District students fostered kindness, a welcoming school environment and a focus on mental health during P.S. I Love You Day, held on Feb. 13. A national movement to bring importance to mental health and to decrease bullying, this important celebration is held annually on the second Friday of each February and assists students in recognizing when a peer or loved-one needs help or a bit of kindness. 

Students wore purple-colored clothing to demonstrate their commitment to the day’s message. At Dayton Avenue School, students filled paper hearts with positive messages and took photos in front of the P.S. I Love You backdrop during their lunch periods. At Tuttle Avenue, students and faculty posed under the school’s purple balloon arch. The entire school also posed in the shape of a heart in the gymnasium and took a commemorative photo. Eastport Elementary School, students contributed positive messages on a gigantic hallway display and took turns taking photos with their classes. 

Additionally, South Street School also created a hallway Leader in Me lighthouse where students contributed positive messages in the design’s rays.   

Click here to view the District Celebrates P.S. I Love You Day slideshow.

Date Added: 2/13/2026

Dayton Avenue School students held their annual Souper Bowl food collection for two weeks prior to the big game in which students collected 892 food items. The food was then delivered by sixth grade volunteers to food pantry at The Presbyterian Church of Center Moriches. 

The Souper Bowl was also a competition between grades and classrooms to see which could collect the most food. The fourth grade came in first overall, having collected a total of 317 food items. Linda McGinness’ and Katie Orlando’s fourth grade class won first place with 189 items collected. Additionally, Karen Moran’s and Dawn Skelton’s fifth graders collected 109 food items and placed second, while fifth graders in Peter Edwards’ and Aaron Weiss’s class placed third, having collected 79 food items.  

Congratulations to all the students who demonstrated leadership and altruism by helping those in need.   

Date Added: 2/10/2026

Dayton Avenue School and library media specialist Cheryl Skidmore are pleased to announce thatthe poetry of students Addison Ebright, Ryan Fabian, Kaylee Larson, Isla Norris and Gabby Rodriguez were selected for inclusion in the 2026 Young American Poetry Digest. The librarymediacenter also received a $100 award from the Digest for its outstanding commitment to fostering writing and creativity among students. The award underscores the library media center’s supportive environment for aspiring young writers.There were more than 200 submissions from 10 schools across the nation with Dayton Avenue having the most submissions from any one school.    

This recognition highlights the incredible talent and hard work of the school’s young authors. The students’ poems include titles, “Violin” (Addison), “Football” (Ryan), “Beach” (Kaylee), “My Dog” (Isla) and “Flowers” (Gabby) that reflected a wide range of themes and emotions. Students and staff arebeingencouraged to explore the published works and find inspiration in their peers’ creativity. 

Ms. Skidmorecongratulatedthe students when she said, “Your passion for writing deserves to have been recognized and we are excited to continue nurturing your talents in the future. This is truly exciting for Dayton Avenue School.” 

Date Added: 1/21/2026

Tuttle Avenue School second grader Adrian Uzcategui and Dayton Avenue School third grader Austin Callegari were named first-place and second-place winners, respectively, in the Town of Brookhaven’s second annual Brookhaven Recycles Poster Contest. The goal of the contest was to promote the importance of recycling in an important way.   

The contest invited students to submit posters under the theme of “Choose to Reuse!” or Recycle Right!” and included the town’s recycling can nicknamed “Curby.” Adrian and Austin were recently honored along with six other winners during a town board meeting. They each received a framed copy of their posters, which were displayed in Brookhaven Town Hall. 

Date Added: 1/9/2026