A Massapequa High School team has won a local competition that challenged students to demonstrate their abilities to research, interpret and articulate constitutional law.
The sixth annual Long Island Mentor Moot Court Competition, which included 31 teams from schools across the Island, asked participants to serve as mock lawyers and present arguments about an imaginary lawsuit with real-life judges questioning them as they would in appellate court proceedings. The championship rounds, held on Dec. 7, were presided over by three judges at the federal courthouse in Central Islip.
Massapequa’s team defeated a team from Ward Melville High School in East Setauket.
“We are overwhelmed by both the skill of the students and relentless effort displayed by the student advocates in their research and practice,” Massapequa’s mock trial co-advisers, Daniel Bachman and Patrick Barry, said in a statement.
This year’s fictional case dealt with a student journalist who used artificial intelligence to write a piece regarding pupil discipline. The students were asked to give oral arguments on whether or not deleting the article violated the First Amendment and whether the subsequent search of a student’s phone for materials used to write the article violated the Fourth Amendment.
Massapequa students Liv Kenney and Patrick Pellegrini argued successfully during the Nassau County finals, while students Autumn Romer and Jordan Russo argued successfully for the Long Island title.
AMITYVILLE
Calming Corner
Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in December to unveil a new “Calming Corner.”
The room features relaxing music, lava lamps and fidget toys, the latter of which are tools intended to help children concentrate and provide an outlet for excess energy. The space is designed for students and staff to enjoy “moments of peace and tranquility,” school officials said.
“If anyone needs a moment to calm themselves, gather their thoughts, sit…
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