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Monthly Archives: September 2016

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The cast of ‘Born This Way,” from left, John, Megan, Cristina, Sean, Rachel, Steven and Elena. Photo courtesy of A&E Network

Young adults with Down syndrome break free from limitations in award-winning show

In 2015, A&E Network collaborated with the team that produced “The Real World” to create an original docuseries called “Born This Way.” Just last week, the show took home an Emmy for outstanding unstructured reality program at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, beating out a field of nominees that included HBO’s “Project Greenlight,” Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” and CNN’s “United Shades of America,” among others.

“We have been overwhelmed and moved by the feedback we’ve received for ‘Born This Way’ from viewers, as well as people with disabilities and their family members,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming at A&E Network, in a press release. “It’s rare to be able to present a show that changes the way we see the world; we believe ‘Born This Way’ is one of those shows.”

The docuseries also received two nominations for outstanding picture editing for reality programming but did not win in that category. Now in its second season, the reality show follows the lives of seven young adults — John (JT), Megan, Cristina, Sean, Rachel, Steven and Elena — with Down syndrome through the ups and downs of dating, employment and the quest for independence. It also gives their parents, who are also part of the cast, a chance to weigh in on the joys and challenges of raising someone with an intellectual disability.

Every episode is as inspiring as the last as many of the cast members look at their intellectual disability with a sense of unbridled optimism. According to Steven, it’s more like “Up Syndrome.”

Steven has mosaic Down syndrome and a contagious smile. His disability is rare and higher functioning, so he’s always felt stuck “in the middle” growing up. He seems to have found his a place at Leaps N Boundz, a Los Angeles community center for people with special needs. If you ask Steven, he is the “Matt Damon of the bunch.” Beyond his wit, he is also the most thoughtful of the group, always offering his friends insightful advice. His wisdom makes it easy to see past his disability and he is often the voice of reason, especially for his good friend Sean.

Sean has a harder time dealing with Down syndrome than Steven does. He can become very impatient with his parents when they try to talk to him about sensitive subjects like getting a job or moving out. When dealing with difficult emotions, he tends to snap and yell “end of discussion!” His parents are patient with him and Sean shows tremendous growth throughout the show. Beyond his angry little fits, Sean is an excellent golfer and a self-proclaimed “ladies man.” We see him transition from a flirt who struggles to respect the boundaries of other relationships to a gentleman looking for marriage.

Rachel, the adorable beam of sunshine with cheeks as rosy as her hair, will bashfully admit how “boy crazy” she is. She is always on the lookout for a serious relationship and is a little jealous that her brother is getting married first. Yet, she can’t help showing how excited she is to be the maid of honor at her first wedding. Rachel’s soft heart has been hurt in the past, which makes her family extra protective. In one scene, tears roll down Rachel’s round cheeks as her mother tells her how lucky any guy would be to date her. When the romantic Rachel isn’t singing along to an Adam Lambert song, she is consoling her friends with warm hugs and gentle compassion. She is great at helping her friends talk through their feelings and has been there from the beginning to support her friend Elena through some tough lessons.

The group at Leapz and Boundz discuss an upcoming white water rafting trip. Photo by Adam Taylor, courtesy of A&E Network
The group at Leapz and Boundz discuss an upcoming white water rafting trip. Photo by Adam Taylor, courtesy of A&E Network

Elena’s life has been emotionally turbulent. She was born in Japan where her mother Hiromi admits that Elena “was a shame to the family” — even to Hiromi. Hiromi’s struggle to accept Elena parallels Elena’s struggle to accept herself. Though Elena acts out her emotional impulses and has a hard time containing some troublesome behavior, she is intelligent enough to understand her negative actions upon self-reflection. It takes a longer time for her mother to realize the part she plays in Elena’s outbursts. Elena likes to stand out and express her authentic self, just like her favorite dance partner, John Tucker.

JT is a performance artist with a sassy attitude and a love for rap and dance. Though he can be just as wild as Elena, JT has always been supported by the unconditional love of his mother Joyce. Joyce accepted JT before he was even born. She was told that her son was going to have Down syndrome and the doctor suggested abortion as an option. Right then and there, Joyce decided that regardless of her son’s disability, he was still her son; she would love him just the same. She does worry about his filter in social situations, sometimes. Like Elena, he tends to be impulsive and unpredictable.

Also like Elena, JT mainly just wants to be accepted for who he truly is. Joyce just doesn’t want people to see JT for his disability. She hopes that others see him for “this gift that God gave him” and not just “good for someone with Down syndrome.” She wishes people to see him the way she does, as a unique individual with the same rights as anyone else. JT doesn’t see himself as anyone who should be underestimated, either. “If you don’t want me to treat you different, don’t treat me different” he says. “I have hopes, dreams, everything that you have.” His hopes and dreams are especially grand, and his dedication to becoming a musical artist is impressive. His journey begins with his first performance and propels forward into making his first rap album and selling it.

From left, Elena and Megan share a tender moment. Photo by Adam Taylor, courtesy of A&E Network
From left, Elena and Megan share a tender moment. Photo by Adam Taylor, courtesy of A&E Network

He’s not the only one who aims for the stars, though. Megan is the founder of Megology, a tie-dye clothing company she runs with her mother Kris, who Megan calls her “Dream Maker.” Aside from being a successful entrepreneur, Megan also does keynote speeches for events. Her speech titled “Don’t Limit Me” has been seen as a beacon of hope for those who share her struggle.

“My goal is to inspire people with my work,” Megan proclaims with her usual ambition. If you thought her dreams ended there, think again. She also wants to move to Hollywood and pursue a career as a movie director. However, her mother and boyfriend live in Colorado.

Megan slowly learns what it will take to really make her dreams come true. Though moving to another state and pursuing the uncertainty of an ideal life would be a challenging task for any person, she comes to accept what steps she has to take. Over the course of the show, she is faced with obstacles, but never choose the option to give up on her dreams. Her mother is the one still struggling to let go.

“I think she’s … attached to me” Megan says while sitting next to Kris, who winces at the truth of the accusation. Regardless of the roadblocks, Megan relentlessly pushes toward her aspirations. In Season 2, Megan gets a job in Los Angeles with Best Buddies and decides to move out on her own. We see Kris go through the same situation as most mothers who fear letting their child go out on their own. Although Megan has a few more issues than most, like comprehending money or learning to do her own laundry, Kris is still experiencing a common milestone in any daughter-mother relationship. Kris evolves with Megan, and slowly becomes more open to Megan’s big, sometimes scary, dreams.

Cristina, the beautiful, mature romantic in a committed five-year relationship, is still working on making her mother feel better about the future. Though her mother is worried, she finds humor in it all, remembering when she thought “she wasn’t going to wait up for [Cristina] to come back from a date like her mother did.” She recalls losing “all hope of having a normal child,” but now she worries about her child’s very normal life! According to Cristina’s father, his daughter has the “relationship intelligence of a 40-year-old woman,” even if her comprehension skills are lower than her actual age. Her father is the more open of the two parents, but even he has struggled to accept his daughter’s future.

When Cristina’s boyfriend, Angel, asked her father for his daughter’s hand in marriage, it took a while for the innocent joy in Angel’s eyes to convince him the time had come. We witness so many transitions in Cristina’s relationship with Angel. They go from dating to getting engaged, all while overcoming situations like getting jealous and staying faithful. They also demonstrate responsibility by choosing to wait until they’re financially stable to get married, and by understanding that having children may not be the best option. Ultimately, they come out strong, demonstrating what enduring love really looks like.

“Born This Way” is not an account of how debilitating Down syndrome is; rather, it is a testament to the hopeful human spirit in all of us. Even with their disabilities, the cast inspires us to aim higher; their emotional openness provides a deeper insight into our own hearts. It shows us that, no matter how different we may seem on the surface, we experience many of the same obstacles, and we dream many of the same dreams. Most of all, we all want the chance to be who we truly are.

Catch the last episodes of A&E’s “Born This Way: Season 2” on Tuesdays at 10 p.m., or just log on to www.aetv.com to watch all of the previous episodes.

Author Colm Ashe is a rising junior at Molloy College in Rockville Centre majoring in New Media and Journalism. He grew up in East Islip and loves creative expression almost as much as new experiences.

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Participants from last year's event. Photo from Daniel Kerr

SOLES for All Souls Run/Walk All Souls Church, 61 Main St., Stony Brook will hold its 8th annual SOLES for All Souls 5K Run/2K Walk on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 9:30 a.m., rain or shine. Proceeds from the event will help fund the maintenance of the historic chapel and church outreach events to the community. All preregistered runners and walkers are guaranteed a commemorative T-shirt. A postrace award ceremony will be held in the parking lot behind the church immediately after the event. Registration is currently underway through the www.active.com website, and there is a special discounted rate for participants under 19 of $10/person. For more information, call 631-655-7798.

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Photo courtesy of PJDG

CHECKMATE!

Theatre Three, 412 Main Street, Port Jefferson will screen the award winning documentary “Magnus” on Monday, September 26 at 7 p.m. as part of the 2016 Fall Port Jefferson Documentary series.

Through archival footage and home movies “Magnus” tells the story of 26-year-old Norwegian chess champion Magnus Carlsen’s rise to the top. A hit at several international festivals and winner of the Ray of Sunshine prize at the Norwegian International Film Festival, the documentary also gives the audience a peek inside the isolated world of the chess community. In English and Norwegian. Sponsored by the Long Island Chess Club. Guest speaker, via Skype, will be the director, Benjamin Ree.

Tickets are $7 and will be sold at the door. For more information, call 631-473-5220 or visit www.portjeffdocumentaryseries.com.

Please note the incorrect date was listed in the printed Times … and dates calendar under the photo.

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Participants at the SASI Family Fun Day held last month in Huntington. Photo by Rebecca Anzel

By Rebecca Anzel

A young scientist at Stony Brook University has received a $2.3 million grant to fund research he hopes will eventually lead to new therapies for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder.

Matthew Lerner, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of clinical psychology at Stony Brook University, and director of the Stony Brook Social Competence and Treatment Lab, the focus of which is learning to understand how children and teens with ASD form friendships.

“We use the word lab loosely, only because we collect data there,” he said. “It’s a fun space with games and activities for kids.”

“Matthew Lerner is sort of a pioneer in his thought process, and that’s what makes him special to me.”

— Priscilla Arena

His work thus far has ranged from lab-based studies — evaluating and developing tools to measure what is happening during social interactions and how the brain processes those interactions — to real-world applications. Lerner’s previous studies ask how, when and if kids make friends, and what helps them do so.

Efforts to link these two levels of analysis have never been done simultaneously — until now. Lerner won a highly competitive National Institute of Mental Health award to fund his innovative approach to studying social behaviors of children with ASD.

“It’s kind of remarkable that it really hasn’t been done in quite this way before,” he said. “We presume that these things — lab-based measures of how kids think about social interactions and real world interactions themselves — are linked, because otherwise, why would we look at them? But how they’re linked, and importantly, how we can understand how those links differ across individuals, hasn’t really been done thoroughly before.”

Priscilla Arena, the leader of a support group for parents of children with ASD, said Lerner is excited about the potential the grant gives his research.

“Matthew Lerner is sort of a pioneer in his thought process, and that’s what makes him special to me,” she said. “He sees potential in the future.”

It’s not far from her initial reaction after meeting with the Stony Brook researcher, who asked permission to speak to the parents in her group.

The Suffolk Aspergers/Autism Support and Information co-founder wanted to protect the parents, who have “already been beaten and kicked” by others looking for monetary donations and permission to study their children. But when she met Lerner, she said she knew almost immediately that he was different.

“He’s sincere, honorable, impassioned, smart and cerebral,” Arena said. “I don’t think my first impression of him has ever changed, and I think that’s why, from the get-go, I’ve had respect for him.”

The award, called Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists, was created in 2009 as a way to provide younger scientists with financial support for research. It is for early-stage investigators who are on a tenure track and have no prior research project grants.

“BRAINS” is earmarked for “the most promising early investigators” and is “one of the most competitive [awards]” NIH offers, according to Lisa Gilotty, Ph.D., program officer of Lerner’s grant. Gilotty is also the chief of NIMH’s research program on autism spectrum disorder.

Matthew Lerner is enthusiastic about finding treatments for those with autism spectrum disorder. Photo from Matthew Lerner
Matthew Lerner is enthusiastic about finding treatments for those with autism spectrum disorder. Photo from Matthew Lerner

Lerner is examining how well various biological and social factors, both independently and jointly, can predict how teenagers aged 11 to 17, with and without ASD, socially interact outside of a laboratory. In the five-year project, he and his team are also studying how those factors correlate, and which best explain the resulting social behaviors.

They are hoping to use information gleaned by observing the teenagers inside and outside the lab to make precise predictions about how they make friendships.

Depending on the results, the team might be able to develop generalized patterns that can be applied to a large number of people on the spectrum and be used to create more targeted therapies.

“This is an extremely important study that will shed light on the wide variability observed in social function in ASD,” said James McPartland, director of the Yale Developmental Disabilities Clinic. “Presently, little is understood about the biological reasons for these individual differences. Dr. Lerner’s study will help us understand these differences from both behavioral and brain-based perspectives.”

Dozens of the 260 teenagers — 160 with ASD and 100 without — participating in this study are Three Village students. Lerner and his team have also connected with special educators in the area to see how participants are doing outside the lab in a classroom.

He and his team spend a lot of time in the community, at family events and meetings with parents and educators to introduce themselves, share information about their work and to learn what challenges children are experiencing. Because Lerner wants the work he does to matter to parents and community members, he calls them “stakeholders” in his research.

“The most impressive thing about him is how community-minded he is,” President and Executive Director of Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Association (AHA) Patricia Schissel said. “It is important that he’s not stuck in a lab. He’s excited to get out into the research community.”

Arena said quite a few study participants are from SASI as well — her son included. Besides hosting support groups, the program, which was co-founded by Arena with Stephanie Mendelson, provides resources and runs events and programs for special needs families.

Arena and her son were asked to complete a 500-question survey as part of the screening process, and have committed to 20 weeks of social groups.

What appealed to her about this study is Lerner’s concentration on trying to develop more effective treatments and therapies for ASD as opposed to looking for a cure.

“I always say, unless you’re going to do a lobotomy, [saying there is a cure] is baloney,” she said. “You can calm certain conditions of it down through behavior modification and therapy, but you cannot cure it. There’s no way to reverse how the brain has been formed. My son will have it forever.”

Schissel said Lerner’s study has the potential to change treatment options for those with autism as genome sequencing did for cancer.

Oncologists previously “threw the kitchen sink” at cancer and attacked tumors broadly. Once genome sequencing was developed, doctors could instead more easily treat tumors directly. Such an approach to ASD therapies would be more effective and “waste less time and enormous amounts of money,” she said.

Michael Greenberg, a social worker for outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry at Stony Brook Medicine, agreed that more specific treatments and therapies are more efficient and effective.

“It creates an opportunity to have the odds be the best the first time,” he said. “No one can predict what he’s going to find, but he’s trying to come up with something that can be replicated and benefit people more widely.”

The results from Lerner’s study might also be applicable to children without ASD. He said it is unclear whether the social patterns he and his team might uncover are unique to kids with autism. There is a potential for any treatments that stem from his findings to benefit any kid who struggles socially.

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Elizabeth Monroe

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

History came alive on the distaff side last Monday night, as Elizabeth Kahn Kaplan talked about the nine first ladies born in New York State. Kaplan, a longtime resident of this area, author and prominent member of the Three Village Historical Society, combined her appreciation for history and art with delicious details from the lives of the nine women to make a delightful and informative evening at the Setauket Neighborhood House.

So who are those women?

Some of them we can tick off readily: Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy, Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan. Others are shrouded in more distant history. They are the wives of Presidents Monroe, Van Buren, Tyler, Cleveland and Fillmore.

Here is an example of one of Kaplan’s anecdotes about these women. Elizabeth Monroe, born of an aristocratic Loyalist family in 1768, who disregarded the disapproval of her father to go ahead and marry the patriot James Monroe, is generally credited with saving the life of Madame de Lafayette. The wife of the French hero of the American Revolution was incarcerated as a result of her aristocratic heritage during the Reign of Terror and about to be guillotined, as had been her grandmother, mother and sister before her. At the time, Monroe was the ambassador to France, but was unable to officially intercede. Elizabeth Monroe, not bound by diplomatic constraints, acted on her own and publicly went to visit Mme. Lafayette in prison, promising to return each day. Not wanting an appearance of conflict with America, the French authorities released Mme. Lafayette the next day.

When Monroe became president, did the American public appreciate his wife? They did not, as Kaplan reported. She was far too elegant and aristocratic for American tastes.

Tyler’s wife, Julia Gardiner, born on Gardiner’s Island, was known a bit infamously as the “rose of Long Island” and was called “madam presidentress,” the term “first lady” not having been coined until much later. Gardiner was Tyler’s second wife, and she attracted a lot of attention by being the first to marry a sitting president and for being 30 years younger than him. Tyler’s eldest daughter was five years older than her stepmother.

And so the stories unfolded, Kaplan keeping her audience totally engaged for well over an hour. Martin Van Buren, the first president to be born after American independence, and the only president to speak English as a second language, married his childhood sweetheart, Hannah Hoes. She spoke Dutch at home with her husband and was his first cousin once removed. Millard Fillmore married Abigail Powers, a schoolteacher. Both were upstate New Yorkers.

Grover Cleveland, who served two terms, but not consecutively, married Frances Folsom, a woman 22 years younger. A bachelor when he entered office, he married the daughter of a close friend. He had looked after her as executor of his friend, Oscar Folsom’s, estate and simply waited until she was old enough before they married. At 21, Frances was the youngest first lady, and she was well-liked. She is appreciated for having started kindergarten in schools.

The other first ladies are well known to us. Eleanor Roosevelt is credited as the most influential and active first lady in our history. The longest-serving first lady, as wife of four-term president Franklin Roosevelt, she went on to a public life of her own. Jackie Kennedy became an American idol and is known for her cultural efforts and redecorating the White House. Barbara Bush, with her forthright style, her constant loyalty and support of her family, and refusal to dye her hair when her husband became president, was always a more popular figure than he. And Nancy Reagan, Ronald Reagan’s second wife, was a diminutive and elegant first lady whose life was dedicated to protecting her husband after the assassination attempt that wounded him and his press secretary.

They are fascinating women and we can claim them as our own.

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Monday, we will finally get to see, on the same stage, the presidential candidates who hate each other, find each other unqualified, and who long ago seem to have taken the gloves off in their smackdown.

Here are just a few of the questions I’d ask the man and woman who would like to be our president:

• People don’t like either of you, including politicians in Washington. Secretary Clinton, how will you bring together Democrats and Republicans, when your war with so many Republicans dates back to your years as first lady? And, Mr. Trump, notable Democrats and Republicans seem to find your style and policies confounding. How much can you really accomplish without the broad-based support of Republicans?

• Mr. Trump, you suggested that Congress shouldn’t consider President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee and they haven’t. What would you do if you were President Obama and the Senate openly ignored your choice for Supreme Court?

• Mrs. Clinton, there’s a frequent line from courtroom dramas like Law & Order that goes something like this: “You said X when the detectives spoke to you and now you’re saying Y. Which is it? Were you lying then or are you lying now?” People don’t trust you. You don’t seem completely forthcoming, even about your pneumonia, until we see pictures of you stumbling into your SUV. How do we know when you’re sharing the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

• Mr. Trump, are you going to release your tax returns? The longer you go without sharing them, the more people wonder if you’re hiding something. You believe your opponent selectively discloses details about herself all the time, but you’re not sharing something most, if not all, candidates have shared. What gives?

• Mr. Trump, you have suggested on a few occasions that advocates of the second amendment might have something to say about Hillary Clinton’s position on gun control. You claim that people misinterpret what you say because you didn’t mean what you said when you wrote it. Your rhetoric, were you to be president, would mean something far different from what it does when you’re tweeting. If you were president, would you tamp down the bluster that people might misinterpret? Do you feel you can and should be able to shoot from the hip, as it were, whenever it suits your interests?

• Neither of you seems ready to say the kinds of things we would hope to teach our children, such as “I’m sorry,” or “I was wrong.” Can each of you name a situation or circumstance in public life when you made a mistake and you recognize that you could and should have done better?

• Okay, turning away from each other, what policy do each of you guarantee wouldn’t change one iota and for which you would be inflexible or unwilling to compromise if either of you became president? Candidates often make promises they can’t keep when they’re elected. Is there anything you will pursue in its current form from your platforms?

• You both must recognize that your own rhetoric has alienated voters and raised concerns among various groups about your ability to lead and act on their behalf. Mrs. Clinton, how would you reconcile with Trump’s “deplorables,” as you put it, and Mr. Trump, how would you represent Muslim-Americans, Americans of Mexican heritage or any of the other people you’ve alienated if you became president?

• This campaign seems steeped in negativity. What is the most positive message each of you can share? How would that positive message make people feel better about the election and, down the road, the prospects for themselves and for this country? Be as specific as possible.

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Camilo Rivera was arrested for slashing a man and causing serious injury. Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Police Department 2nd Precinct officers were called to Fairgrounds Avenue in Huntington Station Sept. 20 after a 911 caller reported a male had been slashed at approximately 11:45 a.m.

The man, Juan Rosa Corrado, 38, was transported to Huntington Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

Following an investigation, Second Squad detectives arrested Camilo Rivera, 40, and charged him with first-degree assault.

Rivera, of Huntington Station, was held overnight at the 2nd Precinct and was scheduled to be arraigned at 1st District Court in Central Islip Sept. 21. Attorney information was not immediately available.

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Rocky Point Middle School staff members celebrate earning a 2016 Inviting Award given out to inviting schools. Photo from Rocky Point school district

By Desirée Keegan

Even if you didn’t attend Rocky Point Middle School, chances are you’d be treated like a family member upon entering, and now they have the hardware to prove it.

It was the most fulfilling day in Rocky Point Middle School Principal Scott O’Brien’s 25 plus year career in education. Nearly 60 educational leaders from around the world visited the grounds of his school and talked to personnel and pupils to determine whether or not he’s helped create an environment where students and staff could reach their full potential.

Rocky Point Middle School was one of just five middle schools and high schools in New York to be selected to receive the 2016 Inviting Award from the International Alliance for Invitational Education.

“It was so rewarding to see all of these educators from around the world intently walking round and visiting different areas of our building, talking to our teachers and especially our kids and really excitedly taking away ideas that we have in place, so they can bring it back to their respective countries,” the principal said. “It was absolutely the highlight of our last school year, and I would say, my entire career. It was a proud moment for all of us.”

Students welcome their international guests. Photo from Mark Moorland
Students welcome their international guests. Photo from Mark Moorland

The application process took a year and a half and included extensive training for the staff; self-evaluations of the school’s practices, policies, procedures and programs; and the large visits from international administrators and teachers.

Nicole Gabrinowitz, a seventh-grade math teacher at Rocky Point Middle School, said she knew how inviting the school was from the moment she walked through the doors seven years ago.

“I’ve taught over the last 21 years at many different schools, and when I finally started teaching at Rocky Point Middle School, right away I knew that this was the best building I had ever been in,” she said. “Dr. O’Brien and [James] Moeller, the assistant principal, are such good leaders. Teachers are free to have their own opinions, [O’Brien and Moeller’s] doors are always opened, they’re opened to ideas and the staff is very friendly.”

Gabrinowitz played an active role in the application process. She was on the committee dedicated to applying for the recognition, was at nearly every meeting, helped coordinate meetings with every visitor, wrote up proposals and essays and attended conferences on what it takes to be an inviting school.

Once she saw what the program was all about, she said she knew the school was a perfect match.

“When you walk into our school, it is not intimidating, it is friendly,” she said. “We greet you, the kids have great programs, it’s well-lit, the teachers are nice, and there’s really no negative atmosphere anywhere in the entire building.”

The visitors were impressed with a lot of what the school had to offer. There were dogs in the classrooms for children to read to if they felt intimidated or nervous reading to adults; inclusion, honors and standard classes; a variety of teaching styles; a speech therapist and a counseling center.

“I know that they were impressed,” Gabrinowitz said. “I spoke to probably every visitor that came, getting to know them and telling them about our school. They responded well, we accepted all of the guests with opened arms, and we had students also talk to the visitors, telling them how wonderful the school is and described what was going on inside the classrooms.”

Patrick Panella, a guidance counselor at the school for the past 15 years, also said the programs the school has to offer generate a lot of excitement.

“Some of the clubs we run that get student involvement lends support to other students and community members,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with the community as a whole. Our clubs have volunteer and outreach programs doing volunteer work at nursing homes, for example. Friends of Rachel does a lot of things to involve the students in helping and being kind to others, and having the positive culture that the staff has embeds that in the student body as well.”

Being a part of the program was also a great opportunity for the administration and staff to self-reflect.

“Part of our mind-set now is that we want to reevaluate the programs that we’re currently offering — thinking of other things we could offer that would benefit the students, staff and community,” Panella said. “And always looking to better what we do here, so that was a big part of being involved in the invitational education process.”

Principal Scott O’Brien was also named Administrator of the Year. Photo from Rocky Point school district

Gabrinowitz said the school has already begun that process.

Part of the application process also included a student survey. The children were happy, but one thing they asked for was a recreation room. The school’s leadership team listened. Students can now sign up to enter a brand new rec room during lunch, to play games like knock hockey and table tennis. The math teacher said the school also has a courtyard that was pretty, but wasn’t being maintained as nicely as they would like. A garden club emerged after that renovation effort, which got more students involved to beautify the space.

The hallways are also going to see some more changes.

“They’ve been very decorative all the time, but now we encourage our teachers to display more of our students’ work, even in math and science, so our hallways are full of their work all the time,” Gabrinowitz said. “And we’re rotating the work and I think that helps when the students are walking down the hallway and see their own work hanging up and can be proud of it.”

An announcement letter from the Inviting School Award Committee commended the school’s outstanding learning climate and its impact not only on students but staff, parents and the community as well.

Gabrinowitz said she hopes Rocky Point Middle School can set an example for others.

“Everything that Rocky Point has, we’re so much more inviting than so many of the other schools I’ve seen around us,” she said. “They may not even realize they’re not that inviting, and I think that part of our job is to educate other schools on being an inviting school. It was such a long process and we did so much — Rocky Point Middle School is already a great place, and it’s even better now, and will only continue to grow, because this process never ends.”

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Participants from the Walk a Day in Our Shoes event Sunday, Sept. 18, smile as they start their trek. Photo from Angela’s House

By Victoria Espinoza

More than 700 people walked a day in someone else’s shoes this past weekend.

Angela’s House, a Hauppauge-based nonprofit organization that offers support for families and children living with severe medical conditions, hosted its second annual Walk a Day in Our Shoes 3K Walk fundraiser at the Holtsville Ecology Center Sept. 18.

$45,000 was raised to help bring awareness to the organization’s cause. Limited options exist for families with children born and diagnosed as being medically frail, chronically ill or suffering from any type of life-threatening conditions when or if they leave the hospital.

Bob Policastro, founder and executive director of Angela’s House, said he was unaware of the limited options parents have until his daughter, Angela, suffered severe brain damage during birth, which left her very medically frail and in need of nursing care.

“The process is incredibly painful,” Policastro said in a phone interview. “You’re in this situation no one wants to be in, and you need to figure out how you’ll be there as a parent for your child.”

Participants from the Walk a Day in Our Shoes event Sunday, Sept. 18, smile as they start their trek. Photo from Angela’s House
Participants from the Walk a Day in Our Shoes event Sunday, Sept. 18, smile as they start their trek. Photo from Angela’s House

Policastro said he and his wife, Angie, had a hard time finding a specialized home or facility near where they lived in Hauppauge and eventually settled on a specialty hospital in Connecticut. The lack of services locally put additional emotional and physical strain on the parents because they were forced to travel more than two hours to spend time with their daughter in Connecticut. Angela eventually succumbed to her illnesses and died shortly after her first birthday.

The Policastros created the nonprofit in 1992 and since then have opened three homes in East Moriches, Smithtown and Stony Brook where children with serious medical conditions live and are cared for 24 hours a day.

The funds raised from the event will help continue the care in these three homes, as well as programs to help other families learn about the resources available for them and their loved ones who are struggling with life-threatening medical issues.

One mother wrote about her experience with Angela’s House. Her son Johnny required a tracheotomy and a feeding tube around five years old. She said as his condition worsened, she was no longer able to take care of him at home, and that’s when she found Angela’s House.

“Bob and his wife Angie have been working tirelessly to have a home built for children [whose] medical needs were too great for families to care for their child at home but whose family is on Long Island,” she wrote. “Johnny spent nearly 16 years at Angela’s House and during that time he has received excellent medical care and a tremendous amount of LOVE. The wonderful nurses and aides tirelessly provided Johnny with kisses, hugs and jokes. Johnny rewarded them with the simplest of gestures … his smile.”

The day included face painting, a D.J., a zoo and lunch provided by Applebee’s.

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Local politicians and members of the Setauket Harbor Task Force announce a state grant that will improve water quality. From left, Setauket Harbor Task Force Chairwoman Laurie Vetere, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine, Setauket Harbor Task Force Co-founder George Hoffman and state Sen. John Flanagan. Photo by Alex Petroski

Advocates for the health of the Setauket Harbor were given an essential resource to aid in efforts to improve water quality in the North Shore port this week.

State Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) announced he secured a $1 million grant from New York State for Brookhaven Town at a press conference Sept. 20 to be used to improve water quality in the harbor.

The announcement came on the heels of a recent water quality study of Setauket Harbor done by Cornell Cooperative Extension and commissioned by Brookhaven, which turned up troubling results. Setauket Harbor is part of the larger Port Jefferson Harbor complex.

“The recent water quality report commissioned by Brookhaven pointed out that Setauket Harbor has significant water quality issues caused mainly by road runoff from rain water flooding into the harbor after storms,” Laurie Vetere, chairwoman for Setauket Harbor Task Force, a volunteer group, said during the press conference.

“It’s clear that the harbor has some serious challenges.”

— George Hoffman

The grant will fund three projects relating to the harbor.

Half of the $1 million will go toward improvements to the dock. Forty percent will be used on storm water infrastructure improvements and the remaining $100,000 will be used to remove silt that has accumulated in the harbor and its water sources.

Nitrogen pollution and coliform bacteria have plagued Setauket Harbor in recent years.

“I don’t think we were surprised — the harbor has been struggling for years,” George Hoffman of the Setauket Harbor Task Force said in an email. “It has been closed to shell fishing for more than a decade and the main creek leading to the harbor is filled with sediment and not stopping contaminants in storm water from flowing into the harbor … it’s clear that the harbor has some serious challenges.”

Restrictions were placed on shell fishing in other Long Island waterways by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in 2015 because of water quality concerns.

Flanagan said the grant should be a step in the right direction to improve the harbor’s waters.

“Long Islanders are blessed with access to magnificent waterways like Setauket Harbor,” he said during the press conference. “That’s why it is important that all levels of government work together to preserve and protect these fragile ecosystems. This state funding will help support critical improvement projects to restore and revitalize this beautiful natural resource and it is my pleasure to partner with [Brookhaven Town Supervisor] Ed Romaine, the Town of Brookhaven and Setauket Harbor Task Force to help bring this project to reality.”

Flanagan, who is up for reelection in November, said in an interview following the press conference that environmental issues are an “A-1 priority” to his constituents.

“They deeply care about the environment,” he said. “I have a lot of coastal property in the district I’m fortunate enough to represent … it’s all important stuff.”

Romaine (R) has been an advocate for legislation to improve Long Island’s water quality for decades. In June, the town approved a law proposed by Romaine that prohibits structures being built within 500 feet of any Long Island waters from having cesspools or septic systems.

“I thank Sen. Flanagan for his strong advocacy on behalf of the Town to help us get started on improving the water quality in Setauket Harbor and the watershed that surrounds it,” Romaine said. “By acting now, I believe we can prevent further contamination, reverse the damage that has already been done and begin to restore this beautiful natural resource back to a healthy and environmentally sound waterway.”

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