NEWS & EVENTS: WHAT'S NEW

What's New for 2008-2009?

Program

• We have developed a new schedule for the entire school. We will operate on an eight-day rotational cycle. The new schedule has enabled us to make many improvements, including: a) more offerings for students, b) reduction of scheduling conflicts, c) a developmentally appropriate structure for all three divisions, d) more efficient use of our facilities, and e) accommodation of holidays and assemblies.
• In addition to the Grade 9 trip to London that is included in tuition, we are sponsoring an Upper School trip at student expense to Europe over spring break.
• Upper School vocabulary study will include context-based as well as word list formats.
• The Upper School Public Speaking class has been moved from Grade 11 to Grade 10 to enable juniors to take additional electives and sophomores to have more time to develop their speaking skills.
• A literacy and thematic curriculum structure is being introduced in Grades 5 & 6.
• Teachers of Grades 3 through 6 will work as a Learning Collaborative to include: lesson studies, learning walks, professional readings and mentoring.
• We will publish a Lower School literary magazine.
• Lower School will deepen units of study through interdisciplinary approaches.
• Lower School classes will designate a Book of the Month.
• A new human skeleton has been purchased for the anatomy and physiology classes.
• Probeware, which is used in conjunction with graphing calculators and computers to take real time data readings, has been purchased for AP Chemistry, Chemistry, and Physics classes.  
• A year-long course in Study Skills has been created for Grade 9 students. The curriculum includes essential tools and strategies for success in a college preparatory program, such as time management, organization, research, and note-taking skills.
• Instrumental ensembles have been established for Grades 5 and 6.
• Additional Orff instruments have been purchased.
• A year-long, campus-wide project on trees is being coordinated by the visual arts faculty.
• An Advanced Placement Studio Art Program has been created.
• A new course, entitled American Cultural History, has been jointly created by the history and fine arts departments. The class will trace the development of popular music in American culture as it connects to historical events and trends.
• A new dance class in choreography has been created.
• Two part-time fine arts faculty have become full-time.
• Led by Grade 10 students, the history department will host a Mock Presidential Election in October for all members of the Staten Island Academy community. Grade 10 students will serve as candidates, campaign staffers, Board of Election supervisors, news reporters, and speech writers, among other roles. Students will present the issues and the candidates to our community. School-wide voting will be the culminating activity, and results will be calculated and announced in advance of the national election in early November.
• There are several new Upper School history electives, all of which have been developed in response to student interest: Global Crisis: HIV/AIDS - Two sections are needed to accommodate demand. Since young people under the age of 25 are estimated to account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide, this is no longer a regional health problem, but a global pandemic. Social/Political Debate - this course will offer technique for debate structure in addition to a forum to explore current social and political issues. India Rising - a study of modern India, exploring the economic, industrial, technological and social impact of the world's second largest democracy on our global village. Economics – In March of 2008, The Financial Times quoted Alan Greenspan as saying, “The current financial crisis in the US is likely to be judged in retrospect as the most wrenching since the end of the Second World War.”
• Upgrades to the library technology: the school community will be able to place holds, create title lists and receive automated notices to email accounts.

Carol Braun, physics and mathematics: BS Valparaiso University, MS and Ph.D. (anticipated) Northwestern University.
Cynthia Bogdanovich, Grade 2: BFA Syracuse University and MS Bank Street College.
Abby Friedman, Grade 2 assistant teacher: BA Swarthmore College.
Gina Gold, Grades 5 and 6 English: BA University of Wisconsin at Madison and MA in New York University.
Jennifer Hsu, Mandarin Chinese: currently the Director of Curriculum at the Chinese School of Staten Island, will teach Chinese as part of the Adventures program to children in Lower and Middle Schools.
Gia Papini, Kindergarten: BA Marymount Manhattan College and MS Bank Street College of Education.
Leila Rassi, Assistant Director of Development for Alumni and Parent Relations: SIA class of 1999, is returning to her Alma Mater after graduating from and working in the Development Office at Sarah Lawrence College.
Jennifer Smith, Grade 3: who student taught at SIA last year, joins us as a full-time teacher. She has her BA from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City.

New Responsibilities for Returning Faculty And Staff

Michael Acquilano has been appointed to the newly created position of Assistant Head of Upper School. Mr. Acquilano will remain our college counselor, and he will assume additional responsibilities for the Upper School academic program.
Linda Coleman has been appointed the Associate Director of Admissions and Coordinator of Diversity, and she will continue to teach in the English Department on a part-time basis. Mrs. Coleman’s additional responsibilities will include community outreach, marketing and travel initiatives.
Eileen Corigliano has been appointed to the newly created position of Assistant Head of School for Middle and Upper Schools.
Erin Kennedy will teach Grade 1.
Don Knies will take over the Chairmanship of the English Department and teach English full time.
Keren Lilu will teach Grade 4.
Patricia Lynch will continue in her role as Head of Lower School and will assume additional responsibility for curriculum coordination through Grade 6.
Jaime Savino ’94 has been appointed Dean of Grades 5 and 6.
Dorothy Van Name will be teaching mathematics in Grades 5 and 6.

• Will coordinate the celebration of our 125^th Anniversary.

• All Parent and Student Handbooks have been burned onto CD disks.
• Twenty faculty and staff computer workstations have been upgraded.
• New SMART boards have been installed in the Grade 3 classroom and a Middle School Kearns Hall classroom.
• A projector and screen have been installed in the Art Barn.
• A secure blogging server has been installed and configured for curricular initiatives.
• The school has purchased and installed GFI MailArchiver, an email archiving and email management software package for Exchange Server.
• We have installed and configured a security server to implement a campus-wide access management system that will control the new perimeter gating and handle proximity card entry to campus.
• The school installed BlackBerry® Enterprise Server software to link wireless devices to our email system by mobilizing Microsoft® Exchange to provide push access to email, calendars, contacts and scheduling information.

• The entire campus was fenced and gated.
• Warn playground equipment was removed.
• A new office was configured for the Assistant Head of School.

 Summer Professional Development

• Music teacher Jacqueline Stevens completed her Kodaly Level II certification.
• Grade 3 teacher MaryAnn Diglio attended the Walloon Institute: Unique and Powerful Professional Development in K-12 Literacy in Greater Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
• Chairperson of the Educational Resources program Joan Springstead and Grades 5 and 6 history teacher Jamie Savino attended the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, K-8 conference in San Antonio, Texas.
• Grades 5 and 6 math teacher Dorothy Van Name attended the Math in the City, Advanced Workshop for Middle School Teachers at City College of CUNY.
• Communications Director Rena Jordan completed the Summer Institute in Communications run by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
• Development Director Michael Barret Jones returned to the “WOW Institute” in Henniker, New Hampshire for his third season as a team guide and presenter.
• History chairperson Caren Platis and World Languages chairperson Monica Castillo were College Board Advanced Placement readers in June.

• The market research and branding grant from the Taproot Foundation will be completed.