Freshman Tatum Hastie was recently named the high school’s December Student of the Month. 

“Tatum is an awesome student who should be recognized for her hard work and perseverance,” said Spanish teacher Heather Nola. “She is a student who never gives up, no matter what challenges she faces, and who continues to strive for excellence. I am so proud of how she does not let obstacles hold her back, but works tirelessly to overcome any challenge with a smile on her face. Her high grades mirror her outstanding effort.”

High school sophomore Jimmy Jiang was honored as Student of the Month for December. Jiang was recently accepted into SUNY College at Old Westbury’s Institute of Mathematics Education, Research and Technology program, which will culminate in a research presentation at the Long Island Math Fair.

“Jimmy Jiang is the student that all teachers hope they get,” said honors chemistry teacher Michelle Del Giorno. “He is dedicated to doing his best. He has maintained a 100 average in my class for the first and second quarter and is always looking to do more. Besides being brilliant academically, he is the nicest, most respectful and well-rounded student I have ever had.”

Students in teacher Vincent Amodio’s kindergarten class at May Moore recently collaborated to make a card to commemorate Principal Philip Paniccia’s birthday, which fell on Spirit Day. Aide Alexis Tyson made Paniccia a custom May Moore jersey for the occasion, to match the jerseys previously worn by the students and classroom staff to show their school spirit.

High school senior Robert Punger visited the district’s John F. Kennedy Intermediate School in September 2019, asking Principal Kelly Benson if he could donate an Eagle Scout project for the school. 

“He wanted to do something different and something that could be used for our students with special needs,” Benson said. “In our discussion, we talked about creating a sensory hallway in JFK.  A few weeks later, he came back to me with an idea. After doing some research, he discovered that some children have a particular sensory system that needs extra input, and it can be helpful to put materials together to provide specific stimulus to that sensory system.”

Punger decided to create a sensory box for JFK, but when COVID-19 hit last year, the school had to put its sensory hallway on hold. Punger, however, was undeterred in his goal, and recently delivered the sensory box for JFK’s life skills class to test out.

“Robert overcame many obstacles that COVID threw at him and created this wonderful piece for our JFK students,” Benson said. “It brought joy to their faces, and I am sure it will continue to be a resource for all of our students at JFK.”