Suffolk County's Finest

Congratulations to the fourteen student string players from grades five through twelve, representing Thomas J. Lahey Elementary School, Oldfield Middle School and Harborfields High School who were selected as participants in the 2012 Long Island String Festival Association (LISFA) honors string ensembles.
    
The fourteen LISFA participants were selected from among the very best student instrumental string players in Suffolk County. Selection to a LISFA ensemble is a highly competitive process and one that is based on superior scores at the annual NYSSMA solo festivals and school music instructor recommendations.
    
Congratulations to these talented string musicians and their parents and teachers on this outstanding accomplishment!

HARBORFIELDS HS
Alisa Chang (Suffolk Secondary Festival - JH Orchestra) - Viola
Eric Hochwald (Suffolk Secondary Festival - HS Orchestra) - Cello
Mi-Kyung Kim (Suffolk Secondary Festival - HS Orchestra) - Violin
Young Sung Kim (Suffolk Secondary Festival - HS Orchestra) - Violin
Gabriella Savino (Suffolk Secondary Festival - HS Orchestra) - Viola
Aria Wiseblatt (Suffolk Secondary Festival - HS Orchestra) - Violin

OLDFIELD MS
Emmanuel Berbari (Suffolk Elementary Festival - MS Orchestra) - Double Bass
Evan Chang (Suffolk Secondary Festival - JH Orchestra) - Violin
Nora Gleeson (Suffolk Secondary Festival - JH Orchestra) - Violin
Grace Interrante (Suffolk Secondary Festival - JH Orchestra) - Cello
Ava McKane (Suffolk Elementary Festival - MS Orchestra) - Viola
Donavan Snyder (Suffolk Elementary Festival - MS Orchestra) - Viola
Oren Yaari (Suffolk Elementary Festival - MS Orchestra) - Cello

THOMAS J. LAHEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Genie Miraglia (Suffolk Elementary Festival - Elem Orchestra) - Cello

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OMS and HHS Presentation - January 25, 2012

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Superintendent of Schools Named

The Harborfields Central School District Board of Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Diana Todaro to the position of Superintendent of Schools, effective January 1, 2012.

Ms. Todaro has been serving the District since 2001, when she joined the District as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. In 2008 she was appointed Deputy Superintendent and has most recently been serving as Acting Superintendent of Schools since her appointment on September 1, 2011.
    

Student Advances in National Geographic Bee

Congratulations to Eighth grader James Tully of Oldfield Middle School who took first place in the first round of the 24th annual National Geographic Bee, sponsored this year by Google.  
    
Round one was a school-level competition in which students answered geographical questions orally. James now has an opportunity to win a $25,000 college scholarship as he moves on in the competition.

“We are so proud of James and wish him the best as he advances in the competition,” stated OMS Principal Joanna Giordano.

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Washington Drive Collects Pouches for Purses

Washington Drive Primary School, in conjunction with the PTA Green Committee chaired by Jennifer Totten, has once again taken part in an exciting school-wide recycling program.  

Approximately four years ago, teacher Jacinta Pisano introduced the idea of collecting Capri Sun-type juice pouches and sending them to Terracycle, a company that upcycles them and turns them into bags, lunch bags and pencil-cases.  Upcycling is a process that requires even less energy to produce a new product than recycling.  Not only will the juice pouches take up less space in landfills, but the school will get two cents back for each juice pouch sent, money which goes to benefit the needs of students in the district.  
    

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Celebrating Tradition

Fifth-grade students in Barry Taylor’s and Andrea Horowitz’s classes at Thomas J. Lahey Intermediate School celebrated various cultures and holiday traditions from around the world as a part of the social studies curriculum. They also shared some of the traditions of their own family culture during the school’s Holiday Multicultural Feast held on December 21.

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Holiday Happenings in Harborfields

Kindergarten students in Cari Sacks’ class at Washington Drive Primary School recently completed a cross-curricular unit of study using the familiar story of the Gingerbread Man.

Students read several stories centered on variations of the famous character, comparing and contrasting the story elements. The gingerbread theme was also used to solve mathematical problems and compose sentences.

As a fun culminating activity, the students invited their parents into their classrooms to help decorate gingerbread homes, to be shared with their families during the holidays.
    
While Mrs. Sacks’ class worked diligently to bring holiday cheer to their families, Monique Keith-Golding’s second-grade class at Washington Drive took part in a “bucket-filling” activity aimed at spreading cheer to needy children on Long Island. The class worked in conjunction with the Holiday Magic Organization, a group that provides holiday gifts to families in homeless or transient situations. The second graders voluntarily purchased gifts, organized them into groups, wrapped them, and created holiday cards to accompany the donations. 

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Becoming Informed

Seventh and eighth-grade students at Oldfield Middle School attended the presentation “Drug Use and Young People” presented by Steve Chassman, Clinical Director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD).

The assembly was part of a LICADD psycho-educational program which focuses on students’ behaviors and attitudes and gives them the knowledge to make more informed decisions and say no to drugs and alcohol.

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