School News

Sag Harbor

Wait Until Eighth Discussion

Sag Harbor Elementary School art teacher Gary Osborne, parent Traci Robinson, and members of the Sag Harbor Parent Teach Association hosted a talk related to the “Wait Until 8th” movement. More than 20 adults attended the January 23 meeting to hear more about the national dialogue empowering parents to delay giving their children a smartphone until at least the eighth grade.

Osborne explained Wait Until 8th was founded by a parent who was struggling to find a community of like-minded adults to organize playdates for kids without the peer pressures associated with having access to smartphones and technology.

As they went around the room, attendees shared activities they enjoyed with their children that did not involve the internet, such as nature walks, bike rides, and puzzles. They also discussed how their children were handling the pervasive use of smartphones, concerns about the often adult-topics and content easily accessible to minors via the devices, and the pluses of using smartphones to stay in contact with their children. Robinson suggested other tools for connecting and tracking their kids, such as the Gizmo GPS watch.

The parents agreed to continue meeting at the school on a regular basis, and Osborne plans to invite a guest speaker to the next get-together. They are welcome to bring their children to work on an art project in a nearby classroom.

For more information about the movement and pledge, parents can visit www.waituntil8th.org.

Southampton

Rotary Student Of The Month

Southampton High School senior Shayleigh Tribuzio has been recognized by the Rotary Club of Southampton as the rotary student of the month for February.

Tribuzio earned the honor for her dedication to her studies and school community. She is the secretary of the senior class, treasurer of the National Honor Society, and a member of the Foreign Language Honor Society and Rotary Club. Additionally, she plays on the varsity soccer team and writes for the school newspaper, Riptide.

When not in school, Tribuzio can be found volunteering her time at the Southampton United Methodist Church or drawing.

She plans to attend High Point University to study psychology in the fall.

Motivational Speaker

Southampton High School students were inspired after attending an assembly featuring motivational speaker and author Milton L. Creagh. Creagh touched on a variety of issues in his talk, from diversity to substance-abuse prevention. Students also heard from Mike Panus this school year, who spoke about overcoming adversity and making good choices.

Southampton Pays Tribute To Thomas Valva

Southampton students and staff wore blue shirts and ribbons on January 30 to pay tribute to the memory of Thomas Valva of Center Moriches and to raise awareness of child abuse. Blue signifies child-abuse prevention.

Bridgehampton

Senior Nominated For Naval Academy

Bridgehampton High School senior Max Tiska received a congressional nomination from Congressman Lee Zeldin for the U.S. Naval Academy. Tiska was honored along with other local applicants from across New York’s First Congressional District. The ceremony was held at the Patchogue Elks Lodge with Brookhaven Councilman Neil Foley and Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri in attendance.

“We are so pleased to have Max cited for his academic achievement, leadership potential, demonstration of character, and participation in extracurricular activities in his nomination,” Principal Mike Miller said. “The Bridgehampton school community is honored to have him as one of our students, and we all congratulate him on this great achievement.”

Scientific Minds At Work

Gabrielle Lemon’s Pre-K class learned about winter, including snow, ice and snowflakes. The students conducted a science experiment where they explored whether salt or sugar would melt an ice block faster. They first made a prediction by casting a vote on a salt or sugar T-chart. Then, they observed the salt and sugar covered ice blocks and drew a picture of their observations. The scientific experiment resulted in learning that the ice melted quicker using the salt.

Riverhead

Koalas For Australia

As part of a challenge for Kindness Week, held the week of January 27, students at Riley Avenue Elementary School spent hours making more than 700 origami “Kindness Koala” bookmarks, which they sold to raise funds for animals injured in Australia’s devastating fires. The students raised more than $800 that will be donated to www.wires.org.au/.

Students also participated in daily kindness challenges, created kindness banners, worked through a weekly kindness checklist, and engaged in a reading of “Emily and the Kindness Bracelet,” by Lisa Krekeler.

In Memory Of Thomas Valva

To raise awareness about child abuse and pay tribute to Thomas Valva, of Center Moriches, students and teachers across the Riverhead Central School District wore blue shirts and ribbons on January 30. The blue ribbon symbolizes child abuse prevention.

Author And Artist Visit

Local author and artist Joyce Raimondo visited art teacher Maureen Ahern’s fourth-graders as part of the class’ study of Long Island artist Jackson Pollock. During the workshop, provided by the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, students cut out and arranged abstract shapes and paired them with a layer of Pollock’s signature liquid paints.

Tuckahoe

Stitching For Animals In Need

Christina Collins announced one of her third-grade students who has been participating in The Children’s Museum of the East End’s outreach program for the past four years, will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to visit several major cultural sites and take a tour of the U.S. Capitol building. Brenda started out taking a science class at CMEE when she was just 4 years old. She couldn’t read yet, but decoded nature pictures with logical clarity, and given a conceptual structure like food chains or habitats, could construct hands-on projects with the older kids. She has studied astrophysics, anthropology of Latin American nations, basic computer coding, sharks, and ornithology.

Hampton Bays

Dancing For A Cause

Hampton Bays Elementary School students twirled and bopped during an hourlong dance-a-thon sponsored by the school’s community service club, K-Kids. The January 29 event raised $800 for the Hampton Bays Kiwanis Club’s St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital fundraiser. Students raised the funds through pledges they procured from family and friends prior to the event.

Westhampton Beach

Stitching For Animals In Need

Westhampton Beach Middle School students are doing their part to help animals injured in Australia’s devastating fires by sewing fleece crate blankets and crocheting bird and small animal nests. All of the items will be delivered to Australia through the Animal Rescue Collective Craft Guild.

desiree@indyeastend.com