scarsdale from California in 1998. Weber called her an "excellent and thorough diagnostician," who is both "demanding and encouraging." After 42 years of teaching, Sax-Bolder is now preparing to be a rabbi. Principal Young said Sax-Bolder was "exceptional with special needs kids," and took the "creative angle." She was also a keen supporter of the brain gym and laughing yoga. Kids called her "nice" and said "she helped me have better speech," she "helped me with my "r's", helped me with my "s's" and "helped me listen. A parent called her a "gentle guide for my son."

Young thanked Physical Therapist Harriet Siegal for her flexibility, saying that she worked wherever they could find room for her at the school.... the basement, unfinished office space and even behind the curtain in the gym. Kids said that she helped them get exercise and get stronger and parents noted her "warmth, kindness and knowledge." One said, "She has been a rock for our family for years." She is "smart, focused and makes kids feel proud."

About Greenacres Principal Gerry Young, Weber said that he came to Scarsdale from Canada after an "intergalactic search." She said that Young had an extensive "educational background" and called him "unique, unconventional and resourceful." She remarked on his office, which is hand painted with evergreen trees and furnished in rustic wood," reflecting his Canadian background. She said Young "took pride in student's accomplishments and achievements" and "made the right decisions for Greenacres." She called him "convivial, with a great wit, embedded with wisdom."

Young said his decision to come to Scarsdale "started on a whim," and admitted that "apart from the diet, he had never heard of Scarsdale or the school system before he applied for the job."

Speaking on behalf of the principals, Robyn Lane from Quaker Ridge spoke about her departing colleague. She called him "the free spirit among us," who was a good listener and "an advocate for Greenacres." She said he was "smart in so many ways and an excellent grammarian." She said his "wit and dry humor" will be greatly missed as well as his colorful stories about the airport, crossing the border and managing the commute from Canada to the U.S. She thanked Young for "enriching the lives of all who know you."

Like so many in Greenacres, my own family of three children had years in class with these teachers who introduced us to the district. Ms. Slywka taught my son in kindergarten and then took him with her for her first year in first grade. She aimed high. My son emerged from class with a long caterpillar of words that was tacked to his bunk bed. Who would have thought to teach first graders, who had only recently learned to read, to spell "pusillanimous" and even better, to know the meaning of the word? Only Ms. Slywka could see that these young minds could grasp a lot. My two girls were also in her class and the younger one can still recite the passage from Ecclesiastes that she was assigned for the poetry and punch performance. Mr. Dean was another teacher we were lucky to have. We'll never forget the boy who lost his loincloth during the Native American presentation in fourth grade. We can't count the number of performances led by Ms. Moses that we attended but each one was a special occasion, rocking the auditorium with original tunes.

Do you have memories to share about these retiring staff members? Send in your thoughts in the comments section below.