Students studying pop-art icon Andy Warhol in JAE’s 4th Grade Crafty Cooks Art Club are making the donuts!

“Students always ask me why we are called the Crafty Cooks Art Club and I always reply, it's a name we inherited,” said club adviser Laura Hill Timpanaro. “The truth is we never cook at all!”

The students wanted to do a project that combined art and food and working collaboratively they came up with a donut-themed, pop art sculpture project. The students led the project, engineering the perfect donut by twisting paper and covering it with a paper mâché paste they made from flour, water and salt. Painted frosting and sprinkles made this art project look good enough to eat!

“The students are very proud of their work and I am very proud of them, said Mrs. Hill Timpanaro. Visual language is all around us and the students came up with a way to express themselves that was truly authentic.

Date Added: 5/9/2024

A “sneak peek” at School Lunch Hero Day, held annually on the first Friday in May to honor each person responsible for providing school lunches to millions of children across America. We thank our school lunch manager Shakia Hall and all our cafeteria staff in making sure the food is tasty and nutritious each school day!

Check out this video that features Ms. Hall preparing ramen in our schools and some student reactions to the tasty fare!

Date Added: 5/2/2024

Earlier this year, Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School fourth grade GATES students used the engineering design process to build prosthetic legs using basic household supplies. Under the guidance of teacher Sara Fisher, the young scientists learned how prosthetics work and each took six unassisted steps in building their designs. In the process, they learned about careers in biomedical engineering.

Fast forward to April 29, when the students visited Rocky Point High School technology students and teacher John Schumacher. There, graduate students from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and research assistant professor Meilin Chan worked with the JAE students on enhancing their original designs.

The two-hour meeting of the minds was set up by Rocky Point’s Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Aaron Factor and Dr. Chan. The JAE students also shared product models from Tinkercad 3D designs and printable parts they created in hopes of providing local veterans with 3D-printed assistive technology. The high school technology students gave tours and an overview of the 3D printing lab in the room.

The JAE students will continue with their research, create order forms and posters to advertise the products they will offer veterans and communicate with Mr. Schumacher’s students on what products will be printed.

“The goal of these students is to help veterans with simple products that can be 3D printed,” Dr. Factor said. “The ideas flowing were imaginative and thoughtful, and we look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition.”

Click here to view the photo slideshow.

Date Added: 4/30/2024

More than 150 Rocky Point School District students performed in the New York State School Music Association Solo/Ensemble Evaluation Festival held at William Floyd High School on April 12 and 13. The purpose of the NYSSMA Solo/Ensemble Festival is to provide the students the opportunity to perform for a certified Music Educator/Adjudicator so they may receive an objective evaluation of their musical proficiency and aptitude. This evaluation not only reinforces the positive aspects of a student’s performance, but also offers helpful suggestions for improvement. Students receive an evaluation sheet that includes written comments and an assessment on their performance. Students are evaluated in several categories including: accuracy of notes/rhythms, tone, technique, intonation, scales and sight-reading. Students learn what they did well and also what they can do to further their musical growth and development.

Students prepared solo and small ensemble pieces of music from the NYSSMA approved manual of repertoire in difficulty levels I-VI, where VI is the most advanced. Additionally, 13 students prepared a Level VI All-State solo, with the hopes of receiving an invitation to participate with one of the NYSSMA All-State performing ensembles at the NYSSMA Winter Conference in Rochester, NY in December 2025. Levels I-IV are evaluated on a rating scale of 1-28 and Levels V-VI are evaluated on a scale of 1-100.

The evaluation categories for NYSSMA Levels I-IV are:

26-28 Outstanding; 21-25 Excellent; 16-20 Good; 11-15 Satisfactory. An Outstanding Rating is given only to a performer who displays a distinguished level of accomplishment.

The evaluation categories for NYSSMA Levels V-VI are:

A+ 97-100, A 93-96, A- 90-92, B+ 87-89, B 83-86, B- 80-82

The Rocky Point Music Department is proud to announce that 86 students received an “OUTSTANDING” rating and 31 students received an “EXCELLENT” rating for Levels I-IV, while 28 students received an “A+” rating and 5 students received an “A” rating for Levels V-VI. This includes 31 perfect scores!

A congratulatory message from Rocky Point Music Department chairpersons Mr. Craig Knapp and Ms. Amy Schecher read: “We are very proud of all of the students who performed at the NYSSMA Solo/Ensemble Festival. Your hard work, dedication and talent truly contribute to the superb music program we have in Rocky Point. We are extremely proud of you! We would also like to thank our incredibly enthusiastic, dedicated and devoted music faculty for helping to prepare the students for this annual festival. Thank you to the families of these talented students for all of their support and encouragement. Thank you to all of the administrators and Board of Education members in Rocky Point for their continued support of our music programs. Thank you to all involved. Our performing arts programs could not be a success without you. This was a truly remarkable weekend of music making! The students are to be acknowledged and congratulated for their stellar achievements!”

Click here to view the photo slideshow.

Date Added: 4/18/2024

Students in JAE decorated infinity symbols in rainbow colors to create an Autism Acceptance Garden in the main hallway, which reads “Acceptance is an action. What are you doing to help it grow?”

Each grade level has their own tree. The students wrote words of love, kindness and acceptance on the symbols.

Thanks to teacher aide Mrs. Jasmine Perez, who created the trees and put up all student infinity symbols, and teacher Mrs. Gina Hale and Behavior Specialist Ms. Michelle Pfaeffle for guiding the efforts of the students in sharing JAE’s positivity and growth!

Thanks to fifth grade Academic Leaders Lily Cook, Gavin Damiano, Travis Giagios, Abby Villafane and Mallack Walsh for working with Mrs. Hale's students Shea Anderson, Blaze Carlino, Joshua Opitz, Leah Teague and Lia Veraldi and helping to create these colorful and inspiring messages!

Date Added: 4/16/2024