School Days

Greenport Union Free School District

Following a long-held tradition, the Greenport High School senior class and Superintendent David Gamberg, Mayor George Hubbard, and members of the Greenport Village Tree Committee planted a tree in honor of 2018.

Hampton Bays School District

Hampton Bays Elementary School students are working to keep the Earth green, as part of a new recycling program sponsored by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.

The program officially kicked off at Hampton Bays Elementary School on June 5 with a visit from Bellone, who spoke to kindergartners about the importance of recycling. The kickoff included a recycling skit performed by fourth-grade students.

As part of the pilot program, Hampton Bays Elementary School is one of six county schools furnished with blue recycling bins that have specialized lids for recycling paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum. The school was also given an industrial scale that weighs the amount of materials it has recycled.

Riverhead Central School District

Two Riverhead High School groups out-engineered teams from across Long Island at the Next Generation STEAM competition, hosted by the Cradle of Aviation Museum on May 23.

One team, made up of students Erick Behr, Kyler Driscoll, Brandon Esobar, Alae Mohammad, and Yash Patel, earned first place in the robotics category. Leading up to the competition, the team, advised by teacher Luke Ferland, designed and constructed a robot to complete tasks based on a theme of space exploration using a robotics kit called SnappyXO.

“The students had to quickly become proficient in a robotics platform that they were previously unfamiliar with, which added to the excitement and scholastic value of the competition,” said Ferland. “I couldn’t be more proud of the Riverhead Robotics students’ continued efforts and success.”

The other team, comprised of students Julia Babicz, Ailie Kinnier, Abigail Morreale, and Lesli Maldonado Velasquez, garnered the second-place trophy in the makerspace category. The team, advised by Brian Cunningham, was tasked with designing a project that addresses a problem related to space exploration using everyday recycled materials.

Students at Riley Avenue Elementary School improved their heart health as part of a student council fundraiser for the American Heart Association. Participating in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart program, students in all grade levels raised $6346 in sponsorships to participate in a variety of jumping activities during their gym periods on June 5. Leading up to the event, the students learned about heart health and ways they can make a difference in the lives of those with heart conditions.

WesthamptonBeach School District

Westhampton Beach High School’s Virtual Enterprise class presented the district’s elementary students with packets of sunflower seeds featuring a special poem on May 15. The gesture aimed to encourage young children to appreciate the Earth’s natural beauty by planting the seeds and watching the flowers grow over the summer. The seeds were purchased at a discount from True Value in Westhampton Beach as part of a Town of Southampton Youth Bureau community action grant.