Oceanside School District

Students in Oceanside High School's AP Research program recently participated in an outreach initiative with Catholic Charities of Long Island. Their efforts to support the local community were featured on the Catholic Faith Network, highlighting the impact of student service and civic engagement beyond the classroom.

Students created gift baskets for the annual Mercy Hospital survivors lunch for breast cancer survivors and collected toys and games for children.

See comments for news item on Catholic Faith Network.

There were nearly 300 honors at our June Board of Education meeting, encompassing professional recognition, art, music, social studies, language, community service, scouting, and even saving a life!! Two of our board of education trustees, Donald Maresca and Robert Transom, were recognized for their decades of service to the board.

We also said goodbye to our student representative on the board, Brian Reluzco.

At our recent BOE Meeting, we said goodbye to nearly 30 retirees. (Some who already retired were not available to attend.)

Here are the retirees who were present:

Bridgette Amthor, Janet Barker-Soren, Deirdre Broderick, Amy Brown-Rand, Susan Br uno, Christina Castilla-Lyson, Rosalie Celeste, Diane Celiberti, Ivy Cibrano, Lynda Faherty, Donna Gales, Lori Ann Gambardella, Laura Garelick, Patricia Hamilton, Karen Hannon, Roslynne Johnson, Karen Kosakoff, Christine ZLane, Lori Martinez, Andrea Marzano, Linda McGrath, Amy Simon, Antoinette Sundeberg, Evelyn Sweeney, Robin Tarrash, Jean Marie Toy, Tara Tynan, Christine Valentino, Michael Vetter.

Congratulations to all! We wish them happiness and good health!!

OMS students presented the Make-A-Wish Foundation with a check for $8,055, the result of a year-long campaign to support the wishes of children in the Long Island/NYC region. After presenting the check,students ran their final fundraiser of the year to add to that $8K+. It was a half-mile color run around the school track and grounds.

The afternoon began with an assembly in which the Make-A-Wish representative shared the story of Make-A-Wish's origins and the special joy of witnessing children reclaim their childhood after enduring medical ordeals. We cried. 🥰

OMS ❤️ 😍 🥰

Mrs. Provvido* visited School #5's Project Extra 4th grade and read a book about whales. They had a great discussion after!

*Mrs. Provvido is the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction & Technology, and a big fan of whales. 🐳

Last week, we had field day at almost all of our elementary schools and it was a blast, with perfect field day weather, made to order!

Stay tuned for field day at School #3 this week and next week at School #6 ELC.

This was one of the sweetest stories! The OMS students were so determined to put that puzzle back together and their teamwork was incredible. Thanks Ella M. from OHS for coming back to unearth the capsule that you helped to create.

Here's what some of the students had to say about the experience:

"So much of me and everyone else has changed a lot since we buried that so I thought it was really cool." -Ella M., OHS

"It was a lot of fun and gave a flashback of how crazy the world was during Covid time. "
- Ryan M., OMS

“This experience gave us all so much perspective on not only how COVID was in the middle school, but also how lucky we are to be here during this time” Asym D.

"After putting the puzzle together I found my oldest brothers name ....it truly was one of the coolest thing because I got to see what it was like when he was in my shoes and how his middle school experience was. It was an honor to be able to experience this and this was an unforgettable experience... I can’t wait for the next generation to see my year's capsule and they will see how our middle school journey was. -Mason D.

As soon as we turn the page on the holiday season, the rest of the school year gallops by. Can't believe it's already been a few weeks since we inducted 34 new students into the Math Honor Society. Some students were missing for this photo because of a field trip to Orlando.

Congratulations to all of our newest math honor society members!

Last week, our OHS Castleton students, with an assist from two School #6 kindergarteners, recognized two of our local veterans. Sergeant José Contes, a Vietnam Veteran, attended our November flag raising ceremony and had a flag raised in his honor. He received his ceremonial flag at last week's ceremony. Students lowered the flag, folded it in accordance with U.S. Flag Code, and presented it to him.

A new flag was then raised in honor of Sergeant Cyrus Vaseghi, a veteran of operations in the Persian Gulf. His daughter, Kailee Vaseghi, teaches at School #2 and attended along with her class, making the celebration even more special.

Two students from School #6 presented Sgt. Vaseghi with flowers.

Congratulations to the 99 Oceanside High School students in the Science Research program who participated in last night's Science Symposium. Students in grades 9-12 spent months researching, investigating, analyzing data, forming conclusions, and creating their presentations. Last night, they presented to judges, along with fellow students, parents, teachers, board of education trustees, and administrators.

✅ Check out the beautiful booklet created by Science research teacher Michael Pepe, featuring all of the projects! (Link in comments.)

🏆 And the award winners are....drum roll! 🥁

🌟 Honorable Mention (awarded to two projects): 🌟

Anthony Balsan — The Effects of Household Greywater on the Growth of Wisconsin Fast Plants

Adriana Abraham — Investigating the Effectiveness of Different Types of Mouthwash

🌟 Third Place (tie): 🌟

Kellen Nardone — The Effects of Acrylic, Oil-Based, and Water-Based Paint Fumes on Mold Growth

Lacey Wassenbergh — The Effects of Soil pH on Germination Rate and Plant Growth of Wisconsin Fast and Basil Plants

🌟 Second Place: 🌟

Aiden Flannory — The Effect of Polyethylene Microplastic Particles on the Nitrate Intake of Lemna minor

🌟 First Place (tie, with near-perfect scores from the judges): 🌟

Nathan Walker — The Effects of Baseball Spin Types on Trajectory and Aerodynamic Behavior During Flight

Julia Brew — The Effects of Gravitational Force on Plant Growth and Development