J. M. S. News. . . by Donald F. Gately
March 2015
Quote for the beginning of March: “There is no better exercise for the heart than
reaching down and lifting others up.” John Andrew Holmes, American poet and critic,
1904-1962
Personal Best Day – February 13, 2015
Jericho Middle School's Eighth Annual Personal
Best Day for the 2014-2015 school year was a big
success and enjoyed by all! This program encourages
and supports the Social and Emotional Literacy
development of our students. To celebrate, we had an
assembly where faculty and staff shared inspirational
stories with students. Music was played over the loud
speaker between the change of classes and each period
a mystery staff member read an inspirational quote.
Students were given a program listing the quotes and
were asked to guess the identity of the mystery staff
member. Teachers did special activities in the
classrooms that day and during the lunch periods there
were student/faculty volleyball games.
Please visit the following website created by our Librarian, Mrs. Minikel, to view additional pictures from
that day: http://web.jerichoschools.org/ms/library/PersonalbestDayFeb2015.htm
8th Grade Girls’ Student Leadership Group Held Their 4th Annual Cupcake Competition and Bake Sale
The third annual Cupcake War was held on Valentine’s Day, Friday, February 14th. The theme of the
competition was “What Do You Love?” The students told us something they “love” through their baking
and creativity; each entrant was required to make two dozen cupcakes and four of the cupcakes were
removed for the judges to view and evaluate. Prizes were awarded for many different styles and
everyone was a winner! Proceeds from this Cupcake event will benefit the HorseAbility Center for Equine
Facilitated Programs in Old Westbury. HorseAbility Therapeutic Riding Program and Summer Day
Camp offers a wide range of horse-related programs to children, adults and families with special needs to
promote the physical, psychological and social well-being of all of its participants.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS
Cupcake War Winners
Grand Prize Winner – Pork and Broccoli Lomein – Janina Lo and Allison Ng – 6th Grade
Grade 6:
Third place: Gabe Lee , Daniel Sichenzia, Keeara McAllister with “March of the Penguins
Second Place: We Love the Beach” – Mia Maola, Alexa Apell, Chloe Siegel; Louisa Austriacu
First Place: “I Love Hamburgers” - Matthew Monigal
Grade 7th:
3rdPlace – We Love Sushi –Mark Stephanos, Khaled Taima, Ryo Takahashi
2rd Place: We Love Animals – Jennifer Lin, Sanjana Shanmugavel , Riya Patel, Keertti Sinnan
1st place – I Love Apples – Isabella Lok
Grade 8th:
3rd Place – We Love Gum – by Cassie Stoffers and Brianna Blumenthal
2nd Place – I Love Country Pie – Jeffrey Schroeder
1st Place – We LOVE Breakfast – Sabrina Benayoun and Erin Dong
1st Place- We love to travel- Nora Safa, Rachel Mitrea
Special Categories:
Winner of the Class Entry – “A Star in Born” - Mrs. Stiles, Mr. Lawlor, Josh Kaplan, Corey Edelman,
Jerry Yablans, Ariel Sohayegh, Jaeger Fernandez, Brian Yu, Elyssa Munayirji, Isabella Moshe, Nicole
Salerno, Emily Nelson, Nico DeGuardia, Michael Goncalves
Faculty Cupcakes:
3rd - Mr. Kuehn – Ninja Turtles
2nd – Mrs. Kamvakis (With daughter Gracie) - I Love Valentines Day
First – Mrs. York and Mrs. Richman – It’s Raining Cats and Dogs
Special Category – “FAN FAVORITES:
Fan Favorites:
8th grade - I love to Sing – Sarah Marturella
7th Grade - Buttered Popcorn – Dylan Swickle
6th Grade Hot Cocoa –Sydney Schroeder, Samantha Mery, Carli Singer, Karis Park
Starbucks– Jenna Wiseltier
Please click on to the following link to view pictures of our Cupcake event:
http://web.jerichoschools.org/ms/library/cupcakeawards2015.htm
Our Spring Middle School Play
The Jericho Middle School Players are proud to present the comedy, Jolly Roger and the Pirate Queen,
on Friday, March 20, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the Little Theatre. Tickets are $10.00. Don't miss it!
Philadelphia Trip for 7th Grade Students
Our 7th graders and their teachers are going to visit the National Constitution Center in
Philadelphia on March 12th and 19th. Students will be able to see the historical sites that
relate to the 7th grade social studies curriculum this year.
Monthly Theme for March
Friendship
(Reaching Out to Others, and Sharing)
Friendship is what binds people together when they take pleasure in each other’s company. Friends
listen, laugh, and share the good times, as well as the bad. “Friends are angels who lift us to our feet
when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”
We must help you to realize that true friendship can form bridges that last a lifetime. Strong
friendships will embrace you with the necessary strength and love to meet the challenges that confront
you throughout your lifetime. Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave and impossible to forget.
Remember, “An open mind is the beginning of self-discovery and growth.” – (Erwin G. Hall) and that
throughout life’s journey your attitude will allow you to form friendships that are a necessary ingredient
to successful and meaningful human relationships!
CLASS NEWS
Teams 6A – D. Gilbert-J. Kuehn
Students from Mr. Kuehn's class (Team 6A) celebrate
Personal Best Day by sharing their musical talents.
Team 6B-B. Riccuiti-K. Varga
In honor of Personal Best Day, Team 6B focused on creating and inventing.
A guest speaker was invited in to share how he invented a popular game
that motivates thinking outside the box. Students were inspired by this
presentation, and invited to bring in their own creations as well! We even
had our very own Kartik bring in a robot that he built. The robot is able to
solve the Rubik's Cube very quickly; however, Kartik can solve it faster
than the robot!
Team 6C-M. Clemente/J. O’Brien-L.Diehl/J. Fernandes
Team 6C did their personal best sharing their
passions to celebrate student choice in learning.
You can see all that was shared if you follow
JMS Team 6C on Twitter @LJDiehl.
Team 6D-S. Aubrey-B. Schisgall-D. Lambe
Team 6D enjoyed the world favorite game of X’s and
O’s . . . Tic Stac Toe this exciting game where 4 in a
row on any level wins . . . Thanks to toy maker, Rob
Appelblatt, who came to Personal Day . . . to make our
day the BEST!
Team 7A-B. Brill-M. Vevante-S. Theotokis-D. Kahn-L. Trojanowski-A.McDonough
On team 7A we have been working on researching
signers of the US Constitution. In preparation
for our upcoming Philadelphia trip, we are
researching the first political parties and
analyzing the delegates beliefs regarding the
new government. We can't wait to see the place
where the Constitution was actually signed!
Team 7B-C.Dell’Erba-P. Travis-M. Panayiotou-S. Sharma
Upon completing a unit on the Respiratory System, students of Team 7B were made aware that a plaque
had been dedicated to the memory of Marissa Lanzaro
Bishop, a former Learning Center instructor who passed
away in 2006 from Cystic Fibrosis. Even though students
walk by the plaque everyday, they were unable to identify
who it honored and most students admitted that they had
never noticed the plaque. While the students were learning
about Cystic Fibrosis, Mrs. Rofelsohn, a current Learning
Center instructor and close friend of Mrs. Lanzaro Bishop,
spoke to the students about how Cystic Fibrosis affected
Mrs. Lanzaro Bishop’s life. In addition, Mrs. Rofelsohn
described Mrs. Lanzaro Bishop as professional,
compassionate, and a good friend. At the conclusion of the
lesson, students were encouraged to share what they had learned about Mrs. Lanzaro Bishop with other
students and faculty of Jericho Middle School.
Team 8A-C. Snyder-T. Cantwell-D. Schwirzbin-T. Lucher-D. Stile-J. Lawlor
8th grade students viewed the movie 'Selma'
where they reflected upon the importance of
Martin Luther King, Jr. and his role in leading
the Civil Rights Movement for African-American
equality. In accordance with the new Common Core
Standards, students analyzed the movie Selma for
historical interpretation as well as evaluated bias
in film. Students interpreted the specific actions
of Martin Luther King Jr., the many Civil Rights
upstanders, and those in the government and
examined the role of leaders and activists to
bring about great change for African-Americans.
Team 8B-R. Scalera-J. Adler-T. Catalano-J. Smith
Team 8B: “Students are using Desmos to investigate
mathematical concepts.”
Students on team 8B are using Desmos as a way to pull
together mathematical concepts . Desmos eliminates some of
the abstractness that comes with mathematical investigations
and allows the students to play with the numbers. With
Desmos, the students can see something happen to the
corresponding graphs as adjustments are made to the
parameters. The Desmos application engages students and
encourages them to share their ideas and discuss
relationships
Team 8C-J. Han-K. Kovoros-G. Berry-J. Stiegert
Team 8C had a "sweet" time imagining cookies as
rocks in our class Cookie Lab! Students classified
the cookies as Igneous, Metamorphic or
Sedimentary and everyone had to explain
the reason for their classification!
Team 8C students had an opportunity to share a bit about
themselves on Personal Best Day. Students brought in items
that gave teachers and students a glimpse into what is
important.
Notes from the World Language Department
Middle School World Language students are participating in our annual Tile Project in collaboration with
our amazing art teacher Mr. Porinchak. Students design tiles based on cultural themes which will be
permanently displayed throughout the hallways of Jericho Middle School. Next time you are on campus,
be sure to look up to see our students’ amazing creations.
Our department also participated in Personal Best Day where we flipped the classroom and the students
became the teachers, educating their peers about topics of interest to them- from cultural lessons to
how Valentine’s Day is celebrated in various countries.
Chinese: The 6th graders are establishing pop-up Chinese restaurant in the library where they will invite
current 7th and 8th graders Chinese students to dine alongside administrators. Seventh and 8th grade
Chinese students are performing in the Chinese New Year celebration at Cantiague, sponsored by the
Chinese Association of Jericho.
French: French students are studying about l'ecole and learning how to tell time in French. 7th grade
French students are involved in differentiated projects where they will demonstrate their knowledge of
family. And the 8th graders are anxiously awaiting their trip to Quebec while they also learn about the
geography of France. Bon voyage!
Italian: Sixth grade Italian students learn how to tell time using authentic Italian signs which exposed
them to military time which is commonly used in Italy. 7th graders are entering the mondo della moda as
they study about clothing. This will culminate with a project where students will design a clothing closet
full of their favorite fashion. 8th graders were introduced to one of Italy’s greatest pleasures, l’espresso.
They sipped on this while tasting another delicacy, il panettone, a traditional Italian cake.
Spanish: Sixth graders are getting (inter)personal as they simulate conversations that may happen as
they meet people from different parts of el mundo hispanohablante. Por avión, por tren, y por auto, 7th
graders can travel the world using various modes of transportation. They will virtually visit schools in
Spain compare education systems between Spain and the United States. ¿Dónde está la plaza mayor?
Need directions? Ask an 8th grader as they are learning about comunidad and how to navigate traveling
through cities and towns of Spain and Latin America. The 8th grade classes are shifting gears from the
present tense to the past tense. Students are learning how to communicate their experiences in the past.
Diversity Day – February 10, 2015
Jericho Middle School celebrated its annual Diversity Day on February 10th. The show was kicked off by
an amazing Bollywood routine and for 90 minutes middle school students were mesmerized by song, dance,
spoken word, and skits. The show was varied with traditional Chinese dance, Chinese Yo Yo, a medley of
songs from Brazil, skits about feeling misunderstood and Islamophobia, speeches about being an extreme
athlete, being a leftie, and the importance of encouraging girls to study STEM, Diversity Day raised
awareness and showcased the amazing talents of our students. In an effort to act locally and globally,
the Diversity Club raised $850 for the Sarcoma Foundation of America in memory of Adam Singer,
Jericho Alum 2008 and $850 for the Malala Fund.
http://web.jerichoschools.org/ms/library/diversityday2015.htm
Our Friendship Theme Quotes for March
March 9-13: “The highest and best form of efficiency is the cooperation of a free people.”
Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, 1856-1924
March 16-20: “Show me a friend who will weep with me, who will laugh with me, and I can find myself.”
Yugoslav proverb
March 23-27: “Friends share all things.” Pythagoras, Ancient Greek Philosopher, Mathematician
March 30/April 1: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller, Blind and deaf humanitarian,
Author, 1880-1968
March 5
March 16-20
March 17
March 20
March 26
DATES TO REMEMBER
MS PTSA & Principal’s Coffee Hour – MS Library, 9:00 a.m.
M.S. World Language Week
6th, 7th & 8th Grade Guidance Evening Hours, 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
Recognizing that other commitments often make it impossible for parents to find
time to meet with counselors during the regular school day, we will continue a
program of evening meetings this year. If you would like to meet with your
youngster’s counselor, but are unable to do so during the school day, please call the
counselor in order to schedule an evening appointment.
MS Play: ”Jolly Roger and the Pirate Queen” –7:00 p.m., Little Theatre,
Tickets: $10.00
Board of Education Meeting – MS Library – 7:30 p.m.