At the heart of every community is the house that helps teach and raise our children. The house we are referring to is the schoolhouse, of course, and as the heart of the community, it is a place that we should nurture with every ounce of care and vigilance that can be mustered. With this in mind, allow us to expand upon what your nurturing has made possible for the heart of our community and the hearts of our children.

Westbury Middle School has recently been described in Newsday as one of the most successful schools on Long Island. The information and accolades come from a website sponsored by Bill Gates, which is quite appropriate considering the ongoing challenge that the district has taken on to increase the use of technology within the district to broaden the exposure of our children and increase our percent of students who either meet or exceed the New York State standards. Not only have we excelled on the sources of the middle school standards, but also we have succeeded in enriching the lives of our students through our many extra-curricular activities.

Allow us to expand upon some of the in-class activities and programs in which our middle school students are engaged. The sixth-graders have reaped the benefits of a new reading program entitled "Read 180." Both the staff and students are extremely excited about the program which focuses on the integration of technology, statistics and immediate feedback; its impact is already noticeable. The science and English departments have completed this year's science projects based on the scientific method and have used these projects to teach the students about the format and protocol involved in doing research and putting together an experiment. The Computers on Wheels (C.O.W.'s) have provided our students with a mobile computer lab used to research information and promote the use of technology among our students. The math department is currently engaged in creating "Math-Games" as projects pertaining to their current skills. The social studies department has introduced the African-American History Month Door Decoration Contest and the African-American History Bowl, which mirrored the format for television's Jeopardy. These programs were highly successful. The administration supports and celebrates the outstanding students at the quarterly Students Achiever of the Month breakfast. Parents, students and community members share the success of our most notable students at these breakfasts.

The after school and weekend programs that are provided for our student body truly embrace the idea that our schools are the heart of our community. Our teachers are available for after school tutorials three days of the week and students have access to this tutorial program in any of the core subjects. We have provided our students with a Saturday morning test preparation workshop for the ten weeks leading up to the Eight Grade State tests, the English Language Arts and Math. Our staff puts great stock in the success of our students.

Aside from our after school academic programs, our students have the benefit of participating in a number of after school activities which include a wide range of athletic programs, such as football, soccer, track, basketball, wrestling, baseball, softball, and bowling. Although these teams may seem like a staple in any school, without your continued support, none of them would be possible. The students have the abilities to participate in many clubs including, but not limited to, the chess club, the National Junior Honor Society, the yearbook committee, the student council, the photography club and also intramural sports. The district has also secured a number of grants, which are used to enhance the scholastic lives of our children. One of those key grants is the 21st Century Grant, used to increase the academic standards of the students via incentive programs and the tutelage of professionals in computer and multimedia technologies.

The heart of our community is strong, and will continually be strengthened through the efforts of the faculty and school administration, but our efforts can only be successful when the community itself continues to support the needs and dreams of our children and the schools they attend to become prepared and productive members of our community.

Michael Vallanti

Middle School English Teacher

Richard Canalini

Middle School Technology Teacher

Michael V. Burger

President, Westbury Teachers Association