Nassau: Students think pink

Long Island students know how to think pink.

Dozens of local schools held everything from bake sales to sports fundraisers to dress-down days in recent weeks in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

In North Bellmore, Mepham High School hosted a football game against JFK High School in which players, cheerleaders and spectators wore pink to support the cause. Proceeds from concessions, raffles and special T-shirts went to Adelphi University's NY Breast Cancer Hotline and Support Program.

"It is wonderful to see the community come together to support such an important cause," said John DeTommaso, superintendent of the Bellmore-Merrick school district. "I sincerely thank each and every one of them for their dedication."

In Levittown, Division Avenue High School's girls volleyball team raised more than $1,400 through a "Dig Pink" fundraiser to benefit the Side-Out Foundation. Meanwhile, Smithtown High School West's girls field hockey team played a game in memory of Sara Long Harte, a former teacher at St. James Elementary School who died of breast cancer in 2010.

In Amityville, Park Avenue Memorial Elementary hosted a "Fall Hat Day," with students allowed to wear a hat if they made a $1 donation to benefit Heavenly Hats. That nonprofit provides hats to those who have lost their hair during cancer treatments or due to the disease.

In Mastic Beach, William Floyd High School's National Honor Society raised $2,500 from the American Cancer Society's "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" walk, held in Oakdale.

"We are so proud of the students and their commitment to such a worthy, and for many, a very personal cause," said Lisa Taiani, co-adviser of William Floyd's National Honor Society.

LAUREL HOLLOW

Share the Warmth

Alex and Allison Grey of Laurel Hollow -- siblings and students in the Cold Spring Harbor Central School District -- are helping needy families this fall through "Share the Warmth," a project they started to collect new and gently used sweatshirts for homeless shelters.

Alex, 12, is in the seventh grade and Allison, 16, is in the 11th grade. Since 2010, the pair has collected more than 800 sweatshirts to benefit groups including Long Island Coalition for the Homeless. Sweatshirt donors can email them at sharethewarmthsweatshirts@gmail.com.

MASSAPEQUA

Military fitness

Massapequa High School recently invited U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Eli Henderson to run a mile alongside teens in nine physical education classes over a two-day span. The goal was to help them do their personal best in a biannual physical fitness assessment.

Henderson gave motivational speeches to each class before the run and "motivated a majority of students" to complete the mile in less than the required 13 minutes, school officials said.

COUNTYWIDE

Young Scholars of Math

Eighty Long Island students have been named Young Scholars of Mathematics by the Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented Students at the College at Old Westbury.

Selection implies they rank in the top one-tenth of 1 percent of math students in their grade on Long Island.

Local scholars in the group include: William Hu of Cantiague Elementary School in Jericho; Gina Alexandro and Jack LoGrasso of Carle Place High School; Ashley O'Neill of Weber Middle School in Port Washington; Albert Jan of Baker Elementary School in Great Neck; Griffyn Kang of Friends Academy in Locust Valley; Michael Jan of Great Neck North Middle School; Rahul Parthasarathy of H.B. Thompson Middle School in Syosset; Samuel Kim of Herricks High School; Anika Khanderia, Chris Lo, Michael Paciullo and Uttsav Patel of Herricks Middle School; Nabil Chowdhury of Hicksville Middle School; Pranav Kengeri of Hillside School in New Hyde Park; Zhitong Wang and ZeSen Ying of Jericho High School; Mutahara Bhuiyan, Arthur Cao, Emma Gan, Eric Peng and Brian Weinberger of Jericho Middle School; Rachael Park and William Wong of Manhasset High School; Jeong-Seok Kang, Fayfay Ning, Henry Son and Adam Xiao of Manhasset Middle School; Justin James and Claudia Serna of Mineola High School; Katerina Ganasoulis and Julia Reilly of North Shore High School; Paola Ripoll of Our Lady of Mercy Academy in Syosset; Tawny Sit of Roslyn High School; Liz Wu of Shelter Rock Elementary School in Manhasset; Kevin Li of South Grove Elementary School in Syosset; Vivian Duan and Kalena Liu of South Woods Middle School in Syosset; Dan Hirsch of Syosset High School; Abhishek Kumar and Chris Shen of The Wheatley School in Old Westbury; and Karen Li and Trenton Wong of Willets Road Middle School in Roslyn.

COUNTYWIDE

Young Scholars of Math

Eighty Long Island students have been named Young Scholars of Mathematics by the Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented Students at the College at Old Westbury. Selection implies that they rank among the top one-tenth of 1 percent of math students in their grade on Long Island, college officials said.

Local scholars in the group include: Jordan Shamoun of Covert Avenue Elementary School in Elmont; Jay Jackson of School #2 in Oceanside; James Zheng of Garden City Middle School; Jessica Zhang of Fayette Elementary School in North Merrick; Caitlin Shen of John Lewis Childs Elementary School in Floral Park; Kendall Satcowitz of Norman J. Levy Lakeside Elementary School in Merrick; Humza Khan of Lynbrook South Middle School; Devang Patel of Oceanside Middle School; Carrie Byrne of Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead; and Lizzy Kishinevsky and Louis Lin of Calhoun High School in Merrick.

ISLANDWIDE

World Hunger, in words

Long Island students in grades K-12 are invited to participate in the 26th annual World Food Day essay contest.

This year, students are asked to answer the question: "How can we inspire people to stop world hunger?"

Essays are divided into four categories: grades 1-3 (50 words), grades 4-6 (100 words), grades 7-8 (150 words), and grades 9-12 (200 words). First-place winners will receive a $100 savings bond.

The competition -- in recognition of World Food Day, which was Oct. 16 -- is coordinated by the Amityville-based nonprofit Stop World Hunger and the Mobilized Interfaith Coalition Against Hunger.

Entries should be postmarked by Nov. 8 and mailed to Stop World Hunger, 53 Elm Place, Amityville, N.Y. 11701.