The Mattituck High School Class of 2018 celebrated its graduation Saturday morning with its commencement ceremony at Mattituck High School.
Salutatorian Alexander Bellavia and valedictorian Alexandra Talbot both addressed their classmates with speeches.
See more photos below:
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Times Review Media Group honored six student journalists representing each high school in the coverage area with scholarships at a ceremony Thursday night.
The winners for The Suffolk Times were Trinity Butler Kelly of Mattituck, Kai Obinata of Southold and Shannon Colfer of Greenport. The winners for the Riverhead News-Review were Isabella Sorgi of Bishop McGann-Mercy, Stephanie Saletel of Riverhead and Alice Van Wickler of Shoreham-Wading River.
The students excelled as members of their school papers in addition to a variety of other activities they were involved in both in and out school. Two of the winners were also at the top of their graduating classes: Kai is valedictorian of Southold and Isabella is salutatorian of Mercy’s final graduating class.
Trinity was editor in chief of the Mattitalk and will attend Drexel University to study screenwriting and film production. Susan McGinn, the paper’s advisor, said “Trinity has a love for writing and words and she will use these gifts in the future.”
Kai was editor of the Southold paper, The Sentinel, where he wrote two in-depth articles on the topic of Anime, which is a particular interest for him. He will attend Princeton University to study comparative literature, media and film.
Shannon was involved in numerous clubs, including the Greenport paper, The Quill. She said an article published on marijuana legalization received a lot of feedback from both teachers and students, sparking a lot of debate, including about how it was published in a school paper. She plans to attend SUNY New Paltz to double major in English and theatre performance.
Isabella was a longtime contributor and editor to the school paper, The Monarch Spark. Reflecting on her experience in journalism, she described how she appreciated gaining a better perspective on the dangers of censorship after hearing real-world experiences from other students at the 2017 Quill Awards. She plans to attend New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Stephanie participated in a number of school clubs as well, such as Drama Club, GSA Club and Labryinth, the school’s literary magazine. Her guidance counselor, Christy Salerno, said “Stephanie is creative, motivated and enthusiastic.” She plans to attend SUNY Purchase.
Alice was involved in student government, jazz band and leadership clubs. She played varsity tennis and also participated in the school’s stage crew during performances as a sound technician. She plans to pursue a career in criminal justice.
Photo caption: The winners (clockwise, top left) were Stephanie Saletel of Riverhead, Shannon Colfer of Greenport, Kai Obinata of Southold, Isabella Sorgi of Mercy and Trinity Butler Kelly of Mattituck. Not pictured: Alice Van Wickler. (Credit: Krysten Massa)
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Mattituck resident Barry Miller, a petty officer second class in the U.S. Navy, has a new place to call home: the open seas.
A 2010 graduate of Mattituck High School, he has been deployed as a fire controlman aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, according to a Sept. 28 press release from American Connections Media Outreach.
A fire controlman provides key support for combat operations overseas and is responsible for maintenance of digital computer equipment and systems and systems used for weapons direction and combat; as well as for testing, troubleshooting and repair of most weapons systems.
Mr. Miller works with the ship’s Aegis Combat System, an electronic sensor system that defends against missile threats.
“The most important aspect of our job on deployment is keeping the radar operating with other ships in the strike group,” he said in the release.
Mr. Miller credits his success in the Navy to many of the lessons he learned in Mattituck.
“I learned that having a good work ethic and giving it your all has its rewards,” he said.
Based in Mayport, Fla., the Philippine Sea is one of more than 60 ships stationed on the East Coast of the U.S. that are part of the Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. The ship can fire Tomahawk Cruise Missiles and other weapons in combat operations against targets on and below the sea and can reach targets hundreds of miles over land.
Mr. Miller said he understands his role in the Navy means he’s representing the U.S.
“Serving in the Navy means that I am committed to something bigger than myself — and defending our country,” Mr. Miller said.
Photo caption: Petty Officer 2nd Class Barry Miller, a 2010 Mattituck graduate, is a Navy fire controlman aboard a guided-missile cruiser. (Courtesy photo)
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Mattituck High School art teacher Dina Rose has received the 2018 Art Educator of the Year award by the New York State Art Teachers Association.
Ms. Rose, who is the current vice president of NYSATA, received the award Nov. 18 at the 70th annual NYSATA conference “Transformation: A New Era in Art Education” at the Adams Marc Hotel in Buffalo.
“This award highlights all the things I’ve done as an educator to foster and pull that creativity out of the students and elevate them,” she said after the conference.
The Mattituck teacher, who has been in the district for 12 years, was nominated by other art teachers in the state. She said the selection is based on activities and tools that art teachers are implementing in the classroom to encourage student creativity. The nomination is selected after the teachers consider an individual’s educational career, she said.
Last year, Ms. Rose and the entire eighth grade class illustrated and published “An Illustrated Guide to Wildlife of the North Fork,” published in partnership with Art in a Box, a nonprofit that partners with communities to assist in “recovery and empowerment through art.” The book is currently in the Library of Congress and is available on Amazon. Ms. Rose believes this was a key factor in the teacher’s nomination, she said.
“They looked at the book as a major accomplishment because those 200 pages came from the eighth grade,” Ms. Rose said.
About 40 students in the high school and junior high participate in NYSATA’S Portfolio Project, an annual event where students build an annual portfolio for judging by professionals. Some of the events have been hosted by Ms. Rose in Mattituck, she said.
“Because Suffolk County is one of the biggest participating regions in the state, they’re modeling a lot of the portfolio activity for the conference around what Suffolk art teachers have been doing,” Ms. Rose said.
She also leads students in the Congressional Art Competition in Washington, D.C., and the Olympics of the Visual Arts in Saratoga Springs, every two years.
At the conference, Ms. Rose also presented examples of her classroom projects to other state teachers, she said, to help them develop their own district programs.
“If I wasn’t part of this, I probably wouldn’t be seeing the caliber of work that comes from other students in other districts to keep my students relevant while they’re applying for colleges,” she said about the conference. “It’s just a great opportunity for that, and it really highlighted all the work we’ve done in Mattituck.”
Despite her accolades, she credits most of the hard work to her students.
“My students are really inspiring,” she said. “This is really about them. They work really hard, and I know I push them hard sometimes.”
Ms. Rose said she’s grateful she lives in a community that supports student art.
“The support we have from our administration, parents and the community is just incredible,” she said. “They make all these opportunities for students … because people are so supportive of the arts and they love to see all the amazing things that young students can do.”
At the same conference, a retired art curriculum coordinator in the Mattituck-Cutchogue district, Lee Harned, received an Award of Excellence from NYSATA. She received the award based on her ongoing contribution to art education in the state, though she was unable to accept it in person.
Since her retirement in 2013, Ms. Harned participates on the education committee at East End Arts in Riverhead and Parrish Art Museum in Southampton. She is a current member of the Old Town Arts and Crafts Guild in Cutchogue, and works as the East End coordinator for NYSATA. She also participates in the NYSATA’s Portfolio Project and currently teaches painting in her art studio in Laurel.
Ms. Rose said she’s collaborated with Ms. Harned in the past, and learned about art from her.
“She’s been my greatest mentor,” Ms. Rose said.
Photo caption: Dina Rose holds the 2018 Art Educator of the Year award by the New York State Art Teachers Association. (Courtesy photo)
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The Mattituck High School auditorium will soon be filled with wacky skits, song bits and interpretative dance.
The 83rd annual high school variety show will be presented Friday, Nov. 30, and Saturday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m.
Director Amy Csorny, the library media specialist, said this year’s performance, as in years past, is student-driven — meaning that students make all creative decisions related to the production. As a result, Ms. Csorny said, the performance is often improvisational.
“The students decide to showcase their own talent, they pull together their own props, they produce their own show,” she said. “That can make it rather organic at times … sometimes they choose to be more scripted. It really depends on the synergy between the producers and the cast and what their visions are for the show.”
Each variety show has a theme. This year’s theme, she said, is “Passing Through Time,” and students considered this element before selecting their acts.
While Ms. Csorny’s title is “director,” she said she acts more like a facilitator.
“I try to give them space to do what they want,” she said.
Ms. Csorny said she began formal meetings with the student performers Oct. 23, but they’ve been brainstorming acts and skits since August.
“As much as it’s unique, it’s very informal, because the show is taking on a life of its own,” she said.
Most of the students who perform in the variety show also participate in other music and arts courses at Mattituck, Ms. Csorny said.
“They’re involved in select chorus, some are directing the junior high school play or they might be faced with musical auditions, on top of their work, school and life commitment,” she said. “They really want the variety show to happen.”
Because the show has been a part of the Mattituck-Cutchogue community for so many years, she said, she often receives emails about the show from alumni and the parents of student performers.
“There are community members and teachers who grew up here who remember being in the variety show, or remember attending the variety show, or their siblings were in the variety show,” she said. “There’s generational continuity.”
Tickets are currently available at the high school for $10 and will be available at the door.
Photo caption: Mattituck High School’s 2015 Variety Show included silly antics, sketches and music. (Katherine Schroeder file photo)
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A shiny red and cream-colored tractor sits outside the main entrance of Mattituck High School. At night, the vehicle glows white with Christmas lights.
But it’s not new to the high school; the tractor has been on school grounds for 70 years.
Refurbishment of the district’s 1948 Ford Jubilee tractor started back in October with students from Mike Jablonski’s woodshop class. Last week, the spiffed up but nonfunctional tractor was placed outside the high school, facing Main Road.
The tractor was placed in storage by the grounds crew and maintenance crew leader Tom Kelly after it developed mechanical issues several years ago. The district later replaced it. Principal Shawn Petretti said the vintage tractor often came up in conversation within the district, and that’s when he suggested that the Board of Education donate it to the Class of 2015 to be refurbished.
“I had some boys that were going to refurbish it in that class, but they never got around to it,” Mr. Petretti said.
Earlier this academic year, the principal asked Mr. Jablonski if the 9th- to 12th-graders in his woodshop class would tackle the project. In turn, Mr. Jablonski said, he reached out to two former students — seniors Tyler Noorman and Greg Hauser — who jumped on it immediately. Soon after, senior James Kirchberger, a current woodshop student, also got involved.
Mattituck High School seniors Tyler Noorman (left) and Greg Hauser work on the tractor.
“They wanted to do something new and different, so it was perfect,” Mr. Jablonski said.
The principal said the trio is the district’s “special woodshop team.” Working behind the high school woodshop studio, the students scraped the old paint from the tractor, then sanded, primed and repainted it.
“The wrapping process took a little bit,” James laughed. “That was painful … We had to take canvas and paper and just tape it all up, so when you paint it, you don’t paint over the wrong areas.”
Mr. Petretti said the tractor was used on school property to move equipment since its origin in 1948.
“The Jubilee tractors were mass-produced after World War II to accommodate all the soldiers coming home and the boom in farming,” Mr. Petretti said.
Mr. Petretti said he and Mr. Jablonski were unsure if the tractor should be repainted in school blue and yellow, but the students decided to maintain its red and cream colors for the historical significance.
The machine may remain in front of the school until Tractor Day – an end-of-the-year event dating back to 1996 during which students drive their families’ tractors onto campus.
Mr. Petretti said the tractor represents Mattituck’s heritage.
“Obviously, the kids in the school still relate to the farming industry,” he said. “That was the North Fork, that was Mattituck-Cutchogue, and obviously we still have some families that keep that tradition going and get excited about it.”
Photo caption: The refurbished tractor has a new home on the front lawn of Mattituck High School. (Kate Nalepinski photo)
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A sea of about 200 people — students, parents, alumni and members of Mattituck High School’s baseball program — attended the Mattituck-Cutchogue Board of Education meeting Oct. 16 and spoke in support of longtime physics teacher and baseball coach Steve DeCaro, who had been placed on administrative leave for an undisclosed reason.
Twenty-six people approached the microphone during the more than two-hour meeting to express concern about Mr. DeCaro’s absence and describe what they feel is a changing culture in the district.
Marguerite Kitz, a longtime teacher at Wading River Elementary School, said removing Mr. DeCaro jeopardized the quality of the community. Her son, Jack, who was a student at Mattituck, loved Mr. DeCaro, she said.
“He has this sense of community that we moved here for,” Ms. Kitz said. “It would be so sad to lose our incredible sense of community … I am proud to say that I live in Mattituck. I don’t want that to change.”
That night, school board president Charles Anderson announced that the administration was investigating the situation and that only the board could determine Mr. DeCaro’s future in the district. Citing a personnel decision, board members and district Superintendent Jill Gierasch declined to provide further details.
Former Mattituck High School physics teacher Tom Tomaszewski has replaced Mr. DeCaro during his administrative leave.
Mr. Tomaszewski currently teaches physics and AP physics in the district. The teacher sent a letter to physics students and parents introducing himself Nov. 1. He said he had no knowledge of the reason for the decision that brought him back to the district and empathized with parents who expressed their concerns.
“My interest is in providing an experienced and professional learning environment for your son or daughter so that they may appreciate and hopefully love the science of physics,” Mr. Tomaszewski wrote. “I have had the pleasure of having students redirect their future studies toward a physical science profession — a highly rewarding outcome for any teacher.”
The reason for Mr. DeCaro’s absence has still not been disclosed. He remains on administrative leave and on the district payroll.
Photo caption: Steve DeCaro, who coached the varsity baseball team as well.
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Over the past two months, studio and advanced art students at Mattituck High School have been creating portraits of children on the other side of the world.The 35 portraits feature children between ages 4 and 16 from Syria and Myanmar as part of The Memory Project, a nonprofit that invites artists to create portraits of youths who have faced unimaginable challenges including violence, war and poverty.
“Such a small gesture can bring a smile to their face,” said senior Christina Tomao who used colored pencils and acrylic paint to depict Sara, 9, and Sidra, of Syria.
In the coming weeks, staff from the Memory Project will deliver the portraits to each child and produce a video of their reactions that students at Mattituck are expecting in May.
Ben Schumaker founded the organization in 2004 at the University of Wisconsin. During a month working in an orphanage in Guatemala, he learned that the children lacked childhood mementos and keepsakes that are common in the United States. The portraits created through his project serve as tangible memories that make children feel important while promoting “international friendship and solidarity,” according to its website.
Mattituck students were sent 8×10 photographs of each child, along with their name, age and favorite color to inspire each drawing. In addition to the completed portraits, students attached a photo of themselves to send back along with a simple greeting in English or for Syrian children, in Arabic.
Art teacher Dina Rose first learned of the project during a conference for the New York State Art Teachers Association last fall. “I thought it was great for students of this age to see students of a similar age and what they’re going through,” Ms. Rose said from her art classroom in an interview last Thursday. “The students really embraced it.”
As they sketched and colored their faces, the students also learned about factors impacting the children’s lives. In Myanmar, the plight of the Rohingya people is a growing refugee crisis. Nearly 700,000 have fled religious persecution in the predominantly Buddhist country. Members of the religious group have been denied citizenship and were excluded from the 2014 census.
“They’re being discriminated against for their beliefs,” explained senior art student Madison Schmidt.
In Syria, a brutal civil war has displaced millions of people — nearly half of which are children. “I knew a little bit about it,” Christina said, but now she’s more aware of the impacts of war on children.
Left to right: seniors Rachel Janis, Madison Schmidt, Christina Tomao, and their art teacher Dina Rose. (Tara Smith photo)
The students also gained some insight into cultural nuances. “A few of the children in Myanmar had paint on their faces,” Madison recalled. After some research, they found a likely answer. “We actually found out that it’s a way to prevent sunburn.”
Madison and her classmate, fellow senior Rachel Janis worked on portraits of Alamsha, 12, and Faysal, 4, of Myanmar. Faysal wrote that his favorite color was black; so Rachel had to think creatively about which medium to use. Eventually, she settled on an intricately shaded graphite drawing against a black and white tropical palm background made with Sharpie markers.
The project allowed students to fine tune their portraiture skills. “It was difficult to realistically portray the features of their faces,” Madison said. “But it’s a good way to bring some happiness to their lives in a time when it’s really hard to find happiness.”
The $15 charge for each portrait was funded through a $500 grant from the Mattituck PTSA, Ms. Rose said. This was the first time Mattituck students participated in the project and high school principal Shawn Petretti hopes to make it a tradition.
When Ms. Rose originally approached him about the project, Mr. Petretti agreed.
“When I was looking at the portraits of these children, that’s when the gravity of this project hit me,” he said. “I’m always amazed at the artwork that our students produce, but there’s something about a portrait. You see the emotion and depth of what this project is about.”
He sees the project as a way for students in Mattituck to make a connection with someone different. “Our students have now sat and studied a physical image of someone in another culture with a different background, a far more challenging background than they had. They’re not just watching a news story, they now have a connection with someone that’s living there, through art,” he said.
Photo caption: Portraits for the memory project by Kaitlyn Driscoll and Amber Rochon. (Courtesy photo)
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About five years ago, Jeanine Warns, president of Mattituck-Cutchogue Athletic Booster Club, approached the Mattituck School Board to request a new track for student athletes.
She found herself in a similar situation last Thursday, as she stood at a microphone to inquire about a turf field.
At the Board of Education meeting, Mattituck board members debated the benefits of a turf field replacing the current high school grass field.
Ms. Warns said she feels the field would benefit students in multiple ways, including socially and emotionally.
“I’m a therapist and I work with kids,” Ms. Warns said. “I can’t emphasize the importance of socialization, especially in the age of technology.”
Ms. Warns said maintaining a turf field would allow security to supervise students on the field since they’d have more home games. In the fall, the boys and girls soccer teams would be the main benefactor. And in the spring, it would be the boys and girls lacrosse teams.
“And we, the parents, would not have to worry about transportation concerns,” she said.
The prospect of the field came up later in the meeting when board member Doug Cooper gave a report from the Buildings, Safety, and Grounds committee.
“In my personal opinion, I think it’s crazy,” he said. “In an age of going green, that’s going plastic.”
Mr. Cooper said he’s concerned that the field would be used by teams that aren’t school-sponsored, like North Fork Lacrosse Club, who he said aren’t paying the district. He said it’s not the taxpayers responsibility to provide fields for programs outside of the district.
Board member MaryLynn Hoeg rebutted: “I’d have to say I think a lot of taxpayers are in favor of a field … A lot of high schools throughout Long Island are using them, and they’re very efficient.”
Board member Brian Mealy said he believes local organizations would support building the field.
“I know there’s a lot of community-minded organizations that have been supportive of the district and they will probably be supportive of building if we did do that,” he said.
Mattituck athletic director Gregg Wormuth suggested the board further discuss funding for the field at the next budget meeting.
“We’re going to talk about the Capital Reserve at every budget meeting, so they’ll be a lot of input from the board’s perspective, from the community perspective,” he said. “There are a lot of different opinions on this and we need to prioritize that.”
Board president Charles Anderson said he anticipates a lot of “debate coming up” regarding a turf field.
“There’s still a lot of information we need — mostly financially, to see where we stand,” he said.
Mr. Anderson said finances for the turf field, if approved by the public, would be placed in the Capital Reserve Fund, an account reserve for future construction projects and purchases in the district.
The Southold School District unveiled its new turf field in May 2018. The field was part of a $9.7 million capital bond project that voters approved in 2015 and also included a new track.
Mattituck’s track was unveiled in September 2014 with a ribbon cutting ceremony that drew more than 500 people.
A few turf field projects have been proposed near the school in recent years. The Mattituck Part District presented a plan in 2016 for a synthetic field at the Aldrich Lane park in Laurel. The much debated Sports East sports complex first proposed for Mattituck in 2015 also would have included turf fields. Neither have come to fruition.
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Students in Mattituck High School’s Virtual Enterprise class will attend an International Virtual Enterprise trade show in Brooklyn this April to help fund their simulated company.
This year, the class invented “Glow Games,” a company that manufactures illuminated recreational products including pool tables, darts, mini-golf sets, basketballs and more.
Led by teacher LuAnne Nappe, 12 class members pitched the business Jan. 9 to judges at the annual Virtual Enterprise business plan competition and trade show at Long Island University in Brookville. The group competed against other school districts from across Suffolk and Nassau counties.
The class netted three awards: a silver for a 45-second video commercial written, filmed and edited by seniors Greg Hauser and James Jacobs; a gold for the company newsletter, designed by senior Sierra McShane; and a silver in the branding competition, in which judges critiqued company slogans, logos, fonts and colors. That part of the project was designed by senior Riley Hoeg. All projects were submitted in advance electronically.
The 25 students in the class sell and trade simulated products with a network of other VE businesses across 42 countries using an online banking system set up with Virtual Enterprise International. These products are “sold” at trade shows and on their website, glowgamesny.com. Products are also available by phone from the Glow Games corporate office — located in Ms. Nappe’s classroom during the class period.
To prepare for the competition, students completed a six-page catalog order form and a 26-page business plan in addition to the other documents that received awards.
Glow Games is divided into various departments, including technology, human resources, and sales and marketing. Each student has their own role and way of contributing to the company. Some keep track of finances, while others sell and buy products, Ms. Nappe said. Every sale needs to be documented online.
The Virtual Enterprise class is open only to juniors and seniors, Ms. Nappe said, and can be taken for two years. A senior student taking the course for a second time needs to apply to be an officer, or class leader, who can “bring their knowledge to the role,” she said.
This year, the five senior officers prepared and presented the Glow Games business plan to judges at the trade show. Ms. Nappe said those results haven’t been announced, but the students will attend the April trade show regardless of the outcome.
“It’s like a two-part thing,” she explained. “While I took some kids to the competition, others were working at the trade show.”
Ms. Nappe said this is the fifth year students have participated in the annual competition and trade show. In years past, students recycled the same company used in previous classes, Body Kinetics, which sold computerized sports equipment — but this year was different.
“I felt like kids weren’t taking ownership of that company,” she said. “This year, I decided to completely start from scratch, and I found that now they’re taking on this ownership and they really believe in the company. They want to have it make money.”
While it’s more work for her and the students, Ms. Nappe said, the result of the company is stronger if they start fresh each year.
Students are excited about the upcoming trade show, she said, and that’s where the virtual companies make most of their money.
“That’s why we attend them, so they sell the products and keep the business flowing that way,” she said. “If they didn’t attend the trade show, they wouldn’t have money coming in. It’s just not enough sales on the internet for them.”
Riley said she can use what she learned from the course in the future.
“It really gives you a background on what you can expect in real life,” she said, “and what you can get from working within a business.”
Photo caption: Mattituck-Cutchogue Glow Games officers Sierra Mitchell, Meghan Riley, Tyler F. Olsen, James Jacobs and Brian Nicholson presented their company’s business plan at the Virtual Enterprise competition Jan. 9. (Courtesy photo)
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Longtime baseball coach Steve DeCaro will not return to the Mattituck High School baseball field this season.
Mr. DeCaro, who was placed on administrative leave last fall, will be replaced by longtime assistant coach Gene Rochler of Wading River.
The spring sports season officially begins Monday. Mr. Rochler was formally approved as the varsity coach by the Board of Education in January. Former Mattituck baseball player Tom Ascher (Class of 2011) was approved as varsity assistant coach. He also serves as an assistant coach on the varsity basketball team.
The school board had approved Mr. DeCaro for the varsity position in July, before the turmoil that led to his being placed on administrative leave in October for unspecified reasons. All coaching positions are approved on a year-to-year basis.
Mr. DeCaro, who had also been the district’s physics teacher, declined comment.
Roughly 200 community members attended a school board meeting in October to express frustration about Mr. DeCaro’s sudden removal from the classroom. At that meeting, board president Charles Anderson said the administration was investigating the situation and that the board alone would determine his future with the district.
Last November, former Mattituck High School physics teacher Tom Tomaszewski was hired to replace Mr. DeCaro and has been teaching his physics and AP physics classes since that time, the district said in a statement.
Mr. Tomaszewski taught physics in the district from 1971 to 1988, before Mr. DeCaro joined the faculty in 1996.
It is unclear if Mr. DeCaro will be removed from his full-time faculty position in the district.
He had coached the baseball team since 2003 and tallied a record of 238-139-1. He led the team to a state championship in 2015 and was named Suffolk County Coach of the Year by Newsday that season. He earned that honor again in 2017 after leading the Tuckers to the Long Island championship.
The Tuckers went 12-11 last season, were the No. 3 seed in the Class B playoffs and saw their season end against Babylon in the postseason.
WITH BOB LIEPA
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A solemn middle-aged man enters his living room. He sits down, takes a deep breath and looks directly at his daughter, seated across from him.
“Tell me it’s a joke,” he says, holding up her suicide note. “It’s gotta be a joke; it can’t be real.”
She doesn’t answer. Instead, she listens, as he shares what his life would be like without her.
This is the opening scene of Mattituck High School senior Lucas Kosmynka’s latest short film, “You Matter,” which stars high school custodian Michael Fedele. The four-minute video was written and filmed by the duo.
“My way of communicating to other people is through my camera,” Lucas said. “I thought it would be appropriate to make a film about suicide and mental health and bring awareness to it … Sometimes, your closest friends, your family members can be going through it, and they’ll be doing their best job of hiding it and keeping it away from you.”
Mr. Fedele, 56, a custodian in the district, said he’s lost friends to suicide, so he was eager to act in the short film, which resonated with him.
But this isn’t the first time Mr. Fedele and Lucas have partnered on a project.
About two years ago, Mr. Fedele said he and Lucas bonded at the school over their mutual love for filmmaking.
“We shared our ideas, our dreams; we still do,” Mr. Fedele said. “We talk about different shots and about how things transform on film and the creative process. We help each other out.”
Where Lucas struggled to formulate his creative ideas on the screen, Mr. Fedele helped him out by putting his ideas into imagery and writing, he said. Lucas always has an idea for him to play with.
“Lucas doesn’t realize he’s given me these ideas that are hard for him to spell out, then I can channel those ideas,” Mr. Fedele said.
From there, the pair formed a tight bond. Mr. Fedele has acted in two other short films that Lucas has shot: “Reflection,” about a man who is being chased by himself, and “Emissary,” about accepting the loss of a loved one.
“If there’s an opportunity for something to be said, he uses the camera as the means to present that,” Mr. Fedele said. “It’s really his talent and his gift to be able to send a message.”
Mr. Fedele attended acting classes at the HB Studio in New York City. After jumping around to different acting gigs on the East Coast, he joined the district as a custodian, where he has been for nine years.
Lucas said he had a rough cut of the short film completed an hour after shooting, posted the video to Instagram and received positive feedback from people as far away as Florida.
“That feels special,” he said. “To the point where I don’t even know them, but I made an impact on their life. That’s something I want to stick with.”
The high school senior aspires to study filmmaking in college and to stay in touch with Mr. Fedele as his career continues.
Mr. Fedele said he knows the power of social media can make waves. He said he hopes the video prompts people to understand and consider the theme of the video.
“As a parent, you have to be aware of [suicidal tendencies],” he said. “My message to anybody is this: We’re all important. And that’s what the video is really about.”
Lucas’ published work is available on his YouTube channel, Lucas Tran.
Photo caption: Mattituck High School custodian Michael Fedele worked with senior Lucas Kosmynka on Lucas’s latest short film, ‘You Matter,’ which addresses mental illness.
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Luke Altman remembers playing with Legos in the children’s department at Mattituck-Laurel Library as a toddler. The 16-year-old from Laurel recalled that children’s librarian Barbara Moore would watch over him and other children, becoming an ever-present mentor during his younger days.
“I was there for a lot of my life,” he said. “As a baby, my mom took me to the library. As a younger kid, I went to Lego and science programs.”
In an effort to give back to the place and people that shaped his childhood, Luke, a sophomore at Mattituck High School, has completed dozens of community service hours in the library’s children’s department and with other local organizations over the past year.
His work has not gone unnoticed. On March 23, Luke received the President’s Volunteer Service Award in a ceremony at the library attended by Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell and Town Trustee Greg Williams, representing Congressman Lee Zeldin.
The award, endorsed by the President of the United States, is based on the number of community service hours completed in a certain time period. By completing 50 hours of service in one year, Luke met the requirements for the bronze-level award for his age group. He also received letters of recognition from Mr. Zeldin, state Sen. Ken LaValle and President Trump.
Most of his work, he said, was done at the library, where he shelved books, cleaned toys and greeted community members. He also volunteered within his school and at Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton, where he took care of lost, abandoned and rescued cats.
For Luke, the award was more about recognizing his mentors at the library. He credits teen services librarian Sara Colichio, library director Jeff Walden and Karen Letteriello, head of the children’s department for providing guidance on how to navigate helping the community.
“It gave the library their moment,” he said about the ceremony. “They helped me out a lot with this.”
Ms. Letteriello, who previously co-led children’s programs with Ms. Moore, said she remembers working with Luke when he was a child.
“He’s so intelligent, and he knows what needs to get done for this library,” she said. “He’s so kind to the kids … some people thought he worked here.”
In addition to making time for community service, Luke juggles a variety of sports and extracurricular activities, including varsity cross country, varsity wrestling, JV tennis, engineering club and all-county chorus. He also serves as student council vice president and snagged a spot on the school’s high honor roll.
It was never his goal to win an award for his effort, Luke said, which was strictly a result of helping the community.
“The library helped me a lot as a kid,” he said. “It was about giving back. That kind of turned into the opportunity to get the award, after I had completed so many hours there.”
Luke credited his parents, Christina and Jason, for motivating him to get involved in community service. They also volunteered locally during their teenage years, he said.
He accepted the award in memory of Ms. Moore, who died July 2016 from kidney cancer, saying she had a lasting impact on his life.
“She was a huge part of my childhood,” Luke said. “As a kid, she was always present at the children programs. She’d help run them, she’d be there. She was always present.”
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Growing up with dyslexia, Cara Slotkin could have had her education greatly derailed. Instead, the Laurel native’s desire to improve as a reader fueled her thirst for learning and inspired her to dedicate her life to helping others study history, theater and language.
Ms. Slotkin, a 2010 graduate of Mattituck High School, found out April 1 that after years of hard work, she has been awarded the highly competitive 2019 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Grant. In September, the 26-year-old will travel to Rwanda to begin a new chapter in her life.
“Cara is one of our really, sort of, true success stories, from where she came to where she is now,” said her high school guidance department coordinator Brian Lynch. “When Cara came through, she had some early struggles.”
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that makes it difficult to read due to issues identifying speech sounds and relating those sounds to letters and words. A specialist diagnosed Ms. Slotkin in the third grade. The disorder, her mother Joanne said, has been present in the family for generations.
Ms. Slotkin, 26, said school was never easy for her and still isn’t.
“The story my mother tells is that something that took my sister five minutes to do, an assignment, took me an hour,” she said. “I couldn’t focus. It wasn’t that I wanted to do other things, I just didn’t get it.”
From about the third to fifth grade, Ms. Slotkin recalls being tutored by Linda Tillinghast at Cutchogue East Elementary School, who she said taught her how to read. At that time, she was still just approaching grade level and was in an elected support class. By eighth grade, though, she was meeting grade requirements and was formally declassified as a dyslexic. She’d end up attending college at Ohio-Wesleyan University, where she earned a degree in history education.
For the past four years, Ms. Slotkin has taught ninth and 10th grade history to immigrant students for whom English is a second language at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Washington, D.C., a public inner city Title I school, where she also started a theater club. While working full-time, she attends graduate school at the University of Maryland and is set to finish her master’s in TESOL curriculum instruction by May.
Mr. Lynch said overcoming her early struggles, helped Ms. Slotkin continue to strive for new heights.
“When she was declassified [as dyslexic] … it was a celebration here,” he said. “It was a great day to say, ‘Look what you’ve overcome.’ I feel like that might have played a part in continuing to allow her to reach for things that maybe she saw as out of reach.”
Fellow Mattituck graduate Ashley Finger, a fellow Fulbright scholar and longtime friend, encouraged Ms. Slotkin to apply for the grant.
Ms. Finger said that with Ms. Slotkin’s longstanding interest in genocide studies, her passion for teaching and her commitment to Rwanda, where she studied abroad in 2013, there was ample reason for her to apply and for the Fulbright Commission to select her.
While she’s since come to recognize her skills, Ms. Slotkin says she still has trouble believing that she’s done it — that she’s a full-time teacher and a full-time student who applied for and earned a Fulbright.
“I’ve made it work,” she said. “I’ve always seen that as an adult, having the accommodations … I think something I thought was so negative when I was little — it was just such a blessing.”
Ms. Slotkin credited her childhood travels with her family, including older sister Sydney, who now lives in Colombia, as a big reason for her interest in international relations and foreign languages. She said the two girls were always exposed to different cultures. Both her parents come from different places and were raised in different religions.
Her father, Dr. Jay Slotkin, a geriatrician with a practice in Southold, said his daughters take travel to a whole new level.
“I get to go to Riverhead and she goes to Rwanda,” he joked.
Ms. Slotkin also credits teachers from the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District — including Gary Buckner, Alex Papadopoulos and Tom Brennan — for her well-rounded education.
In September, Ms. Slotkin will leave for Rwanda. She’ll live there for 10 months with her fiancé, fellow Mattituck graduate Ethan Crook, whom she is set to marry in August. She will be teaching adults adapting curriculum to teach English and also serving as a professor herself. She is able to communicate in two of the country’s native languages, Kinyarwanda and French — and plans on taking lessons to strengthen her skills.
“I’ve always said, I’m not just a teacher,” Ms. Slotkin said. “I’m forever a student. My students are my teachers … This is just another one of those experiences that’s really going to continue to show me who I am and what I can do.”
Caption: Slotkin and Crook in an engagement photo. (Credit: Aleah Myers)
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As soon as the school day ends, it smells like low-tide.
A blustery wind rolls across the inlet at Marratooka Point, off Park Avenue in Mattituck. It ripples across the muddy water where three Mattituck High School seniors, wearing calf-high rain boots and waist-high waders, stand.
Seniors Wylee Sanders and Madison Storm stand close to the shoreline, scooping handfuls of muddy water and bringing them to Mattituck High School science teacher Anna McCarroll. She uses a pipe dropper tool to funnel samples into test tubes. She doesn’t know it yet, but one of the tubes has two snails in it.
Senior Max Cantelmo wades farther into the water with a plankton net, dragging it along the shallow water. He’s looking for any sign of movement from minuscule white creatures that dart back and forth.
The volunteer students are searching for amphipods, shrimp-like crustaceans that live in salt and freshwater environments. There are over 9,900 different species that vary based on location.
The group has been collecting samples since their research proposal, “Amphipod Diversity in Two Bay Estuaries in Mattituck, New York: Farmland vs. Residential,” was accepted in February 2019 by Barcode Long Island, a project run by the Dolan DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The students do not receive academic credit for their efforts; they use their free time after school and on weekends purely for research experience, Ms. McCaroll said.
Their proposal explores nitrogen levels, determined by the quantity of amphipods, in water taken from two environments: the more residential inlet at Marratooka Point and Wickham Creek, which is surrounded by farmland, Ms. McCarroll said.
The proposal is one of many student-run DNA-based projects that are part of Barcode Long Island, the teacher said, which aim to map and track different species in Long Island’s ecosystems.
“The project is centered on every living thing [that] has DNA,” Ms. McCarroll said. “If we can extract the DNA from a nucleus, we can also catalog the DNA and we have a certain type of animal or plant. That cataloging shows what biodiversity we have on Long Island.”
The research projects are funded by the National Institutes of Health, Brookhaven National Laboratory and the American Museum of Natural History, and in collaboration with Stony Brook University — Ms. McCarroll’s alma mater, where she received a degree in biology with a minor in medicine and society in 1990.
To date, most student research has been conducted in Nassau County, Ms. McCarroll said, which motivated her to bring the program to Mattituck with help from fellow teachers. She has also volunteered with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for the past two years.
“It’s out-of-the-box, monitored learning,” she said.
Earlier this month, Madison, Max and Ms. McCarroll outlined their research for the Mattituck-Cutchogue Board of Education.
DNA barcoding involves identifying the unique pattern of the DNA sequence that identifies each living organism, Max told board members.
“It allows us to look for a particular gene,” he explained, “which in turn is dependent on the species and has its own particular pattern. Then, we go in and sequence that, which tells us what that pattern is. From there, we can identify the species of arthropod we’re dealing with.”
This week is crunch time, Ms. McCarroll said, as the group has until Thursday, May 2, to gather samples. The samples are then sent to the bioinformatics team at the lab, which conducts research using DNA extraction, gel electrophoresis and other methods. The results are then returned to the student teams.
On June 4, the Mattituck students will present their findings at the laboratory with other student groups.
Top Caption: Mattituck High School seniors (from left) Max Cantelmo, Wylee Sanders and Madison Storm collect samples at Wickham Creek Monday for their DNA research proposal, ‘Amphipod Diversity in Two Bay Estuaries in Mattituck, New York: Farmland vs. Residential.’ The project will be presented June 4 at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. (Credit: Anna McCarroll)
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When his granddaughters began playing lacrosse on the field at Cutchogue West, Walter Gatz stared at the field in disbelief.
His daughter, Laurie Italia, recalled how her father would say “We’ve got to fix that field.”
“And then came down here with his landscaping equipment,” she said at the field Tuesday.
Mr. Gatz, who died in 2018 at the age of 85, was honored ahead of the Mattituck varsity girls lacrosse game. Friends, family and the lacrosse team gathered as Kait’s Angels unveiled a plaque recognizing his enthusiasm for athletics.
“May his memory inspire all who play here to engage in healthy competition, practice good sportsmanship and have fun,” it reads.
The plaque stands next to a kousa dogwood tree planted in his honor. Ms. Italia shared that it was his favorite tree to see flower each spring.
His wife of 60 years, Marilyn, described Mr. Gatz as “the best husband a woman could ever have.”
A Riverhead native, Mr. Gatz was born into a farming family and was a standout athlete, particularly on the football team and as a wrestler.
He started a landscaping business and went on to coach and sponsor youth sports teams in both Riverhead and Mattituck.
“He was all about the kids. He would have loved [this field.],” Ms. Gatz said.
Over the years, Mr. Gatz donated time and effort into Mattituck athletics.
“He was instrumental in creating this facility for our girls and did great things for all of our sports programs,” said athletic director Gregg Wormuth. Aside from creating the new lacrosse fields in Cutchogue, Mr. Gatz donated weights and wrestling mats to Mattituck High School.
In addition to a love of sports, Kait’s Angels president William Araneo spoke about how Mr. Gatz was an outdoorsman, was involved in civic groups and even played in a Polka band. “He may be one of the first Renaissance men,” Mr. Araneo joked.
The organization chose to posthumously honor Mr. Gatz since he embodied the spirit of giving back that Kaitlyn Doorhy had. A 2012 Mattituck High School graduate, Ms. Doorhy died in 2014 after being struck by a car while crossing a street near her sorority house in Bridgeport, Conn.
“Kaitlyn believed that we each have two hands,” Mr. Araneo said. “One is to help ourselves achieve our dreams and the other one is to reach around behind us and help someone else. [Mr. Gatz] did that in countless ways.”
After unveiling the plaque, Mr. Araneo turned to the lacrosse team, who also honored 11 seniors.
“Ladies, I think Walter Gatz would like you to go out there and kick some you-know-what,” he said.
Top photo caption: Marilyn Gatz and Laurie Italia. (Credit: Tara Smith)
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High school television broadcast programs across the North Fork scored big at this year’s Broadcast Awards for Senior High.
Nearly 400 high school journalists, teachers and administrators from Suffolk and Nassau counties filled the Sidney Gelber Auditorium at Stony Brook University May 3, as the Southold School District hosted its third annual BASH ceremony.
The event was created in 2017 by Southold faculty who wanted to recognize talented high school broadcast journalists on Long Island. Nine schools and 180 participants attended the inaugural awards, which were held at Southold High School.
The program has expanded since; 22 schools across Long Island were represented at this year’s event, sponsored by Newsday and Stony Brook’s journalism school.
“It was Southold where BASH started, and we realized early on that this would grow,” Greenport and Southold Superintendent David Gamberg said during opening remarks. “I want you all to pause for a moment and think about the value that you bring to your learning communities. The idea of journalism … is very important, but so is celebration.”
Before the awards were announced, eight industry professionals representing various media platforms led a series of breakout sessions about their paths in journalism. Some of them, Mr. Gamberg said, made up the panel that judged the submitted videos.
This year’s speakers were Jonathan Anzalone, a Stony Brook University lecturer and assistant director at its Center for News Literacy; Newsday photographer Randee Daddona; Newsday associate managing editor Arnold Miller; Amanda Marzullo Ortiz, a digital content producer at Northwell Health; Spectrum Networks digital producer Frank Posillico; freelance correspondent Tania Rashid; NY1 News associate producer Kayla Shults; and Christopher Vaccaro, vice president of digital news at Altice USA.
Keynote speaker Nicole Young, a producer of CBS’s “60 Minutes,” presented the Emmy Award-winning package she created with correspondent Scott Pelley in 2013 about chemical weapons attacks in Syria, which killed an estimated 1,400 civilians.
“This is one of the stories that encapsulates the dream that I had,” Ms. Young told the crowd. “I wanted to change the world and report on people who wouldn’t have otherwise had a voice unless Scott and I were there.”
Greenport High School received third place for Best Opening Segment, second place for Best Public Service Announcement, second place in Newsday’s nextLI Video Contest and first place for best broadcast.
The winning broadcast went behind the scenes of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Hamilton” after 70 Greenport students attended a matinee performance at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City in December 2018. Eleventh-grade English and American history students received a Hamilton-related study guide for their coursework. The same broadcast included features on the Greenport Fire Department and the varsity basketball team.
Students in the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District’s broadcast program earned first place for Most Entertaining Package — a video of their team dancing through the school to “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins. Senior Lucas Kosmynka won first place for Best Public Service announcement for his suicide-awareness video, “You Matter.”
This year’s master of ceremonies was Southold senior and SoHo TV News producer Anakin Mignone. He snagged a first-place award for a package about integrating English language learners into the Southold community. SoHo TV News also nailed down second place awards for Best Anchor Team and Best Community News Package.
Southold senior Olivia Daddona, whose mother has led breakout sessions at each BASH event, said it’s fun watching her mother present to other students.
“Now that we’re more involved in the program, it’s incredible to be able to follow her and see how she presents to other groups,” Olivia said.
Anakin said BASH gives students the opportunity to learn from their peers.
“To see everyone else’s programs, to see where they’re at and what I can learn from them and their work, is the most interesting part of it all,” he said after the ceremony.
Top photo caption: Southold High School senior and SoHo TV producer Anakin Mignone gives opening remarks Friday to roughly 400 students, teachers and administrators at the third annual Broadcast Awards for Senior High at Stony Brook University. (Credit: Kate Nalepinski)
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Nominees for the 17th annual Teeny Awards, which showcase the best in local high school theater, were announced this past weekend.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony Sunday, June 9 at Southold High School. Tickets are $20 in advance for adults or $30 at the door and $10/$15 for students. The red carpet is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and the ceremony is from 3 to 5 p.m.
To learn more or to buy tickets, click here.
Here are the nominees:
Dante Sasso – “Les Miserables” – East Hampton
Robbie Elliston – “Mamma Mia” – Southold
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The repeat was sweet.
Perhaps doubly sweet for the Mattituck/Southold high school girls lacrosse team.
Almost a year to the day since Mattituck’s first state triumph on the same SUNY/Cortland field, the Tuckers did it again. They secured the New York State Class D championship Saturday with an 11-7 defeat of Bronxville.
“It feels really good this year to say that we’re a two-time state champion, and I think that’s insane to finish off our season this way,” said senior goalie Claudia Hoeg, who made seven saves and was credited with 407 for her four-year varsity career. “It’s really crazy.”
As it had in its two previous state final-four appearances, Mattituck (15-5) faced Bronxville (19-4). Bronxville beat Mattituck in the 2017 semifinals before the Tuckers got revenge with a 12-1 hammering of the Broncos in last year’s final.
In Saturday’s final, Mattituck made it look easier than some expected. The Tuckers never trailed and, after going in front, never even allowed Bronxville to tie the score.
Mackenzie Hoeg celebrates Saturday. (Credit: Rich Barnes)
“It’s awesome, awesome feeling,” said Mattituck coach Matt Maloney, who had a water bucket dumped over him, just as he did last year. “… In the beginning of the year there were some uncertainties [over whether] we would be able to get back and certainly if we could win again. There are some great Class D teams up here, I think. These kids really rose. They really rose to the level they needed to be at, to play at, limiting the turnovers and playing that stout defense.”
The “two-peat,” as Mattituck defender Lauren Zuhoski called it, was achieved with the aid of five straight Mattituck goals by junior midfielder Mackenzie Hoeg, who propelled the Tuckers to an 8-3 lead with 13 minutes, 7 seconds left in the second half. The Tuckers also received a major boost from senior attack Francesca Vasile-Cozzo, who had five assists in her final high school game.
Mackenzie Hoeg and Vasile-Cozzo were beneficiaries of the attention Bronxville paid to Riley Hoeg, who nonetheless still supplied one goal and three assists.
Kaitlin Tobin (two goals, one assist), Maddie Schmidt (two goals) and Halle Foster (one goal) also fueled Mattituck’s patient offense, supported by a clamp-down defense.
Bronxville can be a dangerous team, as it showed in overcoming an 8-2 deficit to topple Skaneateles, 15-11, in the semifinals Friday.
The Broncos lost the final despite winning 14 of 20 draws. Caroline Ircha (two goals, one assist, seven draw controls) and Isabel Sondey (one goal, five draw controls) were particularly effective. Bronxville also received two goals from Anneke Pulkkinen and single tallies by Kiki Tormey and Hanna Bishop.
In the end, though, Bronxville, a six-time state semifinalist that has never won a state title, had to settle for a runner-up trophy for a third straight year.
Next year will mark a major shift in Mattituck’s makeup, with 11 seniors moving on. Among them will be two Hoegs.
Mattituck once had as many as five Hoegs — all related — on the roster for a two-year period. Claudia Hoeg will join her older sister, Audrey, playing for William & Mary. Meanwhile, their cousins, sisters Mackenzie and Riley Hoeg, played their last high school game together. Riley Hoeg, a senior, will play for Virginia next year before Mackenzie joins her there a year later.
Mackenzie Hoeg will be the last of the Hoegs for Mattituck next year, no longer surrounded by cousins and sisters.
“It’s definitely very sad,” she said. “I know I’m going to miss all these seniors very much. All the juniors look up to the senior group and we’ll take everything that they did and hopefully we’ll be able to implement it into our game next year and take all the positive things they did and learn from them because they are a bunch of role models for us.”
Riley Hoeg, who assisted on three of her sister’s goals, said: “We’ve all been playing together since we were young. We all see each other as sisters and a second family. I think that really helped us out on the field and throughout the season.”
Some Mattituck tears were shed, but they were happy tears.
“Last year, you know, maybe some people thought maybe it was like a fluke because that was the first [state title] we had won and we had only been here one time before that but I think we really proved ourselves today,” Mackenzie Hoeg said. “Before the game we all said, ‘Don’t play for yourself, play for each other,’ because at the end of the day, the people you form these relationships with, that’s what’s important.”
See more photos by Rich Barnes:
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A pair of North Fork high school students took home Teeny Awards Sunday, given each year to the best in East End student theater.
Southold High School’s Jake Okula finished in a tie for the lead male in a play category for his role in “Clue on Stage,” a Southold/Greenport combined production.
Mattituck High School’s Caleb Foley was honored as supporting male in a play for his school’s production of “Almost, Maine.”
The awards, presented by East End Arts, are now in their 17th year. The presentation coincides with Broadway’s Tony Awards.
The Teeny Awards event, which was held at Southold High School this year, also features a red carpet photo shoot and live performances from select productions.
Top photo caption: Southold High School students hit the red carpet. (Credit: Elizabeth Wagner)
Southold students perform Mama Mia. (Credit: Elizabeth Wagner)
Greenport nominees on the red carpet. (Credit: Elizabeth Wagner)
Greenport nominees on the red carpet.
Greenport students on the red carpet.
Southold students on the red carpet.
Mattituck students on the red carpet.
Mattituck students on the red carpet.
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