Bellport High School celebrated the 72 top academic students of the Class of 2021 during the fourth annual Evening of Excellence, portions of which were held virtually and livestreamed, on March 23. This tradition celebrates the most inspiring and influential seniors who completed their seventh high school semester with a weighted cumulative grade point average of 93% or higher.
After a presentation of colors by the Cadet Core, the Bellport High School String Quartet, under the baton of Victoria Hartman, performed the national anthem.
During a livestreamed portion of the program, Principal Timothy Hogan thanked teachers Aimee Iuliucci and Amy Krawczyk who produced the video and livestream. He also welcomed viewers and thanked the faculty members chosen by the students as those educators who had a significant impact on their educational journey and who possess energy, work ethic, talents and enthusiasm brought to school each day. These honored educators include Henry Finnegan (Brookhaven), Tricia Bartkewicz (Kreamer Street), William Champlin (Verne W. Critz), Joseph Tortora (Frank P. Long Intermediate), Leck Nhotsoubanh (Bellport Middle School) and Alan Kupferman (Bellport High School).
To the students, Mr. Hogan said, “The Class of 2021 exemplifies those qualities, particularly given the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic which has had a direct impact on the final two years of your time at Bellport High School.” He continued, “The leadership and grace you have shown in navigating this unprecedented set of circumstances is beyond admirable.”
In honoring both the distinguished seniors and the teachers they selected as most inspiring and influential, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Giani spoke about the definition of excellence as “meaning greatness,” as “never easy to do,” being a “quality that people really appreciate because it is hard to find,” and as the “quality of being truly the best at something.” He continued by saying, “This evening, excellence is you.”
Mr. Hogan then announced the names of the top ten students from the Class of 2021 and gave a description of their accomplishments. The top 10 students include, in order, Anthony Notartomaso (valedictorian), Victoria Monte (salutatorian), Charlotte Kellogg (essayist), Jack Armann, Kanya Shah, Madison Peters, Lindsey Belmonte, Madison Baumann, Cailey Ziegler and Anna Mezzatesta. Mr. Hogan also announced in a pre-recorded message, the names of the honored teachers.
The evening concluded with the presentation of all of the distinguished seniors, whose photos were flashed across the screen one-by-one, and a video montage of all of the celebrants.