Smithtown HS West Senior Josie Muratore wins historical society essay contest

Smithtown High School West senior Josie Muratore fondly recalls her experience at Smithtown Elementary School. “Smithtown El gives all of its students a chance to be creative,” Muratore said. “They really always made me feel safe. Every single teacher I had made a really big impact on me and who I am now. I just love everyone I ever met at that school.”

Muratore was so moved by her experience, she profiled the school’s history as part of the Smithtown Historical Society’s Mildred Smith Historical Essay Contest. And her entry now has been selected as the winner. Muratore will receive a $1,000 scholarship, which will be awarded at the Historical Society’s Heritage Ball at the Watermill on Nov. 4. Her essay also will be published in the Heritage Ball Journal.

The Smithtown Historical Society has sponsored the Mildred Smith Historical Essay Contest for the past 15 years. It is open to all 11th graders attending High School East and High School West as well as Commack, Hauppauge and Kings Park high schools and the Knox School and Smithtown Christian School.

Mildred Smith helped found the Smithtown Historical Society and served as the organization’s first president. She possessed an intense passion for the history of Smithtown.

As part of her five-page essay detailing Smithtown Elementary School’s history, Muratore wrote:  “Smithtown was in need of a new school to accommodate its post-World War II growing population. In 1948, the Smithtown Central School District held a vote to purchase 12 acres of the Charles D. Miller Estate, and groundbreaking of the new building began in December 1949. The design of the new building was made to accommodate the children and make them feel welcome, according to The Smithtown Star, which wrote about the 371 students who attended the first day of school.

“Every classroom was referred to as ‘outside rooms.’ Each room had a wall entirely of glass — a wall of windows, in other words, where the children could observe the environment, the weather and nature as it changed throughout the school year. In today’s time it might not seem as a big deal, but in 1950, it was a luxury to have students be able to look and feel outside of their classroom, as opposed to the claustrophobic and less stimulating traditional windowless rooms.”

Photo courtesy of Smithtown CSD