The greatest budgeting

challenge this year promis-

es to be the tax cap, and

specifically the consumer

price index, or CPI. Un-

fortunately, the way the

tax cap law is written, the

tax cap formula is based

on 2% or the CPI, which

ever is LESS. With only a

0.12% increase in CPI this year,

this has become the main driver

in our school district budget.

In true Kings Park fashion, I

anticipate that we will be able

to meet these challenges, while

preserving a very solid core

academic and extracurricular

program for our students. Like

the current year’s budget, I an-

ticipate that we will be creating

another “maintenance budget.”

Kings Park will continue to be a

great place to live and raise a

family!

The District is off to

a great start in 2016!

One of our district

goals for this year

continues to be com-

munication. I hope

you have enjoyed

my Highlights of the

Week, the KPCSD

Twitter account,

KPCSD App, and new Kings

Park Facebook page (search

for “Kings Park School Dis-

trict”). While the Facebook

page focused mainly on the

work of our facilities commit-

tee this past fall, this page will

take on additional dimensions

this year. This is the third

publication of the District’s

newsletter, Kings Park

Knightly News. I hope you

enjoy the latest news from

around the school district.

It is hard to believe that 2015 is

now behind us. A new calen-

dar year means that we are

already into “budgeting sea-

son” and in the process of

crafting our 2016-2017 school

district budget. The tax cap,

issues with State Aid and the

NYS Gap Elimination Adjust-

ment (GEA), unfunded and/or

underfunded mandates, and

rising healthcare costs have

resulted in challenges that we

have felt during the past few

budget cycles.

The district welcomes the oppor-

tunity to work with the communi-

ty to craft an educationally sound

and well-balanced budget. All

budget meetings are open to the

public, and your attendance, par-

ticipation, and input are encour-

aged and appreciated. To the

right you will find the dates and

topics that will be discussed. All

meetings take place at Kings Park

High School at 7:30pm. Materi-

als are posted to the website.

January 26: Technology and

school budgets.

February 9: Athletics, art/

music, extracurricular, B&G/

facilities, and transportation.

March 15: PPS, curriculum,

human resources, class size &

staffing, business office, superin-

tendent’s office, and Board of

Education.

April 5: Updates & discussion.

April 19: Budget adoption.

May 3: Budget hearing.

May 17: Budget vote & elec-

tions.

From the Desk of the Superintendent

Budget 2016-2017 Development

K I N G S P A R K C S D

K I N G S P A R K , N Y 1 1 7 5 4

Kings Park Knightly News Winter 2016

W I N T E R 2 0 1 6 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

N EWS

FRO M

A ROUND

TH E

D IST RIC T

To access budget files and documents, go to: http://www.kpcsd.org, and then click

on “School Budget Info” on the left side of the page.

From our

Schools: page

KPHS 2

WTRMS 3

RJO 4

Fort Salonga 5

Park View 6

Other News from Around

the District:

Fall Sports

Season in

Review 7

Spring Sports

Preview 7

Other

News 7-8

P A G E 2

“The Intel STS is

the nation’s most

prestigious science

research competition

for high school

seniors. ”

The Intel Semifi-

nalist, Julian, John

and Kameron.

DECA News

A.P. Government Skyping Session

News From Kings Park High School ISR

Happenings

What is happening in Inde-

pendent Science Research?

It has been a really exciting year

so far and it is not over yet. We

have had 2 Siemens Semifinalist

and 2 Siemens Regional Finalists.

Then, to our absolute delight, we

had 3 Intel Semifinalists. On

January 6, 2016, 300 high school

seniors were named semifinalists

in the Intel Science Talent

Search 2016. Before the an-

nouncement the four seniors

from the ISR program were tak-

ing part in a Superintendent

luncheon where they each shared

their research experiences with

administrators. Kameron

Sedigh, Ibrahim Aziz, John Jef-

frey and Julian Ubriaco each talk

about the work they had done in

their individual labs. All of

them had done amazing re-

search. It was during the lunch-

eon that the results from Intel

were posted. Three seniors from

Kings Park High School made

that list. Kameron Sedigh,

John Jeffrey, and Julian

Ubriaco were all recognized as

Intel Semifinalists for work that

they had done at research labora-

tories. We are so proud of all

four of the Independent Science

Research (ISR) seniors!!!

in A.P. Government were

provided the opportunity to

discuss political issues con-

cerning gun law legislation

and the role that me-

dia may play in poli-

tics with two Kings

Park High School

alumni’s presently

interning in Wash-

ington D.C. for our

Vice President Jo-

Teaching and learning in the

21st century can no longer

be the traditional experience

of “sit and get.” This A.P.

Government “skyping” ses-

sion was a creative way to

engage students to employ

technology tools to access,

evaluate, synthesize and

communicate information.

During this seminar session

over 100 students enrolled

seph Biden. This this type of

interaction in “real time”

brought classroom theories

alive and real for all present!

nered up with the club offer-

ing many business programs

as well as a regional competi-

tion. Club members were

trained by Junior Achieve-

ment’s business members in

presentations, training ses-

sions, field trips and in actual

simulations. Last year out of

150 teams, three of our stu-

dents, including founding club

co-president, Patty Competel-

lo, won the J.A. Business Plan

Competition. This year the

students have branched out

and participated in the DECA

Regional competition in Janu-

ary with two students winning

Honorable Mentions. Addi-

tionally, they competed at the

Adelphi Apprentice Chal-

lenge, with Co-President Jus-

tine Guinaw winning second

place. Through their interac-

tions with the business com-

munity, students have learned

about social responsibility.

They created several fundrais-

ers including an Ugly Sweater

contest donating the funds to

the Northport Veteran’s PTSD

program through Angels With-

out Faces, a local community

non-profit organization.

DECA (Business Club) began

as an idea two years ago be-

tween two senior students in

an accounting class. They

saw the need for an extra-

curricular business club.

They presented their idea to

Mr. Lino Bracco, Principal

of KPHS with the account-

ing faculty member, Mrs.

Susan Portnoy, and were

given support to start the

club. Immediately, Junior

Achievement, a nonprofit

youth organization, part-

KPHS DECA Club

K I N G S P A R K

News From William T. Rogers Middle School

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

Chains of

Kindness

The Site-Based Management

Team is promoting an anti-

bullying message with a

twist! They are encouraging

students to do acts of kind-

ness! Each A-Block was

given strips of paper on

which the students wrote acts

of kindness they have done,

witnessed, or had done for

them. The strips were then

connected into chains of

kindness that are displayed at

the entrance to each House -

white for December, blue for

January, and a pink and red

heart display for February.

The students make morning

announcements to share

kindness quotes and remind

their fellow students to be on

the lookout for the acts of

kindness happening every-

where in our school. Seventh

grader Amanda

Dinan shared

this timely Jap-

anese quote:

“One kind

word can keep

you warm for

three winter

months.” The

SBMT is excit-

ed about this

campaign and plans to join

with high school students for

a Unity Walk.

of peace for younger students, such as, “Peace is learning a language,” and “Peace is listen-ing to different kinds of mu-sic.” After the students read the book, the 8th graders taught the younger students simple phrases in Italian and Spanish. All of the students en-joyed this valuable learning experience, and the schools look forward to future collabo-rations.

The World Languages Depart-ment at WTRMS is spreading the message about the im-portance of learning about other cultures. This Fall, 8th grade language students trav-eled to Fort Salonga Elemen-tary School to read The Peace Book by Todd Parr to second grade students. The picture book offers simple examples

limbs, and adolescent concus-sions. Eighth graders investi-gated the physics of a boomi-lever and the ups and downs of rollers coasters. In the Hu-manities program, seventh grade students are honing their research skills and put-ting them to use to under-stand how a person, event, or characteristic can influence a decade in history. Our eighth

graders are studying history through the lens of social in-justice and researching reme-dies to such issues. Many ser-vice learning projects are born out of this powerful unit! In these programs, our students are meeting the chal-lenge of rigorous project-based curriculums and sharp-ening their 21st century skills.

Following a successful imple-mentation last year, our Pro-ject STEM and Humanities courses at WTRMS had a strong start in the 2015-2016 school year. In Project STEM, seventh grade students have undertaken hands-on pro-jects to explore the topics of beach erosion, oil spill clean-up, hurricane-proof houses, the design of prosthetic

Humanities & Project STEM Update

Shanti Fund

Chains of Kindness

Project at WTR.Spelling

Bee participants.

WTRMS students visit Fort Sa-

longa Elementary School to

spread messages of peace.

P A G E 4

“It is great to see STEM

coming alive in our

elementary

classrooms.”

P.O. Elisa McVeigh

addressing RJO stu-

dents.

Spelling Bee

NEW RJO

Science Lab

News from R.J.O. Intermediate School Police Smart

Police Officer, Elisa

McVeigh, has begun

her annual 5th Grade

Police Smart presenta-

tions. The DARE pro-

gram, which is com-

monly known, was

updated and revamped

into the Police Smart

program. The presen-

tation highlights vari-

ous topics that our stu-

dents encounter each

day. The topics in-

clude good decision

making, peer pressure,

alcohol and drug

abuse, internet safety,

etc. Officer McVeigh’s

program has been well

received and is sched-

uled with each 5th

Grade class throughout

the school year. Officer

McVeigh’s collabora-

tive approach with RJO

provides students with

current trends or con-

cerns that students en-

counter or know of.

Questions and topics

foster good decision

making and smart

choices.

grade teacher, volun-

teered her time to intro-

duce to fourth grade stu-

dents local sea life as it

related to their fourth

grade Science instruc-

tion. Together, students

studied the aspects of a

fish as they discussed in

detail its unique features.

Moving forward, the

Fourth grade teachers

worked together to devel-

op, introduce and utilize

the new RJO Science

Lab. This area is dedi-

cated to hands-on and

active learning. Recent-

ly, Mrs. Iraci, fourth

fourth grade teachers are

working to include a

greenhouse so students

can grow and care for

vegetation. This lab al-

lows children to manipu-

late, discover, experi-

ment, sort, test, ask ques-

tions, investigate and

experience learning

hands on.

ment. Winners then par-

ticipated in a traditional

classroom spelling bee.

The winners of that level

then competed against

each other in front of

their grade level in a

school-wide competition.

The RJO 5th Grade win-

ner was Emma Mineo.

Emma was registered in

the Scripps National

Spelling Bee competition

at Hofstra University.

The competition will take

place on Sunday, March

13, 2016. Emma’s out-

standing spelling skills

highlight her as one of

the top students in 5th

Grade. The RJO Inter-

mediate School commu-

nity, her parents and

friends are proud of her

and look forward to see-

ing more of her outstand-

ing accomplishments.

Recently RJO Intermedi-

ate School completed

their annual spelling bee.

The program, as it is im-

plemented at RJO, is de-

signed to involve all stu-

dents in the competition.

The program begins in

the classroom with a

written spelling assess-

RJO students enjoying

some hands-on microscope

time.

K I N G S P A R K K N I G H T L Y N E W S

News From Fort Salonga Elementary School

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

Hour of Code

In response to a national

campaign, the Hour of Code

was celebrated the first week

of December at Fort Salonga.

Students in Kindergarten

through Third Grade spent an

hour in the computer lab learn-

ing the basics of computer pro-

gramming. The Hour of Code

is a one hour introduction to

computer science. It is de-

signed to demystify code and

show that anybody can learn the

basics. Special thanks to our

librarian, Mrs. Blake for taking

on the challenge and organizing

the event for the students at Fort

Salonga Elementary School.

thru for the Starbooks Café.

At the café, bookmarks that

were made by the students

were sold to the rest of the

student population at Fort Sa-

longa. Through this program

Ms. Zucaro’s students prac-

ticed mathematical and money

Third grade students in Ms.

Zucaro’s class transformed

their classroom into a holiday

café to sell bookmarks to stu-

dents at Fort Salonga Elemen-

tary School. The students be-

gan by decorating their class-

room door to become a drive

management

skills. The ini-

tiative yielded

over $150.00

which was do-

nated to St.

Jude’s Research

Hospital.

ground.

Students were taught how

to use the bench at a

school wide assembly

which was held in Janu-

ary.

This assembly is a small

part of our character edu-

cation initiative that has

taken place throughout the

school year. Our assem-

blies and our P.A.R.P. pro-

gram all celebrated charac-

ter education.

On December 11th the Fort

Salonga Elementary School

Buddy Bench was formally

dedicated. The bench itself

acts as a safe zone or sym-

bol for all of our students

on the playground. If one

of the students is looking

for a friend to play with,

they simply sit on the bench

and wait for a friend to ap-

proach the bench. The idea

itself is simple. It elimi-

nates loneliness and fosters

friendships on the play-

Fort Salonga Dedicates Buddy

Starbucks Café = Creativity + Bookmarks =

Raising $$$ for a Great Cause!

Mrs. Montecalvo and some Fort

Salonga Students dedicating the

buddy bench.

Mrs. Zucaro’s Starbucks Café.

P A G E 6

“Code has become

the 4th literacy.

Everyone needs to

know how our

digital world works,

not just engineers.”

Mark Surman,

Executive Director

of Mozilla Foundation

Members of the

KPHS Royalettes

with a Park View

student.

Park View Student Learn to Code

Park View “Whips” Pediatric Cancer

News From Park View Elementary School The Polar

Express All aboard!! The Po-

lar Express made a

stop at Park View on

December 23rd. Stu-

dents and teachers wore

their pajamas and lis-

tened to the story by

Chris Van Allsburg.

Immediately following

the story, students en-

joyed cookies and milk

provided by the incredi-

ble Park View PFA.

Class mothers decorated

each classroom door to

represent the Polar Ex-

press. The Kings Park

High School Royalettes

dance team performed

for students in the hall-

ways to the song “Hot

Chocolate.” This was a

great experience for

Park View students,

Kings Park High

School students, par-

ents and teachers. Ms.

Reilly, Music Teacher,

led the entire school in

a sing-along in the

school gymnasium.

Songs that represented

Christmas, Hanukah,

and winter were sung

and enjoyed by all.

challenge was our special

guest of the day. Stu-

dents from the Kings

Park High School tech-

nology department

filmed the event. Look

for the final version of

the video on the district

website soon. The Park

View students and com-

On January

29th, Park

View students, teachers

and staff, danced to

“whip” pediatric cancer.

We all performed the

popular dance, “Watch

me (Whip Nae Nae)” by

Silento. Jordan Belous,

originator of the “Whip”

munity raised $516.00

from the event which has

been donated directly to

the Sloan Kettering Can-

cer Center. Please go to

whippediatriccancer.org

for more information on

the challenge.

computer program-

ing. The “Hour of Code”

is a one-hour introduc-

tion to computer science,

designed to demystify

code and show that any-

body can learn the ba-

sics. The “Hour of

Code” is a national event

created in 2013 to en-

courage students to learn

computer science and

advocate for more

schools to teach it. By

hosting a the Hour of

Code event, we provid-

ed a platform

for students to receive

an engaging introduc-

tion to computer pro-

gramming.

Park View students par-

ticipated in a week long

coding activity during

library time. Students

in kindergarten through

third grade spent an

hour in the

computer

lab learn-

ing the

basics of

Park View students per-

forming the “Whip Nae

Nae.”

K I N G S P A R K

Fall Sports Season in Review

P A G E 7 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

The Fall athletic season was

filled with many great moments

and accomplishments by our

student-athletes on and off the

field. With over 500 of our stu-

dents in grades 7-12 competing on

our 20 teams, the students put in

many hours of hard work to make

this a very successful season.

Highlights from our Varsity teams

included all 8 of our teams achiev-

ing New York State Scholar-

Athlete Team Awards and a total

of 152 student-athletes receiving

the prestigious honor of being

named New York State Scholar

Athletes. In addition, there were

16 All-League, 12 All-Conference/

Division, 12 All-County and 6

All-Long Island/State athletes.

The Girls Soccer and Football

teams hosted playoff games for

the first time in many years.

The Girls Volleyball Team

completed their fifth consecu-

tive season as League V, Suf-

folk County and Long Island

Champions. The Kings Park

Central School District is very

proud of the dedication shown

by all of our student-athletes.

tive, and our 1st annual event

took place on Thursday,

October 22 from 6-9 p.m.

at Kings Park High School.

Based on parent input, the

district designed 15-20 vari-

ous workshops. We even

offered childcare! The feed-

back from parents at the

Last spring, the district sent

out an interest survey to see

if parents might be interested

in attending a new event

called Parent University.

Several districts in our area

run this type of event on an

annual basis. The response

to this survey was very posi-

event was very

positive, and

we look for-

ward to hold-

ing the event

again next October.

Luzim is excited about the many

returning players and new addi-

tions to this year’s squad. Com-

ing off of the success of last

season, Coach Kim McGinley

believes this year’s Softball

team can be just as competitive

and battle with the top teams in

their league. Coach Jack Mag-

nani leads Boys Tennis and is

looking forward to seeing the

development of the returning

upperclassmen and the talent of

the new additions. Coach Rob

Muller will lead the Girls

Track team as they strive to be

strong contenders for the league

title. The team looks to be

strong in every event. New

head coach John Damaskos

takes over a Boys Track team

that is committed to working

hard and showing how talented

they are. Brett Clifford leads

the Boys Golf team which will

look to a talented and experi-

enced group of seniors to help

the team build on their success

from last season. Let’s Go

Kingsmen!

Head coach JM Simpson leads a

very motivated Boys Lacrosse

team into the season. The play-

ers are looking forward to their

home opener on March 28th.

Girls Lacrosse returns a strong

nucleus of players and great

senior leadership that Coach

Sally Ayers believes will lead

them to a successful season.

Baseball is eager to begin their

quest to challenge the top teams

in their league. Coach Mike

The Varsity Girls Volleyball Team

captured their 5th consecutive

Long Island Championship.

Spring Sports Season Preview

Other News From Around the District

Make sure to mark your calen-

dar next fall for our 2nd Annu-

al Parent University!

“This past fall

sports season

was one of the

most

celebrated in

recent

history.”

would see building improve-

ments, including roof re-

placements, bathroom reno-

vations, and door and hard-

ware replacements, as well

as asphalt and pavement up-

grades as necessary. Plans

On Tuesday, Dec. 8,

community residents

approved a capital pro-

ject bond referendum

totaling $41,422,515.

The final vote was

1,331 yes, 499 no. The

Board of Education and

Superintendent of

Schools, Dr. Timothy

Eagen, extend their ap-

preciation to all those who participated in this

vote. The results of the vote demonstrate that

community residents value the quality educa-

tion Kings Park provides to its students and

the importance of maintaining and renovating

district facilities for the benefit of students,

staff and the community. With the approved

project, all six buildings within the district

also call for auditorium

upgrades, gymnasium

renovations, and the

creation of a multipur-

pose athletic field and

accompanying conces-

sion stand/comfort sta-

tion at Kings Park High

School. Additional high

school renovations in-

clude upgrading the

library to provide for 21st-century student

research and learning needs, and resurfacing

and upgrading the high school track. The

full listing of projects can be found on the

district’s website, www.kpcsd.k12.ny.us.

The district looks forward to providing peri-

odic updates for the community as the plans

and projects proposed become a reality.

180 Lawrence Road

Kings Park, NY 11754

(631) 269-3310

Follow us on Twitter: @KPSchools

ADMINISTRATION:

Dr. Timothy T. Eagen

Superintendent of Schools

Dr. Ralph Cartisano

Assistant Superintendent for

Curriculum & Instruction

Mr. John Craig

Assistant Superintendent for

Personnel & Administrative Services

Dr. Danielle Colby-Rooney

Administrator for Pupil Personnel Services

Mrs. Shannon Meehan

School Business Administrator

BOARD OF EDUCATION:

Ms. Pam DeFord, President

Mrs. Diane Nally, Vice President

Mr. Tom Locascio, Trustee

Mr. Joe Bianco, Trustee

Mr. Kevin Johnston, Trustee

Kings Park Central School District

Thank you - Bond Project Passed!

www.kpcsd.org

MISSION STATEMENT:

The Kings Park Central School District will provide

an excellent education for all children. Students will

be given the opportunity to develop academically,

physically, socially, and emotionally, while learning

the necessary skills to communicate effectively. This

will be accomplished in a stimulating and challenging

environment that maximizes every resource availa-

ble.