George Fischer Middle School

The fourth graders lined up and marched into George Fischer Middle School earlier this month, eager to see what the next step in their education might be like.  

“This is your first visit to the middle school,” said Dr. Merica Neufville, the middle school principal. “We are going to show you some of the things you can choose to do when you come here.”  

First stop for the soon-to-be graduates of Carmel Central School District’s three elementary schools was an introduction to the middle school music department. The youngsters also learned that they would have some choice in their middle school education.  

“I know that a lot of you are in chorus this year,” said Meghan Cabral, the district’s music department chair. “I hope many of you choose chorus in middle school, too. When you are in middle school, you will have the opportunity to do band and chorus or orchestra and chorus, but you do not have to choose any of them. All students will take general music.” 

March is Disability Awareness Month and the Carmel Central School District has a lot of informative, helpful and interesting activities planned. Please take a look at the attached schedule. We look forward to seeing you.

Disabilities Awareness Month Activities

George Fischer Middle School celebrated George Fischer's 129th birthday with a pep rally! 

See the video

Many middle schoolers dream of travel, but Joseph Rocco Goldberg put his dreams down in a poem that was so good it got published in a local magazine. 

Joseph, a George Fischer Middle School sixth grader, had his poem “To Travel” published in Chronogram Magazine, a monthly journal of arts and culture in the Hudson Valley.    

Joseph wrote the poem last year, when he was in Michelle Lynch’s fifth grade English class.   

“I started writing poetry in fifth grade,” Joseph said. “Writing didn’t always come easy to me, but I found poetry super fun. We were able to speak or write about anything we wanted.” 

Joseph’s poem begins with this stanza:  

To travel  
Is to find a home. 
Or complete a goal. 
Maybe just for fun 
Because traveling is for everyone.  

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Carmel Central School District residents who volunteer with fire departments or ambulance corps will see a 10 percent reduction in their school taxes in return for their service.  

The Carmel Board of Education voted February 25 to give volunteers with at least two years of service a 10 percent cut in the property tax assessment of their primary residence. The vote was unanimous. 

“For example, the impact in the Town of Kent would result in an $800 savings for each person receiving the exemption,” Assistant Superintendent of Business Ken Silver said.  

The reduction would cost the remaining taxpayers 1.2 cents on every thousand dollars of assessment. 

 “If your home is assessed at $400,000, the property owner would be paying $4.80 in addition each year for the volunteers who are risking their lives,” Silver said. 

More than 35 volunteers attended the board meeting and School Board President Melissa Orser thanked them for keeping the community safe.  

“We are giving you a little bit back for giving us a lot,” she said. 

The volunteer tax break will help the entire community in the long run.  

“Anything we can do to assist with local fire companies’ recruitment and retention benefits the entire community,” said Trustee John C. Curzio II. “If we ever had to go to a paid fire service, town taxes would increase as much as 50 percent, which would result in a huge burden on our community.” 

About 100 students participated in the George Fischer Middle School Science and Technology Fair. The students in grades 5 through 8 created projects in the categories of physical science, biology, earth science, invention and mathematics.  Volunteer judges examined the projects and named winners in each grade in every category. 

"If you ask me, every student who participated was a winner," said Science Fair Co-Advisor David Robin.  "These kids put so much work into this and they are so creative. It's amazing what they came up with and what they discovered.

See the full list of winners here:  GFMS Science Fair 2025 winners final.pdf 

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Come see the brilliant and creative experiments that George Fischer Middle School students have created for this year's Science and Technology Fair. The Fair opens to the public Saturday, February 15, 10:00 a.m., in the GFMS gymnasium with the Awards Ceremony immediately following. (The snow date is March 1) 

"We've seen a lot of great experiments," said David Robin, who is Science Fair Co-Advisor along with Paul D'Amore. "This year is going to be great." 

Seventh graders Owen and Michael experimented with how to store energy. "I realized there was a big problem with batteries," said Owen, 13. "I didn't come up with a solution, but I thought I could contribute some ideas." 

Students in all grades will compete in the fair and experiments will include everything from magnetic attraction to how to best care for plants. 

There might even be some yummy experiments.  Seventh grader Genevieve baked chocolate chip cookies to compare the effect of different amounts of Baking Soda. Her display will include a lot of cookies.   

Fifth grader Lillyana measured the gravitational pull on various planets in our solar system. "I wanted to see how much a 100-pound person would weigh on different planets," said Lillyana, 10.  If you've eaten a lot of those cookies, you might want to find out which planet will make you weigh the least.  

GREASE is the Word!  

Indeed, for the George Fischer Middle School Drama Club students who will be performing “Grease: School Version” at the end of January, Grease has been the word for months.  

Since October, 47 actors and dozen or so crew members have been busy singing, dancing, acting and building sets to bring this beloved rock and roll musical to the Carmel schools.   

The Drama Club will present “Grease: School Version” on Friday, January 24 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, January 25 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.  

You can purchase tickets in advance online for $18. Tickets at the door will be $20 and cash only.   

Read more

One group of four-year-olds served their teacher a make-believe breakfast while another played with building blocks and a third practiced cutting out pictures.

It was a busy day in Carmel Central School District’s first Universal Pre-Kindergarten program, which started on Monday, January 6. 

“We want to teach them everything they need to know before kindergarten, but we do it in a fun way,” said Theresa McCaffrey, Executive Director of Little Leaf preschool in Carmel.   

Little Leaf is one of three preschool programs chosen to provide services to the 75 students who enrolled in Carmel’s first semester of universal pre-kindergarten. Creative Kids and Kids Cottage preschools are also hosting the program.

School Superintendent Erin Meehan-Fairben made starting Universal Pre-Kindergarten one of her first goals for the district. The program, which is funded through state and federal grants, is provided at no cost to district families.

“The benefits of early childhood education are clear, and include improved school readiness, better academic performance and a reduced achievement gap,” said Dr. Fairben, who took over as Carmel’s School Superintendent in July and got to work right away to ensure that all of Carmel’s students would have access to good preschool education. “It is an investment that lasts a lifetime.”

Read more and see more photos

George Fischer Middle School music teachers Erika Wahlers and Eric Pecor took a dozen 7th and 8th grade students to perform at the 51st Annual Tuba Christmas at Rockefeller Center on Sunday, December 15.  

The GFMS musicians joined nearly 300 tuba and euphonium players from as far away as England, Germany and Alaska who gathered in in front of the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center to play Christmas carols on their horns. The players ranged in age from 11 years old to 77 years old.    

Dr. Christian Wilhjelm, the Music Director of the New Jersey Wind Symphony, conducted the players in holiday classics including “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” “Deck the Halls,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “The First Noel.”

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Enjoy the District's newsletter here. 

April 11, 2025

Dear Carmel Community: 

When spring arrived, it brought a rush of school district activities with it. From the impressive 41st Annual Student Art Show, to competitive athletic events and the Districtwide Read of “I’m Not a Scribble,” our students have been busy.  

Let’s hope they take time during this upcoming break to relax and recharge.  

I want you to know how grateful I am for the chance to lead this district. It is amazing to see how much our students have accomplished in just months. Our hardworking teachers, administrators and staff make it seem easy, but we know they are guiding students every step of the way.  

Remember, schools will be closed Monday, April 21 because we did not use all our snow days. I look forward to getting back on Tuesday, April 22 and gearing up for all the exciting end-of-year activities. 

Enjoy your spring break!  

Sincerely, 

Erin Meehan-Fairben, Ed.D. 
Superintendent of Schools  
   

Dear Carmel Community: 

Our kindergarten registration for the 2025-26 school year is now open. To qualify, children must be five years old by December 1, 2025 and live within Carmel Central School District boundaries.  

Here is the link to the kindergarten registration: New Student Registration - Carmel Central School District. 

If you know someone with a kindergarten-aged child, please share this email so they can register the child for school. Thanks! 

Respectfully,  

Erin Meehan-Fairben, Ed.D. 
Superintendent of Schools

February 13, 2024  

Dear Carmel Community:  

This has been quite a stormy winter, and I think we could use a break about now, so I hope you all have a fun and relaxing winter recess. 

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for giving me the opportunity to lead this district. In the past several months, I have seen how deeply this community cares about its children and its schools. I am grateful to have the support of a talented staff that is dedicated to making sure students have access to opportunities that will help them grow.  

It’s great to work in a district where residents and staff are so engaged.  

School resumes on Monday, February 24. I look forward to welcoming our staff and students back then. Enjoy the precious time with your families.  

Regards, 

Dear Carmel Community:

Come discuss the draft Proposed 2025-2026 School Budget with me on Wednesday, February 12, from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. in my office at the District Office. Everyone is welcome to just drop in for coffee, conversation and to review the draft budget.  If the time doesn't work for you, email me at emeehan@carmelschools.org to schedule a time. 

Regards,

Erin Meehan-Fairben, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

Dear Carmel Community: 

I am reaching out today to provide an update on the Town Hall held on January 28 and to keep you apprised of important information from NYSED. I also want to reaffirm our district’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that every student in Carmel feels safe, welcomed and valued. 

We had an amazing turnout at last night’s Town Hall meeting at Carmel High School.  

More than 75 district residents attended and learned about our strategies to make certain that Carmel schools are welcoming, affirming and safe places for all. After the presentation by District Equity Team members, residents broke into groups and discussed their ideas about our district’s strengths and ways we can improve. We also looked at external opportunities and threats that could prevent the district’s work. Each group then presented their ideas, outlining a framework for the district’s most important next steps.  

“I am thrilled by the turnout,” Board of Education President Melissa Orser said. “This was a collaborative assignment. I hope we can take all this information and move our work on equity forward.”  

In the coming days, I will compile all the information, share it with the entire Board, meet with my administrative council and immediately focus on improving our schools.  

The district continues its commitment to support all our students.  We would like to draw your attention to a recent guidance document from the Office of the Governor, Attorney General and State Education Department New York State’s Guidance on Safeguarding the Rights of Immigrant Students.  Our policies and practices are in alignment with this guidance. 

Here are a few important points to keep in mind:  

• Both state and federal laws guarantee all students access to a free public education. The district will provide no barriers, including requests for immigration-related documentation, that would prevent students from enrolling in or attending school.  
• Under the law, personally identifiable information, including a student’s immigration status, cannot and will not be shared without proper parental consent. If you would like to opt out of Directory information pursuant to FERPA, please contact the Director of Information Systems and Human Resources, Timothy Wade at twade1@carmelschools.org.  
• The district has procedures in place to ensure that students only be released to their parents or guardians listed in the student information system.   

As this is a rapidly changing environment, we are working closely with our school attorneys and the New York State Education Department to ensure we have the most current and accurate information. Additionally, we have shared resources with our administrators to support our students and their families during this time.    

We are responsible for every child’s educational journey. Please be assured that we in the Carmel schools take that responsibility seriously. All students in the Carmel schools will continue to have access to education that informs, challenges and helps them grow. 

I am so grateful to be working in such an engaged, child-focused community.  

Respectfully, 

Erin Meehan-Fairben, Ed.D. 
Superintendent of Schools 

Dear Carmel Community: 

I would like to update you on the status of our January 28 Town Hall meeting.  

When we announced the meeting, we said that it would be a community conversation on diversity, equity and inclusion, and be led by a specialist from U.S. Department of Justice, Community Relations Service.  

A lot has changed, however, in the weeks since I sent that announcement. Now, given the Trump administration’s recent ban on DOJ participation in any diversity, equity and inclusion work, there will not be a representative from the DOJ at our meeting.  

More than ever, we are now relying on you to join us for the Town Hall. Let’s work together to create a welcoming, affirming and safe environment for all our schools. The meeting will be in the Carmel High School Library on Tuesday, January 28 from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.  

As planned, our meeting will still include a presentation by the District Equity Team, which will be followed by a breakout session where you will help assess the Carmel Central School District’s strengths and weaknesses.   

I really hope to see you there.  

Respectfully, 

Erin Meehan-Fairben, Ed.D. 
Superintendent of Schools 

August 14, 2024

Dear Carmel Central School District Community,

After our board meeting on August 13, 2024, the board has carefully listened to and reflected on the sentiments expressed by some members of our community. Now, we need your help in moving forward.

We heard from many of you who felt unwelcome or unsafe at our board meetings. We want to make it clear that the board stands united in denouncing all forms of discrimination, prejudice, harassment, bullying, and hate. We are dedicated to supporting all of our community.

Our mission at Carmel Central School District is to educate the whole child in an environment free of bullying, harassment, and discrimination. We have received numerous letters, emails, and concerns brought to us at the podium, and we are committed to addressing them, as we have historically done, with our mission at the forefront.

We ask for the community’s collaboration in maintaining a respectful and inclusive atmosphere at our board meetings. The board needs to focus on the district’s important business with our new superintendent while adhering to the standard of conduct outlined in our Code of Conduct.

We ask for your adherence to our Code of Conduct as we strive to create a welcoming, affirming and productive environment for all members.

Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

Respectfully,

Board of Education President Melissa Orser

Vice President Dawn Dall

Trustee John C. Curzio II

Trustee Jordi Douglas

Trustee Jason Paraskeva

Cc: Superintendent of Schools

If you like something a CCSD staff member has done, tell us at compliments@carmelschools.org. Likewise, if there is an area you think needs improvement, send an email to complaints@carmelschools.org. Both email addresses will go directly to School Superintendent Dr. Erin Meehan-Fairben and to the Board of Education President Melissa Orser.