The Half Hollow Hills school district will take up the issue of changing a school’s nickname in the fall.
Half Hollow Hills East uses the nicknam and logo Thunderbirds, a supernatural figure in North American indigenous culture. Earlier this year, the state Board of Regents approved a ban on indigenous nicknames, logos and mascots for school sports.
The district has agreed to make changes, but will take the next step in the fall.
“Our district is committed to respecting all people and cultures, while also maintaining the strong affiliation of our proud High School East alumni,” said Dr. Patrick Harrigan, superintendent of schools in Half Hollow Hills. “Even prior to the Department of Education’s most recent guidance that includes the requirement to change the Thunderbird mascot at High School East, we had begun discussions with students and staff to explore what the process of selecting a new mascot could look like and planning for how we can include community input. We have also begun working with our administration team to decide how to accomplish the shift in our school’s branding and its associated challenges and costs, within the time the regulation allows.”
Dellecave Awards
Students from the Town of Huntington were recognized for their athletic and academic contributions at a recent ceremony for the 23rd Annual Butch Dellecave Awards.
Named in memory of the educator, official, and coach Gaetano “Butch” Dellecave, the award is the product of a highly successful 23-year partnership between local school districts in Suffolk County and the award organizers: the Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk, Inc., the Butch Dellecave Foundation, and Newsday.
Honored were:
Commack
GianCarlo Di Fava and Julie Thomas
Elwood
Jimmy Rourke and Emily LaMena
Harborfields
Gavin Lindkvist and Alexis Huntington
Half Hollow Hills East
Ian Gallub and Jolie Boyle
Half Hollow Hills West
Mitch Diamond and Jahniya McCreary
Huntington
Evan Spagnoletti and Laurel Bonn
Northport
Andrew Miller and Emma McLam
Walt Whitman
Ryan Hill and Elizabeth Schreiber
Athletic directors from all 66 Suffolk County school districts nominated one
male and one female from their high school senior class.
Sportsmanship Awards
The Huntington Booster Club recently presented four graduating seniors with $1,000 sportsmanship scholarship awards.
“We would like to express our appreciation to the Huntington Booster Club for its exceptional support of the Blue Devil athletic program this year,” said Michael Schwendemann, master of ceremonies. “The organization has again awarded thousands of dollars in grants covering multiple male and female teams. The group works closely with the athletic office and with coaches to enhance the program offered to Huntington students.”
Huntington Booster Club President Dave Evans and Treasurer Wayne Ackerman were on hand for the presentation before a crowd of more than 300.
This year’s honorees include Yoselin Fuentes, who is headed to Farmingdale State College; Dawin Preval, who will be attending UMass Boston; Joseph Algieri, who will be studying at Hartwick College and Erin Scanlon, who plans to pursue a degree in business management at University of Georgia.
Northport Track
The Northport High School boys and girls track teams each placed second in the recent State Championship 4×800 relay.