<b> this is funny and sad at the same time </b>
Furor over dean's spelling-challenged note
BY NICOLE BODE and ERIN EINHORN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
A dean at a Staten Island middle school was so fed up with the food fights at lunch that he hastily sent home a letter riddled with meaty errors that most of his students wouldn't make.
Intermediate School 51 Dean Michael Levy explained to parents that the "caferteria" had garbage "an all tables."
This behavior, he wrote, was "unexcecpable," and all eighth-graders in IS 51's health academy could lose out on senior "activates" like the prom and class trip.
In addition to at least 16 spelling or grammatical mistakes, the letter - first reported in the Staten Island Advance - was never approved by Principal Emma Della Rocca.
"I would never have anticipated that ... Mr. Levy would actually write something that would have not been readable," Della Rocca said.
She's investigating both the letter and the food fight that started it all. Though the letter told parents that all eighth-graders in the health academy - one of three theme-based academies in the school - would be punished for Monday's food fight, Della Rocca said only kids found responsible will be disciplined.
Consequences for Levy will be determined after a disciplinary hearing tomorrow, she said.
Levy did not return calls, but students say he told them he wrote the letter quickly. One student said she received the letter about 45 minutes after the lunch period ended on Monday.
"I didn't really pay any attention to the spelling," said eighth-grader Veronica Kessler, 13, who was more upset that she could be punished for a food fight she hadn't even seen. "When we read it, me and my friends were freaking out," she said.
Students coming out of the school yesterday were lau***ng at the spelling mistakes. Looking at the word "unexcecpable," one student said she knew it was wrong: "Where's the 'T' at?" she asked.
Parents who saw the letter had a mixed response.
"When you're taking care of a lot of children, it's no big deal that he misspelled a word," said Karen Del Grosso. "We all make mistakes."
John Jelcic, the father of a sixth-grader, said he's more concerned about rowdy conditions in the slightly overcrowded middle school.
"Every day they have a food fight," he said, noting that he plans to transfer his son.
But Rajiv Gowda, the father of an eighth-grader and the president of the local Community Education Council, called for Levy's firing.
"This sends a bad message and sets a bad example," Gowda said. "We are for zero tolerance when kids make a mistake. What is good for the goose is good for the gander."
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