Amityville students attend Awareness Weekend in Bay Shore

The weekend of March 2nd brought three Amityville students and one teacher to Bay Shore High School's Awareness Weekend, where they spoke to a crowd of 150 high school students and staff members about overcoming adversity and responsible decision making.

Senior Ray Jones, who spent the weekend at Bay Shore High School, was a member of a 4-person student panel on Friday night. Ray's heartfelt and emotional story hit home to more than a few students from Bay Shore High School. "It was so courageous of him to speak to us, not knowing anybody, his message was inspirational and I'm glad I had the chance to meet him," said Bay Shore senior Erika Sullivan.

Junior Angel Mazara and Special Education Teacher Adam Hovorka were the motivational speakers on Saturday morning. With the support of 12

Amityville High School students, who were in the audience, Angel and Adam spoke about some of the hardships and heartbreaks that they both have gone through in their lives. Their message was well received by the Bay Shore High School audience according to Awareness Weekend Coordinator Jim McGowan. After the presentation, a flock of students and staff walked up to the stage and offered hugs and thanks to the two guest speakers.

Senior Will Brooks and junior Mike Watkins also spent the weekend at Bay Shore High. "At first I was nervous walking into that big school not knowing a soul, but after the first family group, I felt fine, I feel like I made more than a few friends," said Will Brooks.

Bay Shore's Awareness Weekend, which got its start in November, 1989 is the inspiration for Amityville High School's highly successful Awareness Weekend, coordinated by Special Education teacher Jason McGowan. "I'm glad that our kids got the chance to meet some new people and I'm proud that they made such a huge impact on those Bay Shore students" said Jason McGowan.

Amityville's Awareness Weekend was held on Friday, April 20th and Saturday, April 21st.

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