Students in Mrs. Piampiano and Mrs. Goldacker’s sixth grade English Language Arts class at Ronkonkoma Middle School had the unique opportunity to celebrate National Braille Literacy Month with a special presentation from one of their own classmates, Umair.

Umair has Cone-rod dystrophy, a disease which leads to gradual vision loss. Umair, along with his vision teacher, Ms. Calhoun, taught the students about Umair's disability and showed them what Umair uses to help him. The students were able to write their names using a braille machine, decode braille riddles by learning the braille alphabet and saw what books and other games were like in braille. It was a fun opportunity for the students to learn about their classmate while celebrating National Braille Literacy Month! 

Click here to view the Ronkonkoma Middle School Students Celebrate National Braille Literacy Month with Special Presentation slideshow.

Date Added: 1/27/2025

As we brave January’s bitter cold, we’ve been dreaming of warmer spring days and the return of our Ronkonkoma Middle School garden club!  In case you missed it, the RMS garden club was featured on News 12 this past fall. We can’t wait to see what they’ll grow in 2025! 

 

Video: RMS Garden Club on News 12

Click here to view the Dreaming of spring? Warm up with the RMS Garden Club’s News 12 feature slideshow.

Date Added: 1/22/2025

Bravo to the incredible cast and crew of Footloose! The Ronkonkoma Middle School drama club brought incredible energy, passion and talent to the stage during their performances on Jan. 16-18. 

Based on the iconic 1980s film, Footloose” follows Ren McCormack, a teenage boy who moves with his mother to the small town of Bomont after his father abandons them. There, Ren clashes with the town’s conservative reverend, who has banned late nights, partying, rock music and dancing after a tragic drunk driving accident shakes the town. With the help of the reverend’s daughter, Ariel, and Ren’s friend, Willard, Ren challenges the ban and helps the town heal from its past. 

I am incredibly proud of the cast and crew of ‘Footloose’ for their hard work and extraordinary effort in preparing this entertaining and meaningful show for our community,” said Director Ms. Micalizzi. 

In addition to their performance, the students decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from the 50/50 raffle to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, supporting a cause that aligns with the show’s message.

Click here to view the Ronkonkoma Middle School presents “Footloose” slideshow.

Date Added: 1/22/2025

This year, Ronkonkoma and Oakdale-Bohemia middle schools participated in the global Hour of Code initiative, an event designed to introduce millions of students to computer science through one-hour coding activities.

The event, held during Computer Science Education Week, was led by math/computer science teachers Jennifer LaRose and Patrick Brady under the guidance of K-12 Director of Mathematics and Computer Science, Louise Burger.

Over 500 students from both schools competed in coding challenges on the OYOclass platform, completing maze code playlists. The competition was fierce with students earning limited-time badges in OYO and prizes, including Slurpees and Big Gulps donated by local 7-11 stores.

Oakdale-Bohemia Middle School emerged as the winner with the highest number of badge earners. Ronkonkoma Middle School’s Christian Buglione and Oakdale-Bohemia Middle School’s Jacob Ingraselino were chosen as badge raffle winners, each receiving a custom Connetquot Codster T-shirt.

“It wound up being an enormously successful event where we saw student passions for coding and competitiveness come alive,” said Patrick Brady. “We will surely continue this event for years to come.”

Click here to view the OBMS and RMS compete in Hour of Code slideshow.

Date Added: 1/7/2025