In an effort to showcase their admiration and respect for the nation’s veterans, Babylon Elementary School recently hosted their annual, music-filled “Patriotic Sing Along” in the school’s gymnasium.

With assistance from Babylon Elementary School music teacher Eddie Storey, students of all grade levels raised their voices in unison to sing their hearts out to patriotic anthems as Mr. Storey accompanied them on his guitar. During the course of the assembly, the students were joined by U.S. military veterans, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini, district administration as well as students’ parents.

Additionally, the attendees were treated to a special surprise as they exited the gymnasium and entered the “Hall of Heroes,” as the school’s lobby was filled with decorative banners listing the names of family members who served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

In accordance with their literacy curriculum, first- and second-grade students at Babylon Elementary School recently collaborated to showcase their “small moments” written pieces of work to one another. After spending weeks studying how to properly craft stories in their classrooms, the young authors drew inspiration from real-life experiences to write their literary pieces which were shared amongst their classmates. Examples of topics the students chose to share with their new friends included family camping trips, attending sporting events and losing their first tooth.

Several English as a New Language students from Babylon Junior-Senior High School recently attended a field trip to the fifth annual Long Island Dreamers’ Conference held at Suffolk County Community College on Nov. 2.

While attending, the students attended workshops pertaining to rights of immigrant students, college and career readiness, stress management, and became familiar with the college application process. Additionally, all five student-attendees decided to become members of Long Island Immigrant Student Advocates, an organization which provides community service and networking opportunities, as well as scholarship opportunities to those interested in joining.

“Our ENL students returned to school with hope and were genuinely excited about these opportunities,” said District Director of World Languages Michelle Scharff. 

Celebrations honoring the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead were clearly alive and well in the Spanish Level IV classrooms of Babylon Junior-Senior High School as instructors Laura Jayne and Marianne Shaw engaged their students in a number of festive activities surrounding the holiday.

To commemorate the holiday, students were asked to create displays known as “ofrendas,” similar to those created in Mexican homes to celebrate the lives of the dearly departed on “Día De Los Muertos.” Traditional ofrendas feature either a photo or multiple photos of the deceased family members, along with “papel picado,” which is a cut-out type of decoration and “cempazuchitl” (Marigolds). Additionally, the students created sugar skulls known as “calaveras de azucar” for their displays. 

The district is proud to announce that 39 Babylon Junior-Senior High School students have earned Advanced Placement Scholar awards from the College Board. These honorees include both current students and members of the Class of 2018. 

Of the 39 total students, 22 received the AP Scholar title for receiving a score of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams. Five students were named AP Scholars with Honor, as they achieved an average score of at least 3.25 on all of their AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. Additionally, 12 students were awarded as AP Scholars with Distinction, as they achieved an average score of at least 3.5 on all exams taken with scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. 

During a brief ceremony held in the Babylon Junior-Senior High School library, students were met with praise from District Director of Guidance Dennis Murphy and Superintendent of Schools Linda Rozzi for all of their hard work and effort.

As part of the English Department's schoolwide writing initiative, three students from Babylon Junior-Senior High School recently participated in a local writing contest surrounding the topic “Why should we honor our Veterans?” and took home the top three prizes with their excellent essays.

Eighth-grader Molly Higgins secured first place, while fellow eighth-graders Rori Nugent and Keira Bucaro took home second and third place, respectively. The contest was sponsored by the Town of Babylon Veterans' Advisory Council in conjunction with New York State Assemblywoman, Kimberly Jean-Pierre to kick off Veterans' Awareness Week on Nov. 2. All students received a gift card as a prize for their valiant efforts in the contest. 

Due to their victory, all three students were invited and attended the Veterans Awareness Week event in the Town Board Room where they read their essays aloud.

"As a community of writers, as well as readers, we understand the power of our words,” said Babylon School District Director of ELA Teresa Collins.

In celebration of the nationally recognized “Global Maker Day” event, students at Babylon Memorial Grade School spent the majority of class time of Oct. 23 engaging in a series of activities which allowed them to expand upon their creative talents in a fun and educational manner.

Sixth-grade students enrolled in Heather Hosek’s science classes were asked to engineer a catapult using popsicle sticks, rubber bands, straws, pipe cleaners and a cup. Using these everyday items, the catapult was required to launch a projectile and had to undergo an accuracy test and a power test. The pre-challenge lesson taught students the science behind the engineering of the catapult, including energy transfer from potential energy to kinetic energy, simple machines, forces and measurement. After the catapult challenge, students graphed and analyzed data collected and shared findings with classmates.

In the library, students were challenged by school librarian Lisa Lindeman to select items from a "Magic Bin" of random items and use their creative genius to “create something that did something.”

Students in Donna Hendrickson’s fourth-grade class utilized their architectural skills to build a tower made out of spaghetti and mini marshmallows with the goal in mind of making it stand up for more than 20 seconds. Before beginning the challenge, students brainstormed ideas, chose their best idea and then drew their design. They were then allotted 30 minutes to build their prototype.  Afterward, they recorded their results and discussed what they could do to improve their designs.

Additionally, third-graders enrolled in Brittany Mueller's class were challenged to recreate the facial details of a historical figure using the Paint application on their computers and the Colored Pencil application on iPads. As a final challenge to their projects, students printed out their completed designs and challenged their classmates to guess who they created based off facts and information read aloud about their chosen historical figure. 

Global Maker Day is an international event which was organized by United States educators to provide a day of making for students with an authentic global audience in mind. Babylon Memorial Grade School joined more than 1,000 classrooms spanning 39 countries by planning, creating, testing and problem solving to complete the fun and exciting challenges.  

Along with more than 1,500 high school students across Long Island, students enrolled in Babylon Junior-Senior High School’s Virtual Enterprises class recently attended the Virtual Enterprise Business and Entrepreneurship Leadership Conference held at Long Island University’s C.W. Post Campus.

The VE Entrepreneurship and Leadership Conference is open to all VE high school students throughout Long Island. While there, the attendees were given the opportunity to deliver an elevator pitch, network with industry experts and successful entrepreneurs, and participate in exciting breakout sessions. 

This year’s keynote speaker was Marie Moody, founder and CEO of Stella & Chewy’s, a growing pet food provider organization. 

As part of their robust art curriculum, students of all grade levels at Babylon Elementary School recently engaged in a number of artistic projects using the “line” element and showcased their work at the Conklin House Barn for the Apples and Arts Festival during weekend of Oct. 20.
 
The kindergartners used their creative talents to create sunflowers using oil pastels and glue to create 3D lines and texture. For their grade level, first-graders created visually stunning Leaf “Zentagles” using permanent marker, watercolor paints and oil pastels. Additionally, the second-graders displayed their beautiful “Watercolor Geodes” after researching geodes and how they are formed. 

Members of Babylon Junior-Senior High School’s Distributive Education Clubs of America helped facilitate a pumpkin painting event held at the Babylon Beach House on Oct. 20.

Under the direction of DECA member Erin Corcoran, a Babylon DECA member for three years as well as an active Girl Scout, the students helped residents decorate and paint pumpkins in celebration of the fall season. The students also handed out snacks and drinks to the residents.
 
DECA is a co-curricular, national business organization with more than 150,000 students which reinforces the skills students learn in their business classes, including, but not limited to, marketing, accounting, human resources, sales and other business subjects.
 
Scott Lockwood, owner of the Babylon Beach House, graciously asked Babylon’s DECA students to return and participate in additional community service events throughout the course of the school year. Additionally, Mr. Lockwood invited Babylon Junior-Senior High School’s accounting class to visit and get a behind the scenes look at the business operations of his successful business.

DECA is Babylon’s largest extra/co-curricular club and has dedicated its time and resources to helping out in the community for more than 19 years.

Despite the parade and game being moved to Friday, Oct. 26, spirits were high for the Babylon Junior-Senior High School community’s annual Homecoming celebration. The evening kicked off with the marching band leading a shortened parade route to the football field, featuring cheerleaders of all levels, as well as the Homecoming court and floats.

This year’s theme for the floats was board games, with the freshmen representing Clue, the sophomores presenting Life, the juniors showcasing Monopoly and the seniors recreating Candy Land. The winning float, announced at halftime, was the sophomore class with their excellent portrayal of “The Game of Life.” Additionally, Homecoming King Timothy Hartigan and Queen Tara O’Rourke were also announced at halftime. Congratulations to all members of the Homecoming Court - Peter Szuchy, Kim Botto, Olivia Berry, Peter Schubart, Sydney Altbacker, Dylan Pané, Katherine Bencivenga, Lauren Jurs, Tara O’Rourke and Timothy Hartigan.

Prior to the game, parents joined senior members of the football team, cheerleading squad and marching band, who were recognized. The Babylon Junior-Senior High School Panthers proceeded to take on Center Moriches High School, performing at the top of their game and shutting out the visitors by a score of 15-0. 

As part of the Homecoming weekend festivities, the district also held its second annual Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. From the numerous nominations received, four were selected via a committee for induction this year. Their families, along with the nominating parties, were invited to be part of the celebration which took place on Saturday, Oct. 27. Congratulations to Mr. Gerard Izzo (Class of 1977) Black Hawk Pilot; Mr. Marshall Coid (Class of 1974) Broadway musician; Dr. Cheryl Taylor Lee (Class of 1983) physician and professor; and the late Mr. Sheldon Salzman (Class of 1947) businessman, represented by his grandson Andrew Salzman. Plaques featuring their names and high school yearbook photos have been added to the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in Rowe Hall at Babylon Junior-Senior High School. The Wall acts as a reminder to those at the school of the greatness one can achieve and the pride one should have for the legacy they are part of. 

Based on their undeniable musical talents, seven Babylon Junior-Senior High School students have been recognized as premier musicians by New York State School Music Association and were invited to participate in this year’s All-State and All-County music festivals. 

Students Sydney Altbacker (symphony orchestra), Isabela Gaskill (mixed chorus), Rachel Gordon (alternate), Julia Minicozzi (alternate) and Peter Schubart (string orchestra) have been named All-State student-musicians and were invited to participate in the 2018 NYSSMA All-State Conference to be held in Rochester, New York from Nov. 29– Dec. 2. 

Additionally, students Ryan Marrone (mixed chorus), Rachel Gordon (mixed chorus) and Anna Romero (mixed chorus) were named All-County student musicians and are slated to perform at Half Hollow Hills West High School on Friday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. alongside other selected musicians. 

Due to their vast efforts in showing care for the environment, four Babylon Junior-Senior High School students enrolled in the school’s STEAM program secured the first-place title at the high school level in EmPower Solar’s semiannual Student Solar Competition.

Under the guidance of STEAM teacher Mary-Beth Schappert, students Haylie Kelly, Jenna Petraitis, Alessandra Van Rossem and Iqra Yousef, otherwise known as “Beach Bums Solar Power” for the competition, completed a series of math problems to determine how much energy and money could be saved by using solar power in personal homes, small businesses and large corporations. The students went on to create a mock news video in which they described how using solar energy could directly impact the local wildlife and environment in and around the Babylon community. 

Due to their efforts, the four future engineers were presented with a $2,000 check toward scholarship funds, courtesy of representatives of EmPower Solar, and extended an opportunity to intern with engineers at EmPower Solar. 

EmPower Solar, a Long Island-based solar energy company, challenges New York State elementary, middle and high school students to participate in a multi-faceted competition that encompasses STEM and creative components on a semi-annual basis. The Babylon students competed alongside 64 teams from schools across both Long Island and New York City, and boasted ten total teams of its own.

Students of all grade levels at Babylon Elementary School are currently in the process of expanding their multilingual skills as they enjoy taking part in the recently implemented Foreign Languages in Elementary Schools program. 

With assistance from FLES specialist Adrianne Margarites, the students are engaging in daily lessons to help familiarize them with basics of the Spanish language. As an introductory activity, students enrolled in Barbara Krucher’s kindergarten class received a colored strip of paper, and when prompted by Mrs. Margarites, were asked to raise their colored strip when she announced the proper color in Spanish. 

Before concluding the day’s lesson, Mrs. Margarites and the students joined one another in their “Adios, mis Amigos” farewell song, a daily routine which assists in committing their new language to memory.