Salk Spirit - Levittown Public Schools

Salk Spirit
The Salk Spirit
Spring 2016
Inside this issue:
Rise Awards
2
Interviews
3-7
Pi Day
8
Fundraiser
9
Fun Time
10
Makeup Survey
11
PTA Reflections
Happenings
Word Search
12
13
14
Crossword Puzzle 15
Cartoon
16
Answer Key
17
Advisors:
Mrs. Eck
Mrs. Tivin
Reporters:
Jake Alesi
By Anthony Errante, Christopher Vartoukian, Vanessa D’Angelo
Nicole Avedision
Cassidy Baltazar
This year Kidsday came to Salk Middle School. Ms. Mason, Ms. Murphy,
Ms. Eck, and Ms. Stanton’s English classes got the privilege to join in this
wonderful experience. Each class had the opportunity to create articles to submit for a chance to be put in Kidsday. The classes met with a representative
from Newsday and were assigned articles to write. Everyone had a task to
complete. Some students were selected to interview celebrities. One group of
students interviewed Huge Jackman and Taron Egerton from the movie,
“Eddie The Eagle.” Another group of students interviewed Robyn Lawley, a
“Sports Illustrated” swimsuit model. These students went to New York City to
meet these celebrities and interview them. The students had a great time learning about these famous people and meeting them in person. It was a once in a
lifetime experience for these kids. Look out for the June Edition of Newsday
where our class articles will be displayed in the Kidsday section. Great Job
Salk!!!
Vanessa D’Angelo
Anthony Errante
Matthew Klingler
David Manassero
Victoria Sanchez
James Sexton
Richard Smocer
Hope Sutch
William Valinotti
Christopher Vartoukian
Dimitrios Xenios
Salk
Salk Spirit
Spirit
Page 2
By Matthew Klingler
February
Emma Clouden
Dylan Collins
January
Ariana Zanelli
Alexis Mazze
Hailey Player
Jamie Church
Dominick Notarstefano
Tiffany Amoncio
Chris Atias
Stephanie Russo
Micahel Cervo
Ava Koenke
Sean Tierney
March
Gisele Encarnacion
Anthony Errante
Jack Sheehan
Aidan Hurley
Natalie Farina
Shannon Frank
Taylor Donnarumma
Janes Thomas
Matthew Cassidy
Kyle Wagner
Derek Jorquera
Kayla Coradin
Mackenzie Benjamin
Natalie Farina
Tyler Kerr
James Katcher
Shania Muller
Angelo Soplin
Alana Angeli
Dan Dugan
Rachel Blauman
Vincent Fundaro
Michael Tufo
John Loziot
Gabriella Loria
Calib Keefe
Pedro Sandoyal
Gabriel Carvajal
Joseph Lucchese
Christina Colletti
Abigail DelVecchio
Jason Tordy
Nicholas Varga
Ashley Blum
Ayah Nimir
Gia Stamatelo
Eunice Lee
Sarah Veith
Michael Capous
Jared Ward
Elizabeth Mintz.
Hailey Ledee
Griffin Shapiro
Khushi Patel
Taha Berktas
Jake Morris
Joseph Marmot
Dylan Collins
Maggie Carey
Kara DeBlaiso
Dimitrios Xenios
Antonia McGhee
Nicole Malafis
Regina Boltuc
Ryan Keating
Kelli Weiss
Salk Spirit
Page 3
Q: What did you want to
when you grew up?
be
A: I always wanted to be a teacher.
Q: Who inspired you to be a teacher.
A: My mother, who taught special education for 30 years.
Q: What do you like about being a
teacher at Salk?
A: Everyone is always super nice and
helpful to each other.
Q: What do you like about being a
teacher?
A: Seeing my students succeed.
Q: Where did you go to college?
A: St. Josephs College in Patchogue,
Touro College in Bay shore.
Q: What is your favorite subject?
A: Math
Q: Who was your favorite guidance
counselor?
A: Mr. Rossi
Q: What do you like to do in your
spare time?
A: Photography, exploring Long Island,
going to the beach, and doing crafts.
By
Salk Spirit
Page 4
By: Vanessa D’Angelo & Anthony Errante
Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?
A: A pediatrician
Q: Who inspired you to be a speech language
teacher?
A: My sister. My sister was a teacher for special
education students. I volunteered in her school and
worked closely with kids 2-3 years old who had
speech and language difficulties.
Q: What do you like about being a speech language
teacher?
A: I love being able to teach kids new things and seeing my students’ speech and language improve.
Q:
A:
Where did you go to college?
I did my undergraduate at St. John’s University
and my graduate at Brooklyn College.
Q: What is your favorite subject?
A: Science (Biology).
Q: Who was your favorite teacher?
A: Mr. Callis– Middle School Biology Teacher
Q: If you weren't a speech language teacher what
would you be?
A: A pediatrician
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: Dance, experience new places, and travel.
Q: What do you like about being a speech language teacher at Salk?
A: I work with the best people. Every one here
is very kind and welcoming. Also, I am learning
a lot from teachers who have been doing this
for a long time. All the teachers here are very
intelligent and fun at the same time.
The Salk Spirit
Page 5
By Anthony Errante, Christopher Vartoukian, Dimitrios Xenios
Q: What did you want to be when you grew
up?
A: Well it changed a few times throughout
my adolescence, but one thing that always
stuck was an actor performance .
Q: Who inspired you to be guidance counselor?
A: At first no particular person inspired me.
My pursuit of a counseling career started because I was unhappy with my job at the time.
I wanted a career I could do well in, feel good
about, and of course, make a stable living
with. Now further along in my career I realized many people inspired and still inspire me
to do this work. My family members, friends,
colleagues and students inspire me.
Q: What is your favorite subject?
A: I've always been a science nerd. Physical, Life and
Behavioral Sciences I like.
Q: What do like about being a guidance counselor?
A: I like that everyday is different, but my favorite part of the job is learning about people,
and my students. I enjoy helping my students
achieve their goals whatever they maybe.
Q: What do you like to do in your spare
time?
A: I spend time with my dog, watch movies,
cook, travel, and yoga.
A: Business owner and an entrepreneur
Q: Where did you go to college?
A: I attended Mohawk Valley Community
College and received my degrees from Hofstra University.
Q: Who was your favorite guidance counselor?
A: Well, this question answers part of who inspired
me to be a counselor. I'm not sure if I ever met my
middle school counselor and I wasn't very fond of
my high school counselor. I didn’t feel very supported by this person so in part, my experience
with my own counselors, inspired me to become
one, and hopefully a caring compassionate and helpful one. My favorite college counselor was Doctor
Bames, one of my psychology professors.
Q: If you weren't a guidance counselor what would
you be?
Q: What do you like about being a guidance counselor at Salk?
A: I like working with the Salk community of teachers and students.
Page 6
Salk Spirit
By: Jake Alesi
Q: What did you want to be when you grew
up?
A: A teacher or a police officer
Q: Who inspired you to be a teacher?
A: One of my elementary school teachers
Q: What do you like about being a Social
Studies teacher?
A: Sharing my knowledge and interest in History
Q: Where did you go to college?
A: Molloy College
Q: What is your favorite subject?
A: Social Studies
Q: Who was your favorite teacher?
A: I have had many great teachers and it
would be impossible to pick just one.
Q: If you weren't a teacher what would you
be?
A: I’m not sure but it would probably have
something to do with History
Q: What do you like to do in your spare
time?
A: Kayaking and spending time outdoors
Q: What do you like about being a
speech language teacher at Salk.
A: Salk has great students and teachers
who work together to learn and to
achieve their goals.
The Salk Spirit
Page 7
By Vanessa D’Angelo
Q: What did you want to be when you grew
up?
A: A lawyer or a marine biologist
Q: Who inspired you to be a Spanish
teacher?
A: My Dad, who is a High School Spanish
teacher
Q: What do like about being a teacher?
A: Being able to work with kids all day and
making fun lessons
Q. Where did you go to college?
A. I went to undergraduate school at The
University of Maryland. My graduate work
was at St. John’s University.
Q. What is your favorite subject?
A. Spanish
Q. Who was your favorite teacher?
A. Ms. Ahumada
Q: If you weren't a teacher what would you
be?
A: A world traveler who wrote reviews on
the places they visited.
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: Spend time with family, watch movies on
Netflix, and play volleyball.
Q. What do you like about being a teacher at
Salk?
A. Students, neighborhood, coworkers, and
being able to do what I love.
Page 8
Salk Spirit
By: Matthew Klingler
This year , Salk teachers had a pie eating contest in
celebration of Pi Day. During lunch periods 4,5,6, and
7, students were able to watch this exciting event. The
teachers got to choose their favorite flavor, vanilla or
chocolate. Everyone got to cheer their teachers on. It
was a close race in every period. Most teachers were
able to finish the whole pie! All of the teachers were
really messy with pie on their faces. Everyone was having a great time. It was exciting to watch. The hallways
were filled with students and excitement. The winners
were Mrs. Kuhlmey, Mr. Zaratin, Mr. Tricarico, and
Ms. Sposato.
Salk Spirit
Page 9
By Anthony Errante & Jake Alesi
The MacArthur Wrestling Team held a fund raiser on January 29, 2016 to support the John Theissen Children’s Foundation. The event raised $1750 which was donated to the organization. The
MacArthur Wrestling Team set up mats, speakers, and sumo suits for this amazing fund raiser.
Over five hundred students, parents, and faculty, attended this wonderful fundraiser. The principal
and assistant principals had one on ones with each other and had funny entrances. Mr. Mulligan,
our assistant principal, had a bag piper that walked in with him. After the rest of the teachers
versed, they had a good time. A MacArthur graduate, and current UFC fighter, Gian Villante, was
the guest referee. After the sumo matches were done, John Thiessen addressed the crowd and
expressed his gratitude. The MacArthur Wrestling seniors were honored by Coach Palette and
Coach Bobal for their years of hard work and dedication. Coach Michael Marrero was the creator
of the event. Marrero said , “I am happy to see so many people coming out for such a good
cause. I think a lot of people benefited this event and we hope that the “Senior Night Sumo Showdown” will now be an annual event that will continue to benefit the John Thiessen Children’s
Foundation.” This was a good day for our community.
Salk Spirit
Page 10
By Nicole Avedisian, Cassidy Baltazar and William Valinotti
In our perspective, the spelling bee was a fun, yet challenging experience. If you got in first
place, you won and were able to go to Hofstra University for regionals. The winner was seventh grader, Shannon O’Leary and second and third place winners were Kelly Bobai and
Jyot Patel. There were so many talented spellers that the announcers had to go on to a
whole different list of words unknown to spellers! Cassidy had a great time. She got a word
that wasn’t on the list, however, and she was able to go back in! Nicole had the same exact
experience, and she enjoyed it too. William had a difficult, yet enjoyable, time. He got
eliminated in Round 6. Overall, even though we all didn’t get the opportunity to go to Hofstra, at least we put in our best effort and were able to have the opportunity to compete with
others.
By : Christopher Vartoukian
There are a lot of science experiments you can do instead of playing videos games.
One of the science projects I will talk about is a solar system. A solar system is very fun
to build and very educational. You can learn a lot about your planet and other ones as
well. Learning about the solar system will improve your knowledge of science.
First I placed the sun as a base of the solar system . Next I put in the first four
planets. The first was Mercury, next Venus, and Earth followed by Mars. After that I put
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. It is cool to see the solar system in a model like
this. The solar system is very interesting. For instance, Pluto is too big to be a star and
too small to be a planet. Another cool fact is it takes 1,000,000 earths to fill up one sun.
Spend some time researching about science and you will be pleasantly surprised.
Page 11
Salk Spirit
By Vanessa D’Angelo, Victoria Sanchez, Hope Sutch
We wanted to find out opinions on what age is appropriate for girls to wear makeup. We reached out
to children and adults to take a survey with us. I think this survey is going to produce different results. I think the results will vary because the adults think that kids are too young, but kids like to act
like they’re mature and it makes them feel better about themselves. There are lots of different ways to
put makeup on. We think if you're in middle school, you should just wear mascara and bottom eyeliner, and if you’re younger than that, you should wear a little bit of lip gloss. When you’re older, people think that that's the time when you can start wearing all different kinds. We asked a bunch of students about this. We enjoyed this survey because we all love makeup. We like seeing all different
opinions on when people think girls should start wearing makeup. Hope, Victoria and I (Vanessa)
had a lot of fun doing this survey and it really interests us. While we were doing this we even got
some advice from different teachers. Some said that if you wear to much makeup at a young age you
can get pimples.
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Salk Spirit
By: James Sexton
Can you imagine a world without homeless people? There are 1 billion homeless people in
the world today. We can turn 1 billion homeless people into 0 homeless people in the world. I
think that the homeless should get the care they need. They should be offered jobs, medical
care and housing. They should be taken off the streets and put into shelters until they can find
a permanent home. Also they should be given food and a little more opportunity in life to help
them establish themselves and make a better life. And everyone would be treated equal. If
we had a world without homeless people, we would all feel good knowing that everyone in this
world is sleeping on a nice comfy bed in a warm cozy house, or keeping warm in warming
centers that the town provides.
By: Nicole Avedision
What if there was a world above the clouds? A world no one knew about. One day a very
smart, curious girl started wondering, what if? Her name was Nicole. Nicole went to school at
Jenex Junior High. She was getting straight A’s in all of her classes, though she did doze off a
majority of the time. She had a few friends, Hailey, Sean, Henry, and Michael. They were all
very adventurous and loved to dream up their own imaginary worlds. One day, they all thought
they should meet up on the corner of 78th Street, so they did. Nicole thought she should bring
something up to them. She was a magical being who struggled with her powers. She wasn’t
able to grant wishes or do spells, but she was able to spread courage and happiness. At first,
her friends were disbelieving, so Nicole tried to prove it to them. She started moving her hands
in a circular motion, and there, right in front of her friends eyes, formed a ball of magical essence. She told them it was a ball of courage though she couldn’t figure out how to use it! She
tried so many different ways; blowing on it, throwing it, moving it around, nothing worked! Then
suddenly Nicole let the ball go and started to watch it slowly float up, up, and up! It had
reached a very high limit when just then, it burst like a firework! Then there it was, a majestic
stairwell formed leading straight to the clouds. Of course, none of them knew what was up
there, but they all wanted to find out. They made their way to the top of the stairwell and saw it,
a whole new world, a world above the clouds! They walked for a bit until they ran into some
people named Zach, Jordan, and Chris who told them they were heading back to their village,
Clouydytown, not too far from where they were. They made their way to the village, and Nicole
and her friends noticed something. The whole village was made of clouds! Each house was a
different color-red, yellow, green orange, any color you could think of. It almost looked like cotton candy! Then Jordan, Zach, and Chris told them that this was a world with no hunger, no
sadness, no war, no bullies, no death, no adversities! Nicole had dreamed about this world for
her whole life, and knew her friends did too. Nicole knew she had to go back though, so they
did. Zach, Jordan, and Chris offered a path to the stairs. They made their way to the bottom
of the stairs and noticed a piece of paper on the floor. It read “Hope, Strength, Courage!”
From there, those friends knew “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it,”
and their reaction was flawless! Now they knew they had changed their world and humanity,
forever!
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Salk Spirit
Julia Stiegelbauer
Joseph Parascondola
Cassidy Baltazar
Pooja Ginjupalli
Matthew Sarni
Luke Tordy
Gabriella Loria
Anthony McGlone
Natalie Farina
Connor Cullen
Frank Pecoraro
Stephanie Russo
Anna Conway
Tiffany Pereira
Matthew LaSusa
Aidan LaSusa
Philip Trafficanda
Matthew Fioretti
John Munro
Khushi Patel
Vicent Fundaro
Gisele Encarnacion
Jordan James
Hailey Hnis
William Valinotti
Nicole Avedisian
Ryan LaBonte
Isabella Ramos
Juliana Weltner
Ryan Senra
Joseph Hespe
Casey Vigliarolo
Christina Colletti
Christopher Picarella
Amber Laudman
Shannon Frank
Alba Romero
Nick Logozzo
Ryan McAllister
Jyot Patel
Stency Sajan
Kevin Walther
Megan Loughnan
Dimitrios Xenios
Congratulations
to Salk Middle
School
Awarded
National
School of
Character
Christopher Vartoukian
Lauren Fitzgerald
Anthony Vaughan
Jennifer Thiem
David DeRienzo
Cameron Thomson
Shannon Frank
Jamie Church
Henry Sanchez Hdes
Daniel Caminiti
Abner Sanchez
Valerie Thomas
Joseph Keevan
Colin Muller
Brianna Rooke
Raymond Yuan Li
Timothy Klockner
Shannon Zollo
Jonathan Vartoukian
Congratulations to ,
Mrs. Fernandez
This year’s PTA Honorary
Life Recipient.
Honorary Life Membership is awarded
to individuals in recognition of their distinguished service to children and
youth. Mrs. Fernandez received this
award at the annual PTA Senior Award
Dinner dance on April 21st.
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Salk Spirit
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Salk Spirit