The W.T. Clarke High School Rams Marching Band in the East Meadow School District came together for a marching band clinic on Oct. 24. The band assembled safely outdoors, adhering to the New York State Department of Health’s social distancing guidelines. Student-musicians from both in-person cohorts, as well as fully remote students, were invited to participate and work with special guest clinician, Dave Abrams. 

Activities included section color wars, fundamentals of marching and drill formations. The Clarke Music Parents Association provided water, snacks, and food for all of the students while following all safety protocols and procedures.  The event culminated with a final choreographed performance of Drum Cadence #2, "Patriotic Finale" arranged by Ralph Ford, Drum Cadence #1 and "Havana Express" by Victor Lopez. 

Thank you to all teachers, chaperones, administrators and families for your support of our band program. This event was a wonderful way to showcase the hard work of our students and teachers. Go Rams!

East Meadow High School and W.T. Clarke High School Marching Bands have submitted their performances of “America The Beautiful” for a virtual two-hour Columbus Day celebration on WABC. Last year, East Meadow High School Marching Band placed first in the Columbus Day Parade and the W.T. Clarke Marching Band captured second. The special will be aired on WABC and include a combination of live elements and pre-recorded segments of selected Marching Bands – East Meadow hopes their submissions will be selected in the virtual celebration. The district congratulates the student musicians on their accomplishments and impressive performances!

 

The East Meadow School District is pleased to announce that East Meadow High School senior Abby Von Ohlen and W.T. Clarke High School senior Gabrielle Lim have been selected as participants in the virtual 2020 All-State Festival by the New York State School Music Association. Abby plays the piccolo and was chosen for the symphonic band, and Gabrielle was selected to play violin with the string orchestra. In addition, East Meadow High School senior Noel Manalil (alto saxophone) and W.T. Clarke High School senior Alexander Borozny (snare drum) have been chosen as All-State alternates.

While the traditional format of the festival, held as part of NYSSMA’s annual Winter Conference, was canceled this year due to COVID-19, NYSSMA plans to gather the ensembles in a virtual format to record a 2020 Virtual All-State Concert.

“We are always so proud of our East Meadow musicians and look forward to their participation in the 2020 All-State Festival,” said Kelly Gelfer, the district’s director of music and art. “Although the format of the conference has been adjusted this year, we are confident that they will represent East Meadow with the finest of performances.”

The East Meadow School District has created an informational series entitled "How Great Happens Here," which examines the various initiatives in the district. Hosted by Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Dave Casamento, each episode will feature an expert in different areas, from technology to music and arts. For this first episode in the series, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kenneth A. Card Jr. gives an update on how reopening went and some other pertinent information relating to the district and COVID-19. 

Stay tuned for more episodes and remember, #GreatHappensHere!

Five seniors from the East Meadow School District have been recognized as semifinalists in this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program. Isabella Conti, Patrick Donnelly, Faiz Irshad and Shruti Patel of East Meadow High School and Justin Guo of W.T. Clarke High School are among approximately 16,000 semifinalists who have the opportunity to continue in the competition for scholarships worth more than $31 million.

More than 1.5 million juniors entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The semifinalists, representing less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, are among the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

East Meadow also boasts 10 National Merit Commended Students; Nishanth Chinnadurai, Dylan Mednick, Garett Nogid, Vinit Patel, Michael Pulle and Hafsa Rehman from East Meadow High School and Daniel Botros, Gabrielle Lim, Roberto Sison and Jeena Trinh from W.T. Clarke High School.

Commended students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2021 competition by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. About 34,000 commended students throughout the nation are being recognized for their academic performance.

The district congratulates these students on their accomplishment and wishes the semifinalists luck advancing to the next level, as finalists are announced in February 2021.