High School Drummer A Big Hit |
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Drummer Taylor Setterstrom playing for School of Rock in Bedford. To watch her entry video playing to Rush's "Subdivisions," click here. |
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Taylor Setterstrom, a senior at Somers High School, is in the running for a prestigious international drumming contest, the "Hit Like A Girl" competition. Click here to watch her entry video playing to Rush's challenging song, "Subdivisions." We asked Taylor a few questions about her experience as a musician.
Q. What instruments do you play, how long have you been playing, and how did you learn them?
A. I have been playing the drums since I was 13 and I taught myself guitar a year after----I would just look up tutorials for songs that I wanted to learn.
Q. Where do you play music?
A. I am currently the drummer for two bands. One is a band of first-year college students called "Crimson Crush." The other is a band of high school students from the Westchester area called "Puppets For Hire."
Q. What genre of music do you prefer?
A. I usually listen to and play rock and metal; however, I enjoy all sorts of genres! I also currently attend School of Rock Bedford and I play in their audition-based house band.
Q. How did you learn about the Hit Like a Girl competition?
A. I entered for the first time last year and my parents discovered the website. They though that it would be a great opportunity for me to showcase my skills.
Q. How have the music programs in Somers Schools supported your love of music?
A. Somers has been incredibly supportive of my musical path. I joined the symphonic band during my sophomore year, and I didn't regret it. I learned how to play new styles of music, read scores, and work with a full band. I also met some incredible people along the way who have also supported me. I owe it all to my band teacher, Mr. Reynolds.
Q. What is it like as a girl playing drums in what is often a male-dominated specialty?
A. I feel that despite playing an instrument that is mostly male dominated, I feel respected, and I don't think that being a female has been a disadvantage for me.
Q. What are your future plans?
A. I plan to continue my musical journey throughout college and major in the music field.
Q. What do you like to do besides play drums?
A. As I mentioned, I am also a self-taught guitarist, so I enjoy playing a lot of guitar as well, and I have had a few gig opportunities to play guitar. I also spend some of my free time exercising or getting together with a few friends.
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Video Encourages Acceptance and Respect |
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The students in the No Place For Hate (NPFH) club at Somers Middle School created a video for their final project of the 2020-2021 school year. The video promotes the club’s mission of making the middle school a NPFH School, free of prejudice and discrimination. The focus is on the concept of microaggressions, which the students learned about at a virtual leadership conference this year. The message is to avoid making assumptions about others and to respect and celebrate each other’s differences and unique qualities. Click here to watch.
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Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead at Intermediate School |
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Jonathan Lantz explains how the wind moves the blades of his homemade windmill, winds the yarn, and creates energy. |
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The third-grade students at Somers Intermediate School ventured on a virtual field trip to Challenge Island recently. The children built working windmills from household items to understand first-hand how wind’s kinetic energy can be harnessed by a windmill or wind turbine, and then transferred to mechanical power or electricity.
“We used paper towel and toilet paper rolls, popsicle sticks, paper cups and yarn,” says student Laurel Knapp.
Challenge Island is a S.T.E.A.M. enrichment program run by Somers parent Jill Schantz. The projects are collaborative learning experiences that address the needs of both the creative, playful child of today and the globally successful adult of the future. Schantz facilitated the windmill projected over ZOOM, and while social distancing dictated that the students work individually instead of in groups, they still managed to work together.
“I was so proud of each third-grader,” says Schantz. “Even though they were tackling their windmill challenges alone, it didn’t stop them from collaborating, communicating, helping their classmates and celebrating each other’s accomplishments.”
“Mine kept breaking because the tape wasn’t that strong,” says Owen Gannon. “I kept doing it and eventually it worked. I learned to never give up.”
Schantz partnered with the Parent Teacher Association to bring Challenge Island to Somers Intermediate School this year. She also works with Putnam Westchester BOCES and other schools throughout the area. Over the next two months, the fourth and fifth grades at the intermediate school will also go on virtual Challenge Island field trips, undertaking projects related to ecosystems and machines.
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Students in Sevahn Edwards’ second grade class participate in a lesson about respect with school counselor Katie Bergin. |
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School counselor Katie Bergin opens a book to a page showing a little girl standing on a hill shouting, “No boys allowed!” A group of second graders shake their heads in dismay at the image. The book, “What If Everybody Said That?”, is a story by Ellen Javernick that emphasizes both the negative and positive impact of our word choices. The book is a progression from a story these students read in first grade, called “What If Everybody Did That?”
“What is respect?” asks Bergin.
Hands shoot up.
“Respect means treating someone the way you wanted to be treated,” says Carter Iglesias. “That is the golden rule.”
Most students at Primrose Elementary School are familiar with the golden rule, and the importance of it in their school culture. All students learn about respect and kindness during these social-emotional wellness lessons, which are part of the curriculum at Primrose Elementary School. They learn about “bucket filling”- using actions and words to build people up, rather than “bucket dipping” - saying or doing things that are negative or unhelpful.
Bergin is masterful at using the children’s eagerly shared personal experiences as examples for the lesson.
“Are there times at school when being silly is not respectful?” asks Bergin? “Are there times when being silly is ok at school?”
The students give examples, illustrating what they have learned from these lessons.
Each month, students are recognized for practicing the golden rule and filling others’ buckets. They learn the importance of being a good citizen in every community to which they belong, from global citizenship down to contributing positively to their classroom pod environment.
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Susca Wins 2 Science Awards |
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A Somers High School junior was recently awarded two separate honors for her research on immunotherapy cancer treatment. Gabby Susca, a Science Research student, received the Innovations in Biological Sciences Research Award at the Westchester Science and Engineering Fair. She was also awarded a $1000 Nurturing & Empowering Women Through STEM scholarship, established by Cognitive Consulting to promote greater diversity in the STEM field.
“Gabby is a very driven, motivated, and passionate student,” says Science Research teacher William Maelia. “Her curiosity will take her far in her scientific endeavors.”
Gabby’s research project is centered on improving the versatility and patient response to a new kind of cancer treatment. The official name is Identifying genetic markers of response from CAR T cell pre-infusion products in responding/non-responding CLL patients to determine methods of modulating expression of these genes. She chose this topic for its potential to surpass conventional cancer treatment.
“CAR T cell therapy is currently used but it needs to be improved,” says Susca. “There are issues with creating memory cells, and I identified a gene that is involved in a pathway that deals with memory T cell formation.”
This is Susca’s first year competing in science competitions, made even more challenging by the pandemic and lack of access to laboratories. She was originally accepted to a program at Sloane Kettering Memorial Hospital but that was opportunity was canceled due to COVID-19.
“So I sent an email to Dr. Joseph Melenhorst at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Cellular Immunotherapies,” says Susca. “He agreed to let me work with him virtually on data analysis.”
In addition to dancing since she was three years old, Susca recently started running track. She has her eye on a career in surgery and research. In the meantime, she is most excited about seeing her friend each day, having returned to school full time.
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Students in fourth grade spend part of Earth Day digging in the dirt at the intermediate school, preparing the soil for flowers. |
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Green thumbs were abundant on Earth Day at Somers Intermediate School. Students celebrated the day by weeding and planting their school garden.
“It was fun to be outside and know that we were helping the earth,” says Isabella Ciavardini, a fourth-grade student in Beth Monteleone’s class.
Students in several different classes helped prepare pots of flowers that were to be planted for every class in the school. Each class then had the opportunity to head to the garden to plant their class’s special flower.
“We put some new soil in the garden and dug some holes and took weeds out,” says Matthew Van Tassell. “It is caring for the earth and it makes it a better place.”
“They did such a great job sprucing up our gardens,” says Assistant Principal Linda Belger. “Everyone had a chance to get dirty.”
The garden project coincided with the fourth-grade science unit on the food chain.
“Flowers are at the bottom of the food chain,” says Morgan Coughlin. “The flowers give bees pollen, and the bees give us honey.”
Thanks to the students’ efforts, the garden is now doing double duty as an environmental oasis, and a beautiful spot for an outdoor lesson or a mask break.
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PTA Gets Students Reading |
The Somers Intermediate School PTA held a Read-A-Thon in honor of national reading month. The importance of reading was reinforced with a little healthy competition. Families and friends made pledges based on the number of books read by a student. The class that read the most books in each grade won a pizza party. That honor went to the students in Kay-Lyn Jacobellis' third grade class, who read a total of 209 books, Julie Witkiewciz's fourth grade class with 46 books, and Patty Sisca's fifth grade class, with 82 books. The Read-A-Thon raised more than $2000, which funds the SIS PTA programs and events such as Science Night, Author’s Day, the year book, Staff Appreciation Luncheon and so much more. Thank you to all who participated!
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Somers Central School District
250 Route 202
Somers, New York 10589
914.277.2400
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