Schools: Health and Wellness Fair

Bill Ober, chair of the town’s veterans advisory committee. HuntingtonNow photos

Harborfields students honored veterans recently at a jazz cabaret night.  The cabaret performance included vintage standards by Harborfields High School’s vocal ensemble.
On Sunday, Bill Ober, chairman of the Huntington veterans advisory committee pointed out the district’s salute to veterans during a service at Town Hall.

Elwood Health and Wellness

Elwood students and families came out in force to support the district’s annual
Health and Wellness Community Day earlier this month. This year’s program included a noncompetitive wellness walk; a Unified soccer scrimmage game; CrossFit training; dodgeball and Chicken Knockout contests; face painting; inflatable carnival games; concessions and raffles; the Greenlawn Fire Department; and the high school’s 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame induction.

“Health and Wellness Community Day had tremendous community support,” said Dave Shanahan, Elwood’s director of athletics, physical education, health and nurses.

“Elwood’s students, parents and community members were treated to so many exciting activities. Thank you to all who helped out with this wonderful day.”

Jazz Band Workshop

The Harborfields High School Jazz Band recently traveled to the Jazz Loft in Stony Brook for a multifaceted field trip experience.

Dr. Tom Manuel, the venue/museum’s founder, curator and artistic director, gave the school’s jazz band a personal tour, which included a look at a number of Ellington-related items such as one of the bandleader’s tuxedos and a road case originally owned by alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, as well as extraordinary artifacts and curios associated with other iconic musicians like Louis Armstrong, Oliver Nelson and Charlie Parker.

The students spent two hours workshopping repertoire with  multi-instrumentalist Chris Donohue, and they delivered a two-set feature performance at night to a capacity house comprised of friends and family.

Elwood Food Pantry Help

Elwood’s Knights Kare food pantry recently teamed up with Elwood-John H. Glenn High School’s student-athletes and community members to secure food to supply local families with food for the summer.

“The food pantry started in Elwood Middle School to help feed 4-6 families that
were struggling after the pandemic,” teacher Christina Kerensky said. “As these students have moved into the high school, we still continue to deliver, and have asked the social workers in each of the elementary schools for families in need. The number of identified families in need has tripled in just three years. The items that we use in our deliveries are brought in by students and various high school organizations, and our pantry closet is organized each week by the Community Service Club, which organizes the food that has been dropped off and checks expiration dates for the food we have in stock.”

Donations can be dropped off at any time at the Elwood Middle School front desk.

Teachers Union Success

According to an analysis by the New York United Teachers organization, their analysis of election results this week found that 97 percent of public- school budgets passed, and 84 percent of union-endorsed candidates were elected to school boards, including 73 NYSUT members.

Support for ALS

The East Northport Middle School Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society held its second annual Walk-A-Thon this month to support the ALS Ride 4 Life.

Over 130 NJHS students walked as many laps as they could in 30 minutes to raise money in support of ALS research. The girls softball team, boys baseball team, boys and girls lacrosse team, boys tennis team, boys and girls track team, the community service club, and a group of fifth grade students also came out to walk and show their support.

Archival Research Competition

The New York State Archives and Archives Partnership Trust are  accepting entries for the 2024 New York State Student Research Awards Statewide Competition, State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa announced this week.

The annual competition, in its 34th year, is open to all students in grades 4 to 12 and serves to increase coordination between schools and organizations that administer historical records beneficial for education. The program offers a chance for young people to learn about New York’s history by exploring the state’s historical records repositories to create research projects.

Winners will be selected from entries in the following divisions: elementary (grades 4-5), middle (grades 6-8), and high school (grades 9-12).

To be eligible for the awards, students must undertake original historical research using historical records, submit an annotated bibliography, and be nominated by a mentor. Projects may be submitted in any format, including video, research paper, or exhibits, and must be submitted by July 1. Winners will be notified by mid-September and formally announced in October.

Visit the State Archives’ ConsidertheSourceNY.org for detailed guidelines, the Student Research Awards application materials, and information about the 2023 winners and their projects.

Election, Budget Results

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