Pine Island will miss its school and Jane Hamburger

As the principal of the Pine Island Elementary School, Jane Hamburger made sure that the education of its students was like an interconnected tread that was woven into the fabric of the whole Pine Island community. An annual Harvest Festival, having students participate in Memorial Day Services and establishing the “Sweet Peas and Dirt Garden Club” are just three examples of the ways Pine Island Elementary students connected themselves to their greater community under Jane’s leadership. Not only did students test high in the basic subjects of math, English and science, but Jane Hamburger took educating the youth of Pine Island to extraordinary heights because of her creative ways of utilizing art, drama and community evolvement into the overall learning experience. Jane Hamburger prided herself in making sure she knew each and every student that was attending Pine Island Elementary school. It’s entirely possible that being sent to the principal’s office at Pine Island Elementary School was a cool thing because where else would you experience such a neat collection of dinosaurs? Jane Hamburger undoubtedly inspired thousands of youngsters to be all they could be and she even made it fun. Creative, Dedicated, graceful and intelligent describe Jane Hamburger, and because of her, our community has been enriched in countless ways. Kudos to the Pine Island Summerfest Committee for recognizing her as their citizen of the year this past weekend. No, the Pine Island school wasn’t just some “bricks and mortar,” and yes, it will be a long long time before we find another Jane Hamburger. Sincerely, Leonard M. DeBuck Warwick Town Councilman