JQA students recently participated in a reading pep rally with acclaimed drum band Hip Pickles. The energetic, interactive assembly included drumming, singing and humor, all with the aim of helping inspire children to read.

Artworks by two second-graders from May Moore – Camila Melgar Ayala and Mohammad Rauf – were chosen for display in the 20th annual Colors of Long Island student art exhibit, held at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook. Rauf attended the show, accompanied by teachers Briana Nussbaum and Michelle Sarco.

Sponsored by Astoria Bank, Colors of Long Island provides K-12 students the opportunity to showcase their artistic talents in a professional museum setting.

Rauf’s pumpkin piece and Melgar Ayala’s acorn painting, both watercolors, were inspired by the colorful patterns of artist Romero Britto.

Finishing their season with an outstanding 20-3 record, the high school’s varsity boys basketball team won the League IV championship – their fifth league title in seven years. Led by coach John McCaffrey, the Falcons advanced to the Suffolk Class AA county championship game for the third time in six years.

Six members of the team were honored at the Suffolk Boys Basketball Coaches Association banquet, held on April 11. Sophomore Malik Edmead was named All-County and selected to the Newsday All-Long Island second team as well as the All-Tournament team. Freshman D’Andre Edwards was named All-League and League IV Rookie of the Year. Senior Josh Pismeny was selected All-Conference,  senior Marquis Major was selected SCBCA All-County Academic team, and seniors Keshaun Jones and De’Shawn Todman were named All-League.

The high school’s dedicated student-actors found success with the recent production of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” Originally performed in 1961, the popular Broadway musical comedy was revived on Broadway in 2014 for its 50th anniversary. Featuring music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, this satire of big business was based on Shepherd Mead’s 1952 book of the same name. 

The Deer Park production, directed by Kristen Wallace, starred Nolan Maggio as J. Pierrepont Finch, Madi Steddick as Rosemary Pilkington and Anthony Machuca as J.B. Biggley. Catherine Lubrano served as musical director, Scott Abrams as pit director, Alex Mesimeris as set director and Tori DiTomasso as student director.

“It was such an honor to work with such amazingly talented actors, dancers, musicians, artists and crew members,” said Wallace. “I am grateful for the support and energy of the other directors, faculty musicians and parents. Everyone worked tirelessly to make ‘How to Succeed’ the success it was.”

For the second consecutive year, two of Deer Park’s schools – Robert Frost and JFK – were recognized by the Better Outcomes organization for their outstanding work in boosting the achievement of economically disadvantaged students via the “Beating the Odds and Building Opportunities” study of New York State demographic data and ELA assessments. Out of 1,128 New York State public schools that had 40 percent or more economically disadvantaged students, Frost and JFK had 25 percent or more score 3 or 4 in 2016 ELA and 65 percent scoring 2, 3 or more.

The district honored both schools at the March 27 Board of Education meeting, presenting certificates to the principals of both schools, Susan Bonner of JFK and Dr. Eliana Levey of Frost.

“My congratulations to both principals for achieving this, it’s quite a feat,” said Superintendent of Schools Eva Demyen. “My thanks to the teachers, also.”

“We are humbled to be honored and recognized for the hard work our students and teachers put in every day toward success,” said Levey.

“At JFK, we have increased our Academic Intervention Services in reading and mathematics, where necessary, to service more students,” said Bonner. “Teachers in the building have also increased extra help time and some of our AIS teachers now push into classrooms, which also provides opportunities to reach and support a larger amounts of students. Classroom teachers have large leveled libraries in their classrooms to support the diverse reading needs of students. These libraries allow for students to be reading on their level and in a topic of their choice.”

The high school’s Falconettes kickline team recently participated in the annual Contest of Champions national competition, held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and came home champions, earning first place in the military category. The team also placed second in the kick category.

“We are very proud of all that the girls have accomplished this season,” said coach Ariel Miano.

Eighth-grade social studies teachers from Robert Frost recently met with their ninth-grade counterparts at the high school to discuss the new format of the global history Regents examination. The teachers were also invited to Karen Haar and Vanessa Whitney’s global history class to help students draft their essays.

“All of our teachers have been hard at work creating new resources and collaborating to best prepare students,” said Heather Stewart, the district’s curriculum associate for social studies and family and consumer science.

Young actors at Robert Frost had a chance to play detective with the school’s recent production of “Gumshoe High.” Written by Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus, the film noir-style play sets its mystery inside a high school.

“We did a mystery this year, which is something I wouldn’t have chosen in the past, but there was something about ‘Gumshoe High’ that I found to be special,” said Director Michael Moriarty. “The actors and crew didn’t disappoint in bringing the play to life.”

The large, talented cast included Justin Berman as Drexton Cage, Alexa Wesnofske as Betty Ann, Karly Haskins as Chapter, Michelle Xuan as Glossary, Elisya Clermont as Index, Drea Hendrickson as Carmen Hardstone/Peniscola Jones, Steven Discenza as Fred Backwards, Zaara Azizi as Sheila, Antonio Meyers as Trident, Paul-Destin Cyril Blanc as Scatters, Nala Francis as Snake, Joel Nash as Buster/Smilin Bob, Marina Williams as Sal, Theresa Tiernan as Giggles Fontaine, Madalynn Bernstein as Victoria/Patience. Anthony Aguilar as Reginald Wellington III, Brianne Vasconcellos as Electra, Dimitra Pavlatos as Cloris, Marcus Fasano as Abner Johnson, Muskan Kaur as Sylvia, Carson Warkenthien as Royalty Hal, Gianna Sanchez as Maxine/Georgia, Mia Malcoln as Meryl, Sebastian Linares Lopez as Sincere Thatcher/Olivier, and Aruba Nadeem as Parker Roberts.

“This season was tough, due to the flu and the weather, but once again, the students of Robert Frost stepped up and gave a great performance,” said Moriarty.

Bringing a novel note to promoting a love of literacy, May Moore’s annual READ program concluded with the students wearing faux mustaches to school to remind everyone of the importance of reading. Joining in on the “Mustache you to READ” fun were head custodian Michael Sheehan, whose mustache is real, and Principal Alicia Konecny.

A total of 28 Deer Park High School business students competed in DECA’s New York State Career Development Conference, held on March 6 in Rochester, and seniors William Buckley and Sean Sanchez and freshmen Jasleen Kaur and Chaim Shames earned trophies at the event.  These four students, along with honorable mention winners Nimra Salim and Esteysy Yanes-Amaya, with move on to the International Career Development Conference, to be held in Atlanta from April 21-24. Kaur and Shames are the first freshmen to ever qualify for the international competition.

Jump Rope for Heart – a national education and fundraising event sponsored by the American Heart Association – recently came to Deer Park’s May Moore Primary School to promote physical activity and healthier lifestyle and eating habits. During a week of physical education classes with teacher Craig Mangio, students learned about the importance of maintaining a heart-healthy exercise routine and participated in aerobic activities like jumping rope. Funds raised will support potential lifesaving research on heart and blood vessel disease and stroke. 

“At May Moore, we are joining in the fight against our nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers: cardiovascular diseases and stroke,” said Associate Principal Heather Levine. “Our physical education teachers designed this week to help our children learn about the importance of heart-healthy exercise.”

Each quarter at Robert Frost, one gold card student for each team, per grade, is randomly selected to spin a special wheel, giving them an opportunity to win prizes such as gift cards or lunch with their favorite teachers.

A total of 23 student-artists from Robert Frost and May Moore were recently chosen for the 2018 Suffolk County Art Leaders Association Children’s Show, which is held annually in cooperation with the Babylon Citizens Council of the Arts. The students and their families attended the show’s reception, enjoying the chance to view their artwork on display.

Deer Park’s SCALA/BACCA Children’s Show participants were Noah Barclift, Jayda Barnes, Antonio Colon, Dania Fadel, Sophia Fasano, Taylor Gaskin-Grawford, Jade Griffin, Jose Iglesias, Tasfiya Haque, Alexia Haynes, Ermilia Honore, Ronnie Horner, Cyrus Hossain, Kathy Lin, Layla King, Kylie McGarty, Marissa Mongelli, Sarah Naqui, Anthony Peschke, Sarai Ponce, Mikaela Ponte, William Rivera and Sophia Zorakhsh.

More than 23 local Long Island authors were in attendance at an author evening last month, hosted by JFK in the school’s large gym. As students roamed around the gym collecting autographs and purchasing books, the authors spoke to them about topics such as obtaining story ideas, putting ideas down on paper, the research that goes into creating a book and publication.

At a recent writing celebration day in Marcella Biordi and Phyllis Senia’s co-teaching class at JQA, students proudly read their informational pieces in front of an invited audience of family members. Some of the pieces were written in other languages and translated into English, with students reading in both languages.

“It was so wonderful to see the students light up as they shared the writing they worked so hard on,” said Biordi.

“We really enjoy inviting the parents to attend celebrations that showcase the students’ work in the classroom,” said Senia. “Everyone had an amazing time.”

For the second consecutive year, thoughtful students at the high school and Robert Frost celebrated P.S. I Love You Day by wearing purple to represent a stand against bullying and support for ending depression and preventing suicide.

P.S. I Love You Day was started in 2010 by West Islip teenager Brooke DiPalma, following the tragic suicides of her father and a senior at her school. The event, held each year on the second Friday of February, promotes positive messages of love, acceptance and community, symbolized by the color purple.

At the high school, the Community Service Club and student council hung notes with positive messages and sayings on every student's locker, every teacher’s door and all of the supporting staff members’ desks.

“The students’ efforts let everyone know how much they are appreciated and how much they matter at Deer Park High School,” said ELA teacher Christine DiProperzio, who serves as adviser for the Community Service Club and student council. “With all of the negativity on social media and on the news, we wanted to make sure that everyone in our building knew how much they mattered to our school and our community. We were pleasantly surprised that the signs stayed up for a few days, and even more surprised when we saw some of the kids saved their signs and hung them inside their lockers.”

Over at Robert Frost, the school’s student council shared the message of P.S. I Love You Day, guided by teachers Dani Iadevaia and Denise Tassey.

“This is an amazing cause,” said Associate Principal Philip Paniccia. “We asked everyone to wear purple to show support. We hoped that on that day, students and staff would be able to walk around the school and see a sea of purple, and hear nothing but positive messages that make them feel special and loved and remind them that they are never alone.”

At JFK, classroom teacher Christine MacQuarrie, AIS math provider Rosanne Alfieri and teaching assistant Randi Cortina teamed up last month to host a Chinese New Year celebration.

The trio of educators incorporated cultural awareness as well as math lessons, enabling students to help prepare egg drop soup, lo mein and fried rice to celebrate the holiday. The children read recipes and learned how to use measurement skills such as calculating cups, teaspoons, pounds, ounces and temperature.

“It was a great afternoon with delicious food and learning about math and culture,” said Alfieri.

Vincenza Grippe and Julianne Scrogham, both AP art studio students at the high school, were recently chosen for the LIU Post “Advanced Visions 14: High School Artists of Excellence” exhibit. This prestigious annual exhibit highlights the work of talented high school art students across Long Island, and pieces by Grippe and Scrogham were displayed at Post’s Student Art League gallery in the B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Library.

“My experience at Advanced Visions was amazing,” said Grippe. “I showcased my work in front of many people, including college professors. I am grateful for this opportunity and would do it again.”

“Being able to have my work shown at LIU Post was a huge learning experience for me,” said Scrogham. “I had the opportunity to see artwork by other artists my age, as well as receive feedback on my own work, which I am very grateful for.”

Derek Mainhart, the students’ AP art studio teacher, said, “I am so proud of Vincenza and Julianne’s accomplishments, and am gratified that they took advantage of this wonderful opportunity to display their artwork to the public.”

Staff at JFK recently wore red to honor Go Red for Women Day. Each year, JFK gives back by supporting this campaign through the American Heart Association.

“It is a great day for us to join together,” said fourth-grade teacher Keri Schumacher. “We all donate to the cause, wear red and take a great picture!”

In honor of Black History Month, JQA students met characters like Anansi in stories from the folktale traditions from across Africa while participating in a Feb. 16 assembly with the Bright Star Touring Company. African music helped to set the stage for the energetic stories, which included origin fables and trickster tales.  

Continuing a timeless tradition, first-grade students at May Moore celebrated Chinese New Year by learning all about Lunar New Year traditions, creating mystical paper dragons and then marching through the school’s hallways in a Feb. 16 parade, joined by the school’s kindergartners. The first-graders then enjoyed delicious Chinese food with their parents and classmates.

Author Dina Santorelli, known for her suspenseful “Baby Grand” trilogy, recently spoke with creative writing classes at the high school. During the visit, held at the school’s auditorium, Santorelli told the students about her writing process and how she started self-publishing. She also provided tips and websites that can help young authors get started, and discussed how to self-promote on social media.

Taking a theatrical trip to New York City, seventh-graders at  Robert Frost recently saw the musical comedy “Elf” at Madison Square Garden, experiencing the talents of a real orchestra while enjoying the show’s message of discovering the joy of friends, family and a positive attitude.