Tuttle Avenue School first and second grade ambassadors collected 4,000 books for the Book Fairies organization. Through their donations and collection efforts, these young students will have a great impact on Long Island communities working to increase access to books and literacy-based resources.

Moriches Bay Rotary President Deborah Brown Volkman and Rotarian Tom Chieffo visited the student book organizers, supervised by teacher Elise Allen and teacher aide Lynda Malatak, to thank them for their efforts and to collect the books.

During the book drive, the student ambassadors helped to count the books each week and talked to each class about the importance behind the collection. They originally set a goal of 1,000 but far exceeded that goal, having collected 4,000 books over a course of two months.

Date Added: 4/1/2025

Tuttle Avenue School students learned that one of their classmates is a Heart Warrior. The first grade students in Nicole Rau’s class were asked to wear red for a special presentation only to find out the guest speaker was their classmate Siena Montalbano. The red clothing represented a show of support for Siena. 

Ms. Rau told the students, “We are all special, but Siena is extra special. She is our own Heart Warrior.”   

Siena, who is seven years of age, has already faced many health challenges in her young life. Her presentation, alongside parents Carissa Montalbano and Angelo Montalbano, explained that Siena was born in Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with a condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare congenital defect where the left side of the heart is underdeveloped. She told her classmates that she has had open heart surgeries and spent her first and sixth birthday at CHOP.  

Ms. Rau also read “Charlie the Courageous” by Joslynn Jarrett-Skelton about a girl with similar battles as Siena. School nurse Maureen Simon then allowed the students to listen to their own hearts with her stethoscope.

After learning about the process and inspirations of famous artists, Tuttle Avenue and South Street elementary school students each worked collaboratively on two separate murals, under the direction of art teacher Babette Paul. The murals will hang, along with the works of 1,000 young artists across Long Island, in the Parrish Museum’s 2025 Student Exhibition, being held on March 15-April 27.

Tuttle Avenue students studied Georgia O’Keefe and learned that she observed nature, especially flowers that were depicted in large painting form. Inspired by her work, each student then created their own clay flower for the mural. South Street School students studied Henri Matisse’s process of cutting organic shapes out of painted paper to form interesting canvases. Upon learning that Matisse lived near the ocean in France and that his art was often inspired by sea life, the students each had a part in creating a mural using Matisse’s process and inspiration.

Ms. Paul congratulated the students on their artistic accomplishment and on submitting artwork to the student exhibition that will surely inspire visitors.

Date Added: 3/10/2025

Thanks to first graders at Tuttle Avenue School, Eastport Bible Church has a full pantry this winter. The students visited the church on Feb. 4 and stocked the pantry shelves with 1,000 additional cans of food.

As part of their civics lesson, the students were asked to address a local issue. The first graders decided that food insecurity was a problem among the community, so they set a goal to collect 1,000 cans of food. The food drive, called the Souper Bowl, encouraged the entire school community to participate.

Holding cans, the first graders then walked to Eastport Bible Church, where they were greeted by Pastor Kaleb Kemper and administrative assistant Judy Remski, and placed their cans on the pantry’s shelves. Ms. Remski thanked the students for their generosity and explained how important the food pantry is to the community.

Ms. Remski told the students, “Always remember that you can accomplish so much more when you come together.”

Date Added: 2/7/2025