Smithtown Students Garner Essay Honors

Eileen Rowe (Science Chairperson), Ilana Selli, Samantha Mellone, Maria Trinkle (East Research Coordinator)

Smithtown East research program is pleased to announce that Samantha Mellone has placed first in Bodies…The Exhibition Essay Contest. Students from the tri-state area were challenged to write an essay where an analogy was made of a human body system to a mechanical system. Students had to succinctly describe the functions of the body system, the invention of the mechanical system, and then compare the necessity of the mechanical system with that of the body system. An added difficulty was accomplishing the task within a 600 word limit.

Bodies…The Exhibition awarded one First Place and two Honorable Mentions. In addition to Samantha, Ilana Selli also in the research program, placed Honorable Mention garnering two of the top three spots for Smithtown East. The prize is a trip for Samantha and her classmates to Bodies…The Exhibition complete with audio guides, a staff docent, as well as lunch courtesy of South Street Seaport. According to Ms. Trinkle, High School East research program coordinator, “both Samantha and Ilana produced excellent essays. The essays involved multiple steps and they each stayed diligent and truthful to the writing process. Scientific literacy is an important goal for all students, and it continues to be a focal point in our classroom.” Richard Hinojoso, education coordinator for Bodies …The Exhibition, commented that “the essays were creative in addition to being well-written, which was exactly what they were looking for.”

Small School Store Fire Causes Evacuation

By James Brierton
ST. JAMES (TheMatadorOnline.com) - A small fire in the Smithtown High School East school store caused a brief evacuation of the school Monday.

Around noon, smoke began pouring out of the microwave in the school store. As a precaution, the fire alarm was activated and students and staff evacuated the building.

Despite a cool breeze and some light rain, students and staff stood in staging areas around the building for much of seventh period as the situation was brought under control. The St. James Fire Department could be seen arriving on the north side of the building around 12:30 p.m.

No damage was reported to the school store and no one was injured in the incident.

Live: Fire Alarm Activation

Live Posts:
During Monday's brief evacauation, TheMatadorOnline.com's James Brierton sent updates from his wireless device to the Web.

12:20 pm : students and staff remain outside high school east much of seventh period after an activation of the fire alarm shortly after noon. The cause of the activation remains unknown. No fire department personnel can be seen from my vantage point on the north side of the building. Updates on thematadoronline.com as we get them.- james brierton reporting

12:30 pm : one fire truck and a chief's vehicle have arrived on the north side of the building. No visible signs of a fire.

Apx. 12:40 pm : All students and staff have returned to the building

During breaking news events such as on Monday, TheMatadorOnline.com uses remote access to our newsroom to post updates through what is called 'Live Blogging.' Short segments of information, rather than complete articles, are sent from our reporters in the field to the Web. At the conclusion of the incident, the newsroom compiles all the reports and puts together a finished publication.

Two Smithtown Juniors Named Semi-finalists in the Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition

East junior Valentine Esposito

(Smithtown Central School District) - Valentine Esposito and Kelly Prudente have been named semi-finalists in the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition administered by the College Board. Valentine Esposito, a student in Ms. Trinkle’s science research program at High School East, conducted a study titled “The Influence of Fear on Teenage Drug Use.” She employed extensive research to investigate a current issue plaguing teens today. She was mentored by Ms. Trinkle who says that her work involved meticulously organizing data. Her effort was outstanding and this recognition is well deserved. Kelly Prudente is a member of the research program at High School West. Dr. Figueiredo, research coordinator at West, stated that Kelly’s strong work ethic was a key component in the success of Kelly’s project entitled: “The Effect of Select Non-Academic Activities on Self Esteem.” Kelly’s sister Katie Prudente was one of our two Semifinalists last year!

”According to Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, “The YES Competition was developed to help students hone their skills in using research methods and critical thinking to identify new ideas that may help address some of the major public health issues we face today.” The College Board further explains that, “The YES Competition is designed to spur students’ interest in the field of public health, specifically epidemiology which explores disease, illness, and injury within populations with the goal of developing methods for prevention, control, and treatment to improve health.” Valentine and Kelly will each receive a $1000 scholarship.

Italian Poetry Contest Awards

Two Smithtown High School East students were awarded Honorable Mention at an Italian Poetry Contest at Stony Brook University on March 27th. Alissa Cutrone and Taylor Trentadue are ninth grade students in Ms. Yarcak’s Italian 2 class.

National Honor Society Visits Nursing Care Facility

ST. JAMES (Smithtown Central School District) - 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 the following students: Brian Harte on guitar, Caitlin Marsh on vocals, Jennifer Cohen on flute and vocals, Emily Hittner on flute and vocals, Mitchell Feinberg on piano and vocals, Diane Cho on vocals, and James Brierton and Megan Russ were there for moral support. The visit was organized and supervised by Science teacher Maria Trinkle who is co-advisor for the National Honor Society.

Three Smithtown Juniors Have Been Awarded a Simons Summer Research Fellowship at Stony Brook University

Valentine Esposito and HSE Research Teacher Maria Trinkle

(SMITHTOWN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT) - Congratulations to Valentine Esposito, Reena Glaser and Jessica Noviello. Only 32 juniors are selected to participate in this prestigious program which receives applications from students throughout the country. According to a Simons release, the program "gives academically talented, motivated high school students who are between their junior & senior years the opportunity to engage in hands-on research in science, math or engineering at Stony Brook University. Simons Fellows work with distinguished faculty mentors, learn laboratory techniques and tools, become part of active research teams, and experience life at a research university." Along with this wonderful opportunity, a $1000 stipend will be awarded to each participant. Dr. Joanne Figueiredo, coordinator of the research program at West, believes that Reena and Jessica are dedicated students that epitomize a positive work ethic. Dr. Figueiredo stated that the knowledge that Reena and Jessica acquire at Stony Brook this summer will enhance their senior year experiences. Reena Glaser will be working with Dr. Marcia Simon and Dr. Miriam Rifailovich and Jessica Noviello will be working with Dr. David Krause. According to Ms. Trinkle, coordinator of the program at East, “Valentine is an exceptional student who goes above and beyond what is required to meet with success in a research setting. Her commitment to excellence is impeccable. Her affable nature makes her a joy to work with, and I anticipate much success for this lovely young lady.”

Student Publishes Book of Poems

Robyn Suchy is a 16 years old student who already has a published book. Robyn is part of the Young Poets Mentoring Program established in 2007 by Poet Laureate Dr. David Azelrod. This program gives students the opportunity to publish their first book of poems.

Robyn’s love for writing poetry began in her ninth-grade English class where her eyes were opened to writing. “My writing reflects things I have seen like political stuff, the environment and high school friendships.” Robyn is a student at Smithtown H.S. East where her ELA teachers James Kelly, Debbie Baione-Doda and Anton Kirchenko had a profound influence on her work.

Upon graduation, she hopes to attend the University of New Haven or Goucher College. In her spare time, she does a lot of reading and plays the guitar.

A collection of Robyn’s poems can be found in the book, “Stairwells and Window Frames” published by Writers Ink Press.

Students Earn All County Honors for the Winter Track Season

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.

Students Working Together

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.

East Athletes Helping Athletes Program

Smithtown High School East’s Athletes Helping Athletes members went to five different Smithtown schools and visited with eighteen 5th grade elementary classes. This program brings high school students and their elementary counterparts together to discuss sportsmanship, healthy life styles and good decision making. The AHA members will visit the elementary students two more times before the end of this year to present a clear message on these extremely important topics.

Banquet Forecast

(SmithtownRadio.com) - Megan Russ in the SmithtownRadio.com Weather Center is calling for a very cold evening Wednesday for the East Senior Banquet.

A low of 14 is forecasted with partly cloudy skies. The wind chill is going to drop to zero Wednesday evening.

Megan's forecast be can heard thirty minutes past any hour on http://www.smithtownradio.com/ or anytime on the Web site.

Schools Dismissed Early

The Smithtown Central School District dismissed all schools early Friday pending the worst of the approaching snow storm.

The high schools dismissed seniors who drive to school at noon and all other students were dismissed at 12:30 p.m.

The middle schools were dismissed at 1:10 p.m.

Accompsett, Mills Pond, Mt. Pleasant and Tackan Elementary Schools will be dismissed at 1:50 p.m.. Branch Brook, Dogwood, Nesconset, St. James and Smithtown Elementary Schools will be dismissed at 2:30 p.m.

All after school activities have been canceled for Friday.

SmithtownRadio.com's Megan Russ has been tracking the storm from the Weather Center and tells us we could see between 2-3 inches of snow here on the north shore by the end of Friday. SmithtownRadio.com has complete coverage of the storm with updates at the top and bottom of every hour.