On the first of May—a beautiful day—Sayville students from the National Art Honor Society and Virtual Enterprise International (VEI) Business classes gathered at Broadway Avenue Park for a beautification program. To help the Great South Bay Coalition—a local organization that focuses on mental wellness, drug-and-alcohol prevention, and overall health— and in cooperation with the local parks program, the Sayville students painted Town of Islip trash cans with positive messages.  Achieving two goals with this one activity, the Trash Bin Art program transformed ordinary barrels into creative expressions that are uplifting and inspiring while at the same time bringing the community’s awareness to the importance of mental health. “This was a great opportunity for our students who were very excited to be able to work together,” said Art Teacher and NAHS advisor Jen Berotti, adding, “Trust me, there are smiles under the masks.”

The Sayville School District has had a wonderful and close partnership with the Great South Bay Coalition, an organization whose Mission Statement is “To promote mental and physical health in an effort to reduce youth substance use. The Great South Bay Coalition has provided grants* to Sayville Schools that have funded wellness initiatives within the District.

Jessica Olsen-Hoek, Project Director for the Great South Bay Coalition, praised the Sayville students’ contributions this weekend with both the Trash Can Art Program on Saturday and the Beach Clean-Up Program on Sunday by the SAAD Club members under English Teacher and SADD Advisor Margie Dashiell.

“I cannot thank the Sayville students and their advisors enough for stepping up and doing an amazing job with both these events! All the students were so talented and really went above and beyond,” Olsen-Hoek said. “The Town of Islip will be placing the trash cans at Gillette Park-Common Ground and Foster Ave Marina Park later this week.”

* The goal of the DFC Federal Grant Program is to fund prevention coalitions that bring together all sectors of the community to increase individual and community protective factors and mitigate risk factors to reduce the impact of youth substance use.  Coalitions are funded to educate, provide support, enhance skills, raise awareness, and engage the community in pro-social activities.

National Art Honor Society members in attendance (Jen Berotti): Diana Raden, Sarah Hinteman, Adaryn Docherty, Madeline Gibbons, Sarah Hauk, Noa DiNapoli, Olivia Desiderio, Brooke Aufiero, Marina Pattilio, Sophia Pensabene, Karishma Patel, Jimmy Herbst.

Virtual Enterprise International (VEI) Business classes (Bryan Coon's VEI students) Spencer Calderon, Alex Ciamillo, Chris Neumeyer, and (Hannah Michaelson's VEI students) Nathan Casaburi, Connor Campbell, Loghan McNamara, Ty Kolar

SADD STUDENTS (with Advisor Margie Dashiell) photo below (left to right). Elizabeth Mansfield, Angelina DeVito, Caleigh Mansfield, Sofia Criscuola, Colleen Doyle, Margie Dashiell, SADD advisor, Lindsay Walker, Erin Henn, SADD President, Aidan McCullough, SADD Vice President and Kenny, a Bayport BluePoint student joining us.