The Nexus Published by Lawrence R. Melamed

May 5, 2014

P

A bi-monthly

newsletter for James

Madison High School

staff members, and a

showcase for why we

shine.

The Nexus Newsletter – James Madison High School – Brooklyn, NY Volume I, Issue 4

Madison held its first annual Talent

Showcase, “Madison’s Got Talent,” on

Thursday, April 24, 2014 in the Sonia

Lerner Auditorium. Rebecca Ellis, Marla

Rutter, and Georges Vilson were

instrumental in planning and preparing

students for the event. While the audience

was small, the spirit and the talent were

impressively huge. The spectators were

wowed by feats of magic, a capella singing,

dancing, and a number of musical

collaborations. At one point, the overhead

lights went out, but the show went on.

What we lacked in spotlighting was more

than made up for by impressive vocals and

bold command of the stage. We hope to

build upon this year’s show next spring,

when students as well as staff members

are encouraged to showcase their hidden

talents.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, May 5 – Friday, May, 9

Teacher Appreciation Week

Monday, May 5

Administration of the NYSESLAT

Monday, May 5 – Friday, May 16

Administration of AP Exams

Tuesday, May 6

Law Day and Teacher

Appreciation Day

Wednesday, May 7

NYC Post-Assessment and

Professional Development

Tuesday, May 13

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in

Gym 1, and “Student vs. Staff”

Basketball Game to benefit the

Tessa Marcelin Memorial

Scholarship- 3:00 PM

Wednesday, May 14- Thursday, May 15

Report Cards Distributed

Madison is active on social networks: “Like” us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/jmadisonhs

Follow us on Twitter:

@JMadisonHSBklyn

Help an Alum, Support a Troop Michael Gallagher (’08) is serving in the

military in Afghanistan. He is in desperate

need of supplies: canned or sealed goods,

anything microwaveable, protein, and

hygiene supplies. If you’d like to send him

a care package or something to include in

one, please drop by the “Letters to Our

Heroes” club which meets in Room 224 at 3

pm every Thursday to show your support.

The advisor is Avi Dachs. If you care to

send a package directly, mail to:

Lcpl. Gallagher, Michael

GLT-13

Unit 13993

FPO AE 09510-3993

The Nexus Newsletter: Volume I, Issue 4 Page 2

Impressions of the Wall As a teacher and as a Madisonian, having called this building a

second home since the age of 21, I was deeply moved by the

experience of participating in the 8th Wall of Distinction Induction

Ceremony on Sunday, the 27th of April. It was profound to witness

the emotional reaction of Dr. Herbert Abrams (’37), who returned

to the building for the first time in 77 years to deliver a poised and

often humorous speech about his time here at Madison. It was an

honor to hear from Ellen Reiss Hoyt (51’), an artist and

environmentalist who was instrumental in the preservation and

redevelopment of the Marine Park salt march, a retreat I’ve often

sought out. Ira Silverman (’53) personally told me that James

Madison High School had been a refuge for him, and delivered a

speech about his memories of his teacher, Mrs. Whitlock, who

encouraged him to apply to Columbia over an after-school ice

cream sundae. That conversation, he said, changed his life. He

went on to become an award-winning investigative reporter for

NBC News.

There were several revelations that day, as I talked with different alumni in attendance at the ceremony. The two

mural paintings in the auditorium, for example, entitled “The Fulfillment of Youth Under Democracy” and “The

Sacrifice of Youth for Democracy” were dedicated by the class of 1953 to commemorate the school boys who became

men too soon and gave their lives in the Second World War. The paintings were meant to remind the then-present

generation of American youth of their responsibilities to defend a cause so many had died for. I’ve stared at those

paintings for years—during faculty conferences, while in attendance at shows, and at other times, still—and always

wondered about what they meant and who had painted them. Now I know.

In a conversation with former (and first) president of the alumni association, Thelma Kaplan Stevens (’50), I learned

that an alumni association hadn’t even existed until a beloved staff member, Sonia Lerner, for whom our auditorium

is now named, made clear the necessity for the establishment of one back in 1995. “Sonny” Lerner wasn’t an alum,

but was a fierce Madisonian nonetheless (as we who worked with her knew), and this revelation about her role in

strengthening the Madison community affirmed for me the idea that teachers are the most significant driving force in

the shaping of experiences students have while they make their homes in our building. Every single distinguished

alum who was being honored at the event testified to the significance of the influence their teachers had upon the

paths they each took, which is proof of how deep our footprints are. I hope that you can all join me at the 9th Wall of

Distinction Induction Ceremony, which will take place sometime in the spring of 2016. It will be an enlightening

experience, I assure you.

Honorees with Principal Jodie Cohen in front of the Wall of

Distinction. Photo Courtesy of Steve Mekler (‘71)

A Special Tribute to Sonia Lerner With gratitude, by Thelma Kaplan Stevens, Ph.D. (’50), Founding President of the JMHSAA

It is 1995. In the 70 years of James Madison High School’s history, there is no record of a

functioning alumni association.

Enter Sonia Lerner, not an alum, but a multi-talented teacher, who had created a dynamic

program for the Madison Law Institute. Her new goal: to establish an alumni organization for

JMHS on a par with other local city schools like Brooklyn Tech and Midwood.

The Homecoming Reunion of ’95 for the classes of ’48, ’49, ’50, ’51 and ’52 which was held at

Madison included a Football Game, an Auditorium Presentation and an evening Dinner

Dance in the School Gym. Thelma Kaplan Stevens ’50 coordinated the Homecoming event

with Sonia’s strong support. With the profits from the reunion as well as $2000 in seed

money which Sonia contributed, the JMHS Alumni Association was born.

Without a doubt, Sonia deserves the major credit for the existence of our present Alumni

Association which will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2015. Her vision,

encouragement and willingness to function as pro bono liaison between the school and the

alumni made it all possible.

The Nexus Newsletter: Volume I, Issue 4 Page 3

Kudos to College Office On Thursday, April 10, 2014, Madison’s gyms 2 and 3

became portals to the futures of many of our juniors

who attended JMHS’s Spring College Night. The event

was a huge success, with over 90 colleges being

featured by representatives and recruiters, and well

over 200 students along with their parents in

attendance. The success of the event was due in part

to a decision made by the college office to have the

annual College Night event moved from the autumn to

the spring, to promote college readiness for juniors

early on. Barbara Tolas, our resident college office guidance counselor, said “it is important that juniors

get an early start and begin to research colleges in the spring and summer in order to submit (their) college

applications in the fall.” During the event, students were able to speak with representatives and learn

about which schools best suited their interests and personalities. It was an eye-opener for all, and many

parents agreed that the overwhelming experience that is the college hunt and application process was

eased by this very useful and informative initiation.

Assistant Principal of Guidance, Jason Marino, had this to say about College Night: “I would just like to,

on behalf of Madison, thank and congratulate the College Office for their hard work and a successful

College Night. We have never had as many colleges represented and I am sure nights like this will only

strengthen the college and career readiness of our students.” Congratulations and much thanks to Ms.

Tolas, Mr. Nyamekye “Red” Barton, and Mrs. Helen Rosado for having successfully organized such a

valuable event for our students.

Congratulations to…

Student Konstantin Parfiryev, who is this year’s recipient of the Beat the Streets “Become Your Own Dream”

Scholarship. He was nominated and mentored by Ned Campbell. ► Students (and sisters) Bria and Brianna

Taylor, who have been selected to receive a summer travel scholarship from “Trip of a Lifetime.” They will be

spending two weeks travelling along the West coast. Elyse Ranna is their guidance counselor. ► The Student

Government, which raised funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and was recognized by being awarded

an “Enlightened” ice cream party! Marla Rutter is the advisor. ► Student William Koganov, who is one of ten

winners of the high school essay contest sponsored by the New York County Law Association; he will be honored

at a ceremony on May 7th. Marla Rutter is his mentor.

The Nexus Newsletter: Volume I, Issue 4 Page 4

Communications Students Get Reality Check By, Lucia Lengua

The first thing students ask Lucia Lengua and Larry

Melamed, instructors in Madison’s College Now “Mass

Communication” courses, on the very first day of class is

“When are we going to ‘Maury?’”

On April 10th, students from the College Now Mass

Communication course had their query answered, when

we went to NBC Universal's Rich Forum Theater in

Stamford, Connecticut to attend tapings of The Maury

Show. The trip has become a part of the Mass

Communication course, especially since one of our

primary goals is to increase our students' media literacy

skills. While any casual viewer of The Maury Show may

question the value of the program's content, the

knowledge that students acquire about television and

talk show production is tremendous. Many students are

surprised to learn how real the guests' problems are and,

conversely, how contrived the audience reactions have to

be. From the moment we are seated, the students

become engaged with the television "magic" that is part

of every show. From the roles of the director, the

producers and the cameramen, the realization about the

sheer quantity of people involved in one taping is an

enlightening experience.

Following the tapings, the director, Adam Sirota, held a

Q&A session where students learned about the process

involved in transforming the Maury set to a set for

another program. They also learned about the

psychological aftercare NBC provides its Maury guests

who may need therapy following their appearance and

the subsequent news they learn about their loved ones.

Adam Sirota then provided the Mass communication

students with an all-access backstage tour where they

were allowed to enter the studio control room where

various communication systems converge to enable the

production of the show. The trip experience at NBC

Universal is an invaluable one for students in the College

Now program as all students walk away with knowledge

about the television talk show and careers they can

pursue in the industry.

Noah Ali is one communications student who could not

get over how produced reality television actually is. His

mother, Christine Ali, validated his experience by

reveling in Noah having finally come to terms with the

idea she has always tried to impress on him: “Don’t

believe everything you see on television.” She

acknowledged to us with relief, “he finally gets it!”

The Nexus Newsletter: Volume I, Issue 4 Page 5

Another Year,

Another Log of Memories

The yearbook is finally done, and advisor Marla

Rutter can breathe a sigh of relief. For the student

staff, however, the completion of the yearbook is

bittersweet. Lenura Ziyadinova, photography editor,

said that despite it being time-consuming, “being

part of the yearbook (taught her) how to meet

deadlines under time pressure” and helped hone an

array of skills. Editor-in-chief Amir Elbahnasawi

echoed those sentiments, adding that the experience

“was an important one,” because it involved

producing something that will help all of his

classmates easily look back on their times at

Madison. For layout editor Khaing-Nwe Phoo, her

work on the yearbook “allowed (her) to meet a lot of

amazing people.” She said, “even though it was

tiring and stressful,” she has no regrets.

Principal’s C R N E R

A Message from Jodie Cohen

Walking around the building allows me to see incredible teaching and learning

happening each and every day. However, the other day I had a remarkable experience.

I walked around the fifth floor and saw the hallways filled with student work. Not only

was there student work with assignments and rubrics but there were also post it notes

with comments around the work. A student from Ms. Joan Smith’s class explained to

me that the work was theirs and Ms. Sophia Vroulos’ students were posing questions

and adding comments to their work. Both Ms. Vroulos and Ms. Smith have created an

environment that truly reflects Common Core Learning, in that students have taken

ownership of their learning. Both women have inspired their students to learn and it is

evident in the way that their students speak of their experiences in the classroom. I

commend them and invite all of you to the fifth floor to see this wonderful display.

The Nexus Newsletter: Volume I, Issue 4 Page 6

Paraprofessionals Provide Picture Perfection

In the landscape of many of James Madison’s classes, paraprofessionals add to and often complete the picture.

Without them, many of our students would be lost, and many of our teachers would not have the resources of another

set of hands, an alternative perspective and the particular sensitivities that the para provides. In the March 27 issue of

the UFT paper, New York Teacher, writer Linda Ocasio discussed why paras are “part of what makes a school great.”

Her sentiments were echoed by UFT President Michael Mulgrew at the recently held 33rd annual “Parafest” at the New

York Hilton Hotel. There, “in addition to (attending) workshops on topics such as autism and the Common Core

Learning standards, attendees… (were honored) with an awards ceremony,” recognizing the important contributions

paraprofessionals make to our city schools.

I spoke with Instructional Support Services Assistant Principal Olivia Duran about the roles paraprofessionals play in

our classrooms at James Madison High School. She said that the para must wear many hats, since he or she must

assist students with a variety of disabilities—cognitive, physical and emotional. One of the para’s roles in the

classroom is to provide a personal layer of support to students in need, which Ms. Duran says can include anything

from “one-on-one or small group instruction, as outlined by the teacher… with class routines and in transitioning from

one activity to the next” to “reinforcement of behavior through the use of positive supports.” The paraprofessional also

helps support occupational therapists and physical therapists in their interventions, and is often the person who most

directly teaches students “daily living skills.”

Darlene Bastien is just one of the paraprofessionals we are lucky to have on staff. Ms. Duran praised Darlene for

assuming a number of roles in the department. Aside from helping to ensure that Room 201’s operations run

smoothly, Ms. Bastien “organizes the delivery and receipt of RCTs during Regents week, gathers all staff signatures for

receipt of IEPs and distributes hard copies of IEPS to those who request them, covers the phone when department

secretary Maureen Bell is out, facilitates testing accommodations, provides academic support to our alternate

assessment students and high risk students during lunch time or during teacher absence, and greets and transports

students and their parents throughout the building.” If that weren’t enough, Ms. Bastien dons a social hat every now

and then, as she is often in charge of organizing luncheons and staff gatherings in Room 201, as well. In fact, Ms.

Bastien said this about her department: “(We) have a great sense of community! We do many activities as a group and

rally around each other in times of joy and of unfortunate circumstances. I am of the belief that we are the heart of

Madison because members of other departments come in frequently and we are always helpful and make them feel at

home.”

Though Ms. Bastien enumerated the many challenges paraprofessionals face, including dealing with a variety of needs,

struggling to find roles in the classroom, and sensitively addressing non-compliance from students, she felt that the

rewards were well-worth the battles. She said, “the best part about being a paraprofessional is being able to see the

students grow and succeed academically over time. It feels amazing to know that as paraprofessionals we play

instrumental roles in the lives of our students. It fills us with a sense of joy and pride when students who were

previously struggling academically understand the concepts being taught in the classroom. Furthermore, it validates

our roles as paraprofessionals.”

The paraprofessionals who support our staff are:

Darlene Bastien, Marie Altema, Jair

Perilla, Nandy Checkley, Jean

Aristilde, Guerda Chery, Britanny Cortese,

Sandy Dinanno, Esther Insel, Khaba Sahure,

Miriam Krinick, Dennis Papper, Marlyn

Perez, Kim Rogers, Audrey Siliati, Elizabeth

Sullivan, Melvude Talu, Chen Wong, Michael

Friscia, Ludine Pierre, Tasha Francis

and Sherica Tyler.

The Nexus Newsletter: Volume I, Issue 4 Page 7

Building a Culture of Learning- a Q & A

If you walk around the building, you’ll notice that we are becoming more and more print-rich. But if there were the

major leagues of print-riching, then English teachers Michele Fienga (MF) and Stephanie Ketcher (SK) would be

the MVPs. I asked them to answer some questions, and here’s what they had to say:

1- What does "print rich" mean to you?

MF: To me, "Print rich" means that the room has functional documents for students to review, check, compare

their notes with, etc. It also means that students can literally see the work they completed on a project, class work assignment, etc. as a reminder of what they can achieve, or in some cases, how far they have come.

SK: Hardly an inch of unadorned wall space!

2- How has decorating the room helped you as teacher?

MF: Decorating is a very personal thing for me. To me, your environment is extremely important for several

reasons. First of all, when you personalize your space, even if it's one bulletin board, it establishes a mood, a

particular energy that only exists if a space is created for it to exist. As a teacher, I've always decorated my room

with personal objects, such as student artwork, ceramic pieces, etc. so that it creates a home-like atmosphere, a

place that is positive to walk into and a place where students would want to come to learn. Often times I will refer

to student work they completed, to build connections to what we are currently learning, or even to remind students where we are going in the unit.

SK: In addition to making me happy (because who doesn’t feel happy when looking at beautiful things all over the

walls of their room?), it is a celebration of the things we are exploring and learning together.

3- How does it help your students learn? MF: I believe students learn better in environments that are welcoming and positive. It is the same for anyone

else… if our environment is safe, pleasant, personalized, and meaningful, we will want to be in it, and make the

most of our time in it. I also teach the majority of the time with the chairs in a "U". This lends their eyes to their

surroundings much easier than rows and also creates an open space to effectively communicate with each other

and myself during lessons. Sometimes my students sit in their groups, and sometimes they are in rows, but the majority of the time I keep the "U" to keep the flow of conversation and reference points in the room open.

SK: Particularly when teaching Shakespeare, it is useful to be able to point to certain diagrams or character webs

or other documents when referring to various plot points or characters or historical events. Shakespeare can be

enormously complex, so any visual aids to assuage confusion or anxiety are tremendously helpful. While the items that hang in my room indeed look pretty, they serve a real functional purpose, as well. Furthermore,

because of the sheer amount of material to cover in any given year, I prefer to have these ancillary explanatory

documents or posters on the wall rather than having students spend the time searching for these materials in

their notebooks.

Continued on Page 8…

The Nexus Newsletter: Volume I, Issue 4 Page 8

…Continued from Page 7 4- Where do you find the time to decorate? MF: Once the core environment is established in the beginning, it is just a

matter of updating every so often. It doesn't require much time at all.

Depending on the assignment, the students will display their own work

after they complete it (when working on cooperative learning projects).

SK: That seems to get harder and harder every year. This term I have to

stay after school to do it, or take advantage of the rare opportunity when a

roommate is out for the day and there is a substitute in the room.

5- How instrumental are the students in determining what goes up

on the walls? Do any of them help create or hang up decorations? MF: Yes! The students actually take turns creating the words/definitions

for the "Word Wall". I also have a few monitors who are in my class as

well. During their lunch period, they have often created seasonal

decorations for the windows/walls as well as posted work and

assignments up. They are a tremendous help! I think it also makes them feel proud coming into a classroom they contributed to creating.

SK: The materials on the walls are equal parts my creations and theirs.

They determine what goes up in so far as their particularly fantastic work

gets put up. The teaching aids are largely my creation and my choice.

And because I am such a control freak, I prefer to do all the actual hanging myself. ;)

6- Why is it important for teachers to have "ownership" of their

classrooms?

MF: Although some may consider it "elementary school" looking, there is

something behind what elementary school teachers do. Since the majority

of elementary school teachers have their own classroom, they personalize

their space as well because they see the importance of establishing a

positive academic atmosphere for students new to learning. Kids are kids,

they are curious, they want to feel welcome, and they want to feel safe.

When teachers have "ownership" of even a part of their classroom, it communicates something about their individual style to the students...but

more importantly, it delivers a message of what is valued in that

classroom. I also feel it creates a trust between the teacher and the

students, and when students know you trust them enough to invest your

time and share your materials with them, it lowers their natural guard to let you communicate and really teach them. If a student doesn't feel

welcome, safe, or trusted in an environment, they will rarely be open-

minded enough to truly learn. I keep highlighters on my desk for students

to borrow during the lesson. Every single day the highlighters are

returned. Simple things like this and keeping a stapler and binder hole

puncher out for them to borrow, allow them to know they can come into this environment to learn, in an organized efficient matter.

SK: As a vehement print-richer, I really don’t like sharing my classroom. I

like to have complete control over what goes up, and I certainly have more

than enough material to cover all four walls. Being able to enjoy

ownership of a room ensures that teachers (and students) can much more readily and easily cultivate that comfortable and collaborative classroom

community. Decorating the space is such a nice way to celebrate what

we’re learning, to give visual learners (like myself) something to help them

absorb the material, and to offer something for contemplation.

Ms. Fienga teaches in Room

218 and Ms. Ketcher teaches

in Room 204. They invite

anyone who is interested to

come and visit their

classrooms.