Principal's Message

August 2022

Dear Students, Parents and Families of Bronxville Middle School,

On behalf of the Bronxville Middle School family, it is my pleasure to welcome you for the 2022- 2023 school year. My name is Joseph Mercora and I am honored to begin serving as the Principal of this wonderful school. As many of you know, I was the elementary school principal last year. I had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful students, families, and educators. I look forward to continuing working with the current sixth graders and getting to know all the seventh and eighth graders.

This is my 27th year in education. To those that do not know me, prior to coming to Bronxville, I worked for fourteen years as an Assistant Principal and Principal for Nyack Public Schools in Rockland County, New York. The first eight of those years were proudly serving as the Assistant Principal of Nyack Middle School. The last six were as the Principal of Upper Nyack Elementary School. I also started my teaching career as a seventh and eighth grade Social Studies teacher. Middle School is an incredible time in a child’s life. Today, the significance of this period for learning and learning good habits is perhaps only surpassed by that of early childhood development, and it’s seen as critical for everything from developing personality traits, grit, curiosity, and study habits to making decisions about a future after high school.

It has always been my belief that children are the most precious resource in this world. Each day you share that which is most precious to you with us. For that, we are so grateful. I look forward to getting to know everyone and beginning our work together. I look forward to seeing all your children in our school and welcoming them back and building wonderful relationships with them. Most importantly, I just love being a part of their lives. Like you, we want the very best for each of your children.

Let us continue to fulfill the Bronxville Promise. To prepare students for success by enabling them to be innovative, lead, think critically and engage the world. Our shared goal is to continue to address the many needs of our students and to nurture them towards becoming capable, confident, caring, and compassionate people. Our curriculum will be relevant. Our teaching approaches will meet the diverse learning styles of students. Our assessments will vary. Our goal together is to ensure that all students experience success. George Couros the author of, The Innovator's Mindset speaks of education as a means of empowering learning, unleashing talent, and leading a culture of creativity. I consider this our mission for your children. In the book, Mr. Couros mentions that the three most important words in education are relationships, relationships, and relationships. He states that without them, we have nothing. 

In the book, How Children Succeed by Paul Tough the author discusses how children grow up to be successful. He speaks of the qualities they must develop. They must have a solid foundation filled with enrichment opportunities. One of the qualities discussed is that a successful person must have what is known as grit. Grit is defined as a powerful motivation to achieve an objective. Perseverance and effort promote overcoming obstacles or challenges. This serves as a driving force in achievement realization. This means having the courage to take on a question you do not immediately know the answer to. The grit a person has will find the answer is what can make them ultimately successful. It is our continued goal for all students to be courageous in their pursuit of knowledge and to be strong in their perseverance of gaining that knowledge. It is our job to guide, support, challenge and celebrate our student’s journey towards success. Above all, it is our job to love them in all they do.

This year we would like to welcome Mr. Matthew Dell to the Bronxville Middle School Family.  Mr. Dell  joins us as our new Orchestra Teacher. Mr. Dell comes to us from the New York City Department of Education where he conducted the largest middle school strings programs in New York City at the Louis B. Armstrong Middle School. He has also worked for the past three years at the New England Music Camp where he teaches Advanced Placement Music Theory as well as conducting advanced chamber orchestras. Mr. Dell holds an M.A. in Music Education from Hunter College, an M.M.in Orchestral Conducting from The University of Michigan and a B.A. in Music from Yale University.

A few important housekeeping items. The Middle School also sends out a weekly “Principal’s Message” newsletter on Friday afternoons. Please make sure you are signed up to receive this newsletter by registering here. We also suggest that you sign up to receive the district newsletter as well. 

If you haven’t already purchased school supplies, you can view the list here.

Regarding COVID-19, the district continues to monitor State and County health recommendations related to Covid and will be placing updated Covid-19 guidance on the district website, https://www.bronxvilleschool.org/covid-information. Based on the new guidance, we are looking forward to returning to a normal in-person school experience. Therefore, the district will not be offering remote instruction at this time. Should conditions warrant, we will modify as necessary.

I have the great pleasure of working with a talented team of educators that want the best for your children. Our mission is their success. Along with our amazing Assistant Principal Mr. Marcellus Lessane III, we anxiously await your child’s return to school. Please know that we are here to serve. Together we are a team with one goal, the success of your child. There is no better goal or reason to team up than that. 

All schedules will be available online on Monday, August 29th at 10:00 a.m. On the first day of school on Tuesday, September 6th, classes will begin at 10:00 a.m. A schedule can be found here.

I truly look forward to the coming school year.

Sincerely,
Mr. Joseph Mercora