Deer Park Welcomes New Educators

In an effort to acclimate new teachers to the Deer Park School District newly hired staff attended a three-day orientation program. District Administrators and Curriculum Associates mentored the new members of the academic team through a variety of workshops and seminars. The program began with a welcome message from Superintendent of Schools Eva Demyen, who described the academic standards and community culture of the district and set forth the expectations and plans for the upcoming school year.

New teachers were instructed on how to design and execute an effective lesson plan and how to manage their classroom through the Infinite Campus Student Information System by Administrator for Instructional Technology Dr. Jared Bloom. Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services Frank Caliguiri spoke about the importance of academic and social support and the services the district offers its students to ensure their success. 

To culminate the training sessions, teachers met at their respective buildings and spoke with their building and curriculum administrators to become familiar with their schools, classrooms and facilities.

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Administrators Ensure Student Safety

District Administrators came together for an Administrative Council Retreat to prepare themselves, their buildings and staff for the start of the school year. Administrators discussed a variety of topics including educational leadership skills, evaluation models and most important student safety.  
   
Deer Park Aquatic Director and American Red Cross instructor Jeanne-Marie Kavanagh facilitated an American Red Cross Adult and Child Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillation (AED) training sponsored by the American Red Cross Schools and Community First Aid/CPR/AED program. The comprehensive training provided all District Administrators with the knowledge and skills necessary to help sustain life and minimize the consequences of breathing and cardiac emergencies until advanced medical assistance arrives.

The program’s content and activities combined online media and testing with physical skill scenarios which helped district personnel learn how to recognize potentially life-threatening emergencies and make appropriate decisions and actions for rapid medical assistance. Critical skills learned included providing care for conscious choking, unconscious choking, rescue breathing for a child, CPR for an adult or child, and when and how to appropriately use an Automated External Defibrillator.

This proactive program prepared district administrators to be in the best position to provide assistance should anyone in the school community require it and with the completion of the intensive training administrators received American Red Cross certificates.

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Meet & Greet for Kindergarten Students

Prior to the first day of school, the Deer Park School District invited incoming kindergarten students and their parents to a class playdate. Students who will be attending John Quincy Adams and May Moore Elementary Schools this fall visited their respective buildings for a social afternoon with their future peers.

The event provided students with the opportunity to meet their teachers, administrators and create new friendships while exploring the schools outside play areas. To prepare the students for the complete first day of school experience, the soon-to-be kindergarteners climbed aboard a parked bus to practice the proper way to behave when riding and how to safely enter and exit the vehicle.

In addition, parents were able to speak with the schools’ Parent Teacher Association members and learn about the various annual events and activities the students will participate in throughout the school year.
 

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Technology-Driven Success

James Henry teaches college level Pre-Calculus and inclusion Algebra Regents to students at Deer Park High School by utilizing leading-edge academic technology resources. This past year Mr. Henry operated one of the district’s model classrooms, which was equipped with interactive technologies including SMART Board whiteboards, MacBooks, SMART Document Cameras, iPod Touches, SMART Response interactive testing systems and SMART AirLiner Wireless Slates.  

Through these tools students incorporated podcasting into the math curriculum and created live presentations to share and review with their peers. A variety of software applications enabled students to work directly with virtual materials such as graphing calculators, protractors and rulers and better prepare for exams. The “SMART” devices also enabled Mr. Henry to collect and sort data in order to tailor his lessons and increase student performance.

Due to the initial successes of the model classrooms, the district plans to expand and further develop model classrooms throughout the district.

Chief Operating Officer of Western Suffolk BOCES Dr. Michael Mensch recognized the district’s initiatives and honored Deer Park Director of Technology Dr. Jared Bloom as Administrator of the Year for the BOCES' Model Schools program. In addition, May Moore Elementary School teacher Susan Steinman won a Technology Integration Award and a $1,000 grant for her work at the primary level.

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Spring Sports Wrap-Up

The district is proud to announce that five high school fall athletic teams achieved New York State Scholar-Athlete status. In order to receive this designation the team achieved and maintained a cumulative grade point average of 90 or better throughout the entire season. In addition, two varsity and two junior varsity teams were selected as Section XI Outstanding Sportsmanship Teams for their fair play and good sportsmanship on the field of competition. What makes this award so genuine is that it is determined by officials and opposing teams.

The Girls Varsity Lacrosse squad claimed the Division II Championship, while Boys Varsity Golf won the League I Suffolk County Championship for the sixth consecutive year. The Robert Frost Middle School athletic program was represented by the Girls Seventh-Grade Softball team, who tallied an undefeated season. 

In addition, individual spring athletes were named to numerous All-League, Academic All-League, All-County, All-Tournament, All-Division and All-State teams, and Girls Varsity Lacrosse player Jasmine Gonzalez who received the Unsung Hero Award.


New York State Scholar-Athlete Teams:
Boys Spring Track
Girls Varsity Golf
Girls Varsity Lacrosse
Girls Varsity Softball
Girls Spring Track

Section XI Sportsmanship Team Award:
Boys Varsity Spring Golf
Boys Junior Varsity Spring Golf
Girls Varsity Golf
Girls Junior Varsity Lacrosse

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Students Receive Media Award from MSG Varsity Network

Deer Park Business Education students have fostered a partnership with MSG Varsity, the first television, online and interactive network devoted to local high school sports and activities. Students enrolled in the high school’s Multimedia Business Applications course submitted segments to the network throughout the year, and in recognition of the exceptional content they provided, Deer Park High School was named "MSG Varsity's Outreach Partner of the Week." In addition, 12 business students received $2,000 in scholarship monies for their outstanding audiovisual contributions.

To signify their accomplishments, an MSG Varsity reporter and camera crew visited the high school classes and interviewed students on their experiences working behind the camera with audiovisual and editing computer software, as well as serving as reporters, sharing Deer Park news on a regional platform.
Schools selected as Outreach Partners of the Week exhibit the values of community, leadership, friendship, teamwork and camaraderie, while engaging in activities that help to teach kids about the ideals of these principles. Deer Park was selected for the students’ ability to maximize the power of media by bringing stories to life through compelling reporting, creative use of the camera and editing, and overall production value.

Prior to shooting and producing content for the channel, students learned about effective and responsible communication in an increasingly multimedia world. MSG Varsity provided students with the technology necessary to create segments and demonstrated how to properly edit and effectively present events and news.

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