With the 2016-2017 school year around the corner, the District extends its gratitude to Mary Ann O’Brien for her years of service as Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance and welcomes Patrick Pizzo and Jennifer Frisenda to their newly appointed administrative roles.
Ms. O’Brien entered the District as the Assistant Business Administrator in September 2009 and held this position until January 2014, at which time she was promoted to Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance. As she heads into retirement, Superintendent of Schools Leon J. Campo and members of the Board of Education and Administrative staff thank Ms. O’Brien for her time and dedication to the district. “As Mary Ann heads into retirement, we wish her tremendous success in all of life’s future endeavors and thank her for her devotion, passion, and years of service to our community, staff and, more importantly, our children,” Mr. Campo said.
Effective Sept. 1, Mr. Pizzo will accept the role of Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance after serving as the District’s Assistant to the Superintendent for Administration and Special Projects for the past eight years. In the latter position, Mr. Pizzo led a team that developed the District’s annual expense budget and prepared budgetary presentations for the Board of Education, parent teacher associations, residents and community members under the guidance of the Superintendent. He also built, defended and implemented annual facilities, operations and capital budgets totaling over $9.9 million dollars, as well as repaired and maintained the plant budget totaling over $2.1 million dollars, for review and approval by the Superintendent and Board of Education. In addition, Mr. Pizzo served on the District Cabinet, where he was responsible for the efficient physical plant operation, environmental safety and preventative maintenance of 10 buildings covering 1.34 million square feet of occupied space and 130 acres of grounds.
Prior to his time in East Meadow, Mr. Pizzo was the Director of Facilities and Operations for the Hicksville School District. He also held the position of Deputy Regional Manager for the New York City Department of Education, a role in which he oversaw the physical plant operation and management of 39 schools.
Mr. Pizzo received his Bachelor of Science from SUNY Oneonta and both his Master of Business Administration and Advanced Certificate as a School District Business Leader from LIU Post.
Also on Sept. 1, Jennifer Frisenda will accept her newly appointed position as the District’s Assistant Business Administrator.
Ms. Frisenda joined the East Meadow school community in 2014 as District Treasurer, where she maintained district records and files, reconciled monthly bank statements and submitted monthly financial statements to the Board of Education, Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance, as well as performed yearly school lunch audits to ensure compliance with state regulations. Prior to entering the district, Ms. Frisenda was an administrative intern in the Jericho and Oyster Bay-East Norwich school districts. In this role, she established procedure manuals to specify job descriptions of business office personnel, ensuring all aspects of each job were detailed, and created flow charts to show job responsibilities and progression. She also reviewed, revised and recreated budget brochures for the 2013-2014 budget and worked directly with the Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations to ensure all data was provided to the community.
Ms. Frisenda holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Marist College, as well as a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Education from LIU Post.
“We welcome Patrick and Jennifer to their new administrative positions and know they will be very successful,” Mr. Campo said.
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Board of Education Appoints New Administration
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Board of Education Seeks Community Input on Superintendent’s Search
The East Meadow Board of Education invites residents and members of the school community to attend a focus group meeting on Thursday, Oct. 6, from 6-7:30 p.m., at the Leon J. Campo Salisbury Center to assist in the selection process for a new superintendent of schools.
Attendees will identify the personal and professional qualities and experiences they believe an East Meadow superintendent should possess. Search consultants from School Leadership, LLC, will begin the meeting by explaining the process and estimated duration of the search. The remainder of the meeting will be devoted to hearing participants’ responses to three prompts: to consider why a highly qualified educator would seek the position of East Meadow Superintendent of Schools; to identify some of the major challenges a new superintendent will face over the next few years; and to discuss prior experiences and characteristics they believe the new superintendent should have.
The community input will be compiled into a set of search specifications that the Board will approve at its Nov. 10 meeting. Those specifications will be a guide for the Board in their search.
Residents and members of the school community who cannot attend the meeting are asked to share their input by completing a brief survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/EastMeadowUFSD. A hard copy of the survey will be provided in a special district newsletter, available at the East Meadow Public Library and the main office of the resident’s local schools.
The Board of Education encourages all members of the East Meadow community to attend this meeting and have their voice heard.
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Special Edition of Steps to Learning re: Important Community Updates
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Superintendent Search Community Input Survey
Click here to take the survey
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Letter from Board of Education President re: Superintendent's Search
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Board Meeting Notice - September 15, 2016
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East Meadow Welcomes New Class of Teachers
The District welcomed 32 new teachers, staff and faculty to the school year during its annual new teacher orientation at the Leon J. Campo Salisbury Center on Aug. 31.
Superintendent of Schools Leon J. Campo, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Cindy Munter and Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Administration Anthony Russo welcomed the new cohort and offered advice for a successful school year. “Our children come by our way once and we owe them our very best,” said Mr. Campo. “You’re surrounded by wonderful and supportive staff who are always willing to help. Utilize them, and in return, we ask that you give your very best each and every day.”
Following, the new staff met administrators, became informed about district polices and procedures, and received an official district tour of all nine buildings led by Barnum Woods Elementary School Principal Gregory Bottari.
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East Meadow Students Are Tops in Regional Arts and Science Fair
W.T. Clarke Middle School is proud to announce that three science research students from Megan Denecke’s and Carol Simowitz’s honors earth science classes took first place in Nassau Community College’s fifteenth Annual Arts and Science Fair held on April 6. Danielle Fuchs, Skylar Hanson and Cindy Pham’s winning project was titled “The Effect of Propeller Size on the Energy Production of Windmills.”
These science research students worked for several months to conduct background research and perform experiments in preparation for the science competition. The entrants displayed their research on project boards and then orally presented their findings to a panel of judges.
The district would like to congratulate Danielle, Skylar and Cindy on this prestigious achievement.
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W.T. Clarke Middle School Students to Attend Science Competition Finals
The East Meadow School District is pleased to announce that four W.T. Clarke Middle School students enrolled in the seventh-grade Honors Science Research Program will compete in the finalist round of the Christopher Columbus Foundation Competition in Orlando, Florida this June. Under the direction of teachers Cindy Dale, Donna DelVecchio, and Wendy Wansor, student-scientists Ryan Abraham, Zachary Boccio, Matthew Rubenstein and Pavit Suri will present their project “Mission Insaltable,” which studies the problem of too much sodium in the teenage diet.
This is only the second year that the seventh-grade Honors Science Research Program has entered this nationwide competition that encourages students to identify and solve a community problem. The students worked in groups of three or four, interviewed experts, conducted research and proposed solutions. In addition, each group submitted an entry that included a 10-page paper and visual presentation.
“We are extremely proud of both the effort and fine work of the students and staff,” Principal Stacy Breslin stated. “The students problem-solved in the interest of their community.”
In the first year of the program, W.T. Clarke Middle School boasted three semifinalist teams. This year, four teams, including Mission Insaltable, made it to the semifinalist round of competition. They include:
“Let It Rain” – Anaha Babu, Olamaide Bakare, Alexia Huang and Kate Su“Just Relax” – Dean Frucci, Melanie Hock, Bradley Seltzer and Samantha Vicari“The Mold Squad” – Melissa Batenga, Gabby Torrento, Natalie Zaba and Natalie Zuniga
Assistant Principal Linda Lynch also commented on the students’ achievements this school year. “Teamwork is very important here at Clarke Middle School, both at the student and teacher level,” she said. “This competition fosters both higher-level thinking and working together on so many levels.”
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East Meadow Students Receive Medals in Visual Arts Competition
The East Meadow School District is pleased to announce that students from East Meadow and W.T. Clarke high schools received awards at the annual Olympics of the Visual Arts competition held in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. in April. • The East Meadow High School Architecture group, which included David Gomez, Jenissel Maldonado, Camila Merchan and Alvin Sumgicay, won first place and were recognized as “most creative” in their category. • The East Meadow High School Photography duo of Michelle Karwowski and Anjelica Weber won first place.• The East Meadow High School Painting group, comprised of Jill Davis, Emily Gasparek, Vicky Lawoo, Annie Manley and Emily Mendelson, were recognized as being “most creative” in their category. • The East Meadow High School Drawing group, consisting of students Francesca Adams, Alex DeGeorge, Rheba Sam, Tiffany Tang and Nancy Zhou, and the W.T. Clarke High School Fashion group, comprised of students Nicole Callaghan, Allison Colantuono, Monica Kwon, Allison Muller, Farima Ristimi, Rita Rozen, Suzanne Tillwitz and Haley Zirkle, presented beautiful work at the competition.
The Olympics of the Visual Arts, founded by the New York State Art Teachers Association, views the visual arts as a discipline that challenges and stimulates youth. The organization also believes that ingenuity and creative problem-solving in the visual arts is vital to a full and enriched life in our technological and scientific society. Under the direction of art teachers Joanna Greenberg and Shari Zimmerman, the entrants were required to exhibit a portfolio with long-term solutions, provide evidence of historical references, provide examples of problem-solving and include sketches and reflections.
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Woodland Middle School Students Excel at ‘Fishful Thinking’
Four Woodland Middle School students have been working to educate the public about overfishing in Long Island waters. Dylan Amblo, Dominique Basso, Kayla Cartier and Rachel Rose are all sixth-graders who are enrolled in the school’s science research program. They received the prestigious honor of recently being named New York State’s first-place winners as well as one of eight top national middle school research teams in the Siemen’s, “We Can Change the World Challenge”.
For their project, titled “Fishful Thinking,” the team researched Long Island’s aquaculture, particularly the overfishing of many species of fish. To prepare for the annual competition, the student-scientists were instructed to choose an environmental issue, research the issue and provide a solution.
Through their research on overfishing, the team learned that with current fishing methods, fishing on Long Island will be nonexistent by 2048. This grim prospect prompted the students to raise $141 for the Cold Spring Harbor research program by selling fish fortune tellers, much like a fortune cookie, with a fish fact inside. They also plan to educate fellow students and adults about this issue, which will affect all Long Island residents.
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What Makes Mom Special
In celebration of Mother’s Day, first-grade students in Ann Hagarty’s class at McVey Elementary School created books explaining what makes their mothers special. The students were instructed to make an outline, write a first draft of their essays, and then write a final copy to place in their books. The completed projects were then decorated and a photo of each student was placed on the back cover.
Ms. Hagarty explained that the project utilized strong English language arts components. The students practiced their writing skills in sentence capitalization, spelling, correct grammar usage, organization, creating a title and developing an outline.
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Weaving a Story
Students at Meadowbrook Elementary School were enthralled with the presentation of the story “Rumpelstiltskin” by popular Durham, N.C. storyteller Donna Washington. Ms. Washington was invited to weave her literary magic with this age-old story about how one lie can spin out of control. The young students engaged in the session by repeating lines and mimicking gestures as Ms. Washington presented the story.
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Students Inducted into National Art Honor Society
The W.T. Clarke High School chapter of the National Art Honor Society welcomed nine new members during a candlelighting ceremony in the school’s auditorium. Art Honor Society co-adviser Jane Pawlowski explained that in addition to excelling in the visual arts, these creatively-minded students are able to bring their individual talents to this prestigious organization. The society’s newest members are Monica Kwon, Kenneth Lau, Michelle Lau, Kathleen Phomsakha, Tricia Puchalski, Izzy Rodriguez, Ashleigh Simeon, Suzanne Tillwitz and Hayley Zirkel.
Students who were honored at this National Art Honor Society induction celebration are currently enrolled in an art class and have maintained a 90 percent cumulative average in art as well as an 85 percent overall grade point average.
During the ceremony, NAHS President Gabby Hickey, Vice President Ashleigh Simeon, Secretary Suzanne Tillwitz and Treasurer Anna Cavaluzzi described their passion for art and what being an artist means to them. Guest speaker and W.T. Clarke Assistant Principal Geraldine Doddato explained that art is always a part of life. “Never give up on your talent, your appreciation of art or your creation of art,” she told the inductees. “Help to create a more beautiful world.”
After the membership certificates were awarded, the students and their families attended a reception in the school’s art gallery.
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East Meadow Budget Passed
Residents in the East Meadow School District voted to support the 2013-14 budget on May 21 by a vote of 1,851 to 688. Thank you to all of our residents for their support of our schools.
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Showing Appreciation for Mom
Paige Bernhardt’s second-grade class at Bowling Green Elementary School read a story book about Mother’s Day, as inspiration for an extraordinary lesson. Eve Bunting’s “The Mother’s Day Mice”, about a young mouse who discovers the most unusual gift of all, motivated the children to write about why their mothers are important to them. The reading concluded in a discussion about the book as well as a writing lesson highlighting all of the reasons why mothers are special.
The students created handmade cards filled with their sentiments and a “Beary Special Mom” greeting on the outside. They also worked diligently to create colorful paper maché votives for the special person in their lives. In addition to improving their ability to follow directions, the lesson sharpened the second-graders’ fine motor skills.
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DECA Students Receive International Finalist Honors
The East Meadow School District is pleased to announce that W.T. Clarke High School students Samantha Burd and Jason Dunleavy received international-level finalist honors at the Distributive Education Clubs of America International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California. Samantha placed in the top 20 overall in the Apparel and Accessories category, while Jason placed in the top 10 in Accounting/Role Play. This is the first time that DECA students from W.T. Clarke High School have reached this level of competition during the club’s 25-year history. Prior to the competition in Anaheim, 36 W.T. Clarke students advanced to the state-level competition.
DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in the areas of marketing, finance, hospitality and management. There are currently more than 185,000 DECA members enrolled in 5,000 high school chapters throughout the United States and in nine countries.
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Signing on the Dotted Line
Six East Meadow High School student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to continue playing their sports on the collegiate level. A National Letter of Intent is one of the highest achievements bestowed on a high school athlete. The East Meadow School District would like to congratulate the following students and their families and coaches for this achievement:
Giancarlo Carvalho – LIU Post, football
Danielle Cutuli –Adelphi University, softball
Emily Fitzsimmons – East Stroudsburg University, lacrosse
Jennifer Gundrum – College of Saint Rose, volleyball
Jacklyn O’Leary – Chestnut Hill College, lacrosse
Danielle Widmann – University of New Haven, soccer
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East Meadow Students to Present at STANYS State-Level Competition
As a result of their exceptional projects presented at the April competition of the Long Island Science Congress, W.T. Clarke Middle School earth science research students Priya Aggarwal, Daniel Garcia, Alby Joseph and Bismen Singh, under the direction of science teacher Carol Simowitz, will advance to the Science Teachers Association of New York State state-level competition on June 8 at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
In addition, the state-level participants and earth science research students Timothy Berry, James Curran, Daniel Garcia, Jaclyn Gonzalez, Michelle Hromin, Harsh Patel, Jenifer Sawicki, Saman Shah, Naman Shakrani and Joey Zirkel have been invited to attend the Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS) Long Island Congress awards ceremony on June 6 at the Wheatley School in Old Westbury. An invitation to this assembly signifies placement in the honors, high honors or highest honors categories.
The East Meadow School District would like to congratulate these student-scientists on this accomplishment and wish them continued success in their academic studies.
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Middle School Students Recognized as ‘Terrific Kids’
At the May 23 East Meadow Board of Education meeting, Superintendent of Schools Louis DeAngelo and members of the Board of Education honored W.T. Clarke Middle School and Woodland Middle School students with Terrific Kids Awards in recognition of their positive attitude, good character and responsible citizenship during the months of March, April, May and June.
The Terrific Kids Program is sponsored by the East Meadow Kiwanis Club, which recognizes students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade and presents students with certificates of achievement. W.T. Clarke Middle School Principal Stacy Breslin and Woodland Middle School Principal James Lethbridge were on hand to help present the student awards. President of the East Meadow Kiwanis Debbie Kirsh and Board of Education trustee Brian O'Flaherty, who also serves as secretary to East Meadow Kiwanis, were also in attendance to honor students.
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