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The Three Village Central School District Board of Education commenced the 2018-19 school year during its annual organizational meeting at the North Country Administrative Center on July 11.

During the meeting, William F. Connors, Jr and Deanna Bavlnka were sworn in for their new three-year terms of office. Mr. Connors, Irene Gische and Inger Germano were reappointed to serve as Board President, Vice President and District Clerk Pro-Tem, respectively.

Three Village students across grade levels showcased their musical talents at a number of festivals and competitions this spring. The students were the ultimate professionals and represented the school district with pride and prestige. Below are the results of these coveted competitions.

Ward Melville High School student-athletes Shannon Berry and Alex Mazzone have been named to the 2018 Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Team. 

The two seniors will represent Ward Melville High School on June 30 at Johns Hopkins University where 44 of the nation’s best senior boys and girls will compete in the 13th annual Under Armour All-America North vs. South All-Star Games. The games will be televised live on ESPNU. 

Alex will attend Georgetown University and Shannon will attend Princeton University, where they will continue their athletic careers.

After 13 years of hard work, dedication and scholastic commitment, Ward Melville High School seniors Ethan Li and Michael Lu have been named the Class of 2018 valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.  

Ethan has maintained a challenging academic schedule throughout his career at Ward Melville, including nine Advanced Placement courses in the areas of science, computer science and mathematics alone. He is an Advanced Placement Scholar, a National Merit Scholarship finalist and a 2017 Scholar-Chess Player, and was named to the All-America Chess Team from 2016-2018. He is the founder of the Ward Melville Chess Team, and a member of the Science Bowl, Math Team and school newspaper. As a dedicated community member, he regularly gives back to the local area as a volunteer chess instructor and as the organizer of Mission: Toothbrush, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that organizes donation drives for various charities and soup kitchens. 

Michael has also boasted an impressive academic record throughout his academic career. He is highly involved in the district’s science research program and was named a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar based on his research on heart health. He was elected vice president of the school’s Chess Team, served as the defense attorney for the building’s Mock Trial Team and was named a National Merit Scholarship finalist. Michael has also been a dedicated volunteer at Mather Hospital. 

Nassakeag Elementary School sixth-graders in Robyn Weinstein’s class took action to help protect the Earth through a letter writing campaign to reduce the use of plastic straws. 

The students wrote to local food establishments, asking them to reduce or stop using plastic straws, noting that they have been found in the stomachs and noses of deceased sea animals. Citing the many alternatives to plastic – including bamboo, glass, paper or metal – the students encouraged several locations to embrace this initiative and, to date, one agreed to create a new “straws by request only” policy. 

258 district students were praised and commended for their philanthropic actions and presented with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award this June.

This national award is issued for service hours accumulated during a 12-month period. According to the official criteria, the awards are offered in multiple levels and are designed to recognize each milestone of service. Levels include bronze, silver, gold and the highest honor, the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, for those who contribute more than 4,000 hours of service in their lifetime. Three Village students accumulated 28,000 of service collectively this year! 

Special thanks to this year’s PVSA Chairs (listed below) and Ward Melville High School students, Zoe Gliganic and Harrison Goldstein, for providing the photos:

Arrowhead: Sallie Culloton & Yolanda Shields
Minnesauke: Deanna Bavlnka
Nassakeag: Inger Germano
Setauket: Andrea Fiorella
WS Mount: Alison Pugliese
Gelinas: Christine Gacovino
Murphy: Ann Marie Pszybylski
WMHS: Lisa Alvarez

For more information about the program and how to apply, please review the guidelines and logs posted on each school district webpage. Information for the 2018/2019 is available. 

The Ward Melville High School varsity boys lacrosse team has been named New York State champions for the second consecutive year. The team captured the win against a challenging team from West Genesee at St. John Fisher College by a score of 15-2.

 

R.C. Murphy Junior High School students competed in and captured first place during the 2018 MoMathlon Tournament of Champions at the National Museum of Mathematics in New York City, also known as the MoMath Museum. The tournament was sponsored by Con Edison and Brookhaven National Laboratory. 

The tournament consisted of the top 10 middle school teams in New York State: two from Suffolk County, two from Manhattan, two from the Bronx, two from Queens and two from Westchester County. R.C. Murphy team members Matthew Chen, Carolyn Liu, Ashwinaa Vaithianathan, Claire Yang and Ethan Yu comprised one of the top teams representing Suffolk County.

The tournament had four rounds: individual, team, mixed team and team relay. The students were not allowed to use a calculator, only their brains and scrap paper. They were given an iPad to view the problems and submit their answers. The top three teams were awarded medals and a trophy to bring home for the school. 

Ward Melville High School welcomed back a cast of talented choir and music alumni this June, who joined members of the senior Class of 2018 on stage for this year’s Alumni and Senior Recall Show/Final Project Showcase Concert.

The production, which was directed and coordinated by music teacher Linda Contino, was a great final project performance by the choirs at WMHS and helped recall some wonderful musical moments, both past and present. 

Ward Melville High School seniors Kate Mulham and Zach Hobbes were nominated for the prestigious Butch Dellacave Award, which goes to the most outstanding senior male and female athlete in Suffolk County who excels on the field, academically and in the community. 

Zach was named the overall male winner for 2018. He is an All-American lacrosse player and All-County football player and has carried a 100 GPA. The dedicated volunteer, who regularly visits veterans homes and runs a church group, will attend Harvard University this fall. 

He is the first Ward Melville athlete to win this prestigious award since Jack Bruckner in 2013. 

W.S. Mount Elementary School kindergarten students in Dawn McNally’s class recently hosted a Charity Writing Celebration to showcase the informational “how to” books they penned with other classes and parents.

The students began the day by reading their stories to the school’s fifth- and sixth-grade classes, before sharing them with special guests. 

In addition to sharing their stories, the students also showcased their artistic talents during the celebration. The students made over 200 bookmarks, which they sold at the celebration for a dollar each. As a result of the generosity of the attendees, the class raised $650 for The Fred Rogers Center. 

“Fred Rogers has greatly influenced my life as a parent as well as an educator, and I am honored to have made a connection with an organization that is continuing his important work,” Ms. McNally said. 

Students and staff members around the district paused to celebrate the nation’s stars and stripes this June as they marked Flag Day.

After 13 years of dedication, both in and outside of the classroom, 64 Ward Melville High School students have committed to continue their athletic journey at some of the nation’s premier colleges and universities this fall.

“This is a remarkable achievement, to have so many students selected to continue to compete at the college level,” said Peter Melore, executive director for health, physical education, recreation, health services, drivers’ education and athletics. “What is even more impressive is that fact that 62 percent of the athletes selected to compete at this high level have maintained a 90 percent average or better.”

The Three Village Central School District congratulates the following student-athletes and wishes them well in their future. 

 

Last	First	Sport	School	Division
Barbieri	Arianna	Soccer	Stony Brook University	1
Becchina	Bridget	Fencing	University of North Carolina	1
Becker	Jillian	Lacrosse	University of Richmond	1
Berry	Shannon	Lacrosse	Princeton University	1
Bogush	Nicholas	Swimming	Marist College	1
Brazier	Shannon	Lacrosse	Cornell University	1
Buehler	Christopher	Baseball	LIU Brooklyn	1
Cardillo	Courtney	Cheerleading	Elon University	1
Coughlan	Shannon	Lacrosse	Yale University	1
Davenport	Liam	Lacrosse	West Point	1
Doran	Logan	Baseball	George Washington University	1
Duffy	Julia	Fencing	Pennsylvania State University	1
Flynn	Lucas	Lacrosse	Bryant University	1
Gaedje	Allyson	Track	Cornell University	1
Grillo	Matthew	Lacrosse	Providence College	1
Hobbes	Zachary	Lacrosse	Harvard College	1
Hurley	Margaret	Cheerleading	University of Alabama	1
Kaplan	Ryan	Swimming	Marist College	1
Kubik	Cameron	Swimming	University of Maine	1
Leap	Ryanne	Cheerleading	University of Rhode Island	1
Lievano	Rafael	Wrestling	University at Buffalo	1
Liucci	Kerri	Lacrosse	Towson University	1
Liucci	Nicole	Lacrosse	Towson University	1
Manuud	Kara	Competitive Dance	Pennsylvania State University	1
Mastriano	Madeline	Track	Loyola of Maryland	1
Mazzone	Alex	Lacrosse	Georgtown University	1
Messina	Nicholas	Football	Brown University	1
Mulham	Kate	Lacrosse	Princeton University	1
Rutt	Samantha	Track	SUNY Albany	1
Ryan	Daniel	Track	University of Rhode Island	1
Solomon	Daniel	Fencing	Harvard College	1
Sturgess	Samantha	Track	Binghampton Univesity	1
Thornton	Kerri	Lacrosse	Towson University	1
Wilson	Kaitlin	Cheerleading	James Madison University	1
Winicki	Kayla	Soccer	Duquesne University	1
Zulkofske	Eric	Track	University of Rhode Island	1
Zuric	Luka	Swimming	University of Maryland, Baltimore County	1
Alvarez	Stephanie	Swimming	University of Scranton	3
Bances	Arthur	Swimming	Ithaca College	3
Bogdanski	Victoria	Swimming	SUNY New Paltz	3
Cajigas	Brandon	Lacrosse	St. Joseph's College	3
Capizzi	Peyton	Football	Westfield State University	3
Cosentino	Dominick	Lacrosse	SUNY Geneseo	3
Daly	Breanna	Swimming	St. Joseph's College	3
Guglielmo	Anthony	Soccer	Mount Saint Mary College	3
He	David	Swimming	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	3
Heaney	Courtney	Volleyball	Holy Family University	2
Honor	Nicholas	Soccer	SUNY New Paltz	3
Koester	James	Baseball	Salve Regina University	3
Leap	Tyler	Baseball	Farmingdale College	3
Leonard	Kevin	Lacrosse	Mount Saint Mary College	3
Mattson	Sean	Lacrosse	Florida Southern College	2
McMullen	Ryan	Lacrosse	SUNY Geneseo	3
Murray	Bailey	Cheerleading	Suffolk County Community College	Jr. College
O'Brien	Megan	Volleyball	King's College	3
O'Toole	Christian	Lacrosse	SUNY Geneseo	3
Pallonetti	Ryan	Lacrosse	Franklin and Marshall College	3
Petraco	Ryan	Lacrosse	Oberlin College	3
Radke	Harry	Soccer	SUNY Geneseo	3
Sobel	Alexander	Basketball	Middlebury College	3
Toomey	Connor	Lacrosse	Belmont Abbey	2
Vitale	Victoria	Soccer	Kean University	3
Williams	Cameron	Lacrosse	SUNY Geneseo	3
Zuvich	Joseph	Football	Union College	3

 

 

P.J. Gelinas Junior High School’s National Junior Art Honor Society members recently came together to create the chapter’s ninth annual group mural. 

Each year the group picks an individual to honor who is of outstanding character and has given back to the world at large. This year, the group chose Diana, Princess of Wales. The chapter’s 25 members each had a hand in creating the mural, which will be placed on permanent display at Gelinas this summer. 

Nassakeag and Minnesauke elementary school fifth-grade students have been learning about the circulatory system as part of a recent health education unit of study.

With the guidance of their health teacher, Kerry Diana, the students explored the circulatory system through their senses during health class. Visually they experienced the look of the heart muscle and its chambers using an actual calf heart, while also seeing the movement of their pulse with student-created marshmallow pulse meters. Through sound they listened to the lub-dub of their own heart using Littman stethoscopes and heard the sound of a partner’s lungs inhaling the oxygen that will get supplied to the blood for circulation.  

In addition, the students learned how to feel both their radial and carotid pulse points and were challenged to observe and assess the changes in their pulse rate during different levels of activity.  

The Ward Melville High School DECA team recently attended the annual election/installation dinner at Windows on the Lake in Lake Ronkonkoma, where three Ward Melville students were elected to the Suffolk County DECA board. 

Anna Ma was elected vice president of membership, Priya Mukhi was elected vice president of communications and Jay Sangwan was named vice president of finance. These students will serve their term through the 2018-19 school year.

“This is an amazing accomplishment for them and our DECA chapter,” said adviser Ilene Littman. 

As a result of its project on polychiral multi-walled carbon nanotube solar cells, a team of Ward Melville High School students has been named a first-place winner in the Toshiba and National Science Teachers Association-sponsored ExploraVision competition.

The Three Village Central School District congratulates team members Kian Abbott, Jeffrey Casey, Darren Tung, Abhinav Yadav and teacher James Dornicik for winning the national prize. 

The students will be traveling to Washington, D.C., to be recognized for their outstanding accomplishment and to receive their awards. Their project was named best by a national team of judges consisting of scientists from the Food and Drug Administration, NASA, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and others for creativity, scientific accuracy, communication and feasibility of vision. 

Ward Melville High School’s spring semester Gourmet Foods classes recently showcased their creativity as they took part in this year’s Cupcake Wars competition.

This semester’s themes were Fantasy and Garden for first period and Under the Sea for second and third period. Students worked over the course of a week to prepare everything from fondant mermaid tails to aliens and planets. On the day of the competition, judges walked around each display, talked with students about the displays and sampled the cupcakes. 

The winners this semester were Victoria Prinzo for her Alice in Wonderland display (period 1), the Yellow Kitchen for their Underwater display (period 2), and Green Kitchen for their Poseidon display (period 3). All judges commended students for their outstanding efforts and students certainly enjoyed tasting the results from their projects.

Nassakeag Elementary School sixth-grader Thania Canales has been selected as a winner of Scholastic’s Storyworks writing contest.  

Entrants were asked to write a letter from a character’s point of view.  Thania read the story, “Dad’s New Job” by Tommy Greenwald and then she wrote a letter from the character Henry’s perspective. The letter explained the lesson Henry learned from his dad. 

Thania was one of 10 winners selected in the contest and received a copy of “Dog Day Afternoon” by Tommy Greenwald.  

P.J. Gelinas Junior High School seventh-grade students in Jacqueline Shaw’s English classes have been researching an argumentative topic of their choice and developing a considered opinion on it.

With the help of Ms. Shaw and library media specialist Nicole Connelly, the students created display boards to showcase their research. The students’ completed boards were on display during a research fair in the library, at which the students defended their positions to an audience and their teachers.

Research projects focused on such topics as “Should We Have a Bring Your Pet to School Day?,” “Does Vegetarianism Promote a Healthy Lifestyle?,” “Should the School Day Start Later?,” and “Should Zoos Improve Their Habitat?”

In a real-world lesson on civics, P.J. Gelinas Junior High School students had the chance to meet with a current sitting judge during a recent Town Hall event at the school. 

A small cohort of seventh- and ninth-grade students visited with the Honorable Karen M. Wilutis, the president of the Board of Judges, to learn about her work in the First District Court. She spoke about her work in the domestic violence courts and her legal background, including working in private practice concentrating in criminal defense. She also discussed her work as the town attorney for the Town of Brookhaven, as well as for Sen. John Flanagan as legislative director. 

Six teams from R.C. Murphy Junior High School’s science research program have received honorable mentions in the Toshiba and National Science Teachers Association-sponsored ExploraVision competition. 

For the contest, students were asked to image a technology 20 years in the future and use the scientific process to research and develop their inventions. Overviews of the Murphy honorable mention projects are below: 

Biodegradable Virus Eradication Nanites: Team Members: Rishika Cherivirala, Alana John and Mahima Karanth. This group proposed the usage of nanotechnology to eradicate viruses from the body. The nanobots would break down and be eliminated from the body.

Bionic Pancreas: Team Members: Gabrielle Coupe, Lexi Katsaros and Justin Santana. The pancreas would be replaced by a 3D-printed synthetic one that will pump insulin and help regulate the blood sugar for those with diabetes.

Caule Cellam Auxilium: Synthetic Stem Cells: Team Members: John Coupe, Noelle Foster and Holly Hessner-Schnittman. This group proposed the creation of semi-synthetic stem cells to help eradicate disease.

Eco-Booster: Team Members: Aron Burstzyn, Matthew Dillon, Aditya Seetharaman and Ari Zucker. The Eco-Booster was conceptualized to reduce the amount of CO2 entering the air by cars. It is a filter that attaches to the tail pipe and then takes the CO2 and converts it to electricity that in turn powers the filter.

Fire Annihilator: Team Members: Alexa Calvansese, Olivia Drury, Sally Gliganic and Catherine Ma. A drone that could one day potentially save the lives of firefighters that die putting out fire in dry states like California. It is a small drone that puts out fires using low frequency sound waves as opposed to chemicals and water.

Sulfur Dioxide Smoke Stack Filter: Team Members: Julia Lingenfelter, Sofia Mulligan and Rachel Zhang. Sulfur dioxide is one of the largest components of acid rain. This group proposed creating and using a filter that would remove sulfur dioxide from factory emissions, which would decrease pollution and acid rain.

Sixth-graders at W.S. Mount Elementary School learned about proper meal etiquette and reinforced table manners during a special “fancy lunch” event at the school.

The event, hosted by the school’s Site-Based Team, began with an assembly program by two family and consumer science teachers from R.C. Murphy Junior High School. Emma Domino and Virginia Ferraro spoke with the students about dining out, table etiquette and table manners. 

Then the students were escorted to the mini gym, which was set up like a restaurant, where they were served lunch by parent volunteers.  

More than 800 students from across the Three Village Central School District showcased their musical talents as they competed in this year’s NYSSMA Satellite Festival held at R.C. Murphy Junior High School this May.

The district’s entire music faculty and more than 50 Tri-M Music Honor Society students volunteered during the event and the Three Village Music Boosters sponsored a dinner for the 100 NYSSMA and staff. 

Arrowhead Elementary School sixth-grader Acadia Kunkel was recently selected to attend the 2018 Suzuki Association of The Americas 18th Biennial Conference in Minneapolis from May 24-28.

Her selection was based on a video audition that earned her a spot playing violin in the Suzuki Youth Orchestra of America, alongside other musicians who were chosen from across the country. Acadia plays in the orchestra at Arrowhead under the instruction of Mr. James Hein.

R.C. Murphy Junior High School students recently took part in a creative “Keva Kontest” in the school’s library media center to showcase their innovation and skills.  

Using wooden Keva blocks, students became engineers as they created intricate and extravagant sculptures. As a result of their efforts, Christopher Apostol won first prize, Dylan Verby won second place and Andrew Lin was named the third-place winner. Each student was awarded a Barnes & Noble gift card.

Ward Melville High School’s choirs competed in Disney World and performed at the Disney Springs Marketplace Stage. The 120 students prepared and performed beautifully on a sunny day and attended a Disney Sings Workshop, where they were instructed by Disney professional performers. They created all of the vocals, including singing, dialogue and sound effects, for a “Frozen” animation feature.

R.C. Murphy Junior High School’s Advanced Placement World classes recently combined artistic expression with a lesson on the collapse of several postclassical societies as they completed a “dissection of an empire autopsy.”

Working in groups, the students in John Strub’s and Tracy Beauchamp’s classes examined one of the following empires: Aztec, Mali Ghana, Ming, Song or Songhai. They documented their findings – in such areas as advancements the society made; important dates; political, technological or cultural achievements; religion and cause for decline – on a large paper drawing of a person depicting a native of those regions. 

The completed projects were on display throughout the classrooms and nearby hallways. The students then completed a cumulative writing piece to answer two of five questions related to the study, as well as compared and contrasted two societies. 

All Three Village Central School District string players – more than 300 in total – had the chance to participate in the Electrify Your Strings program alongside international recording artist and electric violinist Mark Wood.
During the two-day program, which was sponsored by the district’s music department, Mr. Wood worked directly with the students to design a tailor made rock orchestra program. The workshop culminated in a live performance at Ward Melville High School. 

Electrify Your Strings is a music education phenomenon that introduced students to a whole new world of expressing themselves as musicians, and gave them a lifechanging experience they will never forget.

As the result of a multiyear service-learning project, W.S. Mount Elementary School proudly celebrated the grand opening of the building’s new game and indoor recess rooms this April.

Since 2013, the building’s Student Government has been working on a youth-led project to change the indoor recess environment at Mount School from the classroom to a more exciting environment. 

“Over the years, many students had a hand in creating, designing, fund-raising, budgeting, ordering, developing and redesigning for this initiative,” adviser Linda Figliozzi said. “To date, we have created three indoor recess rooms – one being a quiet recess room, the other a large game room and, along the way, our principal offered the mini gym as a third place for larger activities. Classes rotate during recess through these three rooms depending on the weather conditions.”

At the grand opening, current and returning students that were involved with this student-led initiative from Gelinas, Murphy and Ward Melville had the chance to tour the new spaces. 

This project came together through a partnership with Lift Up Long Island, an organization that supports the region through sustainability, providing skills and mentorship for youth in their social entrepreneurship ventures.