 South Middle School Newsletter 
Dr. James Welsch, Pr incipal
Dr. Gina Cartolano, Assistant Principal
Mr. Jerry Cozine, Assistant Principal
Principal’s News
January, 2010
Dear South Middle School Parents,
It seems hard to believe, I know, that we are nearly halfway through the school year. It seems
like just a few short weeks ago I was drafting my “Welcome Back to School” letter and here
we are in the December/January time frame. With the blink of an eye, we’ll be saying goodbye
to winter and welcoming the coming of spring (we hope!!)
CONTENTS
Jim Welsch,
Principal’s News
1
Gina Cartolano’s
Message
2-5
Jerry Cozine’s
Message
5-7
6th Grade Happenings
8-10
Committee News
10
President’s Letter
11
NOT TO
BE MISSED!

Jan. 7-Incoming Grade 6
Parent/Guidance Meeting
@ 7 PM

Jan. 12 –NM & SM Joint
PTSA Mtg. @ North MS
@ 11:00 AM

Jan. 18-Martin Luther
King (School Closed)




Jan. 19-Middle School
Winter II Sports Begin
Jan. 20-Shared Decision
Making Committee Mtg.
@3:00 PM
Jan. 29- 2nd Quarter Ends
Feb. 4 –Cultural Heritage
Celebration @ 5:45 PM
As you may know, the State of New York has changed the assessment schedule for students.
For the past several years, the ELA (English Language Arts) assessment was administered in
January, and the Math assessment in March. The calendar has now changed such that the
ELA assessment will take place during the last week in April and the Math assessment during
the first week in May. I will share more information with you regarding these important
assessments in the spring edition of our newsletter, but I wanted to let you know now of the
date changes. If you have any questions regarding the assessments, please call your child’s
counselor or any of our administrators.
In February 2007, our Board of Education devoted two meetings on the topic of bullying in
our schools. At the meeting involving the secondary schools, the principals from the two high
schools, the two middle schools, and the Village School, presented information on the issue of
bullying. We acknowledged that bullying is an important issue for everyone in our community.
Our Board clearly stated that bullying behavior would not be tolerated in our schools. Each
principal described how bullying issues are handled in their schools. While we don’t have
many incidents reported on a regular basis, we take every allegation of bullying seriously,
and actively investigate every situation. What is often the case at the middle level is that
there are “two sides” to each story. Investigations are primarily processed through the Deans’
office. Ultimately, once the investigation has been concluded, our administrative team decides
what consequences are appropriate for student aggressors. Consequences range from a
conference with a student and his/her parent(s) to a suspension from school. Factors such as
the extent of the bullying behavior, the length of time the behavior has been occurring, the
student’s discipline record, and the severity of the bullying behavior are all taken into
consideration. One of the frustrations in completing an investigation is that we often don’t
hear about alleged acts of bullying until many days and even weeks after they have occurred.
This makes it very difficult. If your child has experienced any type of bullying behavior,
please call our Deans and let them know. Please encourage your child to speak to his/her
guidance counselor to let them know what’s happening. We will investigate and do our best to
resolve the situation.
The development of the 2010-2011 budget is underway. Given the economic conditions we
are all facing, including our Board of Education, the development of next year’s budget will be
most challenging for us in Great Neck. State and federal revenues will most likely decrease
significantly. The challenge will be to maintain the high quality of educational programs that
we have developed and that our community has come to expect, while at the same time being
fiscally responsible. I urge you to come to the Board of Education meetings beginning in
January. Our Board of Education will meet on January 25, 2010, February 8, 2010, March 8,
2010, March 22, 2010, and finally on Saturday, April 10, 2010 (9:30 AM at South High School
for a “line item budget review”). Each of the evening meetings begins at 8:30 PM.
I want to again thank you for your continued support of our school!
Peace,
Jim Welsch, Principal
Page 2 of 12
SMS Newsletter
January, 2010
8th Grade Highlights from Dr. Gina Cartolano, Assistant Principal
My hope is that this issue of the newsletter finds you all well
and in good spirits. Best wishes for the New Year and as
always, I encourage you to call or email me with any questions
that you may have regarding eighth grade issues. I can be
reached via email at gcartolano@greatneck.k12.ny.us or by
phone at (516) 441-4600. Please take some time to review the
following eighth grade highlights. Our eighth grade is clearly
involved in tremendously creative work. Speak with your
children so they can give you even further details. We hope
that you enjoy reading this valuable information.
Eighth Grade Trip
On Wednesday, May 12th, the entire eighth grade class will be
going to New York City to see Billy Elliot and eat lunch at
Mars 2112. The cost for this trip is $140. Please send your
checks made out to Great Neck South Middle School to your
child’s social studies teacher. Money and permission slips are
due by Feb. 1st. We hope that all eighth graders will
participate in this exciting event. If any student is in need of a
scholarship, contact Ms. Horowitz in Guidance at 441-4620.
Art
Congratulations to the following 8th grade art students for
winning awards in the first Town of North Hempstead Recycled
Artwork Contest: Minhee Lee, Alexandra Chen, Jasmine Chaing
and Irene Lee won "The Best Environmental Message Award"
for their sculpture titled, "The Future of Energy." Aroj Ahmad,
Ariel Serruya, Arielle Farhi, and Kayla Keller won "The Best Use
of Recycled Material Award" for their sculpture called "Recyclable
Triangle." And finally, Kamrynn Irani, Caroline Weinberg, and
Shir Balila won the "First Place Award" in the middle school
category for their sculpture titled "Sun." The goal of the art
contest was to help make environmental stewardship a part of
each student’s everyday life.
Math
Fifty students from South Middle School took the AMC 8
exam (American Mathematics Contest) on Tuesday,
November 17th. This is a nationally normed exam and has
become an annual tradition here at South Middle School. The
top 6 school scores were attained by the following students:
GOLD - Kevin Ko, Cristina Lai, Radhika Viswanathan;
SILVER - David Hong; BRONZE - Clara Hong, Sam Huang.
All 40 students, consisting of 8th and some 7th graders, should
be congratulated.
Multicultural Club
Middleview
With the first edition of the Middleview published, staff writers
are now diligently working on the second edition which
should be out around the end of January. Articles should
include interviews with more new teachers, a winter word
search, disclosure of the number one local pizza place,
additional ways to go green and reviews of the hottest books,
movies, and YouTube crazes. The staff writers work very
hard and would love for you to read the fruits of their labor.
Please remember to ask your child for a copy of the Middleview
to see what is new around SMS, the country, and the world!
The students in our Multicultural Club provided a wonderful
opportunity for our senior citizens to get down and boogie! In
December, a group of SMS students, under the direction of Mrs.
Blanco, went to the Highfield Gardens Nursing Home and danced and
sang with the residents. Our students were thrilled to provide the
seniors with some holiday cheer. They plan on visiting other nursing
homes in the near future. In November, the Multicultural Club was
joined by Mr. Mannix and the Pay It Forward Club at the Little Neck
Nursing Home. Spending time with the seniors is a great way for our
students to truly pay it forward.
Page 3 of 12
SMS Newsletter
January, 2010
8th Grade Highlights from Dr. Gina Cartolano, Assistant Principal
(continued)
particularly fruitful for women as their long road to suffrage
finally ended with the passage of the 19th Amendment to the
Constitution. Their success, however, was not equaled in the
African American community. There, two community organizers
used quite different methods to organize blacks towards equality.
During our Team Day, we will introduce cultural cues to
stimulate discussion and evaluate the various levels of success and
setback that these two groups achieved during the turn of the
century.
Social Studies
The Social Studies Department wrapped up its immigration
unit by hosting its Third Annual International Food Festival,
held November 17-18th. Celebrating South Middle’s and our
community's diverse cultural heritage, the festival highlighted
the vibrant way in which food is an expression of culture and
who we are. Nowhere is the quote "The United States is a nation
of nations" more evident.
We asked our students to share a favorite family recipe. There
were many stories of recipes being passed down from
grandmothers to sons and daughters.
There were other
stories of recipes that just simply evolved and became family
favorites. One recipe for raisin bread (which may or may not
have originated in Ireland), was passed onto someone's
grandmother who lived in Russia, who then passed it onto a
student's grandmother from Germany, who moved to the
United States after WWII. Now there's a story!
From apple pie to arroz con pollo, matza balls to meatballs,
garlic knots to guacamole, and from sushi to spaghetti, our
school came alive with an array of culinary delights which was
a multisensory experience, filled with a kaleidoscope of
mouthwatering, stomach satisfying food. So here's to next
year when we take two days in November, mix together 300
or so people, add a dash of fun, stir in some laughter, and
simmer. We'd like to acknowledge the tireless effort of our
8th grade parents, the enthusiasm of our students, and the
unwavering support and hard work of our faculty and staff.
We thank you!
Team A
In English, we read Milkweed which introduces the concept of
human behavior and the Holocaust. The novel led us to the
reading of The Wave, a school wide project, which explores
further the concept of human behavior and the
responsibilities of individuals for their decisions/actions. The
theme running through both novels is “The Choices We
Make Define Who We Are.”
Our team continues to explore tolerance and acceptance as
umbrella themes throughout our disciplines. To that end, we
are currently planning a second team day, this one to
highlight the struggles of women and African Americans
during the early part of the 20th Century. This time period was
In science, the students are finishing up Archimedes and
Bernoulli's Principles. For Archimedes, they learn why objects
float. They investigate buoyancy and why a huge ship is able to
float on water. With Bernoulli's Principle, they learn about air
flight. They learn how it is possible to get such a huge airplane to
actually fly. They will be utilizing their knowledge of flight to
construct their own paper plane.
Team B
Ms. Bazzani advanced her students into the digital age using a
myriad of digital tools to help her students better understand The
Progressive Era and US Expansionism. Ms. Bazzani turned to an
online Google Docs assignment to help students gain insight to
the challenges of that time and how those challenges still remain
with us today. Ms. Bazzani also tried to move students beyond
the textbook by utilizing a webquest to teach Imperialism
incorporating video clips, cartoons, government documents, and
interviews with modern historians. The webquest also allowed
the students to use critical thinking skills to analyze, critique, and
evaluate information.
Mr. Hatten’s Physical Science classes put Bernoulli’s Principle
into action as they compete in the “Great” Great Neck Paper
Airplane Contest. This competition tests students’ knowledge of
engineering, aerodynamics, and ingenuity by challenging them to
construct a flight-tested airplane in distance/accuracy and
aerobatics. May the best pilot win! In Earth Science classes,
students will understand the beginning of the universe as they
examine the evidence that supports the Big Bang Theory.
Students will examine and question evidence such as the
observed redshifts of galaxies and the cosmic microwave
background radiation from the Big Bang itself. Students will also
star gaze into the cosmos in our thirty foot inflatable planetarium,
STARLAB.
Mrs. Klein and Mrs. Rogers’ English 8 classes are involved in a
grade-wide reading of The Wave. Students are using their
historical knowledge about Poland and Germany during WWII,
that they acquired from their most recent in-class text, Milkweed
to better understand the concepts found in The Wave. It is about
a High school social studies teacher who wants to explain how
people allowed the Holocaust to occur. Rather than explanation,
he creates an experiment that allows students to actually
experience the growth of a powerful party. The teacher, students
and the entire school get swept up into an experiment that
frighteningly goes too far! This novel is being read in anticipation
of an author visit by Todd Strasser on May 14th.
Page 2 Page
of 5 4 of 12
South Middle
School Newsletter
SMS Newsletter
January,March,
2010 2007
8th Grade Highlights from Dr. Gina Cartolano, Assistant Principal
In January, students will engage in intensive essay writing and
grammar clinics and will benefit from interdisciplinary
learning about the Roaring 1920’s in both English and social
studies.
Mr. Panicker’s Algebra classes having been learning about and
interpreting line graphs allowing students to be able to predict
future data and analyze current data trends. Its best current
use comes from observing trends in the economy. Using
concepts such as the slope of a line, students have a deeper
understanding of spending over time and economic recession
versus economic recovery. Meanwhile, the Pre-Algebra
classes have begun the fractions unit. Fractions are critical
parts to surveys and research results. For example, within the
last decade of AIDS research, it has been found that nearly 1
out of every 2 new HIV infections occurs in someone under
the age of 25. With roughly 75 million people in the US being
under 25 (more than ¼ of the nation’s population), this is a
serious problem. Without a true understanding of fractions,
our students would not be able to fully comprehend the
enormity of this situation.
Team C
Team C has been off to a great start for the second quarter.
Mr. Powder has begun to utilize Castle Learning in his
Algebra classes. The program is a very effective review and
reinforcement tool. Furthermore, it gives the students
excellent practice for the Regents. In Mr. Piteris’ science
classes, students are being treated to the Star Lab. This
traveling planetarium will expose students to solar systems,
star constellations and galaxies, and is an excellent supplement
to their astronomy studies. What better way to learn about
everything outside Earth than to be surrounded by it! Mrs.
Cahn is finishing The Wave and its focus on society and its
influence by mobs. Mr. DeSiano and his student teacher, Ms.
Donovan, have mailed off student generated letters to State
Senator Johnson regarding New York State's lack of initiative
referendum and recall. These are critical aspects of direct
democracy absent in the state of New York. Now the classes
await a response from their elected official. In the meantime,
his classes will delve into The Great War and find out how
President Wilson attempted to make the world safe for
democracy.
Team D
Forty eighth grade students from Team D went on a trip to
Pennsylvania in early November. The itinerary included stops
at the Pearl S. Buck House and the Washington Crossing State
Park. As well as being a distinguished author and Nobel Prize
winner, Ms. Buck was well known for her humanitarian
efforts on behalf of the children of Asia and beyond. The
children were treated to a tour of the Pearl S. Buck Estate and
learned of her many great writings and humanitarian efforts.
At the Washington Crossing State Park the students toured
the park, viewed boats used in the crossing, and visited several
houses and inns where George Washington and his troops
stayed on that historic evening.
(continued)
Music
It gives us tremendous pleasure to announce that South Middle
School will be sending SEVEN (possibly NINE!) students to
Syracuse to participate in the NYS Middle School Honor Concert
Band. These students were selected by a state-wide panel of music
educators from the NYS Band Directors Association: Gr. 8Clarinet/Kevin Ko, Christopher Lee, Caitlin Park, Joseph Yang –
Gr. 7 - Flute/Rebecca Schifilliti, Oboe/William Huh, Tenor
Saxophone/Samuel Kim.
In addition, Annie Lee, Alto
Saxophone, Gr. 8 and Jay Zussman, Bass Clarinet, Gr. 7 are
alternates.
Out of the hundreds of students who applied to the NYS Middle
School Honor Band, only about 93 students in total were selected
to participate. This clearly indicates that these students are among
the top players within their age group in this entire state.
Kevin, Christopher, Caitlin, Joseph, Rebecca, William and Samuel
(and Annie and Jay, too, in the event a player declines the
invitation) will be rehearsing and performing a concert with some
of this state's most talented instrumental students from the seventh
and eighth grade on March 6th at the Doubletree Syracuse Hotel.
Their performance will be conducted by a college director.
Our entire department is immensely proud of this achievement.
Bravo to our students and bravo for our school!
Health and Guidance
On November 20th, 13 8th grade students from SMS, along with
Mrs. DiPalo and Ms. Horowitz, attended the 9th Annual B.E.A.T.S.
(Bringing Education about AIDS to Students) Conference at
Hofstra University. This event was designed to educate young
people about HIV/AIDS and related teen health issues.
The BEATS conference featured performance based workshops
and presentations by teen peer leaders. The South Middle students
learned how to get involved in local and international efforts to
improve conditions for people living with HIV/AIDS. South
Middle students earned five hours of community service for
participating in the conference.
Page 5 of 12
SMS Newsletter
January, 2010
8th Grade Highlights/7th Grade Highlights
South Middle School acknowledged World AIDS Day on
Tuesday, December 1st. The day began with a special HTV
broadcast featuring some of the highlights of the conference. The
significance of the day was emphasized and school wide
participation was promoted. Conference participants were
interviewed to spread the message and encourage all South
Middle students to be part of an AIDS free generation. Students
and staff members demonstrated their commitment by wearing a
red ribbon throughout the school day.
Science
All 8th grade students will be using a district owned Starlab
inflatable planetarium over the next few weeks as part of
astronomy studies. This wonderful planetarium, which circulates
around our district, enables teachers to present astronomy in a
virtual setting. We can create the night sky, in all its glory, for
any latitude on Earth. We can also project constellations, images
of our solar system and our galaxy on the inside of the dome. We
can simulate the sun's path for any day of the year and create real
enthusiasm for many of the topics learned about in class
Technology
Grade 8 Technology students have been very busy working on
their second quarter curriculum. Ms. Elzer’s and Mr. Maguire's
classes have been studying electricity and energy. Every one of
their students should be turning off his/her computer each night
before bed in an effort to save energy. The use of compact
fluorescents and LED lights has been researched as well. In an
effort to encourage the change to these energy efficient bulbs,
students are encouraged to bring in the outside packaging from
one or more for extra credit points. Mr. Geiger’s and Mr.
Frangella's classes are busy exploring the many modules available
in the Scantek unit. They LOVE the robotics unit!
All the best,
Gina M. Cartolano, Ed. D.
Assistant Principal
FROM JERRY COZINE, ASST. PRINCIPAL
It pains me to write 2010 on my documents. It seems like
yesterday that we were ringing in the new millennium! As a
parent, I know that when you have children, the school years just
fly by – from pre-school to middle-school in the blink of an eye.
I try to appreciate every day I get to work with your children; it is
an absolute pleasure to assist them as they encounter the
challenges of seventh grade. The students’ enthusiasm,
compassion, and, most importantly, their commitment to learning
continue to amaze me on a daily basis. Please feel free to contact
me at 441-4603 or gcozine@greatneck.k12.ny.us should you have
any questions or concerns.
We’ve had a busy ten weeks since the last newsletter, so I wanted
to take this opportunity to update you on some of the great
things taking place in our seventh grade classrooms.
TEAM 7SW – THE SOUTH STARS
It is hard to believe that by the time you read this newsletter,
the academic year will be 3/8 of the way through. It seems
like just yesterday that we encountered your children and
welcomed them as 7th graders who really still had the look
and wonder of 6th graders. Since that time, your children
have grown, emotionally, intellectually, even physically, right
before our eyes. The South Stars' teachers have been working
as a team to build upon that growth and foster ever more
challenging educational opportunities. All of the teachers
on the South Stars have worked both independently,
fostering an appreciation of their own curriculum, and as a
team, offering varying perspectives and insight into how to
best reach the varied learning styles of all of your children.
Thus far, it has been an interesting and enjoyable adventure.
This quarter Miss Kostopoulos’ classes finished their journey
through Greek mythology. Students were introduced to a
pattern of story mapping by Joseph Campbell called the
“Hero’s Journey.” Students became familiar with this circular
path and applied it to the story of Perseus as well as to the
novel, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. After finishing
the novel, The South Stars have been eagerly awaiting the
premiere of the film adaptation scheduled for release on
February 12th.
To build on the students' literary excursions, Ms.
Kostopoulos and Mrs. Ganz, combined their classes in the
library for an outside reading assignment. Prior to their visit,
students had to prepare individual “book talks”
recommending a novel to the class. For the next three days,
students listened as their classmates raved about their
favorite novels. When it came time to check books out,
students had a plethora of books to choose from. The Stars
really seem to be enjoying their choices. Currently Miss
Kostopoulos’ classes are on a journey back to the year 1000,
where they are exploring texts such as the legend of Beowulf.
Mr. Mannix's classes have been engaged in a variety of
projects. The first was designed around life in the colonies.
Options ranged from creating a music video and
constructing a time capsule to cooking a meal that the
colonists ate and developing a scavenger hunt. A second
project in development this quarter in the "Mannixlab"
which is the production of a video documentary answering
the question: "What is the greatest challenge facing our nation?"
With the help of Library Media Specialist Catherine
Graybosch and Staff Technology Specialist Michelle Phillips,
students have learned how to research their topics ranging
from the economy, healthcare, global warming, and the
H1N1 Virus. Students were instructed in the use of I-Movie
and learned how to edit and import clips from online media
sources, including C-Span. The students used a video
camera to add their own interviews to their productions.
In science, it’s been a busy quarter aboard the R/V DALEC,
as Miss Willis’ young sailors peered through microscopes to
Page 3 ofPage
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Newsletter
SouthSMS
Middle
School Newsletter
January,March,
2010 2007
7th Grade Highlights from Jerry Cozine, Assistant Principal
discover the hidden world of cells! They navigated the
unchartered waters of alchemy along with Miss Willis’ twin
sister, Celestina, who made a special appearance to
demonstrate how to turn pennies into gold! Their DNA &
Genetics unit gave them the tools to understand how family
traits are passed along and predict the traits they may pass
along to their own children! Next ports of call: “Phun” with
Photosynthesis, an “EGG”cellent “EGG”speriment and
Pickle-Making at “Chez Willis!”
In November, Miss Willis’ sailors transformed into Mrs.
Hodgson's math students who completed a unit on exponents.
They learned the meaning of negative exponents and used the
properties for working with powers to evaluate and simplify
expressions containing exponents. Students saw that doing the
calculations with numbers in this form can actually be easier
than writing out numbers with several digits.
The next unit covered in 7th grade math was on rational
numbers. Rational numbers are numbers that can be written in
fraction form (this includes all integers, fractions, and
terminating and repeating decimals). Students learned how to
convert from one form of a rational number to another and
worked extensively on mastering all operations with rational
numbers. Since measurements involving fractions and
decimals are used in everyday life, we incorporated these
calculations into some real life examples and applications.
TEAM 7S – THE GOLDEN EAGLES
This year the Golden Eagles are soaring off into the school
year. In Mrs. Galgano’s social studies classes, we have
completed our units on English colonization and the American
Revolution. We began our unit on English colonization by
creating a map locating the 13 colonies, major cities and the 3
colonial regions. Our focus on the New England, Middle and
Southern colonies was on their geography, economy, society,
religion and government. While examining African slavery in
the Southern colonies, we watched the movie Roots, which
depicts a slave auction, the middle passage to America, and life
on a plantation. As a culminating project of the unit, each
student created an IMovie either on the New England, Middle
or Southern colony.
Qwizdom was also introduced to
students, which allowed them to interact with the lesson and
assess their understanding of the material. We also read and
analyzed the Declaration of Independence as well as poems
such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Midnight Ride of
Paul Revere.”
To understand differing points of view, we
watched clips of both the movies John Adams and The Patriot.
Mrs. Giani’s English classes are reading modern-day short
stories that fall under the theme of “Fitting In.” Reading short
stories in small groups, students worked cooperatively to teach
a 40-minute lesson to the class. Using the differentiated
instruction model, they were responsible for planning multiple
choice questions, open-ended questions, graphic organizers,
vocabulary and sequencing activities, and PowerPoints.
Students realized that half the battle was tackling classroom
(continued)
and time management, and it was fascinating for them to
witness and execute the lesson from the teacher’s point of
view. They seemed to discover a newfound respect for
teachers. One student even commented to Mrs. Giani, “I can’t
believe you have to do this much work every day!” Finally, students
will be writing personal reflections on their experiences. This
will be yet another masterpiece that will go into their final
portfolio folder.
In math, we have been learning about exponents and writing
in exponential form. In order to help make math come to life,
we solve word problems with real-life scenarios. These word
problems are used to learn about ratios, as well as, converting
fractions to decimals and “let statements” when solving for
variables.
The seventh graders will again be using Study Island as a fun
way to help prepare for the state math assessment. Students
will be confident and ready when the test takes place in May.
Mr. Zweig's Algebra class is writing, solving and graphing one
and multi-step inequalities using the four operations learning
how to solve and graph compound inequalities using "and"
and "or."
Students in Ms. Caplain’s classes have been learning all about
cells and improving microscope skills. The extra credit cell
models look really great. The bulletin boards are decorated
with everyone's Cell Doctor cartoons. The end of our unit on
cells is the onion/ cheek cell project where students can make
a scrapbook, a slide show, or type a standard lab report. Now
we are studying the processes that keep cells alive. We are
currently doing an eggs-ellent lab where we study osmosis in
chicken eggs. This will be followed by cellular respiration and
photosynthesis.
Overall, the South Stars have done a fantastic job this quarter.
We hope that offering them the chance to see the world as a
sailor, a movie maker, a book critic and a graphing specialist,
they will enjoy their school adventure just a little bit more.
TEAM 7SM – THE ROYAL REBELS
The Royal Rebels team cannot believe how quickly the first
quarter has come to an end and have jumped into quarter two
full steam ahead! Mrs. Whidden, Mrs. Doyle, Mr. D’Angelo
and Mrs. Ganz have been hard at work keeping the students
of the Royal Rebels team busy with exciting activities, learning,
and continuous growth.
In math classes, Mrs. Doyle’s classes have been hard at work
learning a variety of methods to solve equations. In her Math
7 class, Mrs. Doyle has been working hard at teaching and
showing students how to use multi-step equations. Her
students learned that a multi-step equation is an equation that
requires more than one step in order for the solution to be
attained. Mrs. Doyle and her Pre-Algebra students have been
exploring scale drawings and multi-step inequalities. Students
in Pre-Algebra were able to show real objects with accurate
sizes either reduced or enlarged by certain amounts.
Page 5
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School
Newsletter
Newsletter
March,
March,
2007
2007
January,
2010
7th Grade Highlights from Mr. Jerry Cozine, Assistant Principal
Currently in Science, Mrs. Whidden is working on a
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) unit. The students have been
studying the structure of DNA and its important jobs and
functions. Students learned that it is a hereditary material in
humans and almost all other organisms and that it is passed
from adult organisms to their offspring during reproduction.
Mrs. Whidden’s students were able to use the idea of genetics
to create their own “genetic smiley faces.” The students
started with “smiley face parents” and using their DNA and
probability determined specific traits that would be passed
down to their “smiley face children.”
(continued)
Our next poster project is centered around the inspirational life
and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The woodworking Technology elective is attracting many 7th
and 8th graders who enjoy creating beautiful projects. Our first
project is the bagel cutter that incorporates all machines and
processes for our second project. Suggestions include soccer
and knock hockey tables, gum ball machines and CD racks. As
always, safety is our prime concern in our classes.
Mr. D’Angelo is exploring all aspects of the American
Revolution with his students beginning the unit with
important facts that led up to the Revolution. Mr. D’Angelo
has been using clips from, John Adams, which is a seven part
miniseries based on the life of John Adams and the first fifty
years of the United States, to reinforce his lessons on the
Revolution. He was also able to use pertinent parts from the
movie, The Patriot, to really have the students visually
understand how the American Revolution has been
portrayed.
Mrs. Ganz’s English classes have been moving forward with
their passion for reading and exploring the genre of Fantasy.
Students in Mrs. Ganz’s class began reading Beowulf. They
were able to see what the original texts from Beowulf looked
like, and look at the difference between Old English and the
English they use today. Following the Hero’s Journey they were
able to explore Beowulf’s quest to defeat and destroy the horrid
Grendel! In order to choose their outside reading books,
students from Mrs. Ganz’s class joined another English class
taught by Miss Kostopoulos to hold a “Book Talk.” The
students spent several days planning, preparing and writing
book talks to share their thoughts and recommendations on
books they read. Students were able to choose books based
solely on the recommendations of their peers. The book talk
was a success!
Technology
Mr. Frangella’s seventh grade classes are currently engaged in
Scantek, a computer assisted learning activity. From
numerous areas of study, including robotics, aerodynamics
among others, students will pick content areas that interest
them and do hands-on activities and research for the next few
weeks. Mr. Maguire’s seventh graders have just finished their
Egg Crash vehicle prototypes and are developing
orthographic drawings of their designs. In the next few weeks
they will take their designs and build their vehicle using
various materials and techniques. The activity will culminate it
the famous Humpty Dumpty Wall of Truth to see if their egg
will survive!
Mr. Mead’s digital photography classes are currently using
Adobe Photo Elements 6.0 to create posters to compliment
the Friday in the Front performances being conducted by the
Rebels Pops. Students enjoy seeing their posters displayed in
conjunction with the talented music performances.
Mr. Geiger, South Middle’s wood working Santa’s helper, has
been busy in his workshop. Over the last few weeks, he has
built and refurbished wooden projects and games for
distribution to needy families in Great Neck. Foosball, knock
hockey, and CD racks are some of the projects completed.
Missing parts were donated by Personal Services Manufacturing
Company. Good job Mr. Geiger. Happy holidays to all!
Page 8 of 12
SMS Newsletter
January, 2010
6th Grade Highlights
Sixth Grade
If you’ve never had dinner with 231 over-stimulated sixth
graders, hiked in the rain over hilly, densely, woody terrain,
observed a Revolutionary War soldier fire a musket, stepped
across a swaying rope bridge over rushing water, or made
your own pretzels from scratch, then you haven’t been part
of the Greenkill experience. On November 17, five
busloads of sixth grade students and teachers embarked on
a two-hour trip to the Greenkill Environmental Center in
Huguenot, New York for four activity-filled days,
demonstrating that middle school students can, indeed,
survive for several days without their i-Pods, computers,
televisions, and DVD players.
The annual Greenkill trip is a truly multi-disciplinary
experience, where students learn survival skills in the forest,
build shelters, do team-building activities as part of Project
Adventure, make crafts, get a dose of history and local
folklore from Joe Ryan, the Revolutionary War soldier, do
journal writing, learn about wildlife, and, most significantly,
develop an appreciation of nature and an understanding of
the need for the conservation of resources.
Another benefit of the Greenkill trip, in addition to the
various learning experiences, is the bonding of students
through four intensive days of activities, recreation, dining
and living together. For some students this was their first
experience away from home. Most students made new
friends, learned new skills, and had an experience they will
remember throughout their lives.
In an age of global warming and the increased consumption
of many of our natural resources, our planet is truly
endangered. It is these students whose generation will be
the future stewards of our planet, and if the Greenkill
experience can help raise their consciousness of the
importance of our interdependence with nature, then it is a
trip of immeasurable worth.
The students who chose not to go to Greenkill had a great
time during the stay at home program. Naturalists from
BOCES came to the school and taught students how to use
a compass and practice orienteering. They also taught us
about “Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling.” The Long
Island Science Museum also came to South Middle and the
children learned about the science involved in building
bridges. Naturalists from Ally Pond Environmental Center
and The Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary joined us with their
real life reptiles, mammals, and birds of prey. We also
received a visit from Mr. Paul Ziring, Great Neck Public
School’s very own outdoor education teacher. He helped us
to work on team building and Project Adventure activities.
We learned how to approach some pretty interesting
challenges by working together as a group.
Language Arts
It’s that time of year again. The Greenkill Outdoor Education
experience and the Stay at Home Outdoor Education program
have been successfully and enthusiastically completed by all of
our 6th graders. Since our classes are in “survival” mode, in
keeping with the falling temperature and chill in the air,
English classes have completed, or are in the process of
completing, units utilizing individual books with survival
themes. These novels go along with the class novel, Touching
Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen, which all the 6th grade English
classes are now reading. Through this assignment, our
yearlong bullying theme is being continued, but this time,
much of the book takes place on a cold, remote island off the
coast of Alaska.
Along with our readings, the use of literary terms, figurative
language, vocabulary, and grammar mini-lessons will be
expanded through materials including specific handbooks
created for this purpose by our English department. In
addition to reading novels, we have viewed, and will be
viewing, select films to reinforce our students’ understanding
of the structure of stories. This reinforces our Home –
Adventure - Home approach to comprehending literature.
In addition, the English classes are working on enhancing our
students’ ability to write descriptively. For example, using an
interdisciplinary approach, we are now working on descriptive
writing related to an important science assignment, the
organism project, in which all 6th graders are now involved.
Using their research charts, our students have been asked to
turn facts about their organisms into a well-detailed paragraph
form.
As this quarter comes to an end, the entire 6 th grade will begin
preparing for SMS’s author’s visit. Todd Strasser, author of
The Wave, will be coming to speak to our school in May, so we
will be reading and discussing topics related to this novel, as
well as the novel itself. We are all looking forward to this
exciting event. Over the past several years, having an eminent
children’s author come to speak has become a highly valued
tradition at South Middle School.
A rope bridge at Greenkill used as part
of the Outdoor Adventure Program.
Page 9 of 12
SMS Newsletter
6th Grade Highlights
Math
693,540
Do you know whether this number is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
8, 9, or 10 without using paper and pencil or a calculator?
Well, children in the sixth grade know and can solve it with
ease. Ask your child to teach you the divisibility rules and you
too will know the answer. This is just one of the many topics
covered by sixth graders as we began our second quarter of
sixth grade math. The use of these rules led into prime and
composite numbers, finding the greatest common factor
(GCF) and the least common multiple (LCM) of a set of
numbers. The basic difference in curriculum between the
advanced and regular math classes is the degree of difficulty of
the material presented. While all sixth graders learned the
above material, the advanced classes work with LCM’s and
GCF’s containing variables.
Social Studies
“All cultures are the same, and all cultures are different.” It is with this
understanding that the sixth grade social studies classes have
embarked on their study of culture. It is through the nine
elements of culture that the students begin to recognize the
qualities that make cultures special and unique. While every
culture speaks a language, it may be a different language. While
every culture has a form of government, it may be a different
government.
January, 2010
(continued)
Science
Our science classes have just completed our journey through
the Ecology unit. Our environmental studies were further
enriched by an amazing outdoor adventure to Greenkill (or
right here in our own backyard!).
The students have
completed their first research project on a selected organism.
We spent time learning research skills in the library and parts
of this interdisciplinary project were discussed and worked on
in other classes. Your children will be able to tell you the most
wonderful and interesting facts about their organism. Ask
them to read you the descriptive paragraph and see if you can
guess what they are describing! We are now delving into
studying the Scientific Method and will discover the process
behind how problems are solved.
Art Club
South Middle’s Art Club hosted its first ever pumpkin carving
workshop on October 27th. Students brought pumpkins of all
sizes to cut and carve cute and scary faces in them. Ms. Smith,
Mr. Mead and the club’s advisor, Ms. Krupala, all rolled up
their sleeves to help students cut and carve their pumpkins.
The results were amazing. This event was such a success we
plan on having it again next year.
Another main theme woven through the unit is “Where you live
affects how you live.” Connections and comparisons are made,
relating culture to the geography of its region. For example,
people who live in a desert will have different clothing, foods,
and shelter than people who live in the polar regions.
Notetaking and study skills continue to be a major focus in the
social studies classroom. Cornell notes, highlighting, and
flashcards are some of the techniques taught. In addition, all
classes spent three days in the library to learn how to do
research on the Internet, including how to do a search, find
reliable websites, and how to do citations for their research.
These skills will be honed throughout the year as students
continue working on research projects.
As part of our unit on cultural diversity, our classes will
communicate with students in countries around the world
through ePals, an Internet program, which connects classes,
via email, from over two hundred countries. All students will
learn firsthand about the culture and lifestyle of their ePals.
Through programs such as this, students are learning to
become global citizens and communicate beyond the borders
of the classroom.
In the coming months, students will see how their knowledge
of culture applies to the study of ancient cultures. Research
projects will also be undertaken within the next few months.
Physical Education
Our first Fitnessgram test was a tremendous success for
everyone. All students gave an excellent effort over a two
week span that tested their ability to do push-ups, sit-ups and
endurance running. The Fitnessgram will be given two more
times during the 2009-10 school year. We look forward to
seeing great improvement! Our next unit was speedball - a
fast-paced game that incorporates football and soccer that was
truly enjoyed by all. At this time, we are beginning our
volleyball unit and will start basketball after the winter recess!
The AM and PM Intramural Program continues to be a huge
success. The AM program runs daily in Gym 1 from 7:25 to
8:10 and is open to all students. The PM program runs from
2:50 to 3:45 with all students taking the 4:00 bus home. Due
to the cold weather, the PM intramurals will be in the Rebel
Body Shop which has many brand new machines to help keep
our students in shape throughout the winter. Back away from
the video games, put down that cell phone, and come exercise
with us!
Page 10 of 12
SMS Newsletter
Technology
Arriving wide-eyed, our sixth graders are currently involved in
the major class activity, The Desk Organizer, which will be made
in a mass production fashion by all. Students are introduced
to the back and dovetail saw emphasizing safety by rules, tests,
and videos. Students take the lead as they learn to use the
belt/disk sander, drill press and jig saw. Students are also
doing research in the library on their Discovery and Invention
report. Also, LEGO kits will be used to learn about the six
simple machines and their place in our daily lives. Some of
our students enjoy this part the most and will be spending
part of their lunch period to do more advanced work.
January, 2010
International Recognition
Emma Lu, a sixth grade student at SMS, was named a winner
in the ePals contest "Students Speak: Countdown to Copenhagen."
Students from around the world were asked to submit digital
presentations on the topic "What would you say to the world leaders
in Copenhagen about global warming?" Emma's PowerPoint was
named best digital slide show out of over 500 entries in the
world, and it is one of 15 presentations by students worldwide placed on a DVD and presented to President Obama
and other world leaders at the Copenhagen conference on
climate change. Congratulations, Emma!!
Community Action Committee
Computers
There are lots of new and exciting activities in our Computer
Labs this fall. With the implementation of interactive
software, the labs are buzzing! From Google Earth science
projects to social studies Imovie creations depicting the plight
of the early settlers in Colonial America, our students are like
modern day explorers discovering new corners of our world
in ways we couldn’t have dreamed of just a short time ago.
There are plenty of computer electives such as Keyboarding
class to improve speed and accuracy that meets the demands
of high school and college. Digital Video Editing is a fun way
to learn how to edit your own movies as well as reinforcing
the curriculum with cooperative school assignments.
Multimedia is designed to teach presentation skills for the 21 st
century. MicroWorlds EX is a beginner language class for
computer programming; an advanced version is offered at the
high school level. Desktop Publishing teaches skills for
impressive written presentations such as newsletters and other
print media.
Do not forget that the computer lab is open every day after
school until 3:50 p.m. for students. We encourage students to
purchase a USB flash drive (with their name on it) to bring
their work back and forth from home to school.
Health
The LI Regional Poison and Drug Information Center visited
our Health 7 classes to speak about poison and poison safety.
Students are also identifying what it means to be a good friend
and to recognize the difference between mutual joking and
one-sided teasing and/or bullying. Yep, there is a difference;
the latter two can hurt a lot! The best time to talk about drugs
and alcohol is ANY TIME! Grade 8 classes have been doing
lots of talking, listening, visualizing and stimulating the effect
of alcohol intoxication on the body. Police officer Chuchul
spoke to our students about drug use and the consequences of
house parties.
The CAC is a club that works to help others in need. With
this goal in mind, our year started with a collection of school
supplies for St. Mary’s Hospital in memory of a Great Neck
student, Zach Portnoy. Articles such as notebooks, pencils,
markers, crayons, and paper, were brought to St. Mary’s by
Mrs. Portnoy and her family.
In addition, the CAC sponsors a Friday bake sale with all
profits being donated to St. Mary’s during their annual walk in
May. Further details regarding the walk will be forthcoming.
Please join us at Belmont Racetrack for a wonderful day of
fun activities and exercise.
Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all that we have, and
then to look at what we can do to help others less fortunate.
This year, the CAC, in conjunction with the Pay It Forward
club, sponsored a food drive. The donations were given to a
local shelter to help those in need. Also, the CAC created
beautiful Thanksgiving cards that were given to the Parker
Geriatric Center at LIJ. These cards were then placed on the
Thanksgiving dinner trays for the patients.
December finds the CAC members busy in room 603
wrapping hundreds of presents to give to students in an
elementary UCP school in Queens, the Queens Children
Psychiatric Center, and St. Mary’s in Bayside. Led by Ms.
Musmeci, and accompanied by a magician, and, of course,
Santa Claus (our own Mr. Golden), we bring gifts and
entertainment to the three facilities.
Another trip held in December for members of the CAC is
our annual trip to Oheka Castle. A number of students help
create a festive atmosphere for students from Project Head
Start. Dressed as elves, our students danced with the children,
and helped serve juice, cookies, popcorn, and cotton candy.
In January, the CAC will be sponsoring a trivia contest which
benefits UCP in Nassau. During their lunch time, students
answer one hundred trivia questions. The team in sixth grade
and one team from seventh and eighth grade with the highest
score in our school compete against other Nassau schools at
the UCP center. Thanks for caring!
Page 11 of 12
SMS Newsletter
January, 2010
Message from the President
with artwork, photos, artifacts or traditional cuisine from their
native land, please contact Margo Christofer at
mchristofer@greatneck.k12.ny.us
Dear SMS Families:
As we start the new calendar year, I want to take this
opportunity to wish you a happy, healthy New Year and take
a look back at some of the events of the past few months.
South Middle School has certainly been abuzz of activity.
Our annual Scholastic Book Fair took place in the school
auditorium, October 27-30. Special thanks to Louise
Hochberg, Ellen Schulman and Ina Kupferberg for
coordinating a spectacular Book Fair! This event is one that
all students look forward to with great anticipation and is a
wonderful opportunity to find books from many different
genres. The PTA was pleased to be able to donate some
favorite titles to our school library for the students’
continued reading pleasure! The week of Book Fair is quite a
commitment so I wish to thank all the parent volunteers
who helped make it a success. Mention must be made to
Judy Liman, Robert Aizer, Michael Cuttino and Carrie
Fichtel for putting in overtime hours. And very special
thanks to Judy and Robert for putting together magnificent
raffle gift baskets that went to some very lucky winners! Gift
basket items were donated by local merchants in the Great
Neck community. Their names appear below. Please
patronize these businesses to show our appreciation for their
generosity and support of our school.
On the evening of November 12th, the PTSA of SHS and the
PTA of SMS hosted a panel discussion on “Building
Foundations at Home to Help Your Child Succeed at School.”
Before a group of over 80 parents, school psychologists and
social workers from both the Middle School and High
School talked about teen development and ways to better
communicate with our children. Many thanks to Joan
Greenberg, Patricia Goodman, Yeddi Park, Lauren Petersen,
Amy Goldin, Sivan Erstein, and Grace Chen for presenting
this insightful program.
Our Apple Tasting Event took place November 25th at the end
of the school day. Different varieties of apples as well as
apple cider were available for sampling as the students left
school for the Thanksgiving weekend! Thanks to Kimberly
Park for the delicious apples and to Cecilia Kim, Hee sung
Whang, Kyung sun Choe, Heejung Noh and Mihey Son for
coordinating this fun event!!
No doubt it will be difficult to match the fall calendar, but
let’s take a look what is in store!!
Song, Dance, Music, Food and Costumes from around the world…
Mark your calendars for Thursday February 4 th as SMS
invites you to our Cultural Heritage Celebration, beginning at
6:00 p.m. There is still time to become involved in this
event. If any of our SM families would like to display a table
As you know the state budget crisis and possible reduction in
state aid may have an impact on the district’s budget for the
2010-2011 school year. Now, more than ever, it is imperative
that as parents of children in the public school system we are
aware of any fiscal implications this may present. Attendance at
Board of Education meetings and at UPTC meetings are a way to
know what issues are being discussed. All meeting dates are listed
in the school calendar and on the school district website.
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday, Jan. 19 @ 7:45 p.m - UPTC Meeting at North Middle
Monday, Jan. 25 @ 8:30 p.m. – BOE meeting at North High
Sincerely,
Julie Aronowitz
PTA President
In our continuing efforts to "Go Green"
we are planning on making the SMS newsletter available on
our website. If you would prefer to read the online version,
you may opt out of receiving future newsletters by mail.
Please contact us at gnsmsptamail@gmail.com and provide
us with your name, your child(ren)’s name and instructions
to be taken off the school newsletter mailing list.
THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES
The Inn at Great Neck
Postur-Line Childrens Shoes
Café Rustica
Scobee Diner
Michael Angelo’s Pizza
Bruce’s Restaurant and Bakery
Vision Associates
Hi-Tech Photography
Camp and Campus
Ray Leventhal
Café Classico
Cosi
Anna Bella’s Café
Spectacles
Squire Cinemas
Lazar’s Chocolate
Great Neck South Middle School PTA
349 Lakeville Road
Great Neck, New York 11020
Planet
Great
Neck
JANUARY 2010, WINTER EDITION
SCHOOL RECYCLING IS HERE!
by Dahlia Klein, PTA parent of 8th grader
Welcome to the first newsletter of the year for “Planet Great Neck.” We are happy that for the second year running, thanks to the town of North
Hempstead, recycling bins are in all classroom and all cafeterias for papers and plastics/bottles/aluminum. The students and faculty are diligently
disposing of recyclables in their respective bins. Please keep the continuum at home by setting the example for your children the importance of
reducing, reusing and recycling.
Let’s all help support getting this wonderful effort off the ground. Here’s what we can do:
 First of all, discuss the new recycling program at home. Make sure the kids are aware of the effort (it is already happening in the elementary
schools), especially in the cafeterias, and that they do their part to separate their trash.
 When visiting the schools, please remember to recycle in appropriate bins.
 We are collecting used ink cartridges for recycling. The collection bin is in the lobby.
 We are collecting used wrappers from Nabisco Brand Cookies, Capri Sun, Kool Aid, & Honest Drink Pouches and Stonyfield
Yogurt containers. We are collecting these wrappers and then sending them to Terracycle to “upcycle” the products into new items that
are available for sale at Target, OfficeMax and Home Depot.
 Let’s try to set a good example for the children by carrying our water in reusable stainless steel bottles, rather than plastic bottles that end up
in landfills and don’t biodegrade. You can purchase a “Great Neck Goes Green” water bottle through the PTA or school store.
 Like everything else, recycling begins at home. We should all work toward having designated trash areas for paper, plastics/bottles, and
regular trash.
 When entertaining at home, if there will be beverages served in individual bottles, try to put out a separate container for recyclables. The
kids can make a festive sign to mark the container.
 All paper goods at home should be made from recycled paper. In this way, you are doing your part in reducing the number of trees that get
sent to the lumber mill, and from deforestation. Learn which brands to buy at: http://www.nrdc.org/greenliving