Willets Road Participates in the TNH Anti-Bullying Walk

On Saturday, April 6th, over fifty students from Willets Road and Wheatley participated in the 1st Annual Town of North Hempstead Anti-Bullying Walk.  The event was held at the town beach in Port Washington.  The students listened to event organizers, local politicians, musical performances, and keynote speaker John Halligan to further solidify the need to stop bullying both in our schools and our communities.  I would like to thank our event organizers, Mrs. Harrison, Mr. Stander, and student Michael Baltzer for their leadership.

 

 

 

Nassau County Police Department Cyberbullying Workshop at Willets Road

On Thursday, February 7th, Officer Sharon Glavin from the Nassau County Police Department's Community Affairs Division presented a cyberbullying workshop to our 5th grade class. The primary focus of the workshop was to teach our students how to make good decisions while communicating on-line.  She stressed the importance of keeping your personal information, picture, and location private.  Officer Glavin also spoke of recent instances of cyberbullying that were reported to the NCPD Crimes Division and how they were tract and resolved. She reinforced the concept of being a cyberbullying "up-stander" rather than a "by-stander."  The up-stander speaks out against cyberbullying and reports the bullying to an adult (parent, teacher, counselor, etc.) who can help.  The students were taught the following acronym to help combat cyberbullying: S.B.T. - Stop It! Block It! Tell!

Random Farms Kid's Theater Presents: "The New Kid" at Willets Road

Westchester based theater company, Random Farms, visited Willets Road on Thursday, February 7^th, and presented their musical production "The New Kid” to our 6th and 7th grade classes. The production was a 55-minute musical staring middle school kids that dealt with themes of bullying, peer pressure, and learning to be true to one's self.  The cast was amazing and our students really enjoyed the production and understood the message.  At the conclusion of the performance the cast took questions from the floor.  Many of the questions our students asked were reflective of the themes and issues that were brought to light in the play.

Willets Road Visits the Ronald McDonald House

 The Willets Road School is proud to announce a newly formed partnership with the Ronald McDonald House in Lake Success.  The students of Willets Road will be involved in community service projects, fund raising, and volunteering opportunities to support the RMH.  For the past two weeks, representatives from the house have visited Willets Road to teach our 6th grade class about the RMH and how they can get involved and provide support.  This week, our entire 6th grade class visited the house to get a first hand look at how their community service work will be put into action.  Our students dropped off donated food and homemade baked goods (baked by Ms. Duffy's Family and Consumer Science classes), and plenty of smiles during their visit.  We look forward to the many great activities and events that our Willets Road students will develop to help support this amazing organization.  A very special thanks to Ms. Duffy and the 6th grade teachers, Ms. Brew, Mrs. Kandel, Mrs. Linick, Mr. Roaldsen, Mrs. Viola, and Mrs. Sepe for all of their leadership and support.

Willets Road Wins First Place in Town of North Hempstead Recycled Materials Art Contest

On Monday, January 7th, Mr. King and his sculpture class students attended a gallery exhibition and awards ceremony sponsored by the Town of North Hempstead Recycling Program.  Mr. King's students were awarded First Place in the middle school division recycled materials art contest.  Their project, Peace, Love, Recycling was comprised of a colorful mosaic of recycled bottle caps mounted on a large, painted, peace sign. Congratulation students! Thanks Mr. King!

Willets Road Celebrates Anti-Bullying Month

Willets Road Anti-Bullying Pledge

Be an Upstander!

In recognition of National Anti-Bullying month, all the students at the Willets Road School are attending a workshop presented by our guidance counselors Mr. Stander and Mrs. Stein.  The workshop offers students strategies to combat bullying in school, in our community, and in cyber-space.  The central theme of the workshop is to Be an Upstander not a bystander.  Students learned that they need to develop the courage to report bullying to a trusted adult at school and to their parents at home.  Additionally, bullying may be reported anonymously via a link on our school's website or by written form in the drop box located in the guidance wing.  I'd like to offer a special thank you to our counseling staff for their dedication to this terrific program and to Mrs. Hardy for creating the fantastic pledge banner that our students are signing.  When you visit Willets, please stop by our guidance wing to take look.

 

6th Grade Student Government Election Assembly

 

 

During the second half of lunch today, our 6th grade students had the opportunity to hear the platform speeches of our four outstanding candidates for the position of 6th grade Vice President. Each candidate delivered a superb speech. The candidates were poised, confident, and well versed on the issues that affect 6th grade students. Additionally, all the candidates spoke of the charitable efforts they would like our school to participate in. After the speeches, I offered my praise and best wishes to the candidates. I expressed, regardless of the election outcome, they are all leaders within our school and their future commitment and leadership is invaluable.

 



 

Welcome Back to My Blog!

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents,                                                                                October 2012

It’s hard to believe that it’s mid-October already. For me, it seems that time moves faster each year as both my children grow and I get older. This year my older daughter started high school and my younger daughter is completing her last year of middle school. For my wife and me, it’s as if we blinked our eyes and magically two young women live with us. Incredible!

As parents, it’s critical that we always view our children’s educational experience through multiple lenses. First, we need to ensure that our kids are going to school feeling safe, respected, and cared for. Second, we need to know that our children are surrounded by a faculty and staff that will do whatever is necessary to help them learn and grow as young adolescents. Third, we want to see that our children are being challenged each day, pushed to think critically, expanding their knowledge, and seeing things from different perspectives and points of view. Finally, we want our children to smile, laugh, learn and feel that school is a very special place to be.

This year, as we meet the challenges of State and Federal initiatives and mandates, I assure you that your children (and mine) are in good hands. They are indeed surrounded by teachers who will inspire them and bring them to new levels of success and achievement. Within the new Common Core State Standards, our commitment to your children remains steadfast. We will continue to make learning creative, challenging, engaging, and fun by creating interdisciplinary learning experiences, reading higher-level texts, developing highly skilled writers, and designing assessments that are interesting and authentic.

As educators we will focus on bringing state-of-the-art technology to our classrooms. We will create challenging units of study that inspire our students to model the behavior of scientists, mathematicians, writers, poets, artists, and musicians. We will inspire our students to become creative problem solvers and global thinkers. We will foster an environment of kindness, care, respect, and honor for all.

As much as I want time to slow down, I have a sneaky feeling this year is going to be a quick one too! I want to thank you for your continued support of our school and its mission. Together, we will make a difference in the lives of our children and each other.

Best wishes,

Stephen Kimmel

Principal

Tourette Syndrome Association Visits Willets Road

 

On Wednesday, October 10th, representatives of the Tourette Syndrome Association (insert names) along with members of the TSA Youth Ambassador Program presented What is Tourette Syndrome to our 5th and 6th grade students and staff.  Youth Ambassadors, Jared and Tyler Bloch taught our students about this prevalent medical condition that affects many children and adults.  The program included a presentation of the facts, symptoms, and myths about TS.  Jared and Tyler also led the students through an activity that simulated what its like to live with TS.  One of our courageous Willets Road students also presented and answered questions about his experience with TS.  I am so proud of our students for their sense of interest in understanding TS and the compassion they expressed in helping people with this condition.

Willets Road Spark Leadership Team

The SPARK Leadership visited the Avalon assisted living facility in Westbury on June 6.  Our students sung songs, played music, did a craft project with the residents, and served delicious treats.  What a wonderful way for our students to develop their leadership skills, build self-confidence, and give back to our community.  We are so very proud of them!  Special thanks to Mr. Stander and Dr. Ozimkowski who advise the team.

Willets Road SPARK Leadership Team in Action!

This month the Spark Leadership Team’s 40 members (6^th & 7^th grade) are learning about the leadership quality of “Confidence”…and they are building their confidence by heading over to the North Side School to work with the Kindergarten students on a Social Emotional Learning Project.  Team members will be in the Kindergarten classes throughout the month of March and April to read and discuss various social & emotional topics that Kindergarten students often face.  The team is energized to make a difference!    

Nassau County Veterans of Foreign Wars Visit Willets Road

On Friday, January 20th members of the Nassau County Council of Veterans of Foreign Wars visited Willets Road to present 6th grade student Megan Kirschner with a certificate and award for her participation in the 2011 Veterans Day ceremony.  Megan memorized and read a poem paying tribute to our veterans.  The members of the chapter under the leadership of Commander Charles Boyd, visited Mr. Roaldsen's social studies class to present the award.  Mr. Kimmel shared with the students the mission of the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization and discussed the importance of recognizing the commitment and sacrifice that the men and woman of our Armed Forces make to protect our freedom and way of life as Americans.

It was an honor and privilege to have theses American Heroes visit our school.  Way to go Meagan!!!

Klezmer All Stars Visit Willets Road

The Willets Road School PTO Cultural Arts Program was proud to host renown klezmer music artist Frank London and his band the Klezmer All Stars on Friday, January 6th. Frank London and his band played a wonderful concert for our entire school community.  The performance also featured a lesson on how klezmer music is played on the typical musical instruments associated with this music genre.  We thank the director of our district cultural arts program Mr. Mark Meyers for bringing this amazing performance to our school.

Willets Road Blue Ribbon Celebration - November 22, 2011

Mr. Kimmel's Speech - Willets Road Blue Ribbon Celebration

November 22, 2011

Good morning.  Welcome to the Willets Road Blue Ribbon School Celebration.  Before we begin this morning’s program I would like to formally welcome our Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lorna Lewis, our Board of Education president, Mr. Mark Kamberg, vice president Mr. Bob Frier, and our Board trustees                Mr. Robert Fallarino, Mr. David Keefe, and Mrs. Barbara Sloane.  In attendance this morning we have a very special guest, New York State Department of Education Regent, Mr. Roger Tilles. On behalf of our District, I would like to thank you for finding time in your very busy schedule to join us this morning.  Also in attendance, we have Sandy Portnoy from Assembly woman Michelle Shimmel’s office, and State Senator Jack Martins.  Lastly I would like to welcome the administrative team of the East Williston School District and members of the Willets Road PTO Executive Board including co-presidents Gabrielle Karikas and Nancy Williams. 

At this time I ask you all to rise and turn your attention to our wind ensemble under the direction of Mr. Scott Hoefling and members of our chorus under the direction of Mrs. Karen Brandine for a performance of our National Anthem.

Last Monday and Tuesday, I had the privilege of attending the National Blue Ribbon Awards Ceremony in Washington D.C. with faculty representative Mr. Joseph Coladonato. Throughout this incredible event, I was at often times reflecting on the answers to the big questions that I believe all of the recipients were asking themselves.  First: What does the Blue Ribbon mean?  For the Willets Road School it means that we have been recognized as one of the very best schools in our nation.  There are 95,000 public schools in the United States and we were selected as one of 250 schools to receive the 2011 Blue Ribbon.  Since the Blue Ribbon Schools program was established in 1981, only 7000 schools have received this honored distinction out of 135,000 public and private schools.

The second question we asked ourselves was: “What have we accomplished to deserve this honor” Our school was recognized by the United States Department of Education as a school that maintains a very high level of academic and developmental achievement for every one of its students.  Over the past five years with the support of our Superintendent, Board of Education, PTO, and our incredible faculty and staff, we have implemented systemic changes to our instructional

programs that have truly made a remarkable difference in the learning outcomes of our students. The major changes include our shift to a 9 period day instructional day, self-selected acceleration in 7th grade mathematics, academic teaming, modified block scheduling, academic support workshops in ELA and Math, enrichment courses in the arts, humanities, and sciences, and expanded course opportunities for all students.  Additionally we have broadened our co-curricular club program to capture the interests and imagination of our students, and created SPARK as a means to foster our continued commitment the social/emotional welfare of our students and ourselves.

The final question we asked ourselves was “So now that you have achieved the distinction of being a Blue Ribbon school, where do you go from here?” The answer is quite simple.  The Blue Ribbon provides us with a sense of validation that we are among the very best and as such we have an obligation to our students and community to remain one of the top schools in our great nation.  We must continue in our pursuit of excellence by continuously challenging our students and ourselves.  We must continue to provide our students with a program that provides them with an academically rich environment that allows them to explore their interests and passions.  And we must continue to provide our staff with the support, resources, and encouragement that is so needed during these challenging times.

Lastly, as I sat among educators representing all 50 states at last week’s Blue Ribbon ceremony in Washington, I couldn’t help but think how fortunate we are to live in the greatest nation on earth.  I realized that the single most important element that binds us together as Americans is our system of education.  The goals are the same.  Prepare our students to be academically strong, independent, socially competent adults who are prepared to succeed in college, enter the workforce, contribute to our culture and society, and to cherish the freedom that we all have as Americans.

Before I close, I have a few more people to thank.  First, the world class faculty and staff of Willets Road. Please stand so that we may show our appreciation and gratitude.   Please know that you are among the very best in our nation.  Your tireless effort and commitment to the students of our community is extraordinary.  Next, on behalf of the Willets Road staff, I would like to thank the parents of our students and the Willets Road PTO for their endless support, kindness, and encouragement.  Lastly, we have 400 students thank. To all of us, you also represent the thousands of Blue Ribbon students who have made the

Willets Road School such a joyous place to learn, work, and grow.

Thank you!

At this time I would like to invite our Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Lorna Lewis to officially receive the United States Department of Education Blue Ribbon Plaque awarded to the Willets Road School.

Anti Bullying Pledge Signed by All Students and Staff

As part of our Anti-Bullying month activities, every student and adult signed our anti-bullying pledge.  Each person who signed the pledge received a stop bullying bracelet.  Our message is clear, we all must work together to combat bullying, and to ensure that every student feels physically and emotionally safe while at school and at home.

Oliver Visits The Willets Road School During Anti-Bullying Month

As part of our development guidance program and anti-bullying program efforts, Mrs. Mary Harrison, Director of Guidance for the East Williston School District presented a workshop to our 5th grade students entitled Oliver.  The workshop is designed around a fictional student named Oliver (you can see him taped to the board in the picture above) who is the victim of incessant teasing and bullying.  Through a series of guided discussion questions, real-life scenarios, and student experiences, students learn how to recognize signs of bullying and develop personal strategies to combat this issue.  The primary strategies that the students learned was how to be an empowered bystander.  Simply put "If you see something....don't be afraid to say something."  More often than not, if a student who is bullying or teasing another student is challenged in a polite and meaningful way by a fellow student to stop the untoward behavior, the bully will comply.  Mrs. Harrison also encouraged our students to seek the help of their teachers, counselors, and parents if they feel they need help in dealing with this type of inappropriate behavior.

Thank you Mrs. Harrison!!!

Ryan's Story Comes to Willets Road

The Willets Road School was very fortunate have hosted renown speaker Mr. John Halligan.  Mr. Halligan presented Ryan's Story. The tragic story of his son who committed suicide due to depression caused by bullying.  Mr. Halligan's message to our students and staff focused on how we can prevent tragedies like this from happening in our community.  Throughout Mr. Halligan's presentation he stressed the importance of letting someone you trust help you in the event you are feeling lonely, isolated, and depressed.  He also urged our students to not be a bystander to bullying, but to speak up through whatever means possible to help someone who they feel are being victimized by a bully.  At the conclusion of Mr. Halligan's presentations to our 6th and 7th grade classes, he fielded questions from our students and encouraged them to reach out and apologize to someone who they may have bullied in the past.  Mr. Halligan also spoke at special parent workshop on Tuesday evening offering parents strategies on how to assist their children when they feel they are depressed and at risk for dangerous behaviors.

Willets Road Detectives in Training

Willets Road meets C.S.I.! 

Under the direction of 7th science teacher Mr. Gottlieb, the Forensic Science program has begun their fingerprinting unit.  Students are learning the different classifications of fingerprints, how to take a full set of prints, and how to analyze them.  On a recent class visit students were learning how to take a full set of their own fingerprints.  Once the prints were taken, the students determined whether the individual prints fell into one of the three types of print catagories: arch, loop, or whirl.  Next, the students will be learning how to lift fingerprints off of stationary objects.

The Willets Road School is Designated a 2011 United States Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence

It is with great pride that I announce that the Willets Road School has been officially designated a United States Department of Education 2011 Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. The U.S.D.E. has named 284 schools, 255 public and 29 private nationwide, as Blue Ribbon recipients. We are one of 19 schools in the state of New York to receive this honor. This coveted award is truly one of the top honors a public school can be granted. 

Throughout the years our school has provided its students with a truly exceptional educational experience.   This award serves as a tribute to the staff members, students, and families both past and present that have worked tirelessly to maintain the standard of excellence that is the Willets Road School.  

Over the next several weeks we will spread the word of our accomplishment.  On November 14th and 15th I will be attending the National Blue Ribbon Awards Ceremony in Washington D.C. to receive our official Blue Ribbon award.  Following my return from Washington, we will have a school-wide celebration in the spirit of academic excellence and SPARK to recognize this tremendous achievement that we have earned.

On behalf of the Willets Road faculty and staff we thank you and your children for making the WIllets Road School such a wonderful place to teach and learn.

Remembering the Events of September 11, 2001

On Friday, September 9th the students, faculty, and staff joined together to reflect upon the tragedy that struck our country on September 11, 2001.  Students and staff were encouraged to wear red, white, and blue clothing to school to pay tribute to our nation.  Additionally, many of our teachers were engaged in class discussions regarding the recognition of the heroes that are present in our everyday lives.  To further bring our school community together I read the following statement over the public address system followed by a moment of silence:

This Sunday, September 11, 2011 marks the tenth anniversary of one of the greatest tragedies in the history of our nation.  In the days and weeks that followed the horror that we all witnessed, our country rallied together in support of the heroes of that fateful day.  Many of them lost their lives, and many survived to tell their story.

In recognition of the solemnity of this date, we wish to offer our thoughts and prayers to the fallen and their families. We also must take time today and every day to recognize those who serve our nation protecting our liberty and freedom whether in Iraq and Afghanistan, our homeland, or anywhere in the world. 

Please join me in a moment of silence to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us.  Also, for those who have lost loved ones under any circumstance please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Please join me for a moment of silence.…..

Thank you.  May we all have a peaceful day.