School Notebook: Helping the needy

Local students recently tackled perhaps one of their most important assignments: to help clothe and feed those in need.

Dozens of Long Island schools held collections for coats and canned goods this fall to help needy families have a happier Thanksgiving.

In Bohemia, Connetquot Central School District's 11 schools filled six "very large" boxes with groceries to benefit a food pantry at nearby St. John Nepomucene Roman Catholic Church, which helps about 115 families weekly, district officials said. The effort was coordinated by the Connetquot Teachers Association and the Bohemia Historical Society.

In Smithtown, High School West's thespian troupe and leadership class collected 1,225 pounds of food and dry goods for Island Harvest in Mineola through the International Thespian Society's Trick-or-Treat So Kids Can Eat Program.

In Freeport, 40 high-schoolers recently went a step further by cooking and packaging 130 meals -- from chicken and rice to ziti and meatballs -- for a food pantry located at Our Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church in Freeport.

"This was a perfect coming together of our community, our school and our mission to support each other as citizens of Freeport," said Josh Levitt, Freeport High School's student government faculty adviser.

In Glen Head, North Shore High School senior Victoria Carter ran a coat drive through the North Shore Kiwanis Club to benefit The Salvation Army. Through her efforts 700 coats have been collected over the past five years.

"Since this is my last year in the district, I would love to make it the best ever by collecting 300 coats -- making my total collection 1,000," Carter said.

DEER PARK

Highway safety

Students on Deer Park High School's Health Education Action Team made a presentation last month at the 2011 New York Highway Safety Symposium in Hauppauge that attracted 350 representatives from various state agencies. The team described their efforts to educate peers on the dangers of distracted driving.

They were selected based on being the 2010 winners of "Act Out Loud," a national awareness contest held on National Youth Traffic Safety Month.

EAST ISLIP

Pancakes and cars

East Islip High School's Career Academies recently hosted a pancake breakfast in which Sayville Ford donated $20 for everyone to test-drive one of its new vehicles in the school's parking lot. The event attracted more than 250 community members and raised funds for the academies' educational trip to Key West, Fla., and the Bahamas later this school year.

The event was coordinated with help from James DiGiovanna, a 2011 East Islip graduate who interned last year at the dealership and is now employed there full-time.

COUNTYWIDE

Honoring our veterans

Dozens of local schools celebrated those who have served our country earlier this month with activities in conjunction with Veterans Day on Nov. 11.

In Riverhead, H.B. Ward Career and Technical Center repaired and airbrushed a memorial to Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter on the exterior of his father's 1953 Dodge M37. Haerter, of Southampton, was a rifleman with the Marine Corps' 1st Battalion and was killed by a truck bomb in Iraq in 2008.

In Commack, students at Mandracchia Sawmill Intermediate School put together care packages for veterans at Northport VA Medical Center, while kids at Charles E. Walters Elementary School in Yaphank made thank-you cards for visiting veterans.

In Bayport, Sylvan Avenue Elementary School welcomed Capt. Rick Lutz of the 306th Military Police Battalion, as well as a dog from America's VetDogs in Smithtown.

ISLANDWIDE

$100K in tech grants

Twelve Long Island schools were awarded up to $100,000 in grants to continue expanding their use of technology in classrooms by Jericho-based Optimum Lightpath. More than 155 schools applied for the grants this fall, and the winners were presented with checks by Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano at Optimum Lightpath's Long Island Technology Education Conference on Nov. 16.

Winners of $10,000 grants were Bethpage High School, West Babylon Junior High School and Forest Avenue Elementary School in West Babylon, Harding Avenue Elementary School in Lindenhurst, Lindenhurst High School, North Babylon High School, Sachem North High School in Lake Ronkonkoma, Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead, Saul & Elaine Seiff Educare Center in Bohemia, and Searingtown School in Albertson. Winners of $5,000 grants were Frank J. Carasiti Elementary School in Rocky Point and Harbor Country Day School in St. James.

Optimum is a division of Newsday's owner, Cablevision.