Long Island pols visit with students

Local classrooms haven't seen a shortage of political topics in recent weeks.

Dozens of schools have played host to candidates and elected officials ranging from town councilmen to supervisors to senators for pre-election debates and question-and-answer sessions to educate students about local politics and the election process.

In East Islip, the high school's Advanced Placement government classes were visited by candidates including Islip Town Supervisor Phil Nolan and Angie Carpenter, the Republican candidate for Suffolk County executive. The group discussed topics such as the Occupy Wall Street protests and President Barack Obama's health care reform.

"You're not going to call the president if you have a question," East Islip's AP government teacher Eric Bruckner told teens at the event. "You'll understand more about . . . government with local politics."

In Levittown, Wisdom Lane Middle School eighth-grader Gabriel Berry conducted a one-on-one interview for his school newspaper with Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray, who is his neighbor. Berry said he knocked on Murray's door to request the interview, and she offered to visit the school to speak with him.

"I've wanted to do a piece on her for a long time," Gabriel said. "A lot of kids aren't interested in politics, but I want them to learn because it's important."

In Glen Cove, the city's incumbent mayor, Ralph Suozzi, and Republican challenger Paul Meli visited the high school for a debate led by a student panel of eight judges.

In Old Westbury, Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) visited The Wheatley School for an afternoon of pizza and politics with the student government.

"These discussions are a tremendous benefit to me, because they allow me to know what is important to our young people here," Martins said afterward.

In Glen Head, North Shore Middle School was visited by former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, who spoke about the value of public service and being a good citizen.

HUNTINGTON

Hurricane aid

Huntington High School's yearbook staff recently donated canned food and household supplies to families in Vermont affected by Hurricane Irene. The project was started by the school's art teacher, Pamela Piffard, whose sister is a guidance counselor at Twin Valley High School in Wilmington, Vt.

To collect the items students held a three-week drive at Waldbaum's in Huntington.

"We provided a list of requested supplies to people as they entered," Piffard said. "There were people who literally came out with every item."

PATCHOGUE

New playground

The Junior League of Long Island installed a new playground last month at Patchogue-based Long Island Head Start, a nonprofit that assists at-risk children and their families. It's the fourth playground on Long Island that the Junior League has helped create in recent years.

"This beautiful playground is a true testament to what a community can accomplish when they have a common focus and desire to make a difference in the lives of children," said Debrah Garcia, Long Island Head Start's chief executive officer.

SELDEN

Military display

Newfield High School dedicated a military service display in the school last month to Terrance Weldon, a 1985 graduate who enlisted in the Navy and died in a missile attack in the Persian Gulf in 1987.

The display has various service flags, uniform components and a digital slide show of all service members from the community.

"The intention of the display is to make the students aware of the service and sacrifice that the members of our military make for us," said social studies teacher Matthew Searing.

ISLANDWIDE

'Read for the Record'

A number of Long Island schools promoted childhood literacy in the "Read for the Record" campaign by the nonprofit Jumpstart that required kids worldwide to simultaneously read Anna Dewdney's children's book "Llama Llama Red Pajama" on Oct. 6. The event attracted 2,184,155 students -- a new world record for simultaneous readers, Jumpstart said.

In Lynbrook, Waverly Park Elementary School reading teacher Maria Viviano-Farry read the book over the school's public address system as students followed along by reading the ebook version on their classrooms' StarBoard, which is an interactive whiteboard.

In Manorville, South Street Elementary School kids heard an online reading by Dewdney and were visited by two llamas provided by Long Island Livestock Co. in Yaphank.

In Levittown, J. Fred Sparke Elementary School pupils wore pajamas to celebrate the day.