The Wading River School’s Student Council Food Drive was a resounding success.
Hundreds of pounds of donated nonperishable food items were delivered to local food pantries to help families in need this holiday season.
Teachers and student council advisers Kerryann DeMauro, Kellie McGuire, and student council members organized and distributed the donations.
The Miller Place School District lent a helping hand ahead of this Thanksgiving by hosting a series of food drives at various schools.
Students at Miller Place High School collected 800 canned and packaged goods through a Thanksgiving food drive hosted by the National Honor Society. Students collected canned soup, vegetables, cranberry sauce, stuffing, muffin mix, potatoes and grocery gift cards. The food was distributed to families in need throughout the community. Additional items will be donated to local food pantries.
At North Country Road Middle School, the student government sponsors a yearlong food drive to stock the North Country Road Middle School food pantry. Each Thanksgiving, the donations are used to create Thanksgiving meal packages that they distribute to families throughout Miller Place and Sound Beach.
Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School’s School Improvement Team (S.I.T.) Committee, run by assistant principal Nicole Farley and fifth grade students, “adopted” seven families in need in the Miller Place and Sound Beach communities. The students brought in items to put together a complete Thanksgiving meal for each family.
Andrew Muller Primary School held a food drive where students donated goods and supermarket gift cards and distributed them to local families in need ahead of the holiday. The school’s hallways were lined with boxes labeled accordingly for students to place their donations. In addition, a local catering business donated fresh turkey for families in need.
For more information about the Miller Place School District, visit the website at: www.millerplace.k12.ny.us.
Rocky Point High School senior Vivian Dorr was selected for the 2023 National Association for Music Education All-Eastern Honor Band.
In April, Vivian will have the opportunity to rehearse and perform with students from NAfME’s Eastern Division, including New England and Northeastern states, Washington, D.C., and Europe. The All-Eastern rehearsals and performances will take place from Apr. 13-16, 2023.
“This is an incredible accomplishment,” music teacher Amy Schecher said. “Vivian is a very talented young trombonist and an excellent student. She continues to impress me with her dedication to her academics, music and athletics.”
The students in the Port Jefferson School District’s International Club took a recipe including garlic, onions, carrots, chopped meat and pasta, then sprinkled heaps of kindness into the mix.
The finished meal was delivered to the residents of Hope House in Port Jefferson. The students and advisers, Kristin Britt and Jennifer Walling, will continue to provide a meal each month to Hope House.
“To be able to do this for a local organization that helps people with compassion and care is so worthwhile for our students to be involved with,” Walling said. “Helping those right in our community gives us all hope for a more thoughtful future.”
Port Jefferson Middle School hosted a festive Thanksgiving luncheon for local senior citizens on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
With turkey sandwiches stuffed with cranberries and all the trimmings, bottled waters and some tasty apple pies for dessert, the residents – including one woman who graduated from Port Jefferson High School in 1950 – enjoyed this long-time tradition.
Middle school student-musicians performed seasonal selections under Vanessa Salzman’s leadership. Several students read poetry and greeted the guests, along with student council adviser Megan Roth-Ueno and principal Brian Walker.
Northport High School social studies teacher and veteran Darryl St. George was selected by Senator James Gaughran for the 2021 New York State Veterans’ Hall of Fame. Due to the pandemic, St. George was not able to receive the traditional celebratory ceremony at the time of his induction. On November 10, 2022, Senator Gaughran visited Northport High School to present Mr. St. George with his award during a surprise ceremony.
With many of St. George’s students and colleagues filling the high school commons, Superintendent of Schools Robert Banzer and Chairperson for Social Studies Sean Hurley welcomed Senator Gaughran in advance of Veteran’s Day, thanking him for his continued support of our schools. Senator Gaughran then spoke about the hard work of our veterans.
“We are very blessed in our country and in our community that we have people who step forward. They step forward to protect us, step forward to protect our democracy,” Senator Gaughran said. “In our community, we have a lot of great people who have done this and who have worked very hard to protect us and then go on when they come back to work in our community and to help not only fellow veterans, but to help educate and help move our society forward.”
While St. George was aware he had received this award in 2021, the ceremony came as a surprise as he was called to the podium as the NYS Veteran of the Year in Senate District 5. During his time in the navy and stationed in Afghanistan, St. George obtained the rank of 3rd Class Petty Officer, Fleet Marine Force (F.M.F. Corpsman) and earned many awards for his service.
When addressing his colleagues and students, St. George was emotional as he spoke about his hope for the future and how his students continuously inspire him. “Every day when I work with you students, that’s where I get my inspiration from,” he said.
According to the NYS Senate website, the Veterans’ Hall of Fame “was created to honor and recognize outstanding veterans from the Empire State who have distinguished themselves both in military and civilian life.”
Suffolk County Community College’s Solar Installer Certificate Program recently graduated an inaugural class of 13 certified installers including a father and son team – Gabriel and Nicholas Gomez.
The 50-hour Solar Installer Certificate Program is hands-on, taught by industry experts, includes a paid externship with a local solar company and the opportunity to earn an OSHA 10 certificate, a Fall Prevention Safety Certificate and a Suffolk County Community College Completion Certificate.
“Career-connected workforce programs are essential to the success of our local economy and will spur a new generation of upwardly mobile Suffolk County residents,” said Suffolk County Community College President Dr. Edward Bonahue. “Together with industry partners, we continue to innovate new ways to deliver short-term career-focused education that prepares students to be immediately ready to work,” Bonahue said.
The course of study covered topics such as fall prevention safety, basic construction, and electric and solar technologies.
The students built a mock roof and mounted solar panels utilizing assorted industry racking systems.
Several students secured jobs in the solar industry immediately after the program’s completion and several others are awaiting interviews.
The program is accepting applications for its March 2023 class. Visit: https://www.sunysuffolk.edu/about-suffolk/sustainability/courses.jsp#tab-d16e3-2
For more information, contact Melanie Morris-Carsch, [email protected], 631-851-6414.
Mount Sinai’s student government members featured the 12th edition of their “Safe Trick or Treat” celebration on Saturday, Oct. 29, drawing over 1,100 trick-or-treaters, according to student government faculty advisor Roger Cardo.
Admission was free, although donations were welcomed to cover the cost of all the candy and refreshments.
Non-perishable food items were collected to benefit local food kitchens. The students set up the night before and were in at 7 a.m. to finish setting up more than a dozen rooms, which included the Haunted Hallway, Best Buddies, the Ocean Bowl and the Balloon Room, to name a few.
Mr. Cardo credited the large turnout to word of mouth, the fliers that were circulated at the middle school, along with the efforts of more than 30 student government members, and seniors Destina Erden, Amanda Audia, Kate Rubino and Amr Ali. Fun was had by all.
— Photos by Bill Landon
Last weekend, Comsewogue celebrated Homecoming, and students participated in Spirit Week all week to show their school spirit.
Spirit week kicked off Tuesday after schools were closed Monday for Columbus Day. Tuesday was “Character Day,” Wednesday was “Decades Day,” followed by “America Day” on Thursday, and “Class Color Day” on Friday. In addition, students competed in a hallway decorating contest and a trivia contest.
On Friday, students followed a shortened bell schedule so the entire school could participate in this year’s pep rally. At noon, students made their way from the classrooms to the bleachers, then players of all sports teams were announced and cheered. Between the name announcements, students and teachers participated in fun games such as a relay race, a mummy wrap, and a timeless favorite, musical chairs.
Then Saturday was the highly anticipated Homecoming Game. Easily conveyed by unique grade-level floats, the theme for this year was movies. Freshmen crafted a special “Lego Movie” themed float. Sophomores were inspired by the movie “Up.” Juniors chose the film “Toy Story.” Seniors created an “Alice in Wonderland” float.
The festivities started with a Costume Fun Run at 10 a.m. Participants dressed up as their favorite characters and ran around the high school track for as long as they chose. By noon, the Homecoming Parade was in full swing.
Launched from JFK Middle School, parade marchers included the PJSTA Teachers Union; the Comsewogue School District Board of Education; Jennifer Quinn, superintendent of schools; and Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook).
The Terryville Fire Department also joined the procession, making its way down Jayne Blvd, heading for the high school, and throwing candy to spectators along the way.
Once the procession reached the high school, all enjoyed a homecoming carnival. Children had their faces painted by teachers, spent some time in a bouncy house, or tried to ‘sink’ an educator in the dunk tank. This was the second “normal” Homecoming since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person social gatherings. And it was even bigger than last year’s event.
Teachers, administrators, and parents volunteered much of their time to make this event possible. “We believe Homecoming is really enjoyed by everyone,” said principal Mike Mosca, “It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”
Part of the Comsewogue district’s mission is to promote inclusivity. For this reason, the Special Education Parent Teacher Association had organized a designated “Quiet Area” for students with sensory sensitivities.
At 4 p.m., just before kickoff, Hall of Fame inductees were recognized on the field. Earlier that day, these stars enjoyed a luncheon inside the school, where plaques were unveiled.
Quinn was pleased with the celebration: “It’s always fun whenever families and teachers get together like this,” she said.
— Photos courtesy CSD
The Rocky Point Union Free School District Board of Education convened Monday, Oct. 17, for a public meeting.
Proceedings commenced with a brief presentation by the district superintendent, Scott O’Brien, recognizing school board appreciation month in the district. In his presentation, O’Brien discussed the vital work performed by school board members in educating students and advancing the community’s educational aims.
“School board members give Rocky Point citizens a voice in education decision-making,” he said. “Even though we make a special effort to show our appreciation this month, their contribution is certainly a year-round commitment.”
During the meeting, the board unanimously approved a resolution to accept the donation of posters by Sound Beach resident Ernestine Franco. These posters, valued at approximately $130, are related to diversity, equity and inclusion, colloquially known as DEI.
“I am happy that the posters were accepted,” she said. “I hope that this means that the board supports inclusiveness.”
This poster donation comes on the heels of months of tension between the school board and some in the public after the board reversed its long-standing practice of accepting book donations. [See story, “Rocky Point BOE reverses practice on book donations, causes controversy,” The Village Beacon Record, Aug. 11, also TBR News Media website.]
Despite this recent history, Franco viewed the outcome of Monday’s decision as a positive step, signaling a possible cooling of tensions.
“We were also happy that they accepted the donation as a way for the community to participate in school activities,” she said, adding, “For us, this was a way for them to say, ‘Yes, you can be a part of this.’”
During the public comments portion of the meeting, Bea Ruberto, president of the Sound Beach Civic Association, shared news of an upcoming memorial event to be held at the hamlet’s Veterans Memorial Park. Scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 22, at 1 p.m., community members will celebrate the life of Ann Moran, a former teacher in the district and treasurer of the civic.
“This Saturday, we are holding a celebration of her life,” Ruberto said. “She was a force to be reckoned with, and she will be missed very much.” Ruberto invited those in attendance to join for Saturday’s service.
The BOE will reconvene on Monday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium.
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