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Andrea Moore Paldy

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Andrea Paldy, a writer for The Village Times Herald, is co-author of the book, Exploring Motion Graphics. She is a lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stony Brook University.

Smithtown East sends off grads

by Andrea Moore Paldy - June 25, 2015

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Friends and families gathered at the Bulls football stadium to cheer on loved ones during the 100^th commencement ceremony for Smithtown High School East on Wednesday, June 24.

In a ceremony that lasted a little over an hour, Smithtown East principal Edwin Thompson called on the words of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson — the president in the year of the school’s first graduation — to remind students that obstacles are there to be overcome. After addresses from the district’s assistant superintendent for instruction and two student speakers, nearly 500 students received their high school diplomas.

Three Village curriculum continues to evolve

by Andrea Moore Paldy - June 24, 2015

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KathrynWhite_3VBOE_Mountprincipal_June2015_paldyw — Kathryn White says declining enrollment figures present limitations to the district. Photo by Andrea Moore Paldy

As the school year winds down and students get ready to enjoy some downtime, some educators plan to spend the summer developing curriculum for the upcoming year.

The Three Village school board was brought up to date on some of those plans during a recent meeting.
Among them were the next steps for Pi, the intellectually gifted (I.G.) program and school-wide enrichment, which were outlined in a report by the district’s program review committee for enrichment.

Pi, a program that offered science and math enrichment to select fourth, fifth and sixth grade students at each elementary school, is coming to an end with this year’s sixth grade class. In the new school year, the enrichment program will expand to include all grades, kindergarten through sixth.

A pilot of the program has been running at all schools for current fourth and fifth graders and will be renamed STEM, since it will focus on interdisciplinary enrichment in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.

“The idea behind STEM is that we integrate these things — that we break down the barriers between the disciplines,” said Gretchen Tranchino, a certified enrichment specialist at Setauket Elementary School and committee member.

According to the report presented to the school board, the enrichment program comes partly in response to a recommendation from the district’s elementary math committee. That committee noted that the math curriculum needed a support system. Schoolwide enrichment is also an acknowledgment of the national and state trend toward more emphasis on STEM subjects in school.

The decline in elementary school enrollment allowed the district to appoint a STEM teacher for each of the five elementary schools. The teachers will spend the summer months writing the curriculum, beginning with three lessons for each grade, kindergarten through sixth.

Included, as well, said Kevin Scanlon, assistant superintendent for educational services, would be a lesson to introduce the “hour of code” computer coding sequence to the second grade. He added that there is a plan to add lessons for each grade level as students move through the sequence each year.

The dip in enrollment in Three Village elementary schools has not only freed up teachers to teach in the STEM program, it has also prompted the district to shuffle some of its programs around. The I.G. program and English as a New Language (ENL) — previously English as a Second Language — which were housed at W. S. Mount Elementary School, will move to Nassakeag Elementary School.

Though next year’s I.G. fifth and sixth graders will continue at Mount, the fourth graders will begin the program at Nassakeag in the fall. The district expects the transition to Nassakeag to be complete by the 2017-18 school year.

The movement of the two student groups will balance out the populations at Nassakeag and Mount, so that both will have about 550 students by the fall of 2017, administrators say.

Low enrollment presents limitations on a school, Mount Principal Kathryn White said. Disadvantages include having only two sections per grade, which limits student groupings, and having to revolve a shared staff, which limits creativity in scheduling, she said.

An advantage to moving these two programs is that Nassakeag is the district’s “split school.” That means half of its students move on to one of the district’s two junior high schools, while the other half go to the other.

This arrangement makes sense because students in the ENL and I.G. programs also go to two different junior highs at the end of elementary school, White said.

In addition to the 21 lessons being written for the STEM program, I.G. teachers will work with the junior high math chairs on the I.G. math sequence. These are in addition to about 14 other curriculum development projects that include secondary-level math, social studies, health and foreign language courses.

The end of soy yogurt as we know it?

by Andrea Moore Paldy - June 19, 2015

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The final chapter for WholeSoy & Co.

Osoyholeclose — Stonyfield Organic O'Soy yogurt at Wild By Nature is one option to fill the hole left by WholeSoy.

It’s been a month and a half since my stash of Trader Joe’s organic soy yogurt ran out, and I still haven’t found anything equally as satisfying to fill the void in the lunchbox. Though it’s never been confirmed, I’ve always believed that family-owned WholeSoy & Co. made Trader Joe’s soy yogurt, since both brands always seemed to disappear from stores at the same time.

Now, after two years of following WholeSoy’s battle to keep its yogurt on the shelves, I bring you the anti-climactic conclusion. The 16-year-old company shuttered in March.

This premature end was particularly surprising, since things seemed to be looking up back in January when Maryland-based Nutroganics licensed the WholeSoy & Co. name for the production and sale of soy milk. Whether this marriage will remain intact, or even extend to soy yogurt, remains to be seen. The company, which owns three other “healthy lifestyle” labels, did not return calls for comment.

This is not the way epics and stories about underdogs are supposed to end.

WholeSoy, based in Modesto, Calif., fought valiantly to pick itself up after its factory — known as a co-packing plant — closed in 2013. I tracked the progress as the company moved to a new facility, and then, because the facility couldn’t meet its huge production needs, put together funds to build and operate its own dairy-free yogurt-making facility. Then we all waited yogurt-less, month after month, as deadlines came and went and the yogurt we yearned for didn’t return to store shelves. Finally, after almost a year, it was back in April 2014, and all, it seemed, was right with the world.

Not quite a year later — in March — I noted the dwindling supply of yogurt at Wild by Nature and knew something was up. A visit to the WholeSoy website confirmed it. A letter to customers explained that the company simply could not afford to both run the business and cover the debt it incurred while off the shelves and from building a new facility.

At that point, I did the only thing I could do. I went to Trader Joe’s and cleared the shelf — actually, I think I left about four containers behind. If this was the end, we were going down with a boatload of soy yogurt.

While WholeSoy stood out for making organic soy yogurt with ingredients that had no genetic modifications, it was also notable for its transparency. In an effort to be “honest and forthright” it tried to keep its customers in the loop through regular posts to its website and social media. At one point, the executives even apologized for promising and then delaying (several times) the yogurt’s comeback “and not taking into account consideration of all of the potential pitfalls.”

It was also no secret that executives had poured their own money into the business along with a $400,000 loan from Whole Foods. Yet, in the end, it wasn’t enough.

“[W]e have exhausted all possible sources of additional funding and can no longer continue to operate,” the bare-all message said.

And yet, aren’t these precisely the companies we want to see thrive? It’s sad, really —and not just for vegans and people with dairy allergies — that an independently owned, environmentally and socially conscious company was unable to survive despite the high demand for its product. According to them, they were the number one selling soy yogurt, and based on all of the love notes customers have left as recently as this month on their page, it’s clear that they had quite the following.

Certainly, there are other soy yogurts on the planet, but even my own little soy yogurt connoisseur votes with a spoon and declares that the others do not taste the same. Besides, after watching our protagonist face and overcome so many obstacles, this denouement is less than satisfying.

I can only hope for a sequel in which the WholeSoy founders are able to rise from the ashes to build a stronger, even more successful business.

Until then, I’ll echo their final words to customers back to them.

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and farewell.”

The makers are coming!

by Andrea Moore Paldy - June 12, 2015

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The Long Island Maker Festival debuts in Port Jeff

voxiebox — Spectators view demo of the Voxiebox which will be on display at the Long Island Maker Festival Sunday. Photo by Sean Kane

Opening my web browser the other day, I was dropped into the middle of an Apple “special event” product unveiling where an executive enthused about some app or service or the other. It was something to customize my newsfeed. Since I’m good with the way I currently get my news, I didn’t pay too much attention and moved on.

Sometimes it can be overwhelming — keeping up with apps, worrying about issues of privacy and multi-tasking — all of which can erode productivity and promise access to more content than we could ever properly consume. And yet, we can either be intimidated by technology or energized by it.

People who turn that energy into creativity — makers, doers — can be an inspiration to us all. That’s why this Sunday, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Maritime Explorium in Port Jefferson Village and KidOYO are hosting the Long Island Maker Festival.

The largest maker festival in Suffolk County, it will showcase the work of people who have seized technological innovations and turned them into opportunities to become innovators, says Cindy Morris, the event’s organizer.

As Cindy describes it, the maker movement stems from accessible innovation.

“Technology has changed so much, you can do almost everything from your own home,” she says.”

You don’t need millions of dollars or fancy hi-tech facilities to realize your ideas.

I have to admit that I love the word “maker.” People who create, contribute and value utility. It’s the opposite of consumption and requires grit and ingenuity. How could anyone not be excited by that?

Sunday’s family event will bring together 50 volunteers from ages 11 on up to the Port Jefferson Harborfront Park. There will be scientists from across the island wearing shirts saying, “I’m a scientist. Ask me a question.” They want to encourage those who attend to learn more about the science behind what they will be seeing. And Cindy assures there will be lots of science — professional robotics, a children’s science exhibition, a demonstration of green screen technology and a hologram machine built in a garage — to name just a few offerings.

Festival participant takes in the Voxiebox 3D video consul. Photo by Sean Kane

The maker movement encompasses more than just science and technology, Cindy says. There’s art, performing art and crafting, much of which will also be seen Sunday.

Stony Brook University’s theater department will demo theatrical make-up, while attendees can take sewing lessons, observe an African drumming circle, or take in other musical performances. Workshops from computer coding to organic gardening will also be offered.

“We always talk to our children about being imaginative, but as we get older, we stop doing it ourselves,” Cindy observes.

This event, this gathering of creators and entrepreneurs, is to show that “anybody can do this,” she says. “We want our children to know that they don’t have to be adults to be creative, and for adults to realize that they don’t have to be children to be creative.”

All of this came together in four months, which Cindy sees as a show of the community’s interest and desire for such an event. There are close to 100 makers participating, and organizers expect the festival to draw some 3,000 attendees.

Cindy’s background as a strategic planner for non-profits — she owns The Benson Agency — definitely came in handy when gathering sponsors. Without them, the undertaking would have cost anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000, she estimates.

Port Jefferson Village is allowing the organizers to use the Harborfront Park rent free, while The Rinx, the roller rink at the Village Center, is offering all attendees free roller skating for the day. Stony Brook University College of Arts and Sciences and its department of technology and society, Stony Brook Medicine, Hofstra, The Science Academy Camp at Park Shore, Long Island Parent and PSEG are among the other sponsors.

If you are a mover and a maker, or you want to be one, head “down Port” this Sunday. Maybe something you see will spark your sense of invention!

Tickets: Purchased in advance $10/person or $40/family. Day of $15/person or $60 family. www.limakerfest.com

Three Village schools tackle tech-savvy agenda

by Andrea Moore Paldy - June 9, 2015

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KWelchPollera_3VBOE_Jun15_paldyw — Kerrin Welch-Pollera, district executive director of instructional technology, outlines Three Village’s plans to upgrade its technological approach inside the classroom. Photo by Andrea Moore Paldy

Though it may seem counterintuitive, administrators in Three Village are encouraging Ward Melville High School students to bring their smart phones, tablets and other digital devices to class.

It is part of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative designed to enhance students’ academic experience by allowing them to log into the district’s Wi-Fi network for educational resources.

In a comprehensive report to the Three Village school board last week, Kerrin Welch-Pollera, the district’s executive director of instructional technology, spoke of those and other technological initiatives now in play or soon to be introduced at the elementary and secondary levels. She also gave an update on the district’s use of technology to improve security at the school campuses.

Speaking specifically of the BYOD program, Welch-Pollera said that there are 3,336 devices currently connected to the district’s Wi-Fi network. They are all running Google Apps for Education. She explained that this special version of Google lets students do searches in an environment that “is pretty much closed off to the public” and has no advertising.

Also, she said, teachers can share documents with their students through Google Classroom.

For students who don’t bring their own devices, there are 23 Chromebooks available for check out from the high school library at the beginning of the day. There is usually a line for them, Welch-Pollera said.

Additional resources include access to Microsoft Office 365, which staff, students and parents can download to their home devices. BYOD will be piloted at the junior high schools this fall.

Welch-Pollera also spoke about instructional technology helping to standardize curriculum across grades and managing the Destiny online library system. As an example, Destiny has eBooks that can be read by an entire grade at the same time. This tool has made the district-wide fifth grade Bull Run project possible and is facilitating a voluntary seventh grade summer reading assignment about cyber bullying.

Other instructional support has come with the purchase of seven Smart tables, which work like smart boards. Welch-Pollera told the board that two smart tables will be used in the new preschool program. Five are already being used in special education classrooms, she said. The district also has 150 iPads and 3D printers in the secondary schools and will receive an additional 123 Chromebooks from BOCES through Race to the Top funds, Welch-Pollera said.

This school year also saw a major upgrade of the district’s security technology with the addition of access cards, entryway cameras and driver’s license scanners. Welch-Pollera also noted upgrades to Infinite Campus, the district’s parent portal, and software training workshops for teachers. In July, the district will roll out a new website. A new, customizable district app will be introduced in the fall.

Additions to the curriculum will include an “hour of code” initiative to be led by the new elementary STEM teachers. The new program will introduce programming language to elementary school students. A computer science class will be offered at the high school in January and a technology class at each junior high.

Welch-Pollera will work with administrators and teachers to determine how to spend the district’s $3.39 million allocation of Smart Schools Bond money, state funds earmarked for prekindergarten facilities, security technology, Internet connectivity and technology for learning.

The district will develop a 3-to-5-year plan that outlines goals for instruction and how technology can support it, she said. There is no time limit for when the district can spend the money, but it cannot use the funds for professional development, technical support, software or subscription services. Being considered are network and wireless infrastructure upgrades to make sure there are access points in every classroom, additional security cameras, upgraded phone systems and additional classroom projectors and displays, Welch-Pollera said.

Three Village school budget approved, members re-elected

by Andrea Moore Paldy - May 20, 2015

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1Deanna&Bill_3VBOE_May2015_paldyw — Deanna Bavlnka and William Connors celebrate after the elections Tuesday night. Photo by Andrea Moore Paldy

Voters approved the Three Village school district budget Tuesday. The $189.5 million budget received 2,401 votes in favor and 723 against.

Residents also re-elected trustees William Connors and Deanna Bavlnka. Board president Connors received 2,200 votes and Bavlnka, 2,052. A third candidate, Jeffrey Mischler, who had hoped to unseat either Bavlnka or Connors, got 1,095 votes.

Connors, a board member since 2012, plans to continue the work the board had started and to “maintain the academic programs and quality that the district has been known for within the fiscal reality.”

Connors was previously on the board from 1994 to 2006.

Mischler, who congratulated the trustees, said early in the evening that it had been a “clean campaign” and that he was pleased that he’d been able to “stick to being green.” He had run his campaign primarily on social media.

Before the results were in, Bavlnka, a trustee since 2011, said she was very optimistic about the budget, which was her priority, because it directly affected the students in the district.

At the 2.79 percent cap on the tax levy increase, next year’s budget restores programs and staff cut in recent years. They include the return of fourth- through sixth-grade elementary health classes, high school American Sign Language, full-time elementary school social workers and increased guidance and counseling at the three secondary schools.

District officials have also said that declining elementary enrollment and retirements will make it possible to balance elementary class sizes and add a STEM teacher to each elementary school to help with science and math enrichment and remediation. At the secondary level, the administration will add 1.2 full-time equivalent English as a second language (ESL) positions to fill a state mandate. Positions will be added to reduce math and English class sizes and to restore electives in technology, social studies, science and math.

Three Village plans to restructure its administration for the 2015-16 school year without additional costs. New positions include a coordinating chair for junior high foreign language and districtwide ESL, a coordinating music chair as well as assistant directors for pupil personnel services, health and physical education and instructional technology. The 2015-16 budget includes money to restore security, clerical, maintenance and operations staff.

While a $1.65 million increase in state aid played a role in meeting the district’s budget, a $3.6 million decrease in retirement system costs and 5 percent drop in health insurance also helped. Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Jeff Carlson said that Three Village also has benefited from increased revenues from tuition paid by nonresidents attending its special education and Three Village Academy programs. That has netted an additional $1.2 million for the current school year.

The favorable financial situation means that the district will be using less money from its fund balance and reserve accounts to balance the upcoming school year’s budget. It’s the reason the tax levy increase will be higher than the 0.81 percent budget-to-budget increase, Carlson said.

The district will continue to undertake capital improvements covered by the bond residents approved in February 2014. An anticipated $3.39 million from the state’s Smart Schools Bond will go toward facilities for the prekindergarten program, as well as classroom, school safety and security technology, Carlson said. With a state-approved government efficiency plan that shows at least a 1 percent saving to the tax levy and with the budget within the cap, residents will be eligible for a tax freeze credit, he added.

Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich said the 77 percent approval of the budget sends an important message about support from the community and confidence in the school board and district.

Three Village BOE candidates stump for seats

by Andrea Moore Paldy - May 5, 2015

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3VBOEcandidates2_Apr2015_paldyw — Deanna Bavlnka, William F. Connors, Jr. and Jeffrey Mischler address the crowd. Photo by Andrea Moore Paldy

Not since 2012 have three candidates vied for two seats on the Three Village school board. The last time that happened, incumbents William F. Connors, Jr. and Deanna Bavlnka were running for their current seats, which will expire at the end of June.

This year Connors and Bavlnka are joined in the at-large race for two three-year board positions by newcomer Jeffrey Mischler. Their order on the ballot, determined in a drawing required by law, will be Connors, Mischler, and then Bavlnka.

Last week, residents gathered at R.C. Murphy Junior High auditorium to listen to the candidates respond to a series of prepared questions from the audience.

Concerning the importance of the arts, extra-curricular activities, vocational training and concerns about high stakes testing and teachers’ evaluations, the trio were in agreement.

Connors, current president of the Three Village school board, referred to extra-curricular activities as “co-curricular,” explaining that for many students, those programs “are something that really makes all the difference in the world in their happiness and success in school.”

Connors, 70, has lived in the district since 1973. He retired as associate vice president of academic affairs for Suffolk County Community College and said he hopes to continue to use his professional and past board experience to shepherd the district through the fiscal challenges presented by the cap on the tax levy.

All three candidates agreed that high stakes testing is a problem for both students and teachers.

The emphasis should not be on the test, but on the materials being taught and on “teaching these kids the right way to study and the right way to learn,” responded Mischler, 44.

A high school business teacher in Center Moriches, where he also taught seventh and eighth grade math for eight years, Mischler and his wife have lived in Stony Brook for eight years. They have two — soon to be three — sons at Nassakeag Elementary School.

Mischler said he hopes to represent “the teachers, the parents, the working families” and to make sure that “financial decisions are made soundly.”

Bavlnka, the director of human resources at P.W. Grosser Consulting, an environmental engineering firm, spoke of the importance of advocacy and encouraged parents to write to government officials to protest high-stakes testing.

“We need to have our voices heard and stick together and work as a team,” the mother of two W.S. Mount Elementary students said.

A 1983 Ward Melville graduate, Bavlnka wants to continue the district’s momentum and emphasis on academic excellence and “inclusiveness to maximize each student’s chance to reach their own unique potential.”

When the discussion during the hour-long Meet the Candidates Night turned to finances, Mischler promised to examine some of the Common Core programs the district pays for, such as Go Math!, to make sure they are working.

“I’m still on the fence whether it’s effective or not,” he said of the math curriculum that was just recommended by the elementary math committee.

If funds remained, Mischler said he would use them for special needs programs in the elementary schools.
Bavlnka, 50, referred to the upcoming school district budget, which includes elementary STEM teachers, and the restoration of social workers and American Sign Language, as an example of the board’s sound financial decisions. The district’s move to natural gas heating and preparation to go solar also point to the board’s efforts to save money, she said.

“We are thinking business. We are thinking revenue and efficiency and conserving. And we’re doing a great job at it,” she told the audience.

Connors, father of four Ward Melville graduates, said he would like to do more to get secondary students out of study halls and into more electives.

“We have to work with employee groups and work with them within the fiscal realties we are now facing,” Connors said regarding the district’s long-term financial health.

“That involves a change in mindset of all of us.”

Asked about term limits, Connors, who was previously on the school board from 1994 to 2006, serving as president for the last 10 years, joked that he was definitely against them.

“The community certainly can decide if I’m representing them well,” he said. “And if they feel that the Board of Education needs some new blood, new ideas that I don’t offer, they can elect another individual.”

Bavlnka said continuity and consistency are important for building relationships. It’s also important, she said, because educational law can be “overwhelming” and “one big chunk to take on.”

Mischler does believe in term limits. “I always look for a fresh look sometimes. You know yourselves if you keep doing the same thing over and over again, you may start to fall into the same pattern,” he said.

“I feel like it’s a chance for the public to make a decision.”

That decision will come on May 19. Voting for the board seats and 2015-16 school budget will take place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Three Village elementary schools.

Construction boots Stony Brook ball field

by Andrea Moore Paldy - April 29, 2015

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ThreeVillage_Construction_NorthCountry_Corsow — Three Village Central School District is constructing a new building on its administration property. Photo by Phil Corso

A new, $1.6 million, 4,000-square-foot facility for maintenance and operations is rising on the North Country Administration property on Suffolk Avenue in Stony Brook.

Money from the recent bond is being used to fund the building, which will provide relief for the administration building, which now houses ground crew supplies, carpentry facilities and a paint shop in one of its wings. The district’s auto shop is a separate building also located on the premises.

The new building will mean that there will be more space inside the administration center for career and technical classrooms for the Three Village Academy, said Jeff Carlson, assistant superintendent for business services. Being able to provide vocational courses will save the district the fees it pays to BOCES, he said.

“We want to make it nicer for the neighborhood,” Carlson said of the construction. “We want to be a good neighbor.”

Though some neighbors might be disappointed to see the baseball fields on the south side of the building sacrificed, Carlson said the administration plans to spruce up the fields on the other side of the building.

Three Village committee gives green light for Go Math

by Andrea Moore Paldy - April 28, 2015

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Scanlon2-5-29-BOE-paldyw — Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services Kevin Scanlon speaks at a meeting. File photo

It was just a few years ago — 2011 to be exact— when Everyday Math made its rocky debut in Three Village elementary schools.

The district was among the first to move to a Common Core-aligned math curriculum, following the state’s adoption of the standards the previous year. One problem among many, said Kevin Scanlon, assistant superintendent for educational services, was that Everyday Math was only about 80 percent aligned to the new standards.

Now the district’s elementary math review committee is recommending that Three Village adopt a replacement, the Houghton Mifflin Go Math! series. The proposal follows an evaluation that began last year with the committee’s analysis of the district’s 2012-13 New York State math assessment scores.

The group also met with the representatives of four leading math programs — Envisions by Pearson, Mc Graw Hill’s updated Everyday Math 4, Go Math! and Singapore Math — and decided to pilot Everyday Math 4 and Go Math! this year. Of the two programs, the committee determined that Go Math! was best suited to Three Village students’ needs.

Unlike Everyday Math, which was put in place before Scanlon and the current superintendent assumed their jobs, the recommendation was meant to be a collaborative effort that included feedback from teachers.

Scanlon said elementary school teachers, who were given materials from both programs, were able to “experiment under their own professional discretion.”

“When we look at any of these products, nothing is going to take the place of great teachers in the classroom using their discretion with the students in front of them,” Scanlon said.

The committee — a cross-section of educators from each grade at the district’s elementary schools, as well as secondary math chairs and administrators — designed surveys for elementary teachers to complete. The most frequent rating for Everyday Math 4 was “fairly good,” while Go Math! was most frequently rated as “very good.” The surveys indicated that there was a clear three-to-one preference for Go Math!

The committee also examined the resources each program provided for parents to help their children at home. Committee members decided that Go Math! has the best resources for teachers, students and parents, while also offering opportunities for enrichment, remediation and English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The addition of five elementary STEM positions, as proposed in the 2015-16 budget, would also support differentiation for students at different levels.

Because of the difficult transition to Everyday Math, board members said they were concerned about the simultaneous introduction of Go Math! to all grades. Scanlon responded that the change would be less tumultuous since both teachers and students have already worked with the Go Math! material.

Many districts across Long Island, including neighboring Comsewogue and Northport, use Go Math! which, according to Scanlon, is the most sought-after math program for elementary schools.

In answer to the board’s questions about what competitive districts like Jericho and Cold Spring Harbor use, Scanlon said that he is in the process of finding out.

“Our teachers picked what was best for the students in Three Village,” he added.

Though not advocating for the Envisions math curriculum, board members did wonder whether Three Village students would be at a disadvantage if they didn’t use the textbooks written by Pearson, the company that also writes the state exams. Scanlon explained that Pearson’s textbook division is separate from its test-writing division and that legally, the company cannot structure its books to the test.

If Go Math! is adopted, teacher training will begin in May, with voluntary training continuing throughout the summer. Teachers will continue to receive more in-depth training throughout the coming school year.

Scanlon said the district would save about $100,000 since it chose to pilot the program. Three Village will sign a yearly contract over six years, rather than purchasing all material upfront. The agreement means it will be easier to receive updated material, he said.

Chalk another one up for local artist Annemarie Waugh

by Andrea Moore Paldy - March 1, 2015

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"Remembering Things Past"

Annemarie_wide — Waugh's painting from her exhibit "Across the Pond" looks at how the same language renders different meanings "across the pond."

When it comes to the power of Annemarie Waugh’s art, the writing is on the wall — elegantly scrawled in technicolor chalk on a black cloud of paint that remarkably, though unintentionally, resembles a map of the United States.

Her latest work, “Across the Pond,” features 166 “Britishisms” brought to life in paintings on canvas and with expressions written directly on the walls of the Islip Museum of Art.

It’s all part of the show, “Remembering Things Past,” running at the museum until the end of March.

The small room where her art is displayed is filled with wonderful British idioms, like “snog,” (to kiss), “faff,” (to waste time) and “mucky pup”, (dirty child). My personal favorite is “all fur coat and no knickers” (to have a sophisticated appearance but no substance). They’re the sort of expressions that would make you feel oh, so witty, were you to slip them into your daily conversation. Though, I’m not sure they’d sound nearly as nifty without the equally smart British accent.

Annemarie says the idea for the project began to percolate last Christmas when she was at home in England. The almost clichéd advice, “write what you know,” got her thinking.

“I know England. I know these expressions,” she says.

Inspiration to begin her text series, illustrations of some of these expressions — almost like an onomatopoeia in pencil and acrylic— soon followed. She describes the process as “thinking about the differences of the two countries and finding a visual voice that brings those memories and experiences into the work.”

Before she picked up her tools though, she started with a short story — about a paragraph long — to go with the words. Her first word was “snog.” From there, she went on to do more research in books and dictionaries, rediscovering and uncovering more expressions. She still uses some. Some, she’d forgotten. Her list has grown so much that she is actually compiling it into a book.

Annemarie told me that when she first showed the series in Patchogue last October, she didn’t want to display only paintings, so she had to figure out a way to showcase additional expressions.

“I started thinking of England and chalkboards and schools… chalkboard brings you back to remembering days long ago. It was a natural fit,” she says.

So she started practicing on the chalkboard in her son’s playroom. Though she’d used stencils for her paintings because she thought of her handwriting as “chicken scratch,” the artist says she found chalk freer and less inhibiting.

As the whole concept formed, “It was like another person stepped in and did it for me,” she says.

Installing the chalked portion of the exhibit was a project in itself. Annemarie says she was at the museum from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — leaving in time to get her son off the bus —for four straight days.

She painted the wall and wrote the 166 British expressions on one wall and the corresponding “American translations” on another. She very nicely numbered everything so they can easily be matched. On the fifth day, she worked with a proofreader. After all, that is a lot of writing!

As Annemarie explains it, evenings were spent going through her lists of expressions to choose which would fit thematically and physically in her piece.

To see how she has managed to perfectly alternate each color — red, pink, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple and white— for each expression, so that the same color is never contiguous, is an impressive and powerful feat.

It’s almost like performance art, because to show the exhibit elsewhere, Annemarie would have to do it all over again!

When I asked her if the thought made her want to take a nap, she laughed. “Oh no! I’d love to do it again!” she said.

“Remembering Things Past,” can be seen at the Islip Museum of Art, 50 Irish Lane, East Islip, through March 29. Viewing is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays, and noon to 4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays. Call (631) 224-5402.

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