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Adam Sherrard

Left to right: Athletic Director Adam Sherrard, ninth graders Sam Fabian and Leana Tisham and Coach Andrew Cosci. Photo courtesy Adam Sherrard

By Daniel Dunaief

Starting this fall, students at Port Jefferson’s Earl L. Vandermeulen High School will have a chance to take a gym class that focuses on weight lifting and nutrition, rather than on the traditional sports included in a physical education class.

Andrew Cosci weight training with a student. Photo courtesy Adam Sherrard

Designed to give students an opportunity to learn more about the foods they put in their bodies and about the kinds of weight training that they might otherwise do in an outside gym, the school is providing two such classes in the fall and two in the spring. At the same time, Vandermeulen High School is providing 16 more typical gym classes.

“We had a conversation about doing something different other than the options” in a typical gym class, Athletic Director Adam Sherrard, said in an interview.

Andrew Cosci, track and field coach and physical education teacher who will lead these courses, had “expressed the importance of having a program like this,” Sherrard added.

Students can take this new class instead of the typical gym class, or as an elective in addition to the required course.

Indeed, ninth grader Sam Fabian, who plays lacrosse and football and is a wrestler, plans to take both classes this fall.

Fabian believes the additional course will help him improve his diet and strength, which he hopes will make him a better athlete.

“I eat a lot of food I probably shouldn’t,” said Fabian. “I’m trying to crack down on that and become the best athlete I can be.”

The nutrition and weightlifting course immediately piqued his interest.

A fellow ninth grader at the high school, Leana Tisham also plans to take the new gym class.

Tisham also hopes to commit to eating the right foods, including more organic foods and would like to use the weight training for body sculpting.

Starts with food

Cosci suggested that most student athletes don’t realize the importance of food to their performance and overall health.

“The nutrition aspect is the most important” and often the most overlooked, Cosci added.

He’s planning to discuss food and a work out plan for students that meet their needs.

In lifting weights, it’s important to “have a plan. You can’t just go into a situation and wing it. It doesn’t work that way. You won’t achieve your goal.”

Cosci plans to evaluate the students the same way he would in a more typical physical education class, by assessing their behavior, participation and effort.

The students will need to bring a journal or notebook to class, the way they would for other courses.

“They’re going to get out of it what they put into it,” Cosci said.

Cosci also plans to review fitness apps and will help students find the ones that are the best for them.

“Some are good, others are junk,” Cosci said.

Breaking the gym resolution cycle

Cosci hopes that the participants in these classes learn how to dedicate themselves to a healthy lifestyle that combines an awareness and plan for the foods they eat with weight lifting training and goals.

He hopes the students are able to avoid the typical pattern that adults have when they start out a new year with high hopes at a health club.

“January is peak time at the gym every year,” Cosci said. By February, many residents have stopped going to the gym.

He would like to help students develop a plan and figure out ways to be successful. At some point, Cosci would like to bring in some guest lecturers and experts in their fields.

While they are in high school, students have time between the end of the school day and the start of extracurricular activities, to work out at the school gym.

Sherrard added that the course will give the high school students the chance the tools to set their own goals.

At this point, these new gym classes are specific to the high school, in part because middle school students don’t have the ability to choose electives.

Participants in the new gym class will have the opportunity to present their plans to the class as a whole.

“They’re going to teach each other” which will demonstrate their understanding of the new approach, Cosci said.

Students in Earl L. Vandermeulen High School’s AP Environmental Science class and the Environmental Club with teacher Jonathan Maletta, left. Photo courtesy PJSD

Students in Earl L. Vandermeulen High School’s AP Environmental Science class and the Environmental Club took a trip to Rocketship Park in Port Jefferson on Thursday, Nov. 16, as part of a collaborative beautification project between Port Jefferson School District and the Village of Port Jefferson Parks Department.

The district’s athletic director, Adam Sherrard, and the village’s superintendent of parks, Dave Melious, had discussed how Port Jefferson students could give back to the community and promote Port Jefferson pride within the village.

The duo came up with a plan to plant 200 purple and white tulips in front of the basketball courts at Rocketship Park. They were joined by science teacher Jonathan Maletta.

Students in attendance were Olivia Bianco, Anneliese Byrne, Katie Chambers, Eric Chen, Thalia Dorsett, Kyle Erickson, Savannah Florio, Jadie Hernandez, Michael Lipskiy, Madeline Matvya, Noah Mimarbasi, Myeda Nawaz, Gavin Onghai, Alyssa Passarella, Ottilie Philbrick, Brielle Procaccini, Cooper Reale, Mia Savino, Nicholas Smirnov, Carman Stanton, Charlotte Tishim and Julia Weinstein.

Port Jefferson school district aims to expand summer programs for drone technologies. Photo from Metro Graphics
By Nasrin Zahed

The Port Jefferson School District held its second Board of Education meeting of the 2023-24 school year Tuesday, Sept. 12, highlighting the success of districtwide summer programs and the expansion of year-round enrichment opportunities.

Jodi Cahill, director of special education, presented a detailed recount of the Extended School Year Summer Program. It is a 30-day program geared for students K-8 with moderate to severe disabilities to maintain skill levels acquired in the previous school year and prevent summer regression. This program is recommended to students based on their individualized education plans, known as IEPs.

Cahill emphasized that while this program is tailored as a continued learning opportunity for students to carry skills from last June into the following school year, it is still fun and engaging. Weekly curriculum themes, stimulating activities and field trips were in place to maintain and encourage student engagement.

Michael Caravello, music and fine arts director, took to the floor to discuss the Summer Music Camp, congratulating the program on 21 years of operation. The camp caters to students at all levels of musical talent to both prepare them for entrance and continued participation in band and orchestra programs. It also offers ukulele classes and a NYSSMA jumpstart program.

Caravello added that the camp aimed to provide students with a relaxing and open atmosphere to begin or continue their exploration of music while teaching the importance of collaboration and problem-solving among peers.

Adam Sherrard, director of health, physical education and athletics, presented on the success of the Athletic Summer Camps’ second year of running. With 20 camps advertised to students, the total offerings doubled from the program’s initial rollout in 2021-22. Over 80 student volunteers aided coaches and instructors in facilitating these programs, some even being recent graduates who took pleasure in participating. 

The camps served as forums for students to be active, work on personal health and form connections between older and younger peers.

The summer programs ebbed to a close with the Summer Academic Enrichment Program. Two camps were offered to students grades six to 12, introducing them to the world of coding and drones. The drone camp was made possible by a grant proposal to the Port Jefferson Royal Education Foundation, providing $2,000 for the district that was used to purchase 10 drones for student use.

Robert Neidig, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said that the hope is now to expand summer programs to create more opportunities for students from the elementary level and beyond.

He stated that the district has applied to the state to use Title IV federal financial funding to create enrichment opportunities throughout the academic school year, with approval pending. 

The Board of Education will reconvene on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Port Jefferson School District’s new athletic director, Adam Sherrard. Photo from PJSD

Port Jefferson School District’s athletic programs have excelled in recent years, but the Royals faced a new kind of challenge this summer.

Adam Sherrard has been named the replacement for Port Jeff’s outgoing director of health, physical education and athletics, Danielle Turner, who accepted a similar position in the Locust Valley school district in June.

Sherrard, a Farmingville resident, has coaching and teaching experience from previous stops at Huntington and Smithtown school districts, where he taught physical education at all grade levels. Most recently he taught at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet Intermediate School in the Huntington district. He served as Smithtown East High School’s defensive coordinator for the varsity football team and as a middle school lacrosse head coach, in addition to other high school and middle school coaching assignments, according to his LinkedIn page.

“I’m eager to work with the students, staff, nurses, administrators, coaches and parents in the district,” Sherrard said in a statement. “Since I first arrived here, I noticed the commitment to the well-being of students is profound and I look forward to continuing to strengthen the positive environment in the Port Jefferson School District.”

He earned an advanced graduate certificate in educational leadership from Stony Brook University and a Master of Arts in educational leadership and administration from Touro University International, according to a district press release. He holds a Bachelor of Science in physical education from Cortland University.

“The energy and enthusiasm that Mr. Sherrard exudes will serve our district well,” district Superintendent Paul Casciano said in a statement. “We look forward to his leadership and progressive ideas in building on the many successes of our athletic program. Mr. Sherrard will continue to move us in the positive direction of our physical education and health education programs. This includes social and emotional growth opportunities to ensure our students have the support systems needed to succeed.”

During Turner’s time with the Royals, the girls varsity basketball and soccer teams each reached New York State championship rounds, with the soccer team bringing home its second straight trophy in 2016. It was the team’s third straight appearance in the finals. The basketball team fell just short in the 2017 state title game, though it was the first time it had won a county crown since 1927. Quarterback Jack Collins broke numerous school records and became the first football player in school history to be named League IV Most Valuable Player. The wrestling team went undefeated and won the League VIII championship during the current school year. Shane DeVincenzo put Port Jeff’s golf program on the map, winning the Suffolk County individual title in 2017.

“Port Jefferson will always have a special little place in my heart, and I could not be more thankful that my career has led me through it,” she said in a June email.