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HERALD VoL. 28 No. 18
Lacrosse unit a hit in schools
Running in the park for heroes
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Teens network with STEAM professionals in JFK’s Advanced Science Research program, said. “I just wanted to see what they had to Long Island professionals say about their path to the recently volunteered their time future, because unexpected to expose teens to key aspects things could happen.” As co-president of both the of their careers and how they Coding Club and arrived there, durCyber Patriot Club, ing the annual and a senior officer STEAM career fair i n t h e Ro b o t i c s held at Kennedy Club, Kolberg said High School in the he values the sciBellmore-Merrick ence cur riculum Central High offered by JFK. School District on “I think the sciApril 8. ence and STEM Te e n s l e a r n e d programs at JFK from and netare truly phenomeworked with more nal, especially the than 65 professionclubs too,” he said. als in over 50 proRo b S o e l , t h e fessions in the Bellmore-Merrick fields of science, district’s STEAM technolo g y, engi- RoB SoEL c h a i r m a n , neering, ar t and STEAM chairman explained that he math. T he event Bellmore-Merrick wants to offer the was held at Kenne- Central High School students something dy but open to Cen- District beyond classroom tral High School instruction — he District students. hopes they could Games, competiget a leg up in careers where tions and the presentation of some teen research projects they could apply that knowlwere among the many features edge. “In today’s world, there’s of the fair. “One of the questions I really not a career that’s not asked them was, ‘What obsta- got a big component of technolcles did you face along your Continued on page 9 path?’” Evan Kolberg, a student
By REI WoLFSoHN
Correspondent
W
Holden Leeds/Herald
Civic springs into action with duel cleanups The Merrick Community Civic Association hosted back-to-back spring cleanups around Merrick. Above, the association’s president, Berta Weinstein, with board members Tricia Sattar, Mark Salsberg and Joseph Weinsten at the cleanup along Cammann’s Pond. Story, more photos, Page 3.
Event at Kennedy raises awareness about ghost guns and gun violence By JoRDAN VALLoNE jvallone@liherald.com
Emily Weiner, a junior at John F. Kennedy High School in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, recently brought a powerful message to her peers from Robert Gaafar, a survivor of the Route 91 Harvest music festival mass shooting in Las Vegas by hosting a speaker in the school’s auditorium to raise awareness about gun violence. The event, to raise awareness about gun violence, featured Gaafar, a survivor of the October 2017 tragedy that left more than 60 people dead and over 400 injured. It remains the deadliest
mass shooting by a gunman in U.S. history. Weiner, 16, started a Students Demand Action chapter at Kennedy last school year. Students Demand Action, or SDA, is a network of high school and college students who organize to end gun violence in their communities, started in response to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018. Weiner connected her work with Kennedy’s SDA chapter to the school’s leadership program, a multi-year course she’s enrolled in that shapes students into young leaders in their communities. Juniors enrolled in the course must orchesContinued on page 2
e want to make sure kids are thinking about the design aspects and the creative aspects.