Letter to the Editor:

I just had to take time out of my schedule to write a letter in support of the Bellaire school levy.

I graduated from BHS in 1971 and in various years prior so did my siblings, my aunts and uncles and even my mother. The Bellaire school system has given us all so much. In the warmly weathered rooms I learned to read music, to blend my voice with others in Chorus, to play the clarinet ( a hobby which I still pursue), to take corners sharply in marching band, to yell my heart out on the football field and the basketball court as a BHS cheerleader.

A reluctant science student, I nevertheless excelled under Mr. Dunfee’s tutelage, became a proficient driver with Mr. Boner, and most of all, my Bellaire school education prepared me well for my present position.

I have spent the past 25 years as a high school English teacher in service to teenagers, teaching them the finer points of reading and writing. When I first began in this very prestigious, award-winning district (Syosset High School, Syosset, New York, Blue Ribbon School of Excellence), where the likes of Dr. Mehmet Oz and Hillary Clinton have appeared both in person and on our PA system, I felt some trepidation.

After all, I was a bit of a country bumpkin in this area where my students wear designer clothes and shop regularly in Manhattan. But I saw almost immediately that I was well-equipped. In fact, I quickly became the “grammar guru” of the department because many of my colleagues had not spent the time I had diagramming and learning parts of speech with Ms. Rennie and Martha Taylor and others whose names I can no longer recall.

At Bellaire High School, I was taught to write. I have been published in the New York Times as well as the Times Leader.

My articles and poetry have appeared in national journals and small press magazines. Of course my educational process has taken me beyond the halls of Bellaire High. I hold a Bachelor’s in English literature, a Master of Science in Reading, and 75 credits post graduate beyond these degrees.

I write this not to give you my resume but to pay tribute to the spark for learning that was fueled in my heart at Bellaire.

Please support the Bellaire school levy and don’t let this legacy die.

Sincerely,

Gracie Conway Panousis

Holbrook, N.Y.