On Friday, April 20, 2018, five Bethpage students were honored at the Long Island Math Fair at Hofstra University.

• Aurrel Bhatia (Grade 8) earned a silver medal for her presentation, A Mathematical Approach to Predicting More Revenues using Machine Learning and Linear Regression.

• Ruchitha Channapatna (Grade 8) and Suchitha Channapatna (Grade 8) earned gold medals in the team division for their topic, Playing with Probability.

• Theresa Thulasidas (Grade 8) earned a bronze medal for her presentation, Gothic Architecture.

• Soham Maiti (Grade 11) earned a gold medal for his topic, Group Theory.
  
  

Congratulations to all of the honorees and special thanks to Ms. O'Sullivan for her hard work with supporting these students!

Student John McCarthy has his own telescope at home and enjoys marveling at starry nights and learning about space.

So when it came time for the second-grader in Julie Schmidlapp’s class to select a historical American subject for the Kramer Lane Elementary School Living Wax Museum, it was a no-brainer for him. He chose famous astronomer and NASA contributor Carl Sagan.

“I’m very interested in astronomy and enjoy reading books about him,” McCarthy said.

The museum culminated a second-grade project at the school that enforced students’ skills in research, writing, history and creativity. Once they had selected their historical figures, the students researched them in the school library and online.

“They had to complete an independent report and create a timeline of their subject’s life,” explained second-grade teacher Andrea Morelli. “They also had to write out a first-person summary for the presentation, where they dressed up and delivered a monologue for visitors.”

At the press of a button, museum-goers received an informative monologue from the students about their researched figures. Several dug far back in history for their subject, such as Pahal Sheth, who conducted in-depth research on Harriet Tubman.

“I am even going to be on the $20 bill,” Sheth told visitors.

The event ended on a sweet note for passersby as Milton Hershey – portrayed by Sean Caputo – handed out his beloved Hershey’s Kisses after his monologue. 

On Wednesday, April 18, 2018, Ms. Mole's Virtual Enterprise Class, PetPair, went to the 2018 Youth Business Summit at Pier 92 in New York City. At this event, students from PetPair had the opportunity to sell their products to students from all around the world. The students created business deals with other companies from Florida, California, Tennessee, Bermuda, Austria, Brazil, Germany, Bulgaria, and many more! Our students dressed as business professionals and conducted themselves in a very mature manner all day long. They even experienced what it feels like to be in traffic in New York City during the rush hour commute! Overall, it was a very exciting experience and successful day for PetPair who made many, many sales. These students are going to be assets one day in the business field and any organization would be lucky to have them!  Thanks to Ms. Mole for organizing this great learning experience!

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On Monday, April 16, 2018, Bethpage Schools hosted their 3rd Annual Autism Awareness Dodgeball Tournament in the Bethpage High School Gymnasium.  Faculty members from all five schools battled for the coveted plaque!  Congratulations to John F. Kennedy Middle School's team for winning the championship this year and bringing bragging rights back to 500 Broadway!  

The event raised $2,145 to help Bethpage High School's CORE Program construct a sensory garden for the community. 

Bethpage Schools would like to thank everyone who came out to play, volunteer, or watch and ultimately support a great cause!  Special thanks to Ms. Julianne Tierney for organizing this event!

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Community came alive for second-grade students at Central Boulevard Elementary School as they enjoyed a number of enriching presentations led by community members of multiple professions during Community Helper Day.

The annual event introduced students to the various positions held by community members within the district. Composed of a collection of parent and community volunteers, students attended presentations by dental hygienists, the local fire department, nurses, pediatricians, police officers and a veterinarian, among others.

The all-day event served as an excellent connection to the curriculum unit on communities. 

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Bethpage High School’s varsity kickline team, Golden Girls and Co., has accomplished a first in school history by competing in all four final rounds of the 2018 National Dance Alliance High School National Championship and earning first place in the small varsity kick division. They also won the Innovative Choreography Award for their kick routine.   

Leading up to nationals, which were held in Orlando, Florida in early March, the team submitted a video of their routine that qualified them for the competition. In January, Golden Girls and Co. scored highly at the NDA Regional Competition at Walt Whitman High School, taking home first place in kick, second in pom, and third in both jazz and team performance. 

“We’ve been hoping for this [win] since we were on JV,” said senior Gabby McGlynn. “Not a lot of seniors get to say they won nationals, and it feels like fate that we got to be those seniors to lead the team there.” 

Senior Francesca Conte, one of the team’s captains, recalled the hard work, determination and perseverance she put forth in pushing her team along the way to nationals. “We had two minutes to prove ourselves,” she said. “You have to put it out there and leave it all on the floor.” 

The team continued its winning streak at the Nassau Scholastic Kickline Championships at Nassau Community College, where they won the Grand Championship in the kick category and earned second place in pom and jazz, and fourth in team performance. The Grand Championship award is given to the team that has the highest cumulative score from three previous Scholastic competitions in a specific category.   

“From the beginning of the year, the team’s goal was to make it to the finals in all four categories at nationals,” said coach Ashley Ioveno. “We wanted them to set goals, work to achieve them, push themselves, and reap the benefits of hard work.”

The district congratulates the team and Coaches Ioveno and Jeanna Martino for a remarkable season and an NDA National Championship title.  

The Bethpage High School Robotics Team, Regal Eagles, competed at the School Business Partnerships of Long Island Regional from April 9, 2018 through April 11, 2018.  Their robot had a solid performance and the team earned several highly regarded recognitions. 

Team Captain Smiti Shah was awarded the 2018 Fred Breithut Award, which recognizes an individual for outstanding performance in the FIRST Robotics Program on Long Island.  Morgan Heller was the recipient of the 2018 Dean's List Award for her work increasing awareness of FIRST and its mission, while achieving personal technical expertise and accomplishment. The Regal Eagles were recipients of the Regional Engineering Inspiration Award that recognizes a team that advances respect and appreciation for engineering within a team's school organization and greater community.  By earning this award, the Regal Eagles have earned the right to participate at World Championships later this month in Detroit, Michigan!  NASA will generously fund the registration fee for the Regal Eagles to participate in the event!

Congratulations to all of the Regal Eagles!  Special thanks to team mentors/coaches, Mr. Zabell, Mr. Kay, and all of the parents for their ongoing support!

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The district congratulates the Bethpage High School Golden Eagles varsity ice hockey team on an outstanding season. 

The Golden Eagles, under the guidance of coaches Jeff Schmier and Rich Dzurus earned first place in the Nassau County High School Hockey League Michelino East Conference, earning a bid to compete in the New York State Ice Hockey Tournament, to be held in Jamestown, NY. The last time the team earned a first-place county win was in 2004.  

In the county championship, the Golden Eagles evened the best-of-three county finals against the Long Beach High School Marines, causing the game to go into a decisive 10-minute mini-game that ended in a 2-0 defeat for Bethpage. 

“This is the most amazing team I’ve ever coached,” said Schmier. “These players gave it their all, from the beginning of September to the end of March. They always persevered, put in hard work and competed together as a family.” 

Team captains Kevin Drucker, Gavin Hulser and Spyro Markoulis commended their teammates for their tenacious attitude, reiterating the team’s motto of “huge saves and big hits.”   

Surrounded by proud family members, school district administrators, and his coach, Bethpage High School senior Michael Lane signed a national letter of intent to play volleyball at St. Joseph’s College Patchogue. 

In his volleyball career, Michael has earned All-County and All-Tournament titles and made it to the county finals with his team. Along with taking Advanced Placement and college-level courses, he is a member of Athletes Helping Athletes, Student Civic, and the National and Foreign Language Honor Societies. He also runs spring track. In addition to playing volleyball, he intends to study accounting at St. Joseph’s College.

The district congratulates Michael and wishes him success in his academic and athletic pursuits in college. 

A creative project at Central Boulevard Elementary School brought grade levels together as Debra Lange and Linda DeMaria’s first-grade class collaborated with Barbara Cataldi’s fourth-graders to engineer a leprechaun trap using recycled materials.

Working in teams, the students drafted blueprints of their designs and identified which materials they would use to trap the cunning character of Irish folklore. To build their contraptions, they brought in materials from home such as cereal boxes, tissue boxes and shoeboxes.

After drawing up their plans, the teams constructed the traps out of their everyday items, adding decorative touches with glitter, stickers, construction paper and pipe cleaners. They presented their devices to their peers, explaining how the levers, axles and doors would capture the leprechaun. Many projects included gold coins to lure the Irish fairy into the trap.

Thomas Bachmeier, a junior at Bethpage High School, has been named a 2017 National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar.
 
Established in 1983 through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the NHRP honors about 5,000, or 2.5 percent, of the highest-scoring students from over 250,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors who take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Qualifications for recognition are based on critical reading, mathematics, and writing scores on the PSAT/NMSQT and a minimum GPA of 3.5. 

Although there is no financial reward, Scholars receive a certificate and the NHRP sends a list of all recognized students to subscribing colleges and universities.

Thomas excels academically and athletically and gives back to his community. In school, he is a member of the National Honor Society, sits on the honor roll, and is enrolled in numerous college-level and Advanced Placement courses. On the field, is a multi-sport athlete, competing on the varsity football, wrestling, and winter track teams. He also volunteers at his local fire department.  

The district congratulates Thomas on this exceptional award and wishes him a successful senior year.   

In honor of National Library Week, students in grades K-5 at Central Boulevard Elementary School created bookmarks for their monthly “Thoughtful Thursday” project.

Donning “Thoughtful Thursday” T-shirts, the Bethpage School District students colored and decorated bookmarks to be displayed and distributed for use in the school library and Bethpage Public Library.

In addition, some of the bookmarks were donated to Book Fairies, a nonprofit organization that collects reading materials for people in need throughout metropolitan New York. 

In honor of American Heart Month, students of Central Boulevard and Charles Campagne elementary schools participated in the American Heart Association’s annual Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser.

According to the AHA’s website, Jump Rope for Heart assists in the battle against heart disease and stroke by promoting physical activity, heart healthy living and community service.

Divided into groups during their gym classes, students exercised their heart muscles by jumping rope to popular pop music. They also hula-hooped, played basketball and learned about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, all while raising money for the community. 
 
Collectively, the two schools raised more than $7,000 to assist in heart disease research. 

Vera Shumsky’s kindergartners at Central Boulevard Elementary School ended a writing project with a sprinkling of creativity. After writing about being kind and spreading kindness to friends, family and teachers, they tossed pieces of tissue paper symbolzing sprinkles, on a large doughnut, demonstrating how wonderful the world would be if everyone sprinkled it with kindness.

Students at Kramer Lane Elementary School recently received a visit from children’s illustrator and author John Steven Gurney as part of the school’s Pick a Reading Partner celebration.

During the PTA-sponsored visit, Gurney described how he began his career as a children’s book illustrator, collaborating with his editor to figure out what he would draw for the cover of the stories and refining his work through the editing process. He shared some of the techniques and tools he used to add color to his drawings, which were often modeled after his children and friends. He also showed students samples of his artwork and read his famous book, “Dinosaur Train,” that was inspired by his son.  

At the conclusion of the visit, all students received autographed copies of Gurney’s books, courtesy of the PTA.

The Bethpage Golden Girls and Company Varsity Kickline team was invited to the Town of Oyster Bay Board Meeting on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 to be honored for their achievements at the NDA Dance Nationals. The Town Supervisor spoke highly of the team and the efforts made leading up to this momentous event. Each team member received an individual Certificate of Achievement and Bethpage High School was presented with an Official Citation.

The team attended the NDA Dance Nationals a few weeks ago where they made finals in all four of their competition routines and won the National Championship in the Small Varsity Kick Division! The team also took home the Innovation Choreography Award for their kick routine!

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Back by popular demand, Cookie the Therapy Dog paid a visit to first grade students as part of the Kramer Lane Brown Bag Series. Students enjoyed learning about Cookie and the great work she does in hospitals, nursing homes and schools across Long Island. In addition, they learned about caring for Cookie and observed her skills in finding treats and performing an assortment of tricks. Thanks Cookie!!

In celebration of PARP month, all students at Kramer Lane enjoyed a visit from "StoryFaces" with Christopher Agostino. Students enjoyed watching stories come to life with wonderful and creative face paintings done on several student volunteers. From traditional Aesop Fables to exciting legends and tales, the students were mesmerized by Mr. Agostino's face painting and storytelling abilities. A wonderful time was had by all.

Congratulations to the Bethpage Hockey Team for an outstanding season!  We took a picture of them just as they were heading to the state competition!  They gave us some thrilling games this year!!!  Congratulations to the team and Coach Schmier! 

Thanks once again to the Harlem Wizards for coming to Bethpage and putting on a great game!  The CBS PTA did a great job organizing the event and thanks to Mrs. Wodicka and her team of volunteers!  Thanks also to the Bethpage teachers, administrators and staff for agreeing to play in the game!  A great time was had by all!

Students of John F. Kennedy Middle School participated in the school’s Battle of the Classes on Feb. 15.

Sporting their team colors, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students gathered in the gymnasium to compete against each other in team activities such as Hungry Hungry Hippos, Human Rock Paper Scissors, obstacle courses, Letter Game and Pin Dodgeball.  

Spectators made up of parents, teachers and students cheered on the classes as they battled for the title of champion. 

The district extends a special thank-you to John F. Kennedy eighth-graders Kaitlin Ackerly and Nick Costanzo for emceeing the festivities and explaining the rules of each game.  

As part of Thoughtful Thursday, a schoolwide community service initiative, students of Central Boulevard Elementary School created get well cards for hospitalized children. All cards will be distributed through the Little Saint Nick Foundation.

According to its website, the Little Saint Nick Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help relieve the fear, anxiety and isolation that children can experience during hospital stays and the recovery process through entertainment, education and activities. 

Donning “Thoughtful Thursday” T-shirts, students in grades K-5 crafted get well cards with positive messages and cheerful illustrations to brighten the day of children in need. 

In observance of the Carnival season, Ronny Ciarniello’s French classes at Bethpage High School recently celebrated Mardi Gras.

The students prepared for Fat Tuesday by learning about its history and traditions, as well as exploring the celebrations held in various French-speaking countries and New Orleans. 

On Feb. 13, the students received beads in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. Donning their colorful necklaces, they enjoyed a variety of French cuisines in the auxiliary gymnasium, which had been decorated for the festive occasion with masquerade masks, banners and centerpieces. 

The Bethpage Board of Education unanimously appointed district resident Christina Scelta as the Board’s newest trustee during its Feb. 13 business meeting. 

Christina was sworn in by Bethpage School District’s attorney Laura Granelli amid Board members, Superintendent of Schools Terrence Clark, central administrators, residents and proud family members. 

Christina was appointed to the seat previously held by Kurt Spears, who chose to step down in January. Spears was a dedicated Board trustee, and the Board thanks him for his many years of service.

The Board of Education welcomes Christina and looks forward to collaborating with her for the betterment of the students and community of Bethpage.

Kindergartners throughout the district commemorated their 100th day of learning by participating in a day full of activities on Feb. 13.

To prepare for the day, students created eclectic projects based on the theme of “100.” They fashioned plants using 100 lollipops, glued 100 items – including crayons, stickers and Band-Aids – to T-shirts, and made a large Hershey’s Kiss out of 100 of the bite-sized chocolate candies.

During the celebration, the young students engaged in lessons that incorporated math, literacy and creativity. They practiced counting by tens to craft a monster with 10 different body parts, made necklaces with 100 Froot Loops as beads and built a tower out of 100 plastic cups, among other activities. They also designed “100 Days Smarter” crowns and medals and used their sight words to write about what they have learned in their first 100 days of school. 

Carrying the theme over to their wardrobe, the kindergartners paraded through the hallways sporting clothing and accessories that represented the milestone number and dressed as centenarians complete with canes, hair rollers and glasses. 

Congratulations to the BHS Regal Eagles for their incredible ability to construct a mock setup of this year's FIRST Robotics Competition field in order for 12 Long Island teams to practice for the upcoming FIRST Competition at Hofstra!  What an undertaking!  Students and their advisors- Mr. Zabell, Mr. Kay, and additional parent mentors- built a wooden replica of this year's challenging set.  Teams from around Long Island were invited to attend.  Thanks to the students, teachers and parents who helped to make this happen!  Thanks to Mr. Choi for all his help and thanks also to LIU Post for generously giving us their gym for the day! The Regal Eagles will next compete at the FIRST Hudson Valley Regional on March 22-25 and the School Business Partnerships of Long Island (SBPLI) Regional on April 8-11.

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Photo Gallery (courtesy of Ms. Cetin)

The JV and Varsity Kickline teams spent this past Sunday (February 4th) at Nassau Community College competing in the Nassau Scholastic Kickline Championship.

 JV ended the morning with a 3rd place finish in both of their routines (Kick and Team Performance).

 The Varsity competed in the afternoon session earning 1st place in kick, 2nd in pom, 2nd in jazz and 4th in team performance.  The highlight of the day, however, was winning the Grand Championship in the kick category.  That award is given to the team who has the highest cumulative score for the 3 previous Scholastic competitions in a specific category.

 A special congratulations to the four seniors on Varsity; Captain Francesca Conte, Captain Julianna Griffin, Team Officer Gabby McGlynn, and Team Officer Heather Palmer.   The seniors had a fantastic day and a great ending to their local competition season.  The Varsity team is excited to showcase their routines at Nationals in Orlando, Florida in a few weeks.

 Congratulations Golden Girls and Company!

BETHPAGE KICKLINE - REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!

The Bethpage Varsity "Golden Girls and Co." competed at the NDA Regional Championship this past Saturday held at Walt Whitman High School. The team placed in all of their divisions finishing the day with the following awards:

Regional Champions in Small Kick,

2nd in Medium Pom

3rd in Small Jazz

3rd in Medium Team Performance

 Congratulations to the team on a job well done!

Bethpage Gymnasts spent their Martin Luther King, Jr. Day giving back by participating in an event with gymnasts from around Long Island to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis.  Thanks to all who participated along with Coach Kim Rhatigan!

The Binghamton University A Cappella group performed a 21st Century concert at Bethpage HS for students and families from across Bethpage and Long Island.  They were mesmerizing and everyone enjoyed the performance!  Thanks to all the singers for sharing their talent and creativity!

Kramer Lane Music Teacher recently sang the national anthem at the Islander Game at the Barclays Center!  Mr. Wibben has become a regular singer there and always gives a powerful performance!  We are very proud of him!

Students across the district completed their first Writing Workshop unit, composing narratives from Todd Parr stories in Kindergarten to memoirs in fifth grade. The final stage in the process, “Publishing,” is celebrated in a variety of ways. Pictured are CBS Kindgarten children sharing their Todd Parr creations, first and second graders reading their Real World writing and personal narratives to each other, CBS third graders’ Writing Museum, featuring their Small Moment narratives, and CBS fifth graders participating Fireside Memoirs.  Congratulations to the students and teachers for all their hard work going all the way from the first stage “Immersion” to the final stage “Publishing.”

Students in the ASPIRE, Academy and ACE programs gave a great presentation to the Board of Education about their programs.  They were very impressive!  Each student talked about their favorite classes or events.  Their teachers were VERY proud!  Thanks to all the students and their teachers who came out to support them!

The BHS ACE students got everyone in the holiday spirit with a concert that celebrated the season!  Thanks to Mr. Gallagher for organizing the event.  There was some real talent on display!  Happy Holidays to all!

We had some great storytellers at Kramer Lane as Grade 4 authors read their Pourquoi stories to friends, teachers, and staff.  These stories were like fairy tales that explain natural phenomenon.  A great job by all these talented authors!

Congratulations to Mr. James Benjamin for being honored as an Everyday Hero by the Bethpage-Central Park Kiwanis Club!  Mr. Benjamin received the award to recognize his quick action to act as a first responder to assist community members involved in a local automobile accident in 2017 in addition to his years of helping students in his role as a guidance counselor at Bethpage High School.  He was surrounded by his family.  Thanks to the Kiwanis Club for making the award possible and congratulations to all the other recipients- Frank Ceglio and the Bethpage Junior Fire Fighters, John Coumatos, George Hudak, Francis Meehan, and Laura Smith.

They all make Bethpage a great community!

We just wanted to thank Mrs. Vollmuth and the students in the ACE Program for having us for the Thanksgiving feast. It was such a great time and the students enjoyed it and the food was delicious. Good job to all!

The Bethpage High School Student Civic Key Club held its Annual Thanksgiving Feast with donations of food and money to assist families in our local area.  Arranged by Mr. Lynch with assistance from the Kiwanis Club of Bethpage and lots of teachers and students, the night was a tremendous success!  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

BHS students asssited the Lions Club with their annual food drive.  65 boxes of food were sent to local families to provide them with a Thanksgiving dinner.  The Lions were very impressed with the student volunteers!  Thanks to all!

On November 2nd, the Bethpage High School Jazz Combo performed at the Adults and Children with Learning Disabilities(ACLD) annual Enviable Life Ball held at the Garden City Hotel. The group was well received and the students were proud to be a part of this positive and uplifting event.