Just in time for Thanksgiving, first grade classes at Smithtown Elementary School participated in turkey center activities. In some classes, the students used math equations to calculate how many feathers their turkeys would have. They cut out feathers, beaks, legs and showed off their artistic abilities. Other classes showed off their creative side as well, making turkeys using tri-colored pasta to represent the feathers.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the district’s Business Olympics competition, sponsored by the School of Business in the Career & Technical Education in cooperation with the Smithtown Industry Advisory Board. The event, held this year at High School West on Nov. 21, was themed “Go Green – Choose Clean.”

The teams’ challenge was to create an environmentally conscious product or service. They developed a promotional and marketing campaign for their product or service. There were 50 teams, with more than 200 students from Smithtown High School East and West participating who were focused on developing a successful mobile business.

Smithtown Industry Advisory Board members, district administrators and employees, local companies and organizations participated in the event and judged the students on their overall presentation. All student teams were required to have a Google Slide presentation, a commercial for their product/service, promotional materials and a marketing plan for their product/service. The district congratulates this year’s winning team from High School West – Team Clean Kicks: Luke Muratore, Will Alptekin and Mark Kyranakis. 

To honor and pay tribute to alumni who have served in the military, High School West held the official ribbon-cutting and grand opening of its Wall of Heroes on Nov. 16. 

The project began last year when five High School West leadership students – Sophia Emma, Shayna Moses, Chloe Mango, Paige Diecidue and Rociel Raymundo – spearheaded an initiative that honors, recognizes and connects alumni who served in the military back to their roots in Smithtown. 

“The power of our youth is immeasurable,” said High School West Principal John Coady. “These young ladies came to me with this idea. They took this project upon themselves from start to finish. It goes to show you how motivated and powerful these students are. It brings me great pride to say we have the best students in this community. This wall is here because of our veterans who have faithfully served our country to protect our freedoms and liberty.”

The project began as a part of a social studies leadership class assignment, under the direction of High School West social studies teacher Joan Havranek. “Every year I have my leadership students work on a final project that involves civil service,” she said. “When we began, we did not know what to expect. Now, here we are honoring 70 brave men and women. We truly do thank all of you for your service. We cannot say thank you enough.”

The formal ribbon-cutting was done by the students who started the project last year and have since graduated. Now, the Wall of Heroes boasts 70 plaques honoring veterans from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Plaques of each of the “heroes” are mounted along the walls, featuring the name, branch of service and year of graduation.

Kindergartners at Dogwood Elementary School had the opportunity to play doctor to their ailing stuffed animals during a teddy bear clinic hosted by Stony Brook Hospital and their nursing students on Nov. 12. 

The students learned about safety both in the car and when they are doing activities, such as bike riding, skateboarding and riding their scooter. Kristi Ladowski, injury prevention coordinator at the hospital, spoke to the students about injury prevention and the importance of keeping safe in the car. She also demonstrated how wearing a helmet during sports and other activities can help reduce the risk of injuries. 
Dressed in their masks and gloves, the students then acted as the caregiver for their stuffed animals, helping to diagnose their ailment, treat and bandage their wounds and give them after-care instructions. 

In what was truly a night of recognition and celebration, the Smithtown Central School District recognized the contributions of students, staff and even local workers who were available in a pinch during a special circumstance during the monthly board of education meeting on Nov. 12.

On Nov. 1, Director of Facilities Dan Leddy had to call PSEG because a nearby fallen tree caused Mt. Pleasant Elementary School to lose power. PSEG quickly scrambled a four-person crew to help.

 “These are true professionals,” said Interim Superintendent of Schools Russell Stewart. “This was a teachable moment for all of our children. To have something authentic like that right there in front of them was very valuable.”

John O’Connell, vice president of transmission and distribution, PSEG Long Island, said, “PSEG Long Island is committed to providing reliable power. We work every day to improve and maintain the electric grid. Thank you to Mr. Stewart and the Board of Education for acknowledging our team of line workers. We are proud of our employees. They work hard to provide customers with excellent customer service.”

This was followed by a presentation of two Unsung Hero awards, which were given by Smithtown Elementary School Principal Janine Lavery and Accompsett Middle School Principal Paul McNeil. Lavery handed an award to Pat Chiello, a head custodian at Smithtown Elementary School. 

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to congratulate and celebrate Mr. Pat Chiello,” Lavery said. “He works tirelessly to do everything he can to make Smithtown Elementary an amazing place.”

Mr. McNeil then commended Annette Sammut, who for the past 27 years served as a secondary duty aide in the district. 

“She’s unwavering in her dedication to the school,” McNeil said. “She’s a leader in her efforts to support and serve others, and that’s something that really sets her apart.” 

Director of Fine Arts Michael Mastrangelo congratulated the district’s All-State music students. Accompsett Elementary School Principal Bryan Frank spotlighted some special high school students who brought the First Tea Golf Program to his building. The students said they plan to expand to other buildings, as St. James Elementary School is next on their list. 

The meeting also highlighted two athletes. Patrick Smith, the coordinator of physical education, athletics, health and nurses, spotlighted two special tennis players, an unlikely duo of senior Anya Konopka and seventh grader Lauren Schiraldi, who have earned All-State honors in addition to becoming very close off the court as well.

Sixth graders from Nesaquake Middle School are taking their dragsters to the runaway and racing against each other in Sean Tomasello’s technology class in November. As part of the Project Lead the Way science of technology class, the students were tasked with designing and fabricating their own dragster.

The students were given a 10-inch pine wedge to begin the project. Their goal was to design and produce a vehicle that would travel a given distance in the shortest amount of time when powered by compressed air. The students needed to apply the design process that they learned in the design and modeling unit to solve problems. 

Using problem-solving skills, group dynamics and research skills, they designed and built a model of a vehicle. Project requirements – such as length of car, distance of axles, thickness between the wheels and more – were considered as they designed the vehicle so it would travel a distance in the shortest amount of time when powered by compressed air as its fuel.

Students fabricated their most aerodynamic design as they went head to head in time trials against their classmates. The time trials were also an important aspect of the project, as they support the claim of the best design.