Andrew Muller Primary School recently engaged students in an interactive lesson on the democratic process on Election Day. As part of their educations on democracy, elections and the voting process, students filled out “voter registration cards” and ballots. Students then took their ballots to a private “voting booth” to cast their votes for “The Duck” or “Farmer Brown” based on a book the students are reading in class, “Duck for President.” Once each student had voted their teachers counted the ballots for each candidate and announced the winner. This lesson was part of the District’s mission to connect what students learn in the classroom to the outside world.

Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School recently celebrated 4^th grade student Mia Carvajal’s achievement as the winner in the Suffolk County Marathon Essay Contest. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone invited students in kindergarten—8^th grade from all schools in Suffolk County to participate in this prestigious contest. In order to participate students had to write an essay about appreciating veterans, living a healthy lifestyle or engaging in community activities. Carvajal’s essay was about ways to bring the community together by engaging in community activities.

 

Once all essays were received, student contest submissions were separated into three categories; grades K-2, grades 3-5 and grades 6-8. Only 9 students from throughout the county were selected as winners.

 

 

Students Recreate “Biomes of the World” during Miller Place High School Homecoming

 

Miller Place High School recently held its annual homecoming parade and football game to celebrate the spirit and excitement of the Miller Place community. The parade featured student-designed and decorated floats recreating different biomes from around the world. The senior class designed an ocean-themed float, the junior class designed a rainforest-themed float, the sophomore class designed an arctic-themed float and the freshman class designed a desert-themed float.

 

The senior class was named the winners of a competition between the grades for the most innovative homecoming float, best hallway decorations, displaying the most class spirit, the most fundraising and collected the most goods for a food and goods drive. As the first place recipients, the senior class received $500 in prize money from the Student Council funds. During the homecoming festivities, each class also worked to raise money for Make-A-Wish Foundation, collecting more than $3,500 by the day’s end.

 

The parade began at the Miller Place Fire Department and culminated on the football field at the Miller Place High School. The Miller Place High School cheerleaders, groups of students from each school in the District, the Miller Place High School pep band and local community members marched alongside the different floats.

 

Miller Place High School cheerleaders and the Miller Place High School Panther mascot lead the 2016 Homecoming parade. Students from each class, the Miller Place High School pep band, the Miller Place Volunteer Fire Department and members of the community also marched in this year’s parade.

The senior class rides on their ocean-themed float through the streets of Miller Place during the District’s annual homecoming parade. The senior class was named the winners of a competition between the grades for the most innovative homecoming float, best hallway decorations, displaying the most class spirit, the most fundraising and collected the most goods for a food and goods drive. As the first place recipients, the senior class received $500 in prize money from the Student Council funds.

Laddie A. Decker Elementary School 5^th grade students recently celebrated International Peace Day. Students kicked off the day by watching a screening of “The Day After Peace,” an inspirational film which follows peace-activist Jeremy Giller as he puts the concept of peace in action during an average day. Following the screening, students were led in small groups to reflect on how they personally can make peace in their lives. To raise awareness and promote international peace, during recess periods the entire 5^th grade class gathered on the playground blacktop to create a giant peace sign.

 

The Miller Place School District held this event to teach students the importance of developing a global perspective on conflict and conflict resolution as part of its dedication to providing an outstanding academic and character education for all students. Laddie A. Decker Elementary School encourages students to “think globally and act locally” on their ideas and visions, a program spearheaded by Student Assistance Counselor Phoebe Arancio.

 

Students at  Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School form a peace sign and take a picture on the playground blacktop. They were celebrating the International Day of Peace to raise awareness and reflect on how they can create peace in their own lives.

Miller Place High School was recently recognized by New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHAA) as a Scholar Athlete School for each of its varsity teams earning a grade point average of a 90 percent or higher during the 2015-2016 school year. With a total of 794 members of NYSPHAA, Miller Place was one of only thirty-two school districts to be distinguished for excellent grades.

“This award is a true testament to the diligence and dedication of each of our student athletes and coaches of Miller Place,” said Dr. Marianne F. Cartisano, Superintendent of Miller Place School District. “Our high school students should be proud of the great decisions they are making to become successful students on and off the field and future well-rounded adults upon graduation.”

At the end of each sports season, NYSPHAA seeks to distinguish scholar athlete teams whose players excel both on the field and in the classroom. In order to be considered for the award, varsity team players must receive a 90 percent from 75 percent of its players or more.

Seven of Miller Place High School’s varsity teams were awarded, including the boy’s baseball, boy’s lacrosse, boy’s tennis, girls’ softball and both the boy’s and girl’s track and field teams. The girl’s lacrosse team held a grade point average of 97.09 percent, the highest of Miller Place’s honored sports teams.

The Miller Place School District recently announced its students returned  to school with all of the programs implemented last year and a few more. The District’s careful budgeting procedures will provide students with the opportunity to continue to participate in the many science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), arts, athletic and other academic opportunities they have in years past. After a summer of “Mad Science,” “Fine Arts,” athletic camps, and Drivers Ed, the District is excited to see what their new and returning students will accomplish.

“We are very excited to be returning to school after implementing enrichment camps over the summer for the first time in our District’s history,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marianne Cartisano. “We believe our students will be able to apply that knowledge to the classroom and expand upon those experiences throughout this year to become well-rounded critical thinkers and to reach their full potential.”

This year, the District will continue to implement the “Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Read 180,” a reading comprehension program across the elementary, middle and high school levels. The “Read 180” model supports reading, writing, speaking and critical thinking skills, incorporating whole group instruction, guided reading, and independent reading opportunities.

In addition to Read 180, the District has adopted Math 180, a math intervention model for students at the North Country Road Middle School.  Math 180 follows similar instructional strategies as the Read 180 model.

The District will continue to enrich and encourage students as they embark on the new school year and hopes to repeat some of the achievements of last year. Miller Place High School was named a scholar athlete high school, meaning that each varsity athletic team maintained a grade point average above 93%. In addition, the Miller Place High School music department was recognized last year as a GRAMMY Foundation Semi-Finalist for its outstanding commitment to music education during an academic school year. As a semifinalist, the school was one of 119 schools nationwide in the running to receive a grant to support the music program.

For more information about academic programs available at the Miller Place School District and a calendar of events, please visit www.millerplace.k12.ny.us/.