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.