W.S. Mount and Nassakeag elementary school students with Robert Sun, inventor of the First in Math Online Program. Photo from Three Village Central School District
The Three Village Central School District made its mark in Albany at the First in Math Statewide Math Tournament. Nassakeag Elementary School students Catherine Hu, Talinn Kim and Easton Tang came in first place for all of third grade in New York State, whereas W.S. Mount Elementary School students Aurna Chakraborty, Michael Gerber and Isaac Wang came in second place for first grade.
Back in March, these students won the First in Math Regional Contest for their respective grade levels, which qualified them to advance to the in-person state competition.
At the state contest, the first graders competed with a “ten-wheel game” and third graders competed with a “factor wheel game.” All Three Village students made it to the final round, where they had to make a presentation using precise mathematical language to present the strategies they used while making the wheels. They also had to model the equations they used to make 10 or find a common factor.
The district congratulates these students on their achievements and for representing Three Village at the state level.
W.S. Mount Elementary School above is the only school in the Three Village Central School District affected by mercury vapors. The problem is limited to a mini gymnasium that in the past was used intermittently. Photo by Rita J. Egan
In an Aug. 5 letter to the Three Village Central School District community, Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich said the district recently commissioned a voluntary investigation of all spaces in the district’s schools. The study consisted of screenings to test for the presence of mercury vapor and bulk sampling of flooring materials to determine the absence or presence of mercury, according to the letter.
The mini gymnasium at W.S. Mount Elementary School was the only space containing the vapor, according to the district, and it is one that was used only intermittently by students and staff members in the past.
While Minnesota is the only state that has established recommendations when it comes to mercury exposures in schools, the New York State Education Department recently sent out a memo stating that certain types of poured rubber flooring used in school buildings between the 1960s and ’90s may eventually break down into mercury vapor. After receiving the memo, the district decided to conduct its voluntary investigation.
Affected flooring is limited to those that were poured using phenylmercuric acetate, also referred to as PMA, as a catalyst during installation. The organomercury compound can break down during time. At room temperature, it can release an odorless, colorless mercury vapor.
Pedisich said in the letter that there were six possible areas found that could possibly be affected, and J.C. Broderick & Associates — a Hauppauge environmental testing agency — evaluated those areas. The mini-gymnasium was the only one confirmed affected after the evaluation.
“Following this, and out of an abundance of caution, additional vapor screening was conducted in spaces surrounding the mini gymnasium,” Pedisich said. “These tests found no detectable mercury vapors beyond the mini gymnasium.”
The space is now isolated from the rest of the building, and work began during the summer with the help of a professional remediation contractor, according to Pedisich. The gym will remain closed for the 2019-20 school year.
“Additionally, the Mount mini gymnasium will continue to remain unavailable to students and staff until there is complete assurance that air levels are well below federal exposure limits established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Minnesota Department of Health in schools,” Pedisich said.
In May, the Miller Place School District closed its high school gym after mercury vapors were detected within the recreation space.
Issues with mercury vapor have affected several schools in New Jersey, and the New Jersey Education Association has information on its website specifically about this type of flooring. The organization recommends such floors be removed as hazardous waste. Mercury vapor may do damage to lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes, though it depends on how much and how frequently people are exposed to the gas.
7-year-old uses Disney award, projects to continue to brighten lives of pediatric patients
Kayla Harte poses by character Band-Aid boxes she collected from students at W.S. Mount Elementary School for pediatric patients at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. Photo from Three Village school district
She may only be a 7-year-old, but Kayla Harte already has a huge heart. For the last two years, with the hopes of cheering up young patients, the second-grader has been a frequent visitor to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital’s pediatric oncology department.
Kayla’s mother, Robyn Harte, said when the W.S. Mount Elementary School student started visiting the patients, she would bring homemade get well cards and care packages. She began drawing cards with Minion characters from the film “Despicable Me” on them after she heard they were some of the children’s favorite characters, and she would always be looking for new things to bring them.
Kayla Harte with other donations she received as part of her Band-Aid and toy drives. Photo from Robyn Harte
“Every time we would go and deliver the items she would see that they would be so well received,” her mother said. “The coordinators would tell her how much the children would appreciate it and enjoy it, and it really motivated her to do more.”
During the summer while watching television, Kayla saw a commercial for the Disney Summer of Service grant through Youth Service America and asked her mother if she could apply for it. In November Kayla was one of 340 young leaders in the country awarded a $500 grant.
The money was given to Stony Brook Children’s Child Life Services Department, and Kayla and Director Joan Alpers decided it would be used to buy character bandages and musical toys for the patients. The young volunteer planned to match the grant by starting a project called Friends for Child Life, and she felt that boxes of Band-Aids as well as toys would be easy for people to bring to her, especially her fellow students.
“It makes me feel like she has this gift that she wants to give to other children, and she’s so genuine about it,” her mother said. “She really wants to help other children. She wants to make them feel better. It’s just such a lovely thing for me. It makes me feel really proud and very inspired.”
To kick off her character Band-Aid and musical toy drives, Kayla first asked friends and family members by emailing or texting them a video she and her mother created. Before she knew it, she received approximately 70 boxes of bandages and six musical toys. Her Girl Scout Troop 337 also donated items, and during Random Acts of Kindness Week at her school, fellow students joined the cause and she received close to 100 Band-Aid boxes that week, according to her mother.
“It makes me feel like she has this gift that she wants to give to other children, and she’s so genuine about it.”
— Robyn Harte
Kayla said she was excited when she heard she received the grant, and she’s happy with the amount of donations she has been receiving, especially since she is three-quarters of the way to her goal of 200 character Band-Aid boxes and 40 musical toys.
“I can’t wait to see the happy people at the hospital,” she said.
Even though her project for the Disney grant ends March 31, she plans to continue the drives on a smaller scale. The second-grader, who wants to play for the Mets one day, said once you start volunteering your time it feels so good that, “you can’t even stop doing it.”
Her mother said she and Kayla’s father, Dennis, are proud of how she ran with the project.
“I’m really proud of her,” she said. “I think she’s setting a really good example for other children her age to let them know that you don’t have to be a teenager or a grown-up to make a difference.”
