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Amy Elliott’s fourth-grade class at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ recently participated in a virtual field trip with the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida. This experience provided a live experience for the students to see the miraculous work that is done at the hospital, whose goal is to rescue, rehabilitate and release sea turtles back to their natural environment. 

The Turtle Hospital guide taught the students about the many injuries and illnesses that the majority of the turtle patients come in for while showing them the grounds of the hospital. At the conclusion of the tour, the students were able to participate in a question-and-answer session with the guide to enhance their understanding of the hospital’s work.

“This was an incredible way for us to be reminded that our actions every day can impact the Earth and the beautiful creatures that we share it with,” Elliott said.

East Islip Ice Hockey senior captain Tyler Zembrzycki was recently selected 10th overall in the NA3HL Hockey Draft by the Long Beach Sharks. Zembrzycki finished third overall in high school scoring this season while playing one less game. The star center has grown every year within the organization and was a three-year varsity player for the Chiefs. His passion for the game along with his leadership will no doubt propel him to great opportunities in the future.  

In recognition of April as National Poetry Month, fifth graders at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ participated in a poetry contest celebrating Earth Day, composing poems recognizing the importance of conservation and appreciating the beauty of planet Earth. 

The winning works included “Our Blue Green Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½” by Sofia Caviedes, “Against Nature” by Gianna DeSantis, “Our Earth” by Casey Flad, “Earth” by Jack Fricano, “Earth Day” by Cadence Grieve, “Plants” by John Haanraadts, “Earth Day” by Ryan Harburay, “Through Nature” by Sachin Kamath, “Preposition Poem” by Joanna Li and “Spring” by Maggie Tricoukes. These students read their poems over the school loudspeaker on Earth Day.

“All of the students throughout Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ were enchanted by the prose that their fellow peers had created,” Principal Deborah Smith said. “It was a wonderful opportunity to recognize both National Poetry Month and Earth Day.”

Middle school sixth grader Angelena Smith was named the first-place winner of the grade 5-8 category in the Town of Islip’s Virtual Earth Day Poster Contest. The school was awarded a $250 gift card to Barnes and Noble, while Smith received a Nook tablet as a prize. A member of the middle school’s Art Service Club and Craft Club, Smith was recognized at an Earth Day ceremony on April 22, hosted by Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter at Islip Town Hall.

“Angelena is a very bright and creative student, and I’m very proud of her accomplishments,” said art teacher Joy Taylor. “Congratulations on this very well-deserved award.”

The student council at RCK has had an outstanding year, raising funds for a number of organizations including the Seatuck Environmental Association, for which they hosted an art contest. Guided by social worker Brittany Hayes, the students also helped highlight Autism Awareness Month by decorating puzzle pieces on display above each classroom’s entrance. They also worked to improve the planet by recycling water bottles and worked to improve the school by emphasizing character traits during the school’s morning announcements. 

“Ms. Hayes has done a wonderful job leading these young leaders into a bright future,” said Principal Janet Jones.

The high school’s varsity gymnastics team has done nothing but shine this year, remaining undefeated even when faced with last-minute lineup changes and ending the season as League 3 champions. Two gymnasts, Jules Banville and Evie Orlando, also qualified for the individual competition for the top 30 gymnasts in Suffolk County.

“Congrats to such a wonderful group of girls,” coach Lindsey Panza said. “They should be very proud of themselves and all that they accomplished this season.”

Three of East Islip High School’s most talented art students – Robert Camlet, Mia Oquendo and Sarah Piccinini – were chosen to be featured in the 25th annual “Long Island’s Best: Young Artists at the Heckscher Museum” exhibition, which runs at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington from April 17 to May 23. The three students, all National Art Honor Society members enrolled in teacher Dan Figliozzi’s Advanced Placement Art and Design class, were among just 83 artists selected out of 331 submissions from over 50 high schools.

The show can be seen online at heckscher.org/LIBest2021 beginning on April 24. The Heckscher will also be hosting a series of virtual events in addition to the in-person show, including a virtual reception and awards ceremony on May 1 via Instagram Live, as well as an artist meet-up on May 20 on Zoom.

Camlet’s piece, “Castaway,” is a digitally manipulated photograph that depicts the artist with a halo-like ring around his head and glowing eyes, as well as swimmers in the sky that almost evaporate into the horizon, mimicking a flock of birds. “Robert has been creating amazing surreal works all year, and this piece highlights his strong digital art-making ability,” Figliozzi said.  

Oquendo’s work, “Personal Still-Life,” showcases her technical drawing skills, precision, and attention to detail. “Mia’s skill with colored pencil in this work is evident as the refracted and reflected light in the camera lens is gorgeously executed,” Figliozzi said. “The textures and color in are strong and help to create visual balance in the image.”

Piccinini’s piece, “Decomposing,” is a 36x44 mixed media drawing on cardboard. Butterflies were made with tracing paper, mushrooms and frogs were intricately drawn with graphite and the ribs of the figure were conveyed through cutting into the cardboard surface. “Sarah’s work is breathtaking, and its large scale makes it worth seeing in person,” Figliozzi said. “It is delicate and ethereal and displays her desire to connect with the natural world around us. This piece displays Sarah’s strong risk-taking ability when it comes to making art, as well as her commitment to her craft.”

“I am beyond honored to share this experience with everyone else that won and so proud of my classmates,” Camlet said.

“I am so honored that I was selected to be a part of this show,” Oquendo said. “I can’t wait to see all the other talented artists’ work in person.”

“I am so grateful and thrilled to have my artwork displayed in the Heckscher Museum alongside my peers,” Piccinini said. “I am excited to see the show. Additionally, it was cool to create an artwork inspired by another artist, as it was my first time doing something like that.”

“This show is exciting,” Figliozzi said. “It was our first year applying, and Mrs. Toomey and I are so happy that Rob, Sarah and Mia were selected. This is a huge honor for these three and I am really proud of all of them. They have been working hard all year, developing their body of artwork, and the three pieces they have in the show are evidence of that. It’s also so exciting that their works were selected to be featured on the Instagram press release. I would like to personally thank Mrs. Toomey for continuing to push me as an educator. She works so closely with our AP kids. I do not know where we would be if it wasn’t for her.”

“I am incredibly proud of Rob, Mia and Sarah,” Toomey said. “It is such a huge honor to be selected for Long Island’s Best and they truly are deserving of this recognition. The Heckscher provides such an amazing opportunity by having elite high school students exhibit in their museum space that has held famous artists, local artists and the best high school artists on Long Island. I also give a ton of credit to their AP art teacher, Mr. Figliozzi, who pushes them to excel and achieve high-quality professional work.”

The three selected EIHS art students could use your support for a chance to win the Visitors Choice Award. Please vote for artwork by Rob Camlet, Mia Oquendo or Sarah Piccini (vote once per email) at

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Students at Connetquot  participated in the first CES Jigsaw Walk for Autism Awareness on April 7.

Guest readers virtually joined classes at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ on March 16 to celebrate Read Across America by reading Caldecott Award-winning books and sharing them out loud with students.

The Board of Education will call the meeting to order and move immediately to Executive Session to discuss confidential personnel matters at 6:30 p.m.

The Regular Business Meeting for Thursday, April 8 has been moved to Thursday, April 15 at 8 p.m.