Superintendent Dave Schneider and Board President Mike Kelly hosted a breakfast for the staff and faculty at Bethpage High School on Jan. 24 in recognition of BHS being named a National Blue Ribbon school. Mr. Schneider and Mr. Kelly welcomed everyone with words of gratitude and handed out special lanyards and pins adorned with the Blue Ribbon recognition. 

The Bethpage High School Tri-M Music Honor Society presented their Cabaret Night on Jan. 16. Eight students performed a variety of songs, from top hits to Broadway tunes. 

Katelyn Harold, a senior at Bethpage High School, served as the master of ceremonies for the musical occasion. The singers were accompanied by Choral Director Michelle Kovacs on the piano, while Director of Music Dr. Eric Kay was there to offer support. 

The participants were: Alexa Fylstra, Abby Immediato, Julia Maggio, Callie Maino, Jaclyn Matheos, Gianna Mirabelli, Athanasia Panagos, Gaetano Re, Bonnie Stern, Jessica Tusa, and Isabelle Yoon.

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Bethpage High School students competed in the Virtual Enterprise International Long Island Regional Business Competition & Exhibition on Jan. 9 at LIU Post. Virtual Enterprise is an organization that partners with schools to provide meaningful hands-on career experiences with a task-based curriculum. 

Two companies from Anthony Murray and Nancy Simpson’s Virtual Enterprise classes at Bethpage High School competed: A.C.E.S. and Food for Thought. A.C.E.S is a subscription-based company to help teens fight vaping addiction and provides access to addiction counselors, personalized advice and self-help. Food for Thought is a party planning and catering company with a focus on allergy-friendly food options. 

Student members of A.C.E.S include Jake Bonelli, Daniel Cunningham, Bryan Hanley, Anthony Ippolito, Erica Marciante, Justin Patlias, Gibron Rahman, Maxim Safranov, John Santoro and Bryan Weber. 

Student members of Food for Thought include: Aaliyan Ahmad, Peter Arrabito, Rodney Colon, Patrick Dalton, Samuel Donohue, Nicholas Firth, Nicholas Griffin, Victor Guidotti, Patrick Hanley, Carly Issing, Emily Miller, Isabella Raber, Nicolas Ragusa and Jillian Zapata. 

Bethpage was recognized with gold awards in the sales materials and employee manual categories, as well as silver in the company branding competition. The district congratulates the students on their achievements! 

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Michelle Phillips, a library media specialist from John F. Kennedy Middle School, was honored as a Bright Light Award recipient for Bethpage School District. The award is sponsored by the Association of Suffolk Supervisors for Educational Technologies (ASSET). She was recognized at an ASSET luncheon on Jan. 9 at the Timer Point Country Club. 

Michelle has been the library media specialist at John F. Kennedy for nine years. She was recognized for her work in creatively integrating instructional technology tools to support teaching and learning. Michelle enhances teaching and learning by working collaboratively with administration and instructional staff to promote the resources of the library media center.

“When I first met Michelle during my time as principal at John F. Kennedy, I knew we had somebody very special on staff,” said Superintendent of Schools Dave Schneider. “She became a go-to person for innovation, making the library incredibly inviting and engaging to students.” 

Ms. Phillips’s contributions include creating a special reading lounge area in the library, managing the school’s Chromebook initiative and coordinating an inquiry-based Makerspace for students. She also introduced Wellness Wednesdays, in which she leads a breathing exercise or meditation for students in the library.

“I am very honored to be the Bethpage recipient of the Bright Light Award,” said Ms. Phillips. “I love finding ways to help students connect their curriculum and explore their own personal interest through technology.”

The district congratulates Ms. Phillip’s on her achievements and is proud to honor her with the Bright Light Award! 

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Students from Bethpage High School and John F. Kennedy Middle School visited the Fire Island Lighthouse, which was built in 1858. Students climbed 182 steps to the top of the lighthouse, which was the second built in the same location. The previous lighthouse, built in 1826, was too short to effectively warn ships at sea that were approaching land. The top of the lighthouse offered an unobstructed view of the other towns on Fire Island and to the east. When the lighthouse was built, it was on the western edge of the island, near the inlet. Today, due to the actions of the current, known to littoral drift, the inlet is six miles away. Prior to electricity, whale oil lamps provided the light source. The students learned how a first order Fresnel lens magnified and projected lamp light out to sea. This was a great lesson in refraction and physics! Students were also taught how passengers aboard ships that ran aground were rescued.

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