Valentine's Day prompts acts of kindness at Long Island schools

Local classrooms were filled with lessons of love as part of heartwarming projects held in recognition of Valentine's Day.

Dozens of schools across Long Island used the holiday to teach the importance of kindness by reaching out to a range of people, from sick children to senior citizens.

In Valley Stream, second- and third-graders at Wheeler Avenue Elementary School attached homemade valentines to paper goods that were donated to the pantry at nearby Holy Name of Mary parish, while students at Willow Road Elementary School created cards with special messages as part of Nassau County's annual "Valentines for Veterans" program.

"When thinking about what all our veterans have done to keep our people and country safe, this is just a small thank-you to show our love and appreciation," Willow Road Principal Stephanie Capozzoli said.

In Oakdale, students in Eastern Suffolk BOCES' Islip Career Center combined their skills in horticulture, baking and graphic design to make holiday packages for patients at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The arrangements were sold as part of a fundraiser along with 300 cupcakes donated by Campbell's Bakery in Brentwood and items from Trader Joe's in Commack.

In Riverhead, Kelly Dillon's and Kathleen Horn's second-grade classes at Roanoke Avenue Elementary School wrote messages on doilies for senior citizens at Riverhead Care Center and the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing.

In Commack, kindergartners in Diane Gandolfi's class at Rolling Hills Primary School created cards for injured soldiers at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Maryland.

"Our letters and cards are displayed at the hospital, and we even received pictures of soldiers holding them," she said.

In Hauppauge, Pine Elementary School third-graders prepared and sent 100 care packages to U.S. troops in Africa, where the father of student Nick LaFamina is stationed. Nick's father, Tom, is in the Navy and is serving at Camp Lemonnier in the Republic of Djibouti.

"I'm friends with Nick, and I thought it would be nice to help troops, to give them something because they are in the middle of Africa," said student Gabrielle Catanzaro, who initiated the idea. "They are risking their lives and helping us, so we should help them."

LEVITTOWN: Drug awareness contest

MacArthur High School students Max Cohen, Sam Marrero, Alex Philbin and Ashley Simeos won first place in Nassau County's second annual High School Drug Awareness Public Service Announcement Contest.

This year's competition, which drew 125 participants from 10 high schools, asked students in grades 9-12 to develop 30-second PSAs raising awareness about the dangers of illegal and prescription drugs. The contest was sponsored by Bethpage Federal Credit Union.

LONG BEACH: Honored for rally video

The Long Beach Chamber of Commerce issued citations to five students in Long Beach High School's TV production class for their video documenting a hospital rally in October.

Rally organizers invited students Damian McLaughlin, Scott Powers, Cesare Sandoval, Max Tunney and Julia Weiner to record the event, which advocated for an emergency room at the now-closed Long Beach Medical Center.

Superstorm Sandy's floodwaters damaged the medical center in October 2012, and Long Beach has been without a hospital since. Hospital officials recently announced plans to raze three buildings there.

HAMPTON BAYS: Honoring local veterans

The Hampton Bays school district brings history to life by honoring a different local veteran each month with a special ceremony.

February's honoree is Larry Barrell, 93, of Moriches, who was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. In 1942, Barrell was a navigator on a B-17 that flew to South America, North Africa and England. While in England, he was in the 388th Bomb Group, flying 35 combat missions over enemy territory in Germany, France and Holland.

STONY BROOK: Math national finalist

The Stony Brook School teammates Jill Ho, Justin Kim, Simon Sun and Tina Zhu achieved national finalist ranking out of 671 teams in the 17th Annual High School Mathematics Contest in Modeling, hosted by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications.

The team's score was in the contest's top 3 percent, school officials said.

The competition challenged teams to solve one of two real-world problems in 36 hours. The choices were either optimizing the rate of unloading subways and having passengers exit a station, or developing measures that could best contain the spread of a disease in a small Indonesian village.

WESTHAMPTON: Art collaboration

Middle school students from Eastern Suffolk BOCES' Westhampton Beach Learning Center collaborated on a grant-funded art project with Manhattan artists and brothers Steven and William Ladd at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill.

Students toured the brothers' personal exhibit at the museum and learned to create the "scrolled artwork" featured in their pieces. The students then contributed to a larger installation by adding their own scrolled art.

The project, on display until March 1, involved about 1,100 students from 15 Suffolk County schools.

NASSAU COUNTY: VEX Robotics

Five teams from Nassau County districts were first-place winners in various categories in the VEX Robotics Competition at Adelphi University.

The contest, presented by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, asked students to use the VEX Robotics Design System to build robots to score the most points. More than 150 high schoolers from 18 districts participated.

Winners and their awards were: Glen Cove school district's Team 144A The Men in Black, Excellence and Tournament Champion awards; Malverne High School's Team 9785 Malverne Mechanical Mules, Tournament Champion and Design awards; Massapequa school district's Team 9458C Robot Chiefs, Judges' Award; Wantagh school district's Team 8507 Warriors, Tournament Championship Award.