__________________ SEAFORD _________________
HERALD MacArthur wins county, loses lIC
Wantagh’s senior awards
D’Esposito’s vote on Santos
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Vol. 71 No. 24
JUNE 8 - 14, 2023
$1.00
Seaford wins Long Island softball title By DAVID PAtAlANo sports@liherald.com
Brian Ballweg/Herald
SEAforD oUtlAStED CENtEr Moriches, 1-0, to capture the Long Island Class B championship game on June 1 in a walkoff win at Farmingdale State College.
In the bottom of the ninth inning of a scoreless Long Island Class B softball championship game on the first evening of June, Seaford was threatening after a walk to Gabby Bellamore and some nifty small ball by Jamie Young and Katie Young, who are not related but both laid down stellar bunts that gave Center Moriches trouble. The bases were loaded for sophomore center fielder Kaitlyn Young — no relation to Jamie or Katie. Some might have cracked under the pressure, but Young was all smiles at the plate. On a 2-1 count, Young drilled a fastball to left field, and a would-be sacrifice fly dropped in for a single, walking off the game 1-0 for the Vikings and giving them the L.I. title. It’s the program’s first since 2005. Continued on page 4
Seaford High’s Ryan Stephens is a ‘Master Teacher’ By MICHAEl MAlASZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com
Ryan S t e p h e n s, a m at h teacher at Seaford High School with a particular interest in computer science, has been named to the New York State Master Teacher program. T h e f o u r- ye a r p r o g r a m brings science, technolog y, engineering, and math teachers together to come up with innovative strategies for teaching their material. Stephens is one of 221 educators selected this year for the program. It is sponsored by the State University of New York. “I’m surrounded by so many
wonderful educators at Seaford, but our community is only so big,” Stephens said. “There are great things going on at districts all across New York state and all across the country. So it’s an opportunity for me to broaden my own horizons and bring that to Seaford.” Stephens has been teaching in Seaford for five years, and he currently leads classes in geometry, Introduction to Game Design, and LIU Java Programming. He created the game design course, which teaches the Python programming language. Stephens’ efforts on the computer-programming front are
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t’s an opportunity for me to broaden my own horizons and bring that to Seaford. rYAN StEPHENS math teacher
already bearing fruit for Seaford High students. Last year, his student James Toscano won the Congressional App Challenge for creating the app DailyBuddy, which allows students to express their feelings on a day-to-day basis, receive feed-
back, and get motivational tips. Toscano learned to code the app in Stephens’ class, but submitted it for the award and won without his teacher’s knowledge — a testament to Stephens’ teaching skills. Stephens is a native of Bayport, and still lives there. He earned a bachelor’s degree in actuarial science and a mas-
ter’s in school leadership — as well as his education certificate — from St. Joseph’s University, in Patchogue. Stephens found his passion for teaching in college, where he worked as an academic tutor in the math lab. “I g raduated and be g an working in an accounting Continued on page 10