The philosopher Lao Tzu said, “Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” On June 1, we celebrated the accomplishments of our South Orangetown staff members who have attained career milestones. Every so often, those “journeys of a thousand miles” intersect. In the photo below, TZHS teacher Donna Grasso (center) – who was honored for her twenty years of service at SOCSD – is seen celebrating with two of her former students, Christinamae Rispoli (left) and Amanda Flahive (right).
Ms. Rispoli (a teacher at WOS) and Ms. Flahive (a teacher at SOMS) were honored for having received tenure as part of the SOCSD “Celebration of Career Milestones.” Ms. Grasso writes, “Things come full-circle…[Amanda and Christina were] two of my favorite students that I taught back in the day! Now they are my colleagues…life is good.” Below is a list of all the staff who were honored on Thursday evening:
Staff Receiving Tenure – This milestone is not so much a celebration of having accomplished a prescribed set of tasks during probation, but an acknowledgement that a high level of trust has been earned for the journey ahead. The community has confidence that each of these individuals will continue to learn and grow and do amazing work on behalf of our students:
Christinamae Rispoli, WOS
Jess Calungcagin, CLES
Amanda Flahive, SOMS
Gregory Sullivan, SOMS
Michael Emmert, TZHS
Leigh LaBrake, TZHS
Martin Patmos, TZHS
Jillian Richards, TZHS
Samantha Levine, DW
Jessenia Urena-Cursio, DW
We also celebrated our seasoned staff members. These employees have earned the trust of our community and protected that trust for many years. A debt of thanks to the following:
Twenty Years
Lori Berube, WOS
Christy Steingasser, WOS
Jean Bowler, CLES
Patricia McCarthy, CLES
Young-Ji Choi, TZHS
Donna Grasso, TZHS
William Hughes, TZHS
Eugene Kousoulas, TZHS
Suzanne Moskowitz, TZHS
Christine O’Brien, TZHS
Mark Stanford, TZHS
Twenty-Five Years
Anne O’Brien, CLES
James Drivas, SOMS
Thirty Years
Jamie Fodor, SOMS
Retirees – These valued members of the SOCSD family are changing the course of their life journeys. Hopefully, their hearts will lead them back to us occasionally and we will learn about their new voyages beyond South Orangetown Central School District. Congratulations and best wishes to:
Lisa Graff, WOS
Maureen Hobday, SOMS
Farah Jaquith, SOMS
Daniel Sullivan, SOMS
Linda Thurston, SOMS
Kathleen Knorowski, TZHS
Elise Moloney, TZHS
Deborah Owen, CO
Dr. Liam Frawley, DW
Mary Kaye Gibson, DW
James Gray, DW