HS East Principal Newsletter Ocotber 2009

Perspectives

HALF HOLLOW HILLS HIGH SCHOOL EAST PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER

The Insider’s View

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A new look for the

football team

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21st Century Learning in Foreign Language

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Collage of homecoming highlights

Volume 1 , Issue 1

October 16, 2009

A Special Message from Dr. Woodberry We are off to another great start at High School East! At this time, as the leaves start to fall, our students and staff have ironed out the kinks and are entrenched in the academic process. As always, our staff is working to increase our capacity to engage students in meaningful learning and instruction. Over the summer, our administrators participated in a workshop intended to strengthen our knowledge of 21st Century learning skills and we have begun the process of sharing the information with our teachers. I anticipate that our collegial collaboration will enhance instruction for our students.

Although we lost a few teachers to retirement who were really credits to the profession, we have welcomed a new group of teachers who are competent, eager and prepared to make their mark in the field of education. As in years past, these teachers went through a rigorous screening process and were selected from a large pool of candidates to become members of the High School East faculty. I am confident that we chose the best of the best. In addition, we have two new administrators joining our ranks: Mr. Trigosso, former HSE Spanish teacher and Mr. Catapano, former Math Chairperson from Levittown School District. Mr. Trigosso, making a smooth transition from his teaching position, and Mr. Catapano, a newcomer to our Half Hollow Hills family, have become an integral part of the administrative team.

As our students strive for academic excellence, they also take part in a variety of extracurricular activities. Already our sports teams have racked up a number of wins. The Thunderbirds football team, for example, put us all in good spirits by scoring a huge win at our Homecoming 2009! Our clubs have been very active rehearsing, practicing, planning and engaging in numerous activities. We believe that High School East should not be merely a place to “go to school”, but more of a second home to students where they further develop their lives. Parents, encourage your children to become a part of the school and make it their own! If students are experiencing any difficulties, they should seek out any of the number of staff members who are here to help. Students should get to know their teachers, guidance counselors, school psychologists and administrators. Remember: Respect, Responsibility and Excellence!

Sincerely, Dr. J. A. Woodberry Principal, HS East

High School East is Proud to Recognize National Merit Scholars Inside this issue:

Page 3 Science Teacher Receives Service Award

Page 5 The Walls of High School East

Pages 6&7 Homecoming 2009

Page 8 A Thunderous Homecoming Victory for the Thunderbirds

This year we are proud to say that East has five National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. Pictured left with Principal Dr. Jeffery Woodberry and Assistant Principal Darlene Lilla,, they are: Matthew T. Miecnikowski, Kevin J. Norris, William Choi, Daniel Park, and Philip G. Cohn-Cort. Their diligence and commitment to excellence is an inspiration to us all.

East also has fifteen other students who have earned commended scholar status. Pictured below left, they are: Evan Baden, Sonia Bansal, Jacqueline Chen, Carly Emmer, Russell Feinstein, Kimberly Gill, Alyssa Hasbrouck, Siya Patil, Rohit Ramani, Chelsea Renter, Sohini Sheth, Ricky Sidhu, Jaclyn Vingan, Olivia Wang and Elissa Warmbrand. Additionally, three more academic honors were awarded to individual recipients and are pictured in the individual photos below right: Alexandra Gaspard was selected as a National Achievement Scholarship Semifinalist, and Maxx Meyer earned the National Hispanic Recognition Scholar award. Danny Sheffield Jr. was awarded Outstanding Participant in the National Achievement Scholarship Program.

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Perspectives

High School East Artists Extend Talent Beyond the Classroom Cultural Understanding Through the Arts Anna Maria Philippeaux, grade eleven, has been selected to exhibit one of her original photographs in the third annual Embracing Our Differences art exhibition. She is among 28 other students and professional artists from throughout Long Island. Each of the selected artists has his or her artwork enlarged to billboard size and displayed outdoors. Last spring, Anna worked with her Photography I teacher Mrs. Uttendorfer on this independent assignment that clearly represented her vision of cultural understanding. This year, the exhibition will be held at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook from September 26 through October 23, and then at the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn in the spring.

HS East Scholar Artist Peter McNierney was the only nominee from East and the only winner from the district to receive the Award of Excellence from the Long Island Arts Alliance (LIAA).

LIAA developed the Scholar-Artist Awards program to present outstanding high school age artists to the public in monthly profiles that appear in Newsday and on Newsday.com. The Scholar-Artist program is endorsed by the New York State School Music Association, the New York State Art Teachers Association, the Nassau and Suffolk chapter of the New York State Council of Administrators of Music Education, and the Nassau and Suffolk Art Supervisors Associations. Peter completed an extensive application process including letters of recommendation, a resume, a portfolio and an essay.

Artists and Athletes: A New Look For HS East’s Football Team When football coach, Kevin Hill asked art teacher, Denise Corazon to design a new football helmet logo for our school’s team, she couldn’t have been happier. “Believe it or not, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Corazon. I was a cheerleader in high school and a huge football fan.”

Special thanks to Denise Corazon, Kim Norris and Allyson Uttendorfer for their contributions to this page.

searched the actual sizes of NFL helmet logos so our design would meet professional specs,” said Mrs. Uttendorfer.

During the first week of school, members of the National Art Honor Society assembled the new logos on all the Varsity and JV football helmets in preparation for the Coach Hill said he wanted a new look for opening game. the team and thought an “E” for East might work. Ms. Corazon thought it was a great Principal, Dr. Jeffery Woodberry stated, idea and knew exactly what she wanted to “The new helmets are NFL worthy,” a do. “I wanted to design a logo that was huge compliment indeed. In addition, simple, yet powerful, and something that Coach Hill presented flowers to Ms. Coralooked like a professional team logo.” Ms. zon & Mrs. Uttendorfer at the HomecomCorazon asked art teacher, Allyson Utten- ing Rep Rally to show his appreciation. dorfer, to work with her on the project. The football team’s new look is really “We are a great Art team. As co-advisors sharp... go to a game and see for yourself! of the National Art Honor Society, we have created many projects together,” Ms. Corazon stated. The ability to transform a drawing into a graphic image for reproduction is an involved process and is Mrs. Uttendorfer’s forte. “The measurements on the files had to be perfect. We re-

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Capital Improvements Enhance the HS East Learning Environment This summer High School East was under construction again. Bathrooms throughout the school were transformed and are entirely new from ceiling to floor. The weight room is also updated with new equipment such as state-of-the-art elliptical units, the latest in free-weights and weight machines, and TV’s. Electronic handicapped ramps were installed in the music wing, making the navigation of the many steps leading into the auditorium much more manageable.

Once again, we at High School East sincerely thank our Board of Education, community members, and those at Central Office who made all these improvements possible. We also appreciate the hard work by our custodial staff and the contractors who worked throughout the summer to have everything ready for the new school year.

A More Determined School Based Management Team High School East’s School Based Management team is more determined than ever to make a new lawn sign a reality this school year. The 2009-2010 team, a combination of continuing and new members, has already begun planning fundraising strategies. Under the leadership of assistant principal Darlene Lilla as acting chairperson and student chairperson Joshua Shinbrot, the executive board voted on our first endeavor. At Safe Halloween we will raffle off two brand new iPod Nanos (in orange and black of course!). Tickets will go for three dollars each and two for five dollars. Look for our tables on October 30!

We also are encouraging donations through our Buy-aBrick campaign. Please see our HS East website for a printable order form and more information about buying an engraved brick for the sign’s walkway.

We will keep you informed of our progress throughout the year.

Science Teacher Receives Service Award One of our own High School East teachers has been honored with the STANYS Service Award. Mr. Glen Cochrane, teacher of AP Biology, earned the award by the Science Teachers’ Association of New York State for his “meritorious service to the local section,” according to the The Science Explorer, Vol. 38, No.1. Mr. Cochrane has been teaching in our district since 1975 with most of those years here at East. He is a leader in his department and is also involved in numerous extra-curricular activities including advisement of Student Government. Furthermore, Mr. Cochrane is active beyond the walls of our school as the regional coordinator for Eastern Long Island’s Science Olympiad C Division and a writer for The Science Explorer in which he shares his vast knowledge of the science field.

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Perspectives

21st Century Learning Welcome to the Global Classroom!

In Europe, everyone celebrates “European Day” and France, in particular, is highly involved in the prospect of connecting European countries every year.

A French High School in Perpignan organized a video conference between English speaking students from London, England, various parts of France and Ms. Sirulnick’s students here at HS East. Our students represented a non European country, but connected to celebrate Europe and the relationship that we have with them.

The participating students were able to

complete a European quiz consisting of twenty questions in Spanish and French.

They were able to hear the same questions in different languages and answer the questions the best they could! They heard French students speaking Spanish and English, and English students speaking French and Spanish, all the while challenging their listening and speaking skills.

Students and teachers had a lot of fun!

The global interaction created an engaging learning environment—a must for a repeat performance next year!

Special thanks to Ms. Sirulnick for her contribution to this article.

HS East Students are Tops in Statistics

Article and photos submitted by Rose Suarez, Research 9 Teacher

A team of four girls from the 2008-2009 ninth-grade research class entered the annual Statistics Poster Competition directed by the ASA/NCTM Joint Committee on the Curriculum in Statistics and Probability. Jane Hung, Lekha Grandhi, Connie Long, and Hannah Kenagy, pictured below with Cynthia Scherer, President of the NYC Metro Chapter of ASA, and their teacher Rose Suarez, applied statistics topics, which they learned in class, to create the only winning poster New York State produced in 2009 for this national competition.

Their poster titled How Does Optimism Affect Use of Common Sense? was one of the two posters awarded honorable mention in the “Grades 7-9” category, an award given after winners for first, second and third place had been established.

Ms. Scherer visited High School East in June to award the girls their certificates.

Some of the contest’s winning posters were on display at the Joint Statistical Meetings held in Washington D.C. at the beginning of August. All winning posters can be viewed in the August issue of Amstat News at http://www.amstat.org/ publications/amsn/2009/august.cfm . High School East is being recognized in the NYC Metro Area Chapter's website, http://nycasa.org/news.html .

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The Walls of HS East

Art Honor Society and Art Club students were at it again this summer as they took their paint brushes to the wall in Mr. Scorcia’s Social Studies classroom, creating a mural to reflect the history curriculum. Benjamin Franklin, who is featured in the mural, says it best with his quote, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

The art students will continue their quest to redesign the walls of High School East this fall when they work with Mr. Rendon’s ninth grade students to paint the English wing with images of famous literary authors and themes.

Technology and Creativity Unite

HS East Students Excel in AP Exams

Twenty first Century Learning is alive and well in Ben Wiley’s Web Design class where students are creating their versions of a High School East website. Since the beginning of the school year, they have been learning and applying web design techniques in various projects using Adobe Illustrator and Dreamweaver programs. Building a high school website is the most in-depth and complex graphic design project to date.

One hundred fifty students who participated in the Advanced Placement Testing Program in May 2009, received special recognition certificates based upon their individual performance. Nineteen students were granted Advanced Placement National Scholar; fifty nine students earned Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction; thirty seven students were granted Advanced Placement Scholar with Honor; and fifty four students achieved Advanced Placement Scholar. Overall, the cumulative average for High School East is 4.11.

These students studied diligently throughout the year under the guidance of their dedicated teachers to prepare for the rigorous exams. As a result, many of them have not only achieved these high honors, but will earn college credit enabling them to begin their college careers with higher level courses.

We at High School East extend our appreciation and congratulations to the teachers and their students.

Debate Team Argues Its Way to Success The Speech and Oratory Club had a successful first tournament as they kicked off the year at the High School East hosted event on September 26, 2009. In the Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Alyssa Hasbrouck placed third earning her full qualification for the State Championship. In the Junior Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Zach Zadek earned first place and a 1/2 qualification for the State Championship. Miranda Lupion placed sixth in the Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate earning her a 1/2 qualification for the State Championship. Many other team members also placed well and the team boasts second place in the tournament! They are off to a great start and look forward to more success this year. We will keep you posted! Congratulations to the entire team and their advisors, English teacher Melinda McCormack and retired English teacher Linda Martucci.

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Perspectives

Homecoming 2009 Despite harsh weather, the Thunderbirds soared once again to celebrate a new school year of pride and spirit.

We began with spirit week and pep rally where students and staff displayed their spirit with school colors and an abundance of enthusiasm. Below are some highlights of the week.

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Homecoming 2009 October 3, 2009 the High School East community came out to enjoy the homecoming festivities and to support the T-Birds. Here are just a few of the day’s highlights.

HALF HOLLOW HILLS HIGH SCHOOL EAST PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER

A Thunderous Homecoming Victory for the Thunderbirds High School East’s football team may have had a rocky start, but don’t give up on these athletes. Under the expert coaching of Kevin Hill, along with his assistants, offensive coordinator Ryan Sylvia and defensive coordinator Bob Schwartz, the T-Birds claimed victory at Homecoming with an impressive 21 to 7 defeat against Walt Whitman High School. The team has been fired up since then, and the momentum carried them through a second win against Smithtown East with a score of 27 to 9. The continuous perseverance and hard work by the athletes, under the guidance of their coaches, is certainly paying off! Mr. Hill also attributes success to the excellent leadership of the team’s captains: Jared Higgins, #45, Justin Teufel, #50, Shawn Charles, #33, and Rob Merckling, #7.

We at High School East congratulate the T-Birds on their triumphant comeback and look forward to an exciting finish to the season.

High School East 50 Vanderbilt Parkway Dix Hills, NY 11746

Produced by: Darlene Lilla Assistant Principal Phone: 631-592-3128 Fax: 631-592-3121 E-mail: dlilla@hhh.k12.ny.us

Visit Our Website: www.halfhollowhills.k12.ny.us

Spring 2009 Athletic Teams Bestowed Honors Our athletics teams continually make us proud, upholding the attributes of respect, responsibility and excellence. This year, The New York State Public High School Athletic Association Section XI has bestowed commendations for the following teams who have best exemplified the spirit of sportsmanship during the 2008-09 Spring season: The Half Hollow Hills East Varsity Boys’ Track Team in league three, the Half Hollow Hills East Junior Varsity Baseball Team in league three, and the Half Hollow Hills 2 Junior Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse Team in league nine.

High School East

We congratulate the players and their coaches for all their dedication. Recognition for sportsmanship is a special honor that goes beyond the obvious results of winning games. These athletes maintain their integrity in the spirit of competition, exhibiting what it truly means to be part of a team.