Hampton Bays Elementary School celebrated the 96th birthday of their beloved teacher’s aide Sarah Cunlifee with a surprise cupcake party on Jan. 31.

Cunlifee was all smiles as she was greeted by cheerful students bearing colorful signs and offering birthday wishes.

Cunlifee has worked at the school for the past 17 years and said her longevity has everything to do with being able to work with children every day.

“I am so happy to be here with the kids,” she said. “Everyone here has been so good to me. I am just so lucky.”

Working with children has been a large part of Cunlifee’s life. She began her career at the age of 16 by assisting the nuns at Sacred Hearts Church in Southampton, the town where she grew up. Later in life, she became the director of religious education at St. Rosalie’s Church in Hampton Bays, a position she served in for 35 years. She fondly remembers teaching communion and confirmation classes to Lars Clemensen, Hampton Bays’ superintendent of schools.

After retiring from her director’s position, Cunlifee said she needed to get back to work. “I was climbing the walls,” she said. She applied to Hampton Bays Elementary School and has been working five days a week since. She assists in classrooms and in the cafeteria during lunch.

Cunlifee still resides in Hampton Bays, where she raised her three children, Jackie, Joseph and Theresa.

Date Added: 2/1/2023

During the Section XI League Championship meet on Jan. 22, two Hampton Bays varsity winter track athletes set new school records.

Emma Halsey broke her own 55-meter hurdles and triple jump school records that she set on Dec. 11. She ran a 9.33 in the hurdles, beating her school record of 9.73. The record was previously set in 2005 at 9.94 seconds. Halsey also broke her triple jump record of 31 feet, 2 inches by jumping 32 feet, 8 inches. The previous school record of 30 feet, 9 inches was set in 2018. Halsey’s recent performances place her at 20th overall in the county in the triple jump and seventh overall in the county in the 55-meter hurdles.

Eli Amos broke the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.67. The previous record of 6.70 was set in 2021. Amos’ time ranks him as the fifth fastest 55-meter runner in Suffolk County.

Date Added: 1/27/2023

Hampton Bays Elementary School students in Jennifer Warren’s third grade class have been engaging in social and emotional lessons. They recently discussed the six pillars of character, which are fairness, responsibility, trustworthiness, caring, respect and citizenship, and what it means to have good character. They also brainstormed examples of these traits in action and wrote about ways they can demonstrate them in their everyday lives.

Date Added: 1/26/2023

Hampton Bays Elementary School fourth grade students in Amy McNamara’s class recently created cereal box book reports as part of their fiction reading series. Each student came up with a unique name for their cereal based on the book they read, and all students presented their reports to the class.

Date Added: 1/24/2023