Sept. 10 was a highly anticipated day in district, not only because it marked the return of students for the first time since mid-March, but also because it featured the debut of new learning spaces.
The biggest projects from the facilities bond referendum approved by voters in March 2016 were completed over the summer, with new wings opening at Amityville Memorial High School and Northwest Elementary School. The high school addition doubles the size of the school and includes new classrooms, science laboratories, gymnasium and locker rooms, department offices and an expanded cafeteria.
“It’s amazing how nice it looks and I’m happy to be here to see it in person,” said junior Mikhail Ankudovych. “The science classrooms are really nice and really big.”
Science Department Chairwoman Christine Kilfoil said she and her colleagues have been eagerly awaiting completion of the new labs. She noted that the rooms are very spacious with lots of storage for materials, student lab stations with gas and water, large teacher preparation areas, smart TVs and more.
“This is equivalent to a college campus,” she said. “The science department is beyond excited and the students are excited. That excitement is going to bring positive outcomes. The students are really going to prosper from it.”
Principal Ed Plaia noted the touches of Warrior Pride throughout the new wing, from the red accents on the outside of the building, to the splashes of red floor tile to the Amityville Warriors canopies above the gymnasium doors.
“It was a long time coming,” he said of the new wing, which allows the high school to once again house ninth graders. “These students and this community deserve to have this spectacular, state-of-the-art space.”
The old science classrooms in the original part of the school were remodeled as regular classrooms. The former gymnasium and adjoining locker rooms are being transformed into a music and art suite set to open in January 2021.
At Northwest, a new wing on the south side of the building has seven kindergarten classrooms, a small gymnasium and several small instructional rooms. Kindergarten moved to Northwest so its former home, Northeast Elementary School, could become a full-day pre-K center, with classes there beginning on Sept. 16.
Northwest Principal Kathleen Hyland said it was a busy summer with almost every teacher moving rooms as kindergarten came in and third grade moved to Park Avenue, and several new teachers coming over from Northeast. She said the staff pulled together to get the building ready and have their classrooms beautifully decorated for opening day.
Kindergarten teachers welcomed their students by giving them tours of the building, reading them books such as “The Kissing Hand” and “Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten” and giving them some coloring activities. Teachers also created personalized supply bins for each student with crayons, glue sticks and math manipulatives so no materials would be shared.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amityville schools are operating on a hybrid schedule with a mix of in-person and remote instruction, to reduce density in the buildings. Students are grouped into two cohorts so on days that one group comes to school, the other group learns from home using their district-issued Chromebooks.
Superintendent Dr. Mary T. Kelly said she was extremely proud of the district’s entire staff for their hard work to open school both during a pandemic and with two construction projects wrapping up.
“Every single person has been involved in this effort and they are to be lauded, they are to be commended,” she said. “The Amityville team always rises to the occasion.