PAWS (Partners Advancing West Islip Students), the education foundation, has held several well-attended fundraisers this school year, including its annual dinner-dance gala, and raised over $70,000, enough to award grants to several of the district's schools. Included are the Bayview, Bellew, Oquenock and Westbrook Elementary Schools, Beach Street Middle School and the High School, where the largest amount of money - over $46,000 - is being used to establish a new recording studio, requested by Director of Fine Arts & Music Education Bernie Jones. PAWS President Barbara McAteer explained that the studio will interface with the music computer lab and will also be used for the new International Baccalaureate Program that begins in September.

PAWS, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit foundation that encourages thinking outside-the-box for ways to acquire addition funds the school district needs, was initiated by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Beth Virginia Blau. Community volunteers serve on the foundation seeking ways to obtain money that the district might not otherwise qualify for. Although there is no central registry of public school foundations in the United States, they are located in every state, with best estimates putting the number at over 3,000.
 

PAWS, the education foundation, held its fifth annual Dinner-Dance Gala on March 12, 2010, honoring Superintendent of Schools Dr. Beth Virginia Blau as Outstanding Educator and Gary Koffsky as Outstanding Community Member. Community activist, former Board of Education President, and current New York State PTA President Susan Lipman introduced Dr. Blau to the crowd of 225 guests. Suffolk County Treasurer and West Islip PTA and school district supporter Angie Carpenter introduced Gary Koffsky.

Attending the Gala and presenting proclamations were Senator Owen Johnson and Office Manager Gordon Canary, Assemblyman Andrew Raia, Suffolk County Treasurer Angie Carpenter, Islip Town Supervisor Phil Nolan and his wife, and Town Councilmen Steve Flotteron and John H. Edwards. The event was held at the Venetian Yacht Club in Babylon Village.

The PAWS Gala is the organization's biggest fundraiser of the year, with monies raised through ticket sales and raffle prizes used to purchase essential items for students that the school district is unable to provide. In the past, PAWS has donated a Yamaha Baby Grand Piano to the High School Performing Arts Theatre, a Laser Engraver/Cutter System and Mobile Biotechnology Station to the high school, equipment for the elementary school MST (Math, Science, Technology) Labs, SMART Boards, a Multi Video Camera, and more, totaling over $158,000.

The current PAWS President is Barbara McAteer. Special Events Chairperson and Vice President is Jamie Winkler, Vice President for Membership is Katherine Fix, Vice President for Marketing is Jay Lipman, and Treasurer is Mary Beth Jacaruso. A DVD featuring significant moments in the lives of Dr. Blau and Mr. Koffsky ran on a loop during the evening, produced by teacher John Simeone.

"Our fifth annual PAWS Gala was an extremely successful event. Our very worthy honorees, Dr. Blau and Mr. Koffsky, were celebrated by many guests and local dignitaries. The night raised over $20,000 for the organization, which will be distributed to those chosen through our grant process. On behalf of everyone working to keep PAWS strong, I want to thank the West Islip community for its support. Together, we are all Partners Advancing West Islip Students (PAWS)," said President Barbara McAteer.

Click on each photo for a larger one.

PAWS 2009 Gala Honored Ken Hartill and Cindy Galasso

PAWS (Partners Advancing West Islip Students) recently celebrated its Fourth Annual Dinner Gala on March 13, 2009 at the Venetian Yacht Club located in Babylon Village. The honorees for the evening included West Islip Principal Ken Hartill, honored for his forty years of commitment and service to education, and Cindy Galasso, honored posthumously, for her outstanding contributions to the West Islip community. In addition to the Gala dinner and dance, business-donated offerings were raffled to raise additional funds.  Raffle donations were graciously received from POSH, Plesser’s, The Fitness Incentive, Drew Patrick Spa, IE Personal Training, and Suffolk Transportation Services.   PAWS is an independent, not-for profit organization dedicated to enriching the educational experience of West Islip students. The organization generates resources through community support to promote, sponsor and enhance learning opportunities for the children of West Islip. Click on each photo for a larger one

PAWS Partners with GoodSearch and GoodShop

Supporters of PAWS are using GoodSearch and GoodShop, raising money with every search of the Internet and every purchase on-line! GoodSearch,  a new search engine powered by Yahoo!,  donates 50% of its revenue, approximately a penny per search, to the charities designated by its users.  You use it exactly as you would any other search engine and the pennies add up quickly – just 500 people searching four times a day will earn around $7,300 in a year.  It doesn’t cost the users a thing! Similarly with GoodShop.com, consumers can help PAWS by shopping at hundreds of well known retailers including Amazon, Target, Apple, Macy’s, Best Buy, Orbitz, Staples and others.  The shopping experience and the prices are exactly the same as going to the retailer directly, but by going through GoodShop, up to 37% of the purchase price is donated the user’s favorite cause! PAWS has recently registered with the sites, giving its supporters a chance to raise money for our students every time they search the Internet or shop online.  The goal is to raise funds for programs through the site to benefit the students of West Islip. Using GoodSearch and GoodShop is simple. Because these sites are powered by Yahoo, users are assured of high quality results - but each time you search, money is generated by the advertisers. Just click on the GoodSearch logo located on each page of this website to search or shop!

PAWS 2008 Gala Honored Barbara McAteer and Norm Wingert

The third annual PAWS Education Foundation Dinner-Dance was held  at the Venetian Yacht Club with 275 guests in attendance. Community member, school activist and former Board of Education Vice President, Barbara McAteer, was honored with the 2008 PAWS Outstanding Community Member Award and West Islip High School teacher and Student Senate Advisor Norm Wingert was presented with the PAWS 2008 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. During the cocktail hour, student-donated artwork, a plasma, flat screen TV, and a variety of business-donated offerings were raffled as a major fundraiser for PAWS, which in the last several years has purchased approximately $200,000 of equipment to enhance students’ learning experiences. PAWS’ gifts include a Baby Grand Yamaha piano for the high school Performing Arts Theatre, SMART Boards for classrooms, a Mobile Bio Technology Station, a Laser Engraver/Cutter, and new equipment for the MST (Math, Science and Technology) Labs. Pictured are scenes from the gala, including honorees Ms. McAteer and Mr. Wingert, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Beth Virginia Blau, PAWS President Tom McAteer, and the Dinner-Dance Committee of Chairperson Jamie Winkler, Annmarie LaRosa, Mary Beth Jacaruso, and Katherine Fix, who oversaw the PAWS Gala Journal. Click here to view the PowerPoint presentation created to honor the award recipients.

2007 Shopping Fundraiser at Barnes & Noble

A shopping-for-holiday-gifts fundraiser for PAWS was held at the Barnes & Noble Book Store in Bay Shore that helped community residents prepare for the holiday season while benefiting the education foundation.  Shoppers using a PAWS voucher at the cashier helped to divert a percentage of their sales to PAWS, while also receiving raffle tickets to win a variety of baskets full of surprises.  Teachers, administrators, Board of Education Trustees, and students' families gathered to support the foundation that has purchased numerous large and expensive items for the school district, including a Yamaha baby grand piano for the high school auditorium and Smart Boards for classrooms at the secondary level.

Organized by PAWS member Annmarie Mahony, the event featured holiday music by student musicians led by Director of Music Bernie Jones and music teacher Dave Kaufman.  Students volunteered to handle raffle tickets and to wrap purchases.  Board of Education member Wayne Smith donned his Santa outfit to the delight of little ones, later reading to them "It was the Night Before Christmas.  Also reading to the children were several principals, including Westbrook's Jack Maniscalco and Bellew's Dan Hunter.

PAWS Donates Technology's Latest Learning Tool to the West Islip School District

Students in Beth Fiorini's grade 9 Global Studies class are shown working with one of the Smart Boards that were donated to the school district by PAWS, the education foundation.  Smart Boards are the latest technological advance in helping students to learn better and understand more quickly. Electronic white boards - as they are also known - allow for dynamic lessons in whole-class teaching with interaction by the students. Just as a computer is controlled by a "mouse," a Smart Board, which displays computer images, is controlled by the touch of the teacher’s finger. Images can be saved to the students’ computers and printed later. Prices for one Smart Board begin at $1,500, depending on the type of technology utilized and the quality of the projection surface.  

Pictured with Ms. Fiorini are
Sarah H. and Christopher F.

PAWS Co-Sponsors W.I.H.S.'s First 50^th Birthday Celebration

On May 19th, PAWS co-sponsored one of the community biggest events of this school year: the West Islip High School 50th Birthday Party and All-Years Reunion.

Held in the high school, the turnout was large with many returning to school from out-of-state residences. The biggest attendance was from the Class of the 1970s. New class photos were taken, tours of the building were provided to show off the new library-media center, computer labs, dance studio and more (which also provided opportunities for stories about how things used to be), and a variety of food was available at the Food Court. Entertainment was plentiful, provided by the Music Department in the Performing Arts Center, departmental displays were set up in the hallways, and alumni souvenirs and clothing were sold by DECA in the School Store and several of the athletic teams. To the delight of many, former board members, administrators, union leaders and staff members, as well as previous superintendents joined Superintendent of Schools Dr. Beth Virginia Blau, Assistant Superintendent Joe Stern, Principal Ken Hartill, Associate Principal Ellen Quaglio and Dean Joann Hilbert in the celebration.

Proclamations were presented to Principal Hartill by State Senator Owen Johnson and his assistant Gordon Canary, State Assemblyman Andrew Raia, and Suffolk County Treasurer Angie Carpenter.

A good time was had by all as old friendships were renewed, children and grandchildren were introduced, and new memories were created.

Proclamations were presented for the high school's 50th birthday. Pictured are (left to right) Board of Education Trustee Sharon Bieselin, Assemblyman Andrew Raia, Suffolk County Treasurer Angie Carpenter, Principal Ken Hartill, State Senator Owen Johnson, Asst. Supt. Joe Stern, former Board member and president Susan Lipman, and Board Trustee Steve Gellar.

Partners Advancing West Islip Students (PAWS), the recently-formed education foundation, has held its first major fund-raiser: a Dinner-Dance at the Venetian Yacht Club in Babylon with almost 250 guests in attendance. The event honored Suffolk County Treasurer Angie Carpenter for her work as Suffolk County Legislator, and teacher and coach Tony Mellino, with the PAWS Education Award.

PAWS, a volunteer community group whose mission is to assist the school district in ways permitted via its 501(c)(3) not-for-profit status under the Internal Revenue Code, raised $25,000 at the event through the sale of tickets, journal ads, and raffles of prizes donated by local businesses.

According to PAWS President Tom McAteer and Event Chairperson Jamie Winkler, a number of grants were submitted to the PAWS Committee and the first recipients will be announced sometime this month.

PAWS Secretary Annmarie LaRosa says that education foundations for public schools have been around for years, and explains that monies raised have no connection or impact on the district's tax base or annual school budget, and can be used for resources such as VCRs, literary materials, and classroom smartboards. All contributions made to PAWS are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. PAWS' mailing address is P.O. Box 107, West Islip, NY 11795.