Dr. Kanas' Newsletter

On Wednesday, the Board of Education hosted Budget Workshop #4, with presentations from the Board Committees including the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee, Financial Advisory Committee, Audit Committee and Educational Advisory Committee. Thank you to all the committee members for your generous dedication of time and efforts. At this Budget Workshop Ms. Dragone also presented some further information regarding the Willets Road budget..

Following the presentation and Board of Education discussion, the Board of Education adopted the Budget & Property Tax Report Card for the 2022-3 school year to be voted on by the public on May 17, 2022. The hours for voting are 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM in Wheatley’s Gymnasium.

While this year’s adopted budget has an allowable increase of 4.79%, the adopted budget increase is 3.65%. The allowable property tax levy increase is 2.16%, while the adopted budget tax levy increase is .72%.

Click here to view each week’s Budget presentations and to see the engaging programs and learning opportunities the adopted budget provides for our students and click here to access a recording of each evening’s presentations. As always, all budget presentations and information are accessible on the District website www.ewsdonline.org > Our District > Budget & BOE Candidate Information > 2022-2023 Budget & School Board Candidate Information.

During the meeting, the Board also accepted the resignation of Dr. Sean Feeney as principal of The Wheatley School. On Tuesday, Dr. Feeney was appointed Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in the Port Washington School District beginning July 1, 2022.

Dr. Feeney has served the East Williston School District as principal of the Wheatley School for 14 years, touching the lives of so many students, families and staff in important and meaningful ways over those many years. We are excited for Dr. Feeney as he moves on to this next step of his professional career.

The District has begun the search for a new high school principal for the coming school year and we will continue to keep you informed.

Under the guidance of French teacher Mr. Jean-François Henley, the Wheatley School French club has established a connection with the Baobab Learning Center in Mali. Through this connection, students have been exchanging emails with one another for the past two school years. This connection has provided our students with real world application of language skills and increased cultural and global awareness. It has also provided a meaningful charitable cause for the French club. This school year, the French club will make a donation to the Baobab Learning Center to assist them with some of their initiatives which are: to install a computer lab, promote English language learning, to promote the sport cricket for the students as well as to provide potable water to their surrounding villages. Featured here are some of the students from the Baobab Learning Center reading their letters in their classes.

After a two-year unplanned absence, the Tri-M’s Wheatley’s Got talent was back on Monday night. Students participating in the event showcased wonderful talents and performances. At the end of the night, senior Yan Jun Lin, was declared the winner of the competition.

Performers included:

• William Sellerberg

• Theresa Yung

• Amany Abdelwahab

• Charlotte Iannone and Ian Kim

• Yan Jun Lin

Congratulations to Yan and thanks to all of the contestants for sharing their talents with the community. Thank you to the Wheatley’s Tri-M Music Honor Society for organizing this wonderful event and to Joyce Chen for hosting the event!

We want to take a moment and acknowledge the tremendous job the East Williston music department took on this week. Every year, NYSSMA Music Festivals occur all over New York, allowing students to participate in a rigorous music evaluation. This year it was our turn to hold the festival. We hosted 813 participants from 12 districts, including 107 students from East Williston. In addition, we also had over 140 student volunteers from Tri-M, the National Honor Society, and Willets Road musicians helping out!

Thank you to our entire music staff, with special thanks to Peggy Pokrywka, Stan Orlovsky, and John D’Onofrio-Watts, and honorary member Rick Wilson for all the planning!

Last week our Wheatley Auditorium welcomed back our Wheatley Theatre Production company with the production of "The timeless enchantment of a magical fairy tale” of Cinderella.

Congratulations to all the students and staff members who dedicated their talents and time to make the wonderful production possible under the dedicated direction of Caitlin Calio, vocal director, John D’Onofrio-Watts, conductor, Rick Wilson, stage manager, Emma Pak, and costume designer, Maura Calio.

To view the Playbill please click here.

On Tuesday night, the Special Education Parent Council hosted a paint night with members of the school district. During the Spring Event we decorated flower pots and enjoyed the opportunity to be together. Thank you to Dr. Lynn Mazza, Director of PPS, Dr. Thomas Sposato and our SEPC council for making this a wonderful night of art.

April is Autism Awareness Awareness/Acceptance month. During this time The Wheatley School will be engaging in their annual fundraiser. Ms. Laurino’s class has designed shirts with Spectrum Designs and created a pop-up store to order.

Please consider participating in the shirt sale. All proceeds from each shirt sold will go towards the Nassau/Suffolk Services for Autism (NSSA). There are a few options on the site for color and style. All shirts will be shipped directly to the address you provide. We will not have shirts available in the school. Consider combining orders to save on shipping costs. The link is active now through midnight on Monday, April 11th. This is a short window to order so hurry before the store closes!

At The Wheatley School, they plan to wear our shirts on Friday, April 29th as a school community. https://ewsd2022.itemorder.com/shop/sale/

We are excited to announce that the district will be hosting these important upcoming events:

Parents of Wheatley students who would like to learn more about how Naviance will be utilized for their children as a part of the post-secondary planning process are encouraged to join us on April 27th at 7:00 PM for our Spring Naviance Parent Overview. The presentation will take place in The Wheatley School Room 450 and virtually at the link HERE.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's counselor with any questions you may have.

As we have mentioned in our previous newsletters, in alignment with the Board of Education’s anti-hate/anti racist goal, and the efforts of our Cultural Initiatives Committee, the East Williston School District, along with Roslyn School District, Temple Sinai, The Islamic Center of Long Island, the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center, Community Church of East Williston, and with the interest and support of several other local faith and community organizations, have collaborated to bring award-winning television producer, speaker, author, and peace advocate, Christian Picciolini, to our area to present “Breaking Hate: A Former Extremist’s Journey”. Mr. Picciolini is well known all over the United States for his powerful and captivating presentations that provide insight into preventing extremism and helping people disengage from hate as he shares his own journey away from hate to understanding.

Mark your calendars and join us on Thursday, April 28, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.

RSVP is required to attend, so please click here to register.

If you have any questions, please contact Adrianne Rubin, Director of Membership and Engagement, at Temple Sinai at arubin@mysinai.org or (516)621-6800.

Wheatley Varsity Golf Team

On April 5th, our Varsity Golf Team started the season with a victory over Oyster Bay at Old Westbury Country Club.

Boys Track Team

Also on April 5th, the boys track team had victories against Locust Valley and East Rockaway, and a loss to Clarke. Congrats to the Team.

Varsity Girls Badminton

Our Varsity Badminton team defeated Westbury 4-3 on April 4th. The team moves to 2-0 on the season.

Registration for the incoming 2022-2023 North Side Kindergarten class and new entrants to the East Williston School District is now available online via FamilyID.

Before registering, here is a helpful checklist and resource page that lists all the important documents and information you will need during the registration process. As always, if you have any questions or are unable to complete the registration online please contact the Business Office at 516-333-1707.

Check out below this week's Twitter highlights:

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

• 7:30 PM - World Language and Honor Society Induction Seal of Biliteracy - Auditorium of The Wheatley School

April 14-22, 2022

• Schools Closed - Spring Recess

Monday, April 25, 2022

• 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM - BOE Executive Session (Anticipated) - District’s Board Room

• 8:00 PM - BOE Regular Monthly Business Meeting - Wheatley Auditorium and YouTube Live-Stream

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

• 10:00 AM - SEPC Meeting - Presentation from ACCES - Room 450 - Wheatley School

• 7:00 PM - Wheatley Mandatory Seniors & Parents Meeting - Option 1

• Grades 3-8 Math Assessments

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

• 7:00 PM - Guidance Department - Naviance Information workshop Wheatley School Room 450 and virtually at the link HERE.

• Grades 3-8 Math Assessments

Thursday, April 28, 2022

• 10:00 AM - SEPC Meeting - PPS Office

• 7:30 PM -Christian Picciolini Event - Temple Sinai of Roslyn

• Willets Road School Spirit Day

• Grades 3-8 Math Assessments

Friday, April 29, 2022

• 7:00 PM - Wheatley's Tri-M Big Band Night - Wheatley School

• 7:00 PM - Friday Night Rec. Grade 6 - Willets Road School

• North Side Spirit Day

As always, please email me at kanase@ewsdmail.org or call me at 333-3758 with any questions, suggestions and/or any topics you would like to see in this newsletter.

Best regards,

Elaine Kanas, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Email: kanase@ewsdmail.org
Website: www.ewsdonline.org
Location: 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY, United States
Phone: 516-333-3758
Twitter: @EastWillistonSD