NYSMSA Long Island Institute 2017

This year we honored the work of Dr. Walt Schartner, retiring Superintendent of Sayville Schools and a pioneer in the middle-level movement on Long Island.  Dr. Schartner has the honor of being the first school on Long Island designated as an Essential Elements School to Watch in 2006.  This years conference provided nearly 100 educators from across New York the opportunity to see Long Island's middle-level best practice in action with over 20 presentations.

Islip Middle School Tackles DNA Project in Collaboration with Cold Spring Harbor and BNL Lab

After taking a week-long course through Cold Spring Harbor over the summer, Mrs. Julia Johnson, EXCEL Coordinator at Islip Middle School, led her 7th & 8th grade students through an exploration of DNA Barcoding.  7th and 8th grade EXCEL Students are fortunate to have the help of Scientist/Naturalist Brett Curlew.  Students pulled DNA samples from Pardees Pond, located on IMS Campus, and have written full proposals for their work.

There are two groups of students (self-entitled "Pond Squad" and "Molecular Masters") and they are organizing their research using the EXCEL Wiki website. (http://juliacjohnson.pbworks.com/w/page/108766153/DNA%20Barcoding)  They are in the process of cataloging all of their specimens and identifying samples using dichotomous keys.  The process of extracting DNA will take a few months.

The students work will culminate in a presentation of their findings at the Open Space Stewardship Program Symposium at BNL later in the school year.  Stay tuned our final work!