Author: MillerPlace

Miller Place High School recently announced the Salutatorian for the 2016-2017 academic year. David Argento achieved the second-highest Grade Point Average (GPA) of the 2017 graduating class with a weighted average of 99.1. Argento a National Honor Society parliamentarian, an All-League varsity tennis player, an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, a member of the Mathletes club and a musician in a jazz combo musical group. Argento plans to attend Providence College after graduation to study finance.

The Miller Place School District recently celebrated Read Across America Day with a Districtwide event to help students share their love of reading. Students at Miller Place High School used Skype, an online video communications service, to read age-appropriate books to elementary school students at the Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School. After reading the books, the high school students asked their elementary school audience what they thought about the stories. Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School students then asked the high school students about the books they used to read when they were younger and what kinds of books they enjoy reading now.

 

This program was part of an ongoing Miller Place School District initiative intended to help students connect with their peers and develop high-level literacy skills from an early age.

The Miller Place School District’s Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School’s fifth grade band recently performed during a Long Island Ducks game at Ducks Stadium. The students performed a seven minute set, which included songs they have learned throughout the year.

 

This is the third year in a row that the fifth grade band has opened for the Long Island Ducks, a baseball team in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The band’s participation in this program is part of a Miller Place School District initiative to provide diverse platforms for students to showcase their artistic and musical talents.

 

More than 120 Miller Place School District students and parents at Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School recently volunteered to beautify their school during the school’s annual Clean-Up Day, a district initiative to involve students in their environment. Parents and Service Club students came together to weed, plant new spring plants and mulch the grounds. The volunteers were broken up into teams and given a designated zone to beautify. During the day students learned value of teamwork and service, while also transforming their school into a nicer place to connect and learn.

The Miller Place School District’s Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School recently welcomed ‘The Energized Guyz’ from The National Theatre for Children to perform for students. More than 400 students learned about energy conservation during a fun, interactive comedy featuring junior superhero Nikki Neutron as she thwarts ‘Sneaker’ the energy-wasting, crafty villain. The program detailed how electricity is created from coal, wind, water and the sun. In addition, as part of the District’s ongoing initiative to promote energy conservation and green systems, students also explored the environmental impacts of coal consumption. Town of Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner also attended the performance in support of PSEG.

 

Prior to and following the presentation students continued to participate in a series of interactive, digital games and activities focusing on energy conservation within their classrooms based on suggested educational websites from the event sponsors; PSEG Long Island.

 

More than 500 Miller Place School District kindergarten through second grade students at Andrew Muller Primary School recently came together for a lively interactive puppet show hosted by Theatreworks’ Jim West. Acting as Greek storyteller Aesop, West and his dog Moral acted out Aesop’s Fables with large-scale colorful puppets. Some of the Fables West performed include ‘The Lion and the Mouse,’ ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ and ‘The Fox and the Grapes.’ Students also listened to classical music from Scarlatti, Beethoven and Chopin during the show to engage their auditory learning.

 

During the performance students were challenged to think of the message in each story. This program was part of a Miller Place School District initiative to engage students’ critical thinking through innovative programs.

 

In recognition of its outstanding commitment to music education, the Miller Place School District was recently honored by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation with the NAMM 2017 Best Communities for Music Education award. Only four percent of school districts nationwide received the prestigious award in 2017. The honor comes as a result of the outstanding efforts of Miller Place teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders to ensure access to music learning for all students as part of the school curriculum.

 

“As part of our dedication to educating the whole child, the Miller Place School District provides every student with a robust fine arts curriculum, including music, art and drama,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marianne Cartisano. “We are honored to receive this designation from the NAMM foundation. It is a well-deserved tribute to the dedication, diligence, passion and excellence of our students, our music department and our community.”

 

In addition to providing daily music education on the elementary, middle and high school level, the District’s music department provides frequent opportunities for students to perform as well as innovative lessons that go beyond the classroom. Students perform in concerts, plays and recitals for classmates throughout the year.

 

The Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. To qualify for the distinction, the Miller Place School District answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

 

“Music education is vital to our students’ growth into well-rounded individuals, scholars and good citizens,” said Miller Place High School Instrumental Band Director Patricia Isenberg. “A strong musical background supports students’ creative problem solving abilities and teamwork while providing the skills necessary to excel both inside and outside the classroom.”

 

The NAMM Foundation is a non-profit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 9,000 members around the world. The NAMM Foundation works to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs.

 

 

Miller Place High School student Amanda Stead recently competed in the New York State Championship Track and Field Meet held at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, N.Y. Amanda placed 4th in the 300 meter dash among all public schools and placed 5th in the federation division, which includes all public, private and parochial schools in New York State. The Miller Place School District provides a robust athletics curriculum for student-athletes, and a comprehensive education on the importance of maintaining a healthy mind and body.

Miller Place School District students at North Country Road Middle School recently competed at the Team Packard Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Challenge at Northport High School as part of a Miller Place School District program to help students develop a love of STEM subjects. The students participated in 4 different STEM challenge activities. The activities included: ‘Unlock the Box,’ which challenged the team’s problem solving skills as well as their understanding of math concepts; ‘Say Geronimo!,’ an engineering task where students designed, constructed and tested a parachute using only the materials provided; ‘Float your Boat,’ which required team members to demonstrate their mastery of the relationship between an object’s mass and volume (density); and ‘Lights, Mirrors Action!,’ which challenged the team’s ability to direct a laser beam through a series of mind challenging logic puzzles.

 

During the event students raised money for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) research. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Through their efforts and participation the students helped the event raise more than 21,000 dollars for The Robert Packard Center at Johns Hopkins, a non-profit organization that raises money and awareness for ALS.

Hundreds of students from Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School in the Miller Place School District recently celebrated the school’s annual Give Back Day, during which they hosted local heroes and thanked them for their service.

 

More than 50 local police officers, firefighters, veterans and soldiers were in attendance and spoke with students about their careers and heroic experiences. Students in each class presented the visitors with signed posters, hand-drawn Thank You cards, letters, drawings and crafts to show their appreciation. They also performed musical pieces to serenade the visitors.

 

The event was organized by students in the school’s Service Club under the direction of Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School teacher Ms. McCann, and is one of many Miller Place School District initiatives to help students connect with the community in positive, constructive ways.