A PTW St. Paddy's Day Luncheon and Dance to Remember!

A Fun, “Super Fun” Flex Friday took place on March 21st and wow was it a rockin’ good time. I think the idea started when Mr Tom saw Finley the mascot at a recent Long Island Nets game where our friend's organization Positive Community Connections sung the National Anthem to open the game! Yes Finely, Mr. and Mrs. Met, Quacker Jack and a bunch of other mascots were in the house that night. After telling Molly the next day about the event Finley’s lounge popped into the conversation and that is where the location of the next Flex Friday came to be. The nice dietary and event productions staff at LIU were a pleasure to work with and they definitely did not disappoint! On the morning of the event the PTW students helped Mr Tom with equipment, carrying speakers to the venue, wires, games,.. It was a nice help. Pierre from LIU dietary did a nice with the setup and made sure the students were well taken care of during the event. We had special guest team members from the women’s lacrosse team and yes coach Meg was in the house as well. Her students always do a great job with hosting an on campus work program with our second year students on Thursdays. The LIU Women's lax teammates assist our students in helping out in the locker room, at the actual team practices, and with recruiting data. They are all awesome! They also seemed to enjoy our party. Some of the young ladies could be seen dancing, laughing, and socializing with the PTW students. Both first and second year students were in attendance for this event and there were many great interactions taking place! The food was served with delicious salad, chicken fingers, pizza, and my favorite may have been the green leprechaun punch!!! It must have been the sugar in that punch because the party sure did take off in a hurry. With cool Cassidy MCing, the karaoke jam with each student absolutely killing it one song after another it quickly turned into a concert/dance party with dance moves by Dasha, Avi, Alex, Matt, Quinn, Cara, the list goes on!  Let’s not forget to mention long time professional DJ Danny Rock of Move Music who tore it up at PTW’s St. Paddy’s Day luncheon. Danny was amazing and has made numerous fans at PTW in a short period of time. Cass, Avi, and Alex closed out this fantastic party with some very kind words to Tom and Molly thanking them for their great experience at PTW. They are part of PTW’s senior class who will be graduating this August. Right back at you gang, Molly and I are proud of you all for the incredible efforts and accomplishments that you have made during your time here at PTW!  It was an incredible luncheon and dance party filled with great energy and our PTW family created that wonderful positive atmosphere that we all enjoyed on that very day! It was like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and celebrating it with all our PTW friends!   Thomas

I had an amazing time at the st paddy's day at finley's underneath shark bite. This was my first time going to finley's because I walked over it multiple times when we were having  lunch shark bite. Everyone was there including our favorite friend Quinn because we missed her as our second year student friend. We all ate declous food. We had pizzas, Chicken tenders and fries. I finally got to meet Danny D rock. He was amazing DJing with our favorite man Shawn because I didn't get to see him for a month because I was at Great wolf lodge with my family for winter vacation.  This was the best st paddy's day party ever and that event will never be forgotten.  - Carlos

On friday we had a St. Paddy's Day Luncheon at Finleys at LIU Post. With my friends DJ 

Danny D Rock playing music at Finleys. We had pizza and Fries and water. I talked to friends at the Party. Cassidy did Karaoke with everybody. We danced and sang. I had the best ever. I wish to go back again. - Shawn

I like how we had the FLEX Friday Saint Patrick's Day party.

I like how I listened to Katy Perry's song Firework,Miley Cyrus's song Party In The U.S.A and Harry Styles's song Watermelon Sugar.

Being with my friends. - Margaret Lindquist. 

My experience at The St. Patrick's Day Party was Fun. I had Chicken Fingers,  French Fries and Pizza. Finlies  were amazing and The green lights were pretty good and Fun. Cassidy's singing was very good and amazing .  I saw Justin , Emily and Andres. I also Play Pool. Met The Girls Lacrosse Team. - Jake

That morning i was not feeling like going but then i decided to go and it was fun. I enjoyed playing pool. I had two slices of pizza for lunch. Karaoke was crazy.  Harrison

I talked to girls on the lacrosse team and played games, played pool,  WWE memory game.  

Cool karaoke good food Cathine, Maya   - Emily

On 3/21/2025 we went to Finley's at LIU-Post for a St. Patrick's Day Party. The party was fun! Quinn, one of our graduated students came as well. It was great seeing her again. - Daniel Purcell

PTW St Patrick's  day dance at finley's  and i meet the lacrosse girls we were talking and hanging out we were talking sports and me and Emily played the matched game WWE and also we played pool and the DJ was awesome i did enrique enrique  i like it and the food was good i had a good time and i saw Avi, Cassidy, Emily,Catherine,Maya, I can't wait to see them next year and we talked about wrestling.  -Andres

I had fun at St. Patrick's party I enjoy the food and being with my friends  

- Kiara 

At the St. Patrick day party we had pizza and soda and music and games and a DJ had fun the pizza was good and the soda was good. I had fun talking to my friends.  

The 1st and 2nd year students came together once again to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at Finley's which is a party place with a bar located in the downstairs area of Shark Bite Cafeteria. I talked with pretty much everyone there but mostly with lacrosse girls which I obviously flirted with (LOL) . For lunch I had 2 slices of cheese pizza, a bottle of Coca-Cola, and also a fudge brownie. Then, my favorite part of the party was karaoke which was my idea in the first place. I chose to go for karaoke singing P!nk's song Get The Party Started which was released in 2001. I also had some dance moves to go with it which I also sported a green St. Patrick's Day Hat. The party was so much fun and I had a blast. I hope I get to have another super fun party soon!

- Alex

Well call me a newsie selling papers the st paddy's day party was a blast i felt like my dad at the concerts he goes to thank you tom and molly for letting me be the mc both are the best 

Cass

I had a blast at this fun event and I was having fun dancing and me and Justin started it. The food was good and I had really fun socializing with everyone who was there. Everyone was cheering for me because I had legendary dance moves and I really appreciated it and the experience was really fun for me.  It was a day to remember  and I ended up having the best day of my life and I hope for more party's like this. Dasha

Open Gym Demonstration

A couple weeks ago Tom met Prof. Irwin at the PTW’s Flex Friday Outing at the LIU’s Men’s Ice Hockey Game on February 14^th. Prof. Irwin is an adaptive physical education teacher at LIU that teaches his students how to be teachers. Tom explained about what our program was about, Positive Transitions to Work. He told him that the class learns about different job types. Both thought it was a great idea to collaborate with his students doing an open gym demonstration.

         On March 19, 2025 the class went to Pratt Athletic Center to enjoy the demonstration. Prof. Irwin had 12 of his students run different sports. Some of the sports that were included were, soccer, basketball, badminton, floor hockey, spike ball, and a parachute game.  The LIU students were very friendly and helpful. Will, Stephanie, Gavin, Isabella, and Emily helped us a lot.  They even invited the PTW class to another field day event in April that they put on for the whole college. - Brad

Professor Erwin spotted the PTW participants at the LIU Sharks Ice hockey game back on Feb 14th at the Northwell Ice Rink! After chatting with Mr. Tom PTW was destined to meet up with Prof Irwin and his LIU students who are all studying to become teachers. All of Irwin's students are talented athletes and we also discovered the other day that they are also awesome individuals as well. PTW first year students were pumped up and ready to go when Wednesday 3/19 arrived. The PTW first year class had recently carried out some really well executed group projects on the job title “Recreation Therapists” so we were in the mindset of participating in some activities that required some physical movement for fun, exercise, and therapeutic type of secondary gains. For the march over to the Pratt Athletic Center as well as the walk back we were in good spirits and ready to go! We were definitely impressed by Irwin’s students with their friendliness, welcoming attitudes, fun natured ways, and their passion for physical activities and various games that they all hosted at various stations. Irwin’s leadership permeated throughout the session with great vibes behind it all. The Asst. Dean of College of Education, Information and Technology at LIU was present Cary Epstein, and he was enjoying watching the students doing a great job interacting with the PTW participants.  Please take a look at the photos to tell the story of how the session went!  During the walk back to class I couldn't help but notice the PTW students voicing out how much fun they had. Emily, Christopher, Justin, Andres, Alexander,... were all making such positive comments about their experience that they just had at the Open Gym session with Prof Irwin and his students Joey, Sal, Joe C., Thomas, Matt, Isabella, Will, Gavin, Joe R., Jared, Stephanie, and Emily.

Great job everyone!

Thomas

Quotes from PTW students

I loved it. It was so fun, I got to meet a lot of pals and friends. Like Emily, and Will. Will was at a hockey activity. Joe was at soccer, we got to kick the ball and then use different skills to perfect our kicking. It was very fun with the music and the ambience. It felt like I was a kid again in the gym environment. The gym environment was a great experience for kids who want to make new friends and create a new environment. I loved Emily. She was so funny and caring. And I loved Joe too. He was very into the soccer event, I loved the way the activities were prepared and used different strategies to give us a challenge. I would give Professor Irwin's class a 10/10! I will give Professor Irwin's class 10 stars! - Christopher

''My experience with Professor Irwins was an absolute ball!  Hahaha, all of his students were very nice and inclusive. My favorite games we played in his class were floor hockey with Will, and parachute with Bella and Emily. Playing the parachute was a huge blast from the past from Kindergarten and First Grade!  I enjoyed myself so much and I really hope to meet with this class again!''

- Andy Anasa 

My experience at badminton was fun with Matt and Gavin and I also went to the parachute was also fun Emely and Isabella and then I went over and experienced some hockey with Jake and Andy and that was fun to overall professor Irwin’s gym class was a 10 out of 10 there’s a lot of stuff that I liked to do. By Daniella 

I liked how both Matt and Gavin encouraged me when they were teaching me how to play badminton, even when I wasn’t all that confident in myself. They told me that I was doing a good job both hitting and serving the shuttlecock, and I felt better about my own abilities. It was a little noisy, but I had a fun time playing anyway.   -Javi

 I liked playing Soccer and Floor Hockey. The Music in The Gym was very good.   - Jake

On Wednesday prof Irwin Meet Thomas Stephanine joe Gavin Bella Emily player soccer, badmitton, parachute, and basketball 

- Emily

I worked with Joey and Sal I played field hockey  It was fun.  - Alexander

Experience parachute hockey spike ball soccer badminton i have fun with my group its was very fun I did see the professor Irwin 10/10 group picture with everybody - Kevin

PTW Students Continue to Take Steps to Prepare for the World of Work!

We all here at PTW kept hearing about this special event and in turn planned our schedule out to attend this resume & cover letter workshop, but what was this presentation all about??? With the ingredients such as the Gold Coast Cinema, Trey of Student Success and Coaching Dept. and Elaine Boylan of the Alumni Dept in attendance things started to really feel that we were in for a great presentation. PTW came prepared with resumes in hand and amazing questions that were posed to Trey. The PTW second year students have been working hard to earn a Work Readiness Certificate from Celebrate Edu as part of their PTW program. Having a great resume is a component of this specific course from Celebrate Edu and a major goal that these students are aiming for. Both Trey and Elaine were fantastic in helping the PTW students learn ways to shape their resumes to the best that they can be giving each and every second year PTW student their generous time and knowledge on the oh so ever important task of having a good resume. Thank you Trey and Elaine for an excellent workshop PTW truly walked away with more knowledge on the subject and the individualized feedback that you both provided was extremely helpful.

I like learning these life lessons throughout my life.

Getting prepared for my resume.

Before I try to get a job someday.

When it is the right time.

The presentation Trey gave us was very helpful. The part where he gave us the tips of what to avoid on a resume was useful to our knowledge. And let's not forget about the cover letters, too! Spot on, fellas. Well done. - Caleb

I liked the presentation on résumés and cover letters. I got to learn more about them. I learned the dos and don'ts of what to put on them. The presentation was great overall and I got some advice on how to improve mine. - Daniel Purcell

Hillwood Commons Club Tabling Event

On 2/13/2025, I went to a table event at Hillwood Commons where they advertised clubs at LIU-Post. I asked some questions about what the clubs do and what they’re doing at the tables they set up. Psychology Club: A club that raises mental awareness. They had a service dog named August. It reminds me of an episode from Bob’s Burgers where Nicholas Donahue has an emotional support dog named Lars. The American Club: They had a table where you could write Valentine’s Day cards to veterans. I did take a card that I plan to send to a veteran. Circle K International Club: A club that volunteers to help the community. Their table had sweet samples for the Lunar New Year. I have been participating in Key Club during my High School years and I hope to join Circle K International Club to continue in Kiwanis. - Daniel Purcell

Interesting On Campus Activities!

PTW First Flex Friday of the Year was Awesome!

1/11/25  It was a very cold week although a nice first week back to PTW. What a nice way to start our semester in attending a performance at the Tilles Center called Kattam. Many students from the PTW program were in attendance from both classes, the 1st year students as well as the 2nd year students. Mr Tom also had his students from Southside HS attend who he sees on Wednesday mornings at Nassau Community College. So when Mr Tom was called up on stage by Kattam during the performance to interact with his monkey Takoum , (thanks to his students Matthew, Avi, and Cassidy begging Kattam to pick him), there were many of his students cheering and enjoying a lil unexpected extra fun! The show was an amazing multicultural adventure with sounds and instruments from different parts of Africa. We also had an incredible dance session with the sounds and dance styles of India, particularly, the Bhangra dance. We clapped, danced, shouted, laughed, and sang words of foreign languages. What a show! We all had lunch together at the Hillwood Commons cafeteria after the show. Fun Flex Friday special group event at PTW.  -Thomas

I went to a show with the first year students and the south side high school I had a good time at the show. After the show we all had lunch together.   - Kiara 

It was very amazing and very cool and the part where Tom went up on stage was really funny.  - Cassidy  

I liked how Kattam played different instruments for us like the djembe in Guinea and the derbouka and how everyone danced and moved to the left and when he said can anybody named countries in Africa like Morocco, South Africa, Egypt I thought it was fun and also when Tom came up on the stage as well Avi, Cassidy and Matt did a good job I enjoyed it - Jared

I saw Kattam at the Titles Center at LIU Post. It was good and I liked it. I liked the monkey puppet. The drums were good. I think people should see it.  -Jake

Seeing the Kattam show was awesome. Kattam showed us the different types of instruments that came from different countries such as marraco, africa, and india. The way he used the microphone in a different tone and different voice is that using the sound speaker makes the voice more different. Kattman is a funny musician because he does lots of gags and makes funny humor. When Kattman said I need one teacher Avi, Cassidy, Matt and all of us choose Tom to participate. Here's a fact Tom didn't know that he was going to participate. but he did an awesome job using the microphone and making different voices. The part of Tom participating at the show made our day even better. I would like to thank Tom for choosing this fun friday because this one is one of the best fun friday events ever. - Carlos 

Interesting On Campus Activities!

Exploring Rainbow Coalition club at the Hillwood commons: 

At Hillwood Commons, a desk represented the newly formed Rainbow Coalition, offering LGBTQ themed stickers and pins for students to take. The club’s main objective is to spread LGBTQ awareness through membership and community engagement. By providing a safe space, the organization facilitates connections among like-minded individuals and promotes tolerance. The future plans include clothing drive for transgender students, striving for an inclusive environment. 

9/26/2024 - Matthew Tolson 

Tilles JAZZ Fest 24- July 20th 2024

The Tilles JAZZ Fest 24 took place July 20th 2024 on the campus of LIU Post. What a wonderful event! Vendors, food trucks, concert stages could be seen scattered across the campus and Great Lawn of our beautiful campus. There was some serious jazz being played on this day and as you walked along the path one group of musicians after other could be discovered playing their instruments and style of jazz in hidden corners of the campus. Good Trouble put forth a beautiful set led by LIU Professor Jeff Lederer on the tenor sax. One of my favorite songs of the day was sung by Dawn Clement playing in Good Trouble. She was an incredible pianist and had a beautiful voice singing a rendition of John Denver's Sunshine on My Shoulders. I was definitely feeling it as the sun shined down on us all on this special day. Afterwards I stumbled upon the Winnick House where Mariel Bildsten and her Quintet were letting loose! It was amazing, so nice to hear these sounds live on this campus. Just outside the Winnick House in the Rose Garden I got to catch a duo playing the harp and the double bass. My wife Diane and I had some treats to eat and some cold beverages on this hot summer day. This was just the day portion of the event, the sold out performance of Brandford Marsalis was later on that evening and Im sure that packed a serious punch! Congrats to our friends Megan, Stephanie, Tom, and all those at the Tilles Center and beyond who made this event possible. I will be in attendance next year, as the first of what is said to be an annual event was a big success! - Thomas

Campus Activity- petting zoo

Today there was a petting zoo on campus with lots of animals. Although it wasnt really a good to be outside it was really cold out and hands got numb from the cold so i took a few photos and when back inside

-Ben

Today we went to the annual petting zoo on LIU’s great lawn. The animals were cute. There were bunnies, ducks, sheeps, a bull, goats, and even a baby goat named Biscuit. I also got to holded Biscuit. The only downside was it was raining, but it was still good to see the animals. - Brian F.

Today I went to the annual petting zoo at the LIU great lawn.  There was goats, even a baby one, a bull, llamas, sheep, ducks, and two bunnies. It was under a tent so everyone and the animals don't get wet. Even though it was rainy and cold I still had a nice time otherwise. It also made me happy since being around animals is therapy for me. I even fed some of the goats.  -Cara (D)

campus activity

Greek week can stacking contest 

by Victoria Reckert 

Eight fraternities and sororities competed to create the best can sculpture. They were broken up into four teams and had to make a sculpture with a decade theme. This is an exercise in teamwork and communication. At the end all of the cans get donated to Island Harvest. Everybody was having fun     

The campus activity for today the Greek week stack a can I spoke to a student and explained to me. They gather caned food, see who has the most, then will make a figure with the cans the winner gets a certificate then the cans are donated to a food pantry.

I visted another table in which for $2 you can paint a butterfly.the proceeds go to cleft lip and palate foundation

PTW Goes Together to Watch the Peking Acrobats at the Tilles Center!!!

On Friday April 5th PTW watched an amazing show at the Tilles Ceneter Main Concert Hall Stage! Let's hear from what the students had to say about the Peking Acrobats show!

Today we want to see a show about performers from China doing incredible feats, and I loved it! My favorite part was especially the group where they balanced a yo-yo like toy across a long string and also the group where they went through a lot of hoops, some big, some small. I would really like to see another show like this some time.
- Caleb

Halloween Movie Bingo Presented by the

Black Student Union

On Campus Activity, me, Cara and Robbie went to the Halloween Movie Bingo game by the Black Student Union. It was so much fun!!!!  I won bingo and I got a tote bag it's so cute I love it. - Quinn  10/19/23