We’re back!
It’s hard to believe that the summer has flown by and here we are once again back at the start of what is promising to be another exciting new school year. I’ve enjoyed welcoming everyone back, walking through the halls and visiting classrooms this week. It is hard to imagine that we were ever away. Students are already fully engaged in their daily routines and their new classes.
A big shout out to our facilities and grounds department, our clerical staff and our Director of School Facilities and Operations Nicholas Fusco for all their hard work over the summer that made our opening run so smoothly.
On Aug. 29 we had a board of education and community walk-through of the buildings and they looked wonderful.
Some new improvements which you will surely admire when you visit the schools include the bright and colorful new floor at Wheatley in the Guidance/Main Office/Music Hallway, the hanging of the beautiful new stage curtains donated by the North Side PTO and new classroom tile at Willets Road.
Wheatley Recognitions
Reward School
Last week the district received notification from the state Department of Education that Wheatley was once again identified as a Reward School. This designation is provided to New York State schools that either have made the most progress or have the highest achievement in the State with no significant gaps in student achievement.
Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and formerly published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and the New Yorker.
In 2010 it merged with Newsweek and took over Newsweek’s “Best High School Rankings.”
Designated as #47 in the country and #2 on Long Island, Wheatley again is noted as a top performer among the more than 1,000 public schools surveyed. Rankings are culled from such criteria as graduation and college acceptance rates, college-level courses and exams, percentage of students with free or reduced lunch, as well as SAT and ACT scores.
Security Personnel
As part of the district’s ongoing commitment to enhancing safety and security, this school year saw the introduction of our own East Williston School District security aides in each building. Previously, the district had employed front door monitors and had also contracted with an outside security company for evening activities at Wheatley and other events in the district.
We are excited to welcome our new security staff all of whom have previously worked in law enforcement and are fully trained in security measures. Having our own security aides provides the opportunity for consistent personnel to be working on a regular basis in our buildings, providing them the opportunity to get to know our staff and students well.
Welcome new security personnel!
A big thank you to our staff, parents, local law enforcement and board and community members who sit on our District Safety Committee under the direction of Nicholas Fusco, director of school facilities and operations, for their ongoing recommendations and planning efforts.
Questions about LAP Schools?
You may have recently read an article in Newsday regarding school district accountability status that mentioned that North Side, along with other schools in neighboring and similar districts, was on a list of “Local Assistance Plan” Schools. Note that this is only the result of a performance gap on state assessment exams between a very small sub group of children and the general school population regarding data dating back two years.
Otherwise, North Side met or exceeded all performance standards. As with all data we receive, we of course analyze this information for any implications for practice.
While it is true that students may progress at different rates, based on our own data and analysis of school-wide programs, we already pro-actively initiated several benchmarking and intervention steps at North Side last year with the goal of supporting our students who struggle the most, at the earliest opportunity.
Congratulations Dr. Gately!
District administrator Danielle Gately recently received her doctorate in educational administration from Concordia University in Chicago.
Gately, formerly director of district curriculum information services and middle school student life, also has a new district title. She is now director of secondary curriculum services and social studies. While she is still actively involved at Willets Road, now in curriculum and instructional planning and support, you will find her in her new office at Wheatley in the social studies department.
New Middle School Dean
Replacing Gately’s role as director of middle school life is social studies teacher, Joseph Coladonato. In addition to teaching social studies part-time, Dr. Coladonato is the new dean of students at Willets Road.
Secondary Math Department Chair
With the retirement of Dr. Joyce Bernstein, we welcome Dr. Jeffrey Lesser who was hired over the summer, as our new secondary mathematics chair. Dr. Lesser most recently served as the high school math department chair and mathematics teacher at Paul D. Schreiber High School in Port Washington since 2000.
Pupil Personnel Services Director
Another warm welcome goes out to Shari Senzer, our new director of pupil personnel services, replacing Clare Hayes who retired last June. Mrs. Senzer joined us in July, after most recently serving as the district chairperson for special education in the Hewlett-Woodmere School District since 2006.
Aug. 27 and 28 Superintendent Conference Days
While our students were enjoying their last few days of summer vacation, administrators, teachers and staff were participating in our two Superintendent Conference Days. The first day was our Fall Convocation where all staff gathered together in the Wheatley auditorium to meet and welcome our new staff members and participate in various trainings.
Everyone enjoyed hearing from Wheatley junior Sydney Kotin, USG Vice President, who addressed the district staff. Other activities that day including building, department and grade level meetings.
The following day involved in-depth staff development linked to our strategic plan and district instructional goals.
In just a few examples of the many activities that took place, Grades 5-8 ELA teachers, along with building and district administrators, reviewed reading goals and performance data from the state assessments as well as examined the annotated questions released from New York State this year, for any insight provided in relation to curriculum planning and teaching.
Our high school technology teachers prepared to apply the skills and information they learned this summer in the Project Lead the Way training program, as they got ready to teach the introductory year of our new four year engineering program.
Grades 7-12 staff met to reflect on last year’s newly implemented 7-12 research skills program and to plan for this year’s research activities. The third and fourth grade teachers worked with the literacy staff developer from Lit-Life who supported the implementation of last year’s fifth grade reading-writing workshop approach to differentiated learning.
Many more learning activities took place throughout the day, with administrators and teachers learning and working together as we prepared for an intellectually rigorous and exciting new year for our students.
Upcoming Board of Education Meetings
Monday, Sept. 15 – Board of Education Monthly Business Meeting
Building and district staff will present an overview of the 2013-14 New York State Assessment Scores and other instructional data.
Tuesday, Oct. 7 – Board of Education Special Meeting and Work Session
District 2014-15 Instructional Goals will be presented along with a review of the 2013-14 goals accomplished. Auditors will also report to the Board and the public.
FYI: EdCampLI Comes to Willets Road
On Saturday, Sept. 13, the East Williston School District is hosting the first annual EdCamp Long Island which will take place at Willets Road. EdCamp, known as an “unconference,” is designed specifically for educators and stakeholders involved in education.
Teachers from around Long Island and beyond will register and attend. Built on principles of connected and participatory learning, EdCamp strives to bring educators together to talk about the things that matter most to them: their interests, passions, and questions.
Participants at EdCamp can choose to lead sessions on those things that matter, with an expectation that the people in the room will work together to build understanding by sharing their own knowledge and questions.
A committee of educators from throughout Long Island, including several East Williston faculty members, is involved in the planning of this groundbreaking event. Though primarily for educators, if you are interested or an educator yourself, you are welcome to attend this free event.
You can register at this website https://www.eventbrite.com/e/edcamp-long-island-tickets-11641683589.
Save the dates: Homecoming Weekend/Walkathon – Friday, Sept. 12 & Saturday, Sept. 13.
Attached to this message is a flyer with information about the activities for next weekend’s Homecoming Weekend.
Friday, Sept. 12
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., varsity girls tennis, varsity volleyball, varsity field hockey and varsity girls soccer will compete at Wheatley. At 7:00 p.m., varsity boys soccer will compete under the lights against Carle Place High School. Please check the attached flyer and website, next week, for exact times.
Saturday, Sept. 13
EWSD Walkathon will begin with registration at 10:30 a.m. at Wheatley. The walk will begin at 11:00 a.m.
The varsity football team competing against East Rockaway High School will be played at Wheatley beginning at 2:00 PM.
I hope to see you at all Homecoming festivities next weekend!
Upcoming Guidance Events:
New College Workshops Scheduled for Seniors
The Wheatley Guidance Department has added after-school workshops for seniors, to help with the college process.
On Monday, Sept. 29 at 2:30 p.m. in Rooms 302 and 304, there will be a Common Application workshop. Seniors can come down and counselors will help them fill out the Common Application.
On Oct. 8 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 450, there will be a College Interview Skills Workshop with mock interviews for our seniors.
College alumni Interviewers who reside in our district have volunteered to share interview tips and insights into the college interview process as well as hold mock interviews.
Congratulations and Commendations
Wheatley Musicians
Congratulations to Wheatley senior Jillian Gothelf who was selected as an All-National alternate for the Mixed Chorus Ensemble as an alto by NAfME (the National Association for Music Education).
The All-National Ensemble concerts will be held during the 2014 NAfME Convention on October 26-28, 2014 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. Jillian currently sings in the Wheatley Chorale and the Wheatley Jazz Band. She is a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society and has performed in Wheatley Theatre Company productions.
Congratulations to Wheatley senior Kuan Yu. Kuan was named an All-State musician for his proficiency playing the viola. He will represent Wheatley at the All-State NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) Conference in Rochester, New York on December 4 – 7 by playing with the string orchestra. He is currently a member of the Wheatley Symphonic Orchestra, a current member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society and the treasurer of the National Honor Society.
An additional congratulation is extended to Wheatley senior Alexandra Boubour, who was selected as an All-State alternate for Chorus. She is an Alto I.
The NYSSMA Conference Concerts will be held on December 4 – 7, 2014 in Rochester, N.Y. Alex is current president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society.
Wheatley Student Science Research Experience
Wheatley senior Courtney Schwartz, a member of our science research program, in an on line newsletter for the Society for Science, describes her summer research experience with Stony Brook University graduate student Yuanyuan Si. To view the informative article about the summer research process, click on the following link https://student.societyforscience.org/blog/eureka-lab/teen%E2%80%99s-lab-experience-benefits-her-mentor-too?mode=blog&context=80.
Artwork Selected for the 400 Corridor
At the end of the 2013-14 school year, the artwork of six of our graduates was selected to be placed on stretch canvas and mounted outside Room 450, where the first set of such work was placed in 2011-12.
The artwork was reproduced onto stretch canvases thanks to one of the many mini-grants the Wheatley PTO provides.
Congratulations and thanks to the following members of the Class of 2014: Uzayr Arif, Kurtis Bassmann, Dana Calabrese, Michael Lituchy, Arlena Olsten and Samantha Siegler.
Thank you as well to Ms. Donovan and Mrs. Girgenti (Walsh) for their work with our students.
Have a Good Weekend
As always, please email me at kanase@ewsdonline.org or call me at 333-3758 with any questions, suggestions, and or any topics you would like to see in this newsletter.
