10 Photos
The members of the Hampton Bays Elementary School service organization K-Kids recently donated $250 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as part of an annual fundraiser. They raised the funds by selling emoji keychains to fellow students, teachers and administrators. COURTESY HAMPTON BAYS SCHOOL DISTRICT
The East Quogue Union Free School District received a grant from the Robert J. Long Jr. Wildcat Education Foundation to fund the installation of an outdoor water bottle filling station. COURTESY EAST QUOGUE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Westhampton Beach High School hornist Brett Geller recently performed at the SCMEA Day of Horn at Northport High School. The sophomore earned the spot in the ensemble of over 100 hornists by scoring an A-plus rating on a Level 6 NYSSMA solo last spring. He was also selected to perform at the All-County Horn Festival, at Hofstra Band Day, and in the Hampton Music Educators Association High School Band, the HMEA Jazz Band and the SCMEA Division III Band. Geller also plays with his school’s concert, pep and jazz bands, as well as with the pit orchestra. COURTESY WESTHAMPTON BEACH SCHOOL DISTRICT
To celebrate Lunar New Year, Westhampton Beach Elementary School students in kindergarten through grade five are learning about the customs and traditions surrounding the holiday. They have studied the dragon parade, lion dances and lantern festivals. From left, students Alexandra Muralles, Ella Byrnes, Dante Aiello and Emma Salazar. COURTESY WESTHAMPTON BEACH SCHOOL DISTRICT
Gabriel Rincon was among the second- and third-grade students at Southampton Elementary School taking swimming lessons at the YMCA. Students worked on kicking skills using kickboards, going underwater and the backstroke. Advanced swimmers swam laps and learned how to dive. “We feel it is important for our students to learn water safety and how to swim,” said Athletic Director Darren Phillips. “We are surrounded by water, and many students have never been in a pool or the ocean and don’t know how to swim or what to do if they fell into a pool.” COURTESY SOUTHAMPTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
Southampton High School “Mean Girls” cast members during a recent dress rehearsal. COURTESY SOUTHAMPTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
Three Southampton High School students recently represented their school as top string musicians at the Long Island String Festival Association Suffolk Secondary Festival. The musicians, from left, Chloe Voluck-Sviedrys, Leah Hadyn and Tristyn Sammy, worked closely with world-renowned conductors and performed in concerts at Hauppauge and Northport high schools. COURTESY SOUTHAMPTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Our Lady of the Hamptons School oratorical contest winners, from left, Quinn Cass, Santiago Springer, Sophia Assouad, Gabriella Gonzalez, Paul Ryan and Ayla Cass. COURTESY OUR LADY OF THE HAMPTONS SCHOOL
The Our Lady of the Hamptons School junior spelling bee winners, from left, Annie Alessandrini, Tatum Counihan, Dylan Cheewing. COURTESY OUR LADY OF THE HAMPTONS SCHOOL
Westhampton Beach High School junior Angela Tran recently inaugurated Crochet Corner, a new crochet club at her school. Club members include, from left, Abigail Gomez, Violet Galway, Graelyn LoRusso and Angela Tran. COURTESY WESTHAMPTON BEACH SCHOOL DISTRICT
Southampton High School Presents “Mean Girls”
Southampton High School thespians are set to present Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls” on Friday and Saturday, February 7 and 8, at 1 and 7 p.m. Tickets are free, but there is a suggested donation of $5 for students and $10 for adults.
The 70 student cast members, pit and crew have been perfecting the performance. Cast members even participated in a Broadway master class with actress Kate Rockwell, who played the original Karen Smith in the Broadway production. Rockwell provided tips and pointers to the cast.
“The entire cast and crew is so excited to show the Southampton community what we’ve been working on,” said director Alexandra Seib.
The performance will feature 12 dance numbers in a variety of genres and 22 songs that range from pop to hip-hop to R&B, and it explores the dynamics with both humor and heart.
“The show highlights the underlying messages of self-acceptance, true friendship and the courage it takes to break free from toxic social structures,” said Seib. “Each character embarks on a journey of self-discovery that we hope will resonate with everyone. Through themes of authenticity, advocacy and empathy, the show reminds us that every individual has the power to initiate positive change.”
Seib said this is the biggest show she has ever put together, but she took it on because the student performers have been advocating to stage it since their freshman year.
“I am so glad we have the cast size and stamina to put up this beast of a show,” she said.
Hampton Bays Musicians Participate in HMEA Festival
Twelve middle school music students recently participated in the Hampton Music Educators Association’s annual music festival.
To participate, the students were nominated by their music teacher and then selected by the festival committee. They took part in several practice sessions and a final concert.
In band, musicans were James Hillen, John Jarrin, Daniela Roman and Kourtney Santos. In chorus, performers were Alison Guzman, Logan Haynes, Jemely Mejia, Maya Ollennu and Mia Soledad.
World Drumming: Brody Dalene, Eliza Mayer and Ashley Miller.
Westhampton Beach Cleans Up at Science Olympiad Competition
Westhampton Beach High School Science Club members took home 10 medals at their first-ever Science Olympiad competition on January 26 at Hauppauge High School.
Led by science teacher Dianna Gobler, the 25 Science Club members participated and excelled in a variety of scientific challenges against 62 teams. Juniors Nathan Perl and Patrick Reilly earned fourth place in the Tower Build competition. The duo earned the spot by constructing a lightweight tower that held 15 kilograms of mass. Juniors Annabelle Najdzion and Julia Sobhani placed fifth in the Write It/Do It competition, which tested clear scientific procedure skills. Also placing highly were Aidyn Beebe-Edwards in Entomology (11th place), Noor Sohail and Angela Tran in Dynamic Planet (13th place), Sandra Clarke, Emily Edwards and Emma O’Came in Experimental Design (15th place), and Emma O’Came and Julia Sobhani in Ecology (15th place).
Westhampton Beach Junior Inaugurates Crochet Club
Westhampton Beach High School junior Angela Tran recently inaugurated Crochet Corner, a new crochet and knitting club at her school.
As part of the club, Tran is helping her peers to learn to crochet granny squares with a goal to sew them together into blankets that will be donated to the local senior center. As club members’ skills improve, she hopes that they can make beanies and other apparel to provide to local shelters and hospitals.
Tran said that she began crocheting in December 2022 and has taught herself to make bags, beanies and now amigurumi, which are crocheted stuffed toys.
“Crocheting is a genuinely gratifying experience,” she said. “It opens opportunities to DIY a bunch of cute apparel and items for yourself and your loved ones. It also allows you to slow down and focus solely on being present, which I have found to be my favorite part of the crochet process.”
Teaching crochet also takes patience. “It can get confusing when you’re making rounds and lose count in your head, and the first few works may not be as clean because you’re just getting used to putting the right tension in the string,” she said. “However, the more you practice, the better you’ll get.”
When she doesn’t have yarn and a crochet hook in hand, Tran can be found participating in her school’s CURE environmental club, science club and art club. She also has a paid internship at a local museum and is a member of the Westhampton Ambulance Junior Program. In addition, she works at a local retail store and is working toward becoming a nail artist. She has a goal to pursue medicine and the sciences in college.
The new Crochet Corner club meets biweekly on Fridays before school in the school’s library.
News From Our Lady of the Hamptons School
The primary students in kindergarten through second grades joined the intermediate classes in third and fourth grades for the annual Junior Spelling Bee with fourth-grader Annie Alessandrini the winner, followed by third-grader Tatul Counihan and fourth-grader Dylan Cheewing.
The older students showed their skills at the oratorical contest with first place being claimed by Gabriella Gonzalez and Quinn Cass. Second prizes were claimed by Paul Ryan and Sophia Assouad, with third-place trophies going to Ayla Cass and Santiago Springer.
Jessica Marron and her Prep 7 class presented an original play, “Ancient Civilization Adventures,” teaching some of the background of the wonders of the world and famous historical characters along their Nile excursion.
Registration for the 2025-26 school year is open. Visit olh.org for more about the process. The deadline for kindergarten through second grade is February 15.
College News
Alex R. Boyd of Water Mill was named to the University of Scranton’s dean’s list for the 2024 fall semester. Boyd is a junior majoring in early and primary education.
The University of Alabama released its dean’s list for the fall semester. On it were Cameron Albert of East Quogue, Kerrin Gallagher of Hampton Bays, and Kaitlyn Brierton of Westhampton Beach.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute has released its fall dean’s list and Casey Cartagena of Southampton is on it. Cartagena is majoring in computer science.
Springfield College has named Jake DesLauriers from Eastport to the dean’s list for the fall semester. He is a finance major.
Gabriel Cambron of Southampton has been named to the fall 2024 dean’s list at Buffalo State University.
Artemios Gavalas of Bridgehampton was named to the Commonwealth University-Mansfield dean’s list for fall 2024 semester.
Endicott College’s fall 2024 dean’s list includes Aidan Kellachan of Westhampton. He is a finance major and the son of Carla and John Kellachan.
The dean’s list at Quinnipiac University for the fall semester included Chloe Cosentino of Eastport, Michael Surozenski of Hampton Bays, and Andrew Panza of Southampton.
Staff Writer on Feb 3, 2025