Clarke Middle School kicks off Penny Harvest

W. T. Clarke Middle School has embarked on its 10th year of joining with Common Cents New York for Penny Harvest. Clarke is actively reaching out to support organizations in need.

In just eight short years, Clarke has collected a total of $33,400.13. It has donated to many worthy causes and plans to do the same in the coming year. 

The students were given collection bags to fill with pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. The collection runs through the second week in December. In January and February,  students will select charities. 

In May, all of the recipient organizations will be invited to the school’s annual Penny Harvest presentation and celebration.

Clarke partnered with State Farm Insurance Company, who provided a $1,000 donation at the end of last year to help the students get started on this year’s effort.

At the school’s recent kickoff assembly, State Farm’s Naomi Johnson, Jeff Horan and Beth Serrano once again presented another $1,000 for the effort. 

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Valuable lessons at Woodland

Seventh-grade students at Woodland Middle School recently celebrated Red Ribbon Week with a special Character Education/Human Diversity Awareness workshop featuring Paul D. Failla, a retired Suffolk County police officer, actor, and educational consultant. Failla has developed a unique array of programs related to character education and other value-based topics aimed at middle and high school students. 

Over a span of three periods, 426 seventh graders listened attentively to Failla’s presentation. He used humor and drama to captivate his audience while presenting examples of societal prejudices and destructive decisions, and the harmful consequences of each. Topics such as positive role models, respect, diversity, values, dignity, leadership, profiling, racism, and ridicule were also discussed.