Theater students from around Huntington were recently recognized by the 11th Annual Hunting-Tony Awards.
The ceremony went on via Zoom conference because of restrictions from the Covid-19 epidemic.
Councilwoman Joan Cergol and Councilman Mark Cuthbertson hosted the ceremony.
“We were not going to let the pandemic stop the Hunting-Tonys. High school sports are acknowledged daily in our newspapers; this program gives the arts a platform to showcase the great talents of our thespians in Huntington,” Cuthbertson said.
“I’m so happy that we found a way to showcase the great talent we have in Huntington. Many of these gifted students will be future stars on Broadway! As a community, we’re richer by having these students and the arts in our midst,” Cergol added.
The winners are:
Best Female Dancer, Grades 9 to 12:
Isabella Bartol, Commack High School AND
Grace Keating, Northport High School
Best Male Actor, Grades 9 to 12:
Devan McCarthy, Half Hollow Hills High School West AND
Augustine Maiorino, Cold Spring Harbor High School
Best Female Actress, Grades 9 and 10:
Annabelle Bryant, Cold Spring Harbor High School
Best Female Actress, Grades 11 and 12:
Sam Regenbogen, Commack High School
Best Male Vocalist, Grades 9 and 10:
Devan McCarthy, Half Hollow Hills High School West
Best Female Vocalist, Grades 9 and 10:
Isabella Corea, Northport High School
Best Male Vocalist, Grades 11 and 12:
Augustine Maiorino, Cold Spring Harbor High School
Best Female Vocalist, Grades 11 and 12:
Olivia Freiberger, Harborfields High School AND
Sam Regenbogen, Commack High School
New Principal in Cold Spring Harbor
Northport High School principal Dan Danbusky has been appointed Cold Spring Harbor Jr./Sr. High School principal.
“After conducting a thorough search, we are thrilled to welcome Dan Danbusky to our school district,” Board of Education President Amelia Brogan said. “We strongly believe Dan possesses the experience, professional leadership skills, and vision to build upon our current achievements and lead our high school students to their next level of success.”
Danbusky served the Northport-East Northport School District from 2012 to the present. He first served as Northport High School assistant principal from 2012-2015 and then as principal from 2015 to the present. While principal, he worked closely with administrators and department chairpersons/directors to develop and implement innovative instructional initiatives and course pathways that included the growth and expansion of Advanced Placement course offerings as well as the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. Before serving in Northport-East Northport, he served the Brentwood School District from 2009-2012 as a teacher on special assignment and dean of students.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a Master of Arts degree in teaching from Union College in Schenectady, a certificate in advanced study in education from the College of Saint Rose and NYS Certification in school building leadership and secondary social studies.
Science Winners
Two Northport-East Northport UFSD students took top honors and five others received honorable mentions in the recent elementary school science & engineering fair, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Students areable to showcase their projects to peers and judging teams consisting of Brookhaven National Laboratory scientific and engineering staff and elementary school teachers. Students gain experience using science and engineering practices, as well as the scientific method or engineering design process.
“Thinking like scientists and engineers is so important for students—asking questions, testing assumptions, drawing conclusions, and thinking about future research,” said Amanda Horn, a Brookhaven Lab educator who coordinated the virtual fair. As in years past, students first qualified for BNL’s fair by winning their elementary school’s local science & engineering fairs, which were held virtually in the Northport-East Northport Virtual Classroom featuring individual, small group, and classroom experiments and engineering design projects.
Northport-East Northport 1st Place Winners:
- First grader Ashleigh Bruno of Ocean Avenue Elementary School, “Rain, Rain, Go Away”
- Fifth grader Grace Rozell of Ocean Avenue Elementary School, “Edible Experiments”
Northport-East Northport Honorable Mentions:
- Kindergartner Carmen Pirolo of Bellerose Avenue Elementary School, “Eggshells and Toothpaste Experiment”
- Kindergartener Filomena Saporita of Ocean Avenue Elementary School, “Rainbow Celery”
- Second grader Luke Dinsman of Dickinson Avenue Elementary School, “What Makes a Car Go Fast”
- Second grader Adam Dvorkin of Pulaski Road Elementary School, “Salty Sourdough”
- Fourth grader Michaela Bruno of Ocean Avenue Elementary School, “Wifi Booster Benefits”
Broadcast Award
Harborfields High School students Gavin and Melina Sandel recently earned first place in the Best Science News Package category Broadcast Awards for Senior High sponsored by Stony Brook University for their work on the school’s morning live show Tornado News.
Badminton Champs
The Northport High School badminton team defeated the previously undefeated Half Hollow Hills team 5-4 to claim the Suffolk Coutnty championship.
Coach Craig Stanton described the win as a “storybook ending,” since “We got to avenge our only loss,” he said, adding that the team has “a lot of heath and lots of guts.”
He gave a special shout out to the 11 seniors on the team, James Collier, Maxwell DeBrino, Thomas Fitzgerald, Robert Gonzalez, Liam Herbst, Sean Kutz, Spencer Mayer, Connor Mulligan, Frank Rasizzi, Noah Rosenzweig, and Thomas Serra.