CA Activity Handbook 2011

Sept 2011

CANDLEWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES TABLE OF CONTENTS

Amnesty Club Art Club/Visual Arts Club Babysitting Club Beautification Club Bookstore Character Education Cheerleaders Review Club Crafts Club Creative Writing Club Danceline Double Dutch Club/Aerobic Drama Club Helping Hands Club Home & Careers Club

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Jazz Band Leaders Club Math Counts Math Olympiads Mathletes Mock Trial Model Building Club Science Explorers’ Club Science Olympiad Student Government Technology Club Yearbook National Junior Honor Society Athletics Intramurals

Extracurricular activities are a great way to meet new friends, learn new things, and have FUN! Be sure to listen to Candlewood’s Daily Morning Announcements for details about starting dates, times, and meeting rooms.

ALSO, information will be posted on the Candlewood Web site as it becomes available.

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AMNESTY CLUB The Amnesty Club will help support human rights around the world. Students will be able to spotlight and learn about some of the human rights issues in the world today via multimedia. Additionally, as a club, we will seek to spread our own knowledge by raising awareness of some of the human rights issues that are so important today to our school as well as the local community.

Advisor: Membership:

Mrs. Haase and Ms. Shaw Amnesty club is open all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students (1/2 year)

ART/VISUAL ARTS CLUB The Art/Visual Arts Club is structured as an independent study program that allows students to expand art interests beyond the normally scheduled art class period. The role of the art teacher is to act as a resource for guidance and exploration of art materials during the creative art process. Students are encouraged, but not limited to, participation in: ● creating masks using paris craft, plaster of paris and paint ● painting using tempera paint, pastels, and oil pastels ● paper weaving ● collages using tissue paper and paint ● collages using partial magazine photos and paint ● mural painting on the walls outside classrooms Advisor: Membership:

Mrs. Casazza Art Club is open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students regardless of artistic ability.

Requirements: $5.00 supply fee

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BABYSITTING CLUB The Babysitting Club will teach the responsibilities and qualities of being a good babysitter and what to expect from the person who hires you. You will also learn how to: ● interview for a babysitting job ● supervise children ● keep kids and yourself safe in the house ● choose safe and age-appropriate toys and games ● handle an emergency or illness ● prepare simple meals and snacks for children ● handle bedtime issues effectively ● effectively read a bedtime story ● receive a certificate for completing the course Advisor: Membership:

Mrs. DiBiasi All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students (1/2 Year) BEAUTIFICATION CLUB

The Beautification Club gives students the opportunity to participate in developing projects for use in building beautification. The club is responsible for renovating and creating garden areas and other building projects. The students will design and assist with the construction and installation of the projects.

Advisor: Membership:

Mr. Bongiorno and Ms. Jarvis All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students

CANDLEWOOD BOOK STORE The Candlewood Book Store, located in the Cafeteria, sells both school supplies and fun items at a reasonable price. It is open every morning before school and is run by student volunteers. See Ms. Mancuso during school store hours (7:40-7:50) to apply. 6th graders will work one day a week, 7th graders twice a a week, and 8th graders will work every morning.

Advisor: Membership:

Ms. Mancuso Open to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

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CANDLEWOOD REVIEW CLUB The Half Hollow Hills Review Club produces a few publications a year called "Off the Record." Students will write reviews on subjects such as music, movies, books, vacations, and sports. We visit and review a restaurant or two, and interview members of the Half Hollow Hills staff to see what their interests are. This club will afford students a forum to express themselves in an intelligent way about music, movies, travel, pop culture and the arts.

Advisor: Membership:

Mr. Bund Open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

CHARACTER EDUCATION The Character Building Club focuses on trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, kindness, and citizenship[. Student have an opportunity to open-up and share personal stories related to these areas while making new friends.

Advisor: Membership:

Mrs. Boccasini Open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

CHEERLEADING The cheerleaders perform during the basketball, football, and volleyball home games. The purpose of cheerleading is to develop team spirit while learning cheers and our halftime dance, and to promote school spirit at home football and basketball games.

Advisor: Membership:

Mrs. Kern Tryouts are in September. Membership is available to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

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CRAFTS CLUB The purpose of the Crafts Club is to familiarize the students with various crafting skills such as ceramics, mosaics, painting, weaving, macramé, scrap booking, knitting, bead making, jewelry crafts, etc. The students will gain a true appreciation for the handmade articles they produce. Please note that the techniques mentioned here are just a sampling of what is done in Crafts Club but due to time constraints not everything can be covered.

Advisor: Membership:

Mrs. Andres Open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students (1/2 year)

CREATIVE WRITING CLUB The “Golden Quill Society” is a creative writing club at Candlewood Middle School.

Students attend weekly meetings and create poetry, short stories, and essays, which will encompass many themes and techniques. Completed work will be sent to publishers and submitted to an assortment of writing contests. This club allows students to freely exercise their imagination and talent through writing.

Advisor: Membership:

Mrs. Helf Open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students

DANCELINE Danceline is an activity which fosters physical coordination, poise and self-confidence, while promoting school spirit and working together in a cooperative setting.

The Danceline team performs at boys' 7th and 8th grade basketball games, pep rallies and local competitions. All 7th and 8th grade girls are welcome to audition.

Advisor: Membership:

Ms. Bliss and Ms. Castellano All 7th and 8th grade girls are welcome to audition

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DOUBLE DUTCH CLUB/AEROBICS Students work on building their aerobic threshold while engaging in a variety of exercise techniques including tae-bo, group aerobics to music and alternate weeks of double dutch. Students have learned to work together as a unit, overcoming personal fears, and building self-confidence, while increasing their motor skills (fine and gross).

Advisor: Membership:

Mrs. Boccasini Open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students

DRAMA CLUB If you like to sing, dance and act, then audition for the school musicals. There will be a Candlewood musical in December, and a combined show with West Hollow Middle School in May. Auditions and rehearsal dates and times for both shows will be announced.

Directors: Membership:

Mr. Gerbino and Ms. Krawitz All 6th, 7th and 8th graders are welcome

HELPING HANDS CLUB Helping Hands Club participates in many community-based projects such as “Adopt a Grandparent�, Homework Helpers, holiday visits to area nursing homes, building beautification, clinical sports at Vanderbilt Elementary School, holiday visits to Wyandanch Headstart Program, food and clothing drives, and bake sales.

Advisor: Membership:

Dr. Henderson and Ms. Rios Open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students

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HOME & CAREERS CLUB Students participating in the Home & Careers Club are involved in activities geared towards community involvement, in addition to both sewing and cooking projects.

Advisor: Membership:

Mrs. Gryszkin Open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students (1/2 year)

JAZZ BAND The purpose of Jazz Band is to demonstrate how jazz has been recognized as a valid American musical expression. Skills such as rhythm, form and improvisation are developed. The Jazz Band performs the different styles of music from the 1940's to the present contemporary sounds.

Advisor: Membership:

Mr. Van Cott By audition at beginning of the school year. Students must have basic skills on their instruments.

LEADERS CLUB Leader's Club is a student-led organization that provides its members with opportunities to perform service, build character, and enhance their leadership skills. The club's goal is to create, organize, and implement projects that are aimed at benefiting our school, our district, and our community.

Advisors: Membership:

Mrs. Schultheis 7th and 8th grade students , by invitation

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MATHLETES Students work in a cooperative setting on problem-solving strategies and critical thinking activities to help prepare for monthly competitions.

Advisor: Membership:

Ms. West Open Enrollment for 7th and 8th grade students MATH OLYMPIADS

Students work in a cooperative setting on problem-solving strategies and critical thinking activities to help prepare for monthly competitions. The purpose of Math Olympiads is to encourage the joy of mathematics through the creative solutions to challenging problems; the students apply their math skills to new situations.

Advisors: Membership:

Mrs. Shaw and Mrs. Basil 6th grade boys and girls MATHCOUNTS

Is math your favorite subject? Do you like the challenge of higher level multi-step problems? Would you like an opportunity to compare your math talent to other students across the county, state and nation? If you answered yes to all of the above then MathCounts is what you’re looking for! We are a competitive math club that allows students opportunities to compete against other middle school students in the Suffolk County competition as individuals and as a team in February. The top 3 qualifying schools in Suffolk will compete at the state competition in March in Troy, New York. We meet once a week to discuss/share problem solving techniques and practice with high level math problems. MathCounts recognizes and awards all participants. Special honors are given to students earning high achievements as individuals and teams. More information at www.MathCounts.org.

Advisor: Mrs. Gacek Membership: MathCounts is open to 7th and 8th grade students (preferably taking Integrated Algebra). A qualifying test will be given in September and students with the highest scores will be invited to participate Requirements: Availability to participate in competitions on Saturday, one in February and one in March. The March competition will require travel to Troy, NY.

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MOCK TRIAL The purpose of the Mock Trial Club is: to learn about the court system; to analyze Supreme Court issues; to prepare for tournaments by preparing oral arguments on the Constitutional issues of the case. Students prepare opening statements, respond to questioning, and write closing arguments on various Supreme Court cases.

Advisors: Membership:

Mr. Stern and Mrs. Pilgrim Open to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students

MODEL BUILDING CLUB Students will be able to work on model or will be given an opportunity to use both hand and power tools to create various projects in a safe shop setting. First year students will be given suggestions on possible projects after determining their experience level. Students are responsible for bringing in their own materials.

Advisor: Membership:

Mr. Ulrich Open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students (1/2 year) SCIENCE EXPLORERS CLUB

Students perform preliminary investigation to make project choices and then submit their project proposals. Completed projects are then presented at the Long Island Science Congress in the spring.

Advisor: Membership:

Mrs. Dunn 7th and 8th grade students SCIENCE OLYMPIAD

The Science Olympiad is a national program that challenges students to develop and utilize their knowledge of scientific concepts and processing skills along with science applications in technology in order to solve problems. Last year, Candlewood competed in the Regional Science Olympiad competition, placing in the top ten.

Advisors: Membership:

Mr. Croce 7th, 8th Graders by invitation and entrance exam

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STUDENT GOVERNMENT The purpose of Student Government is to promote school spirit through various activities, community service through various social networks, and to provide a means of expression of student opinions on social matters. Some of our activities include: seasonal dances, Spirit Week, Winter Food Drive with a visit to a local soup kitchen, book drive, Long Island Harvest, and holiday baskets for less fortunate community families.

Advisors:

Ms. Mancuso and Mrs. Kern Ms. West Mrs. Andres and Mrs. Miller

- 6th Grade - 7th Grade - 8th Grade

TECHNOLOGY CLUB The Technology Club tries to help students better understand how different forms of energy interact with each other. Each week students have the opportunity to see and demonstrate these interactions. The students culminate their activities by designing and preparing special projects, while learning the safe use of tools and machines.

Advisor: Membership:

Mr. Ulrich Open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students (1/2 year)

YEARBOOK CLUB The purpose of the Yearbook Club is to design, publish and sell the annual school yearbook.

Advisors: Membership:

Mrs. Berke & Mrs. Stanco 8th graders are invited to join

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NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY Membership in the National Junior Honor Society is based on scholarship, service, leadership, character and citizenship. Final selection of inductees will be made by a Faculty Council, who will recommend these candidates to the building Principal. Membership is limited to 7th and 8th grade students. The process will begin mid-year ending with an induction in the Spring.

Criteria for Membership: Scholarship: The 2011 – 2012 school year is a transitional year for the scholarship criteria for membership in the NJHS. For the 2011 – 2012 school year only, 8th grade students already inducted during their 7th grade year, must maintain a cumulative average of 90.00 or above for all marking periods preceding the induction ceremony. Students in the 8th grade during the 2011 – 2012 school year must maintain a cumulative average of 90.00 or above for all marking periods preceding the induction ceremony.

The 2011 – 2012 school year is the last year in which the scholarship criteria of a cumulative average of 90.00 or above will be used for membership in the NJHS. Following this school year the scholarship criteria will be a cumulative average of 93.00 or above for all students in the NJHS. Students in the 7th grade during the 2011 – 2012 school year must maintain a cumulative average of 93.00 or above for all marking periods preceding the induction ceremony.

Service: Students must present evidence of participation in a minimum of three (3) ongoing activities in order to demonstrate an active involvement in school and community. One activity must be in the form of community service outside of school, where the student is actively involved in helping others. Some examples might be participation in a charity, soup kitchen, nursing home, library, etc. The second activity must be a school activity, such as being a member of a team, school club, student council or teacher/office assistant. The third activity can be either school-based or community service-based as just described.

Leadership: Students must exert a positive influence on others in school (advisory, classroom, cafeteria, activities) and within the community.

Character: Students must demonstrate the highest standards of honesty, integrity and reliability as well as acts of kindness and consideration towards others.

Citizenship: Students must contribute ideas which will enhance the school environment, show a willingness to assist others and comply with all school regulations.

Advisor:

Mr. Black

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CANDLEWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETIC PROGRAM Interscholastic athletics are a vital part of the Candlewood Middle School educational program. They provide a unique opportunity for students to achieve their full potential, as athletes and as people in a setting which can be both demanding and rewarding. Our program strives to meet the needs and interests of the athletically talented individual. Program objectives are embodied by the following: To provide interscholastic athletic experience to a maximum number of students.

To emphasize that making the effort to win is more important than winning.

To acknowledge that the real value of sport to the student is in the enjoyment derived from the activity itself and from the associations developed among coaches and players in practice as well as in games.

To encourage fellowship, leadership, and a cooperative atmosphere.

To inspire a commitment to excellence - in study, work and play.

Students who commit to team membership are expected to attend every practice and contest unless excused by their coach.

Athletic Physical Examinations The school physician has the full authority in determining the physical capability of a pupil to participate in a sport.

The school nurse will arrange for physical examinations to be given by the school doctor approximately two weeks prior to each sports season (except in June for fall sports) and notify students of the date, time, and place. If possible, a make-up date will also be provided to accommodate students who, for good reason, are unable to be present on the scheduled date.

Each coach is responsible for informing candidates of dates, times, and places for pre-season physical exams. Building Assistants, Administrators, and School Nurses will assist by ensuring that public address announcements are made regarding the dates of the physical examinations, and the sports offerings for the following season.

Coaches are encouraged to call preseason meetings to organize those who wish to try out for teams. Coaches may assist the nurse by handing out yellow pre-examination forms and/or green consent forms.

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CANDLEWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL INTRAMURAL PROGRAM The intramural program at Candlewood Middle School is an outgrowth of the physical education program. All students are invited to attend on a voluntary basis regardless of their sport skill level. Participation - rather than competition - is emphasized. A variety of activities are offered with most meeting twice weekly for a ten-week period of time. Activities change seasonally and are led by staff members.

The intramural program is publicized through public address announcements in advisory, written notices, announcements in physical education classes, and posters.

The following is a list of offerings: Badminton-Mr. Ianne Basketball-Mrs. Savini/Ms. Spehler Football-Mr. Uhrlass Lacrosse-Mr. Neary Soccer-Mr. Ianne/Mrs. Sundermeir Softball-Mr. Uhrlass/Mrs. Sundermeir Volleyball-Mr. Fitzpatrick/Mrs. Gomez Weight Training-Mr. Neary Wrestling-Mr. Ianne

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