Plainedge School District and Individual School Report Cards 
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SCHOOL BUDGET PASSES YES -1376 NO - 906
Thank you for your support Plainedge community. The school budget passed with a 60% majority of YES votes. The library vote also passed as well as the proposition for the capital reserve fund. Our incumbent Board members Maryann Capone, Dennis Gustafson and Mary Lowe were re-elected with resounding certainty for another three years.
Calendar Art Contest Winner Announced
The students of Plainedge School District exercised their democratic rights and voted for their favorite calendar cover. The winner is High School student Miranda Ciardulli with The Art of Plainedge. All contestants and finalists should be congratulated on their entries. All finalists will be featured in next year's calendar and Miranda's design will be our cover. Thank you for your participation.
Middle School Principal and Teachers Receive Tenure
At the May 10th Board of Education meeting Superintendent Dr. Edward A. Salina Jr., and Board President Catherine Flanagan conferred tenure upon Middle School Principal Anthony DeRiso. Mr. DeRiso then presented four of his staff members to the Board for their tenure appointment. The recipients were Kiki Anderson, Michael Czachor, Danielle Ruccia, and Jessica Yedwab.
Board Members Receive NYSSBA Achievement Awards
At the May 8th Board of Education Meeting NYSSBA Area 11 Director Susan Bergtraum presented several Board members with their NYSSBA Board Achievement awards. Board Trustees Maryann Capone, Dennis Gustafson, Mary Lowe, and Douglas Pascarella all received NYSSBA Board Achievement awards. Board President Catherine Flanagan received the Board Excellence award. Board Trustee Patricia Zinke received both the Board Achievement and Board Excellence awards but was not in attendance at the meeting.
Eastplain Student Finalist in Senator Hannon's "There Ought to be a Law" Contest
An Eastplain student, Nicholas Russo, is a finalist in the “There Ought to Be Law” Contest. This contest is sponsored by Senator Kemp Hannon’s Office. The finalist and the winner will be honored at a ceremony on Thursday, May 24th at 6:00pm at Levittown Hall.
Graduation Announcement
This year's High School Graduation ceremony will be held on Thursday June 21st at 7 pm at Hofstra University.
NOTICE
Because no snow days were used during the school year, schools will be closed on Friday, May 25 and Tuesday, May 29.
Fifth Annual Career Exploration Day
Students at Plainedge High School got to have a taste of life after graduation at the Fifth Annual Career Exploration Day hosted by Mrs. Nicole Spillane and Ms. Gina Smith from the school’s Career and Technology Education Department. Students were able to speak with representatives from many different career fields such as Law Enforcement, Accounting, Management, Cosmetology, Pharmacy, Therapy, Film and many more! The event took place on April 20, 2012 and was open to all high school students throughout the day. Students were able to speak to the professionals about their career choices, educational backgrounds and specifics about their daily lives.
The turn out was fantastic and both the students and presenters had a great time speaking with one another. At Plainedge High School, the upperclassmen have the opportunity to work at an internship of their choice and Career Exploration Day gives them the ability to choose an internship they would be most interested in as a career.
Robotics Club Wins at FIRST Competition
The Plainedge High School Robotics Team, competed in a three day FIRST competition called Rebound Rumble at Hofstra University and went 10 and 1 in the qualifying rounds, they then went on to win first place with their alliance team composed of Team 870 (Southhold HS) and Team 1796 (LIC HS) in the elimination rounds. FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology. The Long Island Regional competition is sponsored by SBPLI (School Business Partnership of Long Island), consisting of 50 other high school teams, mainly from other Long Island schools.
In addition to taking first place, the robotics team also won the Quality Award sponsored by Motorola. The Quality Award celebrates machine robustness in concept and fabrication.
The head mentor of the team, Mr. Robert Gandolfo, also took home one of the most prestigious awards, the Woodie Flower’s Award. The Woodie Flower's Award celebrates effective communication in the art and science of engineering and design. This award is presented to an outstanding engineer or teacher participating in the robotics competition who best demonstrates excellence in teaching science, math, and creative design. It was awarded based on an essay written by senior member, Emily Reisert, who flawlessly conveyed Mr. Gandolfo’s teaching and mentoring skills. The entire team will be heading out to St. Louis on Wednesday April 25th to April 28th, to compete against 360 schools in the Championship, where Mr. Gandolfo will also compete for the Champion Woodie Flower’s Award. Additional information about FIRST Robotics can be found at www.usfirst.org/frc and at the team’s 527 web site, www.team527.com.
Valedictorian and Salutatorian Receive Awards at April Board of Education Meeting
At the Tuesday April 17, 2012 Board of Education Meeting High School Principal Rob Amster along with Superintendent Dr. Salina and Board President Cathy Flanagan awarded the 2012 Valedictorian Casey Vieni and Salutatorian Alanna Ticali certificates for their outstanding achievements. In addition, Casey received a special citation from Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto for his outstanding academic performance particularly his Intel Science semi-finalist award.
Mr. Smith Named Nassau County Middle School Math Teacher of the Year
Plainedge Middle School is proud to announce that Mr. Brian Smith has been named Nassau County Middle School Math Teacher for 2012 by the Nassau County Mathematics Teachers Association! Mr. Smith has been recognized for this distinction because of his commitment to his students and his contributions to the field of mathematics education. Mr. Smith is an exemplary teacher with extraordinary strengths and an ability to relate to his students in a meaningful way. He understands the middle school child in a way that enables him to reach them at their level, earn their respect, and then take them to places they did not imagine they could go. Congratulations on this wonderful and well deserved achievement!
Understanding RtI
In education, Response To Intervention (commonly abbreviated RTI or RtI) is a method of academic intervention that is designed to provide early, effective assistance to children who are having difficulty learning. Recently, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) established new criteria schools must use when determining if a student has a learning disability. Effective on and after July 1, 2012, a school district must have an RtI process in place that meets these new guidelines. To learn more about RtI and what Plainedge is doing to meet NYSED's deadline, click here. 
To help cut costs and in a move towards "going green," instead of printing thousands of copies and sending them home with students, the Plainedge School Lunch Program is now posting its menus and free and reduced cost lunch applications online. Also available are applications and instructions for Yearly Discounted Lunch Cards (a 20 meal card is also available), and information about MyNutriKids.com, an online school lunch management program. To view the information you need, click here.
For more news about Plainedge, click here.
For employment opportunities, click here.
To visit the Plainedge Alumni Association Web site, click here.