Main Office: (631) 382-2705 Health Office: (631) 382-2710 Attendance Office: (631) 382-2716 Counseling Center: (631) 382-2750 Principal - Dr. Simmons (631) 382-2705 Assistant Principal - Mr. Aleci: (631) 382-2740 Assistant Principal - Mr. Pettis: (631) 382-2760 Assistant Principal - Mr. Rose: (631) 382-2720
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The Family, Career and Community Leaders of America chapter at High School East, along with their advisers Jaclyn Fettinger and Connie Smith, wanted to do something special this year for the residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. In the past, the chapter has always visited the homes with holiday wreaths for the residents and played games and socialized with them. This year, they were unable to visit the nursing homes but they still wanted to make their holidays special. Many of these residents have not seen family members and friends in 10 months. The chapter members decided to raise money for items they needed and missed the most – shampoo, lotion, nail polish, lipstick, pocket tissues, word search books, body wash and toothbrushes. Simple items that are very missed by the residents since they’ve had no visitors bringing them. The chapter made and sold pot holder gift sets with various sayings on them. Each set had a cookie mix and a kitchen utensil. The chapter members also put together a holiday dessert cookbook to add to the order. Fifty-two sets were sold. The chapter made the wreaths for the residents to hang on their doors. Twenty-five wreaths were delivered to Luxor Nursing Home at Mills Pond. Through the gift set sales, the chapter raised $500, which allowed them to buy more than 400 of the items they wanted. These were distributed between Mills Pond Nursing Home and Sunrise Assisted Living in Smithtown. Members of the chapter also made a video sending holiday messages, songs and a dance routine for the residents to watch. In a year where many of these residents felt all alone, FCCLA wanted to bring them some holiday cheer and let them know they are thinking of them.
The seniors at High School East in Ms. Tavis’ Leadership classes are delving headfirst into service opportunities to benefit both their school and local community. The Leadership classes, five in total offered this year by Ms. Tavis, fulfill their social studies graduation requirement. The class focuses on service learning opportunities that benefit the students in becoming the change they would like to see in their school and community. Currently, the classes are working on 21 different projects, all student-driven. Students brainstorm their projects at the start of the year and work to implement and execute their ideas. They create personal goals and Ms. Tavis challenges the them to work toward meeting those goals in their projects. So far this year, the students choose several different fundraising projects to benefit Smithtown Children’s Foundation. In early December, they hosted a drive-in movie at the high school to raise money for the foundation. They also are holding a gingerbread house making contest. The kits were purchased by members of the faculty and staff, who brought them home to decorate. The students will virtually judge the different photos of the gingerbread house submissions. The classes are also planning to host a history of Smithtown scavenger hunt for families to benefit the foundation. Aside from the fundraising efforts for their specific chosen charity, the students are involved in many other projects. Since they currently cannot host a food drive, they are promoting local food drives. They are also hosting a virtual food drive for L.I. Cares. The students are currently holding a Stocking Up for Self-Care drive to benefit St. Patrick’s Pantry. To spread some holiday cheer, they are wrapping the doors throughout the school in holiday paper.
The students will also be hosting local therapy dogs that will be brought into the psychology and health classes to discuss how animals can be helpful emotionally. In November, the classes spread the word about voter registration to the school community. One ongoing project is a rock garden outside of the upperclassman cafeteria. Students can decorate rocks during their lunch period that will serve to brighten up the colorful garden.
High School East students in Connie Smith’s child development family and consumer science class recently had a “day care” session with RealCare simulated computer babies. When the babies cried, the students had to tend to their needs – diapering, feeding, burping and rocking the babies – to teach them real life skills when tending to infants.
In the weeks leading up to the holiday, the Interact Club at High School East worked in conjunction with the other clubs and classes at the school to coordinate a Thanksgiving food drive. Thanks to their efforts, the Smithtown High School East team members were able to distribute meals to 64 of district families.
Our next Day in the Life video series features school psychologist Jacqueline Harden from High School East and West.