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Two seniors, Joshua Koretz and James Smalley, have been named National Merit Semifinalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program, and a third, Jonathan Guadagno, was named a Commended Student.

Koretz and Smalley were among only 16,000 students across the country honored as Semifinalists, and will compete for $31 million worth of scholarships. All three East Islip students were recognized for their exceptional test results in the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. More than 1.6 million students nationwide participated in the annual competition.

“These three students have worked very hard over the last few years, and we congratulate them on this accomplishment,” said Israel Malinowitzer, East Islip’s director of guidance.

Fall Sports Awards Night is scheduled for Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. in the HS gymnasium.  

Congratulations to the EI boys volleyball team and football teams for making the Section XI playoffs. Games and information are as follows:

Boys Volleyball
East Islip at Hauppauge
5 p.m. on Nov. 2 
There will be a $6 admission fee to watch the game. You can purchase tickets at the event or online as well via GoFan.com.

Football
Kings Park at East Islip
5 p.m. on Nov. 2 at Islip High School

Three SUNY Fredonia professors – cellist Natasha Farny, viola player David Rose and violinist Maureen Yuen – visited the high school on Oct. 24 to teach orchestra students in a masterclass. Senior musicians Trevor Garnett, Victoria Keenan, Joshua Koretz and Kathryn O’Neill performed solos and were given feedback by the Fredonia faculty.

“Everyone in attendance remarked on how great it was to hear the students perform individually and learn from the feedback they were given,” said Giovanna Ruggiero, East Islip’s orchestra director. “I am so glad my students had this wonderful opportunity and I hope to provide more experiences like this in the future.”

Due to the impending nor'easter on Saturday, Oct. 27, we are moving the varsity football game to today, Friday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. The game will be played at Islip High School.

The My Team Shop for East Islip wrestling is now open until Nov. 19.

Visit:

Second-grade and kindergarten reading buddies at Connetquot worked together on a fall craft for Fun Friday to show the changing colors of leaves in the fall.

Since the new school year began, Melissa Love’s second-grade students and Jennifer Rizzo's kindergartners have been reading together once a week to increase fluency and share the enjoyment of books. The second-graders enjoy reading to their younger schoolmates and helping them with projects.

“I like being buddies because they are fun to meet with and work with,” said second-grader Mark Speiss.

Congratulations to the field hockey and boys soccer teams for winning their first-round playoff games.

Here are some upcoming games and times:

Field Hockey
East Islip at Eastport/South Manor
5pm on Oct. 23

Boys Soccer
East Islip at Hauppauge
6pm on Oct. 25

At the Board of Education meeting on Oct. 9, the district honored an esteemed local organization, the For the Kids Foundation, for its $40,000 donation to fund East Islip High School’s new WFTK broadcasting studio.

The school’s old studio debuted in 1989 and has been running for the last eight years under the guidance of teacher James Connell. The upgraded facility, including new cameras and electronics, will now be home to a modern state of the art video production studio capable of broadcasting live video over the internet. It is scheduled to start running in December, with the broadcasting of live events commencing by next June.

High school students in Heather Toomey’s art classes competed in a contest to design a logo for WFTK, with senior Michael Laird’s effort named the winner.

“We are very grateful to the FTK family for their very generous donation and we look forward to having them come visit our broadcasting studio and watch our students in action,” said Israel Malinowitzer, East Islip’s director of technology.

GoFan is a new way to purchase tickets for athletic events where Section XI is charging admission, providing an option for families who do not want to wait on line. See attached flier for details. There is a surcharge of $1.20 to purchase the tickets on the GoFan.com website. Tickets can still also be purchased at the events.

 

Attachments: Click for GoFan flier

Congratulations to the following teams for earning a spot in the Suffolk County playoff brackets. Games are as follows:

Field Hockey
Smithtown East @ East Islip
2 p.m. at RCK Fields on Oct. 20

Girls Soccer
East Islip @ Harborfields
2 p.m. on Oct. 20

Boys Soccer
West Babylon @ East Islip
2 p.m. on Oct. 22

Today at approximately 10:30 a.m., there was problem with a univent in a high school science classroom that set off a fire alarm. All students and staff were evacuated to the middle school. The fire department responded and an all clear was called after approximately 20 minutes. All students and staff are back safely in the building on a revised bell schedule.

High school students recently participated in the Eastern District of New York’s Justice Institute program, a camp experience focused on learning about the judicial system, held in the Federal Courthouse building in Central Islip. The program, developed by U.S. District Judge Joseph Bianco in collaboration with the Touro Law Center, provides attending students with the civics education and advocacy skills that will prepare them for college, career and civic engagement.

East Islip sophomores Jacob Arens, Kate McGaugh, Vince Papillo and Kimberly Turtell – all members of the school’s mock trial team coached by Patricia Lester – competed in a championship mock trial round against Massapequa High School, earning first place in the tournament. Turtell was recognized for Best Opening Statement for the Prosecution.

The program concluded with an inspirational talk by guest speaker Mitsue Salador, an American citizen of Japanese descent. Salador was attending college in 1942 when she was deported to an internment center in Portland, Oregon for U.S. residents who had Japanese ancestry.  A current resident of West Islip, where she served as a reading teacher in the public schools, Salador spoke about racism during World War II that led to Pres. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the physical removal of all Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast into internment camps. She discussed the discrimination that existed during the wartime years and emphasized the importance of acceptance and tolerance of all people. She also shared her pride in being an American citizen and pointed out that over 40 years later, the federal government passed the Civil Rights Act of 1988, which apologized for the mistake it had made and provided monetary compensation to the survivors of the internment camps.”

“It was heartening to me to observe this group of young people, who were intensely interested in the circumstances of this injustice that took place approximately 76 years ago,” Salador said. “I was happy to inform them that the U.S. government admitted they made a mistake and took responsibility for it.”

Due to the district's upcoming field and track renovation, we are moving the last scheduled home varsity football game on Oct. 27 to Islip High School. The game is considered a home game for East Islip so our spectators will be sitting on the east side of the field (larger bleacher section with press box). Please note the time of the game has been changed to 1:30 pm. Please be reminded that tailgating will not be permitted on site. 

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the high school’s boys and girls volleyball programs volleyed for a cure by participating in the Side-Out Foundation’s Dig Pink initiative, collectively raising $1,128 over the course of a few weeks for breast cancer awareness.

All teams assisted by selling Dig Pink shirts prior to game days. On Oct. 9 and 10, the boys and girls teams took to the court to help block out cancer. The gym was adorned with inspiring posters, pink donation balls and balloons, and a court outlined in bright pink. Girls team members also raised funds by making baked goods to sell on game day.

“It’s always inspiring to watch a school come together for a great cause,” said girls coach Romina Ackley. “We hope to continue to raise awareness and fundraise.”

“I am so glad that the boys wanted to get involved in the Dig Pink games,” said boys coach Laura O’Donnell. “We often forget that men too are at risk for breast cancer. The participation of the boys and their families in this fight unites all of us at East Islip in supporting a great cause.”

Please come down and support the varsity girls tennis team. They will host Huntington on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. in the first round of the Section XI team tournament.

High school flutist Alexandra Stewart was recently chosen to receive a Long Island Arts Alliance Scholar–Artist Award of Merit for 2018-2019. The LIAA’s Scholar-Artist Awards program, presented by the New York Community Bank Foundation in cooperation with Newsday and the Arts Reach Fund, annually recognizes 20 outstanding Long Island seniors who have demonstrated excellence in academics as well as their chosen arts specialty.

Stewart received her LIAA award and certificate on Sept. 12 at the annual Scholar-Artist Gala at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. She has received numerous accolades during her high school career; in 2017, she was chosen for the New York State School Music Association’s All-State Symphonic Band as well as the Suffolk County Music Educators Association’s All-County Orchestra.

Click .

The high school’s girls varsity volleyball team recently traveled to Farmingdale State College to watch two alumni play, Alyssa Barbara of Mount Saint Mary College and Kate Flamio of Farmingdale.

The East Islip players were given a tour of the Farmingdale athletic facility and had the opportunity to ask questions about college majors, player recruitment and college life. They then watched their former Lady Redmen captains go head to head in an exciting match that ended with a 3-0 Farmingdale victory over Mount Saint Mary.

“It was a pleasure to take our current team to watch these two former EI players,” said coach Romina Ackley.  “It is beyond rewarding as a coach to watch players you’ve had for so long grow into strong, intelligent, young women that continue their passion academically while also playing volleyball. I look forward to watching future players follow in Kate’s and Alyssa’s footsteps.”

High school lacrosse stars Melissa Sconone and John Sidorski, both playing attack, were recently honored with prestigious national rankings by “Inside Lacrosse,” with Sconone ranked No. 25 and Sidorski ranked No. 33.

Sconone, the third ranked attacker in the 2019 class, has been the team captain since last season and the MVP in 2017 and 2018. She earned All-County status in 2017 and 2018, finished 13th in Suffolk County scoring as a sophomore and 16th as a junior, and participated in the Under Armour All America Underclass Tournament and U.S. Lacrosse Women’s Division National Tournament.

“Melissa is a coach’s dream,” said East Islip girls coach Steven Levy. “She is ultra-competitive with an intense desire to win and compete. She has incredible hands and lacrosse IQ.”

Sidorski, likewise a team captain, was named All-County and All-League in 2017, finishing the latter year at No. 3 in the county in scoring and fourth on Long Island with 94 points and this year at No. 4 in county scoring and No. 5 on Long Island with 89 points. He was selected to the rising juniors and sophomores All-Star games in 2016 and 2017, and named All-American in 2018 and a member of the Super 7 Champs team in 2017. He has a total of 245 points in the last three seasons.

“I have coached John for the last five years,” said Redmen boys coach Chad Spruyt. “He is a smart player with a tremendous lacrosse IQ. He has become the player that any coach would want on their team and an offensive coach on the field. He is my captain this season and a fantastic leader, the type of player that can make any other player on his team better.

The winter concert season is rapidly approaching. Once again, eiMAPs will hold an online sale for the black polo shirt for the middle school concerts. Click  to order.

The third annual FTK Taste of Life, honoring Margaret Burnham and Maureen Meier, will be held on Monday, Oct. 29 at Land’s End in Sayville from 6:30-9:30 p.m. See attached invitation for details.