Gallery • 12 Photos

Elliana Obolewicz '27

Food service manager Costa Lefkimiatis, culinary arts teacher John Dominello and retired physical education faculty Dave Green pose in front of the hot dog concession stand on May 5th. The concession stand was the hub of the event, with Lefkimaitus, Dominello, and culinary arts students operating it.

WOODBURY — It’s spring when campus truly comes to life. This, perhaps was never more true than on Tuesday, May 5th, where Region 14 hosted a “Community Day”, bringing students, parents, teachers, and local residents together to support athletics, academics and the district community as a whole.

The featured track meet, tennis matches, food stations, softball game, and baseball game were all opportunities for community members to learn more about what is happening throughout the district.

“We really wanted to show people what we’re doing at the schools,” said principal Mykal Kuslis. “We thought it was a good idea to help mobilize some people to go vote [for the school budget], without telling them which way to vote.”

The large turnout created an energetic atmosphere for athletes competing throughout the afternoon. Many athletes commented – including Gianna Desjardins – that the crowd support motivated them to perform better during their events.

“There were so many people there supporting multiple sports and I definitely think that that helped me because I had a motivation to do my best,” said Desjardins, a junior track athlete at NHS. “I think that this showed Nonnewaug as a very supportive community that respects their sports and it was a great way to get everyone together. At the same time it was a very good idea to help get people out to vote because it got everyone together.”

The event was an overall success, with all of Nonnewaug sports teams winning that day, and a significant amount of the community present. The environment was notable by not only the athletes but the attendees as well.

“I think bigger crowds make you perform better,” Kuslis said. “I think it gets people fired up and the kids really liked having the support.”

For all of the chiefs, it was a day of lively competition and fun. 

“The atmosphere on community day was an amazing opportunity for the [softball] team,” said softball pitcher Scarlett Ivey. “Playing with the fans around all of the concessions was so much fun to play.”

Across all four schools in Region 14, this day showcased collective success, bridging school and community.  

“I think from the perspective of this is what the school does these days, these are what our kids are doing, it was amazing,” said Kuslis. “You come here and you see what they’re doing on the track or on the fields and at the end of the day it really is the kids. Like what you guys are doing in classes and in your performance on tests and the colleges you’re getting into and that is really what we need to show. They’re doing a lot of really high level stuff and like they are the leaders of the next generation. So I think being able to share that and to be able to do it across all of the schools is great to show the community what’s happening here in Region 14. From that perspective, it was definitely successful.”