_________________ bellmore ________________
on your mark, get set ... run!
outdoor learning made fun
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Vol. 27 No. 23
1111 125028 1174
HERALD $1.00 $1.00
MAY 30 - JUNE 5, 2024
Garden thrives, because of Lions’ continued support “They wanted to start a garden at Park Avenue School that could be used as an educational For over a decade, a garden space for students,” district at Park Avenue Elementary Superintendent Marie Testa School, in the North Bellmore said. “And classes would come School District, has flourished, out and actually plant vegetaproviding rich bles and flowers in learning opportunithe garden — so ties for many class(it’s) a whole, holises of students. Park tic approach to eduAvenue is the discation through gartrict’s only school d e n i n g , t h ro u g h in North Merrick, tending to the garand the tight-knit den.” community has The plot is on long supported the the southern edge effort to keep the of the school propgarden thriving. erty. The plan to cre- MARiE TESTA Park Avenue’s ate the garden was Superintendent, teachers and the hatched during the North Bellmore district are further2010-11 school year School District ing their efforts to by teachers Robin get even more stuObey and Jill Skeldents outside and ly, who have both retired in the lear ning, and once a g ain, years since. Once their plan, thanks to the support of the and the money to fund it, were Lions Club, the school will be approved, the Bellmore Lions able to direct more funding to Club, which has long supported the garden. Nina Lanci and the North Bellmore district, Melissa Cmar-Grote, who are in gave Park Avenue a $2,000 grant the Lions, and also North Bellthat made it possible to enclose more Board of Education trustthe area with a fence. Students ees, are longtime supporters of not only grow and harvest vege- the garden, Testa said. tables and flowers there, but “I had approached the Lions, also learn about pollinators through Nina and Melissa, and and other things that help out- I’d asked them if they would be door spaces flourish. Continued on page 5
By JoRDAN VAlloNE
jvallone@liherald.com
Michelle Ebel/Herald
Champion Cougars Kennedy’s softball team made history Tuesday afternoon with a 4-1 win over MacArthur to earn its first-ever Nassau County championship in program history. See story, additional photo, page 6.
Thanks to legacy fund, community hears from guest speaker Rabbi David Harris By JoSEPH D’AlESSANDRo jdalessandro@liherald.com
The Jewish community of Merrick and Bellmore celebrated the 76th Yom Ha’atzmaut, the anniversary of Israel’s founding, at the Merrick Jewish Center on May 14. The synagogue welcomed guest speaker Rabbi David Harris, whose visit was made possible by the Rabbi Charles and Betty Klein Legacy Fund. Harris is the former chief of the American Jewish Committee, and was praised as the “foreign minister of the Jewish people” by the late former prime minister and president of Israel, Shimon Peres. The legacy fund was created to “ensure that we have really quality programs in perpetuity,” Rabbi Joshua Dorsch, of the Merrick Jewish Center, said. “And every year, we use those funds to bring in really interesting programming and really engaging speakers. And this year, we’re lucky enough to have David Harris join us.” Rabbi Klein, who retired from the Merrick
Jewish Centre in 2021, was also in attendance. “People understand the importance of being able to bring people like David Harris to our community,” Klein said, “and so they are willing to support it and make evenings like this possible.” This year’s Yom Ha’atzmaut was unique, coming 220 days after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. On May 20, the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas political leaders, making Harris’ words all the more relevant for those in attendance. A central theme of Harris’ speech was that the Jewish people are facing three battlefronts: the physical conflict in Gaza, the home front of Israel, and the political climate of the United States. “I believe the American Jewish community has a very key role to play, not just in supporting Israel from a distance, but engaging here in the United States, as Israel becomes more of a political football,” Harris said. “So my goal, particularly since Oct. 7, has been less to analyze and Continued on page 2
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e’re really looking to keep it flourishing and growing.