More than 150 Rocky Point School District students performed in the New York State School Music Association Solo/Ensemble Evaluation Festival held at William Floyd High School on April 12 and 13. The purpose of the NYSSMA Solo/Ensemble Festival is to provide the students the opportunity to perform for a certified Music Educator/Adjudicator so they may receive an objective evaluation of their musical proficiency and aptitude. This evaluation not only reinforces the positive aspects of a student’s performance, but also offers helpful suggestions for improvement. Students receive an evaluation sheet that includes written comments and an assessment on their performance. Students are evaluated in several categories including: accuracy of notes/rhythms, tone, technique, intonation, scales and sight-reading. Students learn what they did well and also what they can do to further their musical growth and development.

Students prepared solo and small ensemble pieces of music from the NYSSMA approved manual of repertoire in difficulty levels I-VI, where VI is the most advanced. Additionally, 13 students prepared a Level VI All-State solo, with the hopes of receiving an invitation to participate with one of the NYSSMA All-State performing ensembles at the NYSSMA Winter Conference in Rochester, NY in December 2025. Levels I-IV are evaluated on a rating scale of 1-28 and Levels V-VI are evaluated on a scale of 1-100.

The evaluation categories for NYSSMA Levels I-IV are:

26-28 Outstanding; 21-25 Excellent; 16-20 Good; 11-15 Satisfactory. An Outstanding Rating is given only to a performer who displays a distinguished level of accomplishment.

The evaluation categories for NYSSMA Levels V-VI are:

A+ 97-100, A 93-96, A- 90-92, B+ 87-89, B 83-86, B- 80-82

The Rocky Point Music Department is proud to announce that 86 students received an “OUTSTANDING” rating and 31 students received an “EXCELLENT” rating for Levels I-IV, while 28 students received an “A+” rating and 5 students received an “A” rating for Levels V-VI. This includes 31 perfect scores!

A congratulatory message from Rocky Point Music Department chairpersons Mr. Craig Knapp and Ms. Amy Schecher read: “We are very proud of all of the students who performed at the NYSSMA Solo/Ensemble Festival. Your hard work, dedication and talent truly contribute to the superb music program we have in Rocky Point. We are extremely proud of you! We would also like to thank our incredibly enthusiastic, dedicated and devoted music faculty for helping to prepare the students for this annual festival. Thank you to the families of these talented students for all of their support and encouragement. Thank you to all of the administrators and Board of Education members in Rocky Point for their continued support of our music programs. Thank you to all involved. Our performing arts programs could not be a success without you. This was a truly remarkable weekend of music making! The students are to be acknowledged and congratulated for their stellar achievements!”

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Date Added: 4/18/2024

Students in JAE decorated infinity symbols in rainbow colors to create an Autism Acceptance Garden in the main hallway, which reads “Acceptance is an action. What are you doing to help it grow?”

Each grade level has their own tree. The students wrote words of love, kindness and acceptance on the symbols.

Thanks to teacher aide Mrs. Jasmine Perez, who created the trees and put up all student infinity symbols, and teacher Mrs. Gina Hale and Behavior Specialist Ms. Michelle Pfaeffle for guiding the efforts of the students in sharing JAE’s positivity and growth!

Thanks to fifth grade Academic Leaders Lily Cook, Gavin Damiano, Travis Giagios, Abby Villafane and Mallack Walsh for working with Mrs. Hale's students Shea Anderson, Blaze Carlino, Joshua Opitz, Leah Teague and Lia Veraldi and helping to create these colorful and inspiring messages!

Date Added: 4/16/2024

March was a wonderfully active month for the students and faculty of the Rocky Point Music Department, and what better time to highlight the amazing music talent than to recognize “Music in Our Schools Month!”

For close to 40 years, March has been officially designated by the National Association for Music Education for the observance of Music in Our Schools Month, the time of year when music education becomes the focus of schools across the nation. The purpose of MIOSM is to raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children, and to remind citizens that school is where all children should have access to music. MIOSM is an opportunity for music teachers to bring their music programs to the attention of the school and the community, and to display the benefits that school music brings to students of all ages. Music in Our Schools Month began as a single statewide Advocacy Day and celebration in New York on March 14, 1973, and grew over the decades to become a month-long celebration of school music beginning in 1985. This March, the students and music faculty of Rocky Point joined music educators and music students all across the nation to celebrate the music education theme “I See ME in Music Education.”

In addition to daily music classes and rehearsals, several activities and special performing opportunities took place throughout March. Some events that students participated in included:

March 1 and 2 – The production of the High School Musical “The Addams Family” was performed.

March, 2, 8, 9 and 10– Thirty-two students participated in Suffolk County Music Educators’ Association’s All-County Festivals.

March 4-6 – Twenty students ranging from grades 3-12 – Trent Birnstill, Julianna Byrnes, Sophia Byrnes, Olivia Carley, Jayna Cohn, Andrew DeTurris, Henry Fiore, Christos Giannakos, Chloe Gravinese, Lawrence Hall IV, Madelyn Ilardi, Alexander Lantigua-Mettrock, Lily Mayer, Antonio Morrow, Anna Norrby, Isabella St. Pierre, Paula Vergara, Aengus Walsh, Mallack Walsh and Nathan Watkis – participated in the New York State School Music Association Solo Evaluation Festival for Piano. These students include:

March 10 – Rocky Point High School Marching Band and Rocky Point Middle School 8th Grade Band performed and marched in the Miller Place-Rocky Point St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

March 15 – Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School’s 5th Grade Select Chorus “High Notes” performed at the annual JAE Senior Citizen St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast.

March 18 – Middle School and High School Jazz Ensembles participated and performed in an educational clinic at The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, NY.

March 20 – Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School’s Family Folk Dance Night took place with over 150 students and their parents/guardians dancing and sharing music together.

March 21 – The Rocky Point Middle School and High School Orchestras combined to present the Night of Strings concert.

March 26 and 27 – The production of the Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School’s 5th Grade Select Chorus “High Notes” Spring musical, “Johnny Appleseed: A Musical Play About a Great American Pioneer” was performed.

Throughout March, JAE and the Middle School incorporated various Music in Our Schools Month messages into their school’s daily morning announcements. Each day in March at JAE, Mr. Knapp, Miss Monastero, Mr. Ventura and various students read an “I See Me In Music Education” prompt along with a MIOSM message about a variety of music topics. During these morning announcements, all students were encouraged to visit Mr. Knapp’s Google Classroom to accomplish a daily task on a variety of special music topics. The Middle School celebrated by providing an “On This Date in Music” Fun Fact (with a song) each day on the morning and the afternoon announcements.

At FJC, music teacher Miss DeMelfi taught a variety of songs to each of her classes that connected to the Solar Eclipse theme. At JAE, all students in the building completed a brief writing assignment starting with the prompt, “We’re LUCKY to have music because…” All of the students’ work was posted on the walls in the music wing at JAE, creating a Music in Our Schools Month “Wall of Shamrocks.” At the Middle School, orchestra director Mrs. Walter created a bulletin board that displayed the musical backgrounds and/or tastes of teachers and staff in the building.

A message from Rocky Point Music Department Chairpersons Mr. Craig Knapp and Ms. Amy Schecher read, “Music is in schools because it has been an ageless passion of human beings for every culture in the world. There has never been a civilization on earth that has not found music to be intellectually and emotionally valuable. Children are innately responsive to music. Music allows children to express joy in the most natural way, both verbally and physically, through singing, movement and playing of instruments. Music completes the picture and helps reach the whole child, including the emotional component. We are very proud of our dedicated music faculty and incredibly thankful for the amazing children we teach every day. We continue to thank the Rocky Point Administration and Board of Education for supporting our music programs. Remember, “I See ME in Music Education!”

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Date Added: 4/16/2024

Rocky Point’s annual STEAM Celebration was a fun-filled evening of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics that brought out those seeking to learn, peak their curiosity and just have fun. The event was held on April 9 at Rocky Point High School.

Students and their families signed in and received a passport book, which they used to collect stickers from the various activities for a prize. Students from Rocky Point Middle School and Rocky Point High School shared information on the Robotics Clubs at both schools, there were makerspace activities, math and movement mats throughout the gym, drones, a recipe scavenger hunt, music composition, hoop gliders, engineering challenges, virtual reality adventures, coding opportunities with Ozobots and Cubelets and more.

“It was a great turn-out and a very engaging evening for learners of all ages,” District Director of Math, Science and Technology Jachan Watkis said. “The Rocky Point school community certainly embraces the technical disciplines of STEAM.”

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Date Added: 4/12/2024

Smiles, pizza and some exciting and educational games were on the menu at Rocky Point’s annual ENL Family Literacy Night, held at Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School on April 4. Hosted by the ENL Team and ENL/LOTE Department Chairperson K-12 James Williams, who is also a second grade ENL teacher, it was an opportunity for ENL teachers to share with family members the work the students are involved in during the school day.

Mr. Williams welcomed everyone while they worked together on a paper family portrait, with aspects of the family’s culture at the forefront. Mr. Williams and ENL teachers shared a brief presentation translated into Spanish by first grade ENL teacher Lindsey Estevez before students and their families broke out into grade level sessions to participate in some literacy and language games with their ENL teachers.

“It was a great night of fun that the families really enjoyed,” Mr. Williams said. “My colleagues and I are honored to host this event and work alongside our students and families.”

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Date Added: 4/10/2024