Suffolk School Notebook: Jericho team raises $430G for cancer research
Jericho High School students Harrison Berger, left, Alexandra Gatoff and Jake Gershwind recently collected more than $430,000 in a seven-week period as part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's "Students of the Year" campaign. Credit: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Metro New York
A team from Jericho High School that raised more than $430,000 has taken the top spot in a local fundraising campaign and set a record in the process.
The team of juniors Harrison Berger and Alexandra Gatoff and sophomore Jake Gershwind, titled Team Just Cure It (2.0), placed first in the "Students of the Year" campaign of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Long Island Chapter. The campaign asked teams to raise funds for blood cancer research over a seven-week span.
The team also raised the second-highest amount among this year's campaigns nationwide and broke a local fundraising record of $276,000 set last year by a team that included Berger's brother, Ryan.
"First we sent emails to friends and families, and then we arranged meetings with corporations and presented our idea," Berger said of the team's fundraising efforts. Of the amount collected, he said: "We were really surprised and happy."
Additional money came through fundraisers, one of which consisted of a partnership with the local clothing store Mixology that gave the team a percentage of the store's profits on a given day.
The team also enlisted the help of about 25 classmates and pulled in its donations before the COVID-19 pandemic "pause."
"COVID has taught us to look on the positive side," Gershwind said. "We’re changing lives, helping people survive. One kid might have better cancer treatment because of the money we raised."
Victoria Gentile, left, a special-education teacher in the Kings Park School District, was one of four finalists in the 2021 New York State Teacher of the Program coordinated by the New York State Education Department. She is pictured here with Stephanie Montecalvo, the principal of the district's Fort Salonga Elementary School. Credit: Timothy Eagen
LAKE RONKONKOMA
New superintendent
Christopher Pellettieri is the new superintendent of the Sachem Central School District. He replaced Kenneth Graham, who is now superintendent of the Locust Valley School District.
Pellettieri previously served as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the Rockville Centre School District for 12 years. He also has been an education policy fellow at New York University’s Teachers College and is the immediate past president of the Nassau Association of District Curriculum Officials.
"It is with great honor and excitement that I now humbly join the Sachem Central School District family," Pellettieri said. "I am excited to work collaboratively with the Board of Education, administrators, staff and community stakeholders to continue to provide valuable educational opportunities and experiences to the students of Sachem."
SOUTHAMPTON
New principal
Justin Cobis has been named principal of Southampton Intermediate School. He replaced Tim Frazier, who retired.
Cobis most recently served as the school's assistant principal and has been a social studies and physical education teacher in Riverhead. He has also served as a summer school principal for Riverhead High School.
"I am thrilled at the opportunity to lead a building full of wonderful faculty and staff, and I very much look forward to working to address the needs of each and every student at Southampton Intermediate School," Cobis said.
ISLANDWIDE
LIMHOF Scholarships
Ten recent high school graduates who plan to pursue music studies in college have been named winners of 2020 scholarships by the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. Five students won $500 Distinction in Music Awards, and the other five won $300 Merit in Music Awards.
Distinction winners and their high schools were: Allison Brook, Brooklyn Technical High School; Gabrielle Caine, Hampton Bays; Esther Duclair, North Babylon; Michael Golub, Smithtown West; and Melissa Mandel, Elwood. Merit winners and their high schools were: Samuel Abramson, Half Hollow Hills East; Shaun Gibbons, Sayville; Jessica Ringston, H. Frank Carey; Rachel Schlesinger, North Shore Hebrew Academy; and José Suarez, Huntington. Duclair also won an additional $500 scholarship in honor of Len Rothenberg, a longtime friend of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.
- MICHAEL R. EBERT
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
