After several weeks of writing, editing and revising, eighth graders at Edmund W. Miles Middle School celebrated the completion of their first major writing assignment of the year.

Teacher Dawn Attanasio said the celebration was the culmination of much hard work by students in the memoir writing unit. Each student had to pick a meaningful moment in his or her life to write about. Many chose a memory from a place they visited, while others shared an experience with a family member or friend. 

Students brainstormed different moments in their lives and wrote those down in their writers notebooks. From there, each young author picked one memory to develop into a longer piece. Ms. Attanasio shared memoirs she had written over the years as examples.

At the celebration, a few students recited their pieces in front of the class. Then, they were able to go around the room, read each other’s memoirs and leave feedback on compliment pages. It closed out with a sharing circle, in which students discussed all that they learned about memoir writing.

“Students were given the experience of being real authors in making their work public, having a real audience and being proud of their writing,” she said. “They all did an excellent job with their memoirs and there was some very sophisticated writing.”

Students celebrated Hispanic culture through song, dance and poetry at Edmund W. Miles Middle School on Oct. 25. The annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration featured the talents of dozens of student performers. 

After Luna Caicedo recited the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish, choral students sang the national anthem, followed by the Gipsy Kings song “Bamboleo.” The orchestra performed “El Toro” and the band closed out the afternoon with “Hot Hot Hot.”

Señora Calderon’s dance troupe performed a variety of Latin dances including Punta, Salsa and Zumba. Drama students presented a skit on the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, and several students read poems. 

Teachers participated in a flag salute highlighting Spanish-speaking countries and territories including Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Teacher Charles Martine, who served as the program’s emcee, said the purpose of the celebration was to pay tribute to community members of Hispanic and Latino heritage. 

Schools throughout the district hosted Hispanic Heritage month celebrations throughout the week of Oct. 21-25. 

On the 16th anniversary of a day that changed his life, John Halligan told students in the district a powerful story about his son, Ryan, who was bullied in school and took his own life. He spoke to sixth graders at Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School and seventh, eighth and ninth graders at Edmund W. Miles Middle School on Oct. 7.

“Ryan’s Story,” which has been presented at more than 2,000 schools across the country including the middle school three years ago, began with Mr. Halligan introducing students to Ryan through photos and videos. He then went on to tell the story of how Ryan was bullied in his Vermont middle school and the tragic consequences that resulted. Ryan was 13 when he died. Within a year, Mr. Halligan’s efforts resulted in a Vermont law establishing bullying prevention programs in schools. Many states, including New York, have followed suit.

His presentation had several core messages including suicide prevention, forgiveness and the role of bystanders in allowing bullying to happen. He encourages students to examine how they treat each other and apologize to someone they may have wrongly treated, and also reminds them that they are loved dearly. 

Middle school Principal Earl Mitchell explained that Mr. Halligan has taken a painful and tragic experience and turned it into a learning experience for others. He thanked Mr. Halligan for sharing his personal story with Amityville students.  

Middle school social worker Beatriz Offitto added that October is National Bullying Prevention Month and Mr. Halligan’s presentation is one of several character education initiatives, including unity day and mix-it-up day. She said the goal of these different activities are to encourage students to talk to others outside of their normal social circles, make new friends and foster a bully-free culture.   

Park Avenue sixth graders said the emotional presentation shined a light on bullying, and how it can manifest itself in several ways, including in person and over the computer. Jeffrey Lopez said he learned not to get involved in cyberbullying, while Ryan Daly said she hopes that Mr. Halligan’s words inspire her classmates to take action if they notice someone being bullied.

Nicholas Leon noted that Ryan was bullied a lot in middle school, and felt this presentation was important because he and his classmates are on the cusp of middle school. He said he expects Mr. Halligan’s messages to stick with him for years to come. Nasir Grant added that small insults can become bigger over time and a situation can get out of hand. He said no student should ever strive to make others miserable, but instead should treat his or her peers with kindness and respect.

Students got a look at jobs opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics as the district and New York State Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre hosted a STEM and Tech Fair at Edmund W. Miles Middle School on Sept. 18. It was open to middle and high school students as well as their families and community members. 

Several science- and technology-based institutions were on hand to showcase products that would excite students about careers in STEM fields. Farmingdale State College highlighted its nursing program while Wilson Tech, which offers 30 programs for high school sophomores and juniors, showcased its aviation program and allowed students to use a computer flight simulator. Brookhaven National Laboratories had a hands-on gravity and surface tension experiment. 

The New York Institute of Technology, Microsoft and the Long Island Gaming League partnered to showcase several technology initiatives including Xbox video games, Sphero robots and virtual reality headsets. In one activity, students were asked to use an iPad and control the Sphero robot and roll over numbers in a grid, finding a path that added up to exactly 24. 

The event also provided an opportunity for the district to show how science and technology are infused into the elementary, middle and high school curriculum. Northwest Elementary School Principal Kathleen Hyland, Assistant Principal Sonia Rodrigo and teachers Jenny Smith and Kerrin Faulker set up laptops that allowed guests to try their hands at coding using KidOYO, or view projects made by students using iMovie or Flipgrid.

Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School librarian Tim Quinn showed several of the items using the Makerspace program including green screen technology. He set up an interactive station for the circuitry invention kit Makey Makey. By holding a piece of foil connected to a wire and tapping on bananas, visitors could play the bongos.

Amityville Memorial High School social studies teacher Matthew Tomasi had a presentation on Brain Pop and Flocabulary, two programs filled with interactive content in all subject areas. The middle school had display boards filled with photos from activities that students have done in STEAM classes.

The fair was held to mark STEM and Tech Week in New York from Sept. 16-22. Dr. Thomas DeNicola, the assistant superintendent for technology and administrative services, said that it was an opportunity for the community to learn about technology integration in Amityville schools and throughout the region by seeing it and experiencing it for themselves. He noted that the fair was a collaborative effort among the district’s administration and faculty, Assemblywoman Jean-Pierre’s office, technology companies and Long Island science institutions.

Boxes and boxes of school supplies were delivered to Edmund W. Miles Middle School on Sept. 11 thanks to the United Way’s Stuff-A-Bus program. United Way chose the date to coincide with the National Day of Service.

Shortly after 10:30 a.m., a big yellow school bus pulled up, provided by Educational Bus Transportation, one of the district’s transportation providers. United Way volunteers emerged and unloaded dozens of boxes. Members of the middle school’s Students Against Destructive Decisions club also helped out.

Jeannine Darcy, a member of United Way’s Resource Development Department, said the Stuff-A-Bus program is in its 11th year and has helped thousands of children at multiple Long Island school districts. She said this year United Way collected and distributed approximately 185,000 school supplies including backpacks, notebooks, binders, rulers, pens, pencils and more. 

“We want children to have the best start to the school year so they can be successful,” she said.

Middle school social worker Beatriz Offitto said that this year was the first time Amityville participated in Stuff-A-Bus. She said that the donations will be provided to any child in need of supplies, and also will be given out to new students enrolling at the school. After the items were sorted by students from the SADD club, supplies more appropriate for younger students were delivered to Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School.

“I’m excited that we are able to help students by giving them supplies, to make their learning easier,” Ms. Offitto said. “Having good school supplies makes their educational experiences better.”