Chris Johnson of CJ’s American Grill in Mattituck gives the teens a cooking demonstration. (Credit: Claire Leaden)
A half dozen students competed in the inaugural teen cook-off at Mattituck High School on July 17. The event was sponsored by non-profit community group The North Fork Alliance Youth Advisory Council.
Judges from three local restaurants picked the winner.
Find out who won and more at northforker.com.
The track at Mattituck High School. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)
The color gold will appear on Mattituck-Cutchogue School District’s new track, but it won’t be in the form of stripes. And as for naming the new facility after recently retired superintendent James McKenna, the school board has had a change of heart.
During the board’s meeting Thursday, district business administrator Michael Engelhardt said the colors will now be blue with white stripes because regulations require yellow markings along the track for junior high school runners.
The district had decided the track would be blue with gold stripes, which are the school’s colors. But, Mr. Engelhardt said, the yellow markings would be too hard to see if the stripes were a similar color. Numbers on the track, however, will be gold, he added.
The other change to the track is it won’t be named after Mr. McKenna.
School board member Jeff Smith said he received numerous complaints from residents after the board unanimously approved a resolution to name the track after Mr. McKenna as a way to honor his 25-years of service to the district.
“It was an emotional vote,” Mr. Smith said, referring to the vote taking place on Mr. McKenna’s final day as the district’s superintendent. “Wiser minds prevailed later on.”
Mattituck resident Judy Thilberg, who’s brother-in-law is retired Mattituck coach Jim Underwood, addressed the school board during the public comment portion of the meeting and said she believed the school board should have looked for community feedback before making its decision.
Mr. Underwood, for instance, “worked for the school district for 32 years … He broke his butt trying to get the track,” she said. “A few teachers approached me and said, ‘What a slap in the face to your brother-in-law.’”
Although the board appeared to be in an agreement to name the high school auditorium after Mr. McKenna instead of the track, the board decided to postpone the decision until the next board meeting on Sept. 18 since three board members — Jerry Diffley, Bill Gatz and Sarah Hassildine — were absent from the meeting.
The track is expected to be completed by the start of school.
The newly completed Mattituck High School track features six lanes. (Credit: Garret Meade)
Mattituck-Cutchogue school board members have officially decided against naming the high school’s new track after former Superintendent James McKenna, but decided to name the auditorium after him instead.
During the board’s Thursday meeting, members voted 6-1 to approve rescinding a previous resolution to name the track in honor of Mr. McKenna, who retired at the end of the 2013-14 school year.
But shortly afterward, trustee Laura Jens-Smith said she felt it was “a little disrespectful” to the former superintendent to rescind the track renaming without also making a motion to discuss naming the high school auditorium after him instead.
“It feels bad. It feels very bad,” she said.
Trustee Jeffrey Smith disagreed with Ms. Jens-Smith and told her he had recently spoken “at length” to Mr. McKenna about the decision not to name the track after him — an idea Mr. Smith said at last month’s board meeting had been met with opposition from numerous residents.
On Thursday, Mr. Smith told the board that Mr. McKenna didn’t seem comfortable with having the track named after him in the first place, and that he was much more amenable to the idea of having the auditorium named after him instead.
“He’s not the kind of person who really cares when something is named after him or not, but when I brought up the auditorium he kind of lit up because the auditorium was his baby,” Mr. Smith said.
School board president Gerard Diffley said there was “no rush” as far as naming the track or the auditorium and that he thinks the district should seek community input before making a decision.
“I think we need to just take a breath and let some time pass,” Mr. Diffley said. “If it’s appropriate in a couple months to do something, I think we should do it. I just don’t want to rush into it.”
Ms. Jens-Smith then made a motion to name the auditorium after Mr. McKenna. That motion passed 4-3.
The lone community member who spoke about the issue was Judy Thilberg, who scolded the board for talking about naming the auditorium after Mr. McKenna without printing it on the agenda.
She said it was wrong of them, and added that she doesn’t feel bad for Mr. McKenna because he “gets a good retirement check.”
“I think [the auditorium] should stay like it is,” Ms. Thilberg said. “I talk to a lot of people in this town all the time and they all feel the same way. We pay the taxes here. Maybe it should say ‘The Taxpayers of Mattituck-Cutchogue Auditorium.’ This is our auditorium. Mr. McKenna lives in Southampton.”
The school will celebrate the official opening of the track Friday, Sept. 26 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the high school, board members said.
“It’s been a long time coming and we want to thank the community,” Superintendent Anne Smith said. “I know our student athletes are going to have a place they’re really proud of and I know our community will have a place they can work out.”
According to the district, a “blue and gold rally” will be held during the school day and will be followed by a flag football game at Mattituck High School at 2:45 p.m. After the ribbon-cutting, which will feature a commemorative lap by the district’s graduating class and its kindergartners, there will be a 7 p.m. bonfire and pep rally. The high school’s “Tucker Bowl” will begin at 8 p.m. The boys and girls soccer teams will play a doubleheader the next day, beginning at noon when the boys take on Center Moriches. The girls then will play Southold/Greenport.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that the Mattituck school board passed a motion to discuss naming the auditorium after Mr. McKenna at a later date. In fact, board members passed a motion to actually name the auditorium after Mr. McKenna at their Sept. 18 meeting.
Mattituck teacher Steve Lavinio, right, and junior Matthew Wells working with AutoCAD. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)
When tech teacher Steve Lavinio arrived at Mattituck High School in 2001, the school had only six computers in its technology lab. But in that tiny room was evidence that the district was ahead of the curve when it came to teaching kids the modern ways of engineering.
That’s because Mattituck’s tech lab boasted a digital drafting program called AutoCAD.
Fast-forward 13 years: Mr. Lavinio’s classroom has expanded into an adjacent space, with enough room for 21 computers, a plotting printer and drafting tables. Some of his former students have gone on to study engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology and Cornell University — and one even landed his dream job building park rides for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
“[Students have] told me that they wouldn’t have done as well if they didn’t learn AutoCAD,” Mr. Lavinio said. “It really gives them the leg up.”
The district upgraded to the program’s latest edition in 2012 and has committed to a plan to upgrade annually, he said. In addition to AutoCAD, the school now has two other software programs from AutoCAD’s creator, Autodesk: Inventor, a 3D drafting program, and Revit, an architectural drafting program.
With Inventor, students can take apart assembled machinery and use the program to calculate how to put it back together. Last year, one student disassembled the circulator pump from a hot-water heater by drawing different components, then made calculations on how to assemble it in Inventor, and the software made the drawing. Other students used Inventor to take apart and put together a lawn mower crank shaft, a sliding T-bevel that measures lumber and a fan clutch used in trucks.
“This came off my old pickup truck,” Mr. Lavinio said, pointing to the fan clutch. “If I find some weird stuff like this I’ll save it for a student to draw.”
The district upgraded the classroom’s computer and server system last year, allowing it to process the Autodesk programs’ large files.
In addition to earning college credits through Farmingdale State College, students in Mr. Lavinio’s classes also receive Autodesk’s software for free on their personal computers for three years.
Although learning how to use drafting programs is a big focus in Mr. Lavinio’s class, students are also learning about engineering through traditional methods.
Mr. Lavinio said he still teaches a design and drawing course that uses pencil and paper, because he believes learning how to draw by hand is still an important skill for students to learn. The course also satisfies the high school’s art class requirement.
Junior Matthew Wells said he’s learning how to use AutoCAD because he wants to study naval engineering in college. Sophomore Chris Massey, whose father, Doug, is a local woodworker and owns Mattituck Millwork, said he’s learning how to use the drafting program because he enjoys working with computers and technology and is also thinking about becoming an electrical engineer to design new electronics and cell phones.
Sophomore Dale Stonemetz said he was inspired by his father, Dale Sr., a builder with Sandpebble in Southampton, to study mechanical and electrical engineering. Dale said he wants to learn how to build homes because he enjoys the type of problem-solving that goes along with creating a house. He’d like to have his own engineering and construction management company one day.
“I’ve always loved that feeling of ‘I built that. I was the person that worked on that,’” Dale said.
(Credit: Garret Meade photos)
The Mattituck-Cutchogue School District is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday to unveil the new high school track.
After the 6 p.m. ribbon cutting, which will feature a commemorative lap by the district’s graduating class and its kindergartners, there will be a bonfire and pep rally at 7 p.m.
The high school’s “Tucker Bowl” will begin at 8 p.m.
In October, voters approved a $925,000 bond to replace its cinder track with one suitable for the school to host meets. The track features the school colors of blue with gold numbers.
Click on the tabs below for more photos.
A pedestrian was struck by a sedan at the corner of Wickham Avenue and Pike Street Friday morning. (Credit: Carrie Miller)
A Mattituck High School student was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center Friday morning after being hit by a vehicle at the corner of Wickham Avenue and Pike Street, fire officials said.
The boy was listed in fair condition Friday afternoon, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Southold Town police and Mattituck Fire Department volunteers responded to the scene just before 10 a.m. Police said the 16-year-old Peconic boy was crossing the street on a skateboard when he struck by a silver Mercedes sedan, driven by a 34-year-old Greenport woman, which stayed at the scene.
The student was airlifted from Strawberry Fields about 10:30 a.m.
Mattituck-Cutchogue School District Superintendent Ann Smith said the student’s parents were with him at the hospital shortly after the accident.
She said both junior and senior high school students are permitted to leave campus during their lunch period. Only senior students are permitted to drive, while juniors can walk, according to the schools off-campus lunch policy.
Ms. Smith said a crossing guard is assigned to the intersection, routinely assisting students walking to and from campus. Police said the boy entered the crosswalk against the direction of the crossing guard and failed to yield to the vehicle.
Sunday’s state championship came 11 years to the day since the Mattituck boys soccer team last won a state title.
That victory came 21 years after the Tuckers first won a state championship in 1982.
In honor of Mattituck’s state championship hat trick we present the stories the team’s two previous title games.
Click on the dates or the page links below to read our prior coverage.
Mattituck soccer players at the high school Sunday night. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo photos)
There were several reasons why Tuckers goalkeeper Ben Knowles had tears in his eyes Sunday night.
First and foremost, his Mattituck boys soccer team had clinched the third state title in school history earlier in the day. Secondly, the team bus was escorted by local police and fire department personnel from the town line to Mattituck High School. The soccer players were also greeted by community members as Queen’s “We are the Champions” blasted outside the school.
As the cheers, music and group photo requests subsided, Knowles, holding the championship plaque, became emotional as he reflected on the evening.
“It’s incredible,” Knowles said as he fought back tears. “As a senior, this is my last year being here with all of these guys and it’s the last time I’m going to be playing with them. It’s just incredible to come home with a final victory.”
Mattituck soccer coach Mat Litchhult kissed his newborn son before addressing the crowd.
“We haven’t lost since he was born,” Litchhult said. “This is the best team that’s ever been through Mattituck.”
• Read about the school’s other championship teams
Litchhult said the community’s support, including school board president Jerry Diffley providing championship T-shirts for the players, made Sunday’s win not just a Mattituck soccer victory, but a “Mattituck community victory.”
“I tried to do my best at times to keep their minds set on the ultimate goal and that’s this feeling right now,” the coach said.
The players were also greeted by the teams’ colors of blue and gold in the form of balloons and streamers on display at the school.
Parent Tricia Almberg said she raced back from the game to purchase decoration supplies and adorned the front of the building prior to the team’s arrival.
Ms. Almberg said she was at Sunday’s game and her favorite part was when her son, 17-year-old Connor Almberg, took the field.
“I was happy he was on the field when they won,” she said. “As a mother, I’m proud he stuck with it, even though he wasn’t the best on the team.”
Connor’s girlfriend, Tricia Dorneister, 19, described Sunday’s win as thrilling.
“There were a lot of hugs and smiles,” she said as she put up streamers. “They worked so hard. They deserve it for sure.”
Mattituck High School music teacher Jacob Fowle, right, and principal Shawn Petretti in the chorus room where students practiced the school song for the winter concert. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)
Mattituck High School principal Shawn Petretti can’t say with certainty how long the school’s song had been lost.
He also isn’t sure why it faded from memory. The former high school history teacher says he’s just happy it’s back.
“It sent chills down my spine to hear the song,” Mr. Petretti said, recalling how he felt after hearing the student chorus sing it for the first time in November.
Mr. Petretti said he’d done some research to see if the school had a song for the centennial class celebration this past June. The event drew alumni from graduating classes as far back as the 1940s, he said.
He came up empty-handed during his investigation. No one he talked to could remember there ever being a school song. Still, he kept looking, because most schools traditionally have a song.
Since the fall, students have been working on an art project to commemorate last year’s centennial celebration. There’s a long sheet of blank white paper covering a portion of one of the school’s halls where students will contribute their art, focusing on to a “100 years of tradition” theme.
To gain inspiration, a group of advanced art students met Nov. 21 in the high school library and pored over old school documents and yearbooks.
One of those students was senior Emma Leaden, who was thumbing through the 1934 yearbook, which also functioned at the time as the school newspaper.
As she turned the delicate, aged and yellowed pages, Emma came across a tiny 44-word entry titled “New School Song.” It was sandwiched among personal messages to the 11 graduating seniors and some inside jokes titled “Favorite Pastime/Will Become.”
“I was reading the yearbooks thoroughly — I didn’t want to skim through because I was looking for stuff to put into the mural,” she said. “It’s been fun to look back at the past and see how the school has changed.”
Given the yearbook date and “new” in the song’s title, Mr. Petretti believes it was created in 1934, the same year the current high school building was constructed on Main Road. The lyrics read:
Cheer for Mattituck High School,
Our dear Blue and Gold.
We’ll play the game
And win the fame
Loyal hearts will ever hold.
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Think of Alma Mater —
Defeat will never do.
In after days, when we’re away
We’ll dream of you.
The song was written by Coach Donald Wormley, who coached baseball and boys and girls basketball, Mr. Petretti said. Coach Wormley also taught math and science, he said, and was the school’s only male teacher.
As soon as Emma discovered the song, Mr. Petretti said he “immediately photocopied it and ran down to the chorus room” to find music teacher Jacob Fowle.
“I was looking for someone to share the enthusiasm with,” Mr. Petretti said. “I wanted to bring this back to life.”
With about three weeks until the high school’s winter concert, he asked Mr. Fowle if it was possible to have the student chorus perform the song.
Mr. Fowle said he enjoyed putting the song to music, using Notre Dame’s “Fighting Irish” song and the Disney movie “Monster University” for inspiration.
After students sang his rendition of the school song at the Dec. 18 winter concert, Emma said parents were very excited. Not only did they enjoy hearing it, she said, they enjoyed learning that the school had a fight song.
“I love the school song,” she said. “It embodies Mattituck because there’s effort and heart in it that represents the school and community.”
Click on the video below to watch students singing the school song at the winter concert.
Some of the top wrestlers in Suffolk County will make their way to Mattituck today for the 18th annual North Fork Invitational.
The Mattituck wrestling team posted a second-place finish in the tournament last year behind Connetquot. Wrestling started early this morning and will continue throughout the day at Mattituck High School. The finals are projected to start sometime between 5 and 6 p.m.
Some of the teams competing are: Rocky Point, Connetquot, Riverhead, West Babylon, Miller Place, Bay Shore, North Babylon and Half Hollow Hills East.
The Tuckers are currently 3-0 in League VII dual meets and are tied for first place with Port Jefferson. The two teams will face off in a dual meet Tuesday at Mattituck High School.
Be sure to check back tonight for a recap of today’s tournament.
Mattituck’s Tanner Zagarino (top) wrestles against Raheem Brown of Riverhead Saturday in the 170-pound finals of the North Fork Invitational. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)
Tanner Zagarino has the face of a model, but the heart of a wrestling champion.
One wouldn’t think that wrestling and a modeling career would go hand in hand, but Tanner Zagarino has found a way to balance the two very different pursuits.
Zagarino is a sophomore on the Mattituck/Greenport/Southold high school wrestling team. In his other life, he is a model who has signed with Wilhelmina Models of Los Angeles. He has appeared in advertisements and on television for the American Music Awards. He was in a music video that has over seven million views on YouTube.
Not only that, but Zagarino has fans — a lot of them — well beyond the wrestling mat. He said he has 440,000 followers on Instagram and 93,000 followers on Twitter. Acting may be in Zagarino’s future.
“That’s a million-dollar smile over there,” Mattituck/Greenport/Southold coach Cory Dolson said. “He’s got to keep that face nice and pretty.”
sometimes you just gotta’ make the best of everything and smile pic.twitter.com/rmko3M4Q68
— Tanner Zagarino (@TannerZagarino) January 12, 2015
In addition to a face made for Hollywood, Zagarino, long, wiry and strong, has proven that he has heart — the heart of a champion.
Every second of a wrestling match counts. With the right move (or the wrong move), a match can turn in an instant, the proverbial blink of an eye.
Such was the case in the 170-pound final of the 18th annual North Fork Invitational on Saturday night. Zagarino was trailing by 3 points in the dying moments of the match and looked spent, but he still had something left in him. With about 10 seconds to go, Zagarino, the No. 1 seed, took down Riverhead senior Raheem Brown for 2 points and kept him down, picking up 3 back points for a dramatic 10-8 triumph at Mattituck High School.
“I swear to God, when it was over, I didn’t think I won,” Zagarino said. “I just felt him pushing into me and then my instincts kicked in. I hit a lock drop and put him on his back. I knew I had to keep him there to win and it was surreal. It was amazing.”
After securing his third tournament title of the season, Zagarino rushed to rejoice with friends and family members, some of whom were seen with tears of joy in their eyes.
“It was the most exciting way to win, not the best,” Zagarino said. “I think dominating the whole way would have been best, but that was quite a storybook ending.”
But there was more to come for Zagarino. Later, after all the matches were completed, Zagarino was headed for an interview when he was stopped in his tracks by the announcement that he had been selected the tournament’s Champion of Champions. “One second,” he said with a smile to a reporter before heading off to pick up his plaque.
In Zagarino’s previous two bouts, he pinned Arsen Cora of Connetquot at 1:40 and scored a 7-1 decision over Griffin Arcuri of Half Hollow Hills East to gain entry into the final.
Brown said he had never lost a match before in such a stunning manner.
“I just messed up,” he said, adding: “I got a little cocky, went for the body instead … and got tossed.”
Riverhead coach Wade Davey said: “It’s a mistake. You know, you’re winning by three with 20 seconds to go, there’s no reason to be attacking. We just got done saying, ‘Hands only.’ It’s a shame because he really had control of the whole match.”
Zagarino said he was exhausted late in the match, but that didn’t keep him from working. “It just goes to show that you never give up, and no matter how much time you have left, no matter how someone’s beating you up, there’s always a chance to win,” he said. “That’s what I love about the sport of wrestling. As long as you work harder than the other guy, you can win. That’s all it takes.”
Zagarino, who brought his record to 26-3, did pay a price for his rewards. The right side of his face bore marks and bruises.
“I need my face, and look at my face right now,” he said. In the end, though, he decided, “All of this was worth it.”
Oliver Orr, 17, learning his way around a camera during the week long mentor program earlier this month. (Credit: Courtesy Robert Leslie)
The film opens with a familiar scene: a boy and girl enjoying themselves on a first date. Taking somewhat of an unexpected turn, another woman appears — an ex-girlfriend.
But she wasn’t the boy’s ex-girlfriend.
Directed and edited by Mattituck High School senior Oliver Orr, the film “Precipice” has earned the 17-year-old recognition in cinematic arts by the National YoungArts Foundation, which identifies and supports young artists in all genres through mentorship and scholarship opportunities.
“I watch so many movies, and I always have. I started making my own movies when I was in sixth grade,” said Oliver, sporting a YoungArts Foundation shirt during an interview in the high school’s library last Wednesday. “But ‘Precipice’ was a bigger, much more polished product than I had ever produced.”
Oliver planned, directed, shot and edited the short film over the course of two weeks this past summer, with the help of a 16-member crew that included professional actors from Broadway. It was done as part of an education program with the Manhattan Film Institute.
“We had five hours on the day of the shoot from when the van pulled up ’til it drove away,” he said. “I had planned out to the minute what we were doing that day.”
In all, he had about two hours of footage to use in creating the four-minute finished film.
“You want to have as many choices as possible,” he said.
At that point, though, he hadn’t yet known about the YoungArts competition.
“I had seen it on a list of scholarship opportunities the school’s guidance office gives out,” he said. “I clicked send and forgot about it, essentially.”
Little did he know he had earned himself quite the opportunity — as one of just 170 young artists invited to take an all-expenses-paid trip to Miami in early January. During that trip he was able to learn tips from greats in their field.
“When he showed me the email, I actually asked him, ‘Is this real?’ ” said his mother, Amanda Barney, who teaches English at the high school. “It’s such a big honor for a kid from a small town and a small, public high school. We are so proud of him.”
The meaning behind the film he made, Oliver said, is not so much about the expectations of each gender role, but that “the expected genders are irrelevant.”
“They are lovers first and women second in the scenario,” he said.
Click here to see the movie.
Oliver said he credits the school’s production program with helping to spark his interest in film and giving him the editing skills necessary to produce such work. He said his teacher, John Roslak, emphasized the importance of understanding the editing technology and how best to use it.
“There was no way I could have gone to class here and not have been a good editor,” he said.
Principal Shawn Petretti said, “The beautiful thing about that program is that it has managed to expose students to something that they discover an interest in.
“And when you get someone like Oliver, who really brings a passionate energy into everything he does, he went on and found additional opportunities,” he added, noting that several students have gone on to study broadcast, video and film production after taking part in the program.
Oliver is now one of 60 candidates in the running to be named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, an honor given to a select few of the YoungArts winners. Should he earn one of the 20 available spots, he would earn himself another trip — to Washington D.C. to meet President Obama.
With confidence in his editing skills, Oliver said he used the week-long experience in Miami to sharpen his camera and directing skills, taking tips from notables like actor James Caan of “The Godfather” fame and filmmaker Shari Carpenter, who has worked on many projects with Spike Lee.
“I really don’t care in what capacity, but for the rest of my life I want to be making movies,” Oliver said.
HIGH HONOR ROLL
Grade 12: Lisa Angell, Courtney Benediktsson, Christopher Dwyer, Harrison Forte, William Gildersleeve, Joshua Hassildine, Walter Jacob, Rony Javier, Madison Kent, Adrianna Lawson, Emma Leaden, Constantina Leodis, Christopher Mauceri, Ryan Messinger, Emily Mincieli, Christopher Molchan, Courtney Murphy, Ian Nish, Oliver Orr, Daniel Parks, Pulith Peiris, Marcos Perivolaris, Sarah Pfennig, Colby Prokop, Heidy Quizhpi, Leah Santacroce, Alyssa Scartozzi, Christopher Sledjeski, Jamie Stonemetz, Abigail Terry, Haley Unger, Nicole Zurawski.
Grade 11: John Batuello, Thomas Behr, Julie Dickerson, Carly Doorhy, Jack Dufton, Emma Fasolino, Erin Feeney, Liam Finnegan, Sarah Fogarty, Gwyneth Foley, David Folk, Yianni Giannaris, Sarah Goerler, Jacquelin Gonzalez, Audrey Hoeg, Katherine Hoeg, Chloe Janis, Raven Janoski, Caroline Keil, Anna Kowalski, Julie Krudop, Antonina Lentini, Dylan Marlborough, Meghan McKillop, Lika Osepashvili, Artemis Pando, Meghan Pawlik, Courtney Penny, Dawn Rochon, Miranda Sannino, Kimberly Scheer, Greg Sheryll, Sophia Sluyters, Andrew Stakey, William Stuckart, Lucas Webb, Charles Zaloom.
Grade 10: Eshi Baldano, Amy Li Berninger, Alex Bradley, Ty Bugdin, Alexander Burns, Charley Claudio, Sean Gambaiani, Daniel Harkin, Cheyenne Harris, Thomas Hoeg, Samantha Husak, Tina Imbriano, Colleen Kelly, Joseph Kelly, Brendan Kent, Colette Kodym, Amy Macaluso, Ryan McCaffery, James McDonald, Joseph Mele, Carter Montgomery, Corinne Reda, Sascha Rosin, Tyler Seifert, Sarah Shannon, Ryan Shuford, Dale Stonemetz, Christopher Waggoner, Dylan Wilsberg.
Grade 9: Talia Aiello, Larysa Andreadis, Alexandra Beebe, Alexander Bellavia, Brittany Benediktsson, Jack Bokina, Ashley Burns, Ashley Chew, James Clementi, David Conroy, Liam Corbley, Mackenzie Daly, Joy Davis, Jane DiGregorio, Elizabeth Dwyer, Sean Feeney, Brian Feeney, Samantha Fine, Rebecca Foster, Brianna Fox, Jaime Gaffga, Jacqueline Galdamez Santa Maria, Macie Grathwohl, Rebecca Hammerle, Shawn Howell, Sophie Jacobs, Leah Kerensky, Justin Lake, Anthony Lopez, Chelsea Marlborough, Grace McKeon, Lucas Micheels, Emily Mowdy, Jakob Olsen, Madison Osler, Alexandria Peters, Jennifer Rutkoski, Joseph Stuckart, Thomas Sullivan, Alexandra Talbot, Martha Terry, Carly Unger, Carly Woods, Kathryn Zaloom.
Grade 8: Lauren Bihm, Sarah Bihm, Charles Bordsen, Kaitlyn Brisotti, Max Cantelmo, Dorothy Condon, Christian Demchak, Annabel Donovan, Kaitlyn Driscoll, Gabrielle Dwyer, Michelle Escalante, Anne Finnegan, Caleb Foley, Jillian Gaffga, Savvas Giannaris, Bryce Grathwohl, Gabriella Hassildine, Claudia Hoeg, Riley Hoeg, Christopher Imbriano, Rachel Janis, Wilber Javiel Cruz, Mason Kelly, Kristen Lisowy, Antonio Marine, Sean McDonald, Catherine McGrath, Sierra McShane, Cassidy Mullin, Tyler Olsen, Tyler F. Olsen, Mikayla Osmer, Katherine Parks, Ashley Perkins, Trevor Poole, Meghan Riley, Amber Rochon, Lily Russell, Wylee Sanders, Madison Schmidt, Olivia Schutte, Ryan Seifert, Julie Seifert, Madelyn Shannon, Thomas Silleck, Matthew Sledjeski, Mia Slovak, Madison Storm, Christina Tomao, Courtney Trzcinski, Francesca Vasile-Cozzo, Gabrielle Wahlers.
Grade 7: Ian Baker, Margaret Bruer, Anna Burns, Kianja Christian, James DiBartolo, Cole DiGregorio, Shelby Dufton, Gabrielle Finora, Julia Gammon, Justin Garbarino, Claire Gatz, Grace Golder, Viktoria Harkin, Miranda Hedges, Andrew Hildesheim, Mackenzie Hoeg, Charlotte Keil, Abigail Kerensky, Hayden Kitz, Adam Kobel, James Kowalski, Jenna Lisowy, Payton Maddaloni, Tyler Marlborough, Shannon Massey, Paige Mather, Jessica Mazzeo, Mildred Monroy, Taylor Montgomery, Christopher Nicholson, Jillian Orr, Jordan Osler, Rachel Park, Cade Patchell, Dane Reda, Emmet Ryan, Jessica Scheer, Grace Shipman, Tyler Shuford, Rylie Skrezec, Joshua Starzee, Emily Sullivan, Christopher Talbot II, Kathryn Thompson, Brett Walsh, Matthew Warns, Thomas Wilton.
HONOR ROLL
Grade 12: Kaylee Bergen, Brianne Briggmann, Steven Brisotti, Joseph Cavanagh, Nicole Considine, Andrew Cushman, Jacqueline Diaz, Kevin Diffley, Jack DiGregorio, Olivia Finn, Kayla Gibbons, Benjamin Hinsch, Amanda Hodun, Victoria Ireland, James Nish, Nicholas Noormae, Michael O’Rourke, Rebecca Piraino, Randy Salvitti, Marisa Sannino, Cal Seifert, Sarah Sheppard, Molly Smith, Cady Vitale, Diana West, Ya-Xin You, Andrew Young, Andrew Yurchison, Ryan Zlatniski.
Grade 11: Cassidy Arnzen, Taylor Berkoski, Hayley Berry, Eddie Dowling, Alec Durkin, Hannah Fitzgerald, Ava Gaines, Austin Gao, Emily Gatz, Joseph Graeb, Skyler Grathwohl, Katerina Hatzinikolaou, Christina Hatzinikolaou, Jeffrey Hauser, Frank Imbriano, Trevor Larsen, Alison LePre, Joseph Lisowy, Garrett Malave, Daniel Nugent, Kristina Olsen, Michael Onufrak, Samuel Shaffery, Cecilia Stevens, Joseph Tardif, Parker Tuthill, Mia Vasile-Cozzo, Rachel Voegel.
Grade 10: Chance Anderson, Ryan Buchholz, Karen Carrillo, Katherine Celic, Joseph Considine, Caitlyn Deerkoski, Grace Izzo, Luke Karlin, Kyle Makely, Christopher Massey, Matthew Mauceri, Eric Momente, Karolina Morawski, McKenzi Murphy, Cassandra Nine, Johanna Pedone, Grace Pellegrino, Melanie Pfennig, Joshua Prager, Hannah Prokop, Autumn Reichardt, Sean Robbins, Ally Robins, Christopher Schroeder, Emily Sidor, Katherine Stumpf, Mary Wilton, Amanda Young.
Grade 9: Luke Bokina, Alissa Dabrowski, Kaitlyn Ficarra, Daniel Folk, Wade Foster, Drew Hahn, Collin Kaminsky, Jack Kitz, Jacob Kupecki, Taylor Larsen, Jordyn Maichin, Stephen Masotti, Justin McKinney, Mauricio Moran, Stephen Nyilas, Thomas Olsen, Dennis O’Rourke, Sarah Park, Jillian Pedone, Greta Peters, Riley Peterson, Peter Pugliese, Elvira Puluc, Jacqueline Secaida, Dominick Skrezec, Connor Smith, Logan Urick, Julia Vasile-Cozzo.
Grade 8: Miranda Annunziata, Isaiah Baker, William Burns, Alexis Burns, Trinity Butler Kelly, Heather Carita, Tyler Cirincione, Cassidy Deerkoski, Joseph DePinto, David Fasolino, Benjamin Golanec, Melina Harris, Lucas Kosmynka, Jessica Lessard, Jonathan Lisowy, Kyle McFadden, Emily McKillop, Kacper Michalak, Brian Molchan, Alexander Nadel, Teagan Nine, Matteo Pellegrini, Mariano Perez, Stephanie Perez, Ethan Prager, Aidan Reilly, Bayleigh Rienecker, Andrew Righi, Francesco Sannino, Matthew Schroeck, Joseph Sciotto, Christopher Siejka, Nikita Siracusano, Benjamin Webb, Caitlin Westermann, Goksel Zaim, Lauren Zuhoski.
Grade 7: Jack Burkhardt, Rhiannon Cherney, Joseph Corso, Oswald Cuellar, Matthew Czujko, Emma Flint, Halle Foster, William Hickox, Sean Jester, Madeleine Jimenez, Marissa Lechner, Jadyn Maichin, Joshua Masotti, Kyle McCaskie, Hannah Murphy, Jennifer Palencia, Eric Palencia, Veronica Pugliese, Morgan Puterbaugh, Sarah Santacroce, Aidan Sawaya, Mathew Schultz, Parker Sheppard, Colby Suglia, Sarah Wahl, Luke Wojtas, Taylor Zuhoski.
EFFORT ROLL
Grade 12: Amanda Pfeifer
Grade 11: Samantha Smilovich
Grade 10: Kyle Schultz
Grade 9: Aaron Conner, Adriana Hernandez, Jose Chamale-Puluc
COMMENDED STUDENTS
Grade 8: Jake Catalano, Kaela McGowan
Grade 7: Xavier Allen, Tia Flythe, Emily Javier, Adam Kaya
Lily Padula. (Credit: Courtesy photo)
An editorial illustrator and 2009 graduate of Mattituck High School, Lily Padula’s work has appeared five times in The New York Times since she graduated from New York City’s School of Visual Arts in 2013.
Her latest NYT piece was published Feb. 15, for a column called “Surviving the Perils of the Quest for a Higher Yield.”
Now living in Brooklyn, Ms. Padula gave northforker.com a peak behind the curtain into what goes on behind the scenes at newspapers that use artwork to tell a story — instead of just photos.
Click here to read the story.
Visit lilypadula.com to see more of her work.
From left: Mattituck Best Buddies chapter president Chris Massey, vice president Michael Goodale, director Nick Mele, Ben Hinsch and treasurer Ryan Shuford. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
When Mattituck High School senior Nick Mele came across an article about a disabled boy from Washington State who had made a public birthday wish for cards and stickers, he knew who could help make the youngster’s day special.
Nineteen-year-old Nick, who has cerebral palsy, decided he wanted to recruit as many classmates as possible to sign a huge birthday card for Bubby Everson, who turned 9 last month.
Bubby’s parents decided he couldn’t have a party because they felt it could potentially worsen his health, according to The Washington Post. He has cytomegalovirus, autism, cerebral palsy and epilepsy, among other medical conditions, according to the article.
Nick said he decided to take his idea to the school’s Best Buddies club, a chapter of an international organization that promotes opportunities for one-on-one friendships for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“I shared the story on my Facebook page and figured it would be good to get Best Buddies involved,” said Nick, who’s been a member of the organization for the past few years and is its current buddy director. “When I first got to this school, I was in lunch alone watching people just walk by me. If you’re afraid to make friends, like I was in seventh grade, it’s really a good group to join because the kids are so nice.”
Chapter president Chris Massey, 15, and vice president Michael Goodale, 16, said they joined the club because they believe it’s important to give students with disabilities a chance to get involved with the school and the community.
Michael said his best buddy this year is 13-year-old Miguel Borrayo.
Nick Mele helped recruit as many classmates as possible to sign a huge birthday card for a disabled boy in Washington State. (Credit: Mattituck High School)
Miguel, who has Down syndrome, was featured in a recent Suffolk Times cover story after he scored the first points of his school basketball career Jan. 8.
“I just love the kid,” Michael said. “I think [Best Buddies] is great because it involves everyone together.”
Club advisors Caroline Wills and guidance counselor Jason Mastropierro are teaching students the importance of friendship and compassion.
“Parents, students and faculty expressed a need because some students were going home on the weekends and doing nothing,” Ms. Wills said. “This gives them the ability to just be kids and have fun. You’re no longer defined by a disability.”
Students go bowling, see New York City plays and work together on fundraisers, she said.
Club treasurer Ryan Shuford, 15, said he believes the program is important because it helps students with disabilities gain confidence.
“Without the program, they’d be walking by themselves and have no one to talk to throughout the day,” he said.
Ryan was Nick’s buddy last year and said he has enjoyed hanging out together.
“One of the things he likes to do is sing karaoke and, since I’m in chorus, I like to sing so we do that together,” Ryan said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
For more information about the program or to donate, visit the club’s Facebook group, Mattituck Best Buddies.
Jeffrey Avilas Ramos, a Mattituck High School junior, competes in eSports called Major League Gaming playing mostly Call of Duty. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
Down a steep wooden staircase, in a small basement room to the right, an RCA TV sits atop a folding table. An Energy Guide sticker cuts off a portion of the TV’s bottom right corner. A cable on the left side dangles down to the floor, where it connects to an XBox One.
Jeffrey Avilas Ramos leans forward in a folding chair, his eyes fixated on the screen. The sounds of gunfire blast from the speakers. Ramos never flinches.
It’s here, in his Laurel home, that Ramos, 16, spends hours at a time. This is his field, his court, his diamond.
This is his war room.
A junior at Mattituck High School, Ramos is part of a growing phenomenon of professional gamers. As a 14-year-old, he formed his own team called Fatal Ambition. It currently competes in Major League Gaming, the self-described “global leader” of eSports. Earlier this month, Ramos’ team competed in Columbus, Ohio, at the North American Regional Finals, playing the game Call of Duty in a 32-team double elimination bracket where the top 14 teams advanced to the World Championship. This weekend, at the L.A. Live entertainment complex — located next-door to the home of the Los Angeles Lakers — 32 teams from across the globe will compete for $1 million in prizes. Last year’s winner walked home with $400,000.
For gamers, it’s their Super Bowl.
“That’s the biggest tournament of the year,” Ramos said. “All the teams from around the world compete and MLG pays for all their stuff.”
Ramos will have to wait his turn before vying for the big money. His team, a collection of mostly random players from Canada, was soundly beaten by more veteran teams in Ohio, sending Fatal Ambition to a quick exit.
Ramos’ introduction to video games came like most kids. He played games like Super Mario Brothers and Need for Speed on Playstation and had a Game Boy Advance SP. A few times a year with his cousins, he played the first-person shooter game Halo. After one particular game that ended in a one-sided whooping, his disgruntled cousin asked Ramos if he was an MLG pro.
“I said, ‘What is that?’ ” Ramos recalled. “After they left I started looking up MLG and read into it and got interested.”
He signed up for some tournaments and joined a team started by a guy in Tennessee. He was 13, playing with 17-year-old professionals and holding his own.
“I showed I could compete even though I was real young,” he said.
Ramos developed a group of online friends who played Halo, eventually switching to Call of Duty. Ramos decided to form his own squad, calling the group Fatal Ambition (its original name was Soulless Spartans).
Owning a team, rather than simply playing, brought a unique set of challenges. For starters, Ramos needed to recruit players. The more his team gained recognition, the more talented players might be willing to join. And he needed sponsorships to help fund sending players to tournaments. A lot of the work came via social media.
Ramos’ Twitter account (@Fatal_Ambition) currently has more than 26,000 followers, nearly all of whom have come in the last year. His personal Instagram account has 19,000 followers.
“You have to keep competing in order for the fans to really become loyal,” Ramos said.
He locked down sponsorships from companies like Tomahawk Shades and West Coast Chill, which makes energy drinks. He started by randomly messaging companies, asking for sponsorships. Now, he’s developed a more sophisticated pitch, creating a Power Point presentation that details his team’s achievements, history, goals and social media growth.
Julian Nasti, a 24-year-old gamer who lives in New Jersey, connected with Ramos and became the team’s coach for some tournaments. In that role, Nasti helps develop a strategy during matches and coordinates the players’ attack as they’re playing.
Nasti said he was impressed with Ramos’ ability to manage the team — coordinating travel, dealing with sponsors and prioritizing the team over money.
“He’s really good with getting things done on time,” said Nasti, who goes by the name Coach Exor.
It’s those skills Ramos is developing along the way that he hopes have a lasting impact.
“It’s teaching myself how to run a business, entrepreneurship,” he said. “That’s definitely going to help.”
Around school, Ramos has developed a reputation as the “video game player.” Sometimes people ask to join, but he has to let them down gently.
They’re simply not good enough.
Like a basketball player practicing a jump or a musician fine-tuning a song, Ramos spends substantial time honing his craft. During the summer, he estimates he games for eight hours a day. On a weekday, it’s more like four hours, he said. Some nights, he dreams of video games.
His biggest sell might be his parents. After all, how does a teenager convince his parents that playing video games all day is OK?
“I’m still not convinced,” said Ramos’ father, Carlos. “I said, from school, if your tests are no good, I’m going to take everything out.”
So far, the war room remains intact.
A scene from Mattituck High School’s production of the comedy ‘You Can’t Take It With You.’ (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)
Mattituck High School presents ‘You Can’t Take It With You’ in the James F. McKenna auditorium. The show opened Thursday night.
The show is directed by Amanda Barney with student producer Cady Vitale. The comedy features Alice Sycamore, who’s in love with Tony Kirby Jr. and invites his parents over for dinner. The meeting between the peculiar Sycamores and aristocratic Kirbys doesn’t quite go as planned.
The show runs through April 25. Tickets are $7 and $5 students and seniors.
See more photos:
Trainer Gina Lepine and Maddalena Mineo, 17, places treats on the agility plank to encourage Coco, 2 1/2, to walk down the incline Thursday afternoon. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
With a skip and a jump, two-year-old shelter dog Coco followed the trail of treats lined on a new agility plank at the Southold Town Animal Shelter with laser focus Thursday afternoon.
Coco, a petite Boston Terrier mix, was brought back to the shelter for a second time about a month ago. Her previous owners cited behavioral issues, especially around men, as the reason for Coco’s return.
But you’d never know it by watching her Thursday.
Within minutes of installing the course, which includes a see-saw, pause table and a-frame stations you’re likely to see on televised dog competition shows, Coco was running around and learning new tricks — even while being in the presence of men.
Already receiving help from trainer Gina Lepine of the North Fork Animal Welfare League — the nonprofit that runs the shelter — Coco is expected to flourish exponentially with teaching on the agility equipment.
“This equipment is great because she has been mentally worked out and physically worked out,” Ms. Lepine said, adding the course will help all the shelter’s other 14 adoptable dogs get a leg up. “Dogs need to think. Agility builds confidence and focus in a dog. It makes them better pets. And it makes them more adoptable.”
The agility course is not limited to young pups like Coco either.
With the exception of the shelter’s senior dogs, considered over 13 years old, all the adoptable dogs will have a chance to learn and play on the equipment.
Perhaps even more inspiring than Coco’s transformation is the story behind the equipment that is helping her and they other pups improve.
Maddalena Mineo, a Mattituck High School senior, spent her winter in her family’s basement designing and building the equipment for the agility course.
The 17-year-old lifelong animal lover, who formerly penned the ‘Critter Column’ highlighting adoptable pets for her high school newspaper the Tucker Times, used the guidance of a book to construct the course.
This project earned Ms. Mineo the Girl Scout’s highest honor the Gold Award, which she is expected to receive this summer.
“When it came time to pick a project, I came to the animal shelter,” she said. “Animals have always been a big part of my life.”
Ms. Mineo’s inquiry to help the shelter last fall came at the perfect time, said Marlene Ferber, who is on the shelter’s board of directors.
The agility garden is something the nonprofit has been considering for a while as a means to improve the facility for the dogs and make it more inviting for the general public to visit.
The effort started last year with the completion of the shelter garden in the front of the building. But the concept of second phase — the agility garden— was truly kicked into motion when Ms. Mineo approached the shelter last fall to do the work, Ms. Ferber said.
“Maddalena is so handy,” Ms. Ferber said. “We are so excited to be working with her.”
Months in the making, the excitement could be felt by at the installation last week.
“It is great to see everyone’s reaction,” said Ms. Mineo, who is planning on attending Alfred University in the fall to become a veterinary technician. “I was horrible at workshop, so this makes me feel better about that.”
Ms. Mineo said her family and community donations helped the concept take shape. In particular, a $500 donation — used for the supplies to make the course— was made by The Mattituck Lions Club through Darla Doorhy. The memory of Ms. Doorhy’s 20-year-old daughter, MHS graduate Kaitlyn Doorhy, is expected to be honored at the course at a later time. Kaitlyn, a friend of Ms. Mineo’s, was tragically killed in a car accident less than a year ago.
In the future, the NFAWL hopes to line the agility garden with bushes to prevent distraction by other dogs in the outdoor pens.
They also plan to improve the shelter’s outside area further by adding benches for visitors to play with the dogs, Ms. Ferber said.
Ever see a movie where the characters suddenly break out into song? And you think to yourself, when does that ever happen in real life?
Well, in Mattituck, it happened last night.
Mattituck High School students gathered outside Magic Fountain Ice Cream after their final chorus practice. And what else what a group of singers do, but sing?
Mattituck High School’s Facebook page featured a video of the students that you can see above.
Nice job, kids.
A conga line through the dance party at NOFO Glow Saturday night. (Credit: Bill Landon photos)
A glow in the dark dance party and obstacle course race was held as a fundraiser for the Mattituck-Cutchogue Athletic Booster Club Saturday night.
Dubbed NOFO Glow, the event was celebrated at the high school’s brand new athletic track.
Read prior coverage here and see photos from the event below:
