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Oliver Rivadeneyra, a fifth grader at RCK, was honored at the district’s Oct. 17 Board of Education meeting for his remarkable charitable efforts on behalf of St. Jude’s Hospital. Since 2015, Rivadeneyra has raised more than $10,000 for the hospital through his summer lemonade stand, which he built with his father. Selling lemonade, limeade and baked goods, he raised $861.25 in his first year, and $3,725 this past summer.

 

 

During the last school year, second grade classes at Connetquot created letters and care boxes – packed with items such as food, foam footballs, toiletries, playing cards and magazines – for soldiers serving on active duty in Afghanistan. The troops recently received the boxes and will be sending thank you letters back to the students. 

Another successful Pumpkin Patch was hatched in the courtyard at Timber Point on Oct. 24, featuring a perfect day of beautiful weather, happy faces and tons of pumpkins for students to select from. The annual event was sponsored by the school’s PTA.

Jason Stanton has been named the new director of careers and student services for the district, replacing the retired Israel Malinowitzer.

Stanton had served as an assistant principal at both East Islip Middle School and East Islip High School since 2013. He previously worked as a social studies teacher and director of evening high school for the Hicksville School District.

Stanton earned his associate’s degree at Nassau Community College, his bachelor’s degree in history at Queens College, and his master’s degree in social studies education and school building and school district leadership advanced certificates from Stony Brook University.

“From the minute I stepped into the East Islip School District, I knew I was home,” Stanton said. “I look forward to continuing our great traditions and creating new ones as we continue to provide the very best education for all our students.”

All-State musicians Luke Ferrari, Peter Gerace, Jason Novellano and Andrew Timmins were recognized at the Oct. 17 Board of Education meeting for their outstanding achievement. Ferrari and Timmins were in attendance to receive the congratulations of Superintendent John Dolan and Board President William Carpluk.

Fourth grader Dakota Ruber, a student at RCK, was recently named one of three grand-prize winners in the “Start With Hello” coloring contest sponsored by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department.

High school art student Emma Jakits recently received a first place award from the Agricultural Society of Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties at the 2019 Long Island Fair.

“I was so surprised that I was chosen,” said Jakits. “It was really cool seeing my work with the blue ribbon on it at the exhibit.”

“I’m excited to have Emma in my Photography 2 class this year,” said teacher Heather Toomey. “She is so talented, and I know everyone will see more of Emma’s amazing work this year."

High school seniors Caroline Meehan and Jessica Montijo were recently named Award of Merit recipients as part of the Long Island Scholar Artist program. Sponsored by the Long Island Arts Alliance, this annual program recognizes students who excel academically and in the arts. Meehan earned the designation in the visual arts category, Montijo in media arts. Both students were honored at a Sept. 11 induction ceremony at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts.

“These two are phenomenal and inspiring to be around,” said art teacher Daniel Figliozzi. “It has been a pleasure to work with them these last three years and I’m excited to continuing working with them this year. Watching them grow as artists and as individuals has been a wonderful experience for me, as their teacher and their friend. They both worked tirelessly last year to create amazing bodies of artwork that showcase their unique conceptual visions and strong technical abilities. My fellow teacher Heather Toomey has been a great mentor to them and continues to help our advanced placement students every year. We couldn’t do it without her.”

“We are so honored that Jessica and Caroline were recognized for these prestigious awards,” said Dr. Robert J. Wottawa, the district’s director of art, ENL, music and world languages. “It is a direct reflection of our teachers’ passion for their craft and highlights our program opportunities here at East Islip. We are fortunate to work with wonderful teachers who have such a positive impact on our students. East Islip is very proud of Caroline and Jessica and we know that their futures are bright.”

Please join us for FTK's fourth annual Taste of Life event on Nov. 4. Please see the attached brochure for more information.

 

Attachments: Click to view brochure

The district telephone directory has been updated, under the District tab.

Students at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ recently had the opportunity to attend a PTA-sponsored book fair and celebrate the joy of reading.

“The smiles on the children’s faces as they read through the many books offered, reflected how happy they were to start the year by choosing a brand new book,” said Principal Deborah Smith. “The teachers were equally excited to find new and interesting titles that they could add to their classroom libraries. The wonder of books continues with so many topics that the children are fascinated by and literature that is capable of fostering memories that will last a lifetime.”

The high school’s varsity softball team was recently ranked No. 10 in the nation as part of the unweighted high school category in the Easton/NFCA Top 10 Academic Team rankings for the 2018-2019 school year. Eleven members of the team – Lauren Crawford, Allison Dell’Orto, Ashley Fuchsman, Kyra Kreuscher, Morgan Lanberg, Jenny Murphy, Kristyn Murphy, Katelyn Nelson, Gianna Perretta, Madison Sturtz and Samantha Winegard – also earned Academic All-American status.

“This is a huge honor for our program,” said coach Jason McGowan. “These girls put in a ton of work on the field and in the offseason. It is wonderful to see that all of their hard work in the classroom is paying off and it’s nice to see them recognized.” 

“Schoolwork comes first and it’s difficult balancing a varsity sport and homework but you just get it done,” said Crawford, the team’s captain. “It’s cool to see that we have one of the highest GPAs in the country.”

From an athletic standpoint, Dell’Orto (as a utility player) and Crawford (as a second baseman) were both recently named first team NFCA Regional All-Americans.

“I am extremely proud of these two young ladies,” said McGowan. “They will both leave East Islip as two of the best players to ever step on the field.”

10/8/19 Fabulous 40 Named AP Scholars at High School

Four East Islip High School student-musicians – seniors Luke Ferrari, Peter Gerace and Jason Novellano, and junior Andrew Timmins – were given All-State recognition by the New York State School Music Association. At this year’s All-State Music Conference, to held in Rochester from Dec. 5-8, Ferrari and Timmins (both tenors) will perform with the All-State Mixed Chorus, Gerace (double bass) will perform with the All-State Symphonic Orchestra, and Novellano (alto saxophone) will perform with the All-State Wind Ensemble.

The Board of Education will hold a special business meeting on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8:30 a.m.

High school senior William Rost was named a National Merit Semifinalist in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program, based on his exceptional results in the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Rost was among only 16,000 students nationwide who were recognized as Semifinalists out of 1.5 million who applied. Semifinalists go on to compete for $31 million worth of scholarships, with the scholarship winners to be announced beginning in April 2020.