EWSIS Students Speak Live With Astronauts Via Video Conference

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to finish building the International Space Station (ISS) by the year 2010. The United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and several European countries are working together in this endeavor.  In a recent mission, STS-123 delivered both the first component of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo and the new Canadian Dextre robotics system to the ISS. NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman arrived aboard the ISS with STS-123 and is continuing his mission with Expedition 17. 

Last month students at the East-West School of International Studies were given the opportunity to receive and invitation to speak with Garrett Reisman while he is aboard the ISS.  East-West held an essay contest asking students to research information about the STS-123 mission and to explain why they wanted to participate in the video conference event. 

Congratulations to the following winners of the essay contest.

On Monday, May 12^th, these students will be joining Ms. Lebowitz at the One Stop Richmond Hill Community Center to speak live with Garrett Reisman through video conference. The students will also be joining the local elected officials for a luncheon to commemorate this special event.

To find out more about NASA go to www.nasa.gov

Mr. Wai Ng leads an after-school digital photography class once a week on Tuesdays from 3-5pm in room 409 with Mr. Marini. Mr. Ng is a professional full-time photographer who has had gallery shows at MoMA, P.S. 1, and in other venues. The aim of his class is to understand how to use a digital camera, including using the menu settings, photo composition, special effects, and composition. Students also learn the basics of Adobe Photoshop.

Today the students went outside to the Queens Botanical Garden where they took the shots below. Shot #1 is the actual capture image from the camera. Shot #2 is the same image, but corrected with Photoshop for color correction, exposure, and contrast. Shot #3 is the same shot again, but this time with special effects applied.

Mr. Ng encourages students to experiment with the camera, the software, and with their own creativity. He hopes this class will inspire them to use their imaginations and to apply the concepts learned in this class to anything they do in the future; whether it is connected to photography or not. This class will conclude at the end of May. The students will display their work at the beginning of June.

Mathathon 2008 - On your mark, get set, calculate!

Congratulations to Laniesha Hernandez who is the first student to register online.

Students that have not yet signed up can still participate by
registering at www.mathathon.org.  Here are the steps to register...

1.  Go to www.mathathon.org
2.  Click on "Raise money online" on the right side of the website.
3.  Click on "Student Participation Registration" on the top of the page.
4.  Click on "NY"
5.  Enter "east" for the first four letters of our school and click "Find"
6.  Click on our link "East-West School of International Studies" in Flushing
7.  Click "Students participate now"

If you need assistance or have any questions call 1800-FUNBOOK.

Are you asking yourself, “Why should I participate?”

1)      You are helping less fortunate children.  All of the money raised is donated to St. Jude Medical Center. 

2)      You can earn valuable prizes.  A donation of at least $35 earns you a free pass to six flags Great Adventure.

3)      If a total of $500 is raised, Ms. Arroyo and Mrs. Katz will wear the school uniform for a week.

4)      If a total of $1,000 is raised, Mr. Solomon will shave his head bald.

5)      If a total of $1,500 is raised, Ms. Lebowitz, Mrs. Choi, Ms. Kwon, and Mrs. Shim will cut their hair short.

6)      If a total of $3,000 is raised, Mr. Marini and Mr. Bantz will shave their heads.

7)      If a total of $4,000 is raised, Mr. Sherman will sleep on the roof of the school building.

East-West offers a hearty welcome to Noralee who gathered us in the Alt School District and created the conditions to get us talking. And to Ken, Ted, Daniel, Teb, Shantanu, David, Renee, Olgierd, and the others who have graciously shared their knowledge and have kept the conversations about technology, teaching, kids, and having fun, moving in the right direction. Long live Techforum!

Horowitz-sensei brought members of our Judo team to a clinic in Brooklyn this past Saturday. Great job for everyone there, especially for those who have just begun to train. Judo meets every Tuesday on the Auditorium stage from 3-5pm. Come join us!