District Points of Pride

Points of Pride Archive

2012-13

• Glen Cove High School DECA members attended the annual New York State Career Conference and Competition in Rochester, N.Y., where they participated in competitions in business, marketing and entrepreneurship. Glen Cove DECA brought home four medals, a first-place trophy and a plaque for fundraising for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, this year's New York State-designated DECA charity. The chapter adviser is Judi Geraghty, her first year.

• Members and officers of the Glen Cove High School Student Senate and Class of 2013 who comprise the school’s City 2 City committee to assist their sister city Long Beach in the wake of Superstorm Sandy welcomed 15 students from Long Beach High School for breakfast and a tour of the school facilities. The Long Beach students were also treated to a performance by the GCHS Select Chorale. Through various activities, City to City raised more than $2,000 in gift cards for stores that supply much-needed goods and services to aid those Long Beach students whose families suffered losses in the storm. They also collected much-needed school supplies and coats, conducted a toy drive and held a dinner-and-show fundraiser for the cause. Other Glen Cove schools supported the effort, with Gribbin School raising an additional $200. Appreciative Long Beach students presented GCHS with a plaque and a piece of the Long Beach boardwalk that had been wiped out in the storm, signed by student leaders at the school. Glen Cove and Long Beach are the only two incorporated cities on Long Island, and many Glen Cove teachers and staff members reside in Long Beach.

• During the winter season’s athletics awards ceremony, varsity wrestler Robert Krisch was named winner of the prestigious Superintendent’s Award. Michael Acerra, Emily Anderson and Yaqarah LeTellier were also nominated. MVP and Booster Club Award winners were named for every winter squad, and numerous other awards were handed out.

• Several students in Melissa Johnides’ Advanced Photography class at Glen Cove High School were selected to showcase their work in an exhibit sponsored by the Professional Women Photographers group at the HP Calumet Gallery in New York City this month. Congratulations to junior Ana Jaco, who won second place overall and a cash award for her beautiful photos of flowers.

• Thirteen students at Finley Middle School were presented with Citizenship of the Month awards for January and February. Members of the PTA and Principal Nelson Iocolano presented these awards to students who demonstrated exemplary humanitarian qualities around the building. Some positive character traits demonstrated included respect toward others, honesty, dependability, cooperativeness, kindness, understanding and good decision-making. An additional nine students received special recognition.

• Finley Middle School presented its production of “Aladdin Jr.,” a one-act, seven-scene musical adaptation of the animated Disney film “Aladdin,” which is an adaptation of the folk tale of the same name. The Finley School rendition included many of the same popular songs from the Disney movie, including "Friend Like Me” and "A Whole New World.” Aladdin was played by Sam Israel, while Alyssa Zangari played Princess Jasmine.

• In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, Landing School welcomed Glen Cove resident Robert Lynch to share some Irish culture with young students. A charter member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Mr. Lynch entertained the children by performing some popular songs on the bagpipes. He also taught them how to march in a parade and say “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” in Irish Gaelic. Additionally, a leprechaun stopped by Deasy School to spread St. Patrick’s Day cheer.

• Landing School honored 34 students in grades 3-5 as “Junior Rising Stars” during a special assembly. In order to be considered for this honor, students must take the opportunity to improve themselves by being a better citizen, friend or student through hard work, attendance and working well with others, among other criteria.

• Connolly School fifth-grader Danny DaCosta-Ortiz is the winner of the Glen Cove Boys and Girls Club Tech Digital Arts Festival Award. Danny won in the photo illustration category for his graphic design “An Animation to the Mind,” which showed an animated illustration of himself thinking, with an actual photograph of himself within the thought cloud. Danny won a $50 gift certificate to Best Buy and an opportunity to advance to the national round with a $500 award and trip at stake. Nia Duckett, also from Glen Cove, won for her musical piece titled “A.W.E.S.O.M.E.”

• Students at Gribbin Elementary School pledged to read in unison for 30 minutes in recognition of Read Across America Day, a national event for the promotion of literacy sponsored by the National Education Association and Random House. The event is held in conjunction with the birthday of Dr. Seuss.

• Adopting the theme “Healthy Mind, Healthy Body” for the 2012-13 school year, Gribbin School has been participating in many activities during the year that highlight the need for proper nutrition, exercise and overall health. Students throughout the school had an opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of healthy eating featuring a variety of nutritious snacks. Classes made everything from smoothies and trail mix to yogurt parfaits, with students assembling their own snacks. Every class shared their healthy snacks with another class in their grade. Teachers have been discussing the importance of maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle with their students. The initiative serves to educate students on healthy choices and food options in everyday life.

• A Deasy School tradition continued as students celebrated the dog days of winter with a fun and tasty outdoor program, thanks to an assist from the Science Museum of Long Island in Syosset. Students took turns extracting maple from the school’s maple tree. The young children learned that maple can only be tapped from a tree during the months of February and March, and that maple syrup tastes best when it first comes out of the tree. Students received a taste of this “Grade A” maple syrup and learned that most pancake syrup is made from corn syrup, not maple. The exercise taught the students about nature, the environment and nutrition in a fun, delicious and very hands-on way as part of their ongoing unit on tree life.

• The Glen Cove Council of PTAs came together at the Swan Club in Roslyn to honor Deborah Butler Pearsall as the 2013 Community Scholarship Honoree. Ms. Pearsall, a retired Glen Cove High School teacher and former DECA adviser who led the group to numerous awards, was honored for her commitment to and support of Glen Cove students, organizations and the recreational opportunities she helps to makes possible. The event raised money for the Glen Cove Community Scholarship Fund for the Class of 2013 graduates. Founded in 1958, the fund annually administers grants in the form of scholarships to deserving Glen Cove High School seniors. A special thank-you goes to PTA members, local merchants and corporate sponsors who made the event possible.

• Glen Cove High School is proud to announce its Top 20 academically ranked members of the Class of 2013. Elias Blinkoff is the Class of 2013 Valedictorian with a 105.19 academic average. Second is Salutatorian Nicole D’Ambrosio with a 102.46 average. The third-ranked student and this year’s Honorarian is Mario Serrano with an average of 101.11. The following students complete the Top 20 in descending order from 4-20: Rachel Brady, Stanislaw Tokarz, Jennifer Ingegno, Jerry Ho, Alexandra Franklin, Robert Krisch, Claire Lechtenberg, Carina Zupa, Ciara Seebachan, Devon Roesch, Tiffany Vizcarra, John Garcia, Aisha Ali, Briana Leon, Marco Lopez, Matthew Kolbert and John Benetiz.

• Selected from over 200,000 artistic and written entries, an original photograph taken by Glen Cove High School junior Alejandro Rosa Salinas entitled "Night Swing" had earned him the prestigious honor of Gold Key (Northeast Art Region). Alejandro’s winning photo will now be included in national competition where he will be eligible for additional honors and prizes. National medalists will be announced in March. Congratulations to Alejandro and his teacher Steve Lombardo.

• Continuing Glen Cove High School’s commitment to a strong media and communications education, five students in the TV Production 3 independent study class had a unique opportunity to cover the first official showcase performance of up-and-coming artist B. Smyth at the Gramercy Theater in New York City on Jan. 30.  The event served as Motown’s way to introduce the artist to the music industry and related press, hosting over 400 people. GCTV students, supervised by media communications teacher Christopher Barry (above) and television production assistant Pat Iannelli, worked together on location to photograph and videotape the entire event, airing the segment on the high school’s Friday morning news. Student Francesca Sharper acted as the on-camera host, interviewing fans in the audience, with other students took photographs and shared the role of videographer throughout the performance.

• Students in all grade levels at Finley Middle School received a unique view of bullying during a special presentation by Sonny Bifone, a Community Resource Officer with the Glen Cove City Police Department, and Charmaine Clarke, Mentoring Director at the Glen Cove Youth Bureau, entitled “Bullying and Its Consequences.” The workshop depicted real life victims of bullying, including cyber bullying, through the use of emotional news videos and other clips. Officer Bifone emphasized the dire consequences associated with bullying and how students should be working to prevent it. The program was arranged by school social worker Linda Thomas-Batson.

• Students at Gribbin School participated in “The Souper Bowl of Caring,” for the fourth year in a row. The Souper Bowl is a nationwide food drive that calls on schools, churches, and other organizations to collect non-perishable food items and donate them to a charity of their choice. The event coincides with the NFL’s Super Bowl to bring awareness to the needs of food pantries across the countries, which are traditionally depleted following the holiday season. Gribbin School families donated 305 pounds of food over the two-week collection period, which was was donated to the food pantry at Saint Rocco’s Church.

• Culminating last month’s PARP celebration, Landing Interim Principal Martin Malone agreed to kiss a live pig if the students met the schoolwide goal of reading for 38,000 minutes combined. The students shattered their goal, reading for more than 48,600 minutes during the two-week PARP period. As a result, Mr. Malone puckered up to a 50 lb. pig named Junk. Congratulations to the students on their accomplishment and kudos to Mr. Malone for being a good sport. Thanks to owner Micah Danney as well, for allowing Junk to participate in the challenge.

• As part of their studies on the environment and life forms, students from Deasy School visited the Garvies Point Museum and Preserve where they learned about the north shore’s beaches, life forms, erosion, and geology. Youngsters collected samples from the ground, and later determined soil type by measuring relative amounts of clay, sand and silt particles. They also collected shell samples, interviewed s shell collector, Skyped with a shell jewelry maker and even conducted a snail race, making their studies of mollusks memorable.

• Under the direction of teacher Valarie Scicchitano, fifth-grade students at Connolly School created a rainforest museum in the school library. Students combined their studies of art, science, English Language Arts and math to create a beautiful exhibit, equipped with colorful images, important facts about the rainforest, lots of trees and even a few live animals! Third and fourth-graders took a tour of the museum. The exercise reflects the type on interdisciplinary, hands-on projects recommended with the new Common Core Standards.

• Glen Cove High School was abound with international celebrations during the month of February. Tiffany Fan’s Chinese II class celebrated Chinese New Year by decorating a bulletin board with Chinese writing and drawings of snakes, as it is the year of the snake. They also constructed traditional lanterns, adorning them with phrases related to the Chinese New Year. Additionally Maria Brofka’s Italian IV class hosted a Carnevale celebration in honor of Italy’s winter mardi gras style celebration which is considered the country’s last big party before the beginning of Lent.

• Three members of the Glen Cove High School varsity softball team will be showcasing their on-the-field talents in college next spring. Pitcher Carina Zupa, centerfielder Kayla Morrissey, and shortstop Brianna Leon will all be playing softball, with Carina receiving a full scholarship (academic and athletic) to Sacred Heart University. Kayla, who also received a scholarship, will attend Queens College while Brianna has her sights set on SUNY Purchase.

• The College Board has named 38 former and current Glen Cove High School students as Advanced Placement Scholars for the 2012-13 school year following their successful performance on the AP exams. This represents a 35 percent increase in the number of AP Scholars from last year. Research consistently shows that AP students who score a 3 or higher on AP exams (based on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest) typically experience greater academic success in college and have higher college graduation rates. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on students’ performance on AP exams. AP Scholars score 3 or higher on three or more AP exams; AP Scholars with Honor achieve an average score of 3.25 or higher on all AP exams or 3 or higher on four or more exams; and AP Scholars with Distinction achieve an average score of 3.5 or higher on all AP exams or 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. In addition to the large increase in AP Scholars overall, the number of GCHS AP Scholars with Distinction doubled from last year.

• Glen Cove School District’s music teachers are proud to announce that 47 student-musicians from throughout the district were selected to perform at the Nassau Music Educators Association All-County Music Festival this year. Students were selected based on their outstanding musical achievement as well NYSSMA evaluations. The students performed in concert at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts earlier this month.

• Congratulations to Finley Middle School student Judy Tuifel for being selected to perform as a member of the string section in the prestigious Gemini Youth Orchestra 2012 Winter Concert, held at the Symphony Space performing arts center in New York City in December. A member of the Violin II group, Judy joined other NYSSMA Level IV and V musicians for “A Night at the Opera.” The GYO offers progressively challenging options for student-musicians at the pre-college level. GYO members work with internationally acclaimed conductors, composers and coaches and perform in such prestigious New York City venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, in addition to popular Long Island venues such as the Tilles Center.

• Finley Middle School recently recognized the 210 students who have achieved Honor Roll or High Honor Roll in grades 6-8. The criterion for making Honor Roll is a minimum grade of 80 in each class, as well as an overall average between 84.5 and 89.4. For High Honor Roll (also known as the Principal’s Academic Award), a student must receive a minimum grade of 80 in each class, as well as an overall average above an 89.5. From this class, an impressive 190 achieved High Honor Roll.

• Elementary schools in Glen Cove celebrated Parents as Reading Partners Month, highlighted by guest authors and various activities designed to inspire young children to read. Schools even conducted “Community Reader Days” in which administrators, teachers and staff joined representatives from various departments in the City of Glen Cove, visiting the schools to read to young children. Fifth-graders Samantha Santos of Landing School and Branden Rodriguez of Connolly School each designed a logo that together serves as the official design for the program, following the theme “Be a Leader, Be a Reader.” Both students were awarded certificates from the district’s PARP committee and were congratulated by their respective principals and teachers.

• Glen Cove High School Class of 2011 alumna Nicole DiGiovanni was recently published in the Humane Society's All Animals magazine. Nicole photographed a beautiful portrait of her cat Leonardo while enrolled in Melissa Johnides’ photography class at GCHS. To view the photo and an article explaining how Leonardo came into Nicole’s life, go to:
www.humanesociety.org/news/magazines/2013/0102/celebrating_your_best_shot.html.

• Two Glen Cove High School students have been selected to participate in the special LIU Post exhibit “Advanced Visions: High School Artists of Excellence.” The creative works of Jackelyn Hayduk and Natalie Tenkeare were featured at the show.

• Students throughout Glen Cove celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as many of the city’s youth marched in the annual MLK parade. Festivities in district schools included Landing School’s “Dreams for Peace” balloon launch, in which each student wrote their dreams for peace on a small piece of paper, along with their first name and the school’s contact information. The slips of paper were then inserted into 36-inch helium balloons. Each class released a balloon that when reached a certain altitude, broke, sending all of the students’ “dreams” back to the ground for people to find, read and experience their lasting impact, just as Dr. King’s dreams had done. Themes of hope, unity and acceptance resonated through the hallways of Gribbin during the school’s annual MLK assembly. Students came together to sing songs and recite poignant words, taking the “Peace Pledge” and singing “We Shall Overcome” as a group. Additionally, first-grade students presented a motivational PowerPoint presentation while second-grade “readers” spoke about Dr. King’s life and recounted his accomplishments. While these two schools conducted special ceremonies, every school in Glen Cove celebrated Dr. King’s legacy through discussion, instruction and special activities.

• Members of the Finley Middle School PTA, along with Principal Nelson Iocolano, recently presented Citizenship of the Month Awards to students who demonstrated exemplary humanitarian qualities around the building. Some positive character traits that were demonstrated and observed included respect toward others, honesty, dependability, cooperativeness, kindness, understanding and good decision-making. Finley PTA President Michele Maziejka awarded certificates to 28 students recognized for the months of September through December.

• Landing and Connolly schools recently conducted their respective schoolwide competitions for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Fifth-graders from each school squared off, with each class sending representation to the schoolwide bee. In the end, Axelle LaBaw of Landing and Steven Bailey of Connolly emerged victorious, advancing to the Nassau regional bee to be held at Hofstra University later this winter. Amellie Panjoj was the runner-up at Landing, Shanelle Stone at Connolly.

• The Connolly School Student Council raised $332 for victims of Superstorm Sandy. To raise funds, students donated their spare change and created posters that they sold for $1. Donations were sent to Long Island Cares for distribution to Long Island families affected by the storm.
 
• Coleen Verity's second-grade class from Gribbin School studied Glen Cove and other U.S. communities as part of their geographic studies. Students learned the differences between suburban, urban and rural areas, and the distinct characteristics of each, including how Glen Cove is similar and different to other cities and towns in the country. Working in cooperative groups, students created dioramas that exhibited suburban, urban and rural communities.

• Working in concert with the Nassau County Museum of Art, Deasy School has been awarded another two-year New York State Council of the Arts Visual Thinking Strategies grant. Kindergartners and first-graders work with museum educators both at the museum and in class to expand their capacity to understand works of art. This program parallels the school’s emphasis on critical thinking as well as in-depth reading and understanding of texts in all media.

• Members of the National Junior Honor Society at Finley Middle School visited Deasy School to share holiday-themed, grade level-appropriate books with the younger children. Emphasizing the importance of becoming a lifelong reader, the service project engaged both age groups with one another in an educational and fun setting.

• Members and officers of the Glen Cove High School Student Senate and Class of 2013 have organized a “City 2 City” campaign to assist their sister city Long Beach in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Nearly every officer or student leader from Glen Cove is spearheading a different campaign to raise funds and goods to assist residents in Long Beach, including toy drives, coin drives and a chain link sale designed in the colors of Long Beach High School. Glen Cove and Long Beach are the only two incorporated cities on Long Island, and many Glen Cove teachers and staff members reside in Long Beach, which was devastated by the storm.

• The Glen Cove High School Masquers Society presented its production of “Little Women” earlier this month, under the direction of adviser Matthew Rottino. All proceeds from the show will go towards the City 2 City fundraiser to aid victims of Superstorm Sandy residing in Long Beach. This year, dinner with a reduced-price theater ticket was made available.

• The Glen Cove High School Key Club recently held a Holiday Feast, also to benefit the City 2 City effort. The Key Club shared food with the opposing girls basketball team, custodians and a local family less fortunate, among others. Key Club adviser MaryEllen Cuomo hopes the feast will become an ongoing GCHS tradition.

• A team of six Glen Cove High School students recently competed in “The Challenge,” an academic quiz bowl televised on MSG Varsity. Under the direction of Science Chairperson Thomas Pye and teacher Brendan Clements, students Elias Blinkoff (team captain), Rachel Brady, Nicole D’Ambrosio, Alexandra Franklin, Claire Lechtenberg and Stanislaw Tokarz squared off against Island Trees High School on Nov. 15. The teams answered questions that touched on different core academic subjects as well as trivia in a variety of areas. Among the classmates who took the trip into the MSG Varsity studios to be part of the studio audience and cheer them on were members of the GCHS Communications Arts Academy, who enjoyed a close-up and behind-the-scenes look at a professional television studio and set.

The show will air on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. on MSG Varsity (Channel 14 on Optimum Cablevision). Several members of the GCHS Challenge Team will also compete in the upcoming Brookhaven National Lab Science Bowl, which will take place in late January.

• Glen Cove City Mayor Ralph Suozzi and the Glen Cove City Council honored two of Glen Cove High School’s most successful sports teams this fall: the varsity Big Red football team and the varsity boys soccer team. The boys soccer team were conference co-champs with an overall record of 8-3-3, advancing them to the semifinals of the playoffs. Coach Kevin Nolan also won “Coach of the Year” honors. The football team’s overall record was 8-2, as they won the most improved team award for all of Nassau County and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

Each player received a certificate of recognition, with City Councilman Tony Gallo assisting Mayor Suozzi in the honors. Councilman Gallo is also an assistant coach for the football squad.

• More than 30 students from the Glen Cove High School WISE program and National Junior Honor Society members from Finley Middle School joined representatives from multiple area Home Depot stores to teach Deasy Elementary School kindergartners how to build birdhouses. Many Deasy parents also served as handy mentors for the project as the sweet sounds of hammers and nails permeated the school’s cafeteria. The project served as a hands-on complement to the kindergartners’ studies on wood and was a good mentoring experience for the older students. Every kindergartner brought home a birdhouse, while some extra houses built will be hung from the school’s 100-year-old maple tree and near the school’s outdoor enclosed garden.

• Five first-graders in John Segreti’s class at Gribbin Elementary School had their original poems selected for publication in the 2013 edition of the “Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans.” Victoria Baboolal, Kate Clermont, Juliana Lopez, Emily Mongelli and Jordan Twine authored poems on a wide range of topics, and their winning entries will be read over the school’s public address system in the weeks to come. The “Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans” is a nationwide forum that recognizes writing excellence in students from kindergarten through grade 12.

• Connolly Elementary School fourth-grader Reese Comitino has captured first place in the cartoon category of the Long Island Art Contest, sponsored by Newsday. Reese will receive a certificate, and her cartoon, which was about a pig, will be featured in the Sunday, Dec. 23 edition of Kidsday, as seen in Newsday. In their letter to her, Kidsday even encouraged Reese to send them more artwork for future publication!

• Under the direction of fifth-grade teacher/student council adviser Susan Stanco, student council members at Connolly Elementary School wrote 108 letters to the Make-a-Wish Foundation expressing their holiday wishes. The letters will be delivered to Macy’s, which will donate $1 to the Make-a-Wish Foundation on behalf of each Connolly letter.

• Congratulations to fifth-graders Branden Rodriguez of Landing Elementary School and Samantha Santos of Connolly Elementary School for illustrating winning logos in this year’s Parents as Reading Parents (PARP) logo contest. The logos will appear on the 2013 PARP program flyer. Sponsored by the PTA, PARP is held every year in January to promote literacy and to encourage parents and young children to read together at home. Branden is taught by Judith Gallagher; Samantha by Denise Reynolds.

• Landing Elementary School launched its fifth-grade Student Exchange Workshop this month, designed to help teachers more effectively analyze student results of the first math benchmark exam and identify five areas in need of further improvement. Areas touched on included prime factorization and comparing, ordering and modeling decimals, among others. Each student was paired with a teacher based on need and benefited greatly from the exercise. The experience also offered fifth-graders an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming middle school schedule.

• For the second time in a little more than a year, Glen Cove High School was used as an emergency shelter to those who lost power and sustained property damage as the result of a major storm – previously Hurricane Irene, this time Superstorm Sandy. The district and city, in cooperation with Mayor Suozzi, housed approximately 100 people at GCHS with as many as 250-300 beds ready if needed. A heated facility, beds, bathroom facilities, hot showers, hot meals and movies were all made available. Special kudos to facilities chief Joe Fiorino and Mayor Suozzi for their humanitarian concern and leadership.

• Deasy School PTA and Saint Rocco’s Church, with help from and several young students, baked loaves of pumpkin bread from roughly 130 pumpkins that were unused as a result of Sandy canceling this year’s Deasy pumpkin patch event. Volunteers carved out, boiled and prepared the pumpkins for the big bake, which yielded more than 50 loaves and seven large sheet cake trays of pumpkin bread. Deliveries were made to the Glen Cove Police and Fire Departments as a special thanks to these first responders for their relief efforts during the storm. The majority of the loaves were delivered to areas housing victims of Sandy, including shelters and warming centers tending to the needs of displaced residents of the hard-hit Long Beach community. PTA co-president Ida Johnson, along with co-president Sandra Potter and Vice President Maria Venuto, organized the effort. Special thanks goes to them, Father Elias from Saint Rocco’s and all of the volunteers who helped out, including Pam Jackson for delivering the loaves to Long Beach.

• Glen Cove High School senior Elias Blinkoff has been recognized as a Commended Student in the National Merit Scholarship Program. The program honors students for their exceptional achievements on the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, better known as the PSAT. Elias ranks among the nation’s 34,000 top scorers on the PSAT. Additionally, Elias recently achieved the ranking of Eagle Scout and is currently participating in the prestigious Partnership of the Future after-school science research internship with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, studying cognitive neuroscience under the tutelage of Dr. Sachin Kanade. Last year, Elias was admitted into the Simons Summer Research Fellowship Program held at Stony Brook University.

• Glen Cove High School freshman Irma Gabrielle Morales has been recognized for her submission in the 2012 New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Essay Contest. Gaby (her preferred name) wrote her essay while enrolled in Brianna Fazio’s ESL 3 class at Finley Middle School. The theme of the essay was “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Gaby received honorable mention for her essay, which will now appear in the 2012 NYS TESOL Conference program. Gaby’s dream is to be a veterinarian.

• The Glen Cove High School Select Chorale is one of only 10 choirs in the region invited to participate in the Westminster Choir College Invitational Choral Festival, to be held on March 8. Located in Princeton, N.J., Westminster Choir College is one of the top choral schools in the country. Each school invited to perform at the festival will participate in a clinic and a performance with the Westminster Chapel Choir. The festival is designed to inspire high school students to listen and grow in their appreciation of the choral arts, and to be exposed to other great programs from the area.
 
• Finley Middle School has been selected as one of three Long Island schools to participate in a Child Abuse Prevention Services (CAPS) initiative aimed at shaping positive school culture.  Funded by a grant from the Long Island Community Foundation, CAPS will work with student leadership teams, administrators, teachers and parents to facilitate a positive school climate, create safer learning environments, and educate and empower students to become “upstanders” when witnessing bullying. This program, “Preventing Bullying: A CAPS Initiative for Changing School Culture,” uses a comprehensive, coordinated whole-school approach to reduce bullying by changing peer norms and school culture. Finley staff and students will be participating in an online survey to assess their perceptions regarding bullying behavior.  

Staff and students at the school declared Oct. 10 “Unity Day,” donning orange as a symbol of the school’s united stand against bullying as part of National Bullying Prevention Month. In addition, the school unveiled an anti-bullying poster that was the collaboration of students in grades 6-8.  

• Schools throughout the district recognized Red Ribbon Week with assemblies promoting the prevention of substance abuse. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph A. Laria stopped by several of the schools, where students wore red clothes and donned red ribbons as a symbol of solidarity and took an oath to say no to drug use and other destructive decisions. Red Ribbon poster contest winners were honored by the local Substance Abuse Free Environment (SAFE) organization, and Glen Cove City Mayor Ralph Suozzi made appearances at the schools to reinforce the message of healthy and smart decisions. Additionally, Sergeant Ortiz from the Glen Cove City Police Department spoke with Finley Middle School students as part of their physical education lessons. Some schools even performed for the audience, including Gribbin School, where a skit about a young girl who only liked junk food stressed the importance of eating healthy.

• Students at various schools throughout Glen Cove have been doing their part to create awareness and raise funds for the fight against breast cancer during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Glen Cove High School Key Club members walked five miles in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in New York City. In an event coordinated by the Connolly Student Council, students at Connolly Elementary School marched around the school campus, raising funds through pledges and encouraging awareness to help fight the disease. The Finley Middle School National Junior Honor Society did their part as well, raising money through a schoolwide bake sale. Several members of the Finley NJHS also walked in the Make Strides to End Breast Cancer Walk held at Jones Beach. At Gribbin and Landing schools, the staff donned pink, the official color of breast cancer awareness. They also wore denim jeans on National Lee Denim Day, which is also designed to create awareness and raise funds.

• Connolly School third-grader Colleen Coelho and her sister Tara, a sixth-grader at Finley Middle School, were selected to participate in the 2012 Great Britain Irish Step Dancing Championship held earlier this month. Colleen was the high American in her group, placing sixth out of 98 dancers, while Tara placed 31st out of 94, good for the second-highest ranking among the American dancers in her category.

• Gribbin and Landing schools opened new playgrounds amid crowds of students, parents and staff and joined by school and local government officials. Former Nassau County Legislator Diane Yaturo originally secured a $50,000 grant to support the construction of a new playground at each school, and the office of current Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton completed the process. Various fundraising efforts raised monies to support the completion of the playgrounds at each site. In addition to the new equipment, children will also benefit from wood fiber chips that cover the area underneath the playground equipment and provide a much softer and safer surface.

• Deasy School students in grades pre-K-2 recently had some fun with character education, thanks to “Beth and Scott and Friends,” an interactive concert/workshop group that incorporated music, humor and stories to engage young students in the topics of sharing, non-bullying, respect, responsibility and self-esteem. Through age-appropriate skits and songs, strong character principles were instilled and reinforced in the children, led by the award-winning husband and wife duo and arts-in-education specialists who have performed thousands of school assemblies and workshops. Honesty, graciousness, good listening, good manners, anti-bullying behavior and peaceful conflict resolution were some of the key topics covered. Later in the month, the school held a different assembly titled “The Power of One,” which instilled similar concepts of self-esteem in recognition of Bully Prevention Month.

• Following a groundswell of community support borne from years of fundraising, the Glen Cove High School Booster Club opened a new concession facility. Some donated money to the effort, some materials and equipment; still others lent their craftsmanship and technical expertise. Some just gave of their time, but every effort of volunteerism and every donation, no matter how large or small, is appreciated.

• Sensei Hender Alvarado of Gold Martial Arts recently stopped by Connolly School to teach young students anti-bullying strategies, how to speak with confidence and respect and look people in the eyes when addressing them, and how to make healthy choices on their own. Children learned some safe karate moves in a supervised environment, with the understanding that they should always try to resolve conflicts in a peaceful, non-aggressive, non-physical manner.

• Deasy School students recently harvested crops from their vegetable garden and used the homegrown veggies to top off their healthy pizzas. From the time the garden was built last year, it has served as an ongoing resource to teach young children about agriculture and sustainability while promoting healthy eating habits.

• Members of the Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) at Glen Cove High School recently attended a seminar at Molloy College conducted in conjunction with Athletes Helping Athletes to further develop their leadership skills to serve as better role models. Messaging centered on safe and appropriate behavioral choices as the SALT members worked with professional athletes to create and deliver motivational messages to the students at Finley Middle School on drug and alcohol abuse prevention, sportsmanship, citizenship and the importance of academics. SALT members take a pledge to encourage younger students to participate in athletics or other extracurricular activities, and to educate their peers in the areas of drug and alcohol abuse prevention, steroid use and good sportsmanship, and living by example.

• Congratulations to the Glen Cove High School varsity boys soccer team and Coach Nolan, as the team finished the regular season as Conference V Co-Champions. Additional congratulations to Coach Kopecky and the varsity football team on a successful season and their success in the Nassau Conference III playoffs!

• The Glen Cove School District welcomed back students on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Several activities were designed to allow students to get to know their new teachers and classmates, as well as to prepare them for the new school year. At the elementary level, youngsters assembled their school supplies, shared stories from the summer and learned about one another. Nametags were an immense help for classmates and teachers alike, and various activities were held to alleviate some of the first-day jitters that many young students encounter. All four Glen Cove elementary schools, as well as Finley Middle School and Glen Cove High School, opened smoothly.

• On Tuesday, Sept. 11, the Glen Cove Schools commemorated Patriot Day and the 11th anniversary of the attacks on the United States with multiple ceremonies and activities to honor the memories of those who lost their lives as a result of the Sept.11, 2001 terror attacks. Elementary schools held brief ceremonies outdoors around the flag in which students recited the Pledge of Allegiance and observed a moment of silence. At Landing Elementary School, Interim Principal Martin Malone acknowledged the school’s Sept. 11 birthdays and encouraged every child to perform a special act of kindness for someone close to him or her. At Connolly Elementary School, students and staff wore red, white and blue and sang "God Bless America" in unison during morning lineup in the gym. At Glen Cove High School and Finley Middle School, announcements were made over the public address system that reinforced the importance of the day.

• Four student musicians from Glen Cove High School have been selected to participate in the 2012 New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) All-State Conference. The group will perform at the prestigious Eastman Theater in Rochester, N.Y. from Nov. 29-Dec. 2. Students were chosen based on their proficiency scores achieved during qualifying festivals and teacher recommendations. Michael Banks (Bass I) and Claudia Kolonavic (Alto II) have been chosen as members of the Mixed Chorus, while Victoria Andreotti (Soprano II) and Matthew Kolbert (Tenor II) have been selected as alternates. This marks the second straight year Victoria has received All-State recognition. Congratulations to the students and their teacher, Ed Norris.

• In their first home Friday night game under the lights, the Glen Cove High School varsity Big Red football team routed the Carle Place-Wheatley Wild Frogs by a score of 48-0 before a full house at J. Cameron Maiden Field on Sept. 14. It was “Cheerleader and Kickline Appreciation Night” as members of both squads, along with the high school pep band, entertained the crowd in between game stoppages. The evening also marked more than 10 years of fundraising and community volunteer efforts and donations. An official ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29, just prior to homecoming festivities.

• Finley Middle School student Jefferson Reyes was selected to attend the Triple Play Sports Club Leadership Summit in Colorado Springs, Colo. Jefferson’s participation in the summit is sponsored by a grant through the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, offered though the Glen Cove Boys and Girls Club at Lincoln House and based on his accomplishments with the local chapter’s programs and services addressing character and leadership development and health, fitness and life skills, among others. Jefferson has been innovative in engaging and socializing with peers on these important topics.
• In keeping with tradition, Landing Elementary School provided students with the opportunity to review their individual rights listed on each grade level's “Landing Bill of Rights” compact. Students sealed their promise to uphold these rights by signing their names to the compact. Teachers and staff also signed their names to the agreement, which will be displayed in the all-purpose room for the duration of the school year. Teachers continue to discuss these important rights with their classes by reviewing the Landing School Student Handbook.

• Student organizations at Connolly Elementary School dedicated to bettering the school and overall community are off to a running start! Student council is planning classroom elections this month in order to elect classroom student council representatives and officers. They are also planning their annual "Breast Cancer Walk-A-Thon" and will sell pink bracelets to raise money for Glen Cove CARES in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. Connolly K-Kids Club held their first meeting to set new goals for the organization. Their first project will be to collect change for UNICEF during Halloween while trick-or-treating.

• Second-grade ESL students at Gribbin Elementary School recently raised $400 and used the money to "adopt" sea animals at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research. Under the direction of ESL teacher Amy Cooke, students organized a lunchtime café called “Café Lindo,” where they prepared and sold drinks, desserts and light snacks to school staff and guests. ESL students volunteered to work at the café through their lunch and recess period, preparing food, waiting on tables, writing checks, making change and cleaning up each day. They later visited the Riverhead Foundation website, where they were able to learn about and adopt seals, sea turtles and dolphins that are being rehabilitated or tracked by the Foundation.

• Deasy Elementary School parents, grandparents, students, teachers and alumni volunteered time during the summer to harvest and care for the school’s vegetable garden. The Deasy garden has become a wonderful school community enterprise that has generated dozens of ears of sweet corn, many cherry tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and many other types of vegetables.  On Sept. 20, students planted their fall crops under direction of old friend Farmer Brian.