Students and staff celebrated the district-wide
Anti-Violence Initiative Day (AVID) on February 4th. At the high
school, the annual AVID assembly that zeroed in on the effects
and preventions of cyber bullying and digital violence was both
influential and memorable. Twenty student groups were chosen
from the more than 40 acts that were interested in performing in
the assembly. There were original songs performed by student
bands, multimedia presentations, one act student-written
performances, as well as dance and other live music in the show. WLNY TV55 covered the event and
featured it on its 11pm news
show. Click
here to see photos from the high
school AVID presentations. At the middle school, the staff is committed to
taking serious, proactive steps to curb bullying, a problem that
is found in schools everywhere.
For a podcast of the TV55 News program,
click here.
On February 10, Mr. John Halligan will present “Ryan’s Story,” to all eighth grade
students. He will also conduct a parent presentation on the
evening of February 10, at 7 p.m. in the Commack Middle School
auditorium. All parents are encouraged to attend this powerful
presentation.
Mr. Halligan will relay his tragic experience as a father whose
13-year-old son took his own life in 2003, after incessant
bullying by peers since the 5th grade, both in school and
online. His story is riveting and powerful, and reminds students
that there is a face, a person, a heart, on the other side of
the computer screen. After the presentation, counselors,
psychologists, and social workers will be available during lunch
periods and throughout the remainder of the day to meet with
those students desiring to discuss “Ryan’s Story” further. In
the days immediately following, lessons designed to stop
students from bullying one another and to avoid being bullied by
others will also be provided by our mental-health staff to 8th
grade students in their World Languages classes. For more
information:
www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org
Burr and
Sawmill Intermediate Schools hosted presentations about
Internet Safety and Cyber bullying, as part of Commack's
Cyber-safety curriculum. Officers from the Suffolk County
Computer Crimes Bureau are frequent guests at many of our
schools, providing constant reinforcement of the importance
of protection and awareness when communicating on the web.
On Thursday, February 17th, the
Sawmill Intermediate School will unveil their new character
education initiative, “SAWMILL RUNS ON RESPECT!” The
initiative will kick off with the newly adopted “Pledge of
Respect,“ then all students will show their commitment to
the pledge by signing the class Respect Sneaker. The
sneakers will be attached together with shoelaces and
displayed in the lobby. Students and teachers will
also participate in the “How Do YOU Show Respect”
competition, where classes are asked to decorate the inside
and or outside of their classroom, create a skit or song or
design posters about respect.
 Throughout the school year, Wood Park Primary
School students are involved in numerous activities that promote
pro-social behaviors. The Wood Park PTA sponsors performances
that relate to the themes of Respect, Honesty, and Tolerance.
The children have made gingerbread houses, placements,
centerpieces, and other service learning projects to raise funds
that are donated to the Ronald McDonald House. Classroom lessons
occur weekly that address pro-social behavior, and the Second
Stop program (for grades K-5) teaches critical social and
emotional skill to children. And most recently, Wood Park's
character committee and several students created a video montage
that exemplifies tolerance and peace through the eyes of a
child. That video may be viewed by
clicking here:
 North Ridge children and staff focused on the
theme of Compassion and Peace. Social Worker Ms. Nadobny read,
“Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” by Carol
McCloud, while the children viewed the story on classroom Smart
boards. In unity, the entire school sang, “Teaching Peace,” led
by Mrs. Preddice, Music Teacher. Students also received a
Certificate of Participation. Parents were given two heart
cut-outs and asked to write their child's at-home acts of
kindness on the hearts. The students then brought the hearts to
school, and placed them in a good deeds bucket. The hearts will
be displayed at our March Town Meetings.
Indian Hollow Primary school planned several
activities focused on Compassion (its Character Education trait
for February) and alternatives to violence for the month of
February. In school, students renewed their pledge to help stop
violence by contributing to the mural displayed in the All
Purpose Room. In the classroom, teachers read books and showed
age-appropriate videos. All students received a certificate of
achievement.The Indian Hollow PTA has scheduled a visit by author Dana
Perri. Dana is the author of the Think… then Jump
series of children’s books. The books all send the message that
students should slow down and take a breath before they act or
react,
 which compliments the theme of the school this month.
All the students at Rolling
Hills are involved in
reading books about
friendship and peace. At
class meetings, the children
discussed how to be kind and
caring on AVID Day and
throughout the year.
The first graders in
Nancy Carillo's class at
Rolling Hills Primary School
discussed ways to solve
conflicts in many different
real-life situations. They
used the picture cards from
the "Second Step" Program to
think of appropriate ways to
react when angry. The
students realized that we
all have feelings that can
be hurt, and we need to
speak kindly to others, or
seek help from an adult.
Students even role played
some of these situations,
and reviewed different ways
to stay calm down when angry
feelings arise.
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