Ward Melville High School’s two-time consecutive New York State Class A championship lacrosse team will demonstrate its talents on a national stage as it participates in the Geico High School Lacrosse Showcase, to be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN3 this spring. 

This inaugural event will allow six of the nation’s top high school lacrosse teams to play two games each, with a total of six games taking place at St. Anthony High School’s Cy Donnelly Field in South Huntington. The action will start at 10 a.m. ET both Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28 on ESPNU, with games following at noon and 2 p.m. on ESPN3.

“This is exciting news for the boys and our program to be able to showcase their talents and hard work on a national platform against some of the best programs in the country,” coach Jay Negus said. “We are very thankful to Geico, Paragon Marketing and ESPN for this opportunity.” 
The 2019 Geico High School Lacrosse Showcase schedule:

*All team rankings and player rankings are according to Inside Lacrosse.

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Network
Sat, Apr 27	10 a.m.	No. 17 Haverford (PA) vs. No. 5 Ward Melville (NY)	ESPNU
	Noon	No. 21 Darien (CT) vs. Seton Hall Prep (NJ)	ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Lincoln-Sudbury (MA) vs. No. 6 St. Anthony’s (NY)	ESPN3
Sun, Apr 28	10 a.m.	No. 21 Darien (CT) vs. No. 6 St. Anthony’s (NY)	ESPNU
	Noon	Seton Hall Prep (NJ) vs. No. 5 Ward Melville (NY)	ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Lincoln-Sudbury (MA) vs. No. 17 Haverford (PA)	ESPN3

Tickets and further event information are available at geicolax.com/showcase/.

Ward Melville High School’s business department landed a $1,000 prize for being one of the top three schools internationally that brought in the most submissions for the 2018-19 Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship Competition. There were more than 550 student participants with 250 submissions from over 90 high schools in 26 states and nine countries.

The school’s participation in this competition was facilitated by business teacher Ilene Littman, who incorporated the contest into Ward Melville’s Marketing H classes and allowed interested DECA members to enter as well. In addition to its prize for most submissions, three of Ward Melville’s Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship team submissions also made it into the semifinals/top 50 list:

The AnglerPack – Grace Lin, Juri Nagata, Nancy Zhong and Julia Zhu
The Perfect Gift – Courtney Lerner and Lexi Ward
Crescendo – George Kuhen, Akshay Malhotra and Adeena Shahzadi

The Blue Ocean competition is an international, virtual, and student-founded and supported pitch competition for high school entrepreneurs. It is the largest entrepreneurship competition in the United States based on Blue Ocean Strategy concepts, including creating new products that are first to the market and free of competition. Individuals or teams pitch their innovative business concepts via a video to experienced entrepreneurs and businesspeople. 

“Blue Ocean Strategy” and “Blue Ocean Shift” are two of the most popular business books of the century and are often required reading at the country’s top colleges and universities. One of the authors, Dr. Renée Mauborgne, will personally be visiting Ward Melville to deliver the school’s prize.  

P.J. Gelinas Junior High School art teacher Michael Sacco is not only well known for bringing a creative flair to the classroom, but also for sharing his exceptional talents with his colleagues on a national level. 

This winter, Mr. Sacco penned his 10th article for SchoolArts Magazine, a publication aimed at sharing best practices among educators across the nation. The article focused on Mr. Sacco’s ninth-grade Media Arts 1 course, in particular a T-shirt design project. 

A copy of the article can be accessed at: http://www.schoolartsdigital.com/i/1078392-mar-2019/52?m4=

As a result of their exceptional talents, 12 R.C. Murphy Junior High School students have been honored with awards in the 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing competition, with three advancing to the national level of judging. 

Students receiving Gold Keys, Silver Keys, Honorable Mentions or American Visions & Voices Medals are celebrated within their communities through local exhibitions and ceremonies. Gold Key works are then judged nationally by an impressive panel of creative industry experts to receive National Medals, including Gold, Silver, American Visions & Voices, Portfolio Silver with Distinction or Portfolio Gold Medals and Special Awards.\ National Medalists are recognized in part at the national ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The district congratulates the follow students on their exceptional talents: 

Gold Key Winners (Top 1-5 Percent Regionally)
Matthew Chen Musings on the Rach Poetry
Jennifer Cabrera My Mother’s Wish Flash Fiction
Kate Glenn The Earth Speaks Flash Fiction

Silver Key Winners (Top 6-11 Percent Regionally)
Kate Glenn The Wolf and the Moon Science Fiction/Fantasy
Claire Yang Angel Hairs Flash Fiction
Sofia Mulligan First Light Flash Fiction

Honorable Mention Winners (Top 12-15 Percent Regionally)
Matthew Chen Seven Color Painting Flash Fiction
Sophia Kornreich You Flash Fiction
Tasnim Loqman Three Hours, Twenty-Seven Flash Fiction
Minutes, and Twelve Seconds
Iana Podobedov Easy A Flash Fiction
Amber Sanchez Lost Flash Fiction
Claire Yang the blue cries of thunder Flash Fiction
Lilly Zhi Washed Away Flash Fiction
Ari Zucker Alone Flash Fiction

P.J. Gelinas Junior High School chorus, band and orchestra students took part in an opportunity of a lifetime when they recently attended a Broadway master class on the art and techniques of stage combat.  

The students learned from Broadway fight choreographers how stage combat works during rehearsal and in a live performance. Following this, they were engaged in a question-and-answer session with two of the ensemble members of “Beautiful: The Carol King Musical,” Nathan Scherich and Stephanie Martignetti. During the session, the group discussed myriad topics, including vocal health and the need for performers to be very conscious of keeping their instrument healthy and drinking lots of water.

Concluding the day, the group attended a performance of “Beautiful: The Carol King Musical” on Broadway.  

Three Village Central School District grade 4-6 students had the chance to learn about French and Italian during a Foreign Language Fun Night hosted by Ward Melville High School’s language honor societies.

During the event, members of the French and Italian honor societies created and organized games and activities for attendees to participate in, as well as cooked and shared authentic dishes from Italy and France and performed songs. The high school students also shared their experiences studying their respective languages and cultures.  

In preparation for the launch of their new nonfiction unit of study, fourth-graders at Arrowhead Elementary School took part in two interesting and interactive activities within their classrooms.

As they dove into the unit, the students’ classrooms were transformed into “emergency rooms” to provide them the chance to conduct “text feature surgery.” Dressed in hair caps, face masks and aprons, the students operated on different magazines to find helpful nonfiction text features. Once identified, they collected the pieces and worked to determine their purpose.  

The following class, the rooms were once again transformed – this time into a Book Café. During the event, students “tasted” a variety of nonfiction books and topics, sampling them to determine if they’d like to read them during their nonfiction unit. They completed menu cards, describing what their impressions of the book were and if they would add the piece to their must-read lists. 

In preparation for a field trip to the DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and in conjunction with their science curriculum, Nassakeag Elementary School sixth-grade students recently participated in a two-day DNA workshop.

The program featured five different interactive stations, each designed to provide students with an enhanced understanding of the complex subject matter. Students replicated DNA models using K’nex, fashioned double helixes using licorice and candy gum drops, and used a trait wheel to understand different traits that are determined through an individual’s DNA, as well as the difference between genotypes and phenotypes. 

With the assistance of their Chromebooks, students researched two facts associated with DNA, including genetics, cloning, genetic mutations and RNA, and then completed a jigsaw activity to share their findings. 

Within the school’s science lab, students completed a strawberry DNA extraction. After placing a strawberry in a plastic bag, they added water, dish soap and salt, mixing the ingredients together to create a mushy liquid. When combined in a test tube with rubbing alcohol, the DNA from the strawberry floated to the surface, enabling the students to separate strands for analysis. 

Problem-solving skills and mathematical knowledge was on full display at Minnesauke Elementary School, as students took part in a Mass Cart initiative created by school math AIS teacher Paul Wilgenkamp.

On top of the cart were several different items, including a sneaker belonging to Principal Dr. Brian Biscari, a beanbag, baseball, stuffed animal and small water shoe. The cart was also decorated with different math facts, including conversion amounts for pounds to grams and information about mass and weight, all geared toward helping students solve a series of questions. To provide a baseline comparison for an item’s weight, Dr. Biscari’s sneaker was placed on top of a scale in a sealed glass box.

During lunch periods, the students visited the cart and took a turn answering questions that increased in difficulty based on grade level. Kindergarteners and first-graders guessed which displayed item they thought had the most mass; second- and third-graders ranked the items from 1-4 based on how much mass they believed they had; fourth-graders converted Dr. Biscari’s sneaker’s mass into grams and then predicted the small water shoe’s mass in grams; and fifth- and sixth-graders converted Dr. Biscari’s sneaker’s mass in grams and ounces as well as predicted the small water shoe’s mass in grams or ounces. They were allowed to pick up each item to feel them and to aid in the comparison efforts. 

At the end of the week, Mr. Wilgenkamp reviewed the submissions and presented small awards to those who correctly answered their respective question. 

As a building, Minnesauke Elementary School is always seeking different ways to give to others, and this winter many students and staff participated in a program geared toward helping bring joy to a girl they had never met.

Through a project first organized by the building’s National Junior Art Honor Society that quickly spread through the building with the help of teacher Susan Archer and her class, the school participated in a Beanies for Nat initiative. The project was spearheaded by the Love Your Melon hat company in honor of a girl named Nathalie, who was diagnosed at 12 years old with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Through her connection with Love Your Melon, Nat became well known for designing, sketching and ultimately creating mini yarn beanies for the Love Your Melon team members in her spare time. 

To bring joy to Nat as she battled the terrible disease as well as to show how big of an inspiration she is to others, the company invited individuals across the world to create their own mini beanies using Nat’s technique. Using common household items – including paper towel rolls, yarn, scissors and tissue paper – the Minnesauke students fashioned hundreds of mini caps for Nat and shipped them off to Love Your Melon. All the beanies sent in from across the world will be combined to create an art piece for Nat and her family.

To show appreciation for those who participated, Love Your Melon donated one of their signature hats for each box of mini beanies received. Continuing with the giving spirt, Minnesauke payed that donation forward by gifting the hats they received to Stony Brook University, as well as giving a special one to a staff member who is in their own fight against cancer.  

Ward Melville High School’s award-wining athletic teams have earned a reputation for excellence both on and off the field – a reputation that has been cultivated with the help of the passionate and dedicated coaching staff. 

Due to their recent and past successes, three members of the Three Village Central School District coaching staff have been honored by regional or national organizations to date this year. They were celebrated by the district’s Board of Education during a recent February meeting. 
Executive Director of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics Peter Melore commended varsity lacrosse coach Jay Negus, football coach Chris Boltrek and baseball coach Lou Petrucci for their leadership and acclaimed achievements. 

Mr. Negus was celebrated for earning the Prep School Lacrosse Showcase 2018 Coach of the Year award from the National Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association. Mr. Boltrek was honored for being named Suffolk County Coach of the Year by the Coaches Association. Mr. Petrucci was commended for receiving the Steve Lembo Memorial Award from New York State Professional Baseball Hot Stove League of baseball scouts. 

The color purple blanketed R.C. Murphy Junior High School as the students and staff celebrated this year’s P.S. I Love You Day.

The effort, which was organized by the PBIS committee and spearheaded by guidance counselor Amy Poulos, aimed to inspire individuals to stand up for kindness, cultural respect and being better to each other. Students and staff not only wore purple – the official color associated with the initiative – but also received a purple bracelet inscribed with the words “Be Proud of Who You Are.” 

Paper hearts with powerful and inspirational quotes were left on each student’s locker, and teachers decorated paper hearts saying why they are proud to be part of the Murphy community. Additionally, students had the chance to snap a commemorative photo in a photo booth set up in the cafeteria during lunch periods and sign a poster celebrating differences, kindness, community and pride. 

As the result of her performance, R.C. Murphy Junior High School eighth-grader Sammi Feil is one of only 50 spellers from Long Island to have qualified for the Long Island Regional Scripps Spelling Bee, which will be held on March 20 at St. Joseph’s College.  

To qualify for the contest, Sammi had to take an online Scripps spelling and vocabulary test consisting of 50 words. The champion of the 2019 Long Island Regional Scripps Spelling Bee will receive an expenses-paid trip to the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, from May 26-31. 

Based on their exceptional talents, seven P.J. Gelinas Junior High School students – Reyva Jamdar, Sana Khan, Sarah Khan, Sophia Khan, Riley Meckley, Sheza Siddiqui and Julia Weinstein – were honored for their original pieces of work during this year’s Brookhaven's Got Talent Poetry Slam. 

Students in grades 7-12 were invited to submit to the contest, and selected poems were read aloud during the poetry slam. Each student was honored with a certificate of appreciation following the event. 

As a way to bring their classroom lessons on satire and comedy out of the textbook and into the real world, Ward Melville High School Advanced Placement Literature and Composition students recently had the chance to visit with a 2015 alumna and learn about her experience as an intern at “Saturday Night Live.” 

During the event, Ward Melville graduate Rose Kelso discussed the process of bringing the show to fruition each week, which is a highly collaborative effort between the writers, guest hosts and performers. The class also discussed the elements of comedy and satire, more specifically. 

Student Gabrielle Barry asked what Ms. Kelso has learned through experience, and she responded that it is important to be patient with oneself in seeking opportunities, and also to be confident. She stated it’s okay not to know everything right away, but be patient in order to learn and grow. 

Another student, Bobby Rau, asked what makes the perfect joke, to which Ms. Kelso replied that it depends on timing, knowing your audience and understanding the situation. She added that comedy is based on situational or ironic contrasts and that comedic timing is measured in “beats,” making the delivery of a joke as important as what is actually said. 

Ward Melville High School Italian classes experienced different aspects of authentic Italian culture during a recent field trip.

Beginning in a Ferrari-Maserati showroom, the students learned about the history of the automobile manufacturing company founded in Italy. After a brief presentation, the students were given the opportunity to design their own Ferrari and sit in different models. In the second part of the trip, they enjoyed a tasty lunch at Umberto’s, where they were able to see how the “pizzaioli” made pizzas following traditional Italian style, before enjoying their own pizzas. 

Colorful skeins of wool have filled a classroom at Nassakeag Elementary School, as students have learned to use various looms to knit beautiful scarves for those in need.

Working within the school’s Looming Club and under the direction of adviser Linda Earls, the 25 student-members have been learning the craft since late October. Working on individual pieces, the club has already fashioned a number of scarves and a hat.

This February, they packaged more than 20 of their creations and sent them to the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless. The club will continue to work on donations during each of their meetings, which will run through the month of March. 

Setauket Elementary School students showcased their creativity and talents this winter by entering the PTA Reflections Contest, with projects focused on this year’s theme of “Heroes Around Me.” 

The contest, which is designed to spark imagination and creativity in home and school, calls for students in grades K-12 to create and submit original works of art in one of six categories. As a result of the local level of judging, the following Setauket students were recognized as winners and had their projects submitted to the regional level. 

The district congratulates Valentina Ellis (visual arts and literature project), Graham Gregory (visual arts project) and Avery Timm (visual arts project). 

P.J. Gelinas Junior High School eighth-grade students went behind the scenes of space exploration during a recent Lunch With a Scientist program involving guest speaker Dr. Joel Hurowitz, assistant professor from Stony Brook University’s Department of Geosciences. 

The talk, held during the students’ lunch period, was based around Professor Hurowitz’s research of the surface of Mars using current and future NASA rover missions. Throughout the presentation, he focused on the development of an instrument that will be placed on an arm of the rover NASA plans send to the Martian surface in the year 2020. 

The instrument, known as PIXL, for Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry, will be mounted at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, allowing it to be placed next to a rock or soil target. It is designed to provide finer-scale identification of the elemental composition of the surface of Mars than ever before possible. This will allow Dr. Hurowitz and other scientists to gain a better understanding of the composition of the rocks as well as clues to their origins. In past rover missions, the surface rocks on Mars suggested the presence of large amounts of water flowing on the surface. 

In addition to the research, Professor Hurowitz also described his journey from a student in a New York State Earth Science classroom to his current position with Stony Brook’s Department of Geosciences. 

Ward Melville High School’s DECA team recently competed in the regional DECA competition at Suffolk County Community College – Ammerman Campus. As a result of their individual and collective successes, many students are now eligible to compete in the New York State DECA State Career Conference in Rochester, New York.

Congratulations to the entire team, as well as the following state qualifiers:

Kelsey Ge 1st Place – Food Marketing
Michael Bernstein 1st Place – Business Services Marketing
Elyas Masrour 1st Place – Retail Merchandising
Priya Mukhi 1st Place – Human Resources Management
Nancy Zhong 1st Place – Principles of Finance
Jedidiah Tan 1st Place – Principles of Marketing
Jessica Guo and Jade Eggleston 1st Place – Buying and Merchandising Management TEAM
Jay Sangwan and Ryan Abatiello 1st Place – Financial Services TEAM
Chelsea Pan and Eileen Whelan 1st Place – Hospitality Services Management TEAM
Shahzadi Adeena 2nd Place – Principles of Finance
Nathan Zou 2nd Place – Sports and Entertainment Marketing
Hannah Lu 2nd Place – Restaurant and Food Service Management
Elizabeth Wang 2nd Place – Quick Serve Restaurant Management
Katie Zhao and Dara Berman 2nd Place – Marketing Management TEAM
Jonathan Huang 2nd Place – Accounting Applications
Jack Chitkara 3rd Place – Principles of Business Management and
Administration
Grace Lin 3rd Place – Principles of Marketing
Ashley Zhang 3rd Place – Hotel and Lodging Management
Neil Mehta and Jake Segal 3rd Place – Business Law and Ethics TEAM
Dale Yu 3rd Place – Principles of Finance
Akshay Malhotra 3rd Place – Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
Julia Zhu 4th Place – Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
Eric Chung 4th Place – Automotive Services Marketing
Varsha Talanki 5th Place – Apparel and Accessories Marketing

Nicholas Abatiello 5th Place – Principles of Business Management and
Administration
Anna Ma 5th Place – Marketing Communications


Additionally, the following students placed in the top 10 in their events in Suffolk County:

Jenna Fu – Business Finance
Jessica Liao – Restaurant and Food Service Management
Leo Takemaru – Automotive Services Marketing

You could say that spelling is a special talent for Setauket Elementary School sixth-grader Ava Himmelsbach, as she was named the school spelling bee champion for the third year in a row this winter.

After facing off against the school’s top spellers from grades 4-6, Ava clinched her victory in the 19th round of the school-level competition with the word “libertarian.” She will now take part in an online test covering spelling and vocabulary for the chance to qualify for the regional spelling bee, which will be held at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue later this winter. 

The Three Village Central School District congratulates Ava on this remarkable accomplishment, as well as second-, third- and fourth-place competitors Peter Calone, Valentina Ellis and Madeline Galeotafiore. 

Kindness was sprinkled like confetti throughout Minnesauke Elementary School as students, staff and families took part in the Great Kindness Challenge this winter.

The initiative commenced with a schoolwide assembly, where the students learned about the different activities planned for the week and enjoyed a kindness fashion show. 

During the weeklong Great Kindness Challenge, students took part in a variety of kindness activities and lessons in their classrooms. A “kindness station” was set up in the cafeteria, where students wrote thank-you cards and positive affirmations, which were then hung on a bulletin board that said, “Give what you can” and “Take what you need.” 

Additionally, students donated spare change to help build a health clinic in Liberia and wore spirited outfits on choreographed days, including on Sports Day with the theme, “Everybody wins with kindness” and superhero T-shirts on a day with the theme “Kindness is a superpower.” The students also received a special guest visit from the members of the Stony Brook University football team, who cheered on the students during dismissal. 

W.S. Mount and Minnesauke elementary schools went head to head this February in the spirit of competition and giving as they hosted a Souper-Bowl Challenge. 

During the weeklong competition, students and staff at each school donated non-perishable canned food items for the chance to be named the 2019 champion. As a result of the buildings’ combined generosity, the schools collected a total of 3,347 cans. 

Minnesauke edged out last year’s Souper-Bowl winner Mount to be named the 2019 champions, with a total of 1,989 cans. All donations were delivered to a Long Island charity that provides school-age children with food weekly. 

As the winning school, Minnesauke was presented with the Souper-Bowl trophy and, as a good sport, Mount Principal Rosanne DiBella sported a Minnesauke T-shirt to school one day. 

Ward Melville High School senior Tom Fitzsimons reached a career milestone this February as the district hosted the Suffolk County League I championships, an event that hasn’t been held at Ward Melville in more than two decades. 

The four-year wrestler, who is a force on the mat, captured his 100th win as proud family, friends and wrestling peers from across the county watched. 

R.C. Murphy Junior High School students showcased their linguistic skills as they competed in the seventh annual school spelling bee this January. 

Going head to head in a series of challenging rounds, students worked to spell impressively challenging words with various points of origin. As a result of their talents and skill, eighth-graders Sammi Feil, Alexi Lugris and Ethan Yu emerged as this year’s first-, second- and third-place winners, respectively.  

Sammi will now go on to the Long Island Bee qualifiers. Her winning words in the school contest were “libertarian” and “gypsum.”

A storm of learning was brewing in the Nassakeag Elementary School science lab as fourth-graders in Kathryn Comiskey’s class took part in a lesson on weathering, erosion and deposition centered around the new New York State Science Learning Standards.

After watching a short video about phenomenon and the effects of weathering, the students were challenged to figure out how rocks break down. Using different materials, they created an experiment to show physical weathering or chemical weathering. Each group created a lab report for their experiment.  

After that lab, they created centers that focused on showing erosion and deposition. The centers were wave power, river power, rain, wind and strong wind.  

The students worked on the projects with the assistance of their teacher, science consultant Dave Mutter and teacher assistants Toni Conlon and Genine Connerton. 

In partnership with the Ward Melville Heritage Organization, ninth-grade students enrolled in the Local History and Government course at P.J. Gelinas Junior High School visited Brewster House in East Setauket to advance their knowledge of local history and their thinking, research and literacy skills. 

According to the WMHO’s website, “built in 1665 and considered the oldest house in the Town of Brookhaven, the Brewster House was home to six generations of Brewsters. The house has transformed over the centuries from the one-room cottage to its present saltbox structure. During the American Revolution, Joseph Brewster operated the house as a tavern and general store, entertaining British troops inside. American Patriot Caleb Brewster, cousin of Joseph Brewster and presumably a frequent visitor to the house, was a member of George Washington’s Culper Spy Ring during the Revolutionary War.”

“Field trips that pair us with our local historians provide wonderful learning opportunities for all students beyond the traditional classroom instruction,” Dr. Paul W. Gold, K-12 director for social studies, said.