On Tuesday, May 21st, Borough President James S. Oddo hosted “A Conversation with the Class of 2019” in the Black Box Theater at Susan Wagner High School.  Students were asked to bring questions about issues on Staten Island that affect them and to come prepared to talk about their own experiences and where they see themselves going in the future for a personal, one-on-one conversation with the Borough President. 
 
Topics that the students were interested focused on asking for advice as to what to expect moving from their close-knit communities into the colleges of their choice and how to deal with the stress and anxiety that comes with that. They gave BP Oddo and his staff ideas about how to communicate with the younger generation to break them out of their shell and be more involved in the community.

“You all have great opportunities ahead of you, and I want you to take advantage of them,” BP Oddo said to the group of students. “I am so impressed by all of you and your passions. I hope you will take your passions and help Staten Island become a better place to live.”
 
Students from Curtis High School, Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning High School, Michael J. Petrides School, Moore Catholic High School, New Dorp High School, Port Richmond High School, St. Joseph Hill Academy, and Susan Wagner High School participated in the conversation. 

​Borough President James S. Oddo is pleased to announce his initiatives regarding his work to improve school nutrition and wellness.
 
“Policies matter. Leadership matters. Outcomes can change. Problems can be resolved. Science, data, empathy, creativity – all play a role. Our team at Borough Hall leaves no stone unturned when it comes to finding ways to better the lives of Staten Islanders, and food policy and the role of nutrition and education in schools is no exception,” said Borough President Oddo. “Thank you to the Staten Island Child Wellness Initiative for your fight working to overcome childhood obesity on Staten Island, and thank you to our community partners for working with us on these vital initiatives to improve the lives of Staten Island students.”
 
Below is list of school nutrition and wellness initiative partnerships Borough President Oddo is working on that were announced at today’s 4th Annual Staten Island School Garden Summit:
 
Our office has partnered with the Department of Education’s Office of Food and Nutrition Services (OFNS) for a Staten Island Fresh Fruit and Vegetable of the Month Island-wide Pilot. This pilot, which will be run on Staten Island in Prek-8 Lunch Menus at participating schools, will feature a highlighted fruit or vegetable of the month from September 2019 – June 2020. Additionally, student advocates will be chosen by their school principal to represent the fruit or vegetable of the month item during their lunch period. They will circulate a card featuring a plant-based recipe including the highlighted fruit or vegetable of the month. Peer to peer has proven to be one of the best ways to deliver the nutritional education message. We are working to expand this pilot program.
 
Our office has partnered with United Activities Unlimited (UAU) to create a solution to the lack of maintenance for school gardens over the summer months. Our offices are working together to enable the Summer Youth Employment Program children to maintain the gardens while the schools are out of session. We have also facilitated communication between Brian Licata of UAU and the Snug Harbor farmers to involve their expertise in order to keep these produce gardens alive over the summer.
 
Our office has partnered with City Harvest and Staten Island Performing Provider System (SI PPS) to work together to expand Cooking Matters at School, a 6-week hands-on cooking and nutrition program integrated into the school day curriculum. City Harvest and SI PPS have come together to fund a nutritionist and are working directly with our office to bring this course back to the classrooms with a plant-based twist on it.
 
While speaking on the Borough Presidents on NYC Food Policy panel that took place in April at Hunter College, Borough President Oddo was introduced to the company Beetbox. Beetbox fills teaching gaps in Early Education by using food as a vehicle to teach STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) and eliminates the need for teachers to prepare and plan. Teachers receive monthly learning kits which include detailed lesson plans, required materials, and fresh ingredients. Every Beetbox includes science experiments, planting, cooking, art and engineering projects, literacy, dramatic play, decomposition studies, and songs. Our office is working to fund Beetboxes for a number of schools in the 2019-2020 school-year.
 
Garden to Café is a DOE program that connects school and community gardens with school lunch meals through seasonal harvest events and educational activities. Currently the program is active in 200 schools within NYC, about 12 of which are on Staten Island. However, procurement of fresh fruits and vegetables is most difficult within this program. Our office is working with OFNS and Snug Harbor Cultural Center to see if it is possible to buy local by using Snug’s produce in the Garden to Café program and ease the burden of procurement.

On Tuesday, May 14th, Borough President James S. Oddo and members of the Petrides family and scholarship committee presented the Michael J. Petrides Student Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science to Kasey Shashaty, a student at St. Joseph Hill Academy High School.
 
The annual award is given to a graduating high school senior who excels in math and science. Each Staten Island high school is asked to submit a single nominee, from which the honoree and runner-up are selected. The award is named for Michael J. Petrides, a legendary Staten Island educator, who died in 1994.
 
Kasey Shashaty is a curious and determined student who has a deep commitment to her faith and family as the second eldest of four children. Nominated as the outstanding scholar-athlete for St. Joseph Hill for the Varsity Club Award, she also dedicates time to community service endeavors, including cooking and serving food at Project Hospitality and volunteering with the Special Olympics Club. As a member of the Hill Varsity Swim Team she placed 1st in the New York Archdiocesan championship for the past three years, in addition to being named second team All-Star for Cross Country and holding the Indoor Track school record for the 4x800 relay as a member of the Hill Varsity Track Team. Kasey, who is passionate about science and math, is a National Merit Finalist, an AP Scholar with Honors, and a member of the National Honor and the Foreign Language (French) Honor Societies. Ranked at the top of her class, Kasey maintained a full academic scholarship throughout her time at St. Joseph Hill Academy after having taken the most demanding schedule available to her. Kasey has also sought science research opportunities outside of Hill, partaking in an internship last summer at the Institute for Basic Research where she observed laboratory techniques on a wide range of disciplines and learned how to genetically engineer recombinant DNA. Kasey plans to major in biomedical engineering in college.
 
“The Petrides Award has been given to many remarkable students over the years, and this year is no exception. Congratulations to our winner and to all the impressive nominees for being the best and brightest in our community,” noted Borough President Oddo.
 
Luna Wang from Staten Island Academy was named first runner up. Adam Goudjil from CSI High School for International Studies was named second runner up.
 
A full list of nominees is below:
Adam Goudjil, CSI High School for International Studies
Allison Kahy, Curtis High School
Nicholas Thompson, Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning School
Louis Lopez, Michael J. Petrides School
Erik Kaiser, Monsignor Farrell High School
Jenna Moley, Moore Catholic High School
Jessica Wallace, New Dorp High School
Julianna Meyer, Notre Dame Academy
Juan Barba, Ralph R. McKee Career & Technical High School
Sabrina Oriz, St. Joseph by the Sea High School
Kasey Shashaty, St. Joseph Hill Academy
Daniel Elkik, St. Peter’s Boys High School
Minzhi (Luna) Wang, Staten Island Academy
James Tonrey, Staten Island Technical High School
Alexis Crescitelli, Susan E. Wagner High School
Amanda Mavricos, Tottenville High School

On Monday, April 15, Borough President James Oddo and the NYC Department of Education welcomed fourteen Staten Island schools participating in the Billion Oyster Project to a Maritime Forum at the Michael J. Petrides School in the Borough President’s Hall of Science. Approximately 60 students made one-on-one presentations regarding their field work with the Billion Oyster Project to Borough President Oddo and Deputy Borough President Ed Burke.

The schools in attendance at the forum were: Curtis High School, Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning School, Michael J. Petrides School High School, New Dorp High School, Susan Wagner High School, Michael J. Petrides School Middle School, I.S. 7 - Elias Bernstein, I.S. 24 - Myrna S. Barnes School, I.S. 51 - Edwin Markham School, I.S. 75 - Frank D. Paulo School, P.S. 21 - Margaret P. Emery / Elm Park, P.S. 45 - John Tyler School, and P.S. 59 - Harborview Elementary School, St. Clare’s School.

Education and business leaders were present, along with faculty and students from the Governor’s Island-based Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, the Billion Oyster Project, the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (Living Breakwaters), and the Staten Island Zoo. Members of the US Coast Guard Sector New York were also present along with other community members.

“This event was a great opportunity for marine-focused individuals from many different outlets on Staten Island to get together and share the important research they have completed,” said Borough President Oddo. “I was very impressed by the students and look forward to seeing the change they will create in partnership with the Billion Oyster Project.”

Representatives from Shop Rite donated healthy snacks for those attending, including carrots and hummus, fresh fruit, and popcorn.

This is the first time all Staten Island schools and students participating in the Billion Oyster Project were gathered together in a single event. Those in attendance had the opportunity to participate in a passport program where they collected a sticker from each table stopped at.

The Billion Oyster Project has a mission to restore oyster reefs to New York Harbor through public education initiatives. With a commitment to project-based and real-world learning, their school programming puts students at the center of the movement to restore oysters to NYC waters. Oysters have a remarkable ability to filter nitrogen pollution from water as they eat and can help to protect NYC from storm damage—softening the blow of large waves, reducing flooding, and preventing erosion. Read more about the Billion Oyster Project on their website.

Over 175 people attended the event. 

​On Friday, February 8th, BP Oddo kicked off this year's "Readers Are Leaders" 4th grade reading challenge at a ceremony at P.S. 35. The Readers Are Leaders Program challenges 4th grade classes in Staten Island's schools to read a minimum of six books at or above grade level during the five-week period of February 18th through March 25th. One "exceptional" reader will be chosen from each school to be recognized at a ceremony in May. Since its inception in 1996, 4th graders have read more than 690,000 books for the annual challenge.
 
In addition, we have added a new component to the challenge this year. As a partner program and expansion of the successful Readers Are Leaders, Borough President Oddo also kicked off a new “Readers Are Leaders Jr.” program, challenging 1st graders to read “Mikey and the Dragons” by NYT bestselling author and former Navy SEAL Jocko Willink, along with one book of their choice. This program will run concurrent to the fourth grade program.
 
At the kickoff, students from P.S. 35 got to see a magic show performed by our friend Magician Mike Lane. As an added bonus to the challenge, any student who reads Mike's book series, "The Magic Shop," and writes a book report about one of the books will be considered for a special prize.
 
Students who participate in the 1st grade “Readers Are Leaders Jr.” challenge will be required to read " Mikey and the Dragons " by Jocko Willink. The Borough President's office distributed over 1,500 copies to participating schools throughout the borough.
 
“While you guys are all reading your 6 books, I am going to do my part and read a little for me. I am blessed to work with people at Borough Hall who also love to read. We got together to think about how we could make this program even better. So we decided to expand ‘Readers Are Leaders’ to the 1st grade with a ‘Readers Are Leaders Jr.’,” said Borough President Oddo. 

On Sunday, January 27, Borough President James S. Oddo hosted his first annual “BP Assist Live” at Susan E. Wagner High School.  This was adapted from the previous “Direct Connect Sunday,” a tradition he began when he took office.
 
“When I first got elected borough president in 2014, the notion of having a really stuffy swearing-in inauguration didn’t quite fit my style,” said Borough President Oddo. “I wanted to get to work. I tried to figuratively and literally open the door to Borough Hall and host Staten Islanders I have never seen, and it was really a positive event.”
 
Borough President Oddo began the afternoon with a Q&A with students from Staten Island’s high schools. Topics addressed included the opioid epidemic, street conditions and how to portray Staten Island in a positive light. Borough President Oddo also spoke of the importance of sleep, healthy eating and managing stress for teenagers.
 
On the drug epidemic, he said the crisis knows “no demographic.”
 
The schools represented included Susan E. Wagner High School, Curtis High School, Monsignor Farrell High School, New Dorp High School, Michael J. Petrides High School, Staten Island Technical High School, McKee Technical High School, Concord High School and the College of Staten Island High School for International Studies.
 
Another aspect of the day included a resource fair where Staten islanders were able to meet with representatives from 48 city agencies, cultural organizations and community groups to learn about their services and ask questions.

​We welcomed over 200 people at the event. 

Missed our BP Assist Live event? No problem, click here to learn about what our staff are up to.