Christopher Agostino of Agostino & Performing Arts combined visual and performing arts with storytelling during an assembly at Bellport Middle School called StoryFaces, a captivating look at the ancient art of changing human identity with masks. Mr. Agostino solicited the help of students as he illustrated fables and folktales on their faces, bringing to life the ancient practice of mask painting.

“The face is a canvas,” Mr. Agostino said. “This is an art of transformation and identity. When we change how we look, we change others’ perception of who we are.”  

Student-volunteers sat on stage with their backs to the audience as Mr. Agostino related folktales, fables and original stories including “The King of the Shark,” “The Tiger That Went to the House of the Sun,” and “The Legend of the Haunted Bridge.” As he shared elements of humanity and world culture through his tales, Mr. Agostino painted masks on the students’ faces with stage makeup to correspond with each tale. The masks were revealed to the excitement of the audience as each tale was completed.

Principal Dr. Jamal Colson explained that the StoryFaces assembly was an excellent example of how the middle school continues to make connections between academic disciplines, such as English language arts and art.

Throughout the District, students spent the month of November collecting food for those in need.
Under the direction of teachers Jeremy Freeman and Erika Hawthorne, the Bellport Middle School Student Council collected nonperishable food items from Oct. 15-Nov. 20. The food was then sent to Pastor Mike Caiazzo at the Lighthouse Mission to add to the organization’s collection of food for the community.
At Brookhaven Elementary School, the students’ reach had a global appeal. After Halloween, students donated their uneaten candy, which was then sent to military troops abroad. 
The Bellport High School Student Council also held its annual Thanksgiving Drive. This year, the organization collected more than 900 nonperishable items for those in need.

Upon completion of a writing unit on personal narratives, seventh grade students in Jessica Arrigotti’s and Ann Metz’s inclusion English as a New Language class at Bellport Middle School shared their works with peers during a writing celebration.

The students have been learning to write personal narratives which include  small moments in their lives. They learned that in writing in this particular genre, it is best to show and not tell, use details to create tension and to include dialogue. 

During the celebration, the finished narratives were placed on desks for peers to read and to write a note or “fan mail” about the narrative, making sure to include positive, encouraging and specific criticism of each piece. After each of the narratives were read, several students volunteered to read their work out loud to the class.