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.