Musical Cast, Crew Host Special Performance for Senior Citizens

The Smithtown High School East Leadership Club invited Smithtown Senior Connections Gold Card members to a special performance of The Secret Garden performed by the SHS East Drama Club. The seniors enjoyed snacks during intermission as well as socializing with the students.

The show runs Thursday, November 13 until Saturday, November 15. Student tickets are $8 and will be sold during lunch periods and at the door. All other tickets are $10.

The Matador will have a complete review of the musical, as well as a photo gallery of the production, pending the close of the production.

High School Students Honored for Community Service

Nanci Hammer, a senior at SHS East, and Katherine Prudente, a senior at HS West, have each been named Volunteer of the Year in the 2009 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Program. They are now eligible for the NYS Volunteer of the Year Award.

In addition, twelve high school seniors have received Certificates of Merit for their volunteer community service. The HS West seniors are Alex Dicpinigaitis, Joan Rosenthal, Gabrielle Peragine, Ashley Logan, Amanda Sebastian and Brianna Peterson. The HS East seniors are Arianna Buchholz, Valerie Forte, Michael Sassone, Erica Tremano and Joseph Verderber.

The award was sponsored by Prudential Financial and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. It recognizes outstanding community service by young Americans.

Faulty Fire Alarm Causes Early Morning Confusion

Just prior to the beginning of first period Thursday, the fire alarm was unexpectedly activated.

Students and staff stood outside until the all clear was give around 7:45 a.m.

Today was the fourth day the alarm was unexpectedly activated. The alarm also left students and staffed puzzled on 10/21, 10/8 and 9/17. The alarm was unexpectedly activated multiple times on those days due to a "faulty smoke detector head." An e-mail to teachers Thursday morning again blamed the evacuation on a "faulty smoke detector head."

The Matador will have more on this story as details become available.

Breaking News

Just prior to the start of first period the fire alarm was activated for an unknown reason. The fire department is now on scene.

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Emergency Preparedness Drill - Early Dismissal

This is to advise you that on Tuesday, November 25, 2008, the Smithtown Central School District will be conducting an emergency preparedness drill. There will be early dismissal at all schools. The students’ early dismissal from school on that day will be approximately 15 minutes earlier than the normal dismissal time. Please expect your child home on this day approximately 15 minutes earlier and make whatever arrangements may be necessary.

Math Scholar Named at SHS East

The Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented Students at SUNY College at Old Westbury announced that Andrew Eisenson, a freshman at Smithtown High School East, is among the 75 students this year to be named Long Island Young Scholar of Mathematics and has been accepted by the Institute to pursue mathematics and science studies.

To qualify for this honor, the 75 students who were selected for the Institute’s three divisions each consisting of 25 participants, competed against 800 of the top ranking students nominated from school districts on Long Island. Selection by the institute implies that a student is among the top one-tenth of one percent in math of all students on Long Island in his or her grade.

Students Create Tetrahedron Models

Students in Laurie O’Neill’s Smithtown High School East Design and Drawing for Production (DDP) Class recently worked together to create tetrahedron models using straws, string, and tissue paper. A tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra) is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, three of which meet at each vertex. A regular tetrahedron is one in which the four triangles are regular, or "equilateral", and is one of the Platonic solids. The models are then combined to make larger tetrahedrons, and students compare the ratios of edge length, area, and volume of the models in an attempt to understand scaling factors. Principals of flight are also addressed. Tetrahedrals are an interesting design for a kite. You have lots of scope to explore, and you can build large and different kites without changing your basic design. The kite is a geometrical frame which is covered by sail. It is cellular and can be expanded easily just by tacking on more cells. It is also a very strong ridged structure so that you can use very light and flimsy materials. This class also counts towards art credit.