Student Orators
This was a great week to see our students and teachers in action!
On Dec. 5, I attended a “speech off” where a group of juniors gave speeches based on their study of historical documents and rhetorical strategies learned in their Social Studies and English classes.
Congratulations to Shawn Chubalashivili, Melissa Farhangian, Allie Giordano, Shannon McLean, Limor Tabib, John Theotokas and Devin Waxman who were chosen by their peers to participate in the “speech off” finals.
This event was the culmination of an interdisciplinary project developed by Wheatley teachers Natalia McMillan, Jennifer Fatone, Gena Topping and Mike Haig in Regents-level English and Social Studies classes.
Students studied the U.S. Constitution, analyzed the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers and developed speeches in support of or in opposition to the Federalist position.
Students delivered their speeches during their English classes and then selected the students with the most effective and convincing arguments to compete in the “speech off.”
I was so impressed listening to the finalists’ speeches.
As the social studies teachers noted, it was so exciting to see the students applying their deep understanding and knowledge gained in social studies to their writing and speaking project in English.
The students’ use of historical evidence in crafting their arguments was extensive and impressive.
The finalists’ speeches were evaluated for presentation (Was the speaker clear and engaging? Consider eye contact, tone of voice, volume, emphasis on important ideas.), argument (Were you convinced? Was the opinion/argument clear, logical and convincing?), counter-argument (Did he/she include counterargument? Stating the opposing point of view and providing a preemptive rebuttal.) and rhetorical technique (Were you interested? Did he/she use rhetorical strategies? Pathos, ethos, logos, metaphor, anaphora, alliteration, etc.).
Congratulations to the final winner, Shawn Chubalashivili who was voted Friday’s orator champion and first runner-up Allie Giordano.
This project is an excellent example of the collaboration between departments that helps students connect their learning.
Mock Trial Tournament/Impressive!
On Dec. 4, Wheatley hosted its 32nd Annual SWS Mock Trial Tournament.
Teams from Syosset, Glen Cove, Roslyn, Great Neck North, Kellenberg, Manhasset and North Shore joined three Wheatley teams in the courtroom competition.
What an exciting day this is…I am always amazed to see our Wheatley students “transformed” into dark-suited legal professionals and our classrooms changed into courtrooms.
A first semester course, Mock Trial, is given by Wheatley’s School Within A School program and taught by Wheatley social studies teacher Pat Clarke.
It prepares students for this tournament. Members of the SWS team that competed this week included Kayla Bellan, Kelsey Beresheim, Briana Clarfield, Ethan Cohen, Jonathan Goodman, Taylor Keenan, Leah Kopelman, Amanda Liparato, Jessie LoBocchiaro, Mike McCleary, Eden Singer and Avery Tanenhaus.
Bob Bernstein, a retired Wheatley teacher, who started this Mock Trial Tournament so many years ago and Dr. John Staudt, Wheatley social studies teacher, are the co-advisors of Wheatley’s Mock Trial Club.
Competing members of the two Mock Trial Club teams are Ron Aldad, Sam Avila, Michaela Balboni, Joy Bestourous, Ellie Chen, Jacob Chimerine, Caroline Crimmins, Chintan Datt, Jakob Gilbert, Lianna Golden, Andrew Hirsch, Bruce Kardach, Brett Katz, Abhishek Kumar, Vani Kumar, Michael Laginestra, Christina Mille, Aliza Moezinia, Julian Nathan, Justin Parker, Jeffrey Poomkudy, David Rosenzweig, Brooke Schwartz, Courtney Schwartz, Caleb Varghese, Thomas Vella, Emily Wang, Harris Wekselblatt and Kenton Wu.
Preparing for mock trial competitions takes countless hours of work and preparation on both the students’ and teachers’ parts.
Students are presented with fact patterns and then develop either a prosecutorial or defense case, including witnesses.
Students must fully understand, prepare and anticipate all possible arguments regardless of which side the team represents in the competition, in order to be most competitive. The Mock Trial program is an excellent opportunity for students to build public speaking skills, develop analytical and quick thinking skills, as well as gain deep experience in using evidence to craft arguments.
Mock Trial is performance based and students not only gain experience in drafting their written argument, but learn to pay added attention to the role of rhetoric when developing themes.
A special thank you to Wheatley Social Studies and SWS teacher Mr. Clarke for coordinating this event.
Thank you to Mr. Bernstein and Dr. Staudt for their support, as well. Also, thank you to Ellen Kotin and Robert Vella, our community members, who volunteered their time to become our courtroom judges.
Next Generation Science Standards Presented at December Work Session
What an informative and exciting presentation this was.
Special thanks to David Casamento, director of Science and Technology, North Side Teachers John Coyne, Kelly Powers, Mike Mazur and Christine Truskiewicz and to our wonderful second grade students Jana Fishman, Angela Krimitsos and Adrian Petrizzo who shared how these science standards are coming to life in their classrooms.
As was presented on December 3, 2014, the Next Generation Science Standards hold a vision for science education in which students, over multiple years of school, actively engage in science and engineering practices and apply crosscutting concepts to deepen their understanding of the core ideas in these fields.
The three dimensions of the NGSS are the practices, the disciplinary core ideas and the crosscutting concepts.
The practices involve: asking questions and defining problems; developing and using models; planning and carrying out investigations; analyzing and interpreting data; using math and computational thinking; constructing explanations and designing solutions; engaging in argument from evidence; obtaining, evaluating and communicating information.
The crosscutting concepts (those that cut across all the science disciplines) are patterns, cause and effect, scale, proportion, quantity and systems and models.
The disciplinary core ideas are physical science, life science, earth and space, energy and matter, structure and function and stability and change.
As Mr. Casamento explained, “The new science standards represent a shift in our thinking from what do we want students to know and what do they need to do to know it to what do we want students to do and what do they need to know to do it.”
Our presenters certainly provided us with some real life East Williston examples of active science learning.
They shared experiences from their Forces and Interactions and Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems Units. For the power point presentation and more information on this topic go to the district website at www.ewsdonline.org > click on School Board > hover on BOE Meeting Presentations > click on 14-15 BOE Presentations > go to December 3 Work Session.
More New Curriculum Frameworks
Also at Wednesday’s Work Session, Dr. Danielle Gately, director of Secondary Curriculum Services and Social Studies, presented the new social studies standards that were adopted for New York State just last month.
The social studies department, along with social studies departments across the state, will now begin the process of seeing how these new standards will translate into classroom practice and begin the practice of alignment, as necessary. In next week’s newsletter I will share a brief overview of the standards as they were presented on Wednesday, and a link to Dr. Gately’s power point presentation.
Science Olympiad Takes Over Wheatley
If you were to walk the halls near Wheatley’s science department on Nov. 25, you would have heard the exciting buzz of Wheatley’s Annual Science Olympiad Night! It was a successful night of friendly scientific competition. Nearly 100 students gathered to participate in events such as anatomy and physiology (students show off their knowledge of various human body systems), chemistry lab, forensics (a “who done it” style lab), Experimental Design (this year students used everyday household objects to design a lab based on projectile motion) and Write-it Do-It (a fan favorite where one partner writes a blueprint on how to build a pre-built abstract model and the other partner must use these directions to construct the model with the raw materials).
This event helps foster the Science Olympiad program but also encourages students to participate in a competitive but fun atmosphere with their friends!
Thank you to science research teacher Mary Alexis Blondrage for her coordination of this event.
Congratulations to the following teams who placed in our Science Olympiad:
For chemistry lab:
In 3rd place Andrew Zuckerman and Jake Williams
In 2nd place Samantha Lessen and Courtney Schwartz
In 1st place Krista Chen and Jordan Shaked
For Anatomy and Physiology:
In 3rd place Shalini Bansal and Gabbie Leccese
In 2nd place Jessie Cao and Cindy Zhou
In 1st place Jeff Poomkudy and Ashwin Reddy
For Forensics:
In 3rd place Sarah Barbey and Tori Ormonde
In 2nd place Margaret Giacinto
In 1st place Brian Gong and Ethan Cohen
For Experimental Design:
In 3rd place David Fisher and Ethan Cohen
In 2nd place Seungmin Yi and Hebah Hassan
In 1st place Arihant Jain and Chris Shen
For Write it Do it:
In 3rd place Crystal and Kayla Barroca
In 2nd place Krista Chen and Joy Bestourous
In 1st place Chris Shen and Mohammad Khanzada
2,579 Cans on the Wall
The Willets Road Student Government organized and collected 2,579 cans and non-perishable food items for the hungry on Long Island.
The food was given to rock CAN roll, a volunteer, non-profit hunger relief organization who distributed the healthy non-perishable food to local agencies and into the hands of children, seniors and families who live with hunger and in poverty.
Wheatley Guidance News
Wheatley Guidance Facebook Page
Wheatley’s Guidance Department is excited to share with the community our facebook page. You will find frequent updates with timely articles, important information and helpful events in and around the community. If you have any topics you would like us to highlight, please reach out to Greg Wasserman, director of guidance, at wassermang@ewsdonline.org.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wheatley-Guidance/870903156267993
Congratulations and Commendations
Soccer Players Honored at Section VIII Dinner*
Wheatley junior forward Pedro Lamarre was honored this week at the Nassau County Section VIII Boys Soccer Dinner.
The Wildcat forward found out that he was named an All New York State player. This is a big accomplishment considering Pedro missed the playoffs due to an injury late in the season.
Coach Steve Cadet informed me that our soccer program has had other players honored with this award over the years, “but it has been more than 10 years since we had a junior receive this accolade.” Congratulations Pedro!
Wheatley senior midfielder Brandon Cervone received the Mike Dillon Memorial Scholarship at the Nassau County Section VIII Boys Soccer Dinner.
To apply for this scholarship, soccer players are required to write an essay. Brandon, a standout player on Wheatley’s Nassau County Championship soccer team, wrote about how his inspiration to play and excel in soccer has come from his brother, who has been diagnosed with a level of autism that requires 24/7 care.
Brandon recognizes that his ability to play soccer is a gift, and he feels that his play on the soccer field should always be a testimony to his brother, Phillip, and his mother — who has always been there to care for both of them. After the emcee read Brandon’s essay at the dinner, he walked up to receive his award to a standing ovation.
Wheatley senior sweeper Brendan Doherty was also honored at the soccer dinner for his outstanding play in the post season and received the award for Playoff Most Valuable Player.
Congratulations Pedro, Brandon and Brendan!
*Other soccer and athletic awards were listed in my Nov. 21 newsletter.
Speaking of my last newsletter … a correction … Wheatley tennis players Brittany Groveman and Jillian Gothelf both received All-Conference awards for their season.
Science Student Research To Be Published
Congratulations to Wheatley senior Alex Boubour who was recently notified that a paper she co-authored will be published in the February 2015 volume of The North American Skull Base Society
From June to August 2014, Alex interned at the New York Head and Neck Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan under the mentorship of both the senior otolaryngology surgeon Dr. Peter D. Costantino and their head of research Dr. Tristan Tham.
Alex spent much time in the operating room, observing cases as part of her research and ultimately co-authored three papers.
Following a research trip to Maryland Alex helped author a paper that presented the success of a novel hemostatic agent successful in neurosurgeries on pig sterna following cardiothoracic surgery.
She also authored a paper regarding the novel use of a Crawford stent in parotid duct injuries. These papers are currently pending peer-reviewed publications.
Alex’s final co-authored paper, which will appear in The North American Skull Base Society is titled Probable Immunoglobulin Subtype – G4 Related Disease in the Head and Neck from Foreign Body Injection: A Case Report.
This study strengthens the ways in which Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease may be diagnosed based upon the symptoms with which the patient presents. As Alex enters college in the fall of 2015, she plans to continue her studies in biology and biomedical engineering research.
Congratulations, Alex!
Have a Good Weekend
As always, please email me at kanase@ewsdonline.org or call me at 333-3758 with any questions, suggestions and/or any topics you would like to see in this newsletter.
