The Bethpage Board of Education held its meeting on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at John F. Kennedy Middle School where building administrators and Director of Fine and Performing Arts Alyssa White, shared some of the middle school’s talented students and programs with the Board and Bethpage community.
John F. Kennedy Middle School Principal Kevin Fullerton spoke about the school’s newscast, JFK Live. Students have filmed 208 episodes thus far in the JFK studio which is housed in the back lobby of the auditorium. The middle schoolers do a live show every Friday morning which is broadcasted throughout the school. They gain real-world experience, serving as anchors and production crew members to make the show a success each week. To give the Board and the community a taste of what the JFK broadcast team does, Mr. Fullerton played an episode of JFK Live for them. The episode featured student reporters and special guest appearances from student-writers, the National Junior Honor Society President, and the school’s spelling bee and geography champions.
Following the viewing, Mr. Fullerton turned the microphone over to Mrs. White who spoke about some of the exciting things happening around Fine and Performing arts at the secondary level. She spoke about the wonderful student artwork that is on display in the middle school and the district administration building. In addition, she shared that 51 Bethpage student-musicians recently attended the Nassau Music Educators Association All-County Music Festival and that ten student-musicians were accepted into the Long Island String Festival Association’s upcoming intermediate and secondary festivals.
Student-musician Grace Cho was one of three students from John F. Kennedy Middle School to earn a spot in this year’s intermediate string festival. She showcased her talents during the Board meeting as she performed a song on her violin.
Aside from art and music, Mrs. White also spoke about JFK’s theatre program. She announced that the JFK Middle School Masquers Guild will be presenting “Matilda The Musical Jr.” from February 2-4 in the middle school auditorium. During the meeting, the Board and the community had the opportunity to get a sneak peek of the production. The show is double casted with Charlie Majewski and Sophia Naness playing Matilda. Each student performed one song from the show during the Board meeting and received a round of applause from those in attendance.
After the two musical numbers, JFK Middle School Assistant Principal Erin Hayes presented a certificate to each student who was showcased during the meeting. Congratulations to the following students: Joshua Arocho, Grace Cho, Iliana Fischer, Ayan Gupta, Zachary Kontorinis, Charlie Majewski, Vrinda Mehta, Sophia Naness, Amanda Schneider, Ethan Somai, Lukas Varratos, and Joseph Woodworth!
