As part of a celebration of uniqueness and cultural diversity, Jessie Ferraro's second-grade class at John F. Kennedy Elementary recently celebrated Chinese New Year, part of the class’ ongoing efforts to learn about respecting others and being kind to one another as citizens
The students read literature about the celebration and learned facts about reading the Chinese zodiac. They discovered that 2013 is the Year of the Snake, and examined which character traits are traditionally believed by the Chinese to be true of those born in a particular lunar year. The second-graders experienced the customs and traditions of the event, including foods and activities that were shared in class, the printed characters used for numbers and words, and the spoken language (including “thank you” and “you're welcome” in Chinese), as well as an appreciation of Chinese music and dance presented by the Barbera family.
↧
Exploring Chinese New Year at JFK
↧
McKenna to Play Soccer for Villanova
Eric McKenna, a soccer standout for East Islip High School since he was a freshman, signed a National Letter of Intent on Feb. 8 to play for Villanova University. His proud parents were in attendance.
The senior, a center midfielder who has played the sport since age 5, will join the Wildcats this September. While at Villanova, McKenna plans to study economics, with a likely major in business.
“It’s a good school and I liked the coaches,” said McKenna, who was impressed when he visited the school, founded in 1842 and located northwest of Philadelphia, Pa. “The Villanova campus is beautiful.”
McKenna cites the time he helped beat the No. 1 team, Half Hollow Hills West, two years ago as a particular highlight of his career at East Islip. That EI team also featured his older brother, Keith, a member of East Islip’s Class of 2011 now attending SUNY Stony Brook.
↧
↧
Basketball & Wrestling Playoff Schedule
East Islip's wrestling squad will compete today (Feb. 13) in day 2 of the Section XI, Division I playoffs at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station. Admission is $6. The consolation semifinals will be held at 4 p.m., the consolations at 5:30 p.m. and the finals at 7:30 p.m.
The East Islip varsity boysbasketball team hosts Commack today (Feb. 13) at 4 p.m. There will be a $4 admission fee as per NYSPHSAA and Section XI.
↧
Artist of the Week: Feb. 11, 2013
Artists of the Week for Feb. 11, 2013:
Third-grader Krysta Mullen of John F. Kennedy Elementary
Fourth-grader Rebecca Narvaez of Ruth C. Kinney Elementary
Second-grader Kiera Bryan of Timber Point Elementary
↧
Fun with Fossils in Anthro Class
Students in Patricia Lester's College Anthropology class at East Islip High School are creating reconstructions of fossil skulls as part of their study of human ancestors.“The fossil skull reconstruction project started out years ago when I realized that I needed "fossil" skulls for my class but couldn't afford realistic anatomical models,” explained Lester. “I decided to try to have students make them, and a fun and hands-on activity was born.”
The project requires students to measure the brain size of their assigned hominid or early human – such as Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals) or Homo habilis – and accurately model the skull to fit that brain. They then have to research the skull and the hominid species, using detailed photos and measurements to complete their projects. The whole class then compares and contrasts the models. As a result, they discover how brain size and skull shape changed over time. “I keep the best ones from year to year to use as examples in my teaching,” Lester said.
↧
↧
Two Fun Weeks of PARP at Connetquot
“Tis the season to be reading!” exclaimed Deborah Smith, the principal of Connetquot Elementary School, celebrating the two weeks of the Parents as Reading Partners program with her students.“Every student is reading each night and recording the amount of minutes – or possibly hours! – they read with a partner,” Smith explained at the start of PARP. “The students will be competing against other classes to see which class and grade level reads the most, and our PARP Committee has worked diligently to organize assemblies during the first two weeks of February, all associated with the love of reading.”
A special performance on Feb. 1 served to kick off PARP, with fifth-grade students singing and dancing to Tom Chapin’s “Great Big Words,” arranged and choreographed by Connetquot’s beloved music teacher, Eileen “Eggy” Egbert. The song was followed by instrumentalists playing “I Can't Spell Hippopotamus” on resonator bells and glockenspiel, while a vivacious closing performance of the “Figurative Language” rap song brought down the house. A lively game of reading bingo ended the morning’s events. “The kick-off encouraged everyone to read and launched PARP into high gear,” said Smith.
Connetquot art teacher Elizabeth Sullivan annually designs giant theme posters for PARP, representing each grade level; in the past few years she created posters with tropical and carnival themes. “This year the theme was ‘Mad Science’,” Sullivan said. “At our PARP committee meeting, some of us secretly decided it would be a very entertaining idea – for both students and adults – to pick one teacher from each grade level and turn them into a ‘Mad Scientist Caricature’ for their respective grade’s poster.” The resulting Mad Scientist posters – of teachers Doreen Burke Fazio (kindergarten), Rose Eger (first grade), Crystal Chiari (second grade), Wendy Frees (third grade), Nicole Hoffmann (fourth grade) and David Lake (fifth grade) – were hung in the cafeteria for all of the students to enjoy. Each young reader filled out a bubble-shaped form, designed by fifth-grade teacher Elizabeth Vann, enabling them to record their minutes of reading each night. The PTA then collected the bubble forms and displayed them on the students’ Mad Scientist, providing the children with a visual indicator of which grade levels were reading the most.
As a sendoff to the PARP program, Connetquot held a special Bodacious Book Show assembly on Feb. 14, focusing on the classic tale of “Jack and the Beanstalk” and allowing the students to act out the characters.
↧
New Surveillance Systems Installed
In order to provide an increased level of security, the East Islip Board of Education approved the installation of new audio/video surveillance systems at the main entrance door of each of the district’s six schools.
This new system requires visitors to show identification prior to entering any of the buildings. After visitors step up to the camera and ring a buzzer, a school staff member will ask the visitors to identify themselves, display their identification and indicate their reasons for visiting the school. Once a visitor has been cleared for entrance, the door will be unlocked and he or she can enter the building and sign in at the front desk.
This may seem to be an unnecessary inconvenience for visitors to East Islip’s schools, especially for persons who frequent these buildings, but it will provide an opportunity to identify visitors prior to entry into a building, thus providing another layer of security to protect students, faculty and staff. District security personnel suggest that visitors take their identification out before approaching a school’s main entrance to avoid having to search for it at the door.
The new surveillance systems are already in place and being used at several of the district’s elementary schools. All six systems will be operational during the week of Feb. 18.
↧
Fifth-Grader Attends Inauguration
Faith Henderson, a fifth-grade student at Timber Point Elementary School, attended Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C. through the People to People Student Ambassador Program. She not only got to hear President Obama address the American people at the event, but was also able to meet the president and have her picture taken with him.
Henderson arrived in Washington on Jan. 18 and returned to New York on Jan. 23. During her six-day stay in the nation’s capital, she had the chance to listen to several fascinating keynote speakers, including Ken Walsh, the U.S. News and World Report’s chief White House correspondent, who shared his insights on the election process; Mary Jean Eisenhower, President Eisenhower’s granddaughter, who reflected on his years in the White House; Kenneth M. Duberstein, President Ronald Reagan’s White House chief of staff; and Lt. Col. Mike Sundsted, a current Air Force One pilot.
The Timber Point student toured many of the area’s national monuments; one major highlight was a private breakfast at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on the morning of the inauguration. Henderson also took part in a service learning project that included writing a letter to a soldier currently serving overseas.
Henderson’s amazing experience attending the presidential inauguration was the result of efforts by her fourth-grade teacher at Timber Point, Sheryl Beltrami, who had nominated her last year for the program. “If it wasn’t for Mrs. Beltrami, I would have never had the opportunity to go to Washington and experience history first-hand,” said Henderson. “The people I met and the experiences I had will be with me my entire life.” “Faith is so deserving of the accolades,” said Beltrami. The nomination for the People to People program was for more than one reason. “Faith had shown a propensity toward history,” she said. “She was always eager to learn and was very enthusiastic, often passing this excitement on to her peers. Faith has true leadership qualities and would often lead the discussions among her group. She was an active participant and showed a real love for school and the people around her. She had exceptional intuition about the people around her and a compassion for others that was unmatched. I knew that Faith would be an excellent representative for both the East Islip School District and the children of Long Island. I feel truly honored and lucky to have had Faith in class and know she will go on to make a wonderful difference in this world.”
↧
Shadow Day for East Islip Students
Shadow Day, the third and final phase of East Islip High School’s vaunted annual mentoring program, took place during January, as 93 participating students “shadowed” their career mentors. Many of these mentors were chosen during the two prior mentoring events, October’s Catch-a-Career Breakfast and December’s Meet My Mentor Breakfast.
The Mentor Me program, guided by teacher Bridget Lopiccolo with the support of teacher Paul McHugh and the East Islip/Dowling School Business Partnership’s Career Development Committee, is in its 10th year of providing East Islip’s students with outstanding insight into careers.
Students interested in medicine shadowed their mentors at various hospitals and medical offices across Long Island on Jan. 10, including the Momentum at South Bay nursing home and Island Shore Physical Therapy in East Islip, South Shore Neurologic Associates in Islip, Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, and the offices of dentist Ray Mascola of Islip and optometrist Aleksandra Wianecka of Babylon.
Other students enjoyed Shadow Day on Jan. 31, visiting a wide variety of local businesses and community organizations, including Cactus Salon of East Islip, The Make Up Studio in Babylon, AHRC Suffolk in Bohemia, the Ronkonkoma-based JVC Broadcasting and the Suffolk County Police 3rd Precinct in Bay Shore.
“This is a tremendous program that provides students with the opportunity to look into their future and experience the day and the life of a particular career field,” said Lopiccolo, who singled out both McHugh and Beth Abesami, a parent and committee member, for praise due to their exceptional help with the program. “Shadow Day not only helps the students see what the job is like, but it can also help them see if it’s the career they thought it was,” Lopiccolo added. “Many students had a wonderful day, and some said ‘Thank goodness, I now know that’s not the career for me.’ Both instances were very helpful and really helped them decide on their career choices and post-graduate studies.”
↧
↧
Artist of the Week: Feb. 18, 2013
Artists of the Week for Feb. 18, 2013:
Fifth-graders Krish Khajuria, Mary Perner, Eric Peterson and Sara Spruyt of Connetquot Elementary
Fifth-grader Emily Alexander of John F. Kennedy Elementary
Third-graders Heather Gerardi and Victoria Gonzalez of Ruth C. Kinney Elementary
Kindergartner Elizabeth Ericson of Timber Point Elementary
↧
Young Researchers Present at LISEF
East Islip High School students Brendan Bullard, William Meehan, Justin Morena and Peter Zepf participated in the Charles Duggan Long Island Science and Engineering Fair on Feb. 12, held at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.
At this annual two-day competition for the most advanced high school projects, LISEF participants present their research to professionals in their subject areas from local universities and scientific institutions.
The trio of Bullard, Morena and Zepf presented a paper titled “The Use of Calcium Hydride and De-ionized Water as an Alternate Chemical Reaction in Airbags in Order to Optimize Reaction Rate and Safety During Deployment.” Meehan’s paper was on “Optimal Species for Native Grass Growth: Implications for Biofuel Independence.” The students were guided by their chemistry teacher at East Islip, Kathleen Dinota, as well as science teachers Lisa Neri and James Marino, who Dinota cited as instrumental in helping them complete their projects.“Our fledgling research program begins in ninth grade, preparing students to conduct independent research in their junior and senior years,” said Dinota, who is actively looking to expand the program.“We are currently in our second year of research at the high school,” added Kristen Cummings, the director of the district’s math and science department. “I am delighted that these young men had the opportunity to experience LISEF and would like to congratulate them and our dedicated research teacher, Kathleen Dinota, for all of their hard work.”
↧
Practice SAT on Feb. 23
Revolution Prep's practice SAT is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23.
Students who have already registered for this exam should arrive by 8:45 a.m. and report to Room 242.
↧
Kindergarten Registration in March
Kindergarten registration for the 2013-14 school year in the East Islip School District will take place during the week of March 4, 2013.
Please view the attached document for detailed information.
↧
↧
Intramurals at Middle School
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, the sound of excited voices engaged in athletic competition could be heard echoing through the East Islip Middle School gymnasium. Physical education teacher Coach Michael Montuori, who runs both the boys and girls sixth-grade intramurals, was monitoring a hotly contested European handball game. The boys, part of a group of over 100 East Islip students participating in middle school intramurals, were thrilled with the opportunity for healthy physical and social activity.“I started the intramural program seven years ago when the sixth-grade students first came over to the middle school,” explained Montuori, who has been teaching for 16 years, including eight at Timber Point Elementary prior to his tenure at the middle school. “Some of the activities we do are basketball, volleyball, European handball, dodgeball and cooperative games. We even have tournaments – we just finished the basketball tournament.”
The boys program is held after school on Wednesdays, the girls program on Thursdays, both from 3-3:45 p.m in the middle school’s gym. A half-dozen eighth-graders from the school’s National Junior Honor Society serve as volunteer assistants for Montuori.“The intramural program is a great way to do physical activity and have fun at the same time,” Montuori said. Originally a victim of budget cuts, along with the middle school sports program, intramurals were restored for this school year as a result of a $70,000 donation from the For the Kids Foundation. Seventh- and eighth-grade intramurals are also run for boys, taught by Ronald Croteau (Mondays), and for girls, taught by Laura Hegna (Tuesdays).
↧
JFK’s Snowy February Art Exhibit
Each month, a comprehensive art exhibit on the second floor of East Islip’s district office features one of the district’s six schools, and John F. Kennedy Elementary is the featured school for the month of February. Inspired by the season, JFK art teacher Donna Bernard selected many of the exhibit's snowy pieces to fit her “Flurry of Great Artwork” theme.
The school’s kindergartners and first-graders created peace doves to replicate Pablo Picasso’s iconic 1949 bird. They also painted “Snowmen at Night” pictures in oil pastels after reading Caralyn Buehner’s titular story, illustrating what their snowmen did at night. After reading the classic Jan Brett story “The Mitten,” JFK second-grade students sewed their own mittens that were colored using either warm or cool colors. Third-graders created torn paper snow scenes depicting people participating in various fun activities in the snow, while the fourth-graders assembled snowflake compositions made with variously sized and shaped flakes in monochromatic color schemes. JFK fifth-graders painted snow scenes using watercolors and glitter, incorporating objects in the foreground, middle ground and background.
The public can view the JFK art exhibit in person through the end of February from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. during regular business hours.
↧
Last Day of Winter Softball Camp
The East Islip varsity softball team will present the final day of its 2013 winter softball camp on Saturday, Feb. 23 from 12:30-2:30 p.m. This softball clinic for grades 2-8, sponsored by the East Islip Athletic Booster Club, costs $20 and will take place in the high school gym. Please see the attached flier for further information.
↧
BOE Business Meeting Tonight
The East Islip Board of Education's monthly business meeting takes place tonight (Feb. 21) at 8 p.m. in the district office boardroom
located at 1 Craig B. Gariepy Avenue in Islip Terrace.
↧
↧
Timber Point's Chinese New Year
At Timber Point Elementary School, art teacher Christina Spera and music teacher Kathy Carter collaborated to celebrate Chinese New Year – the Year of the Snake – with students from the first-grade classes of Vanessa DiPalma, Jennifer Uss and Josette Welton.
During art class, the students created and decorated snakes while discussing the meaning and traditions of the 15-day holiday, which began this year on Feb. 10. In music class, the first-graders listened to traditional Chinese music and learned Chinese New Year songs, accompanied by instruments such as the gong and cymbals.
↧
All-Eastern Honors for Stevens
East Islip High School junior Leah Stevens will represent both East Islip and New York State at the 2013 National Association for Music Education Eastern Division Conference, to be held April 4-7 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Conn.
Stevens, who won the principal flute post in New York’s All-State Symphonic Band last December, will now join the top All-Staters from 11 East Coast states and the District of Columbia to comprise an elite symphonic band.“It's such an honor and a great reward for years of hard work,” said the busy Stevens, who practices for hours every night and performs upwards of 20 times per year in recitals, orchestra and band concerts, at New York State School Music Association events, and even at nursing homes and children's hospitals. “It is satisfying to know that such a huge commitment to a passion is paying off,” she added.
Stevens now studies flute with Stefan Hoskuldsson, the principal flute of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, one of the world’s most famous orchestras. “Just listening to him play is a huge inspiration to me,” Stevens said. “He has a way of giving me hope that if there is a true desire behind a dream, it can happen.”
The sky is the limit for this award-winning young musician, a member of East Islip’s Class of 2014 and the school’s Tri-M Music Honor Society. “Believe it or not, there's an All-National orchestra and band that I've been invited to apply for,” she remarked, “but I think I will need some luck for that.” In the meantime, she will be giving a full recital at St. Marks Church in Islip this April to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
↧
Monsters, Inc. Movie Night at MS
East Islip Middle School's student government will
host a movie night at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, March 1. "Monsters, Inc." will be screened
in the auditorium during this evening of fun and trivia. There will be
no admission fee, but attendees need to bring in at least one "Support
Our Troops" item as an entrance ticket. Requested items are on the back
of the permission slip (attached below). For every three items brought in, attendees will
receive a raffle ticket for a Friendly’s gift certificate. Goody bag
snacks will be for sale for $1. A trivia competition will be held after
the movie. Permission slips are required and no one will be admitted
without one. Download a slip here or pick one up in the cafeteria
starting Monday, Feb. 25. The slips must be returned to the cafeteria
during lunch periods, no later than Thursday, Feb. 28.
↧
