Deer Park High School sophomore Brandon Knapp was recently signed out to study abroad in Spain and play in a highly competitive soccer league for the Escuela de Futbol Huesca Academy’s team.

Prior to this calendar school year, Knapp played school soccer for Deer Park and travel league soccer for Northport. Two summers ago, he attended a soccer camp in Northport that featured five coaches from professional teams and academies in Spain, and was asked to visit Huesca to see academy life there and gain an understanding of the Spanish game. Upon completion of his visit, Knapp was invited to join the academy in the beginning of his sophomore year. He arrived in Spain on Aug. 14 for the beginning of preseason training, which included Spanish tutoring, practices, core exercises and weekend games. His academic school year at Huesca Academy began Sept. 13.

Alison Branca has been named the curriculum associate for science and technology for the district.

Since 2008, Branca had taught a variety of classes at Deer Park High School including AP environmental science, Regents and inclusion earth science as well as an assortment of science electives. She also mentored new teachers and served as a lead teacher.

The Smithtown resident earned a bachelor’s degree in geology and master’s degree from SUNY Plattsburgh, a degree in special education from Brooklyn College, and certificates in educational leadership from the College of Saint Rose.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to work with my colleagues in a different capacity,” said Branca. “Moving forward, my goal is to provide comprehensive learning experiences for the students of Deer Park and collaborative opportunities for our teachers as we implement new science and technology learning standards.”    

Mike Joyce, a 2018 graduate of the high school, recently built a trophy case for the high school band room for his Eagle Scout project. Joyce, along with his scoutmaster and father Michael Joyce, and several scouts from Boy Scout Troop 157, delivered and installed the trophy case this summer.

“I want to thank Mike for his project, which will benefit the high school’s music department for years to come,” said high school band director Jerry Cannarozzo. “We finally have a showcase in the band room to display our many trophies and awards.”

Students across the district streamed into the schools on Sept. 5, ready to start their first day back with excitement.

“Every first day of the new school year brings many new faces, much excitement and a lot of energy to our our school,” said JFK Principal Susan Bonner. “This year we welcomed 893 smiling faces who were ready to learn from a teaching staff that was ready to teach.”

“We had an amazing start to the school year,” said Robert Frost Principal Eliana Levey. “It was so great to see all the bright faces eager to get back to learning.”

James Henry has been named an associate principal for Robert Frost, replacing Gary Ramonetti.

Henry previously served for the past two years as the district’s curriculum associate for math and business in grades 6-12. Before that, he taught math at Deer Park High School for a dozen years, including algebra pre-calculus and pre-AP calculus, and served as a mentor to new teachers, lead teacher for Algebra Common Core and a member of the model classroom, as well as director of the high school’s winter play and musical, and as a class and National Honor Society adviser.

A Hauppauge resident, Henry earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from St. Josephs College in Patchogue, his master’s degree in arts and liberal sciences at Stony Brook University, and his school building and school district leadership certificates from the College of Saint Rose.

“I am really excited to take on this position after being a curriculum associate for two years,” said Henry. “I look forward to working with Dr. Levey, Mr. Paniccia, and the amazing staff and students at Robert Frost Middle School.”

The dedicated young volunteers known as the Girls that Give Back, a group of 16 Robert Frost students led by parent Rosemarie Franciscovich, recently took on a special community service project for Mosaic Farms in Brentwood, painting the organization’s logo on their shed. Guided by Maria Giglio, an art teacher at Frost who also volunteered, the students spent three hours for three nights working on the shed.

Robert Frost debuted a new “A World of Difference” club this past school year. The group of staff and students met throughout the year to discuss ways to help Frost achieve the Anti-Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” school designation. The club participated in four different activities to help other students treat each other with respect, earning the school a “No Place for Hate” gold star designation from the ADL.

Aquatics Director Jeanne-Marie Kavanagh paid a visit to May Moore, joining physical education classes to discuss water safety, drowning prevention, the use of life jackets and preservers, and home and beach supervision guidelines. 

Deer Park students showed their environmental and artistic skills in the 12th annual Covanta recycling poster contest, showcasing the theme of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” Student winners included JFK’s Isabella LaPuerta, who won second place in the contest; JFK’s Gloria Minn, who finished third; May Moore Primary School’s Erin Wong, who won fourth place; and JFK’s Adriana Herbster, who won sixth. Each student was awarded a trophy for their artwork, a Town of Babylon certificate and a recycling-related gift.

Students in food and nutrition classes at the high school prepared acai bowls after completing a unit on super foods.

“The bowls were yummy, delicious and nutritious,” said family and consumer science teacher Patricia Skjoldahl.

First- and second-graders at May Moore had the opportunity to observe the life cycle of ladybugs in Danielle Finocchiaro’s ENL classroom.
The students studied the different stages of the insect’s life cycle prior to the arrival of the ladybug larvae. Each day, the excited students made observations and recorded them in their journals, just like scientists. When the larvae finally changed into adult ladybugs, the students were able to hold them and release the ladybugs into the school’s garden.

“The ladybugs are going to make the garden very happy because they’re going to eat all the aphids,” said first-grader Natalia Blanco Canales.

“This was a wonderful opportunity for our English language learners to ask questions, research the answers and participate in a hands-on learning experience,” said Finocchiaro.

Robert Frost again participated in the Band-Aid Project this year, a nationwide movement that promotes awareness and acceptance of people with autism and developmental disabilities. The school earned an award for a video created for the initiative.

More than 225 Frost students pledged to be speechless by wearing a band-aid on their mouths for an entire school day, only using others means of communication such as dry erase boards, paper and pencil, and gesturing with their teachers and peers during classes. 

“The goal of the project was to teach students what it is like to have a disability,” said speech teacher Stephanie O'Connell. “Once the students have this insight, it is my hope that they will be more compassionate and understanding of their peers who might be different from them. Fostering friendships between students of all abilities is the ultimate goal.”

A Band-Aid Project video was also made highlighting five Frost students who have a brother or sister with special needs. The video was honored by being selected for an award by the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission’s Interfaith Anti-Bias Task Force.

View the Robert Frost Band-Aid Project video here.