Three teachers in the district were honored by Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory with the Outstanding Teacher Recognition Award.

The honorees were Northwest Elementary School reading teacher Jennifer Bianco, Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School special education teacher Marisa Krepil and Edmund W. Miles Middle School English language arts teacher John Katsigiorgis. 

Ms. Bianco just completed her fifth year as Northwest, where she provides reading support services to students in first, second and third grades. She sets high expectations for her students and models positive behaviors that help them reach their goals. Additionally, she strives to grow as an educator by attending professional development workshops and also facilitates model lessons for her colleagues. At the most recent Superintendent Conference Day, Ms. Bianco planned and delivered a staff development workshop for teachers utilizing the Leveled Literacy Intervention reading program.

“Ms. Bianco is a gifted and caring instructor who has tremendous initiative and a desire to continue to learn,” said Principal Kathleen Hyland. “Her approach is one where students feel nurtured, supported and free to take risks. She fosters a love of learning and encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning while providing them with guidance and mentoring.”

Ms. Krepil has worked in the district for more than 10 years and is a resource room teacher for students in fourth through sixth grades, using student data to provide personalized instruction. She also serves as a special education coordinator in which she organizes and facilitates various meetings, and provides professional development to her colleagues on creating action plans to increase academic, social and emotional support for students. Among her accomplishments were organizing fall and winter celebrations for students with autism, which provided them with opportunities for language development. 

“Ms. Krepil is a dedicated educator who is a true asset to our school,” said Principal Robyn Santiago. “She regularly goes above and beyond to support students, and is a true leader in the building by sharing her teaching expertise with her colleagues.  

Mr. Katsigiorgis has worked in the district for 15 years and currently teaches seventh grade. He was nominated by Principal Edward Plaia and the middle school’s leadership team. 

“I was honored and very excited that I was nominated and received this award,” Mr. Katsigiorgis said. “The one thing that helps me as a teacher is the fact I am willing to look at myself honestly and objectively. I am willing to acknowledge when something is not working and then try to rectify it by asking for help or researching a better way to make it work.”

Mr. Plaia noted that Mr. Katsigiorgis came to the United States when he was in high school as an English language learner.

“Now he is an English teacher, and motivates all of his students each day with his passion for learning,” Mr. Plaia said. “He embraces new methods of instruction, new ideas, and all things which help his students. He’s the type of teacher that students and colleagues will remember forever.”

Young musicians from Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School in the Amityville Union Free School recently impressed judges at the Long Island Music Festival assessment. The chorus and sixth-grade band each received “superior” ratings following their performances on June 8.

The groups performed for trained ensemble adjudicators at the regional festival and received immediate feedback in response to their performances. The chorus was led by music teacher Megan Ashe and the band was conducted by Jolene Maccarone. 

Dr. Fran Fernandez, director of fine and performing arts, said, “Congratulations to the students of these performing ensembles and to their teachers, Ms. Ashe and Mrs. Maccarone, for their fine performances and for representing our district in such a positive way.”

The district hosted moving up ceremonies for its elementary school students, beginning with pre-K on June 15.

Kindergartners said goodbye to Northeast Elementary School on June 19. The theme for this year’s program was “A Broadway Spectacular,” which was coordinated by music teacher Nicole Altamura. Each of the 11 classes performed a song from a child-friendly Broadway show such as “Under the Sea” from the “The Little Mermaid” and “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” from “The Lion King.” A group performance of “We Go Together” from “Grease” closed out each of the three moving up ceremonies. 

Northwest Elementary School held its third-grade moving up ceremony on June 20 at the high school. Principal Kathleen Hyland said that it marked an important milestone in the students’ educational journeys. She noted they have grown as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists and young citizens since they entered the school as first-graders.  

Going forward, Ms. Hyland reminded them to have good manners and a respectful attitude while showing a willingness to keep learning and try new experiences.

The program included musical selections by students, “I Can’t Stop the Feeling” and “Count on Me.” It also featured a video presentation in which students shared their fondest Northwest memories.

Middle school awaits 220 students who were recognized at Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School’s moving up ceremony on June 21. The sixth-grade class left an impression on administrators, teachers and staff, with ideas that helped both their school and the world. Students designed a mural to brighten up on of the school’s hallways and came up with a plan to help people in Puerto Rico following the devastating hurricane. 

“I have high hopes for you and I believe in you,” Principal Robyn Santiago told the students. “There are great things coming.”

Mikhail Ankudovych and Samantha Molina, co-presidents of the middle school’s National Junior Honor School chapter, addressed their future peers. They talked about the importance of good character and highlighted the community service activities that NJHS member perform. 
The ceremony also featured the presentation of the President’s Award of Educational Excellence and Educational Achievement to a recipient from each sixth-grade class. 

Superintendent Dr. Mary T. Kelly said that the summer is a good time to rest and reenergize as they prepare for middle school. In between playing and swimming, she reminded them to read to keep their minds sharp.

“Reading helps you stretch your imagination,” she said. “I really encourage everyone to spend some time with books over the summer.”

Park Avenue Moving Up Ceremony

Northwest Moving Up Ceremony

Northeast Kindergarten Celebration

Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School students now have additional technology at their disposal following the donation of three Chromebooks by the Amityville Rotary Club.

Rotary Club members presented the donation to district officials on June 7 in the Park Avenue library. The three Acer touchscreen Chromebooks are in addition to devices already available in the school. Sixth-grade students demonstrated how they use Chromebooks to learn computer programming by participating in coding activities through KidOYO.

“We know that these Chromebooks will be put to good use as it prepares us to get ready for the modern technology world,” said sixth-grader Donovan Graham, a student member of the district Technology Committee. 

Amityville Rotary Club Foundation Chairwoman Virginia Belling explained to students about the purpose of the organization and its local and global service projects. She encouraged students to join the Interact Club, a Rotary-sponsored community service club for youth, when they get to high school. 

“We thank the Amityville Rotary Club for their generous donation and their continued support of our students and our community,” said Superintendent Dr. Mary T. Kelly. “This helps further our mission of providing students with access to a wide variety of engaging technological tools and resources.”

After learning about erosion, rocks, plate tectonics, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle, sixth-graders at Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School shared their knowledge with their younger peers.

The school hosted its annual Science Project Fair on May 17, and sixth-graders set up their displays in the auditorium. Fourth- and fifth-graders visited the fair to learn about the different scientific concepts.

Students worked in teams and one group per class was assigned to each of the five topics that comprised the sixth-grade science curriculum. The teams had to create poster board presentations.

Teacher Deborah Ross said that in addition to mastering the content, the students had to put great thought into their projects and create well-organized poster boards. She explained that presentation skills will become increasingly more important as they get older and even could be necessary when interviewing for jobs.