School News, December 1, Southampton Town

The Bridgehampton School District Board of Education granted tenure to Assistant Principal Michael Cox at the November 16 meeting, which was greeted with the applause of board trustees, administrators, family members, colleagues and community members. Cox started his career in Bridgehampton in 2019. COURTESY BRIDGEHAMPTON SCHOOL DISTRICT

Tuttle Avenue students and their parents and caregivers attended the school’s second annual Reading Under the Stars event on November 15. The night full of fun activities was designed to bring families together and to relax with reading activities. The Eastport Fire Department built a bonfire as students and guests laid out blankets and chairs and camped out while reading their favorite books. The PTO, SEPTO and Center Moriches library set up tables in the rotunda, and the book fair was open for everyone to purchase new books. A food truck also provided a delicious dinner menu. Among those attending were teachers Nicole Rau and Lisa Wells, with, from left, Alanna Rachel, Mollie Samartino and Arden Rachel. COURTESY EASTPORT-SOUTH MANOR SCHOOL DISTRICT

Sixth grade students at Eastport Elementary School recently ran a sock collection for the Warm Feet, Happy Hearts Drive. The students collected three boxes of socks for local shelters. COURTESY EASTPORT-SOUTH MANOR SCHOOL DISTRICT

To give back to their community, members of the Hampton Bays Middle School Tri-M Music Honor Society recently participated in the fourth annual Cards for Cops campaign. The students wrote thoughtful, appreciative messages on holiday cards that will be distributed to officers by the nonprofit organization Beyond the Badge. COURTESY HAMPTON BAYS SCHOOL DISTRICT

Southampton Elementary School hosted its annual second grade Thanksgiving gathering on November 18. The event focused on family and community, with students performing songs, sharing a Thanksgiving poem and enjoying some tasty pie with their families. COURTESY SOUTHAMPTON SCHOOL DISTRICT

Southampton Elementary School Prekindergarten students learned about the tradition of Nunnowa during a special presentation by Southampton High School students from the Shinnecock Nation and their families. The high school students read, “Keepunumuk: Weeachumun's Thanksgiving Story” by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry and Alexis Bunten, and spoke about Nunnowa, their harvest celebration. They also played drums, sang and taught students a circle dance. The event was arranged by pre-K teacher aide Kim Cause, and special guests included Charles Cause, Justin Maddox, Jaycee Newcomb, Shilo Newcomb, Kateri Robinson and Noomie Willams. COURTESY SOUTHAMPTON SCHOOL DISTRICT

Tuttle Avenue Elementary School first graders participated in a Thanksgiving celebration which gave thanks to all essential workers in their school and the veterans from their community. It was a morning of poetry and song as each of the grade’s classrooms donned turkey and pilgrim headdresses and took to the stage to perform a variety of Thanksgiving holiday music and to recognize the important work that the faculty and staff do each day. COURTESY EASTPORT-SOUTH MANOR SCHOOL DISTRICT

Southampton Elementary School kindergarten students in Tracy Koszalkas’ class celebrated Native American Heritage Month by listening to the book “Jingle Dancer” by Cynthia Leitich Smith and learning about traditional dance and music by from Erica Phillips, Josh Richardson and Nichole Rosado, parents of their peers. COURTESY SOUTHAMPTON SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Southampton High School Mariners Patriot Club, under the direction of Thea Fry, recently delivered over 100 turkey dinners to local veterans. The dinners were made possible through an extensive food drive, hosted by the club members. COURTESY SOUTHAMPTON SCHOOL DISTRICT

Seven Westhampton Beach High School students recently participated in the Compassion Without Borders student leadership conference, sponsored by Suffolk County. The students spent time with peers from neighboring school districts discussing ways to improve their schools and communities. Participating students from Westhampton Beach were, from left, Cameron Giordano, Joshua McCarthy, Cody Rogers, Kate Lynch, Luke Albert, Zoe Stokes and Sintia Gregorio. COURTESY WESTHAMPTON BEACH SCHOOL DISTRIC

Westhampton Beach Elementary School students celebrated Thanksgiving on November 22 by taking part in feasts that included treats and learning about the first Thanksgiving. COURTESY WESTHAMPTON BEACH SCHOOL DISTRICT

Hampton Bays Elementary School kindergartners learned about the difficult voyage the pilgrims made across the Atlantic Ocean in a makeshift Mayflower as part of teacher Mary Beth Motz’s annual Mayflower reenactment on November 22. While on the “ship,” Motz read “The First Thanksgiving” by Linda Hayward to her class. COURTESY HAMPTON BAYS SCHOOL DISTRICT

The members of the Hampton Bays Elementary School service organization K-Kids recently donated $200 toward their school’s PTA Thanksgiving fundraiser that provides gift cards for families in need to purchase Thanksgiving dinners. They raised the funds by selling rubber ducks during their lunch period to peers and teachers. COURTESY HAMPTON BAYS SCHOOL DISTRICT

Our Lady of the Hamptons School students, from left, Logan O'Brien, William Altamirano, and Annie Alessandrini, were cast in the school's production of "Bugz." COURTESY OUR LADY OF THE HAMPTON SCHOOL

Emma Cervone, a senior at Southampton High School, was recently presented with the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award. She earned the award by possessing the qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in her home, school and community. Cervone, who plans to major in music/voice performance in college, is a member of the school’s Mariner’s Patriot Club, Student Council and Best Buddies program and runs winter and spring track. She also participates in her school’s theater productions and performing groups, including choir and Voices of Southampton. She was also inducted into the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Outside of school, she volunteers for Girl Scouts and is a cantor at the Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Southampton.

Raynor Country Day School students and staff joined forces with VFW 5350 for the annual VFW Westhampton Beach Turkey Trot. In addition to joining the in-person event at the airbase on Thanksgiving morning, Raynor Country Day School also hosted an on-campus event leading up to the big day. Prior to the Thanksgiving recess, students donated $5 in order to wear a "trot" costume/accessories in lieu of their daily uniform. All proceeds directly benefited the VFW 5350. COURTESY RAYNOR COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL

The contestants in the recent spelling bee at Our Lady of the Hamptons, with the top three spellers in the foreground, left to right, Madison Giraldo, Gabriel Torrealba, and Maeve Springer. COURTESY OUR LADY OF THE HAMPTONS SCHOOL