Pictured with Michael Giocondo are Principal Dan Hunter and teacher Virginia Rosenberg, who applied for the grant. The gardens at the Paul J. Bellew Elementary School on Higbie Lane in West Islip are impressive. A new garden, created recently with a grant given by New York ReLeaf-Long Island Region, was dedicated with the help of representative Michael Giocondo (shown at podium) from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, who congratulated the students and staff on the grounds they are maintaining. Among the plots is a vegetable gar

den that was initiated eight years ago by Board of Education Trustee Sharon Bieselin, who was on hand for the ceremony and said, "The intent is to give back to the community as the children learn about planting seeds and making things grow." The vegetables are donated to a soup kitchen in Bay Shore. The entire student body of more than 400 was on hand for the celebration, with several fourth and fifth graders reading original poems and thoughts.