At the high school’s freshman orientation on Aug. 30, the theme was reaching outside of your comfort zone and getting involved in sports, clubs, honor societies and other activities. Administrators and guidance counselors welcomed the Class of 2024, discussing everything from safety protocols to ID cards.
“Being a part of the freshman orientation is always something that I enjoy,” said Assistant Principal Jean Marie D’Aversa. “I love seeing the new faces in the building and getting to know the incoming students. This year, high school students from various clubs and honor societies volunteered to assist in orientation, providing our ninth graders with tips and tricks for high school from class preparation and locker setup to walking their schedule to find their classes. High school is such an important and valuable time in the lives of these students, and I feel truly blessed to be a part of it.”
Margret Keil, the newest member of East Islip’s Class of 2021, received her diploma at the school’s summer graduation ceremony, held on Aug. 25 in the school’s courtyard. with her family and district administrators in attendance. Keil plans to attend Suffolk Community College this fall, studying nursing.
“Maggie is a very special young woman and it gives me great pleasure to recognize her accomplishments,” said Principal Mark Bernard. “She has demonstrated the definition of determination.”
Bernard went on to address Keil, telling the new alumna, “You may have taken a little different path than your peers, but you have overcome hardships and demonstrated the perseverance and persistence needed to recognize you as a graduate of East Islip High School.”
Also earning an East Islip diploma this summer was Samantha McNamee.
8/24/21 TP Tradition Raises $30K for St. Jude
This past spring, students at Timber Point proudly participated in the school’s annual Math-a-Thon for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Kindergartners, first graders and second graders all put their math skills to work to help the children at St. Jude, raising $30,801, Timber Point’s highest total so far. The school has been supporting the hospital by holding the Math-a-Thon every year since 2003, raising $196,422 to date.
“This is a tradition we are extremely proud of and look forward to continuing each year,” said teachers and Math-a-Thon coordinators Michelle Kilkelly and Carolyn McGee. “We are so proud of our students and thank the families for their hard work and support of this wonderful cause.”
RCK’s PTA Board worked hard to help ensure that all the students at the East Islip school ended the 2020-2021 year on a high note, booking a special “Farm Experience” enjoyed by both the children and school staff. Each class was able to come outside for a half hour to enjoy learning about various farm animals including baby piglets.
“The entire RCK PTA was extremely supportive during this difficult year,” said Principal Janet Jones. “They went above and beyond on Staff Appreciation Day and their efforts were great appreciated. Many of the PTA members were parents of fifth graders now headed to middle school, and they will be missed dearly at RCK.”
8/9/21 Middle School ENL Teachers Present with Nearpod
Middle school ENL teachers Stephanie Hauser, Meredith Salijoski and Pamela Solomon recently created a presentation using Nearpod, an instructional, interactive software platform, which was selected for the Title III Consortia of Long Island ENL teachers’ Celebration of Learning.
The Nearpod presentation was created to connect students with the theme of empathy, conveyed through their grade-level novels (Linda Sue Park’s “A Long Walk to Water for seventh grade and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” for eighth grade), and providing reflection for students with the Flipgrid application. Videos and excerpts from the novels were utilized to provide students with connected examples of empathy.
“It was a pleasure to work alongside our educators who are well respected within our ENL teaching field, because they care so very much for our students,” said Dr. Robert Wottawa II, the district’s director of art, ENL, music and world languages. “BOCES was thrilled to have our students as part of the presentation and our students loved to share their knowledge and skills.”
8/9/21 SADD and Legislators Highlight 100 Deadliest Days
A June 18 press conference at the high school facilitiated by the Students Against Destructive Decisions club and SADD adviser Bridget Lopiccolo brought awareness to the 100 Deadliest Days. The annual event, held in partnership with Bang Towing, Gershow Recycling and Suffolk County legislators Tom Cilmi and Steven J. Flotteron, was underscored by the backdrop of numerous smashed cars in front of the school.
“We are here in front of some horrific crashes to highlight the 100 Deadliest Days of summer, which is the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day during which the most teen crashes happen throughout the country,” Cilmi said.
“Make smart decisions, don’t be distracted,” Flotteron urged teen drivers. “Distraction can be anything. Whether you’re the driver of the car or the passenger, help be the captain of that ship.”
8/4/21 A Dozen EIHS Artists Continue Memory Project Tradition
A dozen members of the high school’s National Art Honor Society participated in the Memory Project, creating artwork in various mediums from photographs of children in India. This year, the subjects in the Memory Project photos were children unable to live with their parents due to issues of abuse, neglect or loss of life.
“Our tradition of participating in the Memory Project has continued, and our National Art Honor Society students did such a wonderful job and created custom one-of-a-kind artworks for these special children in India,” said teacher Heather Toomey. “I want to thank the Memory Project for providing us the opportunity to make a direct impact on children from around the world.”
“This is a powerful project and I believe it is a great way for our students to share their talents with others,” said teacher Dan Figliozzi. “It makes me happy knowing that our students are creating beautiful artworks for children around the globe.”
“I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to bring smiles to kids in need around the world,” said recent Class of 2021 graduate Robert Camlet.
8/4/21 Cultivating Creativity With CAD
The high school’s Computer Aided Design class experimented with 3D printing and design during the last school year. Each student within the class had the opportunity to design and create their very own keychain within the AutoCAD 2021 software and then print their design on the school’s new FlashForge Creator Pro printers.
3D printing begins with a digital model in a 3D CAD file, followed by the creation of a physical three-dimensional object. An object can be scanned or designed within a software program. This virtual object is then imported into the FlashPrint 3D printing software program and processed by a piece of software known as a “slicer.” The slicer converts the model into a series of thin, two-dimensional layers and produces a file with instructions tailored to the specific type of 3D printer. The 3D printer applies the required combination of raw material – plastic, metal, rubber, etc. – and then builds the object by adding one layer at a time, 2D layer by 2D layer, until it is completely designed and finished according to the design criteria from the original student-designed CAD file.
As an added challenge to the students who finished the project ahead of time, the concepts they had had learned from this experience were applied to robotics classes. The CAD students designed and created a virtual 3D robot chassis in AutoCAD, printed it out on the 3D printers, then turned it into an actual fully functional robot.
“It was fun to be able to use the skills we learned in class and use the 3D printers to make our creations into real products,” said sophomore Antonio Cottone.
“I think that the utilization of 3D printing technology is going to be very useful in the future, and this class goes to show just that,” said sophomore Ruelin Man-Martinez. “You can create just about anything with this, and I’m hopeful to see how this will be used in the future.”
“For 3D printing’s use in education, it’s a matter of bringing objects out of the computer screen and into the real, physical world and into the hands of students for inspection, analysis and other processes that benefit from physical manipulation,” said technology teacher James Connell. “With the cost of 3D printers becoming more and more affordable, they are no longer just another technological gadget for students to play with but are now an important and useful educational tool. They make both teaching and learning better. 3D printing helps students conceptualize and visualize their designs as they develop their work from the development stages of a sketch to the final product. From the perspective of growth and development, 3D printing will impact students who will become our future designers, engineers and artists. Feeding students’ creativity skills can also help develop a passion for original thinking and creativity that can later be applied in business. 3D printing promotes student achievement and prepares them for a college education. They develop the confidence that allows them to pursue challenging courses such as those in STEAM fields. As students explore and grow their imaginations, it cultivates innovation.”
8/2/21 Reflections on a Challenging Return
For high school teacher Greg Kguloian and his students, the year’s journey from pandemic quarantine and suspension of in-person teaching, to hybrid schedules and virtual instruction, to finally all coming back to classes together, was cause for both reflection and celebration. Like many teachers in the age of COVID-19, Kguloian had to adjust to the fact that many of his ELA and global studies students were required to attend classes virtually, working hard to make students watching from home feel like they were in the room with the rest of the class and creating video tutorials designed to alleviate the many stresses the students said they were feeling. Kguloian himself was sidelined in February due to an accident incurred during his work as a volunteer firefighter/EMT, but returned as well in May.
“I needed to get back in our classroom to see for myself that my class kids were okay,” said Kguloian. “It is remarkable what we have been able to accomplish together as a school, not only to keep our kids learning lessons from our given curriculum, but also learning the life lesson that we can overcome anything and achieve more when we all work together as a cooperative team.”
“Coming back was challenging,” said student Hanna Harbison. “Getting back into the swing of things was weird and annoying, but I was so glad to see most of my friends again. I’m sure it was difficult in so many ways for different students at home being virtual and quarantined.”
“I felt that coming back to school was a very good step to putting us back on track with goals, instead of being at home, bored and unmotivated,” said student Erick Cisneros.
“School felt very satisfying, so to speak, after coming back from quarantine,” said student Tyler Niles. “Life felt more productive and Fridays felt earned.”
“At first it felt super weird at first, after being home for a long time,” said student Gabriela Rivera. “Even though we have to remain very cautious, I felt grateful and happy to be back.”
