Honoring Moral Character in Sayville Schools at the LICAB Awards

January 21, 2021

Ten Sayville students, two from each building, were honored for their moral character at the recent “Community Leadership Award” ceremony sponsored by The Long Island Coalition Against Bullying. *

For the past two years, Joe Salamone, Founder and Executive Director of The Long Island Coalition Against Bullying, and Sayville Director of Student Services Jillian Makris have teamed up to promote social and emotional wellness programs in Sayville School District.

The “Community Leadership Award” has been one such activity to acknowledge those students who daily exhibit fine character traits. These recipients have been nominated by their teachers and administrators for demonstrating “empathy, integrity, compassion, kindness,” to name just a few.

Mrs. Makris opened the recent ceremony, noting, “Joe and I were speaking earlier this week: this award really resonates even more this school year because of the pandemic we’re all living through. The challenges, the adversities, what you may be sacrificing…school doesn’t look the same, you can’t be involved in your activities like normal, see your friends like normal, and yet, what’s the one thing that remains? Your character, your resiliency. It persists.”

In his introductory address, Joe Salamone remarked, “One of the defining things that we think combat bullying is the nurturing of strong character. For a long time we have been trying to figure out what is our purpose, what is our point in the community. We think it is to answer three questions. The first is: how do you find kids who are dealing with bullying? The second question is how do you help them? And the third one is how do your prevent future instances of bullying. Awards and things like this are how we think we prevent future bullying because those who stand up and show strong character and are not afraid to show empathy are exactly how future incidents of bullying will start to decline.”

Joe Salamone further explained, “The one thing we wanted to make sure about this award…is that it has nothing to do with academics. Character is not determined by whether you’re an A student or an F student.” He announced that along with the framed certificate there were prizes that accompanied the “Community Leadership Award.” Each elementary recipient would receive a kit valued at $250 of social emotional materials, books, puzzles, games to continue nurturing character. The Middle School recipients were receiving a check for $500 while the High School recipients were receiving $1,000.

Congratulations to the following students whose contributions towards their school community and those around them make the world a better place. The Long Island Coalition Against Bullying “Community Leadership Award” was given to: Aislyn Beach, Gavin Sack, Anthony Marotta, Kara Morris, Macklin Neugebauer, Isabella Lipari, Brody Doxsee, Sofia Cangelosi, Jordan Milo, Aidan McCullough.

For more about the students, go to the Sayville School District Website at: https://www.sayvilleschools.or...

*The Long Island Coalition Against Bullying (www.LICAB.org) is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization dedicated to emphasizing the importance of bully free communities on Long Island through education, increased awareness and therapeutic outlets.