The Board of Education of the Amityville Union Free School District recognized nearly 40 staff members who are either retiring or have achieved a milestone level of service to the district. Staff Recognition Night, which was held on June 9, is an annual tradition to honor administrators, teachers and support staff for their dedication to Amityville’s students. 

Retirees include teachers Joan Peshler, Elbert Platt, Christine Quigley, Laurette Roddin, Deborah Ross and Susan Rutigliano; teacher assistants Susan McDougall, Alfreta Lidge, Patricia Monaco, Kathleen Rousseau and Yuko Suzuki; custodians James Carrington, Bernard Ricks, Anthony Tolliver and George Williams; and clerical staff Barbara Miller and Karen Petermann.

Several staff members were also recognized for milestone service anniversaries with the district.

20 years: Mary Abbruscato, Nicole Altamura, Daren Aversa, Michelle Eastwood, Steven Gafarian, Selina Gibbons, Francine John, Ronnie Johns, Mary-Ellen Loiacono, Joan Peshler, Susan Rutigliano, Lauren James Seubert, Diane Stokes and Colleen Vanni.

25 years: Sherefer Arrington, Angela Gibson, Adriana Gray, Michael Greco, William Maisel and Sikes Reese.

30 years: Donnell Lewis, Karen Petermann, Deborah Ross, Steve Wexler and Gail Wittke.

The Board of Education also presented a certificate of recognition to boys cross country coach Stephanie Barnes, who was named the League 7 Coach of the Year by the Suffolk County Track and Field Coaches Association. 

Stephanie Barnes, a cross-country and track and field coach at Amityville Memorial High School, was named the League 7 Coach of the Year for her leadership of the boys cross-country team. The honor was presented by the Suffolk County Track and Field Coaches Association. 

Ms. Barnes has coached the boys and girls cross-country teams for the past three years, and also coaches girls track. As a student, she ran track at Bay Shore High School, where she was an All-County, All-State and All-American athlete. After receiving a full track and field scholarship, she continued her running career at St. John’s University in Queens. She presently is a special education teaching assistant at Edmund W. Miles Middle School. 

This year’s cross-country season, typically in the fall, was held in March and April, as all high school seasons were modified due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The boys team had a successful season and Kevin Contreras was named to the second All-League team. 

“It means the world to me to win Coach of the Year because there has never been a female coach that has won this award for cross country at Amityville and I am proud to be the first,” Ms. Barnes said. “The most important thing for me as a coach it to make sure my athletes are not only successful in the sport but that they have fun. That they take the experiences the gained from track and become all around good people.”

For a half-century, Amityville Memorial High School’s athletes have benefitted from the tutelage of Donald “Jerry” Pollock. On May 26, he was recognized for 50 years of coaching during a ceremony before the final home meet of the season for the boys track and field team. 

Mr. Pollock, an Amityville graduate, started coaching in 1972. After two years leading the cross country team, he took charge of the boys track and field team. During that time, the team won more than 30 league championships, a dozen county titles and a Section XI championship. He also had long stints coaching wrestling and the boys varsity soccer team, served as interim athletics director and even did a year coaching both the boys and girls track teams. 

His contributions to the Amityville community extend beyond his work with athletes. Mr. Pollock taught at Edmund W. Miles Middle School for 33 years, worked with the Summer at Amityville Beach program, served on the Village of Amityville Planning Board, coached multiple youth sports teams in Amityville and organized an annual 4.6 mile run from the train station to the beach. 

Boys track and field coach Reynolds Hawkins was once one of Mr. Pollock’s athletes, and later they began coaching together. During the ceremony, Mr. Hawkins read the inscription on the plaque honoring Mr. Pollock that will now hang at the high school.

“He has meant a lot to the program, to the school and to all of these athletes,” Mr. Hawkins said, noting that this was a needed and deserved honor for Mr. Pollock. “Every program that he has put his hands on, he has been successful with.”

Approximately 30 athletes coached by Mr. Pollock, past and present, gathered behind him during the ceremony. Mr. Hawkins said this was “just a touch” of his 50 years of coaching in Amityville and reflects the respect that Mr. Pollock has earned. 

Wrestling coach William Maisel spoke fondly of the years he and Mr. Pollock coached together, saying he learned so much from his friend.

“Jerry Pollock is the reason I was a successful coach,” Mr. Maisel said. “He was definitely the mentor that I needed.”

Mr. Pollock said one the greatest pleasures of his career was coaching his own children, who all attended Amityville Memorial High School. He coached Danny (Class of 1990) in wrestling, Kevin (1994) in soccer and wrestling and Jason (1995) in soccer. Kevin said his father has an ability to turn good athletes into great athletes, and always works to help his students compete at a high level. He also said that many of his father’s former athletes, in going on to become coaches themselves, use Jerry Pollock as their role model.   

Jiovanni Saint Jean, a 10th grader at Amityville Memorial High School, was a winner in the 2021 Long Island Youth Summit art contest. Students had the opportunity to create artwork reflecting a variety of societal issues, and Jiovanni was the overall winner in the poverty category. 

The Youth Summit was held virtually in April and included speakers, workshops and an awards ceremony. It is designed to engage high school students in an exploration of current issues relating to economics, the environment, medicine and more. 

Jiovanni completed his artwork as a class assignment, and art teacher Jayne Grasso entered pieces from several Amityville students into the competition. Winners were selected based on how well they applied art to the respective issue. They also had to include a short description with their artwork.

“The art is often very interpretive,” said Amityville business educator Dr. Diane Impagliazzo, who is also a member of the Long Island Youth Summit’s Steering Committee. “Our students always step forward and are able to express themselves both in art and in literature."

On May 17, Vision Long Island Director Eric Alexander and Long Island Youth Summit Chairwoman Dr. Nathalia Rogers visited Amityville Memorial High School to congratulate Jiovanni. For his prize, he received a pair of round-trip tickets from Southwest Airlines to a destination of his choice in the United States. 

For the first time in two years, Amityville’s spring athletes are competing against their Suffolk County peers. Last year’s season was canceled to the COVID-19 pandemic, and although the 2021 season is abbreviated, students are proud to be representing the Warriors in multiple sports.

Amityville’s spring season includes baseball, softball, girls lacrosse and boys and girls track and field. Junior Mia Skye Bradley-Hannibal is the catcher for the softball team and is excited for her first season as the varsity backstop.

“I’m just glad that we’re able to play and I’m ready to get us some wins,” she said.

Evan Farkas, director of athletics, physical education and health, said it is nice to see the fields buzzing again with activity. He noted that there were some successes in the shortened winter and fall season, including an appearance in the semifinal round of the playoffs for the boys soccer team.
 
“I’m very proud of our athletes,” he said. “Despite all of the challenge and all of the safety protocols, they’ve had great enthusiasm and energy, and have accomplished so much this year.”