School Notebook: Winners in regional robotics competition
The robotics team from Pierson Middle/High School in Sag Harbor took home the Impact Award at this year's Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition. Credit: Sag Harbor School District
Teams from Sag Harbor and Queens have taken this year’s top honors in robotics.
The Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition was divided into two events last month at Hofstra University that attracted dozens of teams statewide — as well as from other countries, including India and Turkey. To participate, teams designed and built robots using a kit of parts that included motors, control systems and game components.
The Pierson Whalers from Pierson Middle/High School in Sag Harbor and Queens Technical High School’s RoboTigers won the FIRST Impact Award, which recognized the teams that “best represented a model for other teams.”
“All participating teams demonstrated tremendous teamwork, gracious professionalism and critical thinking,” said Bertram Dittmar, the Long Island executive director for FIRST, a youth organization whose acronym stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. “The fun and excitement of the competition was evident as many students and mentors got caught up in the spirit of the event.”
Regional 1’s overall winner was a three-team alliance of Cold Spring High School’s CyberHawks, Hicksville High School’s Hicksville J-Birds, and upstate Spencerport High School’s Ranger Robotics; Regional 2’s overall winner was a three-team alliance of Lindenhurst High School’s The PSIcotics, Southold High School’s TEAM R.I.C.E. and Stuyvesant High School’s StayPulse.
This year’s competition had an energy theme of “Charged Up,” which challenged alliances to retrieve game pieces from “substations” and place them into a grid.
COLD SPRING HARBOR
Sports Night
The Cold Spring Harbor School District recently held a inaugural districtwide charity event that raised more than $11,000 for individuals with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The fundraiser was held in remembrance of Corey Phelan, the son of the high school’s health and physical education teacher Chris Phelan who died of the blood cancer in October. Activities included scooter races and egg-toss relays.
“There are no words to describe how incredible it is to see our staff and community come together to show support for our schools and our first annual districtwide charity event,” said Superintendent Jill Gierasch.
FREEPORT
Space Grant Consortium
Freeport School District has been selected to join the New York Space Grant Consortium, a NASA-funded program that supports education and outreach of space-related research and events. Its high school is the first statewide to be part of the consortium.
As an unfunded affiliate member, Freeport will have access to many funding opportunities and connections offered through NASA — including internships and scholarships. To get selected, the district demonstrated how it would promote NASA’s priorities and goals through efforts including its recent creation of an astronomy curriculum.
“We are extremely proud and grateful to be selected for this prestigious recognition,” said Freeport Superintendent Kishore Kuncham.
GLEN HEAD
New principal
Megan McCormack has been appointed principal of Sea Cliff School in the North Shore School District, effective July 1. She previously held the position on an interim basis.
McCormack has taught in the district for 11 years. She has also coached the district’s varsity girls lacrosse team and last year helped design and supervise the district’s summer experience program.
“I will continue to encourage innovation and a commitment to learning while capturing students’ voices and empowering every child to pursue their North Shore journey,” McCormack said.
HUNTINGTON AND RIVERHEAD
Extraordinary Educators
Charles Giannone, a second-grade teacher at Riley Avenue Elementary School in Riverhead, and Lendy Milo, a dual-language teacher at Oakwood Primary Center in Huntington, are among 30 educators nationwide named 2023 Extraordinary Educators by Curriculum Associate, a curriculum company that provides assessment and learning solutions.
The annual award recognizes teachers in grades kindergarten through eighth for demonstrating innovation and engagement practices for students, among other things.
“We are happy to recognize and celebrate Charles and Lendy for their amazing work in the classroom,” said Emily McCann, vice president of educator community at Curriculum Associates.
ISLANDWIDE
Chemagination contest
Students from Garden City High School, Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills, MacArthur High School in Levittown, and South Side High School in Rockville Centre placed first in various categories of this year’s Chemagination Competition coordinated by the American Chemical Society’s New York Section.
The competition asked students to imagine they were living 25 years in the future and describe a recent breakthrough or innovation in chemistry that has improved people’s quality of lives. Ideas ranged from a solution to space insomnia to harnessing the Earth’s natural processes to encourage carbon sequestration.
Winners and their high schools were: Sean Conway, Logan Daab and Rudy Scalise, Garden City; Rayan Afzal, Jacob Park and Dylan Stone, Half Hollow Hills West; Allyssa Aquino, Meghan Campbell, Catherine Purirojejananoan, MacArthur; and Noah Feigenbaum, Sergio Rosa and Avery Testa, South Side.
Teams from Sag Harbor and Queens have taken this year’s top honors in robotics.
The Long Island Regional FIRST Robotics Competition was divided into two events last month at Hofstra University that attracted dozens of teams statewide — as well as from other countries, including India and Turkey. To participate, teams designed and built robots using a kit of parts that included motors, control systems and game components.
The Pierson Whalers from Pierson Middle/High School in Sag Harbor and Queens Technical High School’s RoboTigers won the FIRST Impact Award, which recognized the teams that “best represented a model for other teams.”
“All participating teams demonstrated tremendous teamwork, gracious professionalism and critical thinking,” said Bertram Dittmar, the Long Island executive director for FIRST, a youth organization whose acronym stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. “The fun and excitement of the competition was evident as many students and mentors got caught up in the spirit of the event.”
Regional 1’s overall winner was a three-team alliance of Cold Spring High School’s CyberHawks, Hicksville High School’s Hicksville J-Birds, and upstate Spencerport High School’s Ranger Robotics; Regional 2’s overall winner was a three-team alliance of Lindenhurst High School’s The PSIcotics, Southold High School’s TEAM R.I.C.E. and Stuyvesant High School’s StayPulse.
This year’s competition had an energy theme of “Charged Up,” which challenged alliances to retrieve game pieces from “substations” and place them into a grid.
Students and faculty members from Commack High School braved 44-degree water to raise more than $6,000 for Special Olympics New York by participating in the Town of Oyster Bay's Polar Plunge at Tobay Beach. Credit: Commack School District
COLD SPRING HARBOR
Sports Night
The Cold Spring Harbor School District recently held a inaugural districtwide charity event that raised more than $11,000 for individuals with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The fundraiser was held in remembrance of Corey Phelan, the son of the high school’s health and physical education teacher Chris Phelan who died of the blood cancer in October. Activities included scooter races and egg-toss relays.
“There are no words to describe how incredible it is to see our staff and community come together to show support for our schools and our first annual districtwide charity event,” said Superintendent Jill Gierasch.
Mineola High School’s Drama Club stage a performance of the musical comedy ”Xanadu.” Credit: Mineola School District
FREEPORT
Space Grant Consortium
Freeport School District has been selected to join the New York Space Grant Consortium, a NASA-funded program that supports education and outreach of space-related research and events. Its high school is the first statewide to be part of the consortium.
As an unfunded affiliate member, Freeport will have access to many funding opportunities and connections offered through NASA — including internships and scholarships. To get selected, the district demonstrated how it would promote NASA’s priorities and goals through efforts including its recent creation of an astronomy curriculum.
“We are extremely proud and grateful to be selected for this prestigious recognition,” said Freeport Superintendent Kishore Kuncham.
In Valley Stream, students at Forest Road Elementary School filled dozens of drawstring bags with items including food and hygiene products that were provided by the nonprofit One Love Outreach Mission. The bags will be distributed by the nonprofit to families and individuals in need on Long Island and in New York City. Credit: Valley Stream School District 30
GLEN HEAD
New principal
Megan McCormack has been appointed principal of Sea Cliff School in the North Shore School District, effective July 1. She previously held the position on an interim basis.
McCormack has taught in the district for 11 years. She has also coached the district’s varsity girls lacrosse team and last year helped design and supervise the district’s summer experience program.
“I will continue to encourage innovation and a commitment to learning while capturing students’ voices and empowering every child to pursue their North Shore journey,” McCormack said.
In Holbrook, fifth-graders at Nokomis Elementary School in Holbrook have been tending to plants, including arugula and kale in tower gardens, aeroponic gardening systems that allow students to grow a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs indoors without dirt. Credit: Sachem Central School District
HUNTINGTON AND RIVERHEAD
Extraordinary Educators
Charles Giannone, a second-grade teacher at Riley Avenue Elementary School in Riverhead, and Lendy Milo, a dual-language teacher at Oakwood Primary Center in Huntington, are among 30 educators nationwide named 2023 Extraordinary Educators by Curriculum Associate, a curriculum company that provides assessment and learning solutions.
The annual award recognizes teachers in grades kindergarten through eighth for demonstrating innovation and engagement practices for students, among other things.
“We are happy to recognize and celebrate Charles and Lendy for their amazing work in the classroom,” said Emily McCann, vice president of educator community at Curriculum Associates.
Center Moriches High School’s robotics team recently gave fourth- and fifth-graders from Clayton Huey Elementary School a turn at controlling the robot it built for competitions during the school’s STEM Day. Credit: Center Moriches School District
ISLANDWIDE
Chemagination contest
Students from Garden City High School, Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills, MacArthur High School in Levittown, and South Side High School in Rockville Centre placed first in various categories of this year’s Chemagination Competition coordinated by the American Chemical Society’s New York Section.
The competition asked students to imagine they were living 25 years in the future and describe a recent breakthrough or innovation in chemistry that has improved people’s quality of lives. Ideas ranged from a solution to space insomnia to harnessing the Earth’s natural processes to encourage carbon sequestration.
Winners and their high schools were: Sean Conway, Logan Daab and Rudy Scalise, Garden City; Rayan Afzal, Jacob Park and Dylan Stone, Half Hollow Hills West; Allyssa Aquino, Meghan Campbell, Catherine Purirojejananoan, MacArthur; and Noah Feigenbaum, Sergio Rosa and Avery Testa, South Side.
In Ronkonkoma, fourth-graders at Cherokee Elementary School wore old-fashioned clothing and performed skits for parents and faculty as part of the school’s Colonial Day. Credit: Connetquot Central School District
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
High school football highlights ... Bus camera ticket profits ... What's up on LI ... Heat with heart ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
High school football highlights ... Bus camera ticket profits ... What's up on LI ... Heat with heart ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV
