Month: December 2018

Miller Place School District is proud to recognize two students—Lauren Barnes and Olivia Shamberger—who have recently exhibited exceptional leadership in the community. Lauren and Olivia both earned themselves different opportunities to attend honorable leadership programs this past summer, representing the Miller Place School District in an exceptional light.

“The District encourages our students to pursue any opportunity that will foster growth and academics,” said Dr. Marianne Cartisano, Superintendent of Miller Place School District. “We could not be more proud of Lauren and Olivia. Their remarkable leadership roles are a representation of their hard work and dedication to their studies and our district. We are excited to see what Lauren and Olivia do with their new skills as they grow into leaders of their generation.”

Lauren Barnes attended a two-week program at the Brown Leadership Institute for Global Health at Brown University this past summer where she further developed her leadership skills. The rigorous program encourages students to grow in leadership by organizing an initiative for change in their community. With a goal to impact her community, Lauren wrote an extensive paper focused on Food Insecurity in shelters and lower income neighborhoods. With the help of MPHS’s science club, Lauren aims to create a sustainable change in MPHS by working on the “Giving Green” project with the newly donated greenhouse to provide food to the local homeless shelter, Pax Christi.

Olivia Shamberger spent this past summer with the Ambassador Leadership Program “Hunger around the World” at Harvard Law. Partnered with United Way, the program focused on worldwide hunger issues to serve the greater good through intense discussions, sight-seeing, and hands-on service projects. In addition, Olivia also spent part of her summer at Yale University for Students for the Gifted (SIG), a program that introduces students to new subject areas and recreational activities to enrich their natural talents. Olivia was also chosen to represent MPHS at the Hugh O’Brian Youth (HOBY) Leadership summer program where she gained knowledge of leadership skills. In her future, Olivia plans to use these skills to obtain a medical degree and become a psychiatrist.

For more information about the Miller Place School District, please visit the District’s website atwww.millerplace.k12.ny.us.

ABOVE: Miller Place High School’sOlivia Shamberger spent this past summer with the Ambassador Leadership Program “Hunger around the World” at Harvard Law. Partnered with United Way, the program focused on worldwide hunger issues to serve the greater good through intense discussions, sight-seeing, and hands-on service projects.

BELOW: Miller Place High School’s Lauren Barnes aims to create a sustainable change in MPHS by working on the “Giving Green” project with the newly donated greenhouse to provide food to the local homeless shelter, Pax Christi.

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The Miller Place School District recently opened the doors to the new library space at Andrew Muller Primary School (AMPS). The space is designed to support a love of learning, engineering and research in a modern world.

 “This new library space at AMPS will help our students stay up-to-date on skills and technology, and will also engage them in learning and exploration, making their school days more exciting,” stated Dr. Marianne Cartisano, Superintendent of Miller Place School District. “We are thrilled to be able to give our students this learning tool that will help foster their passions in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) and for many, serve as a launchpad for a future career path.”

The library houses over 11,000 books. Book bins in the library are at student height, enticing them to peruse non-fiction topics of interest alongside high quality chapter and picture books. Underneath, and on other shelves, six tablets are available for students to learn basic coding and computer graphics/painting. A Lego wall, robots and other building materials are strategically placed around the library as they spark student’s imagination and problem solving skills. Students can sit on colorful chairs, relax in soft recliners, lay on cushioned cubes or sit on reading risers. Most furniture and storage bins are on wheels, allowing for flexible spaces to work. Even the Smart Board is movable enabling demonstrations to take place anywhere in the library. During library visits, classes will split in half—one half working on literacy activities, and the other half working on Makerspace activities.

“Our staff has noticed a significant increase in students’ excitement about library time,” said Laura Gewurz, Principal of Andrew Muller Primary School.  “Students are eager to tell me about stories they’ve heard, creative stories they’ve written and projects they are or have built in the new space. The engagement and happiness evident on our students’ faces during library time is palpable.”

For more information about the Miller Place School District, please visit the District’s website atwww.millerplace.k12.ny.us.

Dozens of Miller Place High School student athletes have chosen to take a proactive approach to the issue of rising substance abuse on Long Island by becoming involved in the Athletes Helping Athletes (AHA) program. Throughout the school year, MPHS’s AHA members visit students at Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School (LADSBS) and North Country Road Middle School (NCRMS) to discuss the significance of leading a drug-free lifestyle, the advantages of being involved in extracurricular activities, and the value of working towards a leadership position in the community.

“It’s inspiring to see first-hand the impact our high school students have on children in the lower grades,” said Dr. Marianne Cartisano, Superintendent of Miller Place School District. “The high school athletes volunteer their time to provide proper guidance to our elementary and middle school students. The District is proud to offer a program that better acquaints our younger students with exemplary upperclassman and encourages them to become involved in extracurricular activities and embrace a drug-free lifestyle.”

The group of high school athletes meet with students at Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School (LADSBS) and North Country Road Middle School (NCRMS) to talk to them as friends in an unstructured, relaxed, non-threatening environment.  During visits, AHA members cover a variety of topics including self-esteem, sportsmanship, bullying, and substance abuse.  LADSBS and NCRMS students have an opportunity to ask questions in an inclusive and judgement-free zone, and hear first-hand stories about the AHA members’ encounters with friends, family or teammates who have found themselves in complex situations.

The Athletes Helping Athletes organization trains and prepares high school student athlete leaders to address complex social issues and provide alternative solutions to the peer pressure often times faced by younger members of the community.

For more information about the Miller Place School District, please visit the District’s website atwww.millerplace.k12.ny.us.

The Miller Place School District is pleased to announce the launch of the District’s official Facebook page! To keep up with the emerging technology-dependent society we live in, the social media account will be operated as an additional platform to promote District and school-specific events, activities, and accomplishments with members of the Miller Place School District community.

“As social media becomes embedded in our daily lives, the District is excited to offer our community another form of communication regarding school news and accomplishments through a Facebook page,” said Dr. Marianne Cartisano, Superintendent of Miller Place School District.

The objective of the social media account is to provide information to the Miller Place School District community. The Facebook page will disseminate information regarding District and school programs, events, and important announcements including Board of Education meetings, emergency alerts, etc. Posts will also include student achievements, academic and athletic accomplishments, and information about informative student assemblies, educational field trips and fascinating student projects.

While the page will serve as a platform for the District to broadcast information out to the community about students, staff, and the greater school community, there are specific guidelines followers must adhere to. The page will not permit outside posts. Additionally, commenting will be restricted. While the District understands that Facebook is designed to be an interactive platform, to create a page that allows commenting—and consequently the requirement that the District be able to respond in a timely fashion to comments and/or questions—would require the District to allocate both personnel and financial resources to the close monitoring of the page on a daily, almost 24/7 basis. At the current time, the District does not consider that a responsible use of District funds. For the page’s initial launch, all comments will be restricted, whether positive, negative or in question format. Community members who have questions or comments should continue to use the communication channels they have always used, including contacting a teacher or building principal, or when appropriate, District administration.

For more information about the Miller Place School District, please visit the District’s website at www.millerplace.k12.ny.us.

In the spirit of giving, Miller Place High School students recently hosted a Thanksgiving Food Drive to help alleviate hunger in the community around the holiday season. Together, students collected hundreds of food items that were assembled and distributed to families in need throughout the local area.

“We are so proud of our students for their efforts to support the local families of our community,” said Dr. Marianne Cartisano, superintendent of Miller Place Schools. “The District aims to teach values in tandem with academics. The school wide participation is a reflection on the positive character throughout our student body.”

Organized by members of the National Honor Society (NHS), students asked their peers and school staff to donate non-perishable food items, gift cards to purchase turkeys and other perishable items. In each classroom, buckets were filled to the brim with cans of vegetables, boxes of stuffing and mashed potatoes, jars of gravy and other holiday food items. To encourage participation among each grade level, the NHS hosted a competition for first period classrooms. The homeroom class that accumulated the largest amount of donations was rewarded with a bagel breakfast!

For more information about the Miller Place School District, please visit the District’s website atwww.millerplace.k12.ny.us.

Two Miller Place School District students were recently honored for outstanding Physical Education Achievement at the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NYS AHPERD) Suffolk Zone annual dinner. Miller Place High School students, Justyn Badleo and Kimberly Dallas, received awards for their stellar performances in physical education.

“I congratulate Justyn and Kimberly on their outstanding accomplishments,” said Ron Petrie, Administrator for Physical Education, Health, Athletics and Intramurals. “Earning the ZONE award is a testament to these students’ commitment and dedication to their physical education.  They represent themselves, their teachers and their community with great distinction.”

Each year, physical education teachers from each school district in Suffolk County nominate their best physical education students for this honorable distinction. The selected students not only possess stellar athletic ability but also embody the values of teamwork, leadership, and integrity. The Miller Place School District continues to provide students with opportunities to remain active while helping develop beneficial life-long skills.

For more information about the Miller Place School District, please visit the District’s website atwww.millerplace.k12.ny.us.