Veterans Day marked at Long Island schools

Students across Long Island saluted military veterans through participation in patriotic concerts, flag sales and Halloween candy donations to benefit vets both near and far — all linked to Veterans Day on Nov. 11.

In Bellmore, members of Wellington C. Mepham High School’s Class of 2016 filled the school’s lawn with the Stars and Stripes and flags of the branches of military service in raising $2,441 for Tuesday’s Children, a nonprofit that helps people affected by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The “Flag Field of Honor” held 275 flags that residents purchased in September.

“The overwhelming turnout and the incredible efforts of our school community left me in awe,” Mepham Principal Michael Harrington said. The flags will be on display through mid-December.

In Oceanside, students in the Patriot Clubs at the middle school and high school showed their appreciation by raising more than $3,000 through T-shirt sales to benefit the nonprofit Wounded Warrior Project. Club members also purchased and placed small flags around the perimeter of both schools.

In Hicksville, Lee Avenue Elementary School received a visit from Valerie Pfundstein, author of “Veterans: Heroes in our Neighborhood.” She read aloud from her children’s book and spoke about the importance of understanding the sacrifices veterans have made to protect Americans’ freedom.

In Merrick, children at Merrick Avenue Middle School filled 10 trash bags with extra Halloween candy for troops overseas as part of a program called Operation Sweet Tooth. “I thought it would be good to do something nice for the troops who don’t get to experience this holiday at home,” seventh-grader Jayden Mogelefsky said.

LEVITTOWN

Pond science

Students in the Levittown school district are studying aquatic habitats using a new pond at the district’s Levittown Memorial Education Center.

One recent lesson saw seventh-graders at Jonas E. Salk Middle School divide the small pond into grids and measure its varying depths using meter sticks. They also identified the pond’s plants, observed water samples using microscopes, and created a “3-D model pond profile,” school officials said.

“The purpose of today’s lesson was to make students excited about science,” said Kevin McDermott, the district’s science director. “We also wanted students to see microscopic life you cannot see on the surface.”

OLD BROOKVILLE

Head of school

Jesse Dougherty is the new head of school for The Green Vale School, an independent day school for prenursery through eighth grade. He replaced Stephen Watters, who retired after 20 years in the position.

Dougherty most recently served seven years as assistant head of school for international affairs and upper school director at Friends Select School, a college preparatory school in Philadelphia. Before that, he held positions at the University of Pennsylvania, William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Maryland.

VALLEY STREAM

Political awareness

Students in Valley Stream South High School’s participation-in-government classes took a closer look at the world of politics during a visit from Assemb. Brian Curran (R-Lynbrook), held in conjunction with the 2015 election season.

Curran explained his responsibilities, from determining whether he supports or opposes proposed legislation to assessing what will improve his constituents’ quality of life. He discussed how laws can affect education and encouraged students to communicate with their elected officials and register to vote.

“I enjoyed having the chance to get a real feel of what it’s like to be an assemblyman,” senior Shane Camacho said. “We learned how he processes information that he gets from us.”

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

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.