The Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education has donated nearly $31,000 to the Huntington School District to fund six separate grants in five different buildings. Huntington school board members voted to accept the funds at a recent public meeting.
The grants include:
Teacher: Desire Lahoz/Woodhull Intermediate School
Grant amount: $591.18
Initiative: Flexible seating
Teacher: Allison Conlon/Flower Hill Primary School
Grant amount: $1,299.52
Initiative: Whole Brain Learning
Teacher: Heather Barfuss/Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School
Grant amount: $5,000
Initiative: Health Through Heart Rate Technology
Teacher: Angela Allegretti/Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School
Grant amount: $236.93
Initiative: Figurative Language Development
Director: Eric Reynolds/Fine & Performing Arts
Grant amount: $13,195.60
Initiative: Video Broadcasting-TriCaster
Teacher: Omar Santiago/J. Taylor Finley Middle School
Grant amount: $10,514.44
Initiative: Computer Integrated Manufacturing
Half Hollow Hills sisters and mom finally cut their hair, and for a good cause.
Film Award of Excellence
Ocean Avenue Elementary second grader Quinlan Brennan has received an Award of Excellence in the National Reflections Art Contest for her film, “Quinlan’s Fireside Chat.” Quinlan will receive a $200 Young Artist Scholarship, and her film will be included in the traveling exhibition. Quinlan is one of only 14 students to be recognized with this award for the film production category, and is one of only seven students in the state to be recognized in the contest overall.
Diversity Award
Wilson Garay of Huntington Station was among 11 students who earned diversity awards as part of the Kente Graduation Recognition Ceremony at SUNY Oneonta. Sponsored by the college’s Department of Africana/Latino Studies and the Center for Racial Justice and Inclusive Excellence (CRJIE), the annual ceremony recognizes the achievements of SUNY Oneonta’s diverse student population-African American, Latino, Asian and Native American (AALANA) students and non-AALANA students and allies.
Garay was awarded Amy Goodman Ally Award and is graduating this spring with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology
University of Cumberlands Graduate
Natalie Gerlinsky of Huntington Station recently graduated with her master of arts degree in clinica mental health counseling from University of the Cumberlands.
Cumberlands, in Williamsburg, Ky., held commencement ceremonies this spring to celebrate its newest graduates. Students in the Class of 2021 hailed from 40 states and territories as well as multiple countries, including Canada, Gambia, India, Jamaica, Madagascar, Serbia, Spain, Taiwan, and Ukraine, among others. Graduates from the Class of 2020 were also able to participate in this year’s ceremonies.
Research Showcase
More than 135 undergraduate and graduate students showcased their research and creative scholarly work at New York Tech’s annual Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE) held virtually on April 23.
Local students who presented include:
Lina Elkoulily of Huntington, who is studying Biology.
Taner Celebi of Commack, who is studying osteopathic medicine.
About New York Institute of Technology
Scout Sunday
The annual Scout Sunday services were held at St. Anthony of Padua in East Northport recently. The Cub Scouts were presented with their Catholic Cub Scout religious emblems and 3 Eagle Scout Candidates were recognized by the church for their support with their community service projects done at and for St. Anthony’s church.
Cub Scouts from Pack 5 and Pack 238 with the assistance of their parents and leaders
recently completed the Light of Christ and Parvuli Dei Catholic Religious Emblem programs.
There were five Cub Scouts who were presented with the Light of Christ and twelve Cub Scouts
presented with Parvuli Dei emblems. the Rev. Ed Sheridan, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua
presented the emblems.
Recipients of Parvuli Dei from Pack 238 were James Cassar, Brian Drew, Braeden FitzSimmons, Aidan Giangiulio, Thomas Hayden, Luke Howard, Colin Lopez, Cole McCreesh, Justin Neknez, and Thomas Scalici. Pack 5’s Luna Butler and Tyler Senneca also earned and received their Parvuli Dei emblems.
Also recognized at this Scout Sunday were three scouts who did their Eagle Scout
service projects for St. Anthony of Padua Parish.
Matt Burkart of Troop 52 in East Northport beautified the garden behind St. Anthony of
Padua church. With his volunteers, he weeded the garden, installed new plants, and built two
benches. He replaced all the stone pavers and made a new walkway. He also put gravel around
the entire garden. The project took place over the course of 18 months and resulted in 312
service hours.
Ryan Gibbs of Troop 174 in Elwood constructed a prayer bridge dedicated to St.
Michael, the patron saint of police officers and military personnel. The bridge will be available
for future generations of Scouts to use in their crossing over ceremonies from Webelos to Scouts
BSA. Ryan also wanted the prayer bridge to be used for parishioners as a place to take special
family photos. The project took just over 2 years to complete, encompassing 300 hours of work along with 30 volunteers to complete the task.
Brendan Murray of Troop 410 in Northport ran the back-to-school supply collection and
backpack packing day for The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, benefitting more than 140
underprivileged students. Excess supplies were donated to other SVDP Chapters. Brendan also
ran a car wash fund raiser to purchase additional items for the students, such as lunch boxes and
padlocks. With his fellow Scouts and Chaminade classmates, Brendan's project resulted in 202 service hours. Brendan donated $1,100 to St. Anthony’s Chapter of SVDP at the conclusion of the project.
Photo caption: Fifth graders at Paumanok school created elephant toothpaste as part of their chemistry studies. Elephant toothpaste is produced by combining warm water, active yeast, dish soap, and hydrogen peroxide.