February 4, 2022 | Issue No. 6
Plainedge Students Excel in the Classroom, on the Field, and in the Performing Arts
A Message from Superintendent Dr. Edward A. Salina, Jr.
In Plainedge, we strive to educate the whole child. Over the last few months, we have had a student named as “prestigious Regeneron semi-finalist.” Our fall sports teams have been crowned “Scholar-Athlete Teams,” by New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA), and some of our athletes have been selected to be a part of the All-State team and have been honorably mentioned in Newsday's Top 100. Our students have also shown off their musical talents through a series of winter concerts.
 
I am excited to announce the launch of our brand new mobile-friendly website. This upgrade will let the district communicate better with our parents, students, and the residents of the Plainedge School District community. I encourage everyone to check out the new site and frequently visit for updates.
 
Plainedge Public Schools, Where Everyone Achieves.
Plainedge Schools- Where Everyone Achieves
Scholar-Athlete Joe Iadevaio, along with our fall sports athletes, star in this informative video "Come and rediscover one of the best public schools on Long Island. Get out and support our always competitive top athletic programs and our arts and music programs which are supported by a caring team of educators, award-winning administrators, and our Board of Education. Get to know us on Facebook and Instagram and don’t forget to sign up for our monthly email newsletter at PlainedgeSchools.org. Plainedge Public Schools – "Where Everyone Achieves."
Plainedge Welcomes Our New Basketball Coach
Coach John Mateyko enters his first season at Plainedge highschool as our Varsity Boys Basketball head coach. Coach Mateyko brought with him more than two decades of coaching experience. He began his NCAA career as head coach at Division III St. Joseph's College in 2001-2014. His talents brought him to Dowling College for the 2014-2016 seasons, 2016-2018 Five Towns College, and 2018-2020 at Iona College. 

Plainedge Athletic Director, T.J. Burke believes “We were very lucky to get Coach Mateyko to come to Plainedge. I’ve known him through the basketball world and found out he was not coaching this year and we connected. His experience and knowledge of the game as well as recruiting is what makes him perfect for us. Coach cannot only help basketball players with recruitment to college but all our other student-athletes as well. Like any program we have, we want our student-athletes to make school the first priority and the sport the second. We’ve been very fortunate at Plainedge that this already is the foundation of our athletics. Last year, every varsity team we had was named a Scholar-Athlete team by New York State. We were only 1 of 8 schools in Nassau County, out of 57, to achieve this.”

When preparing for the upcoming season, Coach Mateyko knew that when individuals think of Plainedge athletics, they first think about football. However, he was ready to take on the challenge to excite players about our basketball program. Coach Mateyko was eager to get to work after he saw the raw talent these students had at our open gyms early on in the season. He shares that the team’s practice environment and atmosphere absolutely leads to successful gameplay, “I’ve never had a player be late for practice. These boys are passionate and they work hard.” The team’s fast running style mimics a Division 1 basketball playbook, which the boys really enjoy. “We have really good motors. We’re offense-oriented and we are a shooting team -Our mentality is don’t be afraid to shoot the ball.” 

He looks forward to a successful season, building a winning program for Plainedge sports, and inspiring our athletes to perform to the best of their abilities every day. It has been 15 years since the Red Devils boys basketball team has made the playoffs, but under Coach Mateyko's leadership, that streak has now been broken with the Boys Basketball team qualifying for this year's playoffs.
 
Coach appreciates the warm welcome and feels fortunate to be a part of the Plainedge community. He’s extremely proud of this team and appreciates the fans that come out to support the players. He’s looking forward to the rest of the season, and seeing the boys' hard work pay off. 
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100% of Fall Teams Named Scholar-Athletes
We are beaming with pride to announce that 100% of our high school fall sports are Scholar-Athlete teams recognized by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA). There are not many schools that can say ALL their fall teams have 75% of their team members with a 90% or better average on the roster. This past September, Plainedge High School was recognized as one of eight schools in Nassau County to have all Fall/Winter/Spring teams named Scholar-Athlete teams. There are 56 schools districts in Nassau, and only eight made it last year! Congratulations to our student-athletes. This is why we can easily say that Plainedge is one of the best public schools on Long Island!
Plainedge Student Named Semifinalist in Regeneron Science Contest
Pictured above is Regeneron semifinalist Reem Hamdan
Congratulations to Reem Hamdan, who has been named a semifinalist for the prestigious Regeneron science contest! Reem's project focused on AI Epidemiology: a linear regression modeling and structured machine learning protocol for the analysis of Alzheimer’s Disease genomic data. She is one of 300 seniors who are chosen nationwide to compete! The scholars and their schools each will be awarded $2,000.
Check Out Our New District Website
Ready- Set-Launch! Check out our brand new mobile-friendly website. This new website will be a hub for information and stories from the district. Some items that can be found on the new website include information for parents on our district's programs, forms for parents, helpful links for parents and students, as well as links to our school pages. Click here to see the new site and make sure to check back regularly for important updates.
Winter Concerts Highlight the Talent of Plainedge Students
Over the past two months, our schools have been holding their winter concerts. During the past two weeks, the final concerts were held highlighting the talents of our elementary school students. All of our performers have worked so hard to learn their music and have made great strides since the beginning of the school year. Click on the image above to watch a short video of our John H. West Senior Chorus practicing before their concert on January 19th.
All-State and Top 100 Athletes
Pictured above is Kerri Svraka
In other big news, Kerri Svraka made the Newsday Top 100 of Girls Basketball on Long Island. Kerri is a lethal threat from the three point range, a good scorer, and a great team leader. Kerri is being sought out pursued by several colleges and we are so very proud of her accomplishments. Congratulations Kerri!
Six Plainedge Athletes Named All-Star Athletes
Pictured above are (L-R) Travis Shaver, James Corke, Thomas Everding, Dylan Pepe,
Pictured above are (L-R) Shane Mosia, Vin Petzold, and Joe Iadevaio
GO RED DEVILS: We are excited to announce that we have six student-athletes from our Varsity Football team named as All-State athletes! This is a prestigious honor that recognizes the top Class A football players. Plainedge would like to congratulate Joe Iadevaio, Thomas Everding, Travis Shaver, Vin Petzold, Shane Mosia, James Corke, and Dylan Pepe. These student-athletes work hard both on and off the field and deserve this recognition!
Can we reply to this Plainedge Now email?
The quick answer is no. It is important to note that when we send out The Plainedge Now e-newsletter, responses are not monitored and are not replied to. If you have any school-related questions, please contact the district office at 516-992-7450. #WeArePlainedge