Five students at Sagamore Middle School presented to the Board of Education and administrators about the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8. Maxwell Benimoff, Jack Kelleher, Howard Dickson, Dmytro Vorobets and Nathan Check offered some tips about viewing the eclipse in a safe way.

Leading up to April 8, they sold eclipse glasses to benefit the Sagamore student government.

“With a solar eclipse, if you look at it without the glasses, you could go blind from burning your eye,” said Howard.

Their presentation also explained how traffic could impact safety on April 8, urging others to be extra cautious.

“The amount of traffic on the roads is unsafe. People are distracted, looking up at the eclipse, which plays into the safety of it,” said Jack.

The presentation was part of the students’ Seal of Civic Readiness Project. Due to the district having two additional snow days built into the school calendar that weren’t used, the district has chosen April 8 and May 28 as nonattendance days.

Date Added: 4/5/2024

The Sachem Central School District is helping the fight against pediatric cancer by supporting the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Several school buildings came together for head-shaving events to raise funds for childhood cancer research, as well as awareness.

Seneca Middle School held its St. Baldrick’s event on March 18. Fourteen students and one teacher volunteered to shave their heads. The building raised nearly $14,300 in their efforts.

At Waverly Elementary School, six students and five adults including parents, Principal Kevin Tougher and school custodian Mr. Nick, shaved their heads during the building’s annual St. Baldrick’s event on March 22. Since 2015, Waverly students and staff have raised nearly $250,000 for the foundation. This year, the building raised more than $5,000 and honored Waverly’s own fifth grader, Justin Olsen. Olsen was diagnosed with a pediatric cancer in 2019 and had his final treatment in May 2021. He is doing incredibly well and was happy to participate in this year’s event.

Sagamore Middle School had nine “shavees” and raised over $10,000. Additionally, the building held a ceremony to honor the shavees and volunteers from all three Sachem Middle Schools.

Samoset Middle School rounded off the St. Baldrick’s Day events in Sachem on April 5. The building held three assemblies for each grade level, showcasing the incredible efforts of students and staff in fundraising for childhood cancer research. 20 students and staff members raised money for the cause, totaling over $16,000.

Click here to view the Samoset photo slideshow.

Click here to view the Sagamore photo slideshow.

Click here to view the Seneca photo slideshow.

Click here to view the Waverly photo slideshow.

Date Added: 4/9/2024