Long Beach Alumni Newsletter

On November 16th, the Alumni Association hosted a socially distant event at Concept Fitness in Oceanside, NY. Concept's owner, and class of 2002 alum, Rob Carson, provided a group of 15 alumni (attendance restricted due to COVID) an outdoor workout experience. Participants were able to exercise, reminisce about the old days, and exchange business cards. Additionally, $500.00 was raised for the Keith Horn Memorial Scholarship. Keith was a graduate of the class of 2002 and a member of the varsity lacrosse team. After attending SUNY Oneonta, Keith joined the New York City police force. He lost his battle to cancer in June 2013. Scholarship recipients exhibit Keith's athleticism, humor, and love of family and friends.

Members of the Alumni Association made the event successful. Sarah Monoghan (class of 2002) and owner of Scout Design Shop created the event’s invitation. Chris LaBella (class of 2002), King Kullen’s Director of Dairy and Frozen Food, and microbiologist, donated waters and snacks. The contribution by one future alumni is worth noting as well. Sarah Gusler, daughter of Jodi Schwartz (class of 1991) and Charles “Moose” Gusler (class of 1985) contributed 2 dozen bulldog cookies to the event. Sarah aspires to be a pastry chef, and started her own company, Sweets by Sarah. She can provide sweets to Long Beach and the surrounding communities. In addition to her extraordinary baking talent, Sarah is also an integral part of the varsity lacrosse and volleyball teams and National Honor Society. She participates in Athletes Helping Athletes and Key Club.

The Alumni Association looks forward to hosting more events in the future. Please reach out for specific alumni vendor information to help make your own events a success.

Serena Whitfield, Coordinator of Special Education at the high school highlights the secondary school’s Life Skills program. Students attend smaller classes that are designed to address their individual needs and learning styles. As appropriate, our students are also provided with the opportunity to participate in general education classes. Our students attend art, music, health, Family and Consumer Science (FACS) and other electives of interest. Students in the Life Skills program participate in pre-vocational courses and supervised pre-vocational training in the community which helps to teach them functional skills they can use throughout their lives. Our program currently partners with over 40 job sites in Long Beach, Island Park and Oceanside. Students receive in person, hands on training in jobs they would like to have post-graduation.

With having limited availability to work in the community during these past few months, students have been working in our brand new practical assessment exploration system (PAES) lab. Our classroom and community sites have been converted into a work development lab where students become employees and teachers become employers. The PAES lab is used to assess a student's competitive work potential and interest level, while simultaneously exploring various jobs, using real tools, and developing proper work behaviors. Our goal is to provide a rich academic experience for students, while also ensuring they have acquired daily living skills necessary to be successful and independent in their future.

Serena (class of 2002) has been a faculty member at the high school since 2015. Previously, she worked in Jackson Heights for 7 years, and became a member of our team as a special education teacher. She is currently in her 3rd year as the Coordinator of Special Education. Serena lives in Long Beach with her husband, Kareem Whitfield (class of 1999) and their 6 month old son, Grayson Erik.

Student work can be enjoyed below. "Winter Wonderland" was created by a 15 year old student, and the written work below it is a contribution made by a 14 year old student in the Life Skills program.

I like being a student at Long Beach High School. I like how my new school is bigger than my old school. I went to Lincoln Orens in Island Park before coming here. I also like how LBHS has a pool! I heard that my class gets to go swimming, so I hope that we can do that soon. I made many new friends which makes it easier for me to start my day. I really like all of my high school classes. I love all of my teachers. I really look forward to going to school every day. I know things are not normal in school because of the Coronavirus, but we get to have a video chat and class when we have remote days. I know things will get better soon, and I am looking forward to all of my time at LBHS!

Many districts on Long Island have successfully established educational foundations that allow members of the community and alumni to contribute to special projects for districts. Here is an article about such a foundation in Rockville Centre: http://liherald.live.communityq.com/stories/education-foundation-donates-70k-to-rockville-centre-schools,115649.

Our superintendent, Dr. Jennifer Gallagher, would like to establish a similar foundation to benefit the students of Long Beach. If you are an attorney who is willing to assist us in setting up the 501c.3 for the foundation, please email her directly at jgallagher@lbeach.org.

Complete the registration form to become an official member of the Long Beach Alumni Association. Membership will afford you inside information on events specifically geared towards alumni, access to our newsletter, and ways to communicate with me. Click here to join the Alumni Association!

Email: alumni@lbeach.org
Location: Long Beach, NY, USA
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Email: alumni@lbeach.org
Website: www.lbeach.org
Location: Long Beach, NY, USA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LongBeachPublicSchools/
Twitter: @LBSchoolsNY