Berner Gears Up for 50th Anniversary

The has been many things over the course of 50 years.

It's been red and white. It's also been blue and gold. It's been a high school, a junior high school, and a middle school. It's been the home of the Bisons and is now the home of the Chiefs.

But throughout the half century, it has played a important role in the lives of countless Massapequans.

Now, the is putting out the call to the entire Berner Community in all of its incarnations to come to the school's 50th anniversary celebration.

It will be held at the school on Saturday, May 12, rain or shine.

"It's an open house," said Don Nobile, a former Berner teacher who heads up the anniversary committee. "Alumni are invited, current staff and retired staff are invited and the public is invited to come on that day."

Nobile says the school is looking to find every Berner alum they can locate and that word of mouth has been spreading the news about the event.

It's going to be quite a scene. 

"We'll have the cafeteria open and each table will be decorated for the different decades the school has been open, " said Jamie Mare, a Spanish teacher at the school, who is also on the committee.

"We have a photographer who will be coming to take photos of groups from different decades."

The photographer will also be taking souvenir pictures of attendees for a fee.

Student musical groups will perform including the Jazz Ensemble; The MHS Sting Ensemble; The MHS Sax Quartet; The Show Choir, and the final act of the day, The Berner Jazz Ensemble.

"The Town of Oyster Bay has very nicely donated one of their showmobiles," Nobile said, adding that a number of local public officials are expected to attend.

There will also be vendors and the school will sell clothing that recreates the old Berner Bison logo.

Short sleeved T-Shirts will cost $15, long sleeved T-shirts will cost $20, while Hooded Sweatshirts will cost $30.

Berner opened in January of 1962 as a 5th to 12th grade school and since 2000 has been a middle school.

The committee hopes that the day will bring back fond memories.

"It's a day to really come and remember," Mare said. "To see how the school has changed and reflect and look back on the time you were there."