Smithtown Elementary Celebrates 60 Years

Smithtown Elementary is now 60 years old and to celebrate turning 60 the school held two assemblies for the students, parents, teachers and faculty. The assemblies featured guest speakers who were teachers or students from as far back as 1958.

Ed Rosenthal, a gym teacher from the 1950s who retired in the early 1990s, was greeted warmly with cheers and applause by the children, something that he admitted caught him off guard.

"I found that embarrassing because they really don't know me that well," Rosenthal said with a smile and a laugh.

After the second assembly when asked about his fondest moment as a teacher at Smithtown Elementary, Rosenthal jokingly said he was stumped and couldn't think of just one. After a minute he shared a couple memories.

"We used to run huge square dances here they were very popular,  and we used to put on our gymnastics shows on our beautiful stage with lights and music and they were really quite an accomplishment for the children," he said.

The former gym teacher admitted that participating in the assemblies were "a very emotional experience" and said, "Smithtown Elementary is a great place for children."