Commack Courier February 2015

A Board of Education Publication

INTEL FINALISTINTEL FINALIST AT COMMACK HIGH SCHOOLAT COMMACK HIGH SCHOOL Scott Massa, a senior at Commack High School, was named an Intel Science Talent Search fi nalist, one of only 40 students na-tionwide recognized for their contribution to improving and enriching everyday life. Scott’s project explored how disturbances in the brain can lead to Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. He identifi ed a possible target for the development of new medica-tions that lead to a potential cure. The title of his project is, “The Importance of Endo-cytosis to Neuregulin1 Back Signaling: Im-plications in Neuropsychiatric and Neuro-degenerative Disorders.” Scott and classmate, Matthew O’Connell, were named as Semifi nalists in early January. Finalist’s names were re-leased on January 21, 2015. Scott recalled, “I was ecstatic when I re-ceived the call from the director of the com-petition. To be a fi nalist in the Intel Science Talent Search is an incredible honor, and I’m living the dream of every high school researcher from around the country. I’m so proud that I can represent Commack in this national forum.” “Scott’s research is pivotal in our search for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia,” said Alison Offerman-Celentano, Director of Science. “This young man is a stellar example of a Renaissance student, one who is able to accomplish so much with grace and humility. We know Scott will continue to move the fi eld of neu-roscience forward as he progresses through his collegial studies and his future career. His accomplishments would not have been possible without the invaluable and tireless efforts of our Science Research team, led by Mr. Richard Kurtz. To be recognized as an Intel fi nalist is one of the greatest ac-complishments a young science researcher

can attain.” Scott’s future plans include a career in medicine or clinical research. He will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, to study biology with a concentration in neuro-biology. His mentor, Commack High School science teacher Richard Kurtz, said, “I met Scott when he was in eighth grade; he had the spark of curiosity and a natural drive that was obvious. He is a student with the combination of intelligence, compassion, and modesty. His teachers all feel privi-leged to have had this unique young man in our classes.” “We have a top-notch science research department here in Commack that assists our students in reaching their fullest po-tential,” said Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Donald James. “Students like Scott will shape the future of the treatment and eradi-cation of illness and diseases that are in-

curable at this point. We congratulate Scott on this prestigious recognition, and for his passion, drive, and intellect to fi nd a cause and a cure for disorders that affect the lives of so many people.” Finalists will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. from March 5-11, where they will compete for more than $1 million in awards. Each fi nalist receives at least $7,500. Winners will be selected based on rigorous judging sessions and an-nounced at a black-tie, invitation-only gala awards ceremony at the National Building Museum on March 10. In photo above, Scott is surrounded by proud teachers and administrators, from left to right: Jeanette Collette, Andrea Beatty, Richard Kurtz, Scott, Principal Catherine Nolan, Director of Science Alison Offerman-Celentano, Lorraine Solomon, and Superin-tendent, Donald James.

It’s Budget Season!It’s Budget Season!Upcoming Community Meetings - Hope you can attend!Upcoming Community Meetings - Hope you can attend!

Thursday, March 12 Budget Workshop 8:00 p.m. Commack High School Thursday, March 26 Budget Workshop 8:00 p.m. Commack High School Thursday, April 2 Informal Budget Hearing 8:00 p.m. Commack High School Thursday, April 16 Budget Adoption 8:00 p.m. Commack High School

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February 2014

T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r 2 T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r

The Commack Cour ier i s a lso publ ished TTTTTTTThhhhhheeee CCCCCCCoooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaacckkk CCCCooouuurrr iieeerr iii ssss aaaaaalll ssssooooo pppppppuuuuuuubbbbbllll iiii sssshhhhheeeeeddd in color on the Commack Website . iiiinnnnn cccccccoooooooolllllllooooooorrrrrr oooonnn tthhhhee CCCCoommmmmmmmmmaaaaacccccckkkkkk WWWWWWWWWWeeeeebbbbbbbbssssiiitttteeeee.

www.commackschools.org NYSSMA Solo and Ensemble Information

http://www.commack.k12.ny.us/Music/

Commack School District is proud to an-nounce that four more of our teachers were accepted into the New York State Master Teachers Program. Please join us in con-gratulating Jeanette Collette, Justin King, Jeanne Suttie and Bobby Varughese on this accomplishment and honor. As program participants, Master Teach-ers make a commitment to engage in pro-fessional development work in addition to their regular school responsibilities. Mas-ter Teachers meet regularly (evenings and weekends) to participate in activities that lead to individual and collective professional growth. Superintendent Dr. Donald James, stat-ed, "The application process for entry into this program is extremely rigorous and re-quires a tremendous time commitment and amount of preparation. These teachers all possess a deep knowledge of their subject content, and continually adapt their teach-ing practices to meet the needs of their stu-dents." Ms. Collette, Mr. King, and Ms. Suttie are science teachers. Mr. Varughese is a math teacher. Jeanette Collette is in her eighth year at Commack High School as a biology, foren-sics, and science research teacher. She has increased the rigor of Commack's IB Biol-ogy SL class by putting more inquiry-based labs in place. Ms. Collette is in the science research room during every free period and after school hours, often until very late, as-sisting students at every level with their projects. She is a coach for our Science Olympiad team. Ms. Collette has embraced a philosophy of continuous professional de-velopment and takes courses every summer (despite reaching her 60+ hours) to ensure she grows in her practice. Justin King is in his sixth year at the high school as a physics teacher. He is a pioneer in the implementation of a fl ipped classroom, where he records his own lec-tures which students watch at home. He then assists them with application in the classroom. Mr. King instituted a mastery model in his current physics classroom that is modifi ed to allow for self-pacing within a unit of instruction. Mr. King is also a coach

for our Science Olympiad team, he is a Se-nior Class Advisor, the coach for our Sci-ence Quiz Bowl Team, and the coach of our Physics Olympics team. Jeanne Suttie is in her fi fteenth year at Commack Middle School, teaching Regents Living Environment and the STEM elective. She has pioneered the work in the STEM class, collaborating with the technology de-partment, to create the most popular elective at the middle school. Ms. Suttie has created inter-disciplinary projects each year to en-gage students school-wide in environmental conservation issues. She is currently one of the advisors for the S.T.R.E.A.M. club (for-merly Science Research), and as a member of the District Literacy Committee, is a lead-er in literacy professional development for the department and the building. Ms. Suttie refl ected, "My applying to this program is an acknowledgement that science is an ever evolving fi eld with very few static concepts. In recognition of this fact, I enthusiastically dedicate myself to bringing best practices in both content and pedagogy to my students

in order to prepare them as global citizens." A graduate of Commack High School (1995) and a life-long Commack resident, Bobby Varughese has been teaching at the high school for ten years. Mr. Varughese currently teaches IB SL Methods, College Calculus, and Intermediate Algebra. He "loves incorporating technology into the classroom. He was among the fi rst to incor-porate SMART Notebook into his lessons." He led seminars to teach others to embrace the new vistas of teaching. "I applied for the program to become a better teacher and to help younger teachers in training programs. Being a part of a group of teachers that will spend the extra time to discuss the art and science of teaching and instructional meth-ods to help others increase knowledge will only help me become a better teacher." Commack is now home to a total of nine Master Teachers. They will work with other Master Teachers at Stony Brook University for the next four years, engaging in peer mentoring and intensive content-oriented professional development opportunities.

Commack’s newest Master Teachers! From left to right: Director of Science, Alison Offerman-Celentano, Master Teacher, Bobby Varughese, Dr. Donald James, Superintendent, Master Teachers, Jeanette Collette and Jeanne Suttie, Middle School Principal Anthony Davidson, and Master Teacher Justin King.

FOUR MORE MASTER TEACHERS!

T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r 3

BOARD OF EDUCATIONMEETINGS

Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m.*Thursday, April 16 at 8:00 p.m.*

at Commack High School*The Board will convene at 6:30 p.m. and is expected to adjourn into Executive Session. Public meetings will commence at times

stated above.

BOE BUDGET MEETINGSat Commack High School

Budget Workshops Thursday, March 12 at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, March 26 at 8:00 p.m.

Informal Budget Hearing Thursday, April 2 at 8:00 p.m.

Budget AdoptionThursday, April 16 at 8:00 p.m.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

In the SpotlightFebruary 27 at 7:00 p.m.

Commack HS Little Theater Our talented high school students will perform

Tickets $7.00, to support VH1‛s Save the Music Campaign

St. Baldrick‛s Shave Your Head for a Cure for Kid‛s Cancers

March 6 at 3:00 p.m.Commack High School

Singin‛ in the Rain March 20 & 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Commack High School Musical

Click the Community Events link on the Commack Website for more events

www.commackschools.org

Hoping that you are all faring well during this winter weather! The old adage “You can’t control the weather,” still applies, even with all the advances in meteorology and tech-nology. We are grateful for the work of our custodians, build-ings and grounds crews, and our support personnel, who work around the clock to clear our school grounds and walkways and keep our schools safe and ready. This has been a busy fall and winter. I have met with many community, parent groups, and staff members over the last few months, seeking their input and addressing their concerns. I also visited classrooms and spoke with teachers in each of our eight schools. These meetings keep me in touch with what’s go-ing on both in and around our schools, and lead to new ways of thinking and innovative ideas for future planning. The Board of Education and I, along with our PTAs and community residents, continue to advocate for our children on state and national levels of government concerning the inequi-ties of state funding and the GEA (see insert), and the excessive testing of our children. We need everyone’s help to correct these issues. We invite you to join us and continue the conversation by participating in the upcoming Budget Workshops and Informal Budget Hearing.

Sincerely,

Dr. Donald James

Commack High School

College and Career Fair

April 21, 2015 7:00 p.m.*

*Optional information session 6:30 p.m.

Representatives from approximately 130 colleges and universities will be available to give insight into programs offered at their schools, and to provide guidance to parents and students. Military personnel will be on hand to explore careers in the armed forces. Business leaders and professionals from the Commack area will also be available to answer questions and offer advice about career paths.

T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r 4

Gifts that Warm the Heart & SoulGifts that Warm the Heart & Soul

During December, Indian Hollow Primary School’s kindergarten with the help of grades one and two, collected hats, gloves and mittens for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island. The items were dis-played in the main lobby on a clothes line as shown in the photograph. In addi-tion, students who donat-ed wrote their names on paper mittens, which were hung on a bulletin board to

bring attention to their giv-ing ways.

This collection was yet another event that the children and the families of Indian Hollow do to sup-port our “Children Helping Children initiative.” Once again the Indian Hollow community came through for those in need. In photo, Indian Hol-low Principal, Brian Simp-son, and students holding some of the donations.

If you happened to stop by Burr Intermediate School in Commack on December 12, you would have noticed the students and staff wear-ing unusual school attire - pa-jamas! Burr’s Pajama Theme Day raised awareness and the school collected donations of new pajamas for a very special group, Stony Brook Hospital’s Child Life Services. As you can see in the pho-

to, the generosity of the Burr family is truly remarkable - over 600 pairs of pajamas were col-lected! The Child Life Services De-partment at Stony Brook Chil-dren’s Hospital is an integral part of the hospital experience for children. Brook Rose, a Child Life Specialist, explained that the team members help children and their families be-come more comfortable during

their visit. They explain the hos-pital experience in child-friendly ways, ‘normalizing’ the hospi-tal experience, offering tours and other orientation activities, keeping play at the forefront, and providing therapeutic, edu-cational and recreational activi-ties that meet the unique needs of each child. Children staying overnight receive a Child Life Welcome Kit which includes a new set of pajamas, books, and

toys. Ms. Rose came to Burr and was overwhelmed by the size of Burr’s donation and the generosity of the Commack Community. She was happy to report that 115 sets of pajamas would be given out immediately at the annual Cancer Clinic Holiday Party. In addition to creating the Welcome Kits, the pajamas were given as holiday gifts.

Children Helping Children InitiativeChildren Helping Children Initiativeat Indian Hollowat Indian Hollow

T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r 5

C o m m a c k High School busi-ness students impressed the judges at the Hun-tington Chamber of Commerce’s Young Profes-sionals Business Competition in December, bring-ing home nine fi rst place wins. Twen ty -one schools partici-pated with over 380 students com-peting. “These

students put to-gether outstand-ing presentations and had to pres-ent directly in front of judges, who in many cases were affi liated with the business that the presentation was about. We couldn’t be more proud of these fi ne young men and women,” said Robert Plech-ner, Commack Business Teacher.

Business Success StoryBusiness Success Story

First Place:Giovanna - Human ResourcesAlexis & Karli - EntrepreneurshipLauren & Laxshika - Travel & TourismPeter & Matt - Sports ManagementIsabell & Scott - Graphic DesignAshley & Brian - Not for Profi t FundraisingCasey & Stephanie - Hospitality ServicesSarankan & Calvin - Human ResourcesTravis & Colin - Retail Marketing

Second Place: Jillian & Michael - Public Relations

Honorable MentionGabriella & Jessica - Not for Profi t Fundraising

The fi rst trimester of School Wide Enrichment at Burr and Sawmill was an exciting experi-ence for all students. Enrichment classes are built into classroom schedules on a bimonthly basis. Enrichment teachers Nicole Ryback (Burr) and Lindsey Per-sichilli (Sawmill), provide pro-grams which enhance grade lev-el curriculum, is Common Core

aligned, and allows students to explore and advance in various areas of study. Students engage in activities that explore math, science, social studies, research, and the arts. Students were able to tap into technology as they all participated in The Hour of Code, an international activity which in-troduced students to the basics of computer science and program-

ing. Students had the opportunity to engage in an engineering unit in which they created prototypes of their own inventions, wrote pitches for their products and then wrote a patent for their inventions. They even designed a billboard adver-tising their product complete with a company slogan! Some engineering teams brought their creative ideas to the graphic design depart-ment (art class) and created a package design for their in-vention. All students studied Math Around the World and

learned logic and problem-solv-ing strategies while playing math games such as Nim and Kalah. Students also participated in a philosophy unit focusing on ethics and aesthetics. When discussing “Are we only good because someone is watching?” students wrote three minute skits and acted them out. In addition, students participated in a 20 min-ute art contest in order to launch a philosophical discussion on What is art? In addition to the Enrich-ment program, all students have

the opportunity to participate in the Lunch and Learn program. Students can opt to devote their lunch and recess time to a col-laborative learning experience in interesting topics. The students love these opportunities and par-ticipation is fantastic! These programs encourage students to be curious by seeking answers to in-depth and interest-ing questions, fostering creativity through generating and building upon ideas, and working collab-oratively through engaging and thoughtful discussion.

ENRICHING THE CURRICULUMENRICHING THE CURRICULUM

T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r 6

Commack High School’s Crossroads Yearbook and The Courant were ranked Gold/All New York publications by the Empire State Scholastic Press Association of Syracuse University. In addition, Crossroads Yearbook staff members won 17 state journalism awards and The Courant student newspaper staff won 20 state journalism awards.

With Love, from Rolling HillsWith Love, from Rolling Hills

Kindergarten students in Diane Gan-dolfi ’s class at Rolling Hills Primary School in Commack are spreading love and good cheer by sending Valentine’s Day cards to recovering soldiers at Walter Reed Na-tional Military Medical Center in Washing-ton DC. Army Veteran, Steven Brogan, who works at Walter Reed (photo below), contacted Mrs. Gandolfi to thank her for the cards and letters from the children that are on display at the hospital from the “Support Our Troops” drive that the Com-mack School District held in November.

“Our letters and cards are displayed at the hospital and we even received some pictures of soldiers holding them,” said Mrs. Gandolfi . “After Mr. Brogan reached out to me and my class to send thanks from him and all of the military men and women staying at the hospital, I was so touched that we involved the entire school in the Valentine’s Day project. What a tre-mendous lesson for the students! They are taught that we live in a free and won-derful country because of the brave men and women who are in our military.”

Award Winning Student PublicationsAward Winning Student Publications

T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r 7

David, a junior at Commack High School, is sharing his love of science with third and fourth grad-ers by volunteering as part of his commitment to the educational Kids Are Scientists Too (KAST) program. KAST is a program run by a group of passionate, science-loving high school volun-teers dedicated to bringing free, interactive science programs to benefi t elementary school stu-dents to foster love of science in our community David prepares science activ-ities for children in the afternoon SCOPE program in Commack. “I used to attend the program when

I was in elementary school and really enjoyed it,” said David. “The topics of our lessons include biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics, with hands-on ex-periments.” David recruited other high school students in the Science Honor Society to assist him. The presentations include easy, safe experiments involving mag-netism, cleaning pennies using common household ingredients, making simple cryptography disks to scramble up messages, learning about the functioning of the brain, and using cups and strings to transmit sound.

All the children at Wood Park Primary School created their own hedgehogs using a wooden egg, rice, and a peppercorn (for the nose) during a visit with artist Ja-nine Bendicksen. Janine shared a story about Mikko, a hedgehog that was trying to fi nd happiness. Before the children created their hedgehog they drew a pic-ture on the wooden egg of some-thing that makes them happy then they made a wish upon it to al-ways have happiness in their life.

Ultimately, doing what makes one happy is the best choice! At the end of the program, Ms. Bendicksen had a magic box in which she was able to make a pretend hedgehog disappear and then reappear as a live hedge-hog. All the children had the op-portunity to see the hedgehog up close and touch it if they wanted. The children enjoyed the program immensely and were very excited to be able to see and touch the real hedgehog!

Hedgehog HappinessHedgehog Happiness

David, along with volunteers Vignesh, and Chris, decoding and making a cryptography wheel with SCOPE students in the after school program.

Sharing the Love of ScienceSharing the Love of Science

Thanks to the Arts in Education program, the students of Mandrac-chia Sawmill worked with guest art-ists during their art period. Some classes had the opportunity to cre-ate clay animal pinchpots with en-vironmental artist Tonito Valderama (photo). Tony’s heritage is part Na-tive American and his art is inspired by Native American culture and nature. He instructed the students on how to use the pinch method to create a clay pot, and then add a sculpted or molded clay head in the form of an animal. Other classes worked with Joan Hodges, who, as she says, is an “African American artisan, art-ist, and proud civil rights activist.” Joan’s great, great, grandmoth-er was a slave in the south. Ms.

Hodges shared stories that have been handed down in her family for generations. She used her dolls to tell stories of the injustices which many African Americans have had to experience. Ms. Hodges met and marched with Dr. Martin Lu-ther King Jr., in the early 1960s, on Long Island and in Washington, D.C. She actually heard the “I have a dream…” speech, in person! While speaking to the classes, Joan showed her handmade cloth dolls, cut out paper dolls, and a quilt. Afterward, she showed the students how to create their own, unique paper fi gure with an original set of clothes and accessories. All of the students had interest-ing, informative, and fun fi lled expe-riences with our guest artists.

Learning About History Through Heritage Art

T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r 8

Burr Intermediate School held its fi rst Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in January. All fourth grade stu-dents competed in their indi-vidual classrooms for a class spelling champion. Class champions Jackie, Elaina, Julianna, Nick, Jus-tin, MacKensie, Naude-Lynn, Ava, Sofi a, and Ryan com-peted in the school champion-ship, before an audience fi lled with parents, teachers, com-petition judges, and class-

mates. Following 29 rounds of challenging spelling words, Ryan emerged as Burr's Spelling Bee Champion. Ryan (back row in blue shirt on right) will compete at the regional Scripps Spelling Bee at Hofstra University. Congratulations to all of the participants on a job well done! In photo, class champi-ons, along with Principal Paul Schmelter and Assistant Prin-cipal Donna Forbes.

Commack Middle School's Geography Club hosted its fi rst annual National Geographic Geography Bee in January. Students competed in prelimi-nary, fi nal, and championship rounds, answering questions about the United States and world geography. Students prepared all fall for the bee. Ethan earned fi rst place, Cooper earned second place, and Rohan and Riley earned third place. Ethan will be moving on to the next round

of the National Geographic Geog-raphy Bee, which involves taking the New York State Geography Bee exam. The top 100 students in the state will compete in Albany on March 27th. The winner of the state bee will then go on to the national bee in Washington D.C. in April. Best of luck to Ethan as he represents Commack Middle School and congratulations to all of the participants! Geography Club advisor, Lindsey Caggiano, with the fi nal-ists in the Geography Bee.

As cold as the snow and wintry weather made it feel outside, there was lots of warmth on the Rolling Hills stage provided by the fi rst graders who participated in the annual Family Heritage Day presentation. This interdisciplinary show focused on family and the many cultural heritages the children celebrate, especially during the recent holiday season. The fi rst grade teachers, Mrs. Carillo, Mrs. Mazeika, Mrs. Tice, and Mrs. Neri guided their students to learn about fami-lies through the social studies curriculum and planned songs, dances, and artwork to enhance this special stage perfor-mance. Music teacher, Ms. Klug, rehearsed songs with the students such as, “Hello to All the Children of the World,” “Families Are All Different,” and “It’s A Small World,” with hand movements and sign language.

These songs focused on many places around the world and people from different cultural backgrounds. School librarian, Mrs. Fos-ter, shared the book, How To Make an Apple Pie and See The World, with the fi rst grad-ers during library class, and during the presentation the stu-dents spoke about which coun-try provided the ingredients for the apple pie. Of course, ev-eryone loved gathering apples in the USA, and students were proud to wear the American fl ag hats they created. The children wore their artwork on ribbons throughout the presentation. The children took the audience on a journey around the globe through dance, from Mexico to Israel, Greece, Japan,

and of course, the United States, enjoy-ing every minute. Grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, laughed, smiled and even shed a few tears as the fi rst graders shone like stars on the Rolling Hills stage. Family Heritage Day is a tradition the Roll-ing Hills fi rst graders will participate in for years to come.

SCRIPPS SPELLING BEE CHAMPSPELLING BEE CHAMP at BURR

NATIONALNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC GEOGRAPHYGGEEOGGRAAPHHIC GEEOGGRRAAPHHY BEEBEE

Rolling Hills Celebrates Cultural Heritage

T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r 9

Jane Roman and her kinder-garten students are pictured wear-ing their pajamas on Pajama Day at Rolling Hills. All the members of the school community wore pajamas during the day and in the evening at Warm Up to Reading, the annual family literacy event. During Warm Up to Reading, students and their parents enjoyed participating in a host of activities with the Rolling Hills teachers in-cluding assembling a puppet, fi sh-ing for rhyming words, creating a story retelling cube, and building

words. In addition, the initiative to collect new pajamas and books for the Pajama Program is well un-der way. The mission of the Pajama Program is to collect new pajamas and books that are then do-nated to plac-es on LI such as Angela’s House.

Warm Up to Reading at ROLLING HILLS

The students in Mrs. Spilotros, Mrs. Doyle, and Mrs. Schultz’s kindergarten class at North Ridge Primary School are ready for some snow! After reading various books about winter, students brainstormed ideas of what they’d like to do in the snow. They imagined what it would be like to live inside a snow globe. Using the sight words they’ve been

learning, they completed the sentence, “If I lived in a snow globe…”. The children bundled up with their jackets, hats, and scarves, and their teachers took some action pictures. Students had a great time creating their personalized keepsake snow globes, using their winter wonderland imagi-nations!

Snowy Ponderings

Burr Intermedi-ate School collected more than 2,000 cans and packages of soup during the last week of January during the school's SOUPer Bowl for Caring drive. They "stuffed an am-bulance," fi lling every available space with the abundant dona-tions. Joseph Cutrone, a Commack parent and Director of Business Development at Hunt-er EMS, then delivered the food to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in East Northport at St. Antho-

ny's Catholic Church (5th Avenue). "There is such great commu-nity spirit in Commack," Joe said. Pictured are stu-dents and dignitaries on the day the soup was picked up, appro-priately taking place on Burr's "Kindness Day." Adults in photo, from left to right: Denise Randazzo, and Joseph Cutrone from Hunter EMS, NYS Senator John Flanagan, Burr Principal Paul Schmelt-er, Superintendent, Dr. Donald James, and NYS Assemblyman An-drew Raia.

SOUPer Bowl for CaringSOUPer Bowl for Caring

T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r 10

Commack Middle School eighth grade students are exploring robotic technology of the future, building skills in coding, mechan-ics, math, and engineering. John Murray, technology teacher and one of the advisors of the Science Olympiad Club, is focusing on helping the students get ready for the competition on February 28, 2015. This is the fi rst time they have par-ticipated in the robotics event, after Mr. Mur-ray applied for a grant through the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation and won a $1300.00 VEX VRC robot paid for by NASA. Students, James and Paul are cur-rently building this robot. They had to design and build a robot that met the strict con-straints imparted by the Science Olympiad. “More importantly, we had to learn a new language, RobotC, to program the robot through a series of maneuvers,” Mr. Murray said. “James and Paul, along with teacher Leslie Kaplan and myself, attended a robot-ics training session at Adelphi University. At this training, we learned many aspects of robotics design, but most importantly, we began the process of learning RobotC.”

The Science Olympiad is only the beginning when it comes to robot-ics in middle school technology. After the Science Olym-piad competition, the students hope to prepare for other VEX robotics com-petitions by further modifying our robot. “While re-searching robotics for Science Olym-piad I looked at the middle school tech-nology program as a whole, Mr. Murray continued. “I discovered VEX had a middle school appropriate robot called VEX IQ. I presented my idea to build-ing administration, and they loved it. I am in the process of revising our eighth grade cur-riculum to include VEX IQ and RobotC. By September, all eighth grade students will be involved in robotics, by designing, building,

and programming a VEX IQ robot.” Many thanks go to the Commack Edu-cational Foundation, which donated $10,000 at the January Board of Education meeting for the purchase of materials for the new ro-botics curriculum. For a video of the robotic project, please visit Commack’s YouTube Channel!

T h e F u t u r e i s N o w !T h e F u t u r e i s N o w !

The Great Great Kindness Kindness Challenge Challenge at CMS

All students at Commack Middle School participated in the Great Kindness Challenge, which celebrated a week of kind acts from January 26 - January 30. The Great Kindness Challenge is presented by Kids for Peace, in a global effort devoted to perform as many acts of kindness from a checklist of 50 kind deeds. More than two million children in 45 countries participated this year. Commack students were encour-aged to complete all 50 to “rock the school with kindness.” The school was awarded a seal to proudly display (above) as a “Kind-ness Certifi ed School.” A panel of CMS faculty and students, all members of the schools Social Emo-tional Development and Learning Commit-tee, were instrumental in making prepara-

tions for this building-wide event. They also helped to host “Kindness Stations” during all lunch periods, where students created kind messages to present to the middle school community. A bulletin board outside of the cafeterias highlighted student made messages of kindness, including, “Be-YOU-tiful,” “You Matter,” and, “No matter how hard life gets, always have hope.” Although the weather that week was cold and snowy, the warm acts of kindness were seen and felt throughout the building. Nurses received thank -you notes on Band-Aids, quotes of kindness fi lled the air during homeroom announcements, and students wrote notes of appreciation to their friends, teachers, and administrators. Cafeteria workers and main offi ce staff proudly dis-

played the messages of kindness they re-ceived for all to see. The SEDL committee would like to thank everyone for their sup-port during the Great Kindness Challenge and knows that CMS is a great environment to keep kindness going. Students display items they created at the Kindness Station outside the middle school cafeteria. In pho-to with students are Frank Agovino and Carrie Li-penholtz, Assis-tant Principals (left), and Princi-pal, Anthony Da-vidson (right).

T h e C o m m a c k C o u r i e r 11

Hour of Code at CMS During the month of December, Commack Middle School students joined with 15 million students from all over the world for an Hour of Code during Computer Science Education Week. Self-guided tutorials for all ages and all lev-els of expertise empower students to use and cre-ate computer code. The Hour of Code is designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. Middle school sixth and seventh grade stu-

dents participated during their ELA classes, and eighth grade students during one of their math classes. The initiative offered an opportunity for every student to learn com-puter science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativ-ity, giving students a foundation for success in any 21st-century ca-reer path. Watch a short video at http://youtu.be/2NA6HKjwm8Q or visit code.org for more information!

Out of Africa... and into the ClassroomOut of Africa... and into the Classroom Tanzanians say, “Jambo!” We say “Hello!” Commack Mid-dle School students enrolled in the Global Citizens program learned some Swahili, heard the children sing and dance at Magareza Nursery School, and they even went on Safari! Michelle Nadobny, Social Worker at North Ridge and In-dian Hollow Primary Schools, was invited to share her ex-perience about volunteering in Moshi, Tanzania, with the middle school students. The program facilitators, Mr. Eye and Ms. Cohn, developed the

course to promote exploration of global issues and apprecia-tion of all cultures. The objec-tive of the course is to enhance the educational lives of our stu-dents by fostering tolerance, interpersonal skills, empathy, patience, and a generous spirit. Throughout the year, students have started to communicate with international peers from all over the world. Ms. Nadobny shared her experience as a global citizen with pictures, videos, and song. Life in Moshi, Tanzania, is dif-ferent than ours. The school

house didn’t have light fi x-tures; if it was a sunny day, we had a sun-ny classroom. The class-rooms were bare, without pencils, books, and paper. We used chalk boards, song, dance, and lots of creativity to teach. T a n z a n i a has signifi -

cant needs in their education-al, health care, and housing systems. Despite all of these signifi cant life stressors, Ms. Nadobny felt she was living amongst a vivacious and happy community. The students walked to school every day, usually in the same clothing from the day be-fore “with smiles that radiated like the African sun.” During the presentation, Commack students learned the power of ONE individual. Mama Vicki is the principal at Magareza Nursery School. She is also the classroom teacher, cook, and nurse. Ms. Nadobny

discussed the needs of Tanza-nia. They are deprived in many ways, but they have an abun-dance of love, respect, and tol-erance for one another. There is a strong sense of connection within the school house and vil-lages. Ms. Nadobny thanked the Commack students for taking an active role learning the meaning of being a global citizen. She also left them with the famous words, “Hakuna Matata” mean-ing, “no worries, and no prob-lems.” We need to refl ect and remember what we are grateful for. We have something to learn from our far neighbors in Africa.

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Commack High School science re-search students are working hard to make a difference in this world. The power of their young minds to seek solutions that will help others and perhaps change the future for all us is within their reach. One specifi c group of young engineers, Dan, Brianna, Abi, Melike, and Annop de-signed and built a device created specifi -cally for a man with limited mobility, Glen Campbell, who has quadriplegia. Glen, an attorney, needed better ac-cess to computers and documents via a voice activated control system so he could work more independently. The students used motors, sprockets, chain, spur gears, an arduino microcontroller, and custom-ized commands (programmed) to create a customized desktop that is controlled voice activation. Glen can move the computer, book stand, and telephone stand easily now, increasing his independence and calls the “Offi ce Top Project” a “great device and

a great tool” that has en-hanced his limited mobility in a very positive way. Science research stu-dents have been helping create devices for those with limited mobility for the past seven years, under the tutelage of volunteer Gary Shaw, science re-search teacher Richard Kurtz, and Anthony Pensiero, a Commack graduate now at-tending Columbia University, along with other science and technology teachers. They have helped children, offi ce workers, and built award winning devices to assist the specifi c needs of many individuals with disabilities over the years. This project won an Honorable Mention in the SourceAmerica Design Challenge, a national engineering competition to design workplace technology for people with dis-abilities. High school and college students

partner with an organization which employs people with disabilities or individual with a disability to invent a process, device, sys-tem or software for a more productive work environment. This service learning oppor-tunity develops engineering, communica-tion, writing, math, presentation, and so-cial skills while helping the community and competing for cash prizes. To view a video of the “Offi ce Top Project” and to see it in action, please visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLS-HswtmGQ&feature=youtu.be.

CHS Offi ce Top Project:

Designing Technology to Change Lives

Congratulations to the Commack Cougars!Girls Fencing Team - Suffolk County Champions

Girls Varsity Basketball Team - League 1 Champions

www.commackschools.org

Commack Board of Education:

Deborah Guber - PresidentSteven Hartman - Vice President

Trustees: Janine DiGirolamo, MaryJo Masciello, James Tampellini

Superintendent of Schools: Dr. Donald A. James