Accolades and Updates 4-14-09

Edward Ehmann, Superintendent of Schools of the Smithtown School District, made the following announcements at the April 14th Board of Education meeting at the Joseph M. Barton Administration Building.

SHS East student Valentine Esposito and SHS West student Kelly Prudente have been selected as Semi-Finalists in the prestigious Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition. The YES Competition awards college scholarships each year to high school juniors and seniors who conduct outstanding research projects that apply epidemiological methods of analysis to a health-related issue.

John Nolan was recently named the Model Schools Administrator of the Year for his commitment to promoting the growth instructional technology in 2008/2009.

Dogwood Elementary librarian Shelia Cavooris is an award winner of a grant titled, We the People “Picturing America” Bookshelf.

Branch Brook Elementary teacher Victor Collaco is the winner of a Western Suffolk BOCES Model Schools Teacher Integration Award.

For the third time in five years, the Nesaquake Middle School Trivia Team took first place in the Middle School Division of the Suffolk County United Cerebral Palsy Trivia Contest.

Members of the Smithtown High School East’s Honor Society recently visited after school with the patients at the Smithtown Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care. The residents were treated to a fantastic concert by Brian Harte, Caitlin Marsh, Jennifer Cohen, Emily Hittner, Mitchell Feinberg and Diane Cho.

Two SHS East ninth graders, Alissa Cutrone and Taylor Trentadue were awarded Honorable Mention at an Italian Poetry Contest at Stony Brook University.

The Great Hollow Middle School Mock Trial team recently competed in the 26th Annual Mock Trial Tournament at Dowling College under the direction of advisor Richard Restifo.

Accompsett Elementary School hosted its Annual Fairy Tale Ball. The Ball is a culminating event for the Fairy Tale unit of study. The second grade students read fairy tales, composed their own fairy-tales, retold Jack and the Beanstalk from the Giant’s point-of-view. The children also enjoyed a Cinderella Rap and a Fairy Tale Jingle.

Great Hollow and Nesaquake Middle Schools recently placed at Regional Science Olympiad Competition. Both schools earned medals for their achievements and have been invited to compete at the NYS competition.

The Mills Pond Civics Club has received a grant from Newsday’s Future Corps for the fifth year in a row. The grant will be used to purchase flats of flowers for their annual St. James Healthcare Facility Spring Planting Day. The students assist the seniors in beautifying their courtyard.

Mills Pond Elementary teacher Tara McCluskey’s fifth grade class has been chosen by Newsday’s Kidsday to develop a week-long series for the month of July. This opportunity will include celebrity interviews, taste tests, testing age appropriate toys and video games, restaurant reviews, school wide polls, and articles of interest, to name a few. The Kidsday editor, Patrick Mulooly, will be visiting the class several times and working closely with each student on developing their pieces.

SCSD: Accolades and Updates 3-24-09

Edward Ehmann, Superintendent of Schools of the Smithtown School District, made the following announcements at the March 24th Board of Education meeting at the Joseph M. Barton Administration Building.

March 27, 2009, originally scheduled as a Superintendent’s Conference Day, will remain for the purpose of scoring the Math 6-8 assessments. K-5 students will attend school as usual, but there will be no school for students in grades 6-12.

The 2009-2010 budget will be presented to the Board of Education for approval at the April 14th Board of Education Meeting.

A Facilities Committee Meeting will be held on Thursday, March 26th at 7:00 p.m. at the Joseph M. Barton Building, 26 New York Avenue, Smithtown.

All transportation requests for the 2009-2010 school year for private or parochial school students must be made by April 1, 2009, regardless of whether the request is for a first-time applicant or is a renewal.

Mary Cahill, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Administration, recently received an award from the Council of Administrators and Supervisors in Recognition of Her Outstanding Leadership in the Field of Education. Scope Education Services also presented her with The Administrator Service Award in Appreciation for Her Outstanding Service to the District.

Three Smithtown Juniors, Valentine Esposito, Reena Glaser and Jessica Noviello, have been awarded a Simons Summer Research Fellowship at Stony Brook University. Only 32 juniors are selected to participate in this prestigious program which receives applications from students throughout the country.

Congratulations to Smithtown High School East students Ashley Beck and Cara Hallahan for earning All County Honors this winter track season. Cara was the Large School Champion in the high jump and Ashley placed 2nd at the State Qualifier, also in the high jump. Ashley represented Suffolk County at the State Track Meet at Cornell University.

Robyn Suchy is a 16 -year-old HSE student who already has a published book. Robyn is part of the Young Poets Mentoring Program established in 2007 by Suffolk County Poet Laureate Dr. David Axelrod. This program gives students the opportunity to publish their first book of poems. A collection of Robyn’s poems can be found in the book, “Stairwells and Window Frames” published by Writers Ink Press.


Smithtown High School East & West DECA completed its best ever results at the recent State Championship Conference in Rochester. More than half the students received recognition with four receiving first place in the state recognition. With their phenomenal performance, 28 students will represent Smithtown at the International Conference to be held in Anaheim, California beginning on April 29th.

During the month of March, National Nutrition Month, the Mount Pleasant PTA’s Health and Wellness committee has sponsored “Tasting Tuesdays”. Every Tuesday the students have been given the opportunity to try different healthy fruits and vegetables during their lunch period.

The Smithtown Teachers’ Association recently had a fundraiser and raised $1,000 for a medically fragile student.

Students from each grade level at Saint James Elementary School were awarded certificates for exhibiting compassion by taking care of themselves, each other, and St. James. Compassion is one of the character traits that are celebrated as part of the St. James Character Education Program.

Accompsett Elementary students recently had the opportunity to meet with local author Brian Heinz. The students first met with Mr. Heinz and were taken through the process “From Writer to Reader”. Mr. Heinz then shared his writings and many of his wildlife experiences which are the basis of his works.

Smithtown High School West Leadership Club recently hosted the Spring Blood Drive.
The third graders at Smithtown Elementary culminated their study of Japan with a Japan Day celebration. Children and teachers dressed for the occasion in clothing typical of the Japanese culture.

Under the direction of Librarian Harriet Pasca-Ortgies and Linda McCann, 44 students from GreatHollow Middle Schoolhad their original poetry published in the Pine Tree Poetry book for 2009.

For the third time in five years, the Nesaquake Middle School Trivia Team took first place in the Middle School Division of the Suffolk County United Cerebral Palsy Trivia Contest.

Matthew Hennings’ Sports Management Class at HS East recently had an opportunity to meet with Andy Collier from The Baseball Hall of Fame via videoconference. Students experienced a unique lesson in free enterprise through the evolution of contracts and commerce. In addition students had an opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion with Mr. Collier.


Ms. Armstrong’s second graders from Smithtown Elementary held a videoconference with Michael Hare from the NASA Johnson Space Center to learn about the Solar System in the Distance Learning Lab at HS West. Students also had an opportunity to see live footage of the Astronaut Training Center and the International Space Station.
Through the Kids Helping Kids Book Drive, Accompsett students and parents donated more than 3,190 gently used or new books for the Hope’s Children’s Fund. The foundation will use these books to create a library for children in Africa. The Kids Helping Kids Book Drive was used to jump start the school’s PARP (Parents as Reading Partners) month.

Three DECA West students, Lauren Baruch, Thomas Kirnbauer and Connor Levens, won first place in New York State DECA Career Conference for their work on the Smithtown Solar/Energy Savings Initiative Public Relations Campaign.

Accolades and Updates: 3/10

Edward Ehmann, Superintendent of Schools of the Smithtown School District, made the following announcements at the March 10th Board of Education meeting at the Joseph M. Barton Administration Building.

One thousand parents filled the seats of Nesaquake Middle School’s Auditorium at the District’s third Parent University. The topic, Drugs in our Town: What’s a Parent to Do? featured an outstanding panel that explored the problem of drugs from the school, community, parent, law enforcement, medical and counseling perspectives. Those who wish further information are encouraged to visit either high school websites, which both link to a Drug Resource Blog: http://hstaskforce.blogspot.com/ or to e-mail questions and concerns to pipeline@smithtown.k12.ny.us.

Members of the community are invited to attend upcoming budget development meetings. There will be a Business Affairs Committee meeting on March 18th at 7 p.m. at the Joseph M. Barton Administration Building and a Citizens’ Advisory meeting will take place on March 11th at 7 p.m.

The Civics Club of St. James Elementary School was accepted to the O’Ambassador program to support the children in Ecuador. In addition to hosting several other programs that directly impact the children of Ecuador, the Civics Club created a “Quarters for Books” event. Gently used books as well as quarters were collected for a “book swap.” Left over books were donated to Larry Hohler, a retired Smithtown teacher. He is sending a container of books to an orphanage and school in Africa.

Tackan Elementary students with the help of Mr. Keith Sheppard, Director of Science Education at Stony Brook University, had a few lessons in science. Tackan holds special Science Days throughout the school year to promote science and discovery.
The “Peanut Butter Gang” Community Service Club at Dogwood Elementary recently visited the Smithtown Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care. Fifth graders assisted residents in making a picture frame craft.

Fourteen Smithtown students won in several categories at Sprachfest. Sprachfest is an annual event organized by the American Association of Teachers of German, Long Island Chapter.
Smithtown High School West seniors Ross Whalen and Molly Cook recently completed a community service project with the Suffolk County Police Department. The seniors painted a mural of the American flag at the offices of the Emergency Service Section in Ronkonkoma. The project was coordinated with HS West Art teacher Steve Halem and Emergency Service Police Officer Peter Knudsen.

SHS East students earned All County Honors this winter track season. Cara Hallahan was the Large School Champion in the high jump and Ashley Beck placed 2nd at the State Qualifier also in the high jump. Ashley will represent Suffolk County at the State Track Meet at Cornell University on March 7

High School students and the fifth grade enrichment groups from all of the elementary schools are working together on a project entitled C.L.A.S.S. (children learning about social studies). The topic is the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World combined with the wonders of Canada, the United States and Mexico. Students work in groups and choose a wonder to research. Each group has a HS student as a mentor who assists the fifth graders by showing them how to navigate a web quest. The final product for the fifth grade students will be a newspaper on the wonders.

SCSD: Accolades and Updates 2/24/09

Edward Ehmann, Superintendent of Schools of the Smithtown School District, made the following announcements at the February 24th Board of Education meeting at the Joseph M. Barton Administration Building.

“Drugs in our Town: What’s a Parent to Do?” will be the theme of Smithtown School District’s Parent University on Monday, March 9th at 7:30 p.m. at Nesaquake Middle School. The presentation will feature information and advice from experts, including a physician, law enforcement official, health educator, drug counselor, principal, and a parent struggling with her child’s drug addiction. All are welcome to attend and encouraged to save the date.

Members of the community are invited to attend upcoming budget development meetings. There will be a Business Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday evening, February 26 at 7 p.m. at the Joseph M. Barton Administration Building. A Citizens’ Advisory meeting will take place on Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m., also in the administration building.

Branch Brook Elementary School celebrated the Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday with its PARP (Parents As Reading Partners) program entitled, “Reading Makes Cents.” Students kept reading logs, decorated the halls with Abraham Lincoln birthday cards, and hosted a Lincoln impersonator. The students donated pennies to The Smithtown Public Library as part of the program.

Musicians and students at Smithtown High School East are working on an effort to raise awareness of the shortage of food in our local food pantries. There will be a Music for Food Acoustic Concert at HS East on February 27th at 7:00 PM.

Nesconset Elementary fifth graders participated in a math poster contest sponsored by the Association of Math Teachers of New York State. Three students from Nesconset received recognition for their poster entries: Rachel Emmerson-1st place, Brendan Volz-2nd place and Jessica Masure-3rd place.

Smithtown High School East and High School West parents and students attended Junior Conference Night. The evening was hosted by the Guidance Department. Counselors developed this workshop to inform parents about college testing, college selection and the college process.

Mills Pond Elementary Civics Club was awarded a Newsday Future Corps Grant.

Smithtown High School West Thespian Troupe 2035, Smithtown High School East Drama Club, Great Hollow Middle School, and Nesaquake Middle School will all be presenting free performances by the students to Smithtown senior citizen gold card holders. HSW will present Damn Yankees on Wednesday, March 4th at 12:30 p.m. HSE will admit gold card holders to performances of Murder’s in the Heir on March 5, 6, and 7th at 7 p.m. Great Hollow students will perform Willy Wonka Junior on Wednesday, March 25th at 3:15 p.m. Nesaquake students will perform Beauty and the Beast on Saturday, March 28th at 1 p.m. All performances will take place at the respective schools. For more information about the Senior Citizen Gold Card Program, call 382-2015.