001the board is returning from executive session with Collective negotiations pring to article 14 of the Civil Service law were discussed please rise for pres indisce for [Music] all gentl for brief announcement upon fire alarm activation immediate evacuation to the closest emergency exit is required the emergency exits and assembly areas are located on either side of the room exit away from the building so as to not interfere with the fire department and proceed to the evacuation areas please follow the school official's directions and once assembled outside the building everyone must wait until a school official gives an all clear before re-entering the building will the clerk please call the role car con meanfield here Anastasia Dev here James F McKenna here Monique Proctor here jacn Robinson here soon Sherwood dadley here and Jermaine El thank you
002does the clerk have any additions or deltion to the agenda yes consent agenda items 11.16 and 11.17 and Personnel items 13.02 a b and c have been added to the agenda thank you the next Board of Education meeting will be held on Tuesday J July 2nd and will be a re organizational meeting followed by a regular meeting there will be no school and the district will be closed tomorrow June 19th in observance of juneth the eighth grade moving up ceremony will be held on Tuesday June 20th at 6 PM in the High School auditorium the elementary and intermediate schools will have early dismissal each day June 20 through the 25th the elementary school will hold the unity walk on Friday June 21st at 9:45 a.m. and the last day of school for students will be
003June 25th 20 24 the class of 2024 commencement ceremony will be held on Thursday June 27th at 6 p.m. in the High School auditorium and for those who cannot attend in person the ceremony will be live streamed on the district YouTube channel right this evening we have several presentations that great tonight thank you president Sher Dudley tonight's a very special night as you know last night last board meeting we we got to recognize our teachers who have um been with us four years and earned tenure tonight we have another very special celebration these are our teachers who have proven over the years and our staff have proven over the years just how committed they are to the district and have now decided it's time to move on to the next phase of their life so
004we want to recognize each of our retirees some are here some are not able to be here but we will recognize each of our retirees um and we're going to ask um the presenter will go to the podium and we're going to ask retiree to stand up and go to the podium as well we're going to start with Dr Fernandez from the elementary school boy tonight I present to you Mrs Julia best it is [Applause] with it is with great pleasure that I can graduate Julia B on her retirement Julia graduated from ASO college and with a major technology education among other many certifications that she has I can't even name them all Administration being amongst one of them she began her teaching career in Brooklyn where she was born and raised and then later
005moved to Shelter Island in 1994 uh she came to Southampton as a Southampton High School Technology teacher during her time at the high school I hear that she would often help out with technology and often helped out with many other student performances in 2012 she moved to sces where she will be finishing her amazing career Julia teaches technology and incorporates many stem lessons that are tied to the science curriculum my favorite lesson many of my favorite lesson one of my favorite lessons is when she's teaching about electric and students are exploring what materials create electricity students are working collabora working together and really learning through exploration Julie has many fun thematic units and include how to best build structures and learning about the solar system Julia has run our coding Club which will be very
006difficult shoes to fill many students have mentioned to me that their favorite Club was coding and they couldn't wait for Friday to spend their afternoon with her Julia leaves us with 28 years of service she has forged relationships with not only every child in our building but with every parent in community as well in which I just heard that one student after 30 years came back just to write her a letter to show his appreciation and love for her just a little example of how she has touched so many lives Mrs best has made connections with her students and instilled in them the desire to learn no matter what students were facing no matter what M no matter what the challenge she took the time to help and believe in her students to help face
007all obstacles Julia inspired and challenged her students to learn technology through explicit teaching and exploration Julia is not only the mother of her two boys but she is the friend and colleague to many teachers at Southampton J has supported her colleagues and helped the building by being a member of the stash committee she has looked after looked out for her members to promote positive healthy and work environment she was also a vital member of our Dei building team and ensure that old teachers students and staff are treated with dignity and respect which is truly appreciated in addition as a new initiative with restorative practices Julie utilized many circles in her classrooms this year to help build relationships she has been an absolute honored to get to know get to know you and work with you
008in my few short years we wish you nothing but the best we would like to thank you for your dedication to the entire School community and your years of service Julie will now be moving on to retirement and continuing her professional journey in a new career path opening a restaurant in Shelter [Applause] Island wait to spech I'm going to ask you to do first introduce your guest to us if you wouldn't mind and then if you'd like to say anything else that would be great sure I have my lovely Outlaw here Sharon my very dear friend Outlaw and quotes I have my youngest son here EMT he's a a student in uh Sun Bingington mechanical engineering a a boy after me own heart as my grandmother would say and I have my uh lovely ex-husband
009here who is here and supporting and I really appreciate James thanks for coming and uh other friends and uh people I call family and quotes you know it's been a great place to work I've been able to do great stuff here and uh keep it going keep [Applause] it oh I'm going to do a commercial right now it's called the 1901 Grill okay it's located at the public golf course on Shelter Island we're getting good reviews food's good the atmosphere is great you know we're open 7 Days week ready to go thanks for me please come and we have one more retire who could be here with us tonight but I would like to say some short um words for our very own Lisa Karu uh Lisa Karu has been teaching for 23 years years
010she started as a 101 Aid and that had become a TA physician the following year she took a lead position in first grade after that she was moved to third grade where she worked most of her time at sces uh alongside Rebecca Raymond they were together for about seven years and then moved to fourth grade where she'll be finishing her career Lisa is married to Peter kuu and they have one son Peter who was married recently she has not only embraced the DU language program at our school and has forged many relationships in doing so Lisa has served as a grade level leader supporting new teachers new curriculum and helping teachers to be successful with the implementation of lessons Lisa has been the student council adviser alongside amarie kogus Lisa has helped students do Outreach
011and help the southam to community with many of her fundraisers some few some few of them that has caught by eye was um when she raised money for breast cancer awareness each year and she goes to the Calton Cemetery with students to honor and give Tri tribute on Memorial Day she has truly taught students how to give back to her community in addition this year was also um a time that she was the adviser for authors and illustrators where she brought in local authors and sparked the love of writing during her Club I can say that Lisa goes above and beyond for all her students after 23 years of teaching she still will stay late and be prepared for her students she wears her heart on her sleeve and deeply cares about all her students
012and teaches that she teaches and she supports Lisa plans to retire already and has vacation plans to go to Brazil with her husband we hope you enjoy every minute congratulations to Lisa on her retirement thank you Dr Fernandez and I just want to add one thing about Mrs Karu Mrs K is already signed on to her next career which is she's joined the board for luci's Angels so she's on the board which will be raising um again money for breast cancer research and for breast cancer um work with um local fa fa ities so we appreciate her work with that as well I'd like to call up our newest administrator Mr [Music] Benson hello good evening well I am happy to honor multiple retirees at sis this year none of which are here today so
013I will um say many many kind words on their behalf we will start by talking about Coach Anthony doton coach Anthony dotton has earned this wonderful retirement his 21 years of service this coach has modeled young minds in the classroom and on the track he's provided such a strong role model for so many of his young students and aspiring athletes the lessons taught by coach transcend a Young Person's time in school I know that there are many young men and women that have taken the coaching provided by Tony dotton and applied it in their lives personally and professionally I count myself as one of those lucky ones actually um this year coach doton in true coach form has found multiple opportunities to coach me up um I won't share the lessons uh specifically but I'll
014only say that it was always timely and it was just the right thing that I need at the right time so uh he had a point of view that only a coach could have uh just like any athlete for me feedback is a gift and I've always appreciated that from coach Doon as is anyone else at sis uh in his illustrious career you could find him at skate nights at after school events he gave multiple multiple multiple years and nights of his time to our students so congratulations on a well-deserved retirement I hope you continue to provide feedback that only a coach can provide [Applause] okay my next retiree is Mr Ken German Mr Ken German has dedicated 29 years of his life to educating students in our district Mr Ken German has taught generations
015of students imparting not only knowledge but his passion for science his time in the district has been in this time in his district he has coached been a union leader as well as a teacher leader he relished the roles around the district including many years helping organize field trips like our Frost Valley trip their commitment to education and to the teaching profession is undeniable Ken German is the picture of consistency from his outfits to his car you know what you're going to get every day with Ken German his students know what to expect and as a principal I knew exactly where Ken German stood each day Mr German's time in the classroom has seen curriculum shifts and demographic changes yet there are some universals that have transcended the sound of rockets shooting off in the
016back field often times landing on the high school roof the sounds of kids laughing at a static electricity demo in the classroom or The Wonder of electrical currents whizzing as they're being manipulated by students those sounds and memories are just one of the aspects of the Legacy that then Mr German leaves 29 years speaks to endurance and resilience in staying the course in this profession longevity speaks volumes I know that Mr German has a deep-seated passion for shaping young minds I hope that with the next chapter Mr German continues to positively impact others thank you for your years of service on behalf of sis and we hope that your retirement is filled with many new adventures [Applause] my next retiree is our TA Mr Steven jley who was going to be here today but at
017the last minute decided he couldn't make it um but there's not enough that I can say about Mr jley uh if you've gotten to know Mr jley he has supported almost every classroom in almost every subject in almost every grade at some point in his career he has taken over Stalone andl classes he supported choir in band he's been in science and he's dived into math and social studies and that's only this year there is nothing Mr jley is unwilling to do I've never heard him say no where do you need me how can I help what the coach free of ego flexible approachable he's been a breath of fresh air for a new principal where there is so much to navigate so many landmines honestly having Mr jley here I wish I could talk
018him out of retirement he was here pleaded one more time hey think about it uh Mr jley has made it a part of his job to check in on me he wants to help he wants students to learn he wants teachers to be successful he is there because he cares his heart is as big as the mark he leaves on sis Mr jy's career is a career we should all strive for be a beacon of positivity share your joy with as many as possible Mr jley has overcome he's shown grit and Grace in the face of tough circumstances we are all so proud of how you've been able to finish out this year the entire sis family has been rooting for you and we are all celebrating this wonderful milestone in your journey I have
019a problem I don't know if you know this but he wrote a book um that was the first thing someone told me when I started we're reviewing staff in the summer and it just happen to go oh Mr Joey he wrote a book so as I'm preparing for my first Year's building principal that's amazing I have an author on sta um it's a great way to break the ice I'm making conversation with Steve the next day I come in copy of the desk copy of the book is on my desk I'm going to admit something to you this year has been a blur there's so much to learn there's so much to absorb that this book this is the first time I've actually picked up the book and brought it from my desk to the
020podium I do have summer reading plans I promise um as I prepared for today I did go on Amazon I did some I read some reviews one caught my eye uh the book is called star quadrant Omega it's an epic tale that transcends time and emotion as we follow the story of an underdog that succeeds in achieving societal equity and equality while achieving love in the process I could not think of a better review of Mr Steve jy's career as an educator I don't know about the love part but the other parts about the equity and equality that's it um Middle School is much like the world of Mr jy's novel I would like to think his work here has advanced equity and equality for our students I know that he has achieved making Sis
021love him he signed a copy of the book for me he wrote I hope you enjoy my story it's one of a kind just like you my friend Steve you are one of a kind and sis has enjoyed your spirit and your dedication to us congratulations Mr jley on an amazing impactful 25-year career that has been as vast and as deep as the galaxies you write it out right I'm halfway done I me I'm making up for it I barely said anything all year at the board meeting so I'm getting it all today our next retiree is Miss Laura menal uh Miss Laura menw has dedicated the last 14 years to imparting her passion for math on her students a consistent presence for her students year after year often times with the rigor of taking
022algebra in Middle School the Difference Maker is having a teacher that is calm Collective and prepared congratulations on your retirement after 14 years of dedicated service to our district your passion for math your commitment to nurturing young minds have left a mark on countless students I know you have a future continuing to move Minds I know there is plenty of travel relaxation and new adventures ahead thank you for everything my last retire we honor is Miss Melissa rogi Miss rogi leaves having taught multiple generations of Southampton families we have staff who can coach students perfectly when they have a question about Miss rogi's class because they themselves were her students 38 years of service can you even imagine there are only a few people that have come through this District that can stake a claim
023to such Heights of longevity and consistency what kind of Mark does 38 years leave I can assure you one that will live on for another 38 and Beyond there are countless students and teachers that have Miss rogi to thank for her professionalism her passion and her advocacy in our roles I've had the pleasure of weekly meetings with Miss RI her wit her humor and her passion come through automatically but more importantly I always knew where she stood she was a strong advocate for her members she spoke directly and never minced words and I respect that she ALS show she also kept such a high bar for her students and I have so much respect for the hours she has given to support and educate the students of Southampton while my remarks are brief I hope
024that in these last few days others take the opportunity to express their appreciation for Miss rogi I wish her a restful and relaxing retirement I know she wants a quiet Victory lap but I hope everyone takes the time to share their appreciation thank I did want to um I let Mr penson know that on my way here this evening I received an email from a student who asked that on behalf of Miss and when Miss RI is being presented if I wouldn't mind reading something short that's meaningful to him and he hope is he hopes it's meaningful to her he writes members of the Board of Education administrators faculty staff in the community I Rise this evening to recognize and honor Miss Melissa rogi for her many years of dedication and service to the students
025of Southampton I started in Southampton in 7th grade after my family chose to move here joining a new school is generally daunting and challenging more so when you're the new kid starting in year three of sis luckily here was Miss rogi Miss rogi is what you hope for in a teacher especially when you're new kind helpful engaging humorous and fair she is the teacher who knows her students looks out for them and is approachable if you need help in what proved to be a difficult year Miss rogi was someone who made a difference to a young student and all these many years later I still thank her for being that teacher who made my life better Miss rogi is also the teacher whose classes and style leave an impression I can credit my career trajectory
026in part for her from units on government and social studies to a glimpse into journalism through what was the morning show for which Miss rogi served as an adviser she did what teachers do she sparked an interest at Blossom that continued into college and became an academic degree academic degree and then a rewarding career working for members of Congress and finally the Biden Harris Administration I'm grateful to miss rogi for all she did for me and for the countless others who have passed through Southampton Intermediate School the students whose life she touched as well as the community are all better off because of her she reflects like many teachers and staff did who were part of the school district when I was a student the best of Southampton I'd also like to take a moment
027to acknowledge a few additional individuals who impacted my life they were Mr jley Miss Blakey Smith Miss best and Mr German thank you for all your service and your contributions and best wishes for an enjoyable well- earned retirement Eddie shus class of 2002 oh [Applause] wow I want to make sure I get a copy list to miss Roi because I'm sure will appreciate and just to show the impact that um the intermediate students teachers have had on our and our students the collective years among the names that Mr Benson mentioned there's 126 and a half years that that have passed through through the retirees that left us are leaving us we do have the areas of fed science enl math and social studies all accounted for in this team of expert teachers who are leaving
028us so these are really big shoes to fill and hoping we can in the years to come so thank you Mr Benson and I appreciate your tribute to each of them now I'm going to turn it over to our high school principal Dr BR thank you Dr Doo and Board of Education members at this time I would like to invite our first guest of honor Mrs SRA Dubin up to the [Applause] podium it is a very profound honor to be standing up here celebrating the career of SRA for those who may not know Sandra has served as our American Sign Language AKA ASL teacher for 23 years here in the Southampton Union free District additionally for the past five years here SRA has taught our Holocaust studies course within our school district all of those
029fortunate enough to have a deep professional relationship with SRA know the passion that she has for her craft the Deep commitment that she has to the students on her roster her eagerness to learn new things and how she has always conducted herself with the utmost professionalism even in the most challenging of times those traits and these traits have directly led to our ASL program in which she is the only person qualified to teach within the school district having a very healthy and very robust student enrollment every single year that she has been with us that does not happen by chance that happens only when students families and the community feel the commitment see the efforts and know that there is an educator on their side that will do anything for them I've seen so many
030examples of this over the years I mean this is a teacher who would just freely give up her lunch and free periods every single day just so she could spend time in our special education small group classes ensuring that students in these programs would also learn ASL even though their academic program did not require it or call for it countless numbers of students were able to successfully complete a four-year program strand in ASL even after some of those students intrinsically felt that they could never Master another form of language nor were projected to complete a program and even go all the way up and beyond our checkpoint B which is our region exam equivalency but this this is what you get when you have a teacher that is laser focused on the success of her
031students and does not let anything stand in the way of that as shared earlier SRA has had another calling of our school back in 2018 SRA was provided time to travel to Poland for the march of the Living Program this was the same March that many Holocaust victims took to their took prior to their deaths at several concentration camps upon her return from Poland Mrs duban presented her experience by pushing into the classrooms and taking students on a virtual field trip through the use of pictures and narrations from The Experience she also worked with our teachers by providing them with techniques on how to incorporate learnings from the Holocaust into cross-disciplinary practices this experience led to the development of our Holocaust 1 and two courses that SRA has taught since that time in 2019 sandre
032collaborated with our administrative team in having Mr Irving Roth Holocaust Survivor present to all of our students and faculty during a full in-person very special event at our high school this was followed by several OPP other opportunities where students from our school were offered the experiences to meet and learn from Holocaust Survivors and family members including Dr Henry Rustin Mr Frank Grunwald Mrs everin summer Mrs Anita Li and East End resident Mrs Judith s and by the way sandre just this morning informed me that of her very recent passing and we certainly extend our thoughts and prayers to her um on the East End here all of these experiences were offered to the entire student body as a a direct result of sanja's networking coordination planning and steadfast commitment to end anti-Semitism her work in
033the area of Holocaust studies and anti-Semitism is more important now than ever before based on the unpleasant clips and news that we're seeing all around our community our country and the world it has been an honor and a gift working alongside Sandra all these years sandre you can leave here knowing that this work has had a profound impact on us and your legacy will continue here at Southampton High School on behalf of all of us here at Southampton we send you a heartfelt thank you for 23 years of service in our schools we hope that you have had have the best time in this new chapter of your life it has been nothing short of special working with you having your children here in the high school of students and developing a very special bond
034with your husband and former Board of Education member at trustee and president David I am forever grateful for the Deep professional relationship that we have experienced together and wish you all the best SRE [Applause] congratulations good evening congratulations to the other retirees I wish you well I want to thank Dr Zen for his kind words I would also like to recognize his unwavering leadership what makes him such an exceptional principle is that his Focus rests firmly where it should which is with his students I can unequivocally say that in my 32 years of teaching he is by far the most inclusive and skilled principal I have ever had the privilege with whom to work thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening I have prepared what I want to say because I want to
035give you a glimpse of who I am what is important to me and where I believe changes need to be made I have been a teacher at Southampton High School for the past 32 years 23 years all three of my children attended Southampton Elementary School scho Intermediate School and High School my husband David duban served as the Board of Education president for a number of years it is no coincidence that both of my areas of expertise American Sign Language and Holocaust studies relate to marginalized communities as I was raised to Champion worthy causes such as diversity equity and inclusion although recently I have seen those three words take on a completely different meaning I would like to recount a series of events that took place this past year to illustrate my point I am extremely
036proud of starting the American sign language program at Southampton High School 22 years ago although for me personally my greatest achievement has been to write the curriculum and to teach Holocaust studies year after year I had the honor of connecting our students my colleagues and shs staff with Holocaust Survivors an opportunity that many students and others will never have again because of the Aging population of the survivors it is difficult to express how pleased I felt when students told me that they would never forget the Survivor stories and they would share the stories with their families their friends even their children the overriding theme that I heard each year was how could people allow something so horrific to happen my students and many teachers were certain that had they lived during the Holocaust years they
037would have been upstanders and not bystanders and then October 7th happened Hamas terrorists launched an unprecedented Massacre on Israel by infiltrating the country by air land and sea with the state goal of killing raping and burning alive as many Jews as possible not to mention the tens of thousands of missiles that were launched into Israel it was the largest Massacre of Jews since the Holocaust [Music] 250 hostages were taken many of whom are the same age as my students and many abducted from the Nova Music Festival on October the 9th the students in my Holocaust class and my ASL classes asked me question after question about the massacre they expressed a profound desire to understand what happened two days later their questions were replaced by silence in back within weeks some teachers and students were
038paring Hamas talking points on our morning announcements and the same students who bombarded me with questions about October 7th seemed to have no sympathy or interest in the hostages being held in Gaza and within days the students had become experts on Middle Eastern geopol politics why was there such a colossal shift in attitude I believe there are a myriad of factors that contributed to this change in Attitude including virtue signaling performative activism and most certainly Jew hatred but it needs to be noted that many of our students and teachers have been taught to look at every through the lens of an oppressor and an oppressed narrative without having any knowledge of facts which is the result of faulty Dei programs the consequences of such an approach are catastrophic according to Dei models and more specifically
039interent intersectionality Frameworks Israel and white Jews are erroneously classified as oppressors and therefore hating and abusing Jews has become acceptable sadly the Dei model refuses to see Jews as an oppressed group and even goes as far as to erase Jewish identity ethnicity and origin that is why I believe my students and others were so quick to lay blame on the victims of the massacre and to believe the misinformation they were seeing on Tik Tok and other social media Platforms in fact in the Anti-Defamation League's report on anti-semitic attitudes in America 2024 researchers found that people with an oppressor versus oppressed World viiew endorsed more anti-jewish TR so let me ask you where in the Dei framework is the appreciation of diverse people how is the framework Equitable and how can it claim to be inclusive
040it seems to me that Dei does the opposite of what it purports to achieve to my mind the words diversity equity and inclusion no longer represent a noble cause but rather they serve to exclude I would like to know where are all the upstanders without an answer to this question I realized that I have a larger calling and responsibility it is time for me to move forward my suggestion to you is this when you make decisions about the kind of programs we bring into our schools including Dei initiatives make certain that you look under the hood what is the goal of the program what does it teach our students and teachers how are you going to assess its success is the program rooted in accurate in information and perhaps most importantly who does it leave
041out in your analysis I urge you to think about all of the children we serve not only the children with whom you identify thank you for giving me the opportunity to do what I love which is to to teach at this time I would like to invite Mrs Sarah Fitz Simmons up to the podium Sarah Sarah fans has served the Southampton Community as family consumer science teacher for 21 years those for those who are not familiar with the term family consumer science otherwise known as home careers or facts enable students to learn and about and explore skills and careers in the area of food preparation culinary arts baking and pastry early childhood education interior design and so much more Sarah has been at the heart of teaching students vocational skills and true life skills that
042students absolutely need as they move through college and careers for the past 21 years at Southampton High School Sarah has directly LED one of our most successful and highly enrolled elective programming in the district we all know that high school students love to eat and trust me they eat a lot as they are still activ L growing and participating from morning to night in all of our programs I'm even drawn to the amazing smells that come out of Sarah's classroom and that weighing every single day and only wish that I can spend a period in the kitchen down there with you but it's not just the draw of cooking and baking that takes place in that room every day it is the person behind the program food alone will not make students feel comfortable enough
043to keep coming back the the reason why students keep returning to the various courses within the program is because they know they have a teacher who will work with them support them through trying times and be their champion in addition to the work that Sarah has done in our classroom she has made a tremendous impact on the overall School Community Sarah has served as rotary interact advisor for many years which requires her to work closely with the Southampton rotary and follow their mission in addition to uh her support with our rotary students of the month the rotary interact Club is always on the front lines of serving our larger Community here on the East End just as the heart of the Hampton and other food pantries where our rotary interact students volunteer their time around
044the holidays to ensure that community members are taken care of in addition to her community service work Sarah has partnered with our food services and Intermediate School on our community garden project she played a role in the Inception of that project that is still in use today Sarah and her students have also shown off their skills part providing homemade desserts for our students and staff during our International Feast events over the years in terms of utilizing her fashion skills Sarah has served as our costume designer for the Southampton High School Musicals for those who have not seen some of the plays you will understand and appreciate the creativity and work that goes into those costume designs one additional piece that I know about Sarah is that she is deeply devoted to her family who is
045here this evening Sarah's often heard talking about them and of course her passion for her dogs and pooches Sarah on behalf of all of us here at Southampton we extend to you a heartfelt thank you for your 21 years of service in our schools we also have to thank your husband for his partnership with rotary and his support for our students so thank you very much Sarah it has been an honor and a pleasure working with you and we wish you all the best in the next chapter of your life congratulations [Applause] Sarah well I don't have as much to say as Sandra I feel a little inadequate but um I just want to thank the board for supporting the facts program um I never felt like I wasn't supported by the board Nick actually
046was the person who hired me so thank you Nick for that it was a great experience working at the school I really had a wonderful experience all around and um my next chapter is um Coming any day I'm having a new granddaughter arriving any day Sarah will you introduce your guest to the Comm here yes I have my wonderful husband Bill P um every Friday he brought me lunch I had a people would my students would say that I had a drive up window Fray and my daughter Amy who's a graduate of Southampton High School and your student and my student first year I taught she was my student and my daughter Hannah and her husband Corey fantastic thank [Applause] on before we go on to the to the next question Mrs duin I didn't
047get a chance to ask you if you would introduce your guest would you just please stand up uh this is David Dubin my husband H Noah Dubin my daughter youngest daughter Jordan Dubin uh my eldest daughter and Jeremy Dubin my son thank you I will ask if Mr Benson and and Dr would join Dr Z at the pleas at this time I would like to invite Mr Sher Blakey Smith up to the podium with [Applause] us as a staff member who has had an impact on students all across all across the district in our three buildings please know that the sentiments that I share are reflective not only of me but the principles behind me and the assistant principles across the district as well Sheri Blakey Smith is completing her 208th year of service in
048our school Community most of her years of service were spent directly supporting the students parents and caregivers of the shinik nation as our community leaon before her role later expanded to working directly with all students and families AC across the district over sher's extensive tenure in Southampton schools she has developed incredible relations relationships with generations of students families community members faculty and administration I along with our administrative team are so grateful that we had Sherry with us over over all these years because she was always willing able and ready to tackle issues that arose in our schools I personally am so grateful and so appreciative of Sher because she has stood shoulder Tosh shoulder with me over the years at Southampton High School during the best of times and during some of our most challenging
049times as well and it was so important to me and other school leaders across the district to have sher's guiding voice when needed she has taught me so much over over our years together and helped me to push myself to be the best that I can be in the position that I serve one very valuable lesson that Sher has taught me over the years is the importance of being still in even the most trying of times so that I can clearly hear see and understand the issues at hand and what is taking place even when I cannot see it only then once maximum Clarity has been established could I or anyone in a particular situation come to a point of effectively solving a problem where all parties come out feeling like it was a winwin
050for all another reason why we and I are so grateful for Sherry is because we had you at our as at our side as social and cultural translator when needed serving in a diverse Community inclusive of an indigenous native population presents many scenarios that we and I may have have never had prior to coming to Southampton it was very reassuring to know that Sher was always there to help us look at these scenarios through a very different lens again ensuring that everyone walks away feeling successful Sher I'm going to miss those conversations the mentoring the guidance that you have provided to me and so many of us over all these years and I personally am so grateful um for for it in addition to her regular duties throughout the school day Sher has been involved
051in critical extracurricular experiences for our student body Sher along with her counterpart over the years Mr juny Wingfield um have developed hundreds if not thousands of natural helpers through the natural helpers Retreat weekend once that training was complete in the beginning of the school year she then spent her Monday evenings here in our school working directly with the student leaders during the peer assisted leadership Gatherings these students would talk about the issues present in our school develop strategies and plans to solve them and then be deployed into our hallways to be and make the change I mean think about that Sher played a direct role in developing the same student leaders that are now grown and serving in critical jobs and offices or all around our community and Beyond in addition to Pal and natural
052helpers Sherry has served as our Gaye trade Alliance or GSA advisor for a very long time again in this role she has been that cing voice and has opened her doors as a safe space for so many students faculty and community members lastly shering along with our husband Charlie planned presented a very important shinok Nation cultural presentation during the month of November for many years this presentation educated so many on some of the values tra and traditions of our native Native inhabitants from the shinik nation again words cannot express our gratitude for the efforts with this very important work over almost three three decades Sherry on behalf of all of us here at Southampton Sherry we extend to you a heartfelt thank you for your 28 years of service within our schools and our community
053it has been an honor and pleasure working with you and we wish you all the best in the next chapter of your life congratulations sh [Applause] so I didn't know that we had to say something um reflecting back on the many years that I've been here I actually came here 35 years ago and um getting choked up I came into the district as a very young woman in my late 20s and um my son went through the entire district and I was very grateful for the education that he received from some tremendous teachers here and um I came here from a native community in Minnesota where was a metropolitan area um where the Indian Act had moved many Native people into an urban area 30,000 Native American students in the state then it's probably triple
054that now and um or quadruple that and I was very fortunate I was really fortunate because there were other native people in my community that helped the younger people move into careers I was certified in bilingual by cultural education um I spoke my language fluently and I went through an em Eminence credentialing board um culture and language um all of that made up who I [Music] am I belong to the bear clan I'm the daughter of four aunties and three uncles and all of them were a boarding school surviv the hores that occurred in those schools were devastating to my family to my mother to my aunties to my grandparents to all of our community and they weren't the only ones so I grew up with these survivors these strong women these strong native women
055that worked really hard um to grow our communities and when I came here I had come from this native community that loved me like my family loved me and that supported the work that I did which Southampton wasn't quite there yet they didn't really know what bilingual bicultural education was at that time they didn't know how to even frame the issues to talk about with Native students African-American students Jewish students those conversations were not even able to be framed at that time but having come from the community that I did and the education that I had had I could talk about those conversations because that's what our history is coming here was a lot of work it was a lot of work of growing together it was a lot of work I watched so many
056boards come and go over the years and so many boards grow and so many boards want the best for their children and each and own eror we can't do better if we don't know better I watched principles come in and go Nicole I'm so proud of you because I feel like you really brought something to that Intermediate School Brian I mean elementary school sorry I can't even think Brian has been amazing coming from the elementary school and up to the high school and being able to be that support for our staff in those buildings and he really does care about teachers students and the community and I've only known Patrick a short time but one of the memories that I have in his time here is his gentleness with the intermediate school kids because they
057really are still little they're not quite growing yet and I have a million memories and I love that about you your announcements and how you talk to them in a way that makes them feel safe um that's what school's about so my wish and my goal my wish is that we continue to grow as a community and Nick you know what I feel about your work over these years um he Nick was you're leaving too he was absolutely loved and adored at the high school we we never wanted to him to leave and be a superintendent because he was truly adored and um the work that he did there was tremendous and um creating a high school environment for kids I mean you're a superintendent that's kind of a different ball game you're the boss
058of everything but I just want to say thank you for your years of service too um leaving yes [Applause] so leaving again um there's a word in my language it's it's what to Wi and it means that we are all related we're all related and sometimes it's difficult to deal with hard things in life and that's one of my memories about Nick is having watched him throughout Co and watched all of you as board members throughout Co still tried to maintain a leadership position in times where we really did not know what was happening and I'm truly grateful for that because I was at every single board meeting um watching and listening and I think your leadership during that time was phenomenal Nick as well um I'm gonna end sorry guys so leaving I hope
059we continue to grow as a community and I'm so grateful for my friend friends my colleagues um I look forward to the day that um education is decolonized it won't happen in my lifetime but I know that each of us Works in some way to continue to decolonize education and have an authentic representation of historical facts thank you [Applause] I'm not going to call Mr M to the podium good evening everyone um first and foremost I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all their retirees um thank you all for your service um keep in mind that being retired is have is to have the luxury of time to do whatever you want so if you choose to have a second career make sure that is something that you are passionate and love if
060you choose to do nothing you earn the right to do nothing so congratulations um I would like to say congratulation to uh Linda Pike Linda Pike has been uh bus driver with the school district for over 20 years as a bus driver she played a very important role in making sure that our children are transported safely to and from school every day on behalf of all the parents uh her colleagues and the rest of the staff I would like to say thank you to I wish her good luck in her next chapter after so many years of work now she can look forward to Mondays um Teresa horn is also a bus driver with the district I would like to also recognize her in her retirement for almost 20 years of service to the district
061I want to say congratulations uh it's important to acknowledge the important role that her and her colleagues play each and every day in ensuring that our students are transported safely uh and securely and thank you for caring about the well-being of our students I wish um Teresa the best in her retirement I would also like to say congratulation to Pula conception she is a food service worker with the district uh for over six years I want to thank her for her service I hope she enjoy every moment in the next phase of her life the best of luck to her and her family thank you thank you Sherry I was remiss I didn't give you an opportunity to introduce your guests I'm sorry um would you please stand up and use your outside voice to
062introduce your guest please the reason that I came here 35 years ago is because of this amazing human being my husband Charles Smith I'd like to call it Miss Trisha desad Dario I don't feel like I'm [Applause] it it is an honor to stand before you tonight to celebrate and bid farewell to an extraordinary individual who has dedicated her life to the service of others most recently our beloved students as our assistant superintendent for student services Trisha retired in January I would like to acknowledge not just her professional accomplishments but the immense heart and unwavering love she has shown to our community s's short Journey with us has been nothing short of remarkable her office has always been a sanctuary of kindness and compassion every decision she made every program she developed and every conversation
063she had with parents teachers and students was driven by her deep commitment to ensuring that each child receiv received the care and support that she believed they deserved her work wasn't just the job forcia it was her calling she saw potential where others of Us Saw challenges and she nurtured abilities where others of Us Saw disabilities she UND stood that education is not a one-size fits-all Endeavor and made it her mission to create an inclusive environment where every student could Thrive Trisha's big heart has touched countless lives her patience understanding and Relentless advocacy have opened doors and created opportunities for so many she has been a Beacon of Hope and a source of inspiration showing us all what it means to lead with love as we acknowledge her retirement we are filled with gratitude for
064the short time she has given us Trisha your legacy will continue to live on in the successes of your students whose lives you have touched and in the hearts of all of us who have had the privilege of working alongside you we all wish you a retirement for the joy peace and the same love that you've generously given to all of us thank you Trisha for [Applause] everything Sher I didn't think God is going to speak either and I I'm not going to I am it is humbling to be even amongst this group of amazing colleagues I'm not worthy I wanted to come here because I just wanted to see everybody that I fell in love with at this District that a short stint but an indelible Mark of my heart that I'm always going
065to be grateful for and it's also easy to move on when you have an office Kaitlyn Deb and Celli who carry the torch that office is a work family and I always would come back and say thank you for making me look good because I was able to run around and connect with Children and Families because they at the Hub site problem s they were social workers they were counselors they were technology Specialists they were all things for the children for the families and for the staff that call and I knew that was lefted good hands and so I'm so honored that you all you're here because that's what it's all about right there so thank [Applause] you thank you Nick thank you Nick well it's never easy to say farewell to such pillers in
066our community and congratulate all of our retirees this evening and send you with our deepest appreciation and gratitude for your service to Southampton um and we wish you your next chapter filled with Adventure and join abundance and I want to take a couple of minutes also because um this evening we also I want to take a moment to honor and celebrate two dedicated members of our school board Anastasia gavalis and James McKenna eight years ago they embarked on this journey together and today we recognize their unwavering commitment and tireless service to our community and their collaborative spirit and Leadership have profoundly impacted our schools shaping a brighter future for countless students and as they this is our their last meeting with us this evening and as they leave us let us extend our deepest gratitude
067for their contributions so thank you Anastasia and Jim for your dedicated service we wish you both all the best in the future and I'm going to read their confirmations start with Anastasia whereas Miss Anastasia cavalis began her service to the Southampton Union Free School District Board of Education on July 1st 2016 and has served as a trustee with dedication and distinction for the past eight years and whereas she has served the Board of Education and Community with administrators teachers and staff while continuing the educational traditions of the Southampton Union Free School District and Always setting the standards to a higher level and whereas she has attended well over 176 meetings and has steadfastly served 7 on the Personnel Committee in addition she has served as a member of various committees including academic advisory B literacy
068policy district office Communications Wellness code of conduct infrastructure security and the academic Senate spending many hours away from her family on the district's behalf and has received received and read thousands of texts emails and pages of reports and documents for countless hours during the past eight years and whereas she has supported all Endeavors that benefited all students and our district and provided invaluable knowledge as a mother of five children a business owner and a philanthropic Community member now therefore on this 18th day of June in the 248th year of independence of the United States of America by the action of the board of education on behalf of the district and the community we honor Miss Anastasia gavalis by offering her praise and a heartfelt thank you for eight years of dedicated service by action of
069the Board of Education I've set my hand to this Proclamation on the 18th day of June now whereas Mr James F McKenna began his service to the Southampton Union prese School District Board of education on July 1st 2015 and has served as a trustee with dedication and distinction for the past eight years and whereas he has served the Board of Education and Community with administrators teachers and staff while continuing the educational traditions of the Southampton Union PR school district and Always setting the standards to a higher level and whereas he has attended well over 176 meetings served two terms as the vice president of the Board of Education and has steadfastly served eight years on the AIT and finance committee in addition he has served as a member of various committees including Personnel facilities policy
070district office Communications technology special education and the academic Senate spending many hours away from his family on the district's behalf and has received and read thousands of texts emails and pages of reports and documents for committees hours countless hours during the past eight years and whereas he has supported all endeavors that benefited all students in our district and provided invaluable knowledge as a retired superintendent of schools and a former teacher of the Southampton Union Free School District now therefore on this 18th day of June in the 248th year of the independence of the United States of America by the action of the board of education on behalf of the district and the community we honor Mr James F McKenna by offering praise and a heartfelt thank you for eight years of dedicated service by the
071action of the Board of Education I now Nick I don't want to let this evening go un notice that you are also leaving us but however you have one more meeting with us so stay on your toes it doesn't like a lot of Fan Fair but after 19 years thank you all right moving on all right may I have a motion to move personal item 13.01 to the retirement of Linda Pike ahead on the agenda and approve with regret and sincere gratitude for 20 years of service to the district as presented on the agenda all in favor any opposed guys just before you go we're gonna break in a minute to have minut okay may I have a motion to recess the meeting to celebrate with the retirees jaie anyos all in favor car meeting
072is recess at 7:46 pm