Newbridge marks 90 years

North Bellmore Schools Superintendent Marie Testa scanned the auditorium of Newbridge Road Elementary School, where she once attended kindergarten, and selected volunteers for a demonstration last Thursday morning.

Third-grader Sean Scott and kindergartner Ameah Munlin were asked to join her, and to point out staff members who had influenced them and made them “better kids.”

When teachers Brenda Adragna and Jacquie Turk were chosen, the group of five joined hands. Testa explained that the circle represented how Newbridge students and staffers were connected.

“This beautiful, glorious structure is all of the walls, but everyone who walks through the doors makes up this school,” she said. “We make the Newbridge Road School what it is.”

Testa thanked all who attended Newbridge Road’s 90th anniversary celebration on May 29. North Bellmorites visited the school for a day of reflection and festivities commemorating the history of the school and the community.

Parents and faculty members planned the anniversary celebration, a daylong program for students. Elected officials, alumni and civic leaders also attended what Principal Marilyn Hirschfield described as a big birthday party.

After an assembly featuring student performances and guest speakers from the Nassau County Legislature, the Town of Hempstead and the North Bellmore Board of Education, the sixth-grade class stayed in the auditorium to interview former faculty members and students.

One of the sixth-graders, Angelo Vergatos, said he enjoyed learning about what the school was like in the past. He said he had fun at the assembly, and he is happy to attend Newbridge Road. “Everyone is really open with each other,” he said. “We act like one big family.”

Each class created an exhibit for the Newbridge Museum in the gymnasium, researching changes in toys, food, technology and popular culture over the years. And parents and students baked 90th birthday cakes, which were displayed in the cafeteria. In the afternoon everyone gathered for a concert featuring Anyway You Want It, a Journey cover band.

Newbridge PTA President Debbie Walker helped plan the festivities. Years after graduating from Newbridge Road in 1980, she said she couldn’t imagine leaving what she called a special community. Noting that others felt the same way, she said that everyone involved in the event’s planning wanted to commemorate the school’s milestone.

“How can you not celebrate?” she said. “It was fun bringing it all together. I hope the kids get a lot of great memories out of this.”