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Meet the Candidate Night for board elections will be held in the district office on Monday, May 6 at 8 p.m.

The East Islip Chamber of Commerce recently recognized two Timber Point students – first grader Gregory Cavalone and second grader Shawn Kelly – as March Students of the Month, chosen for their outstanding community service and participation in school activities.

Cavalone earned his award through participation in the 1,000 Book Project. He began the program in 2017 and had read more than 980 books as of March 2019. 

“That is extremely impressive,” said Principal Danielle Naccarato. 

Kelly was rewarded for his excellent character.

“Shawn is a highly responsible, respectful and humble young man,” said Naccarato. “He has a natural ability to work collaboratively with others and takes the time to listen and assist those in need. Shawn exemplifies the true qualities of a leader. Through his compassion, diligence and motivation, Shawn will continue to grow into an exceptional young man.”

More than 50 models – including students, teachers and family members – dressed up retro for the “Red Carpet Through the Decades” theme hit the runway at this year’s SADD/PTSA Fashion Show at the high school. The March 14 event raised more than $2,500 from local businesses and staff for all of the programs that SADD coordinates. BluRayne Bridal in Commack and RSVP Tux in Bay Shore donated formal wear for the event, while alumnus and local professional DJ Joey Kissel provided the tunes.

“This community event has many purposes,” said SADD adviser Bridget Lopiccolo. “It is a fundraiser for SADD and a way for students to have fun while also highlighting the mission of SADD and a way for the PTSA to throw a wonderful event for all of our students.”

Recognized by the Suffolk County Music Educators’ Association for their skill and diligence, 57 exceptional elementary, middle and high school students from East Islip were selected for this spring’s All-County Concerts.

John F. Kennedy Elementary School musicians chosen were Keira Bloch, Angelina Codispoti, Jayden Dell’Isola, Heather Heffernan, Justin Manfredi and Olivia Primiano.

Ruth C. Kinney Elementary School musicians chosen were Mya Dandona, Krista Deutsch, Alexandra DeVita, Zeynep Oztas, and Matthew Pasfield.

East Islip Middle School musicians chosen were Erin Ackerman, Ryan Buchan, Daniel Carroll, Stephen Coleman, Joseph Cruz, Rachel Furey, Kiersten Galli, Tristan Hearth, Lauren Holmes, Brendan Kearney, James Kelly, Stephen Law, Samuel Martinez, Natalia Mendolia, Melissa Mirabelli, Jada Poindexter, Olivia Quintero, Ryan Renganeschi, Ella Tantillo, Keira Tantillo, James Terhune, Aidan Thompson, Marissa Triolo, Brianna Tucci, Brooke Tursi, Nicholas Wodicka and Brandon Zane.

East Islip High School musicians chosen were Jacob Arens, Ryan Auffant, Robert Finn, Joseph Graziano, Kelli Karlin, Mia Lembo, Jillian Lopez, Michelle Mirabelli, Chiara Mosca, Vince Papillo, Olivia Pause, Olivia Pena, Joy Petersen, Kaitlyn Rice, Emily Rottkamp, Samantha Seibert, Marie Tohill and Shannon Wodicka.

The high school held its winter sports awards on March 26, honoring the outstanding efforts on its varsity athletes. The ceremony included recognition of the varsity boys basketball, girls basketball, boys bowling, girls bowling, cheerleading, boys swimming, boys winter track, girls winter track and wrestling teams.

“It was a pleasure honoring several students for not only their accolades on the field but also in the classroom,” said Athletic Director Stephen Restivo. “It is very impressive to see how our students balance their time on and off the field.”

This video feature takes an in-depth look at the middle school's art program and the work of our student-artists. Look for a future video on the elementary art program at the end of the school year.

Record-breaking numbers of tickets were sold for this year's high school musical, “Miss Saigon,” directed by Bethany Affelt and performed on March 28, 29 and 30 at Rydzeski Hall. Set during the Vietnam conflict, the Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil creation was nominated for an impressive number of Olivier, Tony and Drama Desk awards.

East Islip’s dedicated stage crew worked tirelessly to build and maneuver a stunning set that incorporated multiple staircases, two-story buildings and a giant “Lady Liberty” crown, and the school’s pit orchestra musicians played continuously throughout, as the production featured no spoken dialogue.

The talented cast included Tori Tiernan as Kim, Luke Ferrari as Chris, Kieran Tohill as the Engineer, Andrew Timmins as John, Karina Gallagher as Ellen, Kevin Coles as Thuy and Alex Bertolini as Gigi.

“We are incredibly proud of this year’s production,” said Affelt. “The talent featured on stage was of Broadway caliber and the audience was brought to tears by the leading actors’ beautifully emotive performances. The students and advisers all worked so hard on this extremely challenging production, and their efforts were acknowledged each night by an instantaneous standing ovation as soon as the stage lights were brought up for the curtain call.”

Good afternoon EI community,

This is just a reminder that our Board of Education meeting is Wednesday night, April 17 at 8 p.m. in the Early Childhood Center cafeteria. We will be unveiling the 2019-2020 budget. 

We would like to thank the Budget Advisory Committee for the long hours they put in and the suggestions they made. We would like to thank our many constituents and constituent groups for all their suggestions and ideas.  We would also like to thank our Board of Education for the long hours they have worked in helping to put this budget together.

We encourage everyone to join us on Wednesday night either in person or view the video online when it is posted as we unveil our 2019-2020 budget.

Sincerely,

John Dolan
Superintendent of Schools

High school sophomore Hannah Smalley has won the 2018-2019 Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Award, recognizing her outstanding leadership and community service. She will represent East Islip at this year’s three-day HOBY New York Metro Leadership Seminar conference, held from June 7-9 at Adelphi University in Garden City.

Smalley earned the award based on her entry in the school’s annual 300-word essay contest, which asks 10th graders to talk about leadership in their school or community. Her essay discussed her surgery and her work to help other children deal with injuries.

“It’s a huge honor and a big thing for me to be chosen,” said Smalley. “Not many schools offer this and few students get a chance to do it.”

Lions Club of the Islips representative Eugene Petraitis of the Lions Club, which sponsors East Islip’s HOBY winner each year, personally congratulated Smalley at the school and presented her with a check to cover the seminar’s expenses.

Founded in 1958 by civic-minded actor Hugh O’Brian, HOBY’s mission is to inspire a global community of youth and volunteers to a life dedicated to leadership, service and innovation. Programs like the Adelphi seminar provide selected students with unique leadership training and motivation-building experiences.

Led by captain Sofia Ferrezza, the high school’s varsity girls golf team spent the month of March working to get into shape for the start of matches. They won their April 4 opener against Islip High School by an impressive 9-0 score.

“We have a very competitive team this year,” said coach Judith Fischer. “I expect we will have a successful season and hope to qualify for the county tournament for the 13th year in a row.”

More than 350 community members participated in the district’s second annual STEAM/Robotics Festival, held at the high school on March 27. The exciting evening event, open to all students from kindergartners through seniors, featured diverse science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics activities and showcased the district’s current STEAM and robotics programs.

Student groups taking part included the high school and middle school STEM Clubs, the high school’s Chess Club, and science fair winners from Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ and RCK. Also in attendance were members of the East Islip Chamber of Commerce, representatives from East Islip Public Library, Solar Dad and Sons, Long Island University, Good Samaritan Hospital and Northwell Health, and numerous vendors and business organizations.

“This event was created to show students of all ages that STEAM is where they should begin to start looking for their future careers,” said East Islip Guidance Director Israel Malinowitzer, who co-coordinated the festival with teacher Genesis Dawson. “This field is in dire need of workers and schools need to start promoting these programs and educating our students about the importance of STEAM and all the skills that they need to develop and learn in order to be successful in their future endeavors. We are also trying to encourage our students to get their education and continue to stay on Long Island and raise their families here.”

Guided by Students Against Destructive Decisions club adviser Bridget Lopiccolo, the high school’s Grim Reaper – a SADD student volunteering for this somber task – “struck” 16 fellow students on March 28. The annual Ghost-Out Day remains the signature event in the club’s year-long substance abuse awareness campaign.

As a gong sounded every 20 minutes throughout the school day and Lopiccolo read police call transcripts about teens being killed as a result of drugs or alcohol, the Reaper chose its “victims,” who then wore black T-shirts and remained silent for the remainder of the day to represent the numerous lives affected by substance abuse. 

“Our SADD club is making a difference and wants high school students to know this is preventable,” said Lopiccolo. “Overdose doesn’t have to be the No. 1 killer of people under the age of 50. We can stop it. Just don’t start using drugs or alcohol. Be the generation of change and change this statistic.”

Basketball buffs from fourth- and fifth-grade classes at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ and RCK competed at the school level for the 33rd annual Town of Islip Sharp Shooter Basketball Contest.

Sponsored since 1993 by the Islip Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and the Islip Elks, the Sharp Shooter “Just Say No to Drugs” program offers local students the challenge of scoring as many baskets as possible in one minute, improving their skills in basketball while providing an alternative to drug abuse.

Earning first place for Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ at the school level were fourth-graders Olivia Shaw and Lucas Trager, and fifth-graders Kiera Bloch and Ian Frey. Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½’s second-place finishers were fourth-graders Avery Bowden and Evan Gordon, and fifth-graders Chloe Garatina and Jake Nieves.

Earning first place for RCK at the school level were fourth-graders Kevin Deflippis and Alexis Kneisel, and fifth-graders Iyana Carpenter and Blake Gilchrist. RCK’s other finishers included fourth-graders Kayla Penny and Syiel Tunstall and fifth-graders Devin Franklin, Brianna Martin and Grace Micali in second place, and fourth-graders Brea Oquendo, Carman Ortiz and Liliana Pasha and fifth-grader Jack Connors in third place.

Each school’s four first-place winners moved on to participate in the townwide contest’s final round, held on March 2 at East Islip High School.

Fifth-graders at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ proudly shared their knowledge of the Western Hemisphere at the school’s Social Studies and Art Fair on March 25. The well-attended event celebrated what they have learned in social studies over the past year, showcasing creative student artwork and 150 different projects that represented the United States, Canada and Latin American countries, indigenous people in this region of the world and famous people in history.

“Our students engaged in meaningful conversations with parents and friends about the research they did and the information they gained,” said Principal Deborah Smith. “Conversations on the geography, economics, governments and cultural diversity of the regions were heard throughout the gym and cafeteria where the projects were displayed.”

High school senior Allison DellOrto signed a national letter of intent on March 29 to play softball this fall for Ithaca College, where she plans to major in health science. During her East Islip career, the stellar shortstop earned All-State, All-Long Island, All-County, NFCA Regional All-American and NFCA Academic All-American honors.

“It was a combination of feeling at home there, and Ithaca’s good softball and academic programs,” DellOrto said of her choice.