Bellport High School’s Bellport Clippers Team 12899 participated in the FIRST Long Island TECH Challenge qualifier, a robotics competition, held at William Floyd High School on January 11. Under the direction of  high school technology teacher Jaime Canjura and alumnus Brian Larkin, the 11-member robotics team competed against 21 Long Island teams from Suffolk and Nassau counties. 

FIRST Tech Challenge teams are challenged to design, build, program and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge each year. The team’s next competition will be held on February 2 at the Long Island School for The Gifted in Huntington.

Since the 2018-19 school year, the team has doubled in size and hopes to continue growing due to the interest of incoming eighth grade students participating in the Bellport Middle School FIRST Lego League. 

“The team’s philosophy is to inspire students to be and do their best,” Mr. Canjura explained. “We follow the concept of Gracious Professionalism, a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community.”

The District extends team members Joseph Balsamo (lead software engineer and programmer), Jake D’Esposito (programmer and IT), Robert Gronenthal (secretary and robot chassis designer), Isaiah James (team president and lead designer), Chris Lannon, Thomas Miller (treasurer), Ainesis Reid (media, marketing and programming), Soteria Reid (media and marketing specialist), Antonio Suarez (mechanical hardware technician and designer trainee), Jack Stark (mechanical hardware technician and designer trainee) and Michael Vengroski (team captain and lead designer) best wishes for success. 

 

During the Janunary 8 Board of Education business meeting, Bellport High School junior Jake D’Esposito was recognized for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.

Jake, a member of Boy Scout Troop 47, worked with a team of individuals to erect a Purple Martin colony, located at Squassux Landing in Brookhaven. The Purple Martin is a bird that resembles a swallow and does not build nests in the wild. The Brookhaven community has been trying to attract these birds back to the community. While working on his project, Jake learned about the Purple Martin’s nesting habits and placement, how to attract the birds, predators, management of the colony, migration patterns, food sources and the need for human intervention.

The District congratulates Jake on this outstanding accomplishment.

In an attempt to learn more about their higher education opportunities, 20 Bellport High School juniors and seniors attended the Malcolm Bernard Historically Black Colleges and Universities College Fair, held in New York City. During the visit, 11 students received on-site acceptances to one or more of the nation’s 100 most respected HBCUs.

The Malcolm Bernard HBCU College Fair is a volunteer organization which partners with community and state agencies to enlighten prospective, diverse college students about the value of attending historically black colleges and universities. Attendance at the college fair also promotes programs and services of historically black colleges and universities, providing scholarships to deserving students. The annual college fair boasts an attendance of 12,000 students and provides fee waivers, on-site admissions and scholarships.

Bellport High School Assistant Principal Erika Della Rosa described the event as exhilarating.

“We are extremely proud of the students who were accepted to colleges and universities onsite,” she said. “This was a memorable experience for everyone involved.”

The following list of students received college and university acceptances during the college fair:
• Lisette Alvarado - Voorhees College
• Janaisha Austin - Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Shaw University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore
• Shaliq Cochran - Morgan State University
• Destiny France - Morris Brown College, Voorhees College
• Janya Hazzard-Angevine  - Bowie State University
• Lisa Kuffour - Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Savannah State University and Bennett College
• Suzan Lunde - Bethune Cookman University and Western Virginia State University
• Alaya McClary - Bowie State University
• Esmond Oldums - Voorhees College
• Slydell Roberts - Voorhees College
• Anecya Sutton - Bowie State University and Shaw University

Bellport High School’s Athletes Helping Others organization, in conjunction with the Bellport Teachers’ Association, hosted a toy drive for the students of Bellport Head Start for the holiday season. The organization has been hosting the event for the past decade. During the day, students ages 3-5 were given the opportunity to sit on Santa’s lap and receive a present from one of the elf-athletes. It was a wonderful way for the students to celebrate the season of giving.

Bellport High School students Connor Coleman and Emily Gentzel were selected as recipients of the Suffolk Zone Award. Sponsored by the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, this award recognizes one male and one female Suffolk County high school senior from each school district who exemplify outstanding scholastic ability, physical education performance and leadership qualities. 

The District congratulates Connor and Emily on this outstanding athletic accomplishment.