001very very very proud of you for those thank you very much for giving us this time and giving our students the time to present to you a lot of presentations this year has been all presentations that are pre-recorded so this is actually their for most of them their first live but by zoom yeah all through so thank you again taking the time to give us to let them present their okay so first up we have um peter weber kaylee lucera and matthew martorana shared their research with you Central Pits, Central Peak, Peterweather, Kaleen O'Sara, and Matthew Marr. A polygonal impact crater, or a PIC, is an impact crater whose crater rim has two or more straight adjacent sides. On the left you can see an example of a lunar polygonal impact crater with seven sides,
002and on the right, a diagram of a normal crater next to a polygonal crater. A central peak is a positive landform inside the center of a crater, kind of like a mountain. On the left you can see an example of a central peak crater on a series, and on the right, a topographic map of that crater. A central pit is a depression inside the center of a crater and it comes in two types. The floor pit, which is shown on the left, is a depression inside the center of a crater floor, while a some pit on the right is a depression on top of a central pit. We studied the moon and Vesta because they're similar in composition and both have iconic features, but they're different in the formations that were not just studying the
003same body. However, the information we gathered from the study was strongly useful in determining how central pits and polygonal craters form throughout the solar system. and the average angle between size was 132.2 and was 133.5. Impact graders were not in any proximity to tectonics. Since surface tectonics on these bodies were not found near any polio impact graders, it's likely that surface tectonics don't influence polio grade information. This is different from betting field at all 2020 who studied polio. However, it is similar to Zaldenhofer and Barlow in 2019 who studied polio graders on series. This may mean that possible subsurface tectonics on these bodies influence PIC information. And since both the moves are relatively low volatile core bodies, it's likely that central pit formation does not influence by volatiles. This agrees with Arlo et al. 2017
004summit pit result. As an alternative hypothesis, we suggest that crustal strength may influence central pit formation. As summit pits are found in areas of high crustal strength, such as the lunar highlands, and floor pits are found in areas of low crustal strength, such as the lunar future research, more advanced software and more space missions would be possible. resulted in us having more precise measurements and better quality data. Additionally, collecting data from bodies not previously studied, such as Jupiter's moons, Pluto, and other hyperbolic objects, would give us a larger database for curriculum creators and central bits, and really secure how these features form throughout the solar system. While we were all virtual this year, we managed to go to three competitions and even win an award at one. This is thanks to our amazing teachers, Ms.
005Simon and Ms. Pupo, and our mentors, Dr. Kurtz and Dr. Brad. I mean, Dr. Dunn. We competed in NASA, also known as New York State Science and Engineering. We also competed in X-FANCE, Exploration of the Moon and Asteroids by Secretary Se- We competed in LISC, Long Island Science Congress, and we won the Achievement Award. Thank you so much for this opportunity and listening to our presentation. This project, this research project, was one of ten in the entire nation we were selected to work with NASA. So it's a huge accomplishment to even make that connection and we're speaking to you more about the connections that our teachers and students are making. These are the type of high level interactions that we're talking about and you can see you guys did a phenomenal job. We're so proud
006of you. Thank you so much. My name is Marissa McCandless and I investigated the association between hunting and the length of time spent feeding and spent vigilant in American bison, bison bison, in North Dakota and Montana. Previous studies have demonstrated the effects that predation by humans can have on ungulates similar to bison. For instance, Satoui et al. found that human disturbances such as motorized vehicles and hunting resulted in increased vigilance or awareness in elk. This increase in vigilance time led to a decrease in foraging time, which resulted in the elk receiving fewer nutrients, and this impacted their overall health and fitness. Many studies have focused on the effects that hunting by humans can have on other large mammals, but what about bison? Specifically, how does hunting affect the feeding and vigilance times of the American
007bison in North Dakota and Montana that are such vital parts of their ecosystems? In fact, bison are keystone species within their habitats. This food web demonstrates how prominent the bison's presence within the community is. It was hypothesized that the feeding times of the bison in the hunted populations would be significantly less than that of the bison in the non-hunted population, while the vigilance times would be significantly greater than that of the bison in the non-hunted population. This map shows the two confined locations where the videos that I collected data from were recorded by an expert in the field. Point A represents the non-hunted population of bison, which was in Snowcrest Ranch in Montana. Point B represents the two hunted populations of bison, which were in Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota. To test the
008hypothesis, a focal animal sampling method was utilized. Following this method, I chose one bison from the videos I received to observe and collect data from for a five-minute period. During this period, I recorded the length of time the bison spent feeding. which was defined as when the bison had its head angled towards the ground, as shown with the bison circled in yellow. The length of time spent vigilant was also reported. Vigilance was defined as when the bison had its head at shoulder level, as shown with the bison circled in blue. This method was repeated for as many bison that were visible for five minutes in each of the videos that I received. This clip is an example of the videos that I collected data from. I observed videos similar to this for approximately 100 hours.
009Not all the videos were recorded as close to the bison herds, but for the ones that were further away, it was harder to discern whether the bison was feeding or being bidroned. This data table represents the raw data that was collected from the videos. These values were used in statistical tests. A manually viewed test was conducted for the feeding times and indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the feeding times of the bison from the hunted populations and the non-hunted population. According to the medians from each group, the hunted populations spent more time feeding than the non-hunted population. In other words, the hypothesis that the hunted populations would spend less time feeding was not supported by the data. A Mann-Whitney U test was also conducted for the vigilance times and indicated that there
010was a statistically significant difference in the vigilance times of the bison from the hunted populations and the non-hunted population. According to the Medians, the hunted population spent less time vigilant than the non-hunted population. Therefore, the hypothesis that the hunted populations would spend more time vigilant was not supported by the data. Vigilance in bison is indicative of them being aware of their surroundings and searching for predators, including human hunters. When bison are vigilant, they are on guard. And previous studies have shown that this takes time and energy away from fitness-enhancing activities such as feeding, grooming, and resting. However, my results did not agree with these previous studies. My results correlate more closely with the Creel et al. study, which found that hunted populations of elk fed more and were less vigilant within short periods of time
011where they felt safe. In these short times of safety, the elk fed as much as they could and as quickly as they could because they did not know how long they would be safe. This could be applied to my results, in which the hunted populations of bison fed more and were less vigilant. This may be because they felt safe within the five minutes that I observed them. Bison are such prominent parts of their ecosystems because they are keystone species. Therefore, understanding the association between hunting and bison behavior is vital to the stability of the ecosystem. Although my study focused on bison in confined areas where they did not interact with their natural habitats, the resulting questions can be applied to wild populations of bison that are also hunted by humans to understand the impact that
012hunting has on bison and their communities. Statistical tests indicated that there were significant differences in both the feeding and vigilance data. Then, based on the medians, I concluded that the hunted populations of bison spent more time feeding and less time vigilant than the non-hunted population of bison. I inferred that the results differed from my hypothesis because the bison may encounter periods of safety. This theory can be explored if future researchers investigate whether the length of time a bison is observed for alters the date. These are the competitions I entered. Regeneron, NYSEF, which I placed third, Long Island Science Congress, which I received an honors award, and NSPCHSC, which we'll find out next week about. Thank you for allowing me to share my research experience with you. Thanks, Sarah. to you about a comparative analysis of
013food insecurity on the island. So, as many New Yorkers are aware, the costs of living and driving on the island are extremely high. One of these leading costs is food. In 2014, one in four adults on the island faced food insecurity. Food insecurity has been defined as the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways. It is possible that food insecurity is caused by redlining. And redlining has been defined as the illegal discriminatory practice in which a mortgage lender denies loans or an insurance provider restricts services to certain areas of a community, often because of the racial characteristics of the applicant's neighborhood. Redlining also occurs when physical or man-made barriers are used to divide towns purposely for racial distribution. So this map
014I created on ArcGIS and it shows the divide between the towns of Freeport and Merrick. The divider is this red line right in the middle and that is the Meadowbrook State Parkway. Following that are two pie charts that show the racial demographics within these two towns. As can be seen on the left in the town of Freeport, the racial distribution is much more even among the different races and ethnicities, while the town of Merrick, which is on the right, is much less racially diverse. So the towns of Garden City and Hempstead, again using RGS to create these maps, don't actually have a physical barrier dividing these two towns and may be impacted by what's called invisible redlining because there's no actual barrier. Following that are two pie charts, again showing Hempstead with much more racial
015diversity than that of the town of Garden City. With these numbers, it is fair to assume that these towns have been affected by redlining. After obtaining this knowledge, I asked myself, does redlining contribute to food insecurity on the island? I hypothesized that towns that have experienced redlining will have a difference in availability to food in terms of the number of fast food restaurants and grocery stores per capita. So for this project, I used the ArcGIS database, which was provided to me by the school, to create maps and also map addresses of places to get food. Following that shows a map of the four towns that I will further investigate in this project. This is a screenshot of RGS in use where I input the addresses of grocery stores and fast food restaurants. The green and
016orange squares represent grocery stores while the circles represent fast food restaurants and I then categorize them into either independent or chain stores. So here shows the towns of Freeport and Merrick, kind of showing the food availability in Freeport kind of closer together while Merrick is a little bit spread apart. This table shows the data that I obtained from ArcGIS and my other research. So the total population in Merrick is about 20,000 people while the population in Freeport is more than double that. With this information, it is fair to assume that there should be double the amount of food sources in the town of Freeport. But the data does not follow this assumption as there are 2.16 more grocery stores per person in the town of Merrick than in the town of Freeport. Thus, it's harder
017to obtain food in the town of Freeport. Following that shows the map that I created comparing Garden City and the towns of Hempstead, again showing food sources in the town of Hempstead much closer together and close to a major road, while that in Garden City is more spread out. Again, Garden City only has 22,000 people, while Hempstead has more than double that. And again, there's less food sources in the town of Hempstead than the town of Garden City, as Garden City has 1.59 more grocery stores per person than the town of Hempstead. So what's important to further investigate is the difference in food quality. So Freeport has 2.3 times as many fast food restaurants per person than grocery stores, while America has 1.7 times as many fast food restaurants per person than grocery stores. It
018is concluded that each town has a difference in availability to food in terms of number of fast food restaurants and grocery stores per capita. Overall, there is less availability of food in towns with more racial diversity than that in towns of less racial diversity. This is important because if there's less access to food, there are less options. And as stated before, in the towns with more racial diversity, there are more small businesses, meaning that the actual quality food that is being supplied needs to be further investigated, which would be completed through future research. The competitions that I competed in this year were Long Island Science Congress, where I achieved the honors award, and the NSPCHSC, which will be released next week. Thank you for allowing me to present my research to you. I'm just so
019utterly impressed, Marissa and Sarah, with the research that you've done. The poise with which you present is just remarkable. So, I think that would be a really good praise too. Thank you. Thank you. with Schmedt's Justice Order Plenarium. PTSD is a mental condition that is characterized by flashbacks to past events and some inexperienced states. The Department of Veterans Affairs published that 7-8% of the U.S. population will suffer from PTSD in their lifetime. On your right hand side, you can see the diagnostic rates of PTSD. These include negative alterations in seasonal thoughts and stressors in the patients. Current treatments for PTSD include Dilwa, Paxil, which is a left-handed treatment, and antidepressants. Selective serotonin is the uptake inhibitor for SSRIs and antidepressants. from the world's most prescribed medications. Short-term side effects include insomnia, rashes, loss of coordination,
020dizziness, vomiting, and a upset stomach. More serious side effects include reduced blood clotting and an increased risk for internal diseases that are already taking place. In a 2011 study published at CET, the antidepressant treatment has been used to increase suicide and self-harm. Calentine addiction can build when taken with medication and with jaw symptoms can also occur when abruptly stopping medication. These symptoms can include loss of coordination. Codonine is the main metabolite of nicotine. and 2014 studies done by Gallo et al show that stress is a risk factor for smoking. Cogonin forms a good nicotine. It is non-adjective safe and has been used as a therapeutic treatment. It has been used to treat schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, and has also been used as a distinction therapy for PTSD. On your right hand side you
021can see some of the things that Cogonin and nicotine do. Cogonin reduces anxiety, improves cognitive abilities, life learning and memory, sensory gating, and distinction therapy for PTSD. research because they have been using health research and they can also do it they do have a natural life-altering behavior and this life-altering behavior is enhanced when they when stress is induced my research question was will ptsd and these planners anxiety behaviors anxiety behaviors of ptsd through this graph you can see the results from the one cross passing this was done to determine the The line casting assay was done by placing planarian and petri dish on top of a piece of graph paper with the solutions of codonium which includes 0.01 micromolars, 0.1 micromolars, 10 micromolars. And as you can see through the graph, the yellow line are
022the 0.1 micromolars that will be used to test motility. The planarian light dark test, or PLTT, was no trials and the purpose was to observe the white point behavior that we already know. The planarian was placed in the petri dish for five minutes on a red line. The time spent in the light environment was recorded over five minutes. And on the right hand side you can see a light-dark test. The planaria is in the light environment and the black acrylic paint was painted to split the heat radiation to light. Through this video you can see the planaria starting off the light environment and going through the shells. And the planaria was exposed to frog extract, a concentration. The concentration was chosen through a gas study done by Cho and Allen. Immediately after the 30-minute frog
023extract treatment, the planaria was placed in an identical pump jar for 24 hours. And at that 24-hour mark, a light-dark test was performed to determine the 24 hours after the frog extract treatment. The PTSD code is done by exposing the planaria to the frog extract for 30 minutes, then placing it in the identical pump jar with only spring water for 24 hours, and then at that 24-hour mark, placing them in a light-dark test with a concentration for 5 minutes. The results were shown through a one-way ANOVA test which showed a significant value of a p-value under 0.05 and a post-tactic test was done to show where these differences are. As you can see on the graph, the water and the post-tropic extract did have similar data with the mean times spent on the light of
024the key point. The results then concluded showed that the glutamine did reverse the effects that the propo extract did have on the planaries and this was shown because the planaries spent less time in the dark after the cooling. The codeine can possibly be used as an effective treatment for PTSD in the future. Thank you for your time. I want to point out that that was Michael's first live presentation because he didn't get to present any of his research last year which was his first year. So we're super proud of all of our students and again that was four out of 14 projects that we had and they were all absolutely amazing. So we're super proud of our students. Thank you. So Ms. Simons, Ms. Kupo, thank you very much. Students, we really appreciate you taking
025the time to present tonight. It's really nice when the Board of Education administrators can... see the work that you do because we put into the budget money to fund these programs and then we see what actually is the byproducts of what we're working towards and it's really absolutely rewarding for i think everybody in the room i think it's the board and the other administrators um i believe you two domestic jobs we are really so proud of the entire science research team that was here today On behalf of the board, I'd really like to congratulate all our students. It was great to see this. Also, congratulations to our staff, our teachers, our administrators, building administrators. And when I got on the board back in 2010, even when my kids were in school, why we were not
026involved with Westinghouse, Intel, and Regeneron. And this is something the board has pushed over the years. And I feel like we're going to make this. And it's just great to see. You'll find it very valuable in college when you're doing presentations and doing research there. And this will just, I believe, will help you to enter medicine. So just kudos to all of you and congratulations to your parents and once again to our teachers for getting this in place. So thank you. Thank you, Mr. Kahn. The next set of presentations is going to be matched by our TAPTOM research program, which is one of the most rigorous AP courses. I believe it's one of the most rigorous AP courses. It is also, I think, one of the most rewarding courses. Students have the opportunity to deeply
027study a topic of their interest. This experience builds the disposition of inquiry and the skills of reading and writing and speaking. We started offering this course two years ago as a continuation of our AP seminar class. The teachers that step up to the plate and teach courses like this. It is the dedication of our teachers and the curious nature of our students that make Burbank Fletchers successful. So Ms. Santorino and Ms. McCluskey, thank you for the passion that you bring to your craft every day and the greatness that you inspire in our students. So presenting tonight are our secret fabulous science, I mean excuse me, capstone research students. So first we're going to have Peter Kouviatis and Natalie Vileka. I just wanted to take a minute to share. We have many students who would like
028to do college level research. in sciences, in mathematics, but also in the humanities. So the AP capstone program is really comprised of the time before I just mentioned, the part one, the seminar course, which I'm proud to say the board knows we're growing with each new year, which is really a wonderful feather in the cap of the district and of the students and the teachers. Commencing with the AP research program, which we'll see two presentations tonight by Peter and also by Natalie. Peter's presentation is. is the impacts of films on adolescents based on viewing. And Natalie's is, do LGBTQ influencers have exposure to make change on LGBTQ members' views of physical beauty? So this is an area for students in the humanities, so it's nice to have that sociological thing as well. And our teachers,
029Tanya Centrino and Joanna McCluskey. Thank you. So I'll take a few more minutes of your time. So just to give you a broad stroke of the program besides what Dr. Pappara and Dr. Leone mentioned, or highlight, I should say, a few things. They do get to, in our program, study the hard sciences. In fact, Sarah, I know you guys know, we're still working on our course last year. But we also, the kids have an opportunity to explore any interest in different fields like the social sciences and humanities. So what they are able to accomplish in one year is pretty amazing and I think we'll all have every year. They do write ultimately a 5,000-word paper that is certainly college-level in every way, shape, and form of the concept. And they present a 20-minute presentation. They're
030only going to give you about a two, three-minute version of that tonight. But they have now completed that, and it goes into College Board, and they can ultimately get a diploma. That is a College Board diploma and your certificate that they take with them to college. But honestly, more than that. They really get an amazing experience where they truly do an independent study that just shows a dedication and a rigor that is honestly unmatched, I think, in my opinion. Ms. McCloskey, as we're varying, also serves as a consult in that course in helping them with this research because this is pretty intense research in various fields. And again, you'll see two of those today. Hi, I'm Ms. Kaposky. As a librarian, this course is a librarian's dream. The research topics that students explore are usually
031trending topics that are important to them. And as a result of this class, students are able to really discover and pursue topics. It develops their analytical and thinking skills, and plus there's creativity, persistence. integrity, grit, for lack of a better way of saying that. But I just wanted to say that this course and this class for them really prepares them for the college experience. They will be prepared, they don't give up, and it really does open up topics like deforestation and ocean acidification. and euthanasia in the time of COVID has the opinion changed. So these research topics allow them to find new pieces in this topic where they can explore, and some of them publish as a result of it. So it's a fabulous program, and I'm very excited. Thank you. Ms. Cintarito has her
032side here. Yes, so I guess Peter, you got to get a lot of intelligence a little bit like you did. Thank you. And I studied the despairing impact. However, as digitization starts to encompass our everyday lives and social and cultural dynamics begin to change. See if there was a disparity in the impact of films based on seeing them in a theater or on a street. Now, strictly speaking, the 12-24 demographic of film is not a demographic of theater girls. However, with compounding stressors of movie piracy and blind bidding. blind bidding practices for multiplexes and local theaters alike. The added stress of now not having luxury local premier access for theaters is something that is imploding theaters in the nation. The growing influence of streaming, how does this impact adolescents? There was a study that was
033administered to students of high school X in their first year of school. I started with a minister to students in New York State, a total of 35 participants. leading the survey, which was emailed directly after prior consent was given. Each participant received one hour of community service credit for completion of the survey. It tries to gain the number of films that students can see, the number of repeat viewings, and also the viewing venue. In 2019, as of 2020, data would have still be considered a current venue. Now, a scale was devised based on a scale from 0 to 4 to indicate very little to no impact to very high impact of a film. And this would be home viewing, theater viewing, and gender. All participants identified as male or female to be displayed. After sequencing
034data, it was shown to not have . However, there was disparity of roughly 20% or so that existed between male and female students and higher scores for home viewing. In the survey, it also asked for advantages and disadvantages we saw in the book home interview. We see that when comparing the answers of male students to female students, we're likely to consider at-home being for about 63.5% of youth participants and 63.2% of female. Other conditions of saying that this could be seen as contemporary secretary living style of in the university where media is no longer... to be sought out by there is a possible area of research for studying that all films are based on gender. The next two workers tonight is Natalie, who also did a presentation on a more long-winded social science initiative project.
035The next song is, Do LGBTQ Influencers Have Exposure to Make Change on LGBTQ Members' Views of Physical Beauty? I have taken two totally different topics, the LGBTQ community, which is made up of many declared sexual identities such as lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, queer, and more, and I've taken beauty standards, which is defined as the desire to maintain one's physical appearance in order to meet societal expectations. To see if the LGBTQ handles these standards differently, where they do, when I found that the influencers within the community took a stance to reach out in a more inclusive and expressive way. To first consider the overview of my topic, which was the beauty standards, within today's society there are people like Kim Kardashian. Kim Kardashian is known as one of the most influential beauty icons today with her
036faux lips and hourglass shaped body. Kim Kardashian is a person that many people look up to because she has the fame and the fortune and they feel as if they look that certain way they'll receive the same fame and fortune that she does. Where they go through multiple surgeries such as getting lip injections. These lip injections cause the lips to sag and deflate and then cause further health complications for the future. Where Kim Kardashian feels as if she stands as one of the people that is influential based on what she looks like, but she's actually causing people to go through multiple types of surgeries and complications that they can't get over. Where within the LGBTQ community there are influencers such as Jessie Page. Jessie Page is about a sexual influencer who constantly posts her weight
037gain on different social media platforms where she says, all bodies are beautiful. This allows the LGBTQ community to know that there are people like Jessie Page who are yearning for the recognition for those people within the community to see that they don't have to look a certain way or present themselves in a different way in order to be beautiful within today's society. There are also people like Nikita Dragun, who is the first transgender to make an all-inclusive makeup industry. The LGBT members will see this as a chance to admire the differences between one another, to see that they will be wearing the same type of, let's say, lip gloss or blush, to say that their differences between one another are beautiful in their own way and they don't have to wear these types of products
038in a certain way in order to be recognized by society. In my study, the credible evidence that I have come up with throughout my research, there was also missing information to say that the impact that LGBT influencers have on the way members within the LGBTQ community view physical beauty from ages 16 to 35 across the United States. I conducted a survey. The survey asked about 20 prominent questions. It was sent through social media because I felt as if it was the most efficient and quickest way to receive responses, or I actually ended up getting 80 responses. The respondents' names classify as anonymous, which allowed me to know that these respondents would answer in their most honest opinions, that they would not feel judged or pressured into answering any of the questions in a certain way.
039Just to give a demonstration of my results, I actually created four graphs, but I'll only be showing one of the results that I actually had come up with. One of the questions I asked are, are you aware of these LGBTQ influencers? The distribution is between lesbian, female, and gay male to see their differences to these questions. Where I performed a statistical test that allowed me to know that there's no significant difference between the two declared sexual identities and their answer to this question. This allowed me to know that LGBTQ influencers have an equal distribution of how they express themselves through these different types of beauty expressions. which allows for these LGBTQ members to get a sense of a boost of confidence, or they feel as if they don't have to look a certain way because
040they see these influencers not siding with one gender more than the other. This allowed me to come up with some future implications. To say that... Sorry. To say that... Now that the LGBTQ influencers are promoting themselves and expressing themselves in a certain way, the LGBTQ members will get this message to maybe also become an influencer and not only influence the people within the LGBTQ community, but see how they can benefit those out to finally overcome this word, beauty standards. Throughout this research process, you do overcome some limitations. And one of the limitations that I overcame that I thought in the beginning that I wouldn't was that I had a lack of information. This lack of information has shown me that anything's possible within your research as long as you keep trying and don't give up.
041In the beginning, I felt as if I was trying to solve a problem that wasn't there. I kept saying to my teachers, Ms. McCluskey, Ms. Centrino, that LGBTQ was overcoming these beauty standards. And I couldn't find any information to support that. I had to dig deeper into this topic to see that these influencers do reach out in an inclusive, expressive way to allow LGBTQ members to know they don't have to look a certain way in order to be seen through society. My conclusion was that yes, the LGBTQ influencers do have exposure to change LGBTQ members 16 to 35 across the United States views of physical beauty. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Again, that was just 2 of 15, but hopefully it gives you an idea of the kind of range of topic and
042interest, but also just how amazing that they could stand up here and do that as juniors and 20 minutes of that. So, thank you for your time. Good evening. Peter and Natalie, thank you so much for presenting. Again, your poise and your passion for your research topics is evidence. We really do appreciate your sharing with us. Thank you so much. Thank you. It's good to see you. I missed you. I know some of the board members attended when you had it in the music wing. Hopefully we'll get back to that next year where we can see all your projects. But thank you. And once again, thank you to the teachers who helped out with this. June 7th. June 7th. Are we done? Are we out there? June 7th. Music on area? Library. Okay. I'll see
043you there. Thank you. We'll move on with our agenda. Next up is our administrative report from Dr. McCormick. I just want to say, I know that the students may have work to do. Aaron, teachers, thank you so much. If you'd like, I will wait a minute or two, and you can exit if you'd like. You don't have to stay at the Colts. you'd like to stay with us All right, let me just make sure Okay, so, um, Funding for this year is the ARP and the CRRSA federal funds. The total is about $3 million that has to be spent between now and 2023 and 2024, respectively. The administrators, teachers, and parents are on a committee that will determine the usage and how we're budgeting this. We will also... We will also be managing a public
044presentation of the allocation resources and we will submit a plan on July 15th. Mr. Devlin has kindly volunteered to be the board representative so again this is going to be a committee of teachers, administrators, parents, and board members for determining the usage of those funds. Some of the funds have to be allocated for learning loss and I'll talk a little bit in the future days about some of the programs that we're looking to put in place. I would also like to say I know I had sent a letter home last week detailing some of the changes that we had in protocols here but also talking about the fact that several community members have asked me if I can make a connection with regards to availability of vaccines, particularly out there in our local children. This
045is not typically a district function. However, an opportunity presented itself. I was contacted by the health education coordinator at Mount Sinai and South Nassau asking if we'd be interested that they set up a vaccine mobile on campus for the distribution of vaccines. So given the fact that there was a community interest, that service will be available on school grounds. It's going to be in the parking lot of the high school on June 10th. So for students aged 12 to 17, they can register to receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine and the second dose that would then need to be administered. at the vaccine center, the Mount Sinai vaccine center that's at 519 Merritt Grady Medical Center. And anybody 18 or over, student and or community member, can receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine
046that same day. We believe the hours of service will be 3 to 6 and maybe 3 to 6.30. As soon as I have more information from Mount Sinai, South Nassau, I'll go to the fire, it'll have a link to it, and people can go on their own. This is not the district promoting vaccines, we're just really trying to make them available because we've had requests. That being said, as I referenced before, I sent a letter home with regards to some changes that are permissible within our policies. So I spoke to the Nassau County Department of Health and it was clearly expressed to us that we can provide students with more frequent and prolonged mass breaks, particularly when they're outside. However, we're not permitted to completely remove masks. And the signs that are in the audience
047right now, that's what we were told and that's what the protocols are that we put in place. Whether it be more frequent, prolonged masks. I'd also like to report that we will be having some summer camps that are not district run, but the Secret Youth Wrestling Camp and the Secret Recreation Inc. They're not school camps. They're not run by the school district, but they do lease our properties, and those lease agreements are on the agenda for board approval tonight. Lastly... last year when we were trying to deal with the onset of covid and trying to figure out what september of 2020 would look like we established for the opening of schools task force i can only speak to the dedication of all the members on that task force they were teachers they were administrators nurses
048mr barner was on there and the parents devoted hours over the summer to help us put in place a plan, which I thought was one of the best on Long Island with regards to getting students in school. We wanted a few districts to have all eight to eight students in school every day to start in September. And our high school plan, I do have to credit Mr. Burstyn and Mr. Strigolino. They were the heads of that subcommittee that came up with the concept of bringing students to school every day. on an AM, PM shift with a break in between in the middle of the day. Nobody would say that this year has been perfect, but the concept of physically getting children in school at the high school level every day was, I think, better than
049the alternative, for us at least. I'm not criticizing any other districts, but for us, I think it worked well. As you know, we now have everybody in school and our focus for the rest of the year. is to make sure that we have end of year events that are commensurate with the celebratory respect that our students deserve. So the administrators and teachers and advisors have done an amazing job working to try to stay within the guidelines and provide very celebratory experiences for the month of June. I think we're busy every night except it seems like we get breaks on Friday nights. So I encourage everybody to take a look at the notices that go home from your schools. And we do have some music celebrations. We do have some award ceremonies. And of course, we
050do have graduation ceremonies. So I really do encourage everybody to participate. We're trying to make it as special and as nice as possible. Do I have a question for Dr. Ford? I just want to make a direct, Ms. Penasich is excused, she's not able to make tonight's meeting. We'll start with our agenda. I see a motion to present again item 5A, 5B, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, C1, D1, 2, D1, 2. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. At this time, we're up to agenda item 6, which is rent and powering. Any residents who wish to make some comments, you're welcome to come up to the mic. Please limit it to three minutes. We ask that you state your name. Two children, ages 10 and 7, in Harper School. I want to thank you for giving
051me the opportunity to speak to you tonight about an issue that does not appear to be going away anytime soon. And if you scan the room, I'm sure you can guess what that is. But first, I think it's important to begin with thanking the Board of Education and Superintendent Cora for keeping our schools, and in particular our elementary schools, open while other Long Island towns had their doors closed or on a hybrid model. Even when COVID cases popped up, which was inevitable, we kept our kids in schools and in their classrooms. And for that, as parents, we are incredibly grateful. I want to also commend you for the recent adjustments to COVID protocols in removing the plastic barriers on our children's desks and for allowing them to remove their masks for prolonged breaks while outside
052during recess. In so doing, you've recognized that infection rates are at an all-time low, that Nassau County, as I understand it, is the most vaccinated county in the United States. and that our children continue to remain the least COVID-impacted segment of the population, as they have always been. When I got your email over the weekend, I told my children that the barriers were coming down, and they were so excited to go to school on Tuesday. I haven't seen that really for the entire year. So when they got off the bus on Tuesday, I said, how was it? How was it to not have the barriers? And my 10-year-old looked at me with a big smile and said, it was great. I quote, felt human again. I felt human again, he said. This is what we
053are allowing to be done to our children. We are dehumanizing them. We are allowing a bureaucrat in Albany to impose nonsensical rules that make children feel like they are walking diseases. And it's affecting them in every way possible, even if you don't see it right away. It is psychologically, socially, emotionally. It's distorting the way they interact with others, their view of themselves, and their view of the world. And so now, it's time to do more. We need you to do more. We understand that the governor and Albany have even an executive stride to hold with very little room for discretion. We understand that. We know that these restrictions are not imposed by you on our children of your own volition. I'm sure that you all feel frustrated and helpless, and so do we. So we
054need to work together. We need you and other leaders to join our fight. We need you to advocate on our behalf to the governor, to the Department of Health, to County Executive Laura Curran, and to our state legislators, and demand that the mask mandate be lifted now, but in no event, no later by the beginning of the school year next year. Actually work together and to demand that the follow the science people actually start following the science. It's time that bureaucrats in Albany stop dictating what's best for C for Long Island. We are in the best position to determine what's best for our own community. It's time to restore parental choice and to allow families and their doctors to make the best decisions for their own children. If you want your child to wear a
055mask, by all means, he or she should do so. And if you don't want your child to wear a mask, nobody should force you to put one on your own child. We need you to follow the lead of many neighboring towns like Massapequa, Plain Edge, Levittown, Smithtown, Shore of Waving River, and to write to our state leaders and demand that they end the mask mandate for children in our schools. We need you to campaign for us and for our children with the same passion and intensity that you used when campaigning for yourselves when you ran for this elected position. We elected you not just to do the easy work, not just to follow the lead of others when the path became inevitable, but to do the hard work. We need you as a board to
056be a pioneer for our children and to show them what Seaford Strong actually looks like. As I understand it, as a board, I just get to vote, and so with your permission, I'd like this question to be added to the agenda and to be voted on tonight. I'm going to cut you off. It doesn't work like that. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Any other residents? I've been a secret resident my entire life. So it's been 443 days since two weeks to flatten the curve. And yet here we are, the end of another school year with daily challenges, no doubt, with this pandemic. But we've also achieved great scientific achievements with vaccines that nobody thought was possible. And now here we are in the state of New York with 57.1% completely vaccinated New Yorkers. And statewide
057yesterday, only 391 cases were positive out of a population of over 19 million in this state alone. I am a parent of three children asking the school board and administrators to help us unmask our children. I'm asking you on behalf of so many parents here to let our children breathe. I shouldn't have to come up here to ask that. They should be able to breathe freely. I don't understand how we can have wrestling, one of the most high contact sports, In your face, sweating, breathing all over each other, yet our kids have to sit in the classroom six feet apart from each other with a mask on. This virus has a 99% recovery rate, and our children are the least vulnerable, yet we're ripping them apart every day. Just like Lisa said, socially, emotionally, all
058of it. Yet we can leave the walls of these buildings and go and have dinner with our friends at a restaurant and our children can't even eat with their friends at a lunch table. How does that make any sense? When most of the state now is going unmasked, our children, again the least vulnerable, are the ones suffering the most. We are not parenting with the government. We're not parenting with Cuomo. It's time for our district administration and the board, who we elect in every district for that matter, in this state, to put the pressure on the governor and our state and local officials because we've had enough. Our kids who have once loved school are now just hating it on a daily basis. My own kids ask me daily, when can the masks come off?
059Me and everyone in this room shouldn't have to ask permission for our kids to breathe freely. Please help us. Join us in this fight because from September, if these mask mandates are not lifted, my kids and I'm sure so many other kids will be pulling their kids out of public schools. My name is Danielle Carini. I have two children in the school district. I have a child with a manner and one in middle school. I'm just going to reiterate what everybody said today. I'm concerned about my kids' mental health. My daughter in the middle school had a terrible experience this year. Even with the barriers coming down, unfortunately, for some reason, the middle school still has them up for lunch, so I'm not sure why. But I guess, you know, different schools are following different
060things within the district, if that makes sense to me. okay um i'm really expecting the board today to you know fight for us fight for us i know andrea we've had several conversations we want our kids to be able to come to school and not have to wear masks be able to be partisan for our last week no one's wearing masks we're being held as a dictatorship here with the phone out so people who don't have kids on board please also fight for us to receive throughout next year so let's try to get this done for our children thank you Any other residents? Jonathan Perchy. I'm Sterling Seifert. I'm a student in the Harvard School. I came in and I had a prepared statement, but I walked in and I saw a sign that said,
061be the person who makes others smile. Our kids don't know what that looks like this year. They can't see the other person smile. And a smile has effects on people. Psychological effects, physical effects. A smile releases endorphins. It releases natural pain killers. It makes one feel whole. It makes one feel complete. It makes one feel better about themselves. Our kids have been stolen. Their smiles have been stolen from each other. They're not seeing each other's smiles anymore. So, while you've heard many comments already, you can obviously see parents are upset. I'm just hoping that somebody tonight can stand up and tell these parents, what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do about it? Are you going to do anything about it? Just stand up and tell us. That's all
062we want to know. What are you going to do for us? We got you here. What are you going to do for us now? Stop sitting on your knees. Thank you. I'm Fiona Cody. I have two children, seven and nine years old, at the harbor. I'm also a fellow educator in another Long Island school district. And I understand where everyone here is sitting and I understand what it takes to put together the task force and the reopening committee. But I also heard our governor today say that he's putting it into our school district's hands as to what September 2021 is going to look like. And what I'm asking is that CFIRS takes the stand and goes first and putting our children first and taking the masks down instead of looking at what our surrounding districts
063are doing and making sure that we're all hand in hand. Because if we make the stand first, then we'll see them follow. But we don't want to be following and holding on. And that's all I'm going to say. I don't want to reiterate everybody else's comments. Thank you. Anybody else? I don't think anybody up here, I know no one up here, is happy with this situation. We all thought it would go away in two weeks, like this was said, I think by Heather earlier. Please remember, we're all volunteers. We're not elected politicians. Yes, we did elect us. We're all volunteers. We don't get paid. We don't work 24 hours a day doing this, even though sometimes we've done that. We're trying to do our best for our students. We treat them like our own kids.
064And as someone said earlier, we're one of the few schools that were open all year without having to close, more than one school for a day or so. We had our high school kids in every single day, even though it was only half a day. We're one of the few schools to do that. So we do put our children first, and we do care. With that, you know, I do, I think I'm going to ask the board, I'm going to ask our superintendent to pray for the letter to send to the governor. But I really think you need to also reach out to the politicians. We have zero power. We've asked things over the years, we get zipped. Zero. We have to work together. We have to work together. We understand. We understand. We're going
065to discuss it quickly. Yep. And we'll probably ask the superintendent to come up with a letter. Be aware, though, I know there's a big group here. There's some people we've received letters. People want the mask. And they can wear them. None of us want to have a mandate for September. Are we all correct on that? But it's up to the governor. We don't make these rules. We don't have any questions. We don't have a legislature. Make changes. We need the hundreds of superintendents who will all put pressure on it. That's what we need. We have hundreds of them. Get together. Work together. Honestly, I don't think FOMO really cares. We don't know anything. We're also missing one board member. This is not a public debate here. I'm going to get back to board business. I
066did say we'll talk now. So how do we feel about asking our superintendent to come up, draft a letter, ask him to reopen and rebook the signs and everything else? Because there are very good points. You can go out to the beach, be outside without a mask, eat without a mask. So are we in agreement with that? I mean, you'll please join in. You know, I'm hesitant at the end of the day, no matter what. You know, I totally understand everybody's concerns. And one, you know, waiting for the CDC, especially until kids can get vaccinated already. Well, I think that's going to play a big part with the governor. My concern is making a blanket statement across the board, no masks. I would love no masks, 100% I would love no masks. I think there
067will be if there's a huge spike. There has to be some guidelines. I'm not comfortable with 100% no mask mandate as being in June or September. Just a blanket statement. They haven't told me that right now. We're asking for an option. Not a man. So my other concern is that, as Heather said, you can go to a restaurant and sit with however many people you want. That's your choice for your family. What you're asking us to do up here, what you elected us to do, is be a safe space. for students, for your children. No, we want advocates for our children. Okay, please, this is not a public back and forth. Please let him speak. That's how we elected him. I ask you, sir, this is not a public meeting. This is a meeting held
068in public. So please let my board members speak. You have your chance to talk tonight. It's our turn now. So whenever decisions are made, please know that it is based on what we feel is the best for all students. Okay, and I understand that you have a group here. I know that there's a big group that is happy with what we do. So, like I said, I would love for no masks. I would like to know what we plan on putting in that letter before obviously it's done. That's all I'm asking. Okay, well, I would hope, I'm going to sit these off the floor, and I would hope you would reach out to the other superintendents and see where we stand. Okay, please As much as I understand that you're passionate about what your position
069is, we've also received a number, not a few, but a number of emails equally passionate about maintaining safety protocols. So I understand what the position of this group is. I do. And I understand as parents you're going to be advocates for your children. But the people that are going to be serving on the reopening of schools task force are going to be a cross-section of... representing both sides as we've done in the past. This is not the first time we've had committees where there have been members of the community and their parents specifically, and we're going to do the same thing. especially without one board member here today. I think this takes a little bit more reflection and that we have to have some conversation about the direction that we want to go because just
070because they're not physically present here tonight doesn't mean that there aren't other community members that feel differently. And I think we really need to have an understanding of what the situation is. I understand what you're saying. I understand what you're saying. And I think... I think most people that have heard me speak and have read the litany of letters that I have sent out to the community understand that I am very compassionate about creating optimal experiences for children. I have expressed before, I know what it feels like to be on the opposite side of this. I've expressed before, my son was a senior in college last year that lost his senior across season and lost graduation and his whole master's degree has been from his bedroom because his university fell down. I understand, but I
071am not going to do something on a whim and recommend something to the board on a whim because... I really do believe that you are passionate. I understand why. But there are also parents that feel differently. And we just have to process this a little bit more. You are welcome to send letters to the government. We'll be able to process it. And you already have. I know you have. But I'm also saying that this doesn't represent the entire community right now. And we just need some time to process it. And there is a vehicle. And I will tell you there are going to be members on the Reopening School Task Force that are sympathetic to what your sentiments are. Excuse me, how are we going to know where they are? We're going to send, by
072Friday, there will be letters sent from my office. My assistant, Ms. Harvey, will contact people, and people that weren't selected will get notification that they weren't selected, and if somebody drops out. We have three openings that I'm taking by people, because I really want to make sure that voices are heard. Okay, it sounds like we'll come back and revisit this when we have more information. Okay, so let's move on with our new business. I need a motion for agenda item 7A1. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. I need a motion for agenda item 7A2. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. I need a motion for agenda item 7A3. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any discussion? All in favor? Any
073discussion? All in favor? Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any motion for agenda item 7B3? Second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any motion for agenda item 7B4? Second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any motion for agenda item 7B5? Discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any motion for agenda item 7B6? Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any motion to begin item 7B7? Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any motion to begin item 7B8? Move it. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Motion to begin item 7B9? Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any motion to begin item 7B10? Any discussion? I want to thank all the parents for coming down tonight. I know that this is never easy, especially given the situation that we're in. I'm a parent, you know that. To young children, I see
074everything that you're talking about. I can sympathize, empathize with every single emotion. you are your children's biggest and best advocate always. So no matter what side you're on or what the topic is, we always welcome community input. It is so important to get involved, get educated, be present. It's a challenging time for us all. And I think that this year our goal was to bring as many students back as safely possible, keeping students and staff safe. staff safe was top priority and we reached that goal. I really have to give the administration such credit for their diligent meticulous work with contact tracing because every time there was a case we were quarantining entire classes. And like I said, we reached that goal and it was a collective effort between the community, the board, and the
075administration. And we need that now as well. I personally would love to see the goals for next year be that we are bringing students back as normal as possible. I would love those goals to include looking at the social, emotional, mental well-being of our students as well as the educational gaps. that they have been inflicted with this last long year and a half. It's been a big job. And like I said, I identify with every single emotion you're feeling. I support your efforts. And I just like I do have to give a lot of accolades to the administration. And I'm hopeful that things will get better and progress. And I support you. Thank you. Thank you. I just want to thank all the student presenters. The diversity of the projects was great to see. And
076thank you to the parents for coming out tonight and voicing. Students left and our parents, you know, we are with them and our teachers. I just wanted to thank them for their presentations and Dr. Cora and the rest of the board for implementing the programs over the last couple of years. And parents, thank you. We hear you loud and clear. And, you know, we look forward to getting to discuss more with you. I just want to again thank all of the presenters tonight and their projects. It was so engaging and interesting and nice to see what they're doing. It's also nice to see War Room's full again. So it's a great venue to express yourself in any way. So I just think it is going to a more normal way of things. And we hear
077you. I just say I'm very proud of the students that presented tonight. I was around when we saw AP Capstone in the science program and I've seen how much we've progressed the last few years. The students are the heart of this district and I'm very proud of them. I know it's a little moment, but I want it to be a lot, but it was a great moment. Well, I can't think back to when everybody else said Michael kudos for lasting for the entire time we were meeting and your presentation was fantastic. But seriously, even what the students were faced with this year, the fact that we could all rally together and come together and have them present the types of research that they did, it shows their resiliency and it also shows their adaptability within
078our environment. And it's not just going on in the research classes, it's going on in all the classes. It's going on in the kindergarten classes. Although it's been really challenging and difficult, the teachers and the administrators, not me, building administrators, really deserve praise for trying as normal environment. We hear what your request is, people that are sick, they will get it. We will process out what our next steps are, but I do encourage everybody to come to the board meeting, find out, because we do give updates with regards to the reopening of the school guest course. We do want it to be as inclusive. As I said, we need additional parent members so that additional voices are heard. Our intent is always to be. We appreciate. but we just ask that people be respectful and
079then also understand that you're here but there are also voices that maybe not physically here but have also spoken to the board and spoken to central ministry we just ask for mutual respect when this full pandemic started i asked for two things as we model it for our children our children are as resilient and fabulous as they are and we still are some of secrets best tonight so i really do just continue to ask for that okay thank you uh we need to go back into executive session and we'll finish everything we had to do so i move the motion to enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing the appointment history of particular employees contract negotiations with the political unit not aligned employee contract to find the relative to particular employees and upon
080completion of the discussion Thank you everybody for coming today.