On Oct. 26, 175 students from High School East and High School West attended a Lunch and Learn about the STEAM Careers program, organized by the district’s Industry Advisory Board STEAM Committee. The event was sponsored by LIU Post, Microsoft and the Robotics Booster Club.

Twenty-five companies and 12 colleges/post-secondary schools participated in the event. Students traveled around the library of Smithtown High School West, learning about the vast variety of careers in the science, technology, engineering, art/design and mathematics field.  

Microsoft, Disney Live Streaming, IBM, FAA, BAE Systems, D’Addario and many other companies demonstrated their goods and services and spoke to the Smithtown students about future career opportunities. Hofstra University, Adelphi University, St. Joseph’s College, Suffolk County Community College, LIU Post, the Aviation Academy, Hunter Business School and several other post-secondary institutions spoke to students about different majors and programs related to STEAM occupations.

On Oct. 27, students from Great Hollow Middle School and Dogwood Elementary School joined forces to help fight hunger. Members of the schools’ Peanut Butter Gang community service clubs visited Hospitality, Too soup kitchen in Brentwood. They made peanut butter sandwiches for distribution at various locations on Long Island and in New York City, and also helped serve a hot lunch to soup kitchen guests. In addition, the students distributed Halloween costumes that were collected at drives held in both buildings.

The Smithtown boys cross-country team won the overall Suffolk county team championship at Sunken Meadow on Oct. 23. The team average of 16:48.10 is the fastest Smithtown team ever to run at Sunken Meadow. Nick DeFelice led the charge with a fast 16:20.75. His time is the Smithtown High School West record and the second fastest time ever for a Smithtown athlete. Kevin Cawley followed closely behind for fourth overall in 16:34. Mike Danzi (16:50), David Cabello (16:58) and John Cuff (17:16) were the scoring five. Nick Muellers (17:40) and Brayden Vassilas (17:41) rounded out the team points.

Accompsett Elementary School took a bite out of healthy eating by celebrating Big Apple Crunch on Oct. 18. Businesses, schools, organizations and individuals all over the globe take part in the “crunch heard around the world” by celebrating good eating habits. The event was also a kickoff to the school’s Red Ribbon Week.

It was a family connect night at this fall’s Parent University hosted by the district at High School East on Oct. 17.

Parents, along with their children, had the option to attend one of three different workshops in the evening: Mindfulness for Families, Drug/Vaping Awareness and Prevention or School Safety and Security. 

In the lobby entrance, health-based clubs and organizations, such as Students Against Vaping and E-Cigarettes and the Future Community and Career Leaders of America clubs, handed out literature and healthy snacks to attendees.

The School Safety and Security workshop addressed safety and procedures within the district’s buildings as well policies of the local police department. Accompsett Middle School Principal Paul McNeil presented information to parents in attendance as did the district’s head of security and local law enforcement officials. 

The Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence spoke to both parents and students on the dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes, drug and alcohol awareness and addiction as well as consequences for using on school grounds. The presentation also offered advice for parents on keeping their children safe and resources offered by the council.

The mindfulness workshop, presented by Kim Embry, gave families the opportunity to learn techniques together, such as breathing, movement and meditation. 

It was a day of fun, food, festivities and football at High School West on Oct. 20 as the local community celebrated with the annual homecoming carnival and football game. Not only did kids get to enjoy some inflatables, games and activities, but the crowd left happy, as the Bulls were victorious against visiting Riverhead, 25-13.

Before the game kicked off, senior cheerleaders and football players were recognized for their years of commitment to High School West. They individually welcomed their loved ones onto the football field to take part in the special celebration. Once the football game started, it was back to business. The first half was full of back-and-forth action, but after an exceptional halftime show provided by the cheerleaders and Whisperettes kick line, West controlled the second half, leading to their victory. 

Matt Caddigan led the way with 145 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and on defense, the Bulls held up strong. Jharius Bernard picked off a pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown, and Spencer Frank had an interception of his own, which led to a Chris Bruce-Tagoe 29-yard touchdown score. Ethan Vanderbrink led the defense with 12 tackles and four sacks in what was a true team win.

As is the annual homecoming tradition, the homecoming king and queen were recognized at halftime. The crowd erupted as Patrick Kinane and Chloe Mango were named king and queen, respectively. 

High School East research students recently worked on a hands-on, collaborative research study at Short Beach in Nissequogue, led by High School East research coordinator Maria Zeitlin. Short Beach was selected for its relevance to High School East students as citizen science is inspired when students look into their own backyards.

“This collaborative ecosystem monitoring project is designed to celebrate the river and estuary ecosystems and educate participants on the uniqueness of Long Island’s wild and scenic rivers,” said Ms. Zeitlin. “On a single day, environmental education partners and students all along the Nissequogue river simultaneously collected scientific information, analyzed it and shared it to portray the status of the river and estuary ecosystem.”

Students use hands-on field techniques to perform scientific data collection to assess the health of this part of the river. They sample fish populations using seine nets, perform chemical analysis of water samples including phosphate, nitrate, and oxygen levels. They inventory site descriptions by drawing pictures and using photography. Students examine the physical attributes of the site with data collection relating to wind speed and direction, current flow, as well as sedimentation and turbidity of the water. Upon return to school, data was uploaded to a central website for comparison and analysis with the nine other districts that collaborated on the study.

Eighth-graders in Katerina Skandalakis’ science class at Great Hollow Middle School tested Newton’s First Law of Motion – an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force – during a hands-on station demonstration lab on Oct. 4.

With more than a dozen different stations, students rotated around the room and recorded their findings about how the different laws of motion worked. Some of the many hands-on activities included trying to catch a penny off their elbows, stacking bowls and getting them to drop together, spinning an egg, simulating a car accident using toy cars, pulling a tablecloth out from under a stack of dishes and trying to get a Lego figure to drop into a beaker. 

Both on and off the athletic fields, Great Hollow Middle School’s students, faculty, coaches and spectators joined together in the fight against cancer. The school held its seventh annual Coaches vs. Cancer event on Oct. 3.

Throughout the day, students and faculty dressed in yellow to show their awareness of childhood cancer. As part of the fundraising event, students purchased a wristband for an entrance on one of several games taking place that afternoon. The field hockey, football, and boys and girls soccer took to the field to support the cause. Great Hollow’s kickline and cheerleaders performed during halftime. The school and community raised about $3,000 and donated the money raised to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

Throughout the week of Oct. 1, Mills Pond Elementary School held a Peace Week celebration, spearheaded by the school’s Shanti Fund Committee to recognize the work of Mahatma Gandhi.

Themed “Peace Is Cool,” the activities kicked off with different mindfulness activities such as yoga, breathing, stretching and relaxation techniques. In the lobby, a peace graffiti bulletin board was created so students could write what peace means to them. Each morning announcement throughout the week featured a different peace quote read by the fourth-graders.

On Oct. 4, the school joined together for a peace walk, dressed in white shirts and blue jeans. To conclude the week’s activities, the students created a chalk mural on the school’s sidewalk featuring different peace quotes.  

Having fun, keeping active and helping to raise funds for its Parent-Teacher Association, students at Tackan Elementary School participated in a Boosterthon Fun Run on Oct. 3.

Dressed in their school spirit wear, the students went outside to run the race course. Students garnered pledges from family and friends for each lap they ran. The money raised, more than $15,000 in total, will be used to benefit the PTA’s Cultural Arts programs. 

As the students ran the course, teachers marked off each lap completed on the back of their shirt. Since the school exceed their fundraising goal, the students had the chance to duct tape Tackan Principal Dr. Allyn Leeds to the wall. 

Seventh-grade student-scientists in Jessica D’Angelo’s class at Great Hollow Middle School are learning about diffusion and osmosis by experimenting on eggs.

During the course of three days, the students performed procedures to see how water molecules diffuse across an egg’s membrane in different solutions. The students started by placing an egg in a beaker and covering it in vinegar for 24 hours. After recording how the shell of the egg dissolved, the students put the eggs in either a mixture of Karo syrup and water or colored water for another 24 hours. Lastly, the students swapped their eggs with another lab group for the final 24 hours. The students observed and recorded their findings about the process of osmosis. 

Students at St. James Elementary School are engaged in an outdoor, hands-on learning experience thanks to a new chicken coop and three chickens purchased by the school’s Parent Teacher Association. The coop is housed in an enclosed courtyard area that has floor to ceiling glass walls, so the chickens can be observed at all times.

The outdoor learning space will be used for the study and care of the chickens. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade will participate in observing, learning about and caring for our chickens. They will also collect eggs daily, which parents can pick up and bring home. 

“We hope this outdoor learning experience will help serve as a concrete example of the life cycle, a closer connection to our food (eggs) and the important role students will have in caring for animals,” said St. James Elementary Principal MaryGrace Lynch. 

The chickens have been named for the three character traits the school will highlight throughout the year – Aretha (for respect), Teresa (after Mother Teresa for compassion) and Mickey (after John McCain for courage). 

High School East celebrated its homecoming on Sept. 29 with a day full of activities. Kicking off the celebration was a parade that began at St. James Elementary School and ended on the track of High School East.

Led by the marching band and High School East Principal Dr. Kevin Simmons, the homecoming parade featured class floats in addition to members of the HSE, Great Hollow Middle School and Nesaquake Middle School sports teams and clubs.

East’s offense came in ready to play, picking up 17 points in the first half. Newfield countered with 3 points, leaving the score at 17-3 going into the half. The offense for Smithtown East continued to do well in the second half, scoring another 21 points to put the game away. The beat the Wolverines by a score of 38-24. 

The East cheerleaders, joined on the track by Great Hollow and Nesaquake’s squads, entertained the crowd throughout the game. The halftime show featured performances by the varsity cheerleaders, award-winning Whisperettes and the Dynamic baton twirlers. Following the show, members of the homecoming court were called onto the field to name this year’s king and queen. Jimmy Burns and Elizabeth Lebci were crowned king and queen. 

Fifth-graders in Janis Frankel’s class at Smithtown Elementary School started off the new school year playing engaging games during math class that focused on place value. The objective of the game was to identify place values to create larger numbers. The game was a fun way to review math skills, make new friends and work cooperatively with their classmates.

Prior to the start of the 2018-2019 school year, Smithtown Central School District’s three middle schools – Accompsett, Great Hollow and Nesaquake – held orientations for their incoming sixth-grade class.

During the last week of August, all of the schools welcomed students to the buildings for orientation to meet with their teachers and explore their new surroundings. Administrators and faculty members were on hand to answer questions and help ease the transition to their new school. After a brief presentation, students were given their schedules and locker information. 

Following the orientations, students were able to walk through their schedule, find their lockers, meet their new classmates and reconnect with friends.