The artistic talents of students at Amityville Memorial High School and Edmund W. Miles Middle School will be on full display to shoppers and motorists passing through the Village of Amityville this holiday season. For the second consecutive year, students painted holiday scenes on the windows of several local businesses.

Under the guidance of art teachers Jennifer Dibble, Jayne Grasso, Heather Pickard and Nicole Scoca, more than 20 students spent the morning of Dec. 4 creating the festive holiday displays. The windows of The Cheesecake Spot, Family Dollar and Gerald’s Market on Broadway were covered in designs created by students, as well as the Marks of Excellence child care center on Albany Avenue in North Amityville.

Teachers outlined the designs with white paint a day in advance before students arrived to add color. The displays featured Christmas lights, holly, ornaments, snowmen, wreathes and more. Participating students include members of the National Art Honor Society at the high school and interested art students from the middle school.

Director of Fine Arts Dr. Fran Fernandez and high school transition coordinator Karen Gross partnered with the Amityville Chamber of Commerce to beautify the community for the holidays. 

Students in Jennifer Dibble’s art classes recently worked on a collaborative project at Edmund W. Miles Middle School. Using watercolor paints, they made colorful feathers that were then used to create a peace dove on a bulletin board, which every student passes by on their way to the cafeteria and gymnasium. 

The middle school is designated as a No Place for Hate school by the Anti-Defamation League, and the creation of the dove is part of the ongoing initiative to foster a culture of compassion and kindness. Ms. Dibble coordinated with social worker Beatriz Offitto on the project. 

The district marked Veterans Day by providing students with first-hand accounts of history, as past and present servicemen and women visited Edmund W. Miles Middle School on Nov. 8 and Amityville Memorial High School on Nov. 14 to share their personal experiences.

The middle school welcomed 18 veterans who visited social studies classes throughout the day. They represented all branches of the military and served during different time periods, giving students perspective on several decades worth of world events. Volunteers from the National Junior Honor Society escorted them to the classrooms.

Among the speakers were several members of the school district who have served their country including Board of Education trustee Juan Leon, Administrator for Pupil Personnel Services Peter Paternostro, Assistant Administrator for Pupil Personnel Services Virginia Figueroa, social studies teacher Frank O’Brien and security guard Sikes Reese. Other guests included parents and representatives of local veterans organizations. Many veterans brought in artifacts to share including books, equipment, maps and photos.

“Students were able to hear multiple stories and perspectives about being in the service,” said Leslie Ciliotta, chairwoman for humanities. “We want students to not only show their appreciation for the people who fight for our country and our freedom, but also ask questions and explore a potential career path.”

Veterans also went to social studies classes at the high school. Department Chairwoman Dawn Mizrachi said that 25 men and women met with students to discuss their reasons for joining the armed forces, share stories from their service and talk about post-military life. She explained that by having veterans visit classes, students can establish connections with them and participate in meaningful dialogue about the historical events they have witnessed. 

Additional Veterans Day speakers at the middle school and high school included Loreal Best, Pierre Best, Donna Boyle, Jami Lyn Butto, Bill Coppola, Bill Demakakos, Director of Veterans’ Affairs from Farmingdale State College Eric Farina, Warren Hart, Ed Hayde, Ahad Ikram, Justin Jorgansen, Steven Labate, Nick LaLota, Chris Levi, Gene Murray, Tiffany Paurolo, Dwight Powers, Jason Rosser, Gabrielle Stewart, Mark Suckle, Jonathan Tisk, Chuck Vincuilla and Bill Walden.

 

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.