January 2010 Newsletter

HS East boasts of three students, who were named as Semi-finalists in the prestigious Siemens Competition, administered annually by the College Board. The Siemens Foundation announced the Semifinalists and Regional Finalists for the Siemens Competiion in Math, Science and Technology on October 23, 2009. A record number of 1,348 projects were received

this year for the competition, and 318 students were named semifinalists. Thomas McCune and Brett Teplitz, both juniors, were awarded for their team project in biochemistry titled: Mutational Analysis of the Escherichia coli MoeB Protein Provides Insight into the Mechanism of E1-like Enzyme Acti-vation. Matthew Miecnikowski, a senior, was awarded for his work as part of a materials science team project from the Garcia Program at SUNY

Stony Brook with Mubarrat Bhuiyan from Jericho High School.

We are almost at the midway mark for the 2009-2010 school year. Time flies when you’re having fun! As you will read in this edition, already this year we have had a significant number of accomplishments in academics, athletics and

extracurricular activities. Our students are pushing themselves to finish the second quarter strong and will soon be preparing for midterms and for the Juniors the Regents Examination in English. The High School East staff is working hard as always to ensure that our students receive high quality instruction. We have continued with staff development to strengthen our knowledge of key skills that students need to be competitive in today’s world. Our work is translating into unique, authentic,

meaningful and enjoyable learning experiences for our students. Excellence abounds in and outside of the classroom at High School East. As in the past, a number of our seniors have already secured admission into some of the finest institutions in the nation. During this cold winter season our stu-dents showed school and holiday spirit in various ways including a class spirit day competition, winter sports pep rally, holiday show for the James E. Allen Alternative School and a myriad of charitable community service endeavors. We

take great pride in all that the students do to uphold the tradition and image of High School East! I will end this message with a look into the future. We are currently in the process of creating the master schedule for the 2010-2011 school year. By the time you read this, students would have had presentations on courses, electives and new course request procedures. Also, teachers have made course recommendations to students for their future schedules. You should have received an email from me or a letter informing you that students are invited to input their course requests online this year. If you have not received this communication, please visit our school website or contact the guidance department. Parents, please take this opportunity to discuss the various courses available at High

School East with your child. As always we thank the Board of Education, the Superintendent and Central Office Staff, the High School East PTSA and of course the parents of our community for making it possible for us to provide the best educational experience

for our students. Remember: Respect, Responsibility and Excellence! Dr. J. A. Woodberry Principal, HS East

A Special Message from Dr. Woodberry

Continued Recognition for HS East Scholars

HALF HOLLOW

HILLS

HIGH SCHOOL EAST

PRINCIPAL’S

NEWSLETTER

January 11, 2010 Volume 1 , Issue II

Perspectives

The Insider’s View

• Students and staff support holiday chari-

ties

• 21st Century Learning projects in the class-

room and beyond

• Fall athletic teams

receive honors

Inside this issue:

Page 2 Making a Difference to

our Troops Overseas

Page 4 Young Scientists Take

Up the Challenge

Pages 6&7 Spirit Day and Winter Pep Rally

Page 8 Outstanding Wrestlers

The American Association of University Women, Hunt-ington Branch presented their Excellence in Science Awards on November 17, 2009. With the help and sup-port of members, including our own science teacher Ms. Susan Hirschmann, pictured 3rd from left, they promote this program to recognize young women in their junior year in high school who, through their extraordinary interest, method of inquiry and creative expression in science, have presented themselves as outstanding stu-dents. We are proud of this year’s HS East recipient Carly Emmer, featured 5th from right along with winners

from other area schools.

Page 2 Perspectives

Architecture Students Spread Holiday Cheer

The Architecture Club—Project Green wanted to do something special for needy children this holiday season. Club member Danielle Marx researched local orphanages and made a connection with Little Flower Children’s Services and Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch. After numerous bake sales, students raised money to build toy boxes and fill them with toys. Club officers, VP Rebecca Simon, VP Ari Horowitz, and Secretary Jordan Brenner, shopped for the supplies needed to build the toy boxes. Other club members, including Max Steck, Lau-ren Sanit, Libby Lim and Nicholas Fondacaro worked tirelessly on the construction and painting during meetings, at home, and on free peri-ods to ensure that the toy boxes would be ready for holiday delivery. Art teacher Ms. Marianne Mead and more club members shopped for toys to fill the boxes. Mr. Siegel, a parent of a club member, along with Ms. Mead, Jared Siegel, Chanel Hytower, Max Steck, Jagger Steck, and Syed Ali personally delivered two toy boxes to each orphanage. They used materials made from recycled wood scraps, scrapwood, and more eco-friendly paints such as latex H2O spray paint to try and maintain the club’s eco-friendly goals. Ms. Mead stated, “They were the perfect Architecture Elves this holiday season and I am proud of

them.”

Article and photo contributed by Marianne Mead. For more photos see the Media Gallery on the HSE Webpage.

Francesco Fanelli started the tradition two years ago when he was a senior here at HS East. As an active participant in the Trees for Troops campaign sponsored by Fed Ex and Christmas SPIRIT Founda-tion, he came up with the idea of HS East students making a contribu-tion by writing letters or holiday cards to our troops overseas. Fran-cesco returned each year after he graduated to continue his legacy. This year he teamed up with English teacher Ms. Nicole Dalton and her senior College Writing class to not only encourage students to write letters, but to donate items such as magazines, shaving cream,

batteries, CDs, and other life necessities. On Monday, November 30, 2009, Francesco and students from Ms. Dalton’s class visited all the English classes throughout the day to pitch their cause. The response was overwhelming and his project was a huge success: Francesco sent over 500 letters and cards, a

record breaker over last year’s 300 mark. Ms. Dalton’s students sent

“This whole project was an amazing ex-

perience for me and my students.” eleven full boxes of supplies for the troops in Afghanistan, plus four big manila envelopes with holiday greeting cards from a few hundred students. Ms. Dalton stated, “This whole project was an amazing experience from beginning to end for me and my students.” We hope the tradition will continue in years to come—with the inspira-

tional leadership of Mr. Fanelli and Ms. Dalton, we know we can count on the compassion and thoughtfulness of our students to

truly make a difference in the lives of those who defend our country.

Making a Difference to Our Troops Overseas

Francesco Fanelli (center) with Kaitlyn Rick, Caroline Os-

tuni, Malik Destil, Akhil Muttreja and Nicholas Forelli

Seniors in Ms. Dalton’s College Writing class exhibit their

excitement as they prepare the boxes for shipping.

Too often, the media ignores the good that teenagers are capable of. However, when given the opportunity and the guidance, teens can be as dedicated and generous as many well-known philanthropists. The annual Pie War reminds High School East

of this. Mr. Rendon and Ms. Carroll's service-learning project started three years ago as a way to teach business-world skills and habits though a relevant and rewarding medium. The students learn about effective advertising; professional email, letter, and memo writing; budget shopping; citizenship and service; and, most importantly, that they can use their writing and speaking to help

improve the lives of others. Every year, the students “pitch” possible charities--American Cancer Society, foster homes, Habitat for Humanity--and usually these turn into lengthy d iscuss ions . However , in

November, the discussion was halted when Alex McLean mentioned “Chillin’ with Adam: The Adam Gaynes Foundation.” The name was foreign to some class members, including the teachers, but Alex soon explained that Adam was a West Hollow student who lost his fight with a brain tumor. He would have been graduating with this senior class in June. Focused on Alex’s pres-entation, the students learned that the Foundation helps im-prove pediatric cancer facilities and make treatment a bit easier for the young patients. The class voted unanimously to make Chillin’ with Adam the recipient

of their fundraising efforts. Students immediately drafted professional letters to Dr. Woodberry, the Gaynes family, the district PR firm, and other administrators. All quickly replied with their support. Next, they scoured the school looking for volunteers to be pied, and the faculty of High School East did

not disappoint. More than twenty volunteers stepped up, including teachers, administrators, and one brave security guard. To keep the competition intense, the class narrowed the list down to a

group of ten. A week of poster designing, bucket decorating, and fund raising culminated with the actual "pie-ing" at the winter pep rally. The crowd roared as Mr. Wiley and Mr. Breig received a delicious demise. The "safe" teachers clapped and laughed in support. From a front row seat, a class of seniors smiled, knowing that their

work had broken previous Pie War records and raised over

$800 for pediatric cancer.

-Article by Patrick Rendon -Photos by Life Touch

Volume 1 , Issue II Page 3

A Pie in the Face Brings Smiles at HS East and Beyond

Dylan’s Footprint Leaves a Mark

in Our Hearts and Minds The Suffolk County High School Principals’ Association started an initiative this year called Compassion Without Borders. The Purpose of the program is to unite the County’s high schools in an effort to make a significant contribution to a charitable cause. Each year a cause will be identified at one of

the Suffolk County high schools. The “Caravan of Compassion”, led by student leaders from each high school and directed by the building principals, will work to raise funds, awareness and to contribute time to assisting someone in need at one of our

neighboring schools. The program kicked off at Harborfields High School on October 22, 2009. Hundreds of student leaders from the various high schools

listened to mov-ing presentations by principals, a superintendent, a student govern-ment president and the young man who was the inspiration

for the idea. This active, en-gaging, hard-working Harbor-field’s student is Dylan Thomp-son. He suffers

from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which confines him to a wheelchair and presents a myriad of health related issues. Dylan’s family lives in a home that is not conducive to his needs, in disrepair and they are struggling financially. Despite his condition and the cir-cumstances he keeps a positive attitude, stay’s active within his school community and strives

to do all that he can in life. Recognizing this, his school community began a fundraising campaign to try to brighten his life the way he brightens theirs. “Dylan’s Footprint” was developed to help Dylan’s Family and other families on Long Island who are affected by Duchenne Muscular Dystro-

phy. High School East and West did their part in contributing to this worthy cause. The two schools had a volleyball tournament to raise money for the cause. High School East also sold several food items to bring in more funds. As a result of the students’ efforts, spearheaded mainly by student government representatives, High School East and West

donated $1000 each to Dylan’s Footprint. — Dr. J.A. Woodberry

Young Scientists Take up the Challenge On December 9, 2009, two teams from East competed in the OSI Protein Challenge at Stony Brook University for the first time. We were among 27 teams representing 20 schools from Nassau and Suf-folk County. Students prepared by reading articles, learning the princi-ples of protein structure, and learning a computer application to visu-alize molecular structures. We submitted a pre-built model of insulin a week before the event. At Stony Brook, the teams competed on a written exam and built a model of a protein associated with the insulin receptor. They had to use the Jmol computer software, documents from RCSB Protein Data Bank, and articles provided at the competi-tion. Our teams were very successful with a fourth and seventh place rank. The team members are featured below: Hannah Kenagy, Lekha Grandhi, Rohit Ramani, Eric Teplitz, Brett Teplitz and Daniel Park,

along with their coach Glen Cochrane.

21st Century Learning

Page 4 Perspectives

The Global Classroom Catches On Earlier this year, students in Ms. Sirulnick’s French class participated in a quiz challenge via video conference with students in France. Since then, Ms. Merejo was able to arrange a similar conference for her seniors in Spanish 12. This time, students engaged in conversational interaction with students in the Dominican Republic. In Spanish, they shared personal ex-periences such as their college aspirations and future goals. One interna-tional conversation revealed that a Dominican Republic student would be attending the same college as one of our students, and they discussed the possibility of being roommates! Our students were also intrigued when they noticed their counterparts wearing school uniforms. The students had

fun, used the language authentically, and made new global friends.

International Slide Rule Competition Last spring, Rose Suarez’s ninth grade research class at High School East participated in the Slide Rule Museum’s International Slide Rule Competition. The program intends to promote numeracy while increasing students’ knowledge of slide rules. Hannah Kenagy, a student in the class, learned about the competition while doing mathematics research and recommended it to her teacher. The mu-seum lent the class a set of slide rules which the students practiced using in preparation for a competition. Everyone was excited since this was the first class to participate in the com-petition. Despite sev-eral t ie breaking rounds, the top scorers held their ground. Sil-ver medals were awarded to three stu-dents (Lekha Grandhi, Connie Long, and Adam Needelman) while two students received first place gold medals (Hannah Kenagy and Jane Hung). Visit http://sliderulemuseum.com/ for more informa-

tion about the International Slide Rule Competition.

—Article and photo by Rose Suarez

Page 5 Volume 1 , Issue II

21st Century Learning

Mount Olympus Comes to the Lecture Hall Ms. DeStefano and her students make the Gods come alive in her English elective Mythology. Highlights from the fall 2009 event in-cluded the much anticipated disputes over the Golden Apple of Hes-perides, the marital woes of Hera and the philandering Zeus, and the musical style of Apollo vs. Pan. During the meeting, Hermes arduously defended himself, as his theft of Apollo’s cattle was brought to light. Hephaestus scorned his wife Aph-rodite for her love affair with Ares, the hunky God of War; and Poseidon apolo-gized to Athena for defiling her temple, while bragging about his love affair with Medusa, poor Gor-gon. Eris, Goddess of Discord was present to enjoy the bickering, and Dionysus passed his non-alcoholic wine skin and reveled in the chaos. Pictured above: Dakota Smith as Dionysus, God of Wine; Josh Rosenbaum as Apollo, God of the sun and Music; Matt Russo as Hephaestus, The Blacksmith God; Dianna Jackson as The Gorgon, Medusa; Julia Waldman as Aphrodite, Goddess of Love; Andrew Mock as Zeus, Lord of the Universe; Meg Sexton as Athena, Goddess of War; Sam Kiamanesh as Hermes, the Messenger God; Brian Springall as Pan, God of Nature; Samantha Mele as Artemis, Goddess of the

Hunt. —Article by Lauren DeStefano

“True Colors” Lift Spirits The Advanced Placement Art History Installation has become an annual event that students and staff at HS East look forward to each year. This year we have been inspired by the artist Dale Chihuly. He is a contemporary glass artist that founded the Pilchuck Glass School to promote glass as a fine art medium. Chihuly was injured in an automobile accident, which caused him to become blind in his left eye. Though injured, it has not stopped him from creating fine pieces of glass art work. He has trans-formed what we typically think of glass by creating delicate, organic forms and combining them to form unusual, lay-

ered large scale glass installations. This years' installation entitled 'True

Colors' will transform our school envi-ronment in an interesting way. Cello-phane and tape creates the illusion of glass. Cellophane is a transparent mate-rial that allows light to penetrate for a beautiful rainbow, similar to glass. In addition, color is such an important element in the creation of art. It has the power to affect how one feels and thinks. It can also influence a person's

mood and provoke thought. The installation is located in the area between the two elevators near the west gym. We believe this is the perfect location for our installation since most students pass through this area at least one time during their day, therefore it can easily make a renowned and notice-

able statement about Art History. —Article and photos

by Allyson Uttendorfer

Future Business Leaders Students at all grade levels put their creative minds together not only in the various business courses offered, but in the myriad extra-curricular activities offered by our business department. One of the benefits of taking advantage of our business program is that it offers students an opportunity to work collaboratively on real life projects and experiences in such fields as marketing,

entrepreneurship, advertising and much more. On December 7, 2009, students from both high schools partici-pated in the Business Leadership Competition at Farming-dale University sponsored by the Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce, a program of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce. Over 200 high school students competed in multiple business categories. The HS East students pictured below, under the tutelage of business teacher Jeff Finch, won or placed in their respective categories. Jason Breitstone took first place in the Job Interview category; Jacob Dorfman and Brian Farello placed third for Entrepreneurship; Eric Kessler and Jon

Cohen also received third place honors for Hospitality Services.

HS East was alive with spirit on Friday, December 18, 2009. Students supported HSE and their teachers by dis-playing their excitement in red, black and white apparel. There were even delectable school colored treats in some locations. Teachers competed by encouraging spirit in their classes and the results were so overwhelming, we couldn’t decide who would be the

winner. The top five most spirited teachers: Ms. Berrios, Ms. Zarra, Mr. Rendon, Ms. Stafford and Ms. Tamburello, are featured below center. Enjoy more

photos on the Media Gallery.

Page 6 Perspectives

Spirit Day December 2009

Winter Pep Rally

Our winter pep rally on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 was an event full of surprises. After cheering on our winter sports teams, the winning teacher of Spirit Day, Ms. Berrios, was announced. That was followed by the drawing for the Netbook raffle, sponsored by the School Based Management Team’s lawn sign committee. As a finale, the top two winners of the Pie Wars received their winnings right in the face! (See the full Pie Wars story on page 3). All in all it was a perfect ending to the last day before win-ter vacation. Enjoy some highlights below and see more on our Media

Gallery.

Page 7 Volume 1 , Issue II

A Music Season to Remember It’s been a busy and exciting season for our young musicians and singers. Early in Oc-tober, HS East students received the dis-tinquished honor of having been selected by the New York State School Music Asso-ciation to represent Half Hollow Hills in the 74th Annual All-State NYSSMA Winter Conference. They performed at the world renowned Eastman Theatre in Rochester, NY, on December 5th and 6th. Featured below left, they are: Matthew Jurman (Bass Voice, Vocal Jazz Ensemble), Andrew Grossman (Jazz Drum Set Alternate and Timpani Alternate), Alyssa Hasbrouck (Alto Saxophone, Instrumental Jazz Ensem-ble and Baritone Saxophone Alternate), Daphne Shen (Violin, String Orchestra), Emma Ripp (Cello, String Orchestra), Zachary Zadek (Jazz Tenor Voice Alter-nate and Jazz Piano Alternate), Cara Laban (Alto Voice Alternate), Nicole Honovich (Soprano Voice Alternate), Andre Doughty (Jazz Bass Voice Alternate), and Victoria

Perrier (Violin, String Orchestra).

There were also a number of All County and All State singers under the tutelage and inspiration of our new choral director, Danielle McRoy. Pictured below center are Brittany Nadler, Brittany Lovett, Jackie Bakewell, Jackie Vingan, Christine Grosso, Cara Laban, Ryan Kober, Courtney Roth, Whitney Paul, Matt Jurman, Peter Scelfo, Jacy McDonough, Brendan Holly and Zack

Zadek. Speaking of Brendan Holly (below right), for the third year in a row, he was selected for the Macy’s Day Parade Great American Marching Band. Each year there are audi-tions, and two instrumental musicians and two color guards are chosen from each state. Once again congratulations Brendan

for this distinguished honor! The Half Hollow Hiills East Symphonic Band was bestowed the honor of perform-ing at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in America’s Youth in Concert. The event is

a holiday season invitational concert re-flecting the musical achievements of Amer-ica’s Youth. The band under the expert conducting of Mr. Robert Belanich was one of six bands selected from throughout

New York state. Finally, our winter concerts on December 15th and 17th were the perfect finale to a wonderful season. All the hard work by our music staff and talented students con-verged in two joyous and entertaining eve-

nings. We greatly appreciate the honor our mu-sic program brings to HS East and wish all

involved continued success.

Holiday Concert a Tradition A holiday tradition, the student government sponsors the Holiday Concert at James E. Allen Alternative School. Singers, musicians and dancers dazzled the audience with inspired performances creating a truly joyous event. Every year our students enjoy the warm welcome they receive from the students and staff of James E.

Allen.

Music Teacher Honored by Three Village Schools

Leanne Strom, Orchestra Director, has been invited to guest conduct at the Three Village Schools All-District Music Festival in February. This is a won-derful honor and oppor-tunity for her and a great connection between two prominent orchestra pro-grams. Ms. Strom has been a valuable member of our music department and she is an accom-plished musician and con-

ductor in her own right.

High School East 50 Vanderbilt Parkway Dix Hills, NY 11746

Produced by: Darlene Lilla

Assistant Principal Phone: 631-592-3128 Fax: 631-592-3121

E-mail: [email protected]

HALF HOLLOW HILLS

HIGH SCHOOL EAST

PRINCIPAL’S

NEWSLETTER

High School East

Visit Our Website: www.halfhollowhills.k12.ny.us

JV Soccer Coach Bestowed Honors Matt Mayo, a well-respected earth science teacher here at High School East was the recipient of the League III Junior Varsity Soccer Coach of the Year Award for the 2009 season. The coaches of League III awarded this honor to Mr. Mayo for his hard work and dedication he put forth throughout the entire season. Mr. Mayo coached his team to an impressive 7 wins and 5 losses record despite losing several key players to injury and to promotions of his players to the Varsity team that made the playoffs. This was Mr. Mayo’s fifth year as the JV Soccer Coach and he is very proud of his team’s commitment and dedication this past season. Mr. Mayo also credits the success of

his team to the other soccer coaches here at High School East. He believes that they have worked hard to establish a “soccer program”. The Junior Varsity, Freshmen, and Varsity teams practiced together and even attended each others games whenever possible. This camaraderie and support certainly foreshadows success in the years to come. Congratulations to Mr. Mayo and to all the s o c c e r teams of High School East for a truly memo-rable sea-

son.

Scholarship and

Sportsmanship Unite The awards kept pouring in this winter for athletes with high aca-demic achievement and sportsman-ship. Below are the teams and

players honored so far. The Scholar Athlete Team Award is bestowed on teams whose mem-bers achieve academic excellence. This fall, the HHH East and West Girls’ Gymnastics Team received this honor from the New York State Public High School Athletic

Association, Inc. (NYSPHSAA). Individual players were also hon-ored for their academic achieve-ment. Maxx Meyer and Jessica Engelthaler were recipients of the All county Scholar Athlete Award by both Girls and Boys Soccer Coaches Associations. Both stu-dents represent the true meaning of Scholar-Athlete. Commitment, dedication and striving for excel-lence are things that Jessica and Maxx do on the athletic field and in the classroom. This prestigious

award is given to scholar-athletes that exemplify academics, athletic ability, character and community service. Additionally, the Suffolk Zone Physical Education Award was bestowed on Maxx Meyer and Jasmine Wasserman. The criteria for this award is high physical edu-cation achievement, scholastically sound performance in all academic areas, outstanding character, lead-ership in Physical Education class and demonstration of leadership

qualities in school-wide activities. The following teams were com-mended by NYSPHSAA for having best exemplified the spirit of sportsmanship during the 2009-10 fall season: Varsity Girls’ Tennis, Varsity Fall Girls’ Swimming,, Var-sity Girls’ Cross Country and Var-

sity Girls’ Soccer.

Our Football Team exhibited sig-nificant improvement on both the Varsity and J.V. levels. All of us here at East and especially the coaching staff are proud of the growth of both teams. Some of our outstanding team members

are congratulated on their post-season honors: Dominick Ran-dazzo, All-County, 1st Team All-League; Justin Teufel, 1st Team All-League, National Football Founda-tion Scholar Athlete (Suffolk County Team); Brian Carle, 2nd Team All-League; Jared Higgins, 2nd Team All-League; Rob Merckling, 2nd Team All-League. Dorian America tried out and was selected to play in the Exceptional Senior

Football Game for Suffolk County.

Finally, sometimes a single athlete stands out in his or her sport, achieving accolades of praise. This fall season that athlete is Samantha Elgort, who earned a second place medal in the Singles Consolation Championship at the State Tennis Championships in Syracuse. In addition to this honor, Samantha was praised by Charles A. Leunig, the Superintendent of Schools in Copiague, in a special letter to our district, for her sportsmanlike con-

duct throughout the tournament.

Congratulations to all athletes,

teams and coaches.

A Multitude of Team and Athlete Honors

Outstanding Wrestlers The annual Hills East Holiday Alumni Wrestling Tournament was a huge success this year as HSE and HSW crowned champions at 152lbs and 140lbs respectively. DeShawn McNeil (HSE), scored a takedown with four seconds left in the match, as fifty plus alumni cheered in the VIP section of the school gym. The crowd of 500 plus were also entertained as Tyler Grimaldi (HSW), at 140lbs, registered a pin at 5:30 of the match. Both were voted Outstanding Wrestlers by their teams. Coach Magnani was honored before the finals

with a plaque presentation for his 31 years of service to the HHH wrestling community.