School Days

Greenport Union Free School District

Greenport High School’s Andrea Ochoa won the Southold’s American Legion’s “Four Pillars of the American Legion” mural project.

The intent was to involve local youth in a project with local veterans to paint a mural representing the Four Pillars of the American Legion in the Commander’s office of Post 803 in Southold. These pillars are veteran’s affairs and rehabilitation, national security, Americanism, and children and youth. The size of the mural is 7’10” x 9’4.”

Riverhead Central School District

Each day, students in the Riverhead High School’s Basic Skills Development program do their part to ensure that the high school is recycling on a regular basis. They work to collect recycling bins throughout the school and sort the items deposited in them. Their hard work has paid off — this year, they beat a recycling goal of 30,000 by recycling 30,550 units of recyclables and 170 used printer cartridges.

The program, now in its seventh year, has resulted in the collection of a total of 119,680 units of recyclables. All the recycled items are collected by a carting company, except for bottles and cans, which the students redeem at the recycling machines at Stop and Shop. The money is then used to purchase educational apps for the students’ iPads, donations to school programs, and flowers and plants for the school’s grounds.

Looking forward, the recycling program’s coordinators, teachers Danielle Burdo and Timothy Page, would like to expand the program by offering recycling in the district’s office, with a goal of eventually coordinating a districtwide program.

More than 85 community and memorial academic scholarships were presented to members of the Riverhead High School Class of 2018 during an annual Scholarship Night, held at the high school on May 31. In total, more than $808,550 in scholarships was awarded.

“We are very grateful to the community for supporting our students in pursuing their dreams at institutions of higher learning,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Aurelia Henriquez.

In other news, the school district is offering summer school for high school students who failed a course or exam required for graduation.

Summer school classes for high school students will begin on Monday, July 9, and will run from Monday through Thursday, from 8 AM to 12 PM, up to and including Wednesday, August 15.

Registration for juniors and seniors took place on Tuesday, June 26, from 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM; for freshmen and sophomores on Wednesday, June 27, from 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM. Regents exams will be given on Thursday, August 16, and Friday, August 17.

To obtain a registration form, full course list, and bell schedule, visit the district’s website at www.riverhead.net. Please be advised that seats are limited, and upperclassmen will be given priority.

Tuckahoe Common School District

Fifth-grade students in Ms. Verdeschi’s class recently had a special visitor, sort of.

Ms. Verdeschi, a library media specialist, arranged for the students to Skype with Jennifer Cervantes, author of Tortilla Sun, who is in New Mexico.

When Ms. Verdeschi asked what students learned from their conversation with this successful author, Nick Gonzalez said he learned to “follow your dream” because this author does the thing she loves. Addie Corwith learned “that you have to spend a lot of time revising, and that you should spread out your time while writing a book.” Yasmin Lima-Hernandez commented, “Maybe I can be a writer and write a book just like her.”

In other news, Tuckahoe School’s eighth-grade students visited Washington, D.C. last week. Students toured the Capitol, the Newseum, Smithsonian Institute Museums, and the National Archives.

Hampton Bays Union Free School District

Sixth-grade members of the Hampton Bays Middle School Harmonizers displayed their musical talents on June 6. The talented singers kicked off the Long Island Ducks game by performing the national anthem.

President’s List

Dylan Camacho, a Sag Harbor psychology major from the Class of 2012, and Noah Markewitz, a Riverhead biology major from the Class of 2018, were placed on the President’s List at the State University of New York Geneseo this past semester.