Family Fun Weekend was fun and so much more as we wrapped up the special festivities that were planned for the 2024-2025 school year to celebrate South Huntington School District’s 100th Anniversary!  

The party started Friday night, May 2nd, at Adventureland in Farmingdale.  It was an exclusive event for South Huntington families only!  The weather was beautiful and we had the park all to ourselves from 5 to 8pm.  That meant no lines to wait on and more time to enjoy the rides and games.  There were happy, smiling faces of all ages accompanied by the occasional thrill ride screams of excitement.  

For our littlest Wildcats, the helicopter ride, Pirate Island, and the merry-go-round were popular all night.  Families got together on the Adventureland train to take a ride around the amusement park. And it was parents against their kids on the bumper cars for a little friendly family competition. The thrill seekers in the crowd went straight for the Turbulence Coaster, the swirling-twirling Frisbee, the Fireball rocking coaster, the speed of the Musik Express, and the surprises awaiting inside the Mystery Mansion. For those who didn’t mind getting a little wet, the Rescue Boats and the Little Dipper log flume were a big splash. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the 100th Anniversary raffle table at Adventureland and bought tickets.

The 100 Year Picnic on Sunday, May 4th wrapped up the weekend celebration. Students and their families from all of our schools, alumni, teachers, administrators, and community leaders were invited to Walt Whitman High School’s athletic plaza from noon to 3pm for several activities that began with the South Huntington Educational Foundation (SHEF) Centennial Family Fun Run and culminated with the lowering of the district’s 100th Anniversary Time Capsule.  

For the Fun Run, our students in kindergarten through 6th grade, and some of their parents, signed up to run several laps around the Whitman field and track to raise money for SHEF.  SHEF is a major supporter of our district’s Arts, Music and Dance programs so our runners’ efforts support those activities that are of so much interest to our students.

While people played lawn games, including frisbee and cornhole on the athletic field, others lined up at the concession stand for the delicious BBQ provided by the Wildcat Booster Club.  We thank student musicians Luke Vaughan, Franklin Parada, and Grant Borden from the band Lorus; and Chris Ortez, Bryan Mendoza, William Martinez, Angelee Cordova, Madeleine Bas, and Asad Sidiq from the band Notice for providing the live music for our picnic.  And a special thanks to Grant Borden who brought his own drum set from home.

Then it was time for the highlight of the 100th anniversary celebration - the lowering of the district time capsule into a specially-constructed vault on the grounds of Walt Whitman High School near the Senior Rock.  The time capsule is to be opened in 50 years.  Even the light rain that started to fall couldn’t dampen the excitement of everyone who gathered for this important moment in the history of the South Huntington School District.

The large stainless steel rectangular time capsule measures 48" x 40" x 16" and features the district’s Wildcat logo.  Each one of the seven schools in our district  – Walt Whitman High School, Stimson Middle School, Silas Wood Sixth Grade Center, Birchwood Intermediate School, Maplewood Intermediate School, Countrywood Primary Center and Oakwood Primary Center – created its own smaller time capsule to be enclosed within the larger one.  After the large time capsule was positioned in the ground, teachers and students from each school cheered as their time capsule was placed into the larger one.  The time capsule location will be marked with a brass plaque and registered with the International Time Capsule Society.

To commemorate this major event in the history of the district, a special gold shovel was created to signify the digging of the vault in which the time capsule was placed.  Families in attendance were all welcomed and eager to take photos holding the shovel by the time capsule to remember their participation in this historic moment.  

Also in attendance and taking photos with the gold shovel were the honorees chosen for the time capsule event. The 100 Year Committee agreed that the best way to celebrate the district’s centennial was to honor the numerous groups that create the fabric of our vibrant and diverse community.  Those groups are the PTA, Booster Club, SHEF, Board of Education, South Huntington Teachers’ Association (SHTA), Elected Officials, and, of course, all of our students - represented by the various student government representatives from all of our schools - who working together make the South Huntington School district the best place to live and to learn now and throughout the decades.  

Enormous thanks goes to the members of South Huntington’s 100th Anniversary Committee for all their hard work - for more than a year - meeting, brainstorming, planning, and organizing all the events, activities, merchandise, fundraising, and publicity that went into making the 2024-2025 school year one to remember!

Thanks to committee members Liz De Monte, Lea Tyrrell, John Murphy, Regina Caliendo, Christina Wright, Janine D’Elia, Pat Dillon, Sheila Buhse, Amanda Kavanagh, Bill Hender, Eliot Lonardo, James Oliveri, Fred Scragg, Dayna Cioffi, Mike Duggan, James Tomeo, Maria Colon, Kellie Njenga, Dimitri Bernadel, Annie Michaelian, Sarah Schlessinger, Jason Zove, Andrea Lopez, Hannah Faiguenbaum, Angela Biancamano, and Stephanie O’Toole. 

Happy 100th Anniversary South Huntington and cheers to many, many more!!! 

See more photos from this celebratory weekend here: 100 Year Celebration Photo Gallery

The party started Friday night, May 2nd, at Adventureland in Farmingdale. It was an exclusive event for South Huntington families only!

The morning of events on May 4^th kicked off on the high school’s track with SHEF’s Centennial Family Fun Run.

Students and their families took to the turf upon finishing the race to play some lawn games before grabbing a bite to eat.

Thank you to the Wildcat Booster Club for providing a delicious BBQ in the newly equipped concession stand at this commemorative celebration!

Students from each school building were thrilled to celebrate together at Walt Whitman High School.

Suffolk County Legislator Rebecca Sanin joined in the festivities, honoring the day with a proclamation given to BOE President Nick Ciappetta.

Guests were able to view the smaller time capsules on display before being added to the larger, aluminum time capsule.

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Vito D’Elia, shared a few words before the lowering of the time capsule.

BOE President Nicholas Ciappetta addressed the crowd of South Huntington community members all sharing the excitement of this historical event.

There were smiles and cheering all around as Walt Whitman Principal, Dr. John Murphy, filled the time capsule with each school building’s smaller, individual components.

Representatives from each school building had a chance for a photo opp with the commemorative shovel above the time capsule site.

What would our school district be without our students! We were thrilled to honor student leaders at each grade level at the special occasion.

Thank you to our teachers and administrators who were one of the several groups honored at the 100 Year Picnic.