Rocky Point High School varsity wrestling team capped off the 2018 season with remarkable high notes. 

The team earned its seventh straight league championship, won its third straight Suffolk County Dual Meet Championship and placed third overall in New York State. Additionally, they won the Suffolk County Tournament Title for the second year in a row and take home the "Mill Knapp" trophy, which was awarded to the best team in Suffolk County.

Rocky Point High School senior Kyle Markland has amassed a number of accolades in the field of science research during his academic journey in the Rocky Point School District, and this winter he added three more titles to his already impressive résumé. 

Kyle was named a winner at the regional level of the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and will advance to the national competition in Hunt Valley, Maryland from May 2-5. In addition, he was one of 14 winners of the New York State Science and Engineering Fair and will now advance to the International Science and Engineering Fair, held in Pittsburg in late May.

Lastly, Kyle received the Intel Award for Excellence in Computer Science at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair. Along with receiving the Intel Award, he was presented with a $200 scholarship. 

Kyle’s project, “A Novel Kalman Filter Latent State Estimator for GPS/INS Reference Point Acquisition,” was to design and test software to improve the accuracy of GPS units, like those used in cars. Kyle wrote a software program that was designed to help factor out uncertain measurements using a Kalman Filter (software built into the program). He focused primarily on getting a more accurate initial reference point for the GPS. He tested the program using a robotic system that he designed and built, and found that he could obtain a more accurate initial reference point using the Kalman Filter. 

“Obtaining accurate, real-time position information is essential to realizing autonomous vehicle technology in everyday life,” Kyle said. “GPS currently does not meet the accuracy needs of autonomous vehicles, as its accuracy diminishes in urban environments. An inertial navigation system [INS] can provide more accurate position than GPS and is not adversely affected by environmental conditions. The objective of this engineering project was to create a software program that incorporated a Kalman Filter that processed GPS measurements to create an accurate GPS reference point for an INS.”

Rocky Point High School student-actors took to the stage this March to perform the comical musical “Spamalot.” 

Adopted from the 1975 film, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the parody musical featured a hilarious cast of characters that entertained audiences during its multinight run. 

Songs were performed by a talented student-pit orchestra and many other students worked behind the scenes to make the show picture perfect!

Rocky Point High School marching band students had the chance to showcase their musical talents when they took part in this year’s Rocky Point St. Patrick’s Day Parade. More than 200 students in grades 8-12 took part in the parade and were led by drum majors Paige Fishon, Michael Gohn and Molly Searight.

Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School fourth-grade students in Debbie Vieira and Lisa Celentano’s and Kristie Jackson’s classes celebrated the number Pi, 3.14 –the first three digits in the much-longer mathematical constant – on March 14.

In honor of the day, the teachers put together math and reading/writing workshop lessons for the students. As part of the day, the students worked with Pi and learned that the ratio of the circumference (the distance all the way around) to the diameter (the distance across) of a circle always equal the same number. 

When Rocky Point Middle School Principal Dr. Scott O’Brien asked the hundreds of people gathered in the auditorium to raise a hand if they knew someone affected by cancer, more than half of them did. The serious moment of awareness was a fitting start to the school’s annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation head-shaving event.

Coordinated by social studies teacher Erica Alemaghides, professional bagpipers and an Irish step dancer encouraged the cheers from the crowd as the 18 brave students and staff members took their seats in the barber’s chairs to have their heads shaved by Rocky Point High School cosmetology students. 

“This annual assembly serves as a way for our school community to come together in solidarity with children living with cancer,” Principal Dr. Scott O’Brien said.

Money was pledged by donors to support the shavees’ efforts, all of which will be donated to help support people with cancer. With abundant support from both school and community, the fundraising goal was surpassed and $11,000 was raised. 

Eighth-grader Quentin Palifka was named the top individual fundraiser, having collected $6,018. Quentin said he has been raising money for a number of years, to honor a neighbor’s child who died several years ago. “It was a nice way to honor him,” he said of a child he never got to meet.

Rocky Point Middle School eighth-grader Quentin Palifka has earned the 2018 Prudential Spirit of Community Certificate of Excellence, a national program that honors youth volunteers nationwide for outstanding volunteer service. 

This honor is presented to the top 10 percent of all applicants from the state in recognition of their volunteer activities and leadership commitments. The certificate is given on behalf of Prudential Financial and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. 

As an extension of their classroom lessons, Rocky Point High School students in Rich Acritelli’s and Brooke Bonomi’s Government, and U.S. History and Government classes recently had the chance to meet with Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon.

During the workshop, the newly sworn-in sheriff spoke about his life and professional career before opening up the floor to questions from the students. Sheriff Toulon spoke about the moments that he felt best defined and helped to shape his life – including being a two-time cancer survivor and previous work in law enforcement as well as in the County Executive’s office. He also urged the students to never take things for granted, to embrace their schooling.  

“I really enjoyed kicking off my high school listening tour with the students in Rocky Point and fielding questions about my career in law enforcement,” Sheriff Toulon stated. “As county sheriff, I want to have a positive impact on the next generation. I want young people know that their voice matters – and that elected officials really care about what they have to say.”

Following the meeting with the two classes, a small group of students participated in a proactive discussion about substance abuse and prevention as part of the sheriff’s “Get to them before they get to me” initiative.

A project that started with some ideas to transform a basement storage room into a sports team room came to fruition at Rocky Point High School this winter thanks to several dedicated volunteers. The completed project was unveiled at a special celebration in late February.

More than 25 people attended the ceremony that showcased the clean, state-of-the-art room, complete with a 4K HD projector and video screen for team members to view breakdown videos of their performances, stadium seating and strip lights on the four step-down levels. Framed inspirational quotes and artwork depicting the school’s eagle mascot adorn the walls. 

The brainstorming that put the project into action was spearheaded by Dan Spallina, Rocky Point physical education teacher and girls lacrosse team head coach, who put a simple word out for assistance and was met with enthusiastic parents who worked tirelessly to help create a designated space for collaboration and camaraderie. 

Charles Delargy, the district’s director of health, physical education, intramurals and athletics, presented opening remarks that recognized the volunteers who brought the project to fruition. He was followed by Mr. Spallina, who presented a PowerPoint on the transformation and personally thanked the girls lacrosse players, their parents, and the many teachers, school personnel and administrators who supported the project.

“The room symbolizes so much more than just some steps and four walls,” Mr. Spallina said. “The volunteer work and dedication in this community is second to none.”

 

Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School students in Dave Falcone’s fifth-grade class had the chance to learn about some of the latest technologies during a recent workshop with Jussi Kajala and Paul Nix of 3D Bear.

During the workshop, the students learned about 3-D models, 3-D printing and augmented reality. Then, they had the chance to employ their newfound knowledge by completing a hands-on challenge. The students worked in small groups to research a dinosaur and create an environment or park-type area for it to survive based specifically on its characteristics.

Once completed, the students presented their findings and AR creations to the class on the smartboard.  

Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School students and staff helped to spread kindness and compassion this February as part of the “Start with Hello” initiative sponsored by the nonprofit organization Sandy Hook Promise.

During the weeklong activity, students and staff sported nametags to encourage conversations between new friends, placed sticky notes on their classroom doors to share thoughts of kindness, learned how to say hello in different languages and made a commitment to a conscious act of kindness. Additionally, they wore green – the official color of the program – to support the initiative and made posters to display throughout the building.  

According to the organization, Start with Hello teaches students in grades 2-12 the skills they need to reach out to and include those who maybe be dealing with loneliness and create a culture of inclusion and connectedness within their school. 

Rocky Point Middle School has been awarded the Silver Inviting School Fidelity Award in honor of the students’ and staff’s efforts to keep the spirit and practice of Invitational Education alive and well in the school. 

The Invitational Education program presents five prestigious Fidelity Awards every two years. Schools that have previously received the Inviting School Award are invited to apply for the Fidelity Award this year. The application includes documentation on what the school is doing to support an invitational climate and how it is continuing to extend those initiatives and support the ideals of the International Alliance for Invitational Education.

Rocky Point Middle School received the Inviting School Award last year.