Siemens Semifinalist Tackles Ovarian Cancer Students Meet Rep

November-December 2015
Siemens Semifinalist Tackles Ovarian Cancer
K
atrina Almodovar, a junior at OHS, was named a semifinalist
in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Katrina worked with Naeha Pathak from Herricks High School
whom she had met at the Molloy College lab where she was
conducting her research.
Three hundred students nationwide are selected as semifinalists in this prestigious research competition in which students
can earn the opportunity to present before prominent leaders in
STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.
Katrina’s topic, GSK-3Beta Modulates Chemoresistance in
Ovarian Cancer, focused on how genes impact resistance to
chemotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer. As many as 25
percent of patients develop resistance to the platinum-based
drugs used as a first line of defense against ovarian cancer.
Katrina’s research aims to find out why.
Katrina was originally interested in neurology. “But when I
started to read about ovarian cancer, I felt there was a need and
having a lab nearby and Dr. Cutter as a mentor helped me
decide.”
Katrina plans to enter the Intel Science Talent Search next
year and hopes to continue her research in college. She is pictured here with her teacher, Research
Coordinator Heather Hall (right), OHS Principal Geraldine DeCarlo (far left) and Oceanside Schools
Superintendent Dr. Phyllis S. Harrington, (second from left).
Students Meet Rep. Kathleen Rice
W
ith the help of OHS alumnus Max Kramer, now a member of
Congresswoman Kathleen Rice’s staff, OHS students were
invited to a taping of Meet The Leaders at School, hosted by Kerry
Donovan of Cablevision. Students in broadcast classes worked side
by side with professionals from Cablevision and interviewed the
Congresswoman and Mr. Donovan after the Q & A session. Students
asked a number of thoughtful questions about the growing heroin
crisis, the use of body cameras in law enforcement, the presidential
debates and more.
Perhaps the most important message of the day came when Ms.
Rice asked students what they will do first when they turn 18. “Vote!”
answered several students. “That’s right,” she said emphatically.
“Voting is the greatest right you have as an American.”
New Principals Join Oceanside Schools
O
HS Castleton - Brendon Mitchell joins the Oceanside
School District as the new principal of Oceanside High
School Castleton, the district’s alternative high school. Among his
first adventures as principal was a day spent zip lining with
students and staff at the Adventure Park in Wheatley Heights. The
trip was part of an innovative course that builds critical thinking
and reflection through experiences beyond the classroom walls.
“It was a great way to build community among students and
staff,” said Mr. Mitchell.
Mr. Mitchell brings a strong foundation in literacy, leadership in
working with at-risk learners and expertise in technology. Prior to
joining the Oceanside Schools, he was an administrative intern in
the Great Neck School District, serving as both teacher leader for
SEAL, Great Neck’s alternative high school program, and technology coordinator and staff developer. Previously he was an English
Language-Arts teacher and technology teacher at SEAL.
Mr. Mitchell spent several summers working with the Harlem RBI Real Kids program as a classroom teacher, mentor to prospective teachers and balanced literacy curriculum developer. He
received his master’s degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University’s Teachers
College, where he has also been a guest lecturer on the topic of the literary lives of adolescents. He
also has conducted workshops for teachers on the use of technology to enhance learning.
B
oardman Elementary School #9E - Josh McPherson moved to Oceanside with his
family four years ago because of the excellent schools. Now he joins School #9E as
Principal after serving as Assistant Principal at the Shaw Avenue School in Valley Stream. Prior to that, he was an assistant
principal at P.S. 214 in Queens. In addition to his strengths in
elementary school leadership and technology, he is an
advocate of arts education, having sought out and supervised
several initiatives in vocal music, theater and visual arts.
Mr. McPherson hopes to encourage the use of technology
to foster communication and said that he wants to honor the
strong, positive culture that exists at School #9E.
“I’m happy to keep it going in the right direction,” he added.
Mr. McPherson is a graduate of Dartmouth College with a
master’s degree from Columbia University’s Teachers
College. He has taught elementary school and technology
and developed workshops on topics including effective questioning, curriculum implementation and fostering emotional
intelligence. Mr. McPherson was born in Guyana, grew up in
Brooklyn and attended high school in New Hampshire, giving
him a broad range of interests and experiences that he looks
forward to sharing with students and staff, including his love
of soccer and snowboarding.
Page 2
oceansideschools.org
Technology Reins in Hands of New Director
S
uzanne Dwyer is the new Director of Technology K-12 at the
Oceanside Schools, replacing Dr. David Wayne who retired.
Integrating technology into the classroom is what Ms. Dwyer
has been doing for the past 19 years. In her previous role as
Library Media Specialist at Oceanside High School, she assisted
students and teachers with all facets of technology. As a member
of the district Technology Team, she was instrumental in creating
what is now called “the digital environment” for the iPad initiative
and served as staff developer and teacher coach at Oceanside
Middle School during the initial phase of iPad deployment.
As Technology Director, Ms. Dwyer hopes to share her
knowledge and passion districtwide and foster a greater
understanding of the use of technology to engage students and
enhance teaching and learning. Ms. Dwyer has also served as
the district’s webmaster and will continue in that role. She is an
alumna of the Oceanside Schools.
OMS Students Rise to Reading Challenge
H
aving plowed through nearly a half million
minutes of reading over the summer, OMS
students showed that they are ready to scale new
literary heights. According to Dr. Beth Zirogiannis,
Director of English Language Arts K-12, the OMS
Reading Challenge aims to capitalize on this
enthusiasm, encouraging students to read and
share books that they love.
Jullia Martellucci of Team 7-1 is October’s
winner.
The middle school was just one point shy of the
top 100 schools in the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge and helped contribute to New York’s
third place status in number of reading minutes.
More than 267,000 children from 50 states and
28 countries participated, representing 6,229
schools. If taken as a whole, their total reading
minutes of 286,611,349 would equal more than
500 years! OMS’ reached 433,666 minutes.
Visit www.smore.com/uexty-oms-reading-challenge to learn more about the OMS
Reading Challenge.
Page 3
Welcome New
Rina Bronstein
School #3
Social Worker
Diana Perez
School #6K
Bilingual Teacher
Lauren Finder
School #8
Psychologist
Kenneth DiDonna
School #3
Teacher
JoAnn Donovan
School #6K
Technology Teacher
Megan Lewitin
School #8
Teacher
Page 4
Kelly George
School #4
FLES Teacher
Kaitlyn Ward
School #6K
Special Education Teacher
Nicole Hattenrath
School #8
Teacher
oceansideschools.org
w Teachers!
Courtney Wilson
Schools #9E/9M (OMS)
ESL Teacher
Michael Santisteban
School #8
Teacher
Gina Romeo
Schools 9E/9M
Spanish Teacher
Erika Palmer
School #7 (OHS)
Fam. & Consumer Sci. Teacher
Thomas Grimes
School #7
Business Education Teacher
Nancy Badum
School #7
Special Education Teacher
Upcoming
Board of Education
Meetings
Meetings begin at 7:30 pm
John LaCascia
School #7
Technology Teacher
Kevin Carlock
School #7
Special Education Teacher
November 17 - School #2 Aud.
Regular Meeting, Honors
December 1 - Board Room
Special Meeting
December 15 - School #3 Aud.
Regular Meeting
Page 5
Fall & W inter
-­
-­ THERES STILL ROOM TO REGISTER
FOR ADULT CONTINUING ED CLASSES!!
Defensive Driving How to Sell Items Using eBay Jin Shin Jyutsu Classes Crochet Winter Yoga, Pilates,
Zumba & Body Sculpting Classes History of Motion
Pictures: A Night at the Movies & Museum Notary Public Training & Notary Signing Agent Secure the Future for Special Needs Children Paddleball
NDE R
!
You can register for Adult
Continuing Ed classes using our
On-­Line Web Trac Registration System!
Contact the DOCA office and we will assist
you in setting up your On-­Line Household
Account. Once you are in our system you
may access our Web Trac site by going to:
RE MI
www.oceansideschools.org/doca
Click on the link to the Web Trac
Homepage and log in to view our
offerings and begin registering!
GIVE US A CALL AT (516) 594-­2336
FOR MORE INFORMATION!
YOUTH PROGRAM S
Introduction to
Wrestling
Basketball Registration
Skills Development Grades 2-­6
Grades 2-­6
On-­Line Registration Begins
Mon, Nov. 16th at 7:00PM
Days ················ Tuesdays & Thursdays
Dates ···· December 3rd -­ February 11th
Times ····································· 6:00pm
Location ·············· H.S. Wrestling Room
Fee ·············· $88 (Includes wrestling T-­Shirt)
Fee ····················· $88(Includes T-­Shirt)
Sessions begin in January
S ANTA MAIL BOX
Co-­Sponsored by
Oceanside Kiwanis & Key Club
Co-­Sponsored
by Oceanside Kiwanis
Date............................................... Saturday, December 12th
The Santa Mail Box will be in front of the Oceanside
Library and will be accepting letters beginning
Monday, November 16th through Monday, December 7th
Time................................................................ 10:00am-­1:00pm
Where ......... School #6 Merle Ave Gym, Aud. & Café
All letters that include a legible return address
will be answered!
The Oceanside Community Chorale
will present their concert
Saturday, December 12th
8:00 PM
School #8 Auditorium
Tickets are available from Chorale members
or the Department of Community Activities office.
Tickets are $10 Children under 12 Free
Page 6
Look for the January Newsletter with
WINTER YOUTH PROGRAMS!
On-­Line Registration begins 7:00pm on
Monday, January 4th
Walk-­In Registration from January 5th thru 9th
DOCA Office 125 Merle Ave
oceansideschools.org
OHS Alumnus Inspires At Ohio State
W
atching Sean McNamara, OHS Class of
2014, on the sidelines during Ohio State
University football games, one would never
know that he battles a chronic illness.Sean has
Cystic Fibrosis, which affects the lungs and
digestive system. Treatment can take up to two
hours daily but Sean’s energy and zest for life
are unstoppable. OHS teachers and coach-
es aren’t surprised to see him climbing the
ladder with the Buckeyes, just as he did with the
Oceanside Sailors football team.
“Sean was one of the greatest contributors to
senior leadership and an ideal role model for our
program,” said OHS football coach Rob Blount.
“His presence was important in fostering
dedication and our players’ ability to fight
through adversity.”
Sean was the football team’s student manager during his junior year and an assistant coach
the next year. He spent countless hours preparing for games and practices. When he wasn’t on
the football field, Sean was raising approximately $15,000 over four years for CF related charities. His experiences at OHS led him to pursue a
position with the famed Ohio State football team.
He was awarded a spot as Student Manager and
is now the Defensive Signaller, working under
the Defensive Coordinators Coach Fickell and
Coach Ash to communicate plays to the team.
Sean travels throughout the country with the
team, making it a tough challenge to balance his
academics and his treatments. But, he says, he
loves “every minute of it.” Last year he had the
thrill of seeing the
Buckeyes win the
championship.
Sean
makes
time for fundraising and advocacy,
crediting his faith,
his parents, sisters,
friends, teachers
and coaches with
helping him to do
it all.
“I loved being
part of the team at OHS and working with my
fellow students and coaches,” said Sean, “It
was a tremendous tight-knit group of people
who supported me and my fight against CF.
Both Mr. Blount and Mr. Joe Supple served as
my mentors and were two of the most helpful
people I met at OHS.”
School #4 Takes A Mission to Mars
W
ill today’s elementary students one day visit Mars?
NASA hopes so and held a video conference for
students to spark excitement about its planned 2030
mission to land the first humans on Mars. Students from
School #4 watched as astronauts, a botanist, the
director and actors from the movie The Martian, spoke
about the wonders of the red planet and the challenges
of exploring it. At the same time that students were
preparing for the videoconference, NASA announced it
had found liquid water on Mars. And yes, plants really
can grow in Martian soil!
Page 7
Oceanside Union Free School District
Board of Education
Robert M. Transom, President
Donald Maresca, Vice President
Seth J. Blau
Michael D’Ambrosio
Kimberly Grim Garrity
Mary Jane McGrath-Mulhern
Sandie Schoell
Dr. Phyllis S. Harrington
Superintendent of Schools
Donna Kraus
Public Information Coordinator; Editor
Administrative Offices:
145 Merle Avenue, Oceanside, NY 11572.
Please call 678-7525 with any questions
about our schools.
Visit our website @ oceansideschools.org
Kindergarten
Registration Begins
Who Can Register: Parents of children
who turn five years-old by December 31,
2016
How to Register: Make an appointment
with the Central Registry at 678-6238.
Complete paperwork prior to appointment.
Forms can be found under School Registration at http://oceansideschools.org
Orientation for Parents of Incoming Kindergarteners: February 29, 7:30 pm
School #6 Auditorium.
More information: Call School #6 at
594-2345.
NON-PROFIT ORG.
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Oceanside, N.Y.
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