District Urges Community to Vote in Fab School Labs Contest

Centereach, NY (November 13, 2015) —Middle Country Central School District’s (MCCSD) Dawnwood Middle School and Selden Middle School have both been selected as finalists in The Northrop Grumman Foundation’s Fab School Labs Contest. The Foundation has selected 20 schools nationwide as finalists, among which five schools will be selected to receive a grant of up to $100,000. The District urges residents to log on to www.facebook.com/FabSchoolLabs/ on November 17th to “like” and type their names in the comments below each school’s post to help ensure both schools receive the grant.

“At Middle Country Central School District, we are committed to providing the best educational experience possible,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Roberta Gerold. “The diligence of our faculty in entering this contest and doing such an excellent job in promoting why our students deserve a space that will take them into the next level of STEM learning should be commended. We need our community’s help in creating the critical thinkers, scientists, engineers and mathematicians of the future.”

Finalists will be selected from the most “liked” schools of the twenty finalists by 11:59 p.m. on November 17th. Community members and friends are allowed to vote for more than one school, so individuals may cast their votes for both Dawnwood Middle School and Selden Middle School.

“I’m so proud of the incredible efforts of our teachers and students in putting together entry videos that rose to the top in a field of, from what we are told, hundreds of entries from across the country,” said Selden Middle School Principal Jonathan Singer. “I believe Middle Country’s commitment to STEM education helped ensure our middle schools are the only two in New York State to have made it to this stage of the competition. What we need now is to turn out the biggest vote we possibly can on Tuesday, November 17.”

“We’re asking the community to come forward to please visit the Middle Country website www.mccsd.net and click on the banner “Fab School Labs Contest.” On Tuesday, this will link visitors directly to the voting page where they can vote for both of our schools,” said Dawnwood Middle School Principal Kristi Leonard. “Before Tuesday it will allow them to join our “event” page where they can invite friends on Facebook to sign up for a reminder to vote on November 17th.”

The middle schools’ staff will create videos detailing their vision for a “dream lab makeover” in addition to a tour of the current classroom and share it via social media. Students will help mobilize members of the Selden and Centereach communities in an effort to garner votes to win the grant.

For more information regarding the Middle Country Central School District, please visit the district’s website: www.mccsd.net or Facebook page at www.facebook.com/middlecountry/. Community members can be reminded to vote by joining Middle Country Schools’ event page at www.facebook.com/events/1656541714606845/.