HSE Newsletter January 2011

Perspectives

HALF HOLLOW HILLS HIGH SCHOOL EAST PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER

The Insider’s View

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Holiday Cheer

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21st Century Learning projects in the classroom and beyond

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Fall athletic teams receive honors

Volume II , Issue II

January 14, 2011

A Special Message from Dr. Woodberry Hello HS East Community, It is hard to believe we are near the halfway point in the 2010-2011 school year. As Quarter 2 comes to a close most students and teachers will begin preparing for January midterm exams. Students should study for these exams and give their best effort because in addition to most midterms counting for 20% of the second quarter grade, they are a good indication of performance on final and Regents exams. Results on these exams also inform teachers of topics to revisit as the year progresses.

There is a lot of good news to share about our students and staff here at HS East as you will see in the following pages. Our teachers are engaging students in meaningful, unique learning experiences which are preparing our students to be successful in the 21st Century. Students are excelling in academics, the arts and athletics! Also, as is always the case, our extracurricular clubs and organizations are providing opportunities for our students to develop into well-rounded, contributing members of society.

Although we are still entrenched in this school year, preparations for the upcoming school year are under way as well. Students have been presented with electives, received recommendations from their teachers and are meeting with their counselors to finalize their class choices for next year. The student/parent portal is now open to enter course requests for 2011-2012. Be sure to use this opportunity to discuss educational matters as a family.

As always we thank the Board of Education, the Superintendent and Central Office Staff, the High School East PTSA and, of course, the parents of our community for making it possible for us to provide the best educational experience for our students.

Remember: Respect, Responsibility and Excellence!

Inside this issue:

Page 2 A New Kind of Kwanzaa Celebration

Dr. J. A. Woodberry Principal, HS East

HS East Gets Greener

by Student Government members, were distributed to classrooms January 3rd. Each day, student volunteers, including students from our IPC program, help Student Government has initiated a recycling proto collect the contents. Aneesh and his team will gram for deposit water bottles and cans. Aneesh continue their campaign throughout the school year.

Shah, a junior class officer, is spearheading the program which aims to increase environmental awareness among the student body while also giving back to the community through charitable contributions. Rather than adding to the waste stream, students will collect deposit bottles and cans from the classrooms and cafeteria at High School East and return them weekly to collect the deposits. All the money will be used to benefit Long Island charities.

Recycling for Charity

Page 6 Spirit Week and Winter Pep Rally

Page 7 Art Installation 2011

Page 8 Fall Sports Wrap Up and Winter Sports Victories

The recycling plan is already off to a great start. The green boxes, decorated

Page 2

Perspectives

Holiday Cheer 2010 Shopping Mates On December 18th, the HS East Key Club, advised by Jeninne O’Callaghan and Jennifer Werle, participated in the annual Sears Shopping Tour, funded by the Huntington Kiwanis Club. The students helped fifty underprivileged children from the Huntington Boys and Girls Club shop for winter coats, shoes, and Christmas presents with a gift card provided by the Kiwanians. HS East students wrapped the gifts, so the children could open presents from “Santa” on Christmas Day.

January 1st and takes its origins from the “first African American Student Organiza- fruits” harvest celebrations tion’s Annual Kwanzaa Program took of Africa. place on Wednesday, December 22nd, in the B/C cafeteria. Kwanzaa is an The featured guest African American non-religious holi- speaker for this year’s celeday that celebrates family, community bration was Professor Norand culture. The celebration takes man Daniels, Coordinator place annually from December 26th to of Multicultural Affairs at Suffolk Community College’s Grant Campus. Professor Daniels edified the audience by guiding them through a traditional Kwanzaa ceremony (as time permitted) highlighting the Nugo Saba or seven principles of Unity (Umoja), Self-Determination (Kujichagulia), Collective Work and Responsibility (Ujima), Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa), Purpose African-American Student Organization members with (Nia), and Faith (Imani). The

Kwanzaa Celebration

advisor Charese Cunningham.

event included featured African drummers and poetry reading.

After the ceremony, attendees enjoyed the Karamu or Kwanzaa feast.

All in attendance enjoyed the presentation, festivities and the time to gather with friends.

—article by Charese Cunningham

Page 3

Volume 1I , Issue II

Holiday Cheer 2010 A Day of Comfort and Joy Hills East students entertained the students of James E. Allen School with joyful tunes, energetic dances and exciting cheerleading routines. This yearly tradition brightens the season for our performers as well as their audience as they share the g r e a test gift: their talent.

Architecture Elves

In addition, Anthony Daleo and family donated 5 boxes of toys. Some of the toys will accompany the doll house and go to the CDA family and the remaining toys will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House along with the second doll house. The members of the architecture club have worked tirelessly on their off periods, after school and at club meetings to ensure the success of their endeavor.

Students of The Architecture Club decided to help a family in need this year through St. Patrick's Church, CDA, in Huntington, N.Y. Knowing that the family has two little girls, the students designed, constructed, and painted a castle style doll house. In addition, they designed and constructed unique furniture for the various rooms of the castle. They purchased the construction materials and dolls for the house through funds raised Mrs. Mead is very proud of her elves and the services through bake sales. that they have provided for their community.

Page 4

Perspectives

21st Century Learning painting, using images and everything else in Mrs. Norris’ room.

Collaboration, communication, creativity and adaptability are all part of the core values of 21st learning and were incorporated The spirit of 21st century learning has brought together the seamlessly in this wonderful collaborative effort. Remember, art and history departments. Mrs. Norris (art) and Mr. Scorcia “Information doesn’t produce good learning anymore than (social studies) paint produces good art!” combined forces to help — Article contributed by Anthony Scorcia Mr. Scorcia’s class to make plaster masks of historical figures. Students were given the freedom to pick any per son from the 9th grade curriculum and design a mask however they see fit. These masks were not simple lifelike portraits, but rather interpretive pieces that reflect the contributions to society made by their particular person. Student time in the art room was spent executing their designs,

Interdisciplinary Success

Community Development Upon completion of the Ecology and Biome units, students in Ms. Goodenough’s AP Environmental Science class were given a map of a hypothetical region called Muirtown. The area contained fresh water estuaries, desert and old growth forest regions. Students were then challenged to develop a community that would accommodate 10,000 people. They were instructed as to how much space would be needed for necessities such as housing, public institutions, health facilities and fire/ police departments. The students were also responsible for providing areas to put utilities for water, power and sewage treatment. Another consideration was to decide how much agricultural space and industry to incorporate as well as areas for recreation. Using their knowledge of ecosystems, students determined either how much space to use in each or whether to build in the area at all.

Once their community development plan was complete, students presented their proposal to the class, which was set up as a town legislative

panel to decide which plan was best for the people and the environment. A panel of three peers questioned each presenter before opening it up to the rest of the “town legislature”. One panel member Sarah Sampino said, “Listening to the many ideas my classmates had and having to choose a plan that was both successful and environmentally conscious made me realize just how difficult a job legislators have.”

While students thought the project was difficult, they reveled in the challenge.

Alex Devarajan said, “I really liked the planning project because it was fun to be an architect of the whole town. I also loved the practicality of it, and the use of a committee was great. It was a good form of peer review, and it was fun to see who won.” Classmate Lawrence Wolf-Sonkin said, “This project really made me think and analyze any possible way of protecting biomes and being efficient.”

—contributed by Terese Goodenough

Volume II , Issue II

Page 5

21st Century Learning Literature Games Students in Ms. Burnett’s English 9 Honors have been busy making literature come alive with a student-designed independent reading project. Students read either The Alchemist

by Paulo Coelho or The Disreputable History of Frankie LandauBanks by E. Lockhart. Every Friday, students met to discuss their chosen book in literature circles. As a culmination, Ms. Burnett presented students with a list of criteria such as: representation of changes in story line and representation of a solid understanding of the novel. They could not give away the ending, however, since they will read the other novel.

Students then brainstormed with their group members to design and execute their project. Their imaginations ignited, they created masks, maps, a beautifully illustrated diary, and a board game (featured right with its creators).

Teen with a Cause

1055 News, and various radio shows. The book covers feature safety measures for teens and will also be distributed here at East for use on all student textbooks.

Many times, 21st Century learning occurs beyond the classroom, and HS East 10th grader Jonathan Goldsmith is the perfect example. He was honored at a press conference this past October for helping to develop the National Organization for Women’s Safety Awareness, Inc.’s (NOWSA’s) “Covers for a Cause” teen personal safety awareness campaign. Jonathan was also a key player in getting a bill signed Not only has Jonathan social to implement “Teen Personal Safety Awareness Week” in e x e m p l i f i e d awareness, but an entrethe State of New York. He met with assemblymen, senators, and news people and his story was in Newsday, on preneurial spirit as well. and brings them to the St. Hugh’s Parish Outreach Program Food Bank in HuntMr. Grunbeck and his AP Physics B ington Station. This activity teaches and Honors Physics students have been physics along with social responsibility. busy testing theory through hands on projects that challenge students’ critical Most impressive was the AP Physics B thinking and problem solving skills. Torque Mobile Project. This was the There was the annual Spaghetti Contest first year for this chalfor the Honors students and the Egg lenging activity. StuDrop Contest for the AP students. All dents were required classes participate annually in the chari- to design and contable Can Rolling Contest—students struct an art mobile bring in at least two cans of food. The around a general cans are chosen so that when allowed theme (a holiday to roll down an inclined plane onto a theme is featured flat floor, the winning can will roll far- right) using physics to ther than any other can. Students apply calculate the mobile’s their knowledge of rotational inertia in translational and rotaorder to choose the cans. The cans tional equilibrium. must also be tested so that they roll After selecting the straight and do not turn. Mr. Grunbeck items for their mothen collects the cans in the classroom biles, students had to

Inquiry and Imagination

calculate the mass of each, measure distances, draw a blueprint, verify the equilibrium, and voila! A perfect mobile!

Actually, it sounds much easier than reality. Students stuck with it, however, and created fun, artistic and wellbalanced mobiles.

Page 6

Perspectives

Spirit Week and Winter Pep Rally 2010 Spirit Week set the tone for Pep Rally and the winter break as students and faculty alike got in the spirit on Jersey Day, Pajama Day, Twin Day and Spirit Day. The Winter Pep Rally, held on December 23, 2010, was another success with cheers of support for our winter sports teams, outstanding performances, introduction of our new Expressive Movement Club and another pie in the face for a good cause.

This year, JV Football coach, Mr. DiMoulas won the honor of receiving the pie which was delivered by Cody Burns. All proceeds from the Pie Wars donations will go to Cody and his family.

For more exciting photos see the Media Gallery on the HS East webpage.

Volume II , Issue II

Page 7

There’s No Place Like Home—Art Installation 2011 Allyson Uttendorfer’s AP Art History students have worked hard on their 2011 installation There’s No Place Like Home. This year’s theme brings attention to the necessity of recycling and how there is beauty everywhere. They hope to aid students and faculty alike in seeing that a piece of recyclable material can actually be used in innumerable ways, repurposed as art, and that its journey doesn’t end once it’s placed into a recycling bin. Students found inspiration from contemporary artist Bart Vargas. He created sculptures called E-Waste and One Man’s Trash and utilizes materials that have been deemed trash and transforms them into modern art treasures. Ms. Uttendorfer and her students created a room, a basic living room, where most people relax, watch television and reflect on life. The contents of the room are made from the top ten materials that need to be recycled: Newspaper into curtains and a television, cardboard into a couch, magazines into a coffee table, plastic bags into a weaved rug, plastic bottles into a chandelier, glass into a functioning lamp, aluminum cans into a mirror, steel cans into a fireplace, batteries into a clock, and computers into a bookshelf. Each piece of trash has taken on a completely new function and

Scholar in the Footlights Every day, after a morning of rigorous academic work, Nicole Altchiler boards the bus to the Long Island High School for the Arts in order to develop and refine skills in her artistic passion: dance. Her hard work has paid off and Hills East is proud to acknowledge Nicole’s commendation as one of two scholar artists for the month of February.

is unified by the notion of recycling.

Home is where we generate most of our waste; so creating a room that is typically a warm and comfortable space out of raw recyclables will hopefully make a statement to viewers.

The average U.S. person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago; each of us produces approximately four and a half pounds of garbage a day!

Now more than ever the importance of the recycling should be brought to attention so we can hopefully make a It is an unfortunate truth that we live in change for the future. an extraordinarily wasteful time. In North America, up to 99% of goods are For more photos see the Media Galno longer in use six months after their lery on the HS East webpage. purchase. The United States in particu—article by Allyson Uttendorfer lar uses 30% of the world’s resources and creates 30% of the world’s waste.

February and she was recognized at an annual event at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at our Board of Education meeting earlier this school year, along with visual artist Julia Lerner (featured in the October issue of Perspectives).

We at HS East extend our congratulations and The Scholar-Artist program is spon- pride in Nicole’s academic sored by the Long Island Arts Alliance. and artistic achievement!

Students are selected in music, visual arts, dance, theater, and media arts.

Nicole will be featured in Newsday this

HALF HOLLOW HILLS HIGH SCHOOL EAST PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER

High School East 50 Vanderbilt Parkway Dix Hills, NY 11746

Produced by: Darlene Lilla Assistant Principal Phone: 631-592-3128 Fax: 631-592-3121 E-mail: dlilla@hhh.k12.ny.us

Visit Our Website: www.halfhollowhills.k12.ny.us

High School East

Sports Highlights The Fall season culminated with victories and New York State Association of Physical Educahonors. Featured here are just a few of the tion, Recreation, and Dance gives an annual many highlights of our stand out athletes. award to two deserving seniors (male and female) who excel in physical education class as The three time defending champion Boys’ Vol- well as in the entire school setting. Chosen by leyball team had an outstanding 19-0 season and the physical education faculty, these students topped it off with a first ever Long Island Cham- must earn an A in all years of high school in pionship and qualification for State Finals. Boys’ physical education, must have at least a 3.0 averVarsity Soccer had a successful season, making it age overall by their junior year, possess outto the playoffs. Soccer players also received standing character in physical education, must awards: All-league went to Jordan Gross, Kevin participate in school wide activities, and be posiDorn, and Harrison Marx; All Conference went tive role models. to Jimmy Reiser, Robby Reiser, and Jake Freeman; All County went to Jimmy Reiser; and Aca- Finally, Hills East was honored once again with all Fall teams qualifying for the Scholar Athlete demic All County went to Dominic Akerele.

Team Award presented by NYSPHSAA. The Girls’ Tennis team also had an excellent season with Samantha Elgort selected as All- So far, the winter season is looking good as State Tennis Player. Bari Padover and Danielle well with wrestling already boasting of tournaStansky were honored as gymnasts on the All- ment victories. At our annual Hills East WresState Gymnastics Team. tling Tournament over the winter break, senior Anthony Abidin took first place in the 125lb Faculty and students came out en masse for the weight class. He finished the tournament with a first annual HHH Wellness Fair 5K run. HS East pin in the finals over Broccoli from Westhampstudent Greg Perrier took top student honors, ton Beach. Anthony also received the tournascience teacher Christian Fogarazzo placed first ment’s “Most Pins in Least Amount of Time” among faculty, and Dr. Woodberry took first award with four pins in seven minutes and forty seconds. Perhaps the wrestling team is fired up place among administration. by the wrestling room makeover. Art Club, NaAt this year’s Suffolk Zone awards, Morgan tional Art Honor Society, Bill Davey, Kim NorDonovan and Mason Thorbjornsen were hon- ris, Allyson Uttendorfer and painter Luke Diorio ored with the Excellence in Physical Education teamed up to give the room a new face.

Award.

The Suf- Enjoy more photos on the website in Awards folk Zone and Honors as well as the Media Gallery. of The