Cooper–Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

On Tuesday, March 24th, both the year one and two of Commack's IB Design Technology classes took a field trip to the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. The museum was founded in 1896 and was originally named the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration and was owned by the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. It is one of the only museums in the United States that is devoted to historical and contemporary design. Its exhibitions explore nearly 240 years of design and aesthetic creativity.

The museum was an interactive experience for students with exhibits that focused on the IB Design Technology curriculum. It was an opportunity for students to apply their classroom knowledge to actual designs and creations found within the museum. After entering, each student was given a pen, which was a storage device for certain exhibits and descriptions throughout the museum. Whenever a student came across an exhibit he or she liked, she could place the top of the pen on a "+" sign that was found at each exhibit. This connection would then allow the student to access his or her saved exhibitions on the internet by using the link that was provided with each pen.

Below are some pictures of students and exhibits:

After spending several hours at the museum, we concluded our trip with a stroll through Central Park and a meal at Dallas Barbecue. 

~Ashley Cooper

National Technical Honor Society Inductions

On Tuesday, March 17th, the Commack Chapter of the National Technical Honor Society inducted its twenty new members. The Commack High School Chapter of the Technology Honor Society is the local chapter of the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS), an internationally recognized and proven program with thousands of member schools and colleges. We are a service organization dedicated to helping the CHS community with the use and application of technology. The mission of the Technology Honor Society is to promote and recognize students’ technological literacy, including the creative and responsible use of technology, scholarship, commitment to service, and leadership. Although membership is not guaranteed, all applicants were assessed on the following criteria:

A. Basic Technological Literacy

B. An Overall GPA of 85 or better

C. A minimum of one technology course, with a GPA of 90 or better in all technology courses.

D. Applicant must be in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.

E. Willingness to provide creative and responsible technological service to both the school and the community.

F. Membership for any person shall be subject to the approval of the officers and advisors. 
These twenty students completed all of the rigorous steps and made it into the honor society. Once members are chosen to be in the honor society, they are required to accumulate forty points by the end of their senior years in order to receive an honor chord. These points can be earned by attending monthly meetings, purchasing and wearing a NTHS t-shirt, attending events/competitions, tutoring, and more.

Our night began with some memorable speeches from our advisor, Mr. Castrogivanni, and our four officers. In between, we had a special guest speaker from New York Institute of Technology. Judy Murrah is a dean of engineering and also the founder of the NYIT Connect-To-Tech Engineering & Technology High School Showcase Competition, which Commack has participated in since it began in 2012. Both the parents and students were charmed by Judy's past successes and her present positions at NYIT.

Below are some pictures from the ceremony:

   We even ended the night by singing "Happy Birthday" to our awesome advisor and celebrating with a cake!

~Ashley Cooper