Suffolk schools hold peace celebrations

One of the first subjects many Long Island students tackled this school year was one of global importance: peace.

Dozens of schools held programs and activities in celebration of the United Nations' International Day of Peace on Sept. 21.

Third-graders in Nancy Winkler-Brogan's class at Edna Louise Spear Elementary School in Port Jefferson pledged to steer clear of bullying and read aloud original poetry in which they used the five senses to describe the word "peace."

"Rather than discussing the sadness surrounding 9/11, we decided to teach the students about peace," said Winkler-Brogan, who also taught kids to say "peace" in different languages using Karen Katz's children's book, "Can You Say Peace?"

In Jericho, George A. Jackson Elementary School hosted a "Peace Week" in which each day represented a letter of the word "peace" — a peace-themed Art Day for letter "A," for example, and a Culture Day for letter "C." Children also were taught conflict resolution and "peaceful breathing" techniques to calm the body and mind, school officials said.

"Our Peace Week is dedicated to understanding we create our tomorrows by our actions today — that our students can and will make a difference in their world," said principal Benny D'Quila. "Students are encouraged to make a connection between the ideal of peace in the world and respectful, responsible and peaceful behavior in their everyday lives."

In Amityville, high school students participated in a "Pinwheels for Peace" event by planting homemade pinwheels on the lawn and reading original peace-themed poetry. At the middle school, student volunteers decorated hallways with inspiring slogans and used ribbons to spell the word "peace" on the school's perimeter fence.

In Oceanside, School No. 8 students assembled outside the school in the shape of a peace sign.

BELLPORT: New principals

The South County school district has reassigned three principals to new buildings: Travis Davey went from Brookhaven Elementary School to Bellport Middle School, Kathleen Munisteri went from Verne W. Critz Elementary School to Brookhaven, and Brian Ginty went from Bellport to Critz.

"In my first year as superintendent, I spent a great deal of time working with our principals and assessing programs and building needs," superintendent Joseph Giani said. "As a result, we made some reassignments, which are simply a result of matching talents of our principals with school needs."

MASTIC BEACH: New principal

Michele Gode is the new principal of William Paca Middle School. She replaced Edward Plaia, who now is the principal at Edmund W. Miles Middle School in Amityville.

Gode most recently was an assistant principal at William Floyd High School, principal of the district's summer school, and the administrator of its Center for Interim Instruction.

PATCHOGUE: New appointments

Michael Hynes is the new superintendent of the Patchogue-Medford school district, replacing Michael Locantore, who retired.

Hynes most recently was superintendent of the Shelter Island school district.

"I'm most excited about encouraging innovative ideas, risk-taking and the development of real skill sets our students will benefit from," Hynes said.

In addition, Margherita Proscia and Tim Piciullo were named the principals of Medford Elementary School and South Ocean Middle School, respectively.

Proscia previously was an assistant principal at the district's Saxton Middle School; she replaced Maria Andreotti. Piciullo, who was vice principal at Long Beach High School, replaced Linda Pickford, who retired.

ISLANDWIDE: Farm scholarship

The New York and Long Island farm bureaus announced they are accepting entries for the New York Farm Bureau's 2014-15 Agricultural Youth Scholarship.

High school seniors who are involved in agriculture and plan to continue in the field after graduation are eligible. The awards are $1,500 for first place, $1,200 for second place and $1,000 for third place.

Participants must submit an essay answering the question: "If you had the power to change something in your community or on your farm, what would you change and why?" Entrants must have a bureau family/student membership or include a membership application with their submission.

For application details, call 800-342-4143 or visit nyfb.org. The deadline is Nov. 15.