Support for School Heat Bill
Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers, released the following statement in response to the Legislature passing S.3397-A (Skoufis)/A.9011-A (Eachus) to establish a maximum temperature in school buildings and indoor facilities.
“Extreme heat is a real danger to our students and educators, and we applaud state legislators for witnessing, experiencing and now acknowledging the severity of its impact in our schools.
The law defines “extreme heat condition days” as days when the occupied spaces reach 82 degrees or higher, and requires schools to take actions to relieve heat-related discomfort, such as turning off lights and electronics, when the temperature reaches that threshold. The bill also prohibits occupancy of educational and support spaces if the temperature reaches 88 degrees Fahrenheit.
Vanderbilt Math Champs
Vanderbilt 3rd graders Chase A., Alexander B. and Benjamin L. competed as a team in the NYSED First in Math State Tournament at SUNY Albany on June 1st. Congratulations to the team for winning 1st place and being recognized as the 2024 3rd Grade Statewide Mathematics Tournament Champions! The team earned medals, certificates and trophies, and Vanderbilt will receive a $5,000 prize!
Honors for Pool Safety Posters
Suffolk Legislators Tom Donnelly and Rebecca Sanin presented awards to students recently for their work in creating posters about pool safety.
Donnelly recognized several students from Birchwood Intermediate School in Huntington Station, while students from Maplewood Intermediate were honored by Sanin.
Established in 2007, the annual competition invites elementary school students to promote the importance of pool safety and prevent accidental drowning by creating a poster that illustrates one or more safety tips.
Each year, one poster is selected from all of those submitted to be used as part of a countywide handout from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services in its seasonal safety campaign.
Joining Donnelly in honoring the students were Birchwood Principal Dimitri Bernadel, Assistant Principal Renee Schumm and Dr. Gayle Steele, assistant superintendent of Instruction and curriculum for Elementary Education K- 6.
Learning About the Environment
Northport High School students in David LaMagna’s Advanced Placement
Environmental Science class recently led lessons for all district fourth grade students at the greenhouse and outdoor classroom at the high school.
During their isit, students rotated through stations where the AP environmental students discussed plant adaptations, structures and functions. As part of the activity, LaMagna taught students about proper soil conditions and helped students mix their own soil where they planted a false sunflower, a type of native perennial flower, in containers to bring home.
Rensselaer Medal
Northport High School junior Kyle Sundberg has been awarded the Rensselaer Medal, which awards him a $40,000 per year scholarship to attend Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, located in New York State.
If Kyle applies and is accepted to the institute, he will receive a scholarship to one of the most prestigious schools in the state. The scholarship is awarded each year to one student in any high school who shows significant skills in mathematics and science.
Awards for Spanish Proficiency
The Hills East Spanish Language and Hispanic Culture Club, along with the Spanish Honor Society, recognized their medal winners in this year’s National Spanish Exam. These students have achieved scores higher than the 85% nationwide benchmark. Gold winners are AnnaBelle Deaner, Juliet Ganz, Atiya Haider, Nick Pisco and Julia Zinkin, Silver winners Noah Berlin, Myrah Galhotra, Mandy Glick and Rida Prodhan, and Bronze winners David Abrams, Vihan Bansal, Amanda Breinberg, Bella Feder, Julia Iype, Kashish Kochar, Jake Kugler and Alicia Madjido.
