Members of the Westhampton Beach Elementary School Student Council have kicked off their annual holiday toy drive. The students worked to create signs and collection boxes with a goal to amass as many toys as possible during the month of December. All of the toys will be donated to the Toys for Tots program.

The members of the Westhampton Beach Elementary School Student Council recently held a successful food drive within their school community. All of the food donations, along with additional nonperishable donations from St. Mark’s Church, will be provided to Westhampton Beach Elementary School families in need during parent/teacher conferences. Additionally, families will be able to select new toys donated by the Westhampton Pines community; gently used clothing donated by community members, parents, teachers and staff; and new winter coats donated by the Knights of Columbus.

Westhampton Beach Elementary School students kicked off the holiday gift-giving season by shopping for loved ones at the PTA’s annual holiday fair. They spent time picking out the perfect gift from a large variety of items.

As part of a PTA-sponsored program, Westhampton Beach Elementary School students are once again growing and tasting winter greens in the school’s greenhouse.

Each month, farm educator Renato Stafford, owner of Homegrown, visits the school’s greenhouse to teach students about composting, succession planting and the variety of cold weather greens that can be grown in a greenhouse without heat.

Students also have the opportunity to try greens that they harvest in the greenhouse, including spinach and arugula. They recently planted garlic, which they will harvest in June.

“My goal is to teach students to become food advocates and have them try new things and change their eating habits at home,” said Stafford.

In the spring, students will learn more about warm weather veggies and plant a variety of seeds, including tomatoes.

One of the project’s goals is that all harvests from the greenhouse will be used in the school’s cafeteria.