Smithtown Central School District celebrated the accomplishments of High School East’s Class of 2017 during its 102st annual commencement exercise on June 22. The 427 graduates marched proudly onto the football field to “Pomp and Circumstance” and were welcomed by Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Jennifer Bradshaw, who spoke to the Class of 2017 about smart goals and dream-driven goals. “You don’t have to pick one or the other for your goals,” she said. “Today, your graduation day, is a noteworthy accomplishment. But it is only one day that represents the culmination of 13 years of studying. You should be proud of the work that got you here. But as you embark on the next stage of life, consider not just your next goal, consider your next journey and how you want to spend that journey.” East Principal Dr. Kevin Simmons urged the graduates to dream big. “This is an unbelievably exciting time in your life,” he said. “All doors are open as you decide what your next chapter in life will be. Keep making informed choices and educated decisions. Continue to test yourself and stay committed to your beliefs because you know what’s best for you. We are so proud of your current accomplishments and we look forward to hearing all of your future successes as well.” Student honor speaker Kyle DiPietrantonio, who is selected by the class instead of a valedictorian or salutatorian, took a moment to reflect on how far the class has come in the past four years at Smithtown High School East. “These past four years, we have been working to create our own identity,” he said. “You have the power to make a difference. You have the ability to impact and influence. Leave your legacy.” Senior class president Juneve Porciello addressed her fellow classmates and spoke about how graduation wasn’t the end but a new beginning. “Today, we are not saying goodbye, we are saying hello to our future,” she said. “The days in front of us are what hold the greatest adventure. It’s time to take the next step in our journey.” The 400-plus members of the Class of 2017 were then called to the stage one by one to receive their diplomas and pose for a picture before tossing their caps high into the air to celebrate the end of their time at High School East.
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Accompsett Elementary School gathered all the students outside for a photo opportunity in the shape of the number 50. Thanks to the help of the Smithtown High School West Robotics team, a drone was flown overhead to snap the picture while students sang their school song in unison.
It was an afternoon of pride and sentiment as 427 graduates from High School West’s Class of 2017 celebrated an important academic milestone during the 102nd annual commencement exercises on the football field on June 22. After a salute to the flag, the jazz choir sang the national anthem, followed by Superintendent of Schools Dr. James Grossane’s welcome to the students and their guests. In giving advice to the graduates, Dr. Grossane called on the lessons learned in the readings of “Winnie the Pooh” stories as they related to individuality, unselfishness, comfort, wealth and trust. “Trust in your abilities to deal with anything,” he said. Honor speaker Cory Zhou, who was elected by his peers in lieu of a valedictorian and salutatorian, encouraged classmates to find passion in their lives and to use their natural talents. “Do not subjugate your gifts out of fear,” he said. “Instead, flaunt them and be proud of them.” Class president Courtney Grafstein spoke about the importance of reaching out to others. “Everything we do, no matter how small, can make a difference in the lives of others,” she noted. Prior to the presentation of the class, Principal John Coady thanked the students for their assistance in making Smithtown High School West a school of excellence. “You have left a mark on this school,” he said. “I thank you for what you have done and what you will do.” After each graduate was called to the stage to receive his or her diploma from administration and faculty, concert choir seniors and the jazz choir paid tribute to the parents and graduates with a performance of “The Sweetest Days.”
Volunteer members of the Nesconset Fire Department visited with students at Tackan Elementary School to demonstrate some hands-on fire safety lessons on June 8. Fire department members brought a fire truck, ambulance and a smoke house to give students the opportunity to learn about fire safety first hand. Students were able to board the ambulance in small groups and learn about the different tools inside to help people and when to call an ambulance in an emergency situation. Tackan students also learned about the different functions of the fire truck, what to do if there’s a fire in their home and how to get out safely while also allowing the firemen to do their jobs. They also got to use the fire hose and take turns being firemen. In the smokehouse, students had a hands-on lesson in fire safety, learning how to react in a real emergency situation and get out safely.
Congratulations to the fifth-graders who will be moving up to their respective middle schools in September. Please click here for a slideshow of all the elementary fifth-grade classes.
During May, the TECHKNOW Kids Team from Accompsett Elementary School introduced third-grade students to their first Google Apps for Education accounts and taught them about safe Chromebook usage. Accompanied by Google Slides presentations, the TECHKNOW Kids visited all four third-grade classrooms and shared their wealth of Google knowledge. The TECHKNOW Kids Team, made up of 45 fifth-graders, is a club that gives students the opportunity to explore the more technical side of technology.
To show their appreciation for the faculty and staff at Branch Brook, the PTA bought each person a hibiscus tree to remember their years of service to the school.
Smithtown Elementary students in grades 2-4 are getting a chance to be creative in the library with Keva Planks.
Fifth-grade classes at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School were introduced to inner workings of the country’s legal system thanks to the Trials of Goldilocks, presented by Hofstra University law professor Glen Vogel. Sponsored by the PTA’s Arts in Education Program, the presentation introduces students to the basic elements of the legal system, particularly Constitutional rights, the workings of the court system and the elements of a criminal trial. The program chronicles the arrest and trial of Goldilocks, who has been charged with petit larceny, trespassing and criminal mischief. Mt. Pleasant fifth-graders portrayed the main characters and courtroom personnel, while the judge and jury consisted of fourth-grade teachers and students who decided Goldilocks’ fate.
On May 18, Mt. Pleasant Elementary students participated in their annual Field Day. The day kicked off with relay races in the morning, followed by a fun run/walk in the afternoon. Grades K-4 watched the fifth-grade classes battle in a tug-of-war.
It was a royal affair to remember as second-graders at Dogwood Elementary School held a Fairy Tale Ball on May 23. As a culminating activity in their study of fairy tales, the students dressed as their favorite fairy tale characters for the occasion. After spending weeks learning about the characteristics of fairy tales, writing different endings to fairy tales and analyzing the characters, the second-graders performed their fairy tales for invited guests.
Five students from Mt. Pleasant Elementary School represented their elementary school at the 10th annual Suffolk County Math Tournament at Stony Brook University on May 11. Erika Gehrling, Daniel Huertas, Kristina Nitis, Ryan Stiles and Amanda Tragna worked diligently, both individually and together as a team, to solve complex mathematical problems in the Math Olympiad style tournament.
On June 8, Accompsett Middle School held the Quarter 4 Students of Distinction Ceremony. This program recognizes two students from each academic team for their exemplary effort and outstanding work.
The breakfast and ceremony was held in the AMS Library Media Center. Our school counselors, Ms. Bootle and Ms. Richardson, read a brief message on the distinguishing qualities of each honoree. We would like to congratulate each of our Students of Distinction for embodying and modeling achievement, manners, and spirit in their daily performance.
Fifth-graders in Diane Lanze’s class at Mills Pond Elementary School held a Mexican celebration on May 16. Students learned all about the geography, economy and culture of Mexico while also sampling some delicious Mexican cuisine such as empanadas and quesadillas.
With shovels in hand, fourth-grade members of the Cares Club from Mills Pond Elementary School traveled to St. James Nursing Home to help brighten the day of its residents. The students spent the afternoon of May 10 planting various flowers alongside the seniors on their outdoor patio.
Kindergarten students at St. James Elementary School gave their mothers and special guests the royal treatment as they walked the red carpet to enter their Mother’s Day celebration on May 12. The kindergartners lined the hallways as their special guests walked in. After escorting them to their classrooms, the students shared special stories about why their mothers are so important, sang songs and had treats together to celebrate Mother’s Day.
Kindergarten classes at Mills Pond Elementary School celebrated Mother’s Day by rolling out the red carpet for special guests on May 12. As the mothers and invited guests walked down the kindergarten corridor, they were greeted by their special student who presented them with a handmade paper flower and accompanied them down the red carpet. Back in their classrooms, the students shared stories on things their mothers do best and messages from each student displayed on the board as they bonded during snacktime. The kindergartners also sang songs about their moms and why they are so special.
Students from St. James Elementary School participated in the first Fit Kids Day, sponsored by Suffolk Zone of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. The event was held at Lincoln Avenue Elementary School in Sayville on May 8. St. James Elementary was one of 12 Suffolk County schools chosen to participate in this pilot program. Based on their fitness-gram scores as well as their overall character, physical education teachers Tom Vulin and Patti Petrucelli selected 24 fourth- and fifth-graders. The students competed in fitness-based individual and team events. They learned teamwork, good sportsmanship as well as the importance of maintaining physical fitness throughout their lives.
Seventh-graders at Nesaquake Middle School learned firsthand about animal rescue and what they can do in their own communities when Stephen Edghill from Animal Planet’s show Guardians of Rescue visited the school on May 1. The Guardians of Rescue organization works on Long Island and surrounding areas to help animals that may be neglected or abused. Edghill spoke to the students about how they can educate people on caring for their pets and how they can get the word out in their communities. Nesaquake Middle School students work on the Genius Hour, which allows them one hour per week during school to explore their passions and encourages creativity. Students in Marissa LoSardo’s seventh-grade English class are currently working on an empathy project and many students chose animal shelters to support. After a question and answer session following Edghill’s presentation, the students felt empowered to spark a conversation and help make a change.
Do you promise not to quibble or quarrel? I now pronounce you "qua".
It was a night under the stars, as the fifth-graders at St. James Elementary School showed off their poetic prowess during the school’s annual Poetry Café on April 26. In the transformed gymnasium, invited guests lounged on cozy couches, sat at café tables complete with dimly lit candles and snapped their fingers as each student shared their original poetry. The Poetry Café gave students a chance to not only show off their writing skills, but also their public speaking and presentation skills.
Fifth-grade students from Smithtown Elementary School presented three performances of “Seussical Kids” to their school community, senior gold card members, family and friends from April 5-7. Along with Smithtown Elementary School music teachers Lyndsay Payne and Esther Yoon, the fifth-graders worked for five months to learn the music, lines and dances.
Kindergartners at Dogwood Elementary School recently performed “An Adventure in Mother Goose Land” for fellow students and their families. In the story, Mother Hubbard’s dog loses his bone and she, along with Mother Goose, asks a succession of different characters if they have seen it. At the end of the play, the bone is found in the grandfather clock from “Hickory Dickory Dock.”
On Thursday, May 18, 2017 Accompsett Middle School held the Quarter 3 Students of Distinction Ceremony. This program recognizes two students from each academic team for their exemplary effort and outstanding work. The breakfast and ceremony was held in the AMS Library Media Center. Our school counselors, Ms. Bootle and Ms. Richardson, read a brief message on the distinguishing qualities of each honoree. We would like to congratulate each of our Students of Distinction for embodying and modeling achievement, manners, and spirit in their daily performance.
Eighth-grade students at Accompsett Middle School are taking the opportunity to educate their classmates about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and the importance of positive decision-making. The I’m Somebody program reinforces positive decision-making and the risks of drug and alcohol abuse as well as social media and our youth. Prevention specialist Gail Feldman from the Suffolk County Division of Mental Hygiene, Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services trained 12 select eighth-grade students at Accompsett Middle School about the importance of standing up for yourself and what you feel is right, withstanding peer pressure, the role of values in our lives as well as positive decision-making. Accompsett counselors then continued this training with these students and helped to create a 40-minute lesson where the eighth-graders presented to sixth-grade English classes during April and May.
The kindergarten classes at St. James Elementary School reenacted some of their favorite tales during the annual Nursery Rhyme Show on April 21. Dressed as the classic characters in each of the poems – including the Three Little Kittens, the Three Little Pigs, Little Bo Peep, and her sheep, Old McDonald and farm animals and many more – students showed off their poetry skills to family and friends.
Students from Branch Brook Elementary School were welcomed with open arms by their new principals, teachers and future classmates at Mt. Pleasant and Tackan elementary schools during their visits on April 21. In an effort to ease the transition to their new schools next year, students from Branch Brook visited the school they will attend next year when Branch Brook closes its doors. Branch Brook Principal Ireen Westrack was on hand for both building tours. At Mt. Pleasant Elementary School, Principal Joseph Ierano shared a slideshow presentation of all the fun-filled annual events that happen at the school, giving them a sneak peek of what they can look forward to when they start in September. Mt. Pleasant’s fifth-grade helpers offered tours of the building and Branch Brook students spent some classroom time in their respective grade levels. At Tackan Elementary School, Principal Dr. Allyn Leeds welcomed the new students for a tour of the building and spent time visiting each classroom. After the tours, students gathered back in the gymnasium for a question and answer session and received a Tackan T-shirt. A parent meeting was held on April 24 in each building to provide an opportunity to meet the staff, tour the building and answer questions.
In celebration of Earth Day, fourth-grade students at Dogwood Elementary School decorated Trader Joe's brown paper grocery bags with Earth Day slogans. A selection of bags was displayed at the Lake Grove Trader Joe's location.
It was a “beary” good time for kindergarten students at Tackan Elementary School as they participated in a teddy bear clinic on April 18. Kristi Ladowski, injury prevention coordinator at Stony Brook University Children’s Hospital, visited with the students to teach them about basic first aid, safety practices and helped ease their fear of doctors and hospitals. Each student brought his/her favorite stuffed animal to practice and learned ways to stay safe. The students enjoyed diagnosing their animals and used a Band-Aid, gauze pads, splints and tape to fix their injuries. They also learned songs to help them brush their teeth, wear a helmet and wash their hands.
It was a magical day for the second-grade classes at Accompsett Elementary School as the royals gathered for the Fairy Tale Ball on April 5. As a culminating activity in their fairy tale unit, the second-graders dressed as queens, kings, princes, princesses, royal knights and various fairy tale characters for the event. They performed songs, dances and their own fairy tale. After the ball, guests joined the students for a royal feast back in the classrooms.
Dogwood fifth grade students recently performed an original musical production titled “It's More Than Just Apples and Dresses”. The play is based upon an adaptation created from two wonderful pieces of literature, Madonna’s book, Mr. Peabody’s Apples and a book by Eleanor Estes entitled, The Hundred Dresses. The students did a marvelous job of performing and singing in these two plays. The main character education messages being sent to our students involve the harmful practice of spreading rumors and the ramifications of judging others by their names and their clothing.
The student council at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School celebrated the start of the spring season by tilling the soil in their community garden. Each grade level at Mt. Pleasant gets an area to grow vegetables, which will then be donated to the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry. The student council members tend to the garden, harvest the crops and help deliver the vegetables to the food pantry.
The trauma team from Stony Brook University trained Accompsett Middle School faculty on its Stop the Bleed program on May 9. Class participants were trained to use life saving equipment such as tourniquets, gauze packs and hemostatic agents. There was also hands-on simulations so every participant had the ability to practice and feel confident in their new skills.
Math students at Nesaquake Middle School put their academic skills to the test when they participated in a math-themed breakout challenge on April 7. Themed after “Night at the Museum,” students were charged with escaping the Nesaquake library before the T-Rex came to life. Students in Tina Bosi’s Math 8 and algebra classes divided into four different teams to complete the challenge. The teams had to unlock six different locks featuring puzzles designed by Ms. Bosi. The math students used their knowledge of graph functions, points of intersection, multiples and negative exponents in an attempt to unlock each puzzle. Clues were hidden throughout the library and each team was given two hint cards throughout the timed challenge.
At St. James Elementary, a group of fifth-grade students have been busy at work in an effort to give back to their community. The EPIC Club, a community service and leadership club, meets weekly to work on projects and activities for the betterment of their local community. They are currently working on painting flowerpots for a local nursing home and a macaroni and cheese drive for the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless. Other initiatives this school year include food drives for the Smithtown Food Pantry, volunteering at the Project Hope soup kitchen in Greenlawn and making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for St. Anne’s Church in Brentwood. The club has also worked on Valentine’s for Vets and a project called Caitlyn’s Smiles, making craft kits for children in local hospitals. The EPIC Club doesn’t forget about their animal friends either, making bird seed feeders for the local nursing home, organizing a food drive for Tuff Tails (animal fostering program) and working with Save-a-Pet, the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind and the Smithtown Animal Shelter.
Students in Mrs. Janouskovec-Renahan's class designed, built and tested their gilder planes during a recent PLTW activity. After learning about the forces that affect flight, each student used Autodesk 123D Design, a 3D software App, to choose wings and a horizontal stabilizer in order to design their glider. Next, they built their gliders and tested their designs using a prepared launch site. The students were able to determine what variables, such as adding a downward force (weight), helped to make their glider plane fly a greater distance.
After completing their unit on energy in the ecosystem, fourth-graders at Tackan Elementary School participated in a hands-on learning experience by exploring real-life food chains on April 27. The program was conducted as part of SCOPE’s outdoor environmental education program. Using digital microscopes and tablets, students viewed the microscopic ecosystem of a water droplet. Seeing the microscopic organisms opened up a world as the fourth-graders learned about the food chain using plankton. The students recorded their observations and worked together to identify the different organisms found in the ocean water.
Fifth-graders at St. James Elementary School showed off their theater, vocal and dance skills during the Broadway Bonanza 2017 on April 3 and 4. The students took to the stage for classmates during the day and again for an encore performance for their families in the evening. This year’s show started with excerpts from the musical “Wicked,” followed by “The Wizard of Oz.” “Mary Poppins” and “Aladdin” featured some of the most popular songs from the shows, and “The Lion King” had audiences singing along to some of their favorite tunes from the Disney movie and show. The performance closed with Disney’s “High School Musical” featuring the cast in their St. James Elementary School attire.
In June we informed the community that testing water for lead would begin - as seen in attachment A. In August we shared the preliminary results - as seen in attachment B. On October 5th we updated this page with a letterfrom the Superintendent regarding water testing. On October 18th, we added the summary report from our contractor, J.C. Broderick & Associates. As indicated in the letter from the Superintendent, any water outlet that exceeded acceptable levels has been removed from service. On Match 1st, we added the summary report from our contractor, J.C. Broderick & Associates.
First-graders at Branch Brook Elementary School recently participated in a hands-on activity using light for Project Lead the Way. Students investigated the results of putting a variety of objects in the path of a beam of light. Students were able to describe the effect that different materials have on a beam of light, including reflection, refraction, and the creation of shadows and colors.
On April 19th, St. James Elementary had its annual Science Fair. The presentations were outstanding which shows how much time and effort the children of St. James put forth. This years winners will advance to the prestigious Brookhaven National Science Fair at Brookhaven Labs on May 6th. We are so proud of each and every entrant and wish all the best to our students representing St. James Elementary School at the fair. Congratulations goes to... Oliviagrace Ruf- Kindergarten Sienna Cuomo- First Grade Alexandra Sengstaken- Second Grade Shane Glenn- Third Grade Belle Thompson- Fourth Grade Lilyana Zimmermann- Fifth Grade
The Smithtown Teacher Center is proud to announce the 2017 Torch Award Recipients:
Regina Fisher (HSW), Rob Warner (NMS), Kaori Ang (NMS), Sheila Tobin Cavoorhis (GMS), Kathy Smerechniak (BBE) Jeff Netter (TEL) - not pictured.
Congratulations to all!
High School West seniors Courtney Grafstein and Gianna Buttitta were recently honored for their exemplary volunteer service efforts. Courtney was awarded a Certificate of Excellence from the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and a President’s Volunteer Service Award granted by the program on behalf of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.
Gianna was also honored with a President’s Volunteer Service Award. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program granted the award, which recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.
Presented annually by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honors young people across America for outstanding volunteer service.