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HERALD
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Let’s Rewrite the Story.
Dogfest brings a bark to the park
Art photos on exhibit at library
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Vol. 27 No. 39
SEPTEMBER 25 - oCToBER 1, 2025
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Art teacher led school’s 20th peace ceremony By RENEE DeloRENZo rdelorenzo@liherald.com
Renee DeLorenzo /Herald
John Street School staff and PTSA volunteers gathered for the 20th annual Pinwheels for Peace ceremony, which teaches students about kindness and empathy, on Sept. 18.
Christine Randazzo has been on a mission to spread peace among Franklin Square students, many of whom she teaches art at John Street School, for more than two decades. As a longtime artist and an advocate for world peace, Randazzo has hosted Pinwheels for Peace, a global art project in which students plant pinwheels on the school’s front lawn and pledge to share positivity and kindness with their community. The initiative is held each year in anticipation of World Peace Day, also known as the International Day of Peace, celebrated annually on Sept. 21. This year’s ceremony, on Sept. 18, marked the 20th year Randazzo has coordinated the project at John Street. “I thought it was an exciting thing to get my message out of peace through art,” she said. “I try to teach my kids that it’s all about the process, not the ConTinued on PAge 10
Dad’s Club creates positive learning space for men By RENEE DeloRENZo rdelorenzo@liherald.com
The Elmont Memorial High School Dad’s Club is entering its fourth school year supporting fathers in the district with education, resources, and an outlet to share their feelings. The initiative aims to improve their mental health, provide guidance and help them better serve their families and community. The club, which meets every other Thursday at the high school library on Ridge Road, is an extension of the Elmont Parent Teacher Student Association.
Jon Johnson, an Elmont father and chair of the club, has been spearheading the initiative since the summer of 2023, providing leadership and mentorship to more than 60 members. Jo h n s o n re c a l l e d b e i n g approached by Lynette Battle, former president of the Elmont PTSA and cur rent Elmont school board trustee, who was trying to organize the Dad’s Club but couldn’t get it off the ground. Because Johnson was already a mentor in the high school’s Men of Elmont program, Battle asked him to use those skills to lead the new group.
I
am excited to see how this evolves.
lyNETTE BATTlE former president, Elmont Memorial PTSA Battle said she was inspired to start the Dad’s Club after attending a Long Island Knights volleyball game in Valley Stream in April 2022 with her son, Quincy Velez. Many Elmont students are on the team, which provides educational development for athletes. But after an evening discus-
sion with the players, Battle said several admitted they struggled to speak with their fathers about important topics such as religion, sexuality, or the many feelings they were experiencing. “They felt their fathers were resistant to hearing them, or unavailable,” Battle said. “It weighed heavy on me.”
That was when Battle began brainstorming ways to address the problem. She approached other fathers in the district to lead the effort and launched the first meeting in the summer of 2022, but it was Johnson who stepped up to bring her vision to life a year later. Battle said there is a persisConTinued on PAge 16