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The East Islip School District was honored as Business of the Month at the Feb. 27 meeting of the East Islip Community Chamber of Commerce.

“The district and chamber have been working together cooperatively for years, and this was a wonderful opportunity for the chamber to honor the district and participating students and staff for their hard work in helping to clean up the community,” said East Islip Guidance Director Israel Malinowitzer. “We are working together on other projects to make the community stronger.”

Danielle Simonetti, a fourth-grader at RCK, was recently named Female Youth Track Athlete of the Year by the Long Island Track and Field Association’s Youth Committee.

Simonetti, who was honored for her outstanding track achievements with the Foundation Track Club during 2017, was presented with her award while attending the annual USA Track and Field Long Island awards brunch, held on Feb. 11 at the Hofstra University Club in Hempstead.

“We are so proud of Danielle and the honor bestowed upon her,” said RCK Principal Hillary Bromberg.

Last year, Simonetti broke the eight-and-under 800-meter American indoor record with a time of 2:47.55, set at the Armory Youth Holiday Classic sponsored by NYRR.

In a true group effort, more than 70 East Islip Middle School students worked seamlessly to present a successful production of “The Little Mermaid” as this year’s school musical. Three magical performances were held in the school’s auditorium on February 9, 10 and 11.

“The Little Mermaid” starred sixth-grader Hanna Ross in the leading role of Ariel, eighth-grader Trevor Cox as Prince Eric, seventh-grader Tristan Hearth as Sebastian, sixth-grader Leah Dolson as Flounder, eighth-grader Emily Blair as Scuttle, eighth-grader Tim Hogan as King Triton and eighth-grader Allison Lichter as Ursula. Additional cast members included Angelina DeAmicis as Flotsam, Kristy Murphy as Jetsam, Isabelle Irizarry-McAdam as Aquata, Sydney Holmes as Andrina, Brooke Lubin as Arista, Sophia LoMonaco as Atina, Samantha Federico as Adella, Kelly Waldron as Allana, James Mendolia as Grimsby, Tim McCall as the Pilot, Alexandra Totillo as Carlotta and Andrew D’Amico as the Chef.

The cast rehearsed together for 80 hours in addition to the time they spent practicing lines, songs and dances at home, while the crew put in remarkable effort in mastering lights, sound, props and makeup. Set and costume design were handled by the musical’s assistant director, Jean Marie D’Aversa, with help from Diane Doyle.

“The passion and dedication of our students, along with many hours of rehearsal, paid off to make this show a success,” said director Alyssa Tripi. “We are very proud of every student involved.”

High school student-artists Jessica Montijo and Stephanie Milito were chosen for the New York State Art Teachers Association’s 28th annual Legislative Student Art Exhibition. Their artwork will be displayed from March 1-14 in the Legislative Well in Albany’s Capitol Building. The Legislative Student Art Exhibition, cosponsored by New York State United Teachers, showcases New York State’s art programs.

“I’m excited to have my work on display up in Albany for this exhibit,” said Montijo.

“I was honored to be chosen to exhibit because I want to pursue the visual arts as a career,” said Milito.

“I am so proud of Jessica and Stephanie,” said their teacher, Heather Toomey. “They are really talented and always work really hard in class. They were chosen for their high quality work and creative projects.

RCK was recently paid a visit by author Gordon Korman, sponsored by the school’s PTA. The Canadian-born Korman has written more than 80 children's and young adult fiction books, including numerous series and the recent stand-alone efforts “Slacker” (2016) and “Restart” (2017), both popular with RCK’s students.

“It was very exciting hearing from an author of books we are all reading,” said Principal Hillary Bromberg. 

The middle school’s library staff recently prepared for Super Bowl LII with a book display, a bulletin board with playoff brackets and a “Guess the Winning Team” contest. Various prizes were given to students who guessed the winning teams each week of the playoffs. Grand prize winner Christopher Dopfel received a gift basket including a football autographed by New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings.

Ryan Renaneschi, a seventh-grader at the middle school and exceptional young musician, was selected to participate in the Suffolk County Music Educators Association’s 37th annual Day of Tuba and Euphonium, held at Smithtown High School East. At the event, hundreds of Suffolk students gathered for a day of rehearsing, clinics and a culminating concert.

High school seniors Melissa Mavrich, Jordan Rant, Zoe Stengel and Jenna Tergesen have been featured in the Art League of Long Island’s 11th annual Go APE Advanced Placement Student Exhibition. The exhibit, which will run from Feb. 17 through March 4 at the Art League’s Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery in Dix Hills, celebrates the exceptional talents of Long Island’s young AP art students, as selected by their teachers.

These East Islip students are enrolled in Daniel Figliozzi’s AP art 2D design course; they will attend a Go APE closing artists’ reception at the gallery on March 4. All four seniors plan to attend art school in the fall and are in the process of applying and committing to schools.

“These four girls are amazing,” said Figliozzi. “This is my fourth year teaching all of them, and they have shown amazing growth and transformation in their art practices. I was more than happy to select them for this exhibition, as it is a wonderful opportunity for them to share their work with a larger audience.”

“I’m honored to be a part of such a prestigious event and couldn’t wait to see artists’ works from other schools,” said Stengel.

She has taken nearly every art course that East Islip High School has to offer and received a 5 on her AP drawing exam last year. Stengel plans to pursue a career in illustration, and was awarded with the highest merit scholarship to attend the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan next fall.

“I can’t believe I was given this amazing art-pportunity,” said Rant. “My artwork, ‘Peacocking,’ is based on personal experience and my interactions with the people I surround myself with.”

A skilled drawer and cartoonist with a knack for humor, Rant is likewise considering SVA, but plans to pursue cartooning. She has also been accepted to Columbia College in Manhattan and Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, and is in the process of making a decision for her college career. 

“Being selected for the Go APE show was unexpected,” said Mavrich, acclaimed for her ability to create photorealistic portraits. “I feel accomplished. My artwork, ‘Emma & Jenny,’ showcases my best friend and my cousin. I captured the calmness of Emma and the energetic nature and excitement of Jenny in the work.”

Mavrich has also applied to SVA and plans to attend the fine arts program there. 

“I was excited to be able to showcase my work after four years of hard work in my art classes,” said Tergesen of Go APE. “My progression over the years has lead to an artwork that I’m really proud of. I feel accomplished that am able to show this piece alongside other AP art students on Long Island.”

Tergesen plans to pursue interior design next year and hopes to attend the New York School of Interior Design this fall.

High school senior Lyndsie Brunner recently signed a national letter of intent on Feb. 14 to play soccer this fall for the New York Instititute of Technology in Old Westbury. She cited her prior training experience with NYIT Assistant Coach Karim Diallo as a factor in her choice.

Brunner, a starter on the Lady Redmen varsity team since her sophomore year, was named team captain as a senior and earned All-League status for 2017-2018. She will major in nursing while playing for the NYIT Bears.

At the Feb. 15 business meeting, the Board of Education adopted the 2018-2019 school calendar, attached below.

Since school started in September, there has been excitement in the air in East Islip’s schools revolving around the installation of Smart Boards in every classroom. This new technology was quickly embraced by teachers, who have utilized the boards in classroom instruction and lessons for everything from mathematics and literacy to music.

“Our students are engaged with writing, math, and art lessons through the use of the interactive Smart Boards,” said John F. Kennedy Elementary School Principal Deborah Smith. “Easy access to videos to highlight content area has increased students’ interest and participation. It is wonderful how much the teachers have been exploring the various applications the boards have to offer.”

In elementary band classes, East Islip student-musicians have taken advantage of a new program on the Smart Board called Smart Music. Lesson books are uploaded to the program, which follows along with a cursor while playing background accompaniment. This program also has an assessment component.

The high school’s varsity wrestlers captured six spots on the podium at the recent Kris McDonald Tournament, held at Islip High School.
Finalists for the Redmen were seniors Zach Cabrera (126 pounds), Nick Picece (132 pounds) and Kiernan Stanton (220 pounds). Other East Islip place winners were sophomore Nick Agresta (182 pounds), senior Stephen Donohue (170 pounds) and junior Jonathan Guadagno (160 pounds).

Two high school photography students – senior Alexa Benitez and junior Sophie Bingham – were chosen for the 20th annual Colors of Long Island student art exhibit, held at Stony Brook’s Long Island Museum.

This annual student art exhibition, sponsored by Astoria Bank, provides an opportunity for K-12 students to show their artwork in a museum setting. Both students along with parents and teachers have been invited to attend the reception on April 8.

Benitez, who was selected for Colors of Long Island for the second consecutive year, said, “It is an honor to have my work shown in the Long Island Museum."

“Having my work in a museum is great, and I am really happy that I was given this opportunity,” said Bingham.

“I am so proud of Alexa and Sophie for being recognized for their outstanding artwork,” said teacher Heather Toomey. “They are excellent students and dedicated to creating high quality work. The Long Island Museum provides such a wonderful opportunity for high school students to exhibit their work in a professional space.”

After 17 grueling rounds, middle school seventh-grader Robert Hilbert proved the most adept at the school’s annual spelling bee on Jan. 12, taking first place out of 39 participants from sixth, seventh and eighth grades by spelling the word “hydrant.” Finishing second and third, respectively, were eighth-graders Toniann Santamaria and Steven Squillante. East Islip’s bee was coordinated by teachers Brian Deedy and Ann Mingione; Barbara Huether served as the official word announcer.

“This year's spelling bee was a tremendous success,” said Mingione. “We had many talented spellers representing our entire school body. Congratulations to all of this year's participants for an action-packed spelling bee."

After winning the middle school bee, Hilbert moved on to the first round of the Long Island regional spelling bee, held on Feb. 4 at Hofstra University, where he and 134 other competitors took a written test. Hilbert and 40 other students were then invited back to Hofstra on Feb. 11 for the final round, called the traditional spell down, where he made it through the first three rounds before finally misspelling “pizzicato.”

 The boys basketball team will play Harborfields on Feb. 16 at 4:30 p.m. at the high school. There will be a $4 admission charge to attend the game.

The middle school has garnered four student selections for this year’s Long Island String Festival Association concert. Chosen as among the best young string orchestra musicians in Suffolk County were sixth-grade cellist Ethan Greene, eighth-grade viola player Chiara Mosca, sixth-grade violinist Hanna Ross and seventh-grade violinist Keira Tantillo.

The district embarked on a new reading adventure this school year. The 1,000 Book Project is a voluntary, read-aloud program offered to students in kindergarten, made possible by a generous donation from the district’s From For the Kids Foundation.

At both Connetquot and Timber Point elementary schools, kindergartners were challenged to begin a journey of reading 1,000 books before they move on to the grade 3-5 buildings. To participate, students had to register for the program in their elementary building. 

The books were chosen by Sara Anderson, the district’s director of humanities alongside Connetquot Principal Danielle Flaumenhaft  and Timber Point Principal Danielle Naccarato. Each of 100 book bags provided contained 10 books, including a high quality read-aloud, two fiction read-alouds, two nonfiction read-alouds with a science or social studies focus, one counting book, one alphabet book and three titles with predictable or rhyming texts. Many of the titles were Caldecott Honor Books, Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Books or Ezra Jack Keats Honor Books.

“The heart of the 1,000 Book Project is to foster a lifelong love of reading, beginning at an early age,” said Sara Anderson, the district’s director of humanities. “The hope is that our families will enjoy the time reading together.”

The high school’s varsity wrestling team competed in the League V championships at Comsewogue High School on Feb. 3, capturing 11 medals.

Senior captain Zach Cabrera (126 pounds) and fellow senior Kiernan Stanton (220 pounds) were both finalists in their respective weight classes. Third-place winners included senior captain Nick Picece (132 pounds), junior Jonathan Guadagno (160 pounds), and sophomore Nick Agresta (182 pounds). Earning fourth place were freshman Anthony Buccino (113 pounds), junior Rich Squeglia (138 pounds), sophomore Mark Shayew (145 pounds), freshman Michael Colon (152 pounds) and senior Isaiah Robinson (182 pounds).

All Redmen wrestlers qualified to compete in the Suffolk County championships to be held on Feb. 10 at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood.

Young violinist Ella Tantillo, a fifth-grader at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½, was selected for this year’s Long Island String Festival Association concert, recognizing her as one of Suffolk County’s finest school string orchestra musicians. Tantillo was chosen based on recommendation from her orchestra teacher and her scores at last year’s New York State School Music Association Solo Festival.

A selected group of 20 high school students in technology teacher James Connell’s video production, broadcast television and independent film classes recently visited the studios of MTV News in New York City. The field trip was facilitated by Dan Montalto, the digital, television video development and digital strategy director at MTV Networks, as a way for the students to examine possible future career paths.

The students also had a chance to speak with several other professionals who work at MTV News and see what their daily work lives are like, including social media manager Josh Edwards, teleprompter operator Alissa Godwin, hip-hop writer Charles Holmes, studio and lighting technician Rory Moon, video director Steven Roberts, producer Stacey Sommer and editorial director Rebecca Thomas.

The day was filled with everything from guest speakers to watching newly edited MTV News digital essays, a trip through the editing suite as well as a film shoot within their own studio room. The students’ videos (view below) were edited and delivered back to Connell’s class by the end of the day.

“I was so happy that the students got the chance to see what it’s like to work in a professional television or online studio environment,” said Connell. “Many of my students are pursuing careers within the field and got a real in-depth look into what could be their very own future employment might look and feel like.”

The Booster Club's Spring 2018 Pridewear collection is now available on their web store. The store closes on Feb. 11.

Visit the store on the Pridewear page on the district website, under the Community tab.