School News, March 31

Students at Westhampton Beach Elementary School displayed their knowledge of science at the school’s 24th annual math, science and technology fair on March 17.

The event showcased a variety of science projects by students in grades one through five, with topics ranging from blind taste tests and memory to wind erosion and acid rain.

This year’s winners were James Mercurio, kindergarten; Bubba Beasley and Emma Dwyer, first grade; Cora Montpetit, second grade; Ezra Schneider, third grade; Evan Pereyra, fourth grade; and Mary Rose Atkinson, fifth grade. The winning students are now eligible to compete in Brookhaven National Laboratory’s annual Elementary Science Fair Competition.

Westhampton Beach High School junior Jack Schultz has been named a finalist in the New York State Science and Engineering Fair, which was held on Monday, March 28 at the New York Hall of Science.

Schultz earned the spot for his research on how increased atmospheric carbon dioxide can increase the quantity of certain toxic elements present in saccharina latissimi, a type of kelp. He presented his findings in an eight-minute video that was scored by NYSSEF judges, who are experts in scientific fields. If Schultz advanced on Monday, he will be headed to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta this spring.

“This is a great opportunity, and I am excited for what’s to come in the future,” he said.

The work Schultz completed for the fair is just one of the many research projects he has undertaken during his tenure at Westhampton Beach High School. He is also working on a project with his science research classmates to restore a 65-million-year-old dinosaur fossil. Additionally, he is devoting time to researching microfossils.

When not conducting research, Schultz is out in nature hiking, fishing and sailing. He intends to study chemistry in college.

Dressed in green, Hampton Bays Elementary School students participated in a variety of fun and engaging activities as part of a St. Patrick’s Day celebration on March 17.

While kindergartners constructed creative leprechaun traps and went on a quest to find a pot of gold, fourth grade students in Krista Savino’s class wrote about the clever ways they would catch a leprechaun. They also discussed the fun activities they would do with the leprechaun if they actually caught him. Third grade students in Mary O’Hanlon’s class worked on a project called, “Pieces of Gold in My Life,” where they described what they value in their lives, including family and friends.

A cast of 25 Hampton Bays High School students have been working hard to prepare for a curtain opening of the musical “Chicago (High School Edition)” on Friday, April 1, at 7 p.m. Additional performances are Saturday, April 2, at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, April 3, at 2 p.m.

The musical, set in Prohibition-era Chicago, features senior Izzy Moschetta as Velma Kelly, senior Sam Coulton as Roxie Hart and junior Christian Pensa as Billy Flynn.

“This show is a dancing extravaganza,” said director Marie Perez. “Students have been working extra-hard this year to master Bob Fosse’s original Broadway choreography as interpreted for the high stage by Michael Canestraro.”

Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased in advance on the district website, hbschools.us. The theater department is also selling “Chicago” T-shirts as an additional fundraiser for the theater program.

After months of preparation, Pierson High School’s Robotics team, named Team 28, traveled to Albany March 13 to 16 for the first of two competitions. Susan McCarthy, the team’s coach and a history teacher at the school, led the students representing Pierson in its 27th year of participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition.

In between sessions, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. stopped by the Pierson Robotics tent to speak with the students. Pierson students were excited to hear from Assemblyman Thiele, according to school officials, Thiele is a Pierson alumnus whose son is also an alumnus and past competitor for Team 28, explained McCarthy.

McCarthy was also pleased to announce that Pierson’s Robotics Team was awarded a $6,000 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation. According to its website, the Gene Haas Foundation was established to help aid local communities by supporting the growing need for skilled manufacturing employees industry wide. The grant will help the Pierson Robotics Team with travel expenses, materials and scholarships for college bound students.

Last week Team 28 participated in the second stage of the FIRST Robotics regional competition held at Hofstra University.

The Eastport-South Manor Central School District has student-artists from kindergarten through 12th grade showcasing art at the Parrish Museum in Water Mill. The annual student exhibition is on display until April 24.

South Street School students created the heart mural, “Be Kind,” measuring 5 feet by 5 feet and using mixed media. Kindergartners and first-graders at Tuttle Avenue read the book “In My Heart” and created mixed media hearts full of colors representing the variety of emotions they can feel.

Dayton Avenue School’s fifth grade students each created an abstract circle inspired by the artist Frank Stella. They had to utilize compass tools to draw their circles and colored with oil pastels. The circles were used to create the collaborative mural, “Radial Divisions,” measuring 3 feet x 5 feet. The sixth grade students created a black silhouette of Long Island and learned the process of paper quilling. They were able to quill hundreds of pieces of colored paper to fill the negative space around the silhouette. The piece is titled “Island Life” and is 20 inches by 45 inches. Eighteen students in grades 10 to 12 were showcased, exhibiting their high level of skill in ceramics, drawing, painting and collage.

This annual show shares an overview of the high level of creativity and accomplishment achieved. Working with their art teachers, the students demonstrated imagination, enthusiasm and technical skill in diverse media.

Hampton Bays High School students assisted in the preservation of the South Shore Estuary while gaining hands-on environmental restoration experience on Thursday, March 24.

As part of the effort, the students helped Save Environmental founder Robert Vasiluth tediously glue hundreds of eelgrass seeds onto hard clams. The clams will be deployed by Save Environmental into the Great South Bay, where they will bury themselves and sow the seeds. The seeding effort helps to restore the rapidly decreasing eelgrass meadows that provide shelter for a variety of invertebrates. Last fall, Hampton Bays High School students attached 8,000 seeds to 100 clams.

Kindergartners drew plans and built traps, slides, ramps and steps in a seasonal project to try to catch leprechauns.

Culinary Club members have also been busy this month. Seventh-graders recently created pesto and used the tasty topping to bake shamrock pizzas.

The Outdoor Club at the Bridgehampton School visited the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center where they fed sea creatures in the touch tank and learned how sharks are tagged in Long Island waters.

The school’s marimba band, under the leadership of music teacher David Elliott, performed at the Parrish Art Museum for the recent reception for the 2022 Students Exhibition.

Registration is now open for the pre-K program, for both in- and out-of-district children who meet the eligibility requirements. Preference will be given to Bridgehampton residents. For information, contact Barbara Palermo at 631-998-1325 or bpalermo@bridgehamptonschool.com

The Primary and Prep Science Fairs featured more than 200 experiments, hypotheses and STEM projects. First-place winners included, in Prep 8, Meadow Dubrovin; Prep 7, Emma Tillotson; and Prep 6, Theodore Duke. Primary blue-ribbon winners were, in kindergarten, Connor Blodorn; grade 1 Lyam Deleg; grade 2, Olivia Palumbo.

Music teacher Joseph Basar hosted a master class assembly program on various styles of music ranging from Classical to Do Wop and Pop, with the assistance of OLH performing groups: the Hamptones, Joyful Noise, guitarists, orchestra, tappers, Dance Company and new pop group.

The annual Ladies Luncheon will be held on Sunday, May 22, at the Southampton Social Club. Seating is limited, so early registration is recommended. Call 631-283-9140 for details.

Registration of new students for the September 2022 term is now closed. Applications will be accepted for the waiting lists for kindergarten through sixth grades.

Patrick Gilbert, a communications and English major from Hampton Bays, has been named to the Le Moyne College fall 2021 dean’s list. He is a senior.

Jane Doveala of Quogue was named to the dean’s list for the fall 2021 semester for her achievement studying in the School of Nursing at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Diego Martinez of East Quogue has been awarded the Tucker Family Scholarship at SUNY Oneonta.

Michael Poerio of East Quogue has been awarded the Louis C. Jones Fellowship at SUNY Oneonta.

Chloe Tarlen of Hampton Bays has been awarded the SUNY Oneonta Sustainability Endowed Scholarship.

Alex Williams of Westhampton Beach has been awarded the Robin Ross Higgins ’72 Scholarship at SUNY Oneonta.