Canadian educator Adrian French, who teaches history at St. Michaels University School in Victoria, British Columbia, recently connected with Islip Middle School students in the EXCEL program as part of the ongoing “Inventing Self” series of inspirational guest lectures. French, who has won the Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History and the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence, spoke to the students via video conferencing from his home. In his talk, French relayed his life story from dropping out of high school to military service and working as a tile setter in Los Angeles. His experiences throughout this life journey proved crucial when he moved back to Canada and decided to attend university and become a teacher.

“I was pretty much 17 when I checked out from high school and I was 27 when I went back,” French said. “I hadn’t written anything more than a love note to my girlfriend. Having to write essays was incredibly difficult for me to do, but it’s something that I wanted, and that time I’d spent in the army and as a tile setter – the idea that if I wanted something, I had to work at it – really came in.  I loved athletics, I loved coaching and I decided to become a coach and began studying soccer. In Canada, making a living as a soccer coach is incredibly difficult, so I needed a backup plan, which was teaching. And I thought, well, I love coaching and coaching’s like teaching, so I began studying how to become a physical education teacher, but also to how to become a social studies history teacher, and this is the path that I went on. I now have three degrees, and I learned that education and learning is like any other skill. What are the skills I need? How do I break it down? How do I master it? Resilience matters. One of my favorite quotes comes from the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who said that when you come up against a brick wall, the next logical step is not to start beating your head against it, it’s to pause and figure out how to get over it, around it, under it or through it, and that is the resilience of being a learner.”

“What I learned from Mr. French was that even if you think you’re doing the worst at life, you can always come back from it, and no matter what, you can always succeed,” sixth grader Riley Viviani said.

“Even though you might seem like you’re a dark point in your life, you can always build back and create your own path rather than blame yourself,” added sixth grader Jameson Lynch.

Date Added: 6/21/2024

Islip Middle School seventh and eighth graders were inducted into the brand-new Junior Tri-M Music Honor Society during a June 4 ceremony. Students were selected based on their participation in music ensembles, academic achievement and a teacher nomination to support their leadership, service and character. In total, 36 students were accepted.

Five Tri-M student leaders – President Tillie Ancipink, Vice President Mia Olivares, Treasurer Ella Fishbein, Secretary Elizabeth Balsamo and Historian Donna Mandamiento – were also announced that evening, following a vote by their peers. The guest speaker was senior Lucas Bohr, a co-president of the Islip High School chapter of Tri-M.

“These exceptional students, who had already demonstrated the qualities of Tri-M every single day in our music classes and around the school, now have an organization to officially recognize their achievements,” said Michael Hershkowitz, the interim Tri-M chapter director and Islip’s director of fine and performing arts. “I am so proud that this group of students will set the high benchmark for future members.”

Date Added: 6/17/2024

Islip Middle School eighth graders embarked on April 30 for a three-day trip to the nation’s capital. While in Washington D.C., the students visited Pres. Kennedy’s grave and experienced the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, to further understand the depth of sacrifice that exists in America’s history. The eighth graders also excitedly explored national monuments such as the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
      
“The Lincoln Memorial is always a favorite for the students,” social studies teacher Christine Cabanas said. “The students also seemed to connect to the Vietnam Memorial because of its simple, yet extremely personal design, and many students have relatives that served.”

“I was so surprised at how much I liked the Lincoln Memorial and just how much bigger it was than I had expected,” eighth grader Jamie Uceda said.

“Visiting the Vietnam Memorial was really powerful,” student Jocelyn Covelli said. “Seeing all those names really put the Vietnam War into perspective.”

The Islip group also toured the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the National Archives and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. At the latter annex, they viewed thousands of aviation and space artifacts including NASA space shuttle Discovery, Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the Enola Gay, the Concorde and a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

“Our students were in awe of the size of the space shuttle,” Cabanas said. “The massive size of the museum allowed everyone to find their favorite aircraft.”  

Touring the U.S. Capitol Building was a special treat for the Islip middle schoolers.

“The powerful center of our nation’s government offered something for everyone,” Cabanas said. “The architecture, history and artwork impressed everyone as they walked through.

“Going inside the Capitol was definitely a big highlight of our trip," student Mia Oliveri said.

Another huge highlight for most of the students was watching the New York Yankees defeat the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards baseball stadium. It was a perfect night for baseball, and student Erik Kristiansen, who celebrated his birthday on the trip, enjoyed seeing his name pop up on the stadium’s Jumbotron.     

“The trip was a true success and Islip students will hold these memories for a lifetime,” Cabanas said.”

Date Added: 6/5/2024

The Islip School District recognized numerous exceptional student and Board member accomplishments on May 13 at the spring Night of Champions event, held during the Board of Education meeting.

Elementary and secondary students who demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, art, music and leadership received certificates honoring their achievements in front of their proud families.

Director of Fine and Performing Arts Michael Hershkowitz and music teachers honored students who were selected for SCMEA Division 1 All-County honors in band (Addison Auciello, Jackson Bosley, Alice Champion, Lily Champion, Cassidy Chandler, Makenzy Covelli, Ashleigh Galyardt, Nicolette Powers, Marleigh Stumme, Elisabeth Volk and Murphy Wallace), chorus (Lily Ahlgren, Jason Desir, Na’ilah Farrell, Colten Grace, Giuliana Hubert, Jace Hunt, Taylor Juillet, Gavin Kirchner, Stella Krakaur, Samuel Massa, Juliet McEnaney and Gabriella Valdiviezo) and orchestra (Chelsea Cooper, Milani Clendaniel, Emerson Cox, Titley Das, Christopher Liang and Keelin Rao); for SCMEA Division 2 All-County in band (Tillie Ancipink, Gwen McEnaney, Teagan Quinn and Megan Soto), chorus (Shea Alfano and Donna Mandamiento) and orchestra (Ryan Brown and Malcolm Friedman); for SCMEA Division 3 All-County in band (Joshua Alarcon, Kathleen Desrochers, Nicholas Gulick and Jadyn Zink), chorus (Tiana Arroyo, Addison DeFalco and Juliana Sclafani) and orchestra (Alexandra Fitch).

Next, Hershkowitz and art teacher Lisa Sacco recognized the students selected for the SCALA All-County Scholarship Show (Breanna Questel), The Atelier at Flowerfield Juried Art Show (Alexarae Casas, Eva Diesso, Ryan Donohue, Samantha Krut, Nelysa Petersen, Kathiangelys Rios Cruz and Katalina Villalba) and the Long Island Museum’s Colors of Long Island (Aaron Thorn and Sofia Zurbaran).

Islip High School administrators honored the students chosen for this summer’s American Legion Boys State (alternate Mason Nasta and primaries John Oggeri and Dijimon Senior) and American Legion Auxiliary Empire Girls State (alternates Aliannah Madriz and Melanie Marroquin, and citizens Elizabeth Ford and Kathryn Quinn) programs.

Islip High School Principal Lara Gonzalez then recognized Class of 2024 salutatorian Erica De Lapi and valedictorian Jaci Narducci.

Athletic Director John Sparacio and several of his coaches presented sports recognitions for the winter 2024 season to high school student-athletes including boys basketball player Andrew Owen (Academic All-County); girls basketball player Carley Mullins (All-County); competitive cheerleaders Jasmin Fields-Robinson (Academic All-County) and Makaila Preston (All-County); boys bowler Gavin Connell (perfect game); boys winter track athletes Matthew Breslin (All Long Island in pole vault) and Kaiden White (All-League, All-County, All-State and All-Long Island 300-meter champion); girls winter track athletes Wilorda Frenel (All-Sectional 4x200 relay champion), Brianna Gabbidon (All-Sectional 4x200 relay champion, All League in 55- and 300-meter, All-County in 300-meter), Imani Hood (All-Sectional 4x200 relay champion, All League in 55- and 300-meter, All-County and All-Section in 300-meter) and Brooke-Lynne Martin (All-Sectional 4x200 relay champion); and wrestlers Dominick Albertelli (All-County), Zachary Miller (All County, All-State) and Jared Spahn (All County, All-State).

Superintendent Dr. Dennis O’Hara presented New York State School Boards Association recognitions, which acknowledge Board members who continue to expand their governance knowledge and skills by participating in NYSSBA training, workshops, events, activities and webinars. This year, three Islip Board members earned awards from NYSSBA for their ongoing educational efforts. Matthew Clareen won a Level 4 Lifetime Achievement Award and Danielle Flora and Laura Rogacki earned Level 3 Board Mastery Awards.

Additionally, Regina Sanko, a school monitor at Maud S. Sherwood Elementary School, was given “Above & Beyond” recognition by Dr. O’Hara and Sherwood Principal Briana James for her efforts in assisting a student who was choking during lunch.  

Date Added: 6/3/2024