Nassau County Council of School Superintendents Celebrating Excellence and Academic Awards Breakfast
On Friday, June 6, Dr. Feeney and I had the great pleasure of attending this breakfast at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury with Wheatley honorees Jacob Freund and Lauren Perry and their parents.
Each year NCCSS hosts this special event where each Nassau County School District’s valedictorian and salutatorian are honored and receive a recognition plaque.
As Wheatley does not have a valedictorian or salutatorian, each year we send two honor students selected by our scholarship committee. Congratulations to Jacob, Lauren and their families!
Research Presentation Report
What an impressive presentation we had at the June Board of Education work session. We got to see the work of our instructional leaders, staff and students in action.
The presentation featured secondary social studies chair Brian McConaghy, secondary English chair Steve Collier, library media specialist Jo Beth Roberts, Wheatley teachers Colin McKenna and Lauren Blum and students senior Jacob Freund, junior Madison D’Ambrosio, sophomore Amanda Sivin and freshman Micki Wain.
The presentation was entitled Learning to Research; Researching to Learn and it highlighted the District research initiative in line with this year’s district smart goals.
As Steve Collier explained, the enhanced focus on research supports those common core standards which include writing using evidence, informational texts and the concept that English teachers are not just teachers of literacy but that literacy extends across all the curriculum areas.
While research has always been an important component of the district program, our smart goals focused on a revised research curriculum that: (i) intended to ensure that all students have the same progression of research skills; (ii) established shared assignments and skills for each grade level; (iii) created a standard format for formal papers; and (iv) created a shared rubric for evaluating research papers. To see the scope and sequence of research topics and research writing and technology skills as presented for grades 7-12 go to the District website at www.ewsdonline.org > click School Board on the left side navigation bar > click BOE Meeting Presentations > click 13-14 BOE Presentations.
The presentation highlighted that not only are the tools that allow us to obtain information different than in the past but that the sheer quantity of accessible information is staggering.
As Wheatley library media specialist Jo Beth Roberts explained, “Teaching students how to find, access, evaluate, synthesize, cite and present information that is relevant and accurate is what a certified school library media specialist is uniquely qualified to teach.“
We are so fortunate in East Williston that our community and budget supports a full time library media specialist in each of our buildings, Diane Ilkiw at Willets Road and Karen Homer at North Side.
These integral instructional personnel teach key research and inquiry skills to our students directly and work with our teachers and classes in a variety of content areas to integrate authentic inquiry into a variety of learning experiences. As was evident from the work session presentation, learning these skills will not only provide our students with the ability to succeed in college, but in a changing world where content knowledge is always expanding, or changing, will provide the knowledge to access, sort and validate information to make critical decisions.
These invaluable skills will present consistent success in a continually changing future. The difference between Google and real research tools was explained. Google allows you to get information, buy anything, get the latest celebrity news, check a train schedule, etc.
However, as Mrs. Roberts further explained, “That is not research. Research is the process of asking and answering important questions.”
The number of resources available to our students through our library media center is quite impressive.
For example, Wheatley students have access to 29 databases, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Through April of this year, over 11,000 documents were accessed by our high school students through the library media center’s data base. As a result of their experiences here at Wheatley, our graduates entering college will be comfortable with the use of databases, which serves as the foundation for information access for all scholarly academic research.
Our students also have access to 193 electronic reference books which as Mrs. Roberts remarked, “Probably means a good thousand pounds or more of research materials can be accessed with the click of a mouse.”
Many thanks to the students who presented their research papers and projects at the Work Session.
English teacher Colin McKenna explained that the ninth grade research paper topic is inspired by Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers”.
The students were asked to research a Human Rights Defender and identify three traits/characteristics that made their research-subject a successful human rights defender. The focus of the paper was to find credible sources (primary and secondary), incorporate research (paraphrasing and direct quotations) and use proper MLA citation.
As was described in all the research presentations, students use the electronic “Noodletools” to organize the research process, link quotations and paraphrase their source material. Classrooms are nearly paperless as students craft successive drafts on Google Docs and upload final papers to Turnitin.com where the paper’s originality is measured by a national academic database.
Thank you to Micki Wain who discussed her 9th grade research paper on Kailash Satyarth.
English teacher Lauren Blum explained that the goal of the 10th grade English assignment (“Arguing for a Better Future”) is to build on student research and citation skills learned in 9th grade and to encourage them to become more independent researchers, planners and writers. The research paper assignment stems from Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” where Bradbury, in 1953, expressed many concerns about the future of his world (e.g. human obsession with instant gratification, decreasing care for and communication with each other, decline of the written word and literature).
The assignment was to inform the reader about a concern the student had about their own future, persuade the reader of the seriousness of the concern and then make some recommendations for how to mitigate the issue. Learning outcomes included students being able to independently search databases for reliable sources, conduct primary research through interviews and surveys and turn a research question into a complex thesis statement that acknowledges counter arguments to their perspective.
Thank you to 10th grader Amanda Sivin who discussed her research paper on the interpretation and understanding of beauty in the face of social media and photo tools found in apps such as Instagram.
Brian McConaghy shared the work being done in AP Core where 11th graders write a 2,500 word research paper based upon a theme determined by National History Day.
Jacob Freund, last year’s New York State History Day Winner, shared his research paper which has recently been published in a professional Social Studies Journal, Journal of the West. His first place paper is entitled, “The Homestead Act of 1862: America’s First Entitlement Program.”
This year’s New York State History Day second place winner, Madison D’Ambrosio, who will participate in the national finals in College Park, Maryland in two weeks, presented her website that was converted from her initial research paper on “The Pentagon Papers.”
Senior Projects
Did I feel special! Thursday, two seniors from Andrea Kaufman’s 12 R class presented their Senior Projects in a special presentation for me and for one of our board members, David Keefe.
The Senior Projects, along with the experimentals in 10P, are examples of the terrific research experiences the district has supported for our students in many previous years past, that now, in conjunction with the Common Core Standards, are being further revised to consistently articulate and build foundational research skills throughout the grades for all our students, leading up to culminating research projects. Students in 12 R not only research a topic of interest to them, but also participate in an internship that is often directly related to their area of study.
Thank you to senior Jamie Sellinger who presented a fascinating portrayal of the inequities of public respect and resources that exist between women and men’s athletics and who introduced us to ESPN W a web-based Women’s Sports Network where she recently interned. Thank you also to Andrew Mendes who gave a fascinating presentation on the various types of electronic music and shared an amazing composition that he created through state of the art technology tools.
From everything I’ve heard, all of the senior projects in Ms. Kaufman’s classes and 12 R teacher Natalia McMillan’s classes have been impressive and informative. If the two senior projects I had the chance to see yesterday are any indication, I’m sure they were!
Research 2014-15
In our yearly goal setting process that I described last week, the social studies and English Departments are in the process of building on the articulation of our research skills program. For example, in our draft goals for next year, the plan is to have all students in Grade 11 social studies (beyond just those in AP Core) write a required research paper that will follow the National History Day Competition format and rubric.
Willets Road 5th Grade Spring Concert
Congratulations to our fifth graders, concert orchestra director Denise Giuliano, chorus director Karen Brandine and concert band director Scott Hoefling.
Our fifth graders played and sang beautifully under their teachers’ directions. In another example of the well-rounded programs and well-rounded students our East Williston School District community supports, more than 90% of our fifth grade students played and/or sang in this concert!
Paul Chisholm
On July 1, Wheatley’s very own technology teacher Paul Chisholm will depart for a 13-day trip to the Republic of South Korea.
Sponsored by Sejong Cultural Education, Inc., this trip takes selected educators, Korean-American students and government officials on a trip to help them better understand themselves and Korean culture.
The program will include school visits, an exploration of the five-thousand-year-history of Korea, a tour of different cities, hands-on cultural experiences and a three-day-home stay with Korean families. The hope is that these experiences will be positive ones that will empower the participants to become more influential members of our global society.
Paul is able to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity through the generosity of a grant secured by one of our district community members who sits on the Board of Sejong Cultural Education. We are excited for this opportunity for Paul and look forward to all that he will bring back to share next year!
Scholarship Foundation
Each year, the East Williston Teachers’ Association Scholarship Foundation offers a four year scholarship to a graduating senior at The Wheatley School who intends to pursue a career as a public school teacher. This $12,000 scholarship is awarded to the candidate who best demonstrates those qualities of character and mind we would hope to find in a future colleague.
The scholarship is awarded during the Wheatley Commencement ceremony and has been every year that there has been an eligible candidate since 1983. Originally the award was made by the East Williston Teachers’ Association.
In 1996, the Foundation was formed and granted recognition by state and federal governments as a 501(c)(3) entity. As a result, all contributions to the Scholarship Foundation are tax-deductible.
In 2008 the East Williston Teachers’ Association Scholarship was renamed the David K. Israel Scholarship in recognition of founding Trustee and long-time EWTA President David K. Israel.
The goal of the Foundation is to broaden the base of support for the scholarship, build a sustaining endowment, and substantially increase the amount of the annual award.
Contributions to the Foundation may be made to:
EWTA Scholarship Foundation
c/o The Wheatley School
11 Bacon Road
Old Westbury, NY 11568
Congratulations and Commendation
Wheatley Students Compete in National Math Tournament
Each year, the Nassau County Interscholastic Mathematics League (NCIML) invites the top 50 mathletes to represent Nassau County at the annual New York State Mathematics League and the American Regions Mathematics League.* This year, 43 Nassau County students competed at ARML at Penn State University.
Wheatley senior Joe Jacob, who competed in ARML last year as well, and sophomore Andrew Zuckerman represented The Wheatley School and Nassau County at the ARML.
Senior Matt Huhn, although invited to participate, was unable to attend the competition.
*This was the 39th Annual ARML Competition. ARML is an international high school competition held at four regional locations in the United States with some foreign country entries. There were 84 teams of 15 students each competing at Penn State. The Nassau County A1 team came in 58th in the nation and the B1 team finished in 17th place in the B division.
Congratulations to Matthew, Joseph and Andrew for this wonderful recognition. Thanks to Wheatley math teacher Kevin Meyers for his support of the team.
Willets Road Math Honors
Congratulations to fifth graders Temitope Oshodi and Victor Li who were accepted into the SUNY Old Westbury Creative Thinking Math Program for the fall program.
Relay for Life
Members of Wheatley’s CARE Club formed a team and participated in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life held locally at Roslyn Middle School. The ‘team’ raised over $1,400 for ACS. Thank you to our Wheatley students who participated and Wheatley teachers Christina Cambria and Jim Abdale for guiding the team’s participation.
Additional Track & Field Honors
Alana Leahy, Katie Keller and Sarah Golden have successfully qualified to participate in the New York State Track & Field Championships. They are currently in Syracuse, New York competing in the State Championships, representing Wheatley as well as Nassau County.
Outstanding Science Student
Lauren Perry was selected by the Wheatley Science Department to be this year’s recipient of the Nassau STANYS Section Outstanding High School Science Student of the Year Award.
She received a plaque for her outstanding interest and achievement in science research as well as her overall dedication and achievement in each of the science courses she has taken at Wheatley.
Lauren has spent each of her past two summers working on science research and this year, her research earned her the distinction as an Intel Semifinalist. Lauren plans to continue her work in science and science research as she heads off to college.
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.
