Bethpage schools named best for music education

BY GARY SIMEONE

For the fourth consecutive year, the Bethpage school district has been awarded one of the best communities in the country for their music education program. The award was given by the NAMM (National Association Music Merchants) Foundation, a nonprofit which advances active participation in music-making.

Alyssa White, Director of Fine & Performing Arts in the Bethpage district, said that the ward was given across all school levels, from the elementary schools up to the High School.

“We were one of only eight-hundred thirty school districts nationwide to receive this prestigious distinction,” said White. “This was a cumulative effort from our dedicat-

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Northside Career Day

Members of the Town of Oyster Bay Board recently joined the Christeen Oyster Sloop Preservation Corporation, The Waterfront Center, and hundreds of neighbors to officially launch a replica of the historic Ida May oyster vessel into North Shore Waters. This launch is the culmination of a decades-long effort to build a full-scale replica of the Ida May, one of the first ever engine-powered oyster dredges to serve our local waters.

“We gather in celebration to launch the newly constructed Ida May oyster vessel for the first time,” Supervisor Saladino said.

“After her retirement in 2003, the Oyster Bay community came together to ensure the legacy of the Ida May would live on for generations to come. The Christeen Oyster Sloop Preservation created a vision to preserve her history: completely rebuilding the Ida May and using the replica as a “floating classroom” to teach residents about Oyster Bay. That vision becomes reality today.”

Originally built in 1925, the Ida May was one of the first ever engine-powered oyster dredges of her time. She served the local waters of the North Shore for over 75 years, but was too damaged to be restored.

“Together, we thank the

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