The Town of Smithtown, in partnership with the Smithtown Central School District, has embarked on the second phase of its inaugural STEM program partnership.

Students in Kimberly Williams’ marine biology class at High School West received an inside look at the town’s recycling and solid waste process at the Smithtown Municipal Services Facility. The students learned how it relates to the environment and the major challenge Long Island will face once the Brookhaven landfill closes in 2024.

Sanitation supervisor Neal Sheehan and Smithtown solid waste coordinator Mike Engelmann led a hands-on experiential learning trip with Williams’ class. Students saw the process of what happens to waste once it leaves the curbside, the many different materials that Smithtown recycles, challenges of fluctuating recycling markets and the harmful impacts that can occur without personal awareness and responsibility. 

“This was the first of several STEM programs together with the school district, and it couldn’t have been better received,” supervisor Ed Wehrheim said. “This generation is very conscious of critical environmental issues, like protecting the watershed, and Long Island's impending waste crisis. Bringing their lesson plans from the chalkboard to the real world so students can witness the benefits of their hard work before their eyes is not only exciting, ... it’s beneficial to the community they call home.

“I’m especially grateful for the school district’s partnership in this phenomenal learning experience for our youth.” 

The day began with a basic understanding of where solid waste and recycling goes once it leaves the curb at home.

Students learned about the recycling markets, recent changes the nation was forced to make once China closed the doors to the U.S. industry, and the consequences of contaminated materials being disposed in a country without the same regulations as the United States.

The High School West marine biology students had a solid previous understanding of plastics pollution happening in our oceans.

Sheehan and Engelmann gave an in-depth presentation on the upcoming closure of the Brookhaven landfill, the harmful and invasive environmental impacts of trucking waste off Long Island and the possible solutions to expand recycling and remove ash off the Island.

“This was the most fun I’ve had at work in years,” Sheehan said. “First, I can’t believe how engaged the kids are. This generation is so aware of the impacts we as humans have on our local environment, and they are eager to solve the problems at hand. I’m very excited to work with the class on the final stage of the partnership. I have a hunch we’ll have some excellent new employees working in the various fields of environmental planning and engineering in the very near future.”

The class toured the Municipal Services Facility, where they saw cardboard and paper being sorted, and learned the do’s and don’ts of recycling properly.

Students got an eagle-eye view of the various material drop sites residents can utilize, such as electronic waste and household appliances, construction and demolition, and glass.

From the top of the hill, they observed the massive wood-chipping operation, which is composed of residential brush and tree branch collection and given away to residents for free.

Additionally, students toured groundwater monitoring locations, located at the former landfill site.

The town is required to monitor the underlying groundwater as a part of the post-closure care period.

At the end of the tour, Smithtown environmental planner Liam Trotta took a drone up in the air to show students the solar array and wind turbine located on the grounds. 

“It really makes all the difference when you get to physically see the whole system right in front of you,” Engelmann said. “We could see the concern and surprise on each student's face, despite their face masks — concerned when they learned that the average Long Islander is responsible for almost five pounds of waste in one day, pleasantly surprised when they saw just how much we in Smithtown reuse and recycle, and even happier to learn that their solid waste was being recycled into energy at Covanta.

“But, when we explained the environmental and economic impacts of trucking the remaining ash and C & D off Long Island, you could hear a pin drop in the room. They understand that a clock is officially ticking to implement a solution ... and they are very eager to tackle the issue at hand.”

The STEM partnership takes a hands-on approach to real-world environmental issues affecting the community, utilizing the branches of science in order to apply possible ideas or solutions to improve the problem.

Topics covered include solid waste and recycling, invasive species, stormwater runoff, nitrogen pollution and water quality. 

Phase One is a simple introduction video presentation for students to understand the scope of each issue. Phase Two involves site and case studies during which students witness each issue in person and have the opportunity to ask questions, which are answered by official town experts in each field. Phase Three is conducted in the classroom, during which students will present solutions to each concern.

At every stage of the partnership, the town and school district work in tandem to help students apply lesson plans to each real-world scenario.

The Town of Smithtown hopes to expand this program to all local school districts that are interested.

Band director Anthony Dazzo could not contain his excitement throughout the day at Great Hollow Middle School.

“All day I was walking around saying, ‘We have a concert tonight,’” Dazzo told an in-person audience on Wednesday evening at the auditorium at High School West. “We’re back. We’re here.”

Sure enough, for the first time in two years, Great Hollow musicians performed for a live audience. The sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade bands each held their winter concerts under the direction of Dazzo, Sandy Jurlando and Lawrence Lippman.

The sixth-grade musicians performed Jingle Bells, Battle of the Samurai, Zombie Stomp and Let It Snow. The seventh-grade musicians performed the Star Spangled Banner, Believer, Bay Town Festival and Afterburn. And the eighth-grade musicians performed March Jubilee, The Greatest Show, Shallow and Aventura.

“This is our gift for our families and community,” Great Hollow principal John Scomillio said.

College marketing students at High School West put their teachings into practice by designing shoebox-sized storefronts of their favorite businesses.

Students in Denise Massimo and Cynthia Wood’s classes participated in the project while applying recent lessons in trademark and logo usage, effective color and texturing, and the ability to elicit emotion from consumers.

In Massimo’s ninth-period class, Julia Reuter’s display for Chanel won a student vote.

Her shoebox storefront design included the slogan “fashion changes, style endures” and included holiday-themed tinsel.

Students competed as individuals or in small groups. Other projects featured companies including the NFL Shop, Lego, Best Buy, Kroger, Starbucks and Sephora.

Smithtown Central School District elementary school students sent a very special thank you to local heroes in advance of Thanksgiving.

The Smithtown Teachers’ Association organized a card-writing campaign to thank Suffolk County police officers from the local 4th Precinct.

The messages included students completing the sentence, “I am thankful for the police because …”

• The police make me feel safe.

• They help us get home if we are ever lost.

• They put their life on the line to help others.

• They help people that need help.

High School East and West music students joined together Tuesday to celebrate the 11th annual Tri-M Dinner.

The Tri-M Honor Society hosted the event for its members from both schools, this time hosted in the West library.

The students enjoyed dinner, musical performances by members, and engaged in friendly competition, with teams from East and West facing off in events leading up to the signature competition — Music Jeopardy.

The real victory of the evening was that both high schools’ honor societies joined in an effort to benefit the Smithtown community. Every person attending the event brought nonperishable food items that will be donated to the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry.