Roosevelt Middle School Fine Arts Department

Issue #2, January 2013

FINE ARTS NEWSLETTER Welcome 2013!

Issue #2, January 2013 In this issue:

Happy New Year! page 1

Rough Rider Band News and Photos page 2

The Fine Arts Peacemaker Mission! Happy New Year from the Roosevelt Middle School Fine Arts Department! We are looking forward to another exciting year of art shows, concerts, and community events! Read on to take a closer look at some of our recent accomplishments and upcoming events!

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Thank you to Akita, Japan! page 6

“Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas.” -Donatella Versace

Happy birthday, Dr. King! The photo to the left was taken at the January 2013 Breaking the Cycle assembly for nonviolence through forgiveness. Read more about the presentation on page 5 of our newsletter!

Roosevelt Middle School Fine Arts Department

Issue #2, January 2013

‘Tis the Season for Music: Holiday Happenings from the RMS Band!

On December 1st, 2012, the middle school band helped ring in the holiday season with festive music at the Roosevelt Community Tree Lighting. The audience enjoyed listening to the band under the newly lit Christmas tree at the Roosevelt Post Office!

Later that week, the RMS band was honored to perform at the first annual Roosevelt PTA Holiday Mingle! The band played a variety of repertoire to welcome in parents, students, teachers, and administrators. Thanks for inviting us to perform, Roosevelt PTA!

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Roosevelt Middle School Fine Arts Department

Issue #2, January 2013

What are RMS Musicians Doing Outside of Roosevelt? After Hurricane Sandy, Ms. Rome wanted to use music to help people in need. She organized and performed at an open mic night fundraiser that raised $500 and 50 lbs. of food for Island Harvest’s effort towards victims of Hurricane Sandy. Ms. Rome would like to thank all students and staff for their donations for this event!

8th Grader Nylette Lopez has been selected to perform at the January 2013 All County Music Festival. Nylette earned her title as the 2nd chair bass clarinet player! She will spend a week’s worth of evenings rehearsing music with selected students from other school districts, which will be performed at the All County Division III Concert at 8:00pm this Friday, January 18th at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. Congratulations to Nylette for making Rough Rider band history!

Sing it, Roosevelt Middle School! On December 1st, 2012, six talented musicians performed at the Nassau Youth Singing Contest Finals. Genny Collado, Kadeesha Cox, Obehioye Elimimian, Tianna Smith, Haylee Stuart, and Terence Ziegler impressed the audience as Roosevelt Middle School represented 6 out of the 12 total finalists chosen for all of Nassau County! Ms. Rome and the singers would like to thank Mrs. Pall, Mr. Bilella, Mrs. Abdullah, Mrs. Lopez, and Mr. Gladstone for coming out to cheer us on! 3

Roosevelt Middle School Fine Arts Department

Issue #2, January 2013

Peacemakers in the Fine Arts Department: Quarterly Poster Contest Winners Announced! Once again, it looks like Roosevelt Middle School will have the honor of hosting the Peacemakers Poster Contest Ceremony! The District Attorney’s office said we all did such a great job last year that they want us to host the event again. Although the annual Peacemakers Poster Contest awards wonderful prizes for the top three posters in the five participating schools, Roosevelt Middle School wanted to take one step further and have an in school contest every other quarter with prizes of our own. The prizes for first quarter were really worth the hard work! The third place prize was four movie tickets to any movie of the winner’s choice, generously donated by Mr. Amadeo. The second place prize was a bound sketchbook and an artist’s drawing kid. The first place prize was a $25 Visa gift card! In late December, we had our first contest winners. The third place winner was Gabrielle Romany, the second place winner was Jacqueline Leiva, and the first place winner was Karen Arceneaux. All of the students did a wonderful job on their projects! Mr. Randazzo is proudly displaying the posters in the hallways of the 3rd floor. The Peacemakers Poster Contest at Roosevelt Middle School continues to grow and improve each year!

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Roosevelt Middle School Fine Arts Department

Issue #2, January 2013

Silence the Violence Initiatives: Guest Speaker Hashim Garrett Presents to RMS! On Wednesday, January 9th, 2013, Hashim Garrett spoke to 6th and 7th graders at Roosevelt Middle School about nonviolence through forgiveness. Ms. Rome and the Silence the Violence Team as well as Mr. Polk and the Peer Mediation Team decided that since Mr. Garrett’s presentation from two years ago was so memorable, we should invite him back to speak to our students who have not yet heard his story. Mr. Garrett presents with the Breaking the Cycle program, which was created after the 1999 Columbine High School shooting to encourage forgiveness in order to prevent violent crimes, gun violence, homicide, and suicide. Mr. Garrett was a victim of a gang crime at age 15, which paralyzed him from the waist down and changed his life forever. Mr. Garrett’s story resonated with the students and staff, and his words of wisdom made everyone in the audience think twice about the anger and negative feelings they might have been letting build up. Each student received a copy of “Why Forgive?” so that they can continue reading inspiring anecdotes about the stories of people who were victims of gun violence.

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Roosevelt Middle School Fine Arts Department

Issue #2, January 2013

RMS Receives a Hurricane Sandy Care Package from Japan! At the end of November, a couple of Japanese schools in Akita, Japan, reached out to us after Hurricane Sandy hit our area. They heard about it on the news and became very sympathetic towards our situation. The students and staff at the Akita schools wanted to know how people in New York are doing after the disaster. As a result, they assembled a “Care Package” for RMS, which included over 700 letters, Japanese chocolate and candy as well as a paper crane garland (a symbol of peace and friendship). The package also included posters and postcards with expressions of sympathy and support. Opening the care package became a pleasant cultural experience for our students and even teachers. Students were very excited to read the letters and write back with responses. A package of thanks was assembled, which included souvenirs from the French students, a CD recording of the RMS band, a banner from the art department, and a bunch of “Thank You” letters from each grade. The package will be sent to Japan within the next few days. RMS is very grateful for the generosity of these schools in Akita!

Thank you for continuing to support our fine and performing arts program! Roosevelt middle school 60 Underhill Avenue Roosevelt, NY 11575 516.345.7700

Go Rough Riders!