Shortly before 10:30 a.m. on June 6, yellow school buses pulled up in the driveway of Northwest Elementary School, but it wasn’t young children who stepped off. Instead, it was the 241 members of Amityville Memorial High School’s senior class.

The soon-to-be graduates visited all of their former schools during the senior walk, an annual tradition to celebrate the impending milestone. Led by Assistant Principal Brian Suckle and Dean of Students John Cardone, the Class of 2019 walked through the first, second and third grade hallways in order, as the elementary students lined the halls to cheer them on. Many made signs congratulating the seniors who were clad in their red caps and gowns. Pomp and Circumstance played over the speakers. 

The scene was repeated as the seniors moved on to Northeast Elementary School — where they began their educational careers in pre-K or kindergarten — then to Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School and Edmund W. Miles Middle School. Seniors exchanged hugs with former teachers, who beamed with pride in seeing past students all grown up, having achieved so much and ready to accomplish so much more.

Northeast kindergarten teacher Dyan Aversa said this year’s senior class included students she had during her first year teaching kindergarten in Amityville. Pre-K teacher Lisa Carey pulled her son, James Carey, out of the line of graduates to give him a big hug in front of a poster she hung up filled with pictures from his childhood.

The district honored seniors who have earned scholarships during an awards ceremony on May 23. Amityville Memorial High School’s annual Senior Awards Night celebrated achievements in academics, athletics, the arts and community involvement.

Following opening remarks and performance of the National Anthem, honorees and audience members viewed a video that spotlighted the top 25 members of the Class of 2019. 

The presentation of awards brought applause to the students who are recipients of scholarships, and pride among their family members. Each student accepted their awards and received congratulations from members of the administration and board of education. Many of the local scholarship sponsors were in attendance and personally acknowledged the students. 

After representing the Warriors for several years, a dozen athletes from Amityville Memorial High School are prepared to compete at the next level. The students, who have made commitments to play for college teams locally and in other states, were recognized at the annual Senior Athlete College Celebration Day on May 30 in the school library.

Joined by administrators, board of education trustees, coaches, teammates and family members, the athletes proudly adorned the attire of their new schools. Each student was invited to say a few words about his or her future plans and thank influential people. 

The recognized athletes were:
• Nina Babington, St. John’s University, track and field
• Joel Barrett, University of Bridgeport, track and field
• Victoria Erwat, Binghamton University, volleyball
• Rolman Guardado, Hofstra University, soccer
• Shiyah Hamlet, SUNY Sullivan, basketball
• Indya Hunter, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, track and field
• Alton Kimbrough Jr., Bowie State University, track and field
• D’andre King, Alfred State College, football
• Patrick Meyerrose, St. Joseph’s College, soccer
• Jada Miley, Morgan State University, dance
• Carlos Ponce, Molloy College, soccer
• Kalani Soloman-Shand, Nassau Community College, cross country

The ceremony was simulcast live on the Amityville Broadcast Network. As each senior came to the podium, student commentators said a few words about his or her athletic accomplishments in Amityville. 

“This is an exciting day to recognize the hard work and commitment of all of our athletes,” said Evan Farkas, the director of athletics, physical education and health. He thanked them for their contributions to their teams and also acknowledged all of the supporters of Amityville’s athletic programs. 

Amityville Memorial High School junior Z’Dhanne Williams was accepted to the prestigious High School Summer Research Program at Brookhaven National Laboratory. 

Z’Dhanne has been a member of the district’s Elite research group since ninth grade, working with her team on a treatment for polycythemia vera, a form of blood cancer. They have presented their research at several regional science exhibitions including the Kathy Belton Science Fair at Molloy College and the STEM Diversity Summit at Farmingdale State College. They earned first-place finishes at the Diversity Summit in 2017 and 2018.

This is Z’Dhanne’s second acceptance into a prestigious science program. As a freshman, she was selected for BNL’s STEM-Prep Summer Institute. Beginning in July she will participate in the highly competitive High School Research Program. During this six-week educational offering, Z’Dhanne and other selected students will collaborate with BNL’s scientific staff on projects that supports its mission.

“Z’Dhanne’s continued involvement in research and competitions have made her a candidate for acceptance into BNL’s rigorous summer research program,” science teacher Alexis Charles said. 

Ms. Charles will be working with Z'Dhanne, who will be a co-author for the scientific paper that will be published on the polycythemia vera by SUNY Farmingdale professor Andrew Michaelson and his research team. 

Aspiring scientists at Amityville Memorial High School spent several months exploring the work of noted researchers in preparation for conducting their own science studies next year. 

The school hosted its first Science Research Symposium on May 16, with three students sharing their projects. They are enrolled in science research, a new course this year offered in partnership with SUNY Albany. Teacher Jennifer Galasso said that it is a three-year program in which students can earn up to 12 college credits.

The presenters were sophomore Colleen Compitello and juniors Ameila Tisk and Z’Dhanne Williams. The audience included teachers, administrators, board of education trustees and family members. 

For the first year of the program, students developed their research and presentation skills by selecting a topic and finding scientists who studied that topic extensively. Each student read professional journal articles to thoroughly analyze existing research. This helped them understand the process that scientists go through to gather information.

Next year, Amelia, Colleen and Z’Dhanne will begin their own original research projects. Each will develop a research question and find a mentor scientist to guide them through the process. They will collect their own data in the hopes of making meaningful contributions to the scientific community.

“This year was to build the foundation,” Ms. Galasso said. “The students were really proud of the work that they did, and they are excited about continuing it.”

Ms. Galasso said that one of the benefits of the class is that students can pick topics of interest to them. Colleen, who is involved in Amityville’s music program, chose as her topic, “Music Therapy and Autism.” Amelia’s presentation was on “The Effect of Antidepressants on Bipolar Disorder.”

 Z’Dhanne said that while her topic, “Resensitizing Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria,” may sound complex, she enjoyed the chance to present it in a way that made the information relatable to everyone.  

“I loved being able to connect with my audience,” she said. “The fact that I was able to pick my own topic, something I’m passionate about, has given me the opportunity to shine.”

After the three students presented, they stood with their presentation posters to answer any questions from guests. The symposium also featured a guest speaker from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Watson School of Biological Science, Lyndsey Aguirre, who discussed her research on genetic regulatory circuits in plants.