Middle school is a time of change and turbulence in students’ lives –– a high-speed transition from late childhood to early adulthood. Ensuring that students make that leap in a way that respects their social and emotional needs while providing an academically rich –– and demanding –– environment is the job of the middle school principal. This coming school year, both Grand Avenue Middle School and Merrick Avenue Middle School will have new principals, each with years of experience as a classroom teacher and an administrator. more

Caryn Blum describes Merrick Avenue Middle School with a fondness she might reserve for her own home. The MAMS principal arrived at the school in 1999 after having served as a special-education teacher, department supervisor, assistant principal and principal in Brooklyn and Queens for 17 years. And over the past 13 years, she has worked to establish MAMS as a top-rated middle school not only on the South Shore, but also in national rankings. In 2008, MAMS earned the U.S. Department of Education’s highest distinction –– a Blue Ribbon. Now Blum is leaving, but she isn’t going far. more

Big, blue canvas bags labeled “Little Anne” and “Baby Anne” sat at the entrance to the Merrick Avenue Middle School gymnasium last Thursday. Spread across the shiny wooden floor in neat rows were mannequins, a.k.a. dummies. And in a corner, physical-education teachers Art Canestro, Mallory Cogen and Jason Dove were showing a film that revealed the secrets to saving a life with only your hands and mouth to a class of eighth-graders. Soon the students were kneeling before the mannequins, pumping the dummies’ chests with their locked hands and breathing into their plastic mouths. more

If you happened to notice a lot of people wearing blue shirts last week, it wasn’t a coincidence. April 2, recognized internationally as World Autism Awareness Day, was also Light it Up Blue Day, a global initiative to spread autism awareness. more

On Feb. 9, 115 French students and their families from Merrick Avenue and Grand Avenue middle schools, along with their teachers, Denise Schleith and Richard Zawislak, enjoyed an evening of French and hockey. more

Guitarist Dan Krohn, 13, a student at Merrick Avenue Middle School, rehearsed for the Nassau Music Educators Association's All-County Music Festival Division III performance at the Tilles Center, held at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookvilee on Jan. 10. Krohn, who played the guitar, was chosen from thousands of music students to perform with the finest young musicians in Nassau County. more

Merokeans of all ages flocked to the Calhoun High School cafeteria for the Kiwanis Club of Merrick’s annual pancake breakfast on Sunday. Aside from serving up pancakes, sausages, orange juice … more

School Boards Recognition Week, sponsored by the New York State School Boards Association, was held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4, and as is tradition in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, students from Grand Avenue and Merrick Avenue middle schools attended November’s Board of Education meeting to honor school trustees. The Grand Avenue chorus sang for the board, and Merrick Avenue students recited a poem that they had written, as well as offered gift baskets to each trustee. more

Merrick Avenue Middle School experienced a half-power outage on Tuesday, the first day of school, said Michelle Gagnon, a district spokeswoman. more

Merrick Avenue Middle School’s eighth-grade Writing Enrichment students recently attended a special discussion led by Maj. Al Garbarino of North Merrick, a decorated soldier who served in Iraq from 2002 to 2004. A member of the 800th Military Police Brigade, Garbarino earned the Bronze Star for his service. more