The Rock Report

April 2026

A Monthly Recap from Superintendent James DeTommaso

Rhame Avenue third graders recently performed a presentation on the butterfly life cycle, emphasizing collaboration, communication and presentation skills. Families were invited to attend.
Mrs. Banducci’s class hosted a “book tasting” event for families, inviting students and caregivers to explore new titles together.
Junior and Senior High science students participated in the Long Island Science Congress at the Cradle of Aviation. Eighteen projects were presented, with students sharing research findings and competing against peers from across Long Island.
East Rockaway had a banner season on the track: Paul Lynch broke two school records in track and field and members of the 4x4 relay team also broke the school record.
The Athletic Department has received an Award of Excellence from the NYS Athletic Association in recognition of exemplary sportsmanship, ethics and integrity.
The district has once again earned the Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) designation from NAMM for the thirteenth consecutive year.
Band, chorus and orchestra all took first place at a music competition held at Kings Dominion in Virginia.
Seventh grade science teacher Emanuela Matthews has been awarded the STEM Star Teacher Award.

Ms. Maleska has conducted career awareness workshops with sixth graders at both Centre Avenue and Rhame Avenue. All sixth graders have been onboarded to Classlinks, the district’s college and career platform.
Design students are learning Tinkercad to support ongoing design projects.
Ms. Horvath’s Virtual Enterprise students traveled to the Javits Center for their final trade show of the season. In the program’s first year, students turned in a very successful performance.
Ms. McClelland has worked with elementary students to ensure everyone is set up with Google Classroom, so the district is ready to pivot to remote learning if needed due to weather.

Mr. Crowley’s AP Environmental Science class visited Bay Park Water Reclamation Facility to explore the wastewater treatment process firsthand, which was a meaningful real-world connection to the environmental issues studied in class.
All members of Mr. Gomez’s Spanish 5 class presented their culminating Seal of Biliteracy research projects to a panel of Spanish teachers.
Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) members had a strong showing at the recent spring leadership conference, participating in the HOSA Bowl and attending a variety of professional workshops.
The school counseling and English departments are collaborating on a college essay writing program for 11th graders. Counselors will push into English classes to help students select topics, draft strong essays, and revise their work.
Family Literacy Night, coordinated by Ms. Anisis, was a great success. Paul Volpone delivered the keynote address.

Director of Counseling Mr. Madden visited all sixth grade classes to work with students on building their seventh grade schedules.
Algebra classes visited the Cradle of Aviation to learn about jet propulsion from a mathematician, connecting classroom learning to real-world application.
Junior High Sports Night was a great success. The eighth graders took the win, and many families came out to cheer on their students.
Humanities classes welcomed guest speakers who shared firsthand accounts of the Rwandan genocide and the Holocaust, bringing history to life for students.